The Sept. 13 Letter to the Editor by Dean Guanelli and the Sept. 15 My Turn by Assembly member Debbie White on the senior tax-exempt issue illustrate classic examples of “political spin” designed to distort the facts or truth and confuse the voting public. Mixing a few facts with a lot of political hype can almost appear rational.
First, Dean is a wealthy retired attorney, former high official in the attorney general’s office, who seems to think all or most retired people in Juneau are wealthy. Because Juneau is blessed with some very wealthy seniors, he seems to forget that most seniors don’t qualify as wealthy or even close to it. Plus, contrary to his assertion, seniors never asked for “more” benefits but only asked that benefits given at retirement on their fixed incomes not be taken away when they had no other options available or disposable cash sitting around to replace it.
I honestly believe Debbie White’s intentions are sincere but she clearly points out what Juneau seniors fear is the intent of the Assembly members who voted to reduce exemption benefits for seniors. She states, “Most people recognize that in the future our Alaska seniors are unlikely to get free vehicle registration, free hunting and fishing licenses, reprieve from state income tax, free bus rides or any sales tax exemptions whatsoever.”
Since Debbie and the other incumbent Assembly members had no problem raising taxes on “only” seniors, we have no doubt that those same members wouldn’t hesitate to take away more or all of our tax exemptions just like she predicts above. If you think they will stop with just taking $1.8 million from “wealthy seniors” to fill a $6-$8 million annual budget gap, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
When Karen Crane was an Assembly member, she was also an officer in the Alaska Municipal League which stated that one of their top priorities was to give the option to the city assemblies to eliminate or modify the $150,000 property tax exemption for seniors and disabled vets. Apparently, that position was acceptable to the Assembly at the time as they made no effort to refute that position by the Municipal League of which they were a member.
Last but not least, seniors have never proposed to just phase out benefits for future retirees as Debbie has indicated. We have stated that the exemption for existing seniors should be reinstated as that was the monetary basis for their retirement on their fixed incomes. If the staff’s predictions are accurate and the so-called “seniors problem” is only going to get worse, we have stated that the Assembly should consider other options such as grandfathering seniors into the system in existence when they retired, raising the age for qualification or phasing out parts of the benefits over time. At least for new or future retirees, they would know the monetary situation when and where they choose to retire. They would then have the option of staying or leaving, depending on their financial status. However, most of us believe that senior benefits can continue long into the future if the Assembly would only develop better fiscal policies for a change and look on seniors as major financial contributors to the community.
Juneau Seniors Supporting Seniors is a group of Juneau seniors who chose to retire in Juneau based on the incentives provided at the time we retired. We are major participants in the huge group of volunteers who provide the manpower support for almost every charitable and nonprofit group in our city. We work hard to maintain Juneau as the state’s capital and we are constantly asked to financially support our local youth activities. Is it too much to ask that the local Assembly not pull the financial rug out from under us at a point in our retirement that we do not have the ability to pick up our roots and move?
If the City and Borough of Juneau has a financial problem then it might be prudent to try spending less tax payer money on frivolous or “non-essential” services rather than penalizing just seniors. Just as we did during the mayor’s race and the last Assembly race we need to continue electing new members to the Assembly.
• Ron Somerville is treasurer for the Juneau Seniors Supporting Seniors committee and a longtime resident of Juneau.
