Response to Ruppert letter attacking local tax hikes

Charles Ruppert's letter published January 26 blasts everyone from the TEA Party to Democrats for failure to be outraged by local tax hikes. Cibolo residents will remember Ruppert as the mayor who wouldn't spend the money to fix potholes and drainage problems on Main Street. Apparently everyone but Mr. Ruppert understands that local taxes provide local value such as well maintained streets and drainage that prevents rain water from running through people's homes.

Local taxes provide police and fire protection and they provide as significant portion of the local school district's funds. When Mr. Ruppert was mayor of Cibolo he boasted of repeatedly lowering local property taxes. Subsequent administrations and city councils, which are majority Republican, have recognized that low taxes aren't everything. They've pulled back from the idea that "low taxes" are an end in themselves so that residents of downtown Cibolo and visitors alike don't risk damaging their cars by driving on Main Street.

If Ruppert really is so enamored of low taxes and vanishingly small government I suggest that he visit Somalia where he can experience pirates, dirt roads and cholera first hand.