Opposition to liveaboards

[wind_magic]

Tribalism and "us" vs "them" thinking was solved long ago when man invented beer and started giving the elixir to people he didn't know in a place that came to be known as a pub.

[chef2sail]

Originally Posted by wind_magic

Tribalism and "us" vs "them" thinking was solved long ago when man invented beer and started giving the elixir to people he didn't know in a place that came to be known as a pub.

Hmm...now I thought it was when they realized they could smoke the hemp the were making ropes out of

[miatapaul]

Originally Posted by DougSabbag

When I have asked the question of this thread previously, more than once I was told that liveaboards don't pay toward the city infrastructure, i.e., we don't pay any property taxes, and thus we are seen as less than desirables.
Granted, the marina we pay our slip fees to, pays a property tax, which is like any other "renters", but, unlike apartment renters, we are seen as probably being able to buy a home, yet we chose not to.
And that choice makes us suspicious. We are not like "them", of our own choice, and as Chef2Sail pointed out most eloquently, there are some very real and basic differences to our values which also puts us at odds with landowners.

I know lots of people who could buy a house and rent instead. They would rather put there capitol into something that produces income, and have the flexibility of being a renter. I have one friend who "owns" several buildings including houses, but rents in area due to the schools. He did not want to buy just for the 6 years he would have kids in the school. It is over an hour away from his main business that he needs to be at 6 days a week, so once his youngest graduates from high school he will move back upstate.

Real estate is generally a bad investment, so it is not unreasonable to rent even if you have the money to buy.

[DougSabbag]

Originally Posted by miatapaul

I know lots of people who could buy a house and rent instead. They would rather put there capitol into something that produces income, and have the flexibility of being a renter. I have one friend who "owns" several buildings including houses, but rents in area due to the schools. He did not want to buy just for the 6 years he would have kids in the school. It is over an hour away from his main business that he needs to be at 6 days a week, so once his youngest graduates from high school he will move back upstate.

Real estate is generally a bad investment, so it is not unreasonable to rent even if you have the money to buy.

Changing investment models aside, I still support that the General View from landowners toward liveaboards is not very positive since we are not investing as they are, into their area. Yet, their perception is that we can afford to more so than apartment renters.

[Minnewaska]

I think, in our area, that boaters (liveaboard or not) are considered a significant contributor to the economy. Without the marine industry, RI would probably shut the lights off and close.

[DougSabbag]

Originally Posted by Minnewaska

I think, in our area, that boaters (liveaboard or not) are considered a significant contributor to the economy. Without the marine industry, RI would probably shut the lights off and close.

Tell that to the HOMEOWNER who is paying taxes which support the local SCHOOLS, POLICE, FIRE DEPARTMENT, etc., which we liveaboards are NOT contributing to.

When I was in Sausalito, CA., these issues were brought up numerous times in town meetings.

Nobody is diminishing their feelings towards liveaboards because of the diminishing valuation of land homes, or because of any marine related influx to the general economy of the area.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by DougSabbag

Tell that to the HOMEOWNER who is paying taxes which support the local SCHOOLS, POLICE, FIRE DEPARTMENT, etc., which we liveaboards are NOT contributing to.

When I was in Sausalito, CA., these issues were brought up numerous times in town meetings.

Nobody is diminishing their feelings towards liveaboards because of the diminishing valuation of land homes, or because of any marine related influx to the general economy of the area.

I think they are better with it than some other places. Around here half those homeowners near the Bay have jobs because of the marine industry. Boaters are their life blood.

[zeehag]

liveaboards in kali actually pay property taxes. just like homeowners..LOL

[hellosailor]

"Tell that to the HOMEOWNER who is "
Ah, Doug, do you mean the homeowner who is too stupid to vote and shape their own local tax structure? Or the homeowner who is too stupid to know that the liveaboards in their area probably already DO pay for those services, through taxes that are levied on the marina they stay at?

Some guy living in a deserted cove is probably beating the taxes, but he's probably out of range of fire and pd and has no kids in the local school nor is he (he) likely to. OTOH if someone is formally residing at a marina and there's no tax revenue covering the services he is using, that's called "too dumb to vote" and the homeowner should be disenfranchised since they are obviously not competent to vote.

The liveaboards probably can't vote, unless they are domiciled there, in which case there's probably already taxes being levied on them, one way or another.

What I love is to see the states like Florida give a "homesteading" discount on property taxes, in some cases a whopping huge discount, so the snowbirds and seasonals who don't use any services most of the year, wind up paying a secret "tourist tax" to subsidize the rest. See now, that's some clever bubbas learning how to vote, and set their taxes.

You stay in a hotel, you pay a hotel tax or a bed tax (literally) which subsidizes local police and fire and paving and sewers and all that good stuff. You stay in a marina? The marina can be required to collect the same taxes. Just takes a bubba smart enough to vote. Take a petition around, if your neighbors ain't that smart.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

....You stay in a hotel, you pay a hotel tax or a bed tax (literally) which subsidizes local police and fire and paving and sewers and all that good stuff. You stay in a marina? The marina can be required to collect the same taxes. Just takes a bubba smart enough to vote. Take a petition around, if your neighbors ain't that smart.

That's the authority of the government and the citizens can petition it, if they like. However, there is a good reason that States set their own tax policy. They compete with each other and that competition insures efficiency. In RI, there is no sales tax on boats for a reason. It brings boaters here from neighboring States and keep the tens of thousands of people employed that service this industry. Not to mention that they all spend money when on their boats, so RI actually collects sales tax from them on restaurant tabs, Home Depot, etc, for a lifetime. Those people keep jobs too. That's cleaver. Bubba just might chase them across the border with the above plan.