The most momentous event at Asheville City Council’s budget meeting today was Councilman Cecil Bothwell’s advocacy for a 4-cent tax increase. An argument, often coming from the right wing, was, “‘Not in these times, not in these times, not in these times.'” A 4-cent tax increase on a $350,000 home would amount to $140. That would be equivalent to two nice dinners for two. If anybody living in a $350,000 house were to tell Bothwell they couldn’t afford a 4-cent tax increase, he would say, “‘You’re lying to me. You’re playing a tax game with me. You’re not supporting your community.'”