Plan Would Let Seniors Work to Pay Taxes

[flashl]

Audrey Davison lives alone, gets a $620 Social Security check each month and worries about the sharply rising taxes on her four-bedroom house. Davison, 76, raised her family there and after 43 years, she really doesn't want to leave Greenburgh.

Greenburgh doesn't want her to leave, either.

The town is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time, for $7 an hour, to help pay off some of their property taxes.

"People shouldn't have to sell their house, move away to a place with less taxes, leave behind their family and friends," said Town Supervisor Paul Feiner.

He envisions retired doctors mentoring schoolchildren, retired accountants helping with the town's finances, retired lawyers offering their services for a discount. But there are plenty of less-skilled jobs that need doing, he said.

"It's not like we're going to see grandma running the snowplow," he said. "There are lots of things people can do for the town and it wouldn't cost us that much to pay them."

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A return to civilized solutions.

[Turbineguy]

1. Helping slaves

to pay for the whips to beat them with.

[pinto]

2. Good idea. Sounds like she's on SSI, which has very stringent income regs.

SSDI and basic SS retirement are less restrictive on employment income.

[spinbaby]

3. How about a plan that lets seniors retire?

This is a sore spot with me at the moment. My in-laws are in their 80s and both working part time. They still can't make ends meet.

[Cleita]

5. It's really a scandal that in our society, seniors

who have worked all their lives contributing to that society can't rest once they are too old and tired to keep working.

[Cleita]

4. Oh, for Chrissake! I'm not even 76 and

going to work again would be a major pain management problem, not to mention would probably bring on a heart attack. I have a 73 year old friend who works part time because SS just doesn't pay enough for her to eat once rent, utilities and transportation are figured in. She comes home to a cocktail of pain killers after work just so she can unbend and walk to do her chores at home, like bathing and eating so that she can go to work again the next day. I'm afraid one of these days she isn't going to come out of her medication induced euphoria that helps her get through the day.

Don't people realize that old people can't do even what is considered an easy job without extra effort to do it? It's harder like being three years old again. I thought we were supposed to be in the sunset of our lives after working all those years to keep the economy going and raise kids. I think it would be more productive to work on a way to give these seniors an amnesty on paying their property taxes until after they die. The taxes then could be paid from the proceeds of the sale of the home post mortem.

I personally think seniors who have a home they have lived in all their lives shouldn't have to pay taxes on a single family home after they reach 65. However since conservatives don't like socialism, paying taxes post mortem could work, but for Chrissakes don't make grandma go to work unless she wants to!

[pinto]

6. Good points. Maybe a *cap* on property tax assessments once a person retires,

i.e. no tax increases there after, would be a compromise that could actually get enacted...

Just off the top of my head.

[pitohui]

15. louisiana does it also EOM

.

[sandnsea]

12. I seriously thought all states did this

Oregon's done it for years, I thought other states had passed the post mortem tax laws as well. I was actually pissed when an elderly friend died and the interest was as much as the taxes. But at least she got to live in her home until she died.

I don't know. Maybe they're trying to figure out a way to kill off the baby boomers faster so they won't have to pay all that ssi and medicare.

[fed-up]

7. all those liar loan bonuses should be used to pay these taxes on inflated home values

or let the seniors pay on death

The seniors are getting unfairly taxed on the rise in home values, which is only on paper and only good if the house sells at the top of the market or equity is taken out. How many seniors have to tap their equity to pay taxes and then watch their property values plummet?

Every state needs our Prop 13! which only allows a 2% increase a year in prop taxes.

ow maybe if her SSI went up as fast as her taxes....

[freeplessinseattle]

8. well, isn't that special

how thoughtful to "let" seniors work for barely above minimum wage to make a small dent in their taxes. bet they would be so thrilled and grateful for such an opportunity.

[Kindigger]

9. I thought that's what Homestead exemptions

were for. :shrug:

[brazos121200]

10. Doubt the republicans would allow something like this to pass.

If it's something designed to help out poor or elderly citizens pay their taxes, forget it, they're not interested. Now if their name happended to be Enron, Exxon, or Blackwater, maybe,,, .

[sandnsea]

11. Oregon defers property taxes

Until the person dies, and then collects them. They actually make out better because they also charge interest. This is fucking stupid and isn't civilized at all. Good god. Old people on $600 a month having to work to pay taxes. Is this really Massachusetts doing this??? Unbelievable.

[Booster]

13. How about a plan that gives a substantial tax break to seniors

who volunteer in their communities? I have never really understood (well, I can't say that) why you get a tax break for donating money but not your time, which is probably more valuable to seniors than money. I know the money pays for the people who run the charities, but people who volunteer help them not spend as much so more money goes where it should. I want someone to propose a bill for this.

[pitohui]

16. volunteering is even worse, that's forced labor for O/hr instead of 7.hr

are you out of your tree? the woman is 76, we have a job market where even people in their 40s and 50s can't get jobs, but by all means let's require old folks to work for NOTHING so that they can do double duty of being in constant pain and never be free to enjoy their golden years (which as poor or middle class people why should they ever be free to enjoy their lives) PLUS let's have them taking up jobs that otherwise might be held by someone who is still active in the job market

shaking my head

go upstream and read the post explaining about what it takes for people that age to get through the day, me, i actually know many people still very far from their 70s who have arthritis or injuries or other pain management problems or disabilities

there is a reason why people retired, it's because after a certain age and a certain number of health insults, unless you are one of the rare fortunate few, you CAN"T DO THE JOB WITHOUT PAIN


sorry to rant, but as someone with alzheimer's disease in my family, the idea that i should be working at 76 is not only cruel to me and anyone of my genetics, it's also probably a danger to society, since the ability to use good judgment is what goes first! i wonder how many kids "fondled" by oldsters with no previous record, in later years, it will become apparent the old person had was in early stage alzheimer's and lost the ability to think things through (just one example of something i often worry and wonder about)

the substantial tax break should go to ALL seniors who are living on extremely low incomes like this woman's, not just the few fortunate enough to be healthy enough to volunteer

[Booster]

17. I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I'm retired and have

a decent pension plus ss, but I also volunteer at an animal shelter. I'm not looking to be paid, but I would think that my time would be worth something - at least a tax break. I pay almost $5000 a year in housing taxes and around $7000 in federal taxes, so a break in the form of a write-off would be nice. I'm certainly not saying the elderly who need to work so they can eat should volunteer and get paid nothing. I believe more people would do volunteer work if it were shown to be appreciated.

[pitohui]

14. wow she's 76 and they're going to force her to work until she drops

how big-hearted of them

why not instead a law that disallows any collection of property tax on property owned by a person over age 70, if their income is less than say 1,500 per month and they are living in that property alone or only with other persons over age 70?

we already don't have enough jobs for all who want them, so we are going to force our old people to work for 7/hr and drive prevailing wages down even further?

have i mentioned lately how much i hate these people????