With regard to Mayor David N. Cicilline's proposed use of federal dollars to bail out the financial institutions facing large amounts of foreclosures, the truth has not been addressed here, as well as most of the country.

The people need to know the real reason underlying the massive amounts of foreclosures and how the government actually caused them to happen. The reason...'PROPERTY VALUATION and the government's need for increased funding while hiding a property tax rate hike by forcing values to far exceed the real actual value.

I have done the math and the numbers don't add up, but it is not just here. Across the country, property valuation has been grossly increased to the level that very few can even afford to buy a basic starter home.

I live in Tiverton, Rhode Island and a basic 3 bedroom ranch starter home is near $250,000.00. At the current tax rates for Tiverton, I would have to pay nearly $400.00 per month, yes I did say PER MONTH, in taxes alone...not to mention the P.I.T.I. of $1,300.00 per month and P.M.I. of about $125.00 per month, bringing my payment to about $1,825.00 per month.

Do the math! How about food?, clothes?, car?, furnishings?, FAMILY??? How can I do it? Let's say I make $15.00 per hour @ 40 hours equals about $1700.00 per month after taxes.

Now let me get this straight. I make double minimum wage for 2009 and can't even come close to a basic starter ranch. I would need to make $6,300.00 per month to qualify for a basic starter home mortgage. I guess I need to ask for a raise to the $36.00 per hour needed. Will I get it? I hope so...

THE PROBLEM...Valuation is too high in attempt to generate tax revenues without looking like they raised taxes. The home that was $60,000.00 eight years ago, should increase every year 3% to 4% in value. That $60,000.00 home should now be between $76,000.00 and $82,000.00 but the local Property Valuation Administrators will have us believe it is worth three (3) times as much just so they can get more tax money.

THE FIX...The people of our great nation should work together, work with attorneys, talk to politicians, question valuation agencies, research wage rates vs. housing rates and decide why people are allowing themselves to be taken advantage of.

We, The People, founded this country for freedom. We stood up and changed this country when it was broken. We pay taxes when we work and make money. OUR CONSTITUTION GUARANTEES we will not be taxed twice. Why on Earth are we taxed again when we spend our money and taxed again on our own homes year after year after year and we do, say, and have NOTHING...CHANGE!

The above poster brings up a very good point about real estate valuations, but he didn't even mention the huge disparities between neighborhoods. Take a look at the valuations of homes in wealthy areas like the East Side of Providence and neighboring Oak Hill, and compare them against actual sales of those properties. Then do the same thing for houses in South Providence and the rest of Pawtucket. The wealthy homes are routinely undervalued, the multi-families and little capes and ranches overvalued. Not only did the poorer communities get soaked for relatively higher taxes, but they were conned into taking out mortgages for well over the actual property values. Folks in the poorer communities will either knock themselves out for the next 30 years to pay off a house that ain't worth what they paid for it, or will fall victim to foreclosure.
Lastly, poor renters pay double the real estate taxes that the wealthy do, due to the City of Providence's "homestead exemption" that halves the assessed value of owner-occupied houses, translate, East Siders. So that crummy $200,000 multi-family on the West Side pays the same tax as a $400,000 East Side manse. Only the East Side gets tidy streets, and South Providence looks like a war zone.
But not for long. Following the deluge of foreclosures, many South Providence houses will sell for a song, and the ESide vultures will swoop in, paying pennies on the dollar, and make a killing on the rehab. Everywhere will be heard the war cry, "I'm gonna improve your neighborhood!" Like the song goes, "Picture the future, and you're not in it."