It's not a question of affordability. From my experience with graduates of many prep schools, unless one is shooting for the moon, the cost / benefit analysis does not justify it for our family... (Jun 25, 2007 | post #166)
Here is an observation from a granite countertop Purdue engineering Carmel resident. The idea that our schools are #1 in the state ain't accurate. They are pretty good, but #1 they are not (based on a lot of benchmarks) and the elite already sends their kids to prep schools. I live in a highly elitist $700k+ neighborhood and virtualy all of my soon to be 9th grader's fellow CCS school bus riders are headed to prep schools. (Jun 24, 2007 | post #124)
I did, and we got hit with a 30% a couple years ago when we were annexed, and a 16% this year. As for sticker shock, the shock has as much to do with property values appreciating as with tax rates. The $300K Pulte cookiecutter is $500k in Ann Arbor, and went there by appreciating a sizeable amount every year. if we had similar appreciation we'd be paying the same. It's not fiscal management that has kept property taxes low, by and large it is lack of property values appreciating. Where we see double digit percentage increases in many parts of the country (the supposed desirable places to live) here in Carmelistan we would be lucky to see 2-3% a year for existing properties. New construction has a way of upping the ante, don't get me wrong, but live here and track the same property for a decade or so and then we talk. (Jun 24, 2007 | post #104)
You mean, those with memberships. The 'free' part of the park does not even have a playground (none is planned) and the landscaping around the area appears to have been done by a gravel pit digger... (Jun 24, 2007 | post #102)
Absolutely! I wonder what the contingency plan is if we get the usual 70mph winds ("pick up chandelier from Fishers") Not to mention the vacuum sucking trash cans... (Jun 24, 2007 | post #100)
'We're in good shape,' Brainard says of finances
Mine (and most of my coworkers) was more like 16%... I'll take some of the 4% any time. (Jun 18, 2007 | post #84)
Just waiting for police to pull over turbocharged driver
I do not drive a Porsche, but have a bit of an affinity for turbocharged vehicles. I should take the opportunity to remind the esteemed audience that turbochargers, for the most part, achieve very good fuel economy for the performance boost they provide... Many car companies, most from the other side of the pond, have figured this a long time ago... (Jun 6, 2007 | post #7)
Stockholders own a piece of gas profits
Reading is not a strength, either, apparently. My note simply indicated that the amount quoted is not sufficient to cover the added expense over the period specified, and I presented reasons for stating so. In fact, if I may be so bold as to add one more reason, the original letter writer quoted 1200 gallons in 2 years, which is 600 a year, which, translated to miles per year is around 15,000. The US estimate for miles driven per family per year in the Midwest is twice that, further making his original statement lean even further from reality. If the original letter writer is single, however, the 15,000 mile figure is accurate. I have done the exact calculations the original letter writer did, with 30,000 miles per year (average for all vehicles in an average family) and 24mpg (average fuel economy) and also figured into the calculation all the other variables from my earlier post. The dollar amount needed to break even is significantly higher than the quoted one. (Jun 6, 2007 | post #10)
Stockholders own a piece of gas profits
Proof positive that most people can not do math to save their (pitiful) life. The letter writer's numbers are quite a bit off. The return on his investment is pretax (so figure 20% Fed / State tax) and the money for purchasing gasoline are post tax, so add 25-30% minimum to that as well. In addition, consider what the money invested would have earned in the first place somewhere else (you will not be getting that, so it amounts to dead money if you use the return to buy gas). Figure the opportunity lost there, too. Also calculate the rise of inflation (don't believe what you read since the fed does not publish such subtle figures) due to the rise in gas and oil prices, and of course, figure what the risk would be to the original capital if something happens (supply disruptions, speculators bored, political changes, etc). Now, if you're looking further down the road for snowball effects, also consider the impact of high energy prices to overall consumer spending, and if you sell a product or service that consumers can perceive they can do without because they have to spend $100-200 a month extra on energy and related, you find yourself out of work, or stocks in other companies you may own may tank for the same reason... (Jun 6, 2007 | post #8)
Carmel's $55 million park opens today
I am still waiting for the Municipal Massage Parlor to be built, preferrably at Clay Terrace so I don't have to drive :-) (May 26, 2007 | post #37)
OK, one basic question. How come that the average tax rate in Carmel is about 1% of property, give or take (my old $300k home paid about $3.2k on average) yet the Hilbert mansion, valued at $20M, pays less than HALF of that rate, or $90k instead of 1% which would be $200k? Am I missing something, or the place is really NOT worth $20M, or, just like Rolls Royces paying marginally more than Honda Accords, value based taxation be darned... (Apr 24, 2007 | post #11)
Author Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84
I was a young aspiring engineering student when I read "Player Piano", a book that I still find applicable in today's life. I became hooked on Vonnegut's style, quirky use of the language, and social implications. This is a great loss. Kurt Vonnegut will be missed, and remembered. (Apr 11, 2007 | post #13)
How much growth in the tax rolls have we had? how many annexations? My own property taxes jumped 30% since we got annexed in NW Clay a couple years ago... For most of the 12 years of the current administration we had little, if anything, done to the city, and in the last couple of years, whoa, something must have turned on, and we're spending (and borrowing) like there is no tomorrow. (Apr 11, 2007 | post #214)
Mayor insists city is fiscally fit; opponents fear financial cr...
Only because we're in Indiana. I have two children in Carmel schools, and suffice to say I have been relatively satisfied with K-5 (not as good as it was 5+ years ago tho) and definitely NOT satisfied with higher-up education. Once the students pass the fabled halls of 6th+ grade, learning becomes secondary to herd discipline (do they really enforce bizzare dress code restrictions?), selective enforcement of rules, stereotyping, meaningless assignments, etc. And I'm supposed to be happy because this is the best the state (or the country) has to offer? What am I going to tell my daughter, that while she was making yet another poster board 'all about me' some kid in a third world country was busy learning calculus? We now return you to your originally scheduled flame fest... (Mar 31, 2007 | post #20)
Not to mention a bit on the small side... (Mar 25, 2007 | post #5)
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