After some back and forth, I’ve decided to vote for prop Q. To be clear, I expect Prop Q to fail. I also expect the failure of Prop Q to launch careers and other initiatives that will cause this city real harm.
Im voting for prop Q for three main reasons:
1) Half of this increase covers essential needs. Yes, our homeless strategy is an incoherent, inhumane mess and it’s likely that 25-30% of this will be wasted or actively increase misery. That’s unfortunate but there is no reality but this one.
2) Austin’s city taxe rates are not too high and won’t be if this passes. We’re getting killed by recapture, and the people bitching the most about this increase are the same people who vote for the people robbing us blind while their party bans books and refuses to reform property taxes.
3) Most importantly, opposition to Prop Q has united the worst and most dishonest people in Austin’s public life, and they have run their campaign on the basis of misinformation and kicking down. Fuck them.