The Trinity Park listserv is addressing the issue of the Durham food tax. It started last night when an overt call for support was placed on the listserv. Ellen Dagenhart, president of Preservation Durham wrote a post titled “Please Vote for Prepared Food Tax”:

Preservation Durham was one of the first, if not the first, organizations to endorse the Prepared Meals Tax.  Please consider voting YES in the upcoming election. Below is some of the information that shaped our decision.

She also added “10 Lessons that Shaped Durham’s Meals Tax Referendum,” and provides a list of mostly arts and environmental groups that support the tax.

I was interested to see if the other side of this issue would make an appearance on the listserv and it did. Early this morning, Guy Moseley responded:

Please do not vote for the 2008 Durham County Prepared Food Tax.

It is difficult to see the fairness in forcing lower income men and women to pay a tax on the fast food
they buy and eat in the truck while rushing back to the jobsite or on to the next job.

And for what? For the most part (80%) “civic and cultural amenities” according to the Durham County website.


Later, Ron Butters posted this:

I agree. It says something about human nature when liberals are willing to support a regressive tax because it will pay for their pet projects. …

Don’t tax the lunch of a blue-collar worker at Burger King to pay for the Durham Symphony.

Dagenhart then responded to note that the Inter-Neighborhood Council voted unanimously in favor of the food tax. John Martin then weighed in with this:

So Preservation Durham endorsed the Food Tax, did it? And when did it do that? Did it consult its members? Did it ask for their imput? Well, I’m a member, and if it did any of this, I never heard about it.

What is particularly infuriating about this endorsement is that it is happening at the precise moment that the County continues its destruction of downtown Durham. …

Why isn’t Preservation Durham talking about that? Why aren’t they making it uncomfortable for the County government? Anyone who looks at Preservation Durham’s sources of funding will be able to answer that question.

Which brought this quick response from Butters:

Is this the John Martin I knew at Duke, champion of Ayn Rand free enterprise? If so why should the Durham County government interfere with what landowners downtown do with their private property? And why should one be surprised that the de facto real OWNERS of “Preservation Durham/Durham Historical Preservation Society” would fail to consult dues-paying members before making political endorsements?

Which, in turn, prompted this from Martin:

I guess you didn’t know me very well at Duke, because I was never a champion of Ayn Rand.

You are also not very well informed about what’s happening in downtown. The buildings are (or I should say, were, because they have now been destroyed) owned by the County and were torn down to create a surface parking lot. I’m not talking about “private property” at all. I’m talking about the county using tax dollars to destroy historic buildings which it already owns.

None of this has anything to do with liberal, conservative, Ayn Rand, Jesse Helms or, for that matter, Bill Ayres and Jeremiah Wright. Let’s stick to the issue: It has to do with how the County spends its money, and if you don’t approve of what they’re doing, maybe you shouldn’t give them more.

Butters again:

Thanks for informing me that you are concerned only with what the government does about property that is in government hands. I assumed that you were chastising “Preservation Durham” for not vigorously opposing tearing down buildings that are still standing but on private property.

Dagenhart again:

Preservation Durham representatives participated in the study of and creation of the Cultural Master Plan, and reported regularly to the PD Board of Directors. When time came to step up in support of the Prepared Food Tax, we had been informed of the details all along. Board members were provided PMT detailed information for study in advance, and the board unanimously voted in support of the Prepared Meals Tax. Executive Director John Compton sent out an e-mail announcement to that effect a while ago to all paid up members for whom we have e-mail addresses. John, perhaps you should check to see if your membership is up to date and/or if we have your correct e-mail address.

This will probably go on all day, but you get the idea. Liberals, libertarians and conservatives fighting over this tax proposal, conservatives questioning the use of tax revenue for non-essential purposes, and lefties trying to reconcile their elitist artsy/cultural desires with their long-professed concern for the disadvantaged.

Which wins out will be known on Tuesday.