I haven’t seen it listed in the DSM-IV, but maybe Tax Rage ™ can become a new affirmative defense to crimes of passion. Brendan O’Shaughnessy, writing for the Indy Star has an article entitled Deputies to guard offices of 3 assessors wary of tax rage.
At least three of Marion County’s nine township assessors will be given police protection because they are so worried about confrontations with irate taxpayers.
. . .
Residential property values have increased an average of 23 percent in Lawrence Township since 2003, Hill said. Statewide, Hoosiers are expected to see an average 9 percent increase in residential property taxes. . . . The potential increase is the result of several factors, including the elimination of a state tax on business inventory and the statewide update of property assessments.
In a lot of ways, this feared “tax rage” would be a case of shooting the messenger (hopefully figuratively rather than literally.) Primarily, outraged taxpayers should be mad at: a) the people demanding and using the government services that cost them money — this might involve looking in the mirror; and b) the people from whom the tax burden is being shifted — former payers of the inventory tax, for example. Secondarily, state government officials who designed the present tax system could be targets of blame. Really, the assessors should only get blamed where they screwed up the assessments under the rules created for them by state government.
Also in the article:
“I don’t think it’s a huge concern,” [Washington Township Assessor Joline] Ohmart said. “But in this day and age, you never know what is going to happen.”
I think she’s probably correct in the first part of that statement. I don’t, however, think there is anything all that unique about “this day and age.” If anything, “this day and age” is a lot safer than most other days and ages. Seems to me that we’re fed a steady diet of fear porn by our news outlets that give us the sense of being in greater danger than we actually are. This has the salutary effect of keeping us tuned through the soap commercials to see what new danger we should be afraid of tonight.
There are Assessors, along with IslamoFascists and decrepit Communists, hiding under your bed at night, just waiting for you to turn off the lights. Be afraid, very afraid!
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz has certainly been doing a lot of fear-mongering about Marion County taxes along with his shadowy ally, the IndyU Blog.
“Fear porn” – what a great phrase! I agree with you – if you study the past, we are in an incredibly safe age in an incredibly safe part of the world compared to past human history.
My grandparents (born in the 1880’s and 90’s) lived in an age where sudden death by accident, disease and human behavior (such as wars and bandits on the roads) was very common and accepted as an unpleasant aspect of life. Living past your 40’s was somewhat novel.
Now people talk about someone dieing in their 70’s as there being young and the death premature. I’m so glad to be living now.