Kansas City MO's Gifts to Wealthy Developers Continues Unabated

Wonder why your property and other taxes keep rising even though we're in a recession?


One big reason is because your city politicians are practically using your tax dollars to build new things for wealthy developers.


The latest proposed 'corporate welfare?'


Why- for a new apartment building in the Plaza and more retail in KC-MO's Northland of course.


To top all of that- the city wants to "adjust" a TIF already given where the recipient is not meeting their end of the agreement- all the while city residents are getting ready to pay BIG increases on our water/sewer bills- etc..

Some UMKC professors who know A LOT MORE about these types of economic issues- like TIFS- 353's and other forms of corporate welfare- have a study online about KC-MO's TIF projects.


You may or may not be shocked to also learn that THE MOST TIFs or corporate welfare has actually gone to KC-MO's wealthiest council districts- not the poor districts for which those types of "economic incentives" were intended.


So it's not all that hard to see that when the city diverts developer's sales and property taxes away from the city's general fund- we're going to see A) loss of city services due to decreased revenues (hey- let's lay off 105 firefighters!) and B) an increase in fees and taxes to make up what the city does not collect in taxes from a new development.


And this city's politicians want to spend more than $100-million for a downtown streetcar system???


The Captain often wonders if this city's residents actually CARE about what's going on at City Hall (and on our poorly-kept streets).