Mental health tax: McDonald is no political hero

Re: “Mental Health: Thanks to those who blocked the tax” (TNT letter, 12/24)

I must respond to the letter about the refusal of certain county council members to enact the mental health tax. The author correctly states that government was created to handle large problems that individuals cannot. So why does he laud their failure?

He cites 700 taxes. And that is where all logic vanishes. What is the difference to someone's checkbook for taxes to the federal or state or county government? To the checkbook, none at all.

The council may have sidestepped taxes, but what is the difference to our checkbooks when we pay for that tax or for the costs of court fines, overtime in the jail, or extra police responses and the like because the mentally ill are not getting the help they need? None that I can see.

On top of that there is the financial damage done to individual homeowners from crimes by the addicted and mentally ill who have nowhere to turn. These are just more "taxes" as far as checkbook is concerned. Insurance rates also go up because of these things.

We have been treated to three "heroic" county council members who gave all of us a raised middle finger. And for what?

Who paid into that money they turned down? We did. And now the opportunity to help people is gone, wasted.

This story was originally published January 7, 2017 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Mental health tax: McDonald is no political hero."