News of the looming tax hikes in the City by our elected leaders is crushing. It hurts everyone except the entrenched establishment who benefit from the trough of money seized from property owners in the city.

The same people that the virtue signaling politicians at city hall and their surrogates claim to help are hurt the worst. These are the low income individuals, blue collar workers, middle class professionals in the springtime of their careers, and young families struggling to launch. These demographic groups and others, who both rent and own in the Ocean State’s capital city are about to feel the iron fist of the Smiley administration come crashing down on their pocket books.

As if it has not been hard enough for these folks to make it to begin with, shackled in the abusive relationships they have with the tax and spend governments that lord over them from a local, county, state, and federal level. And, pile on the inflation of basic necessities like food, gasoline, utilities, as well as non essentials like leisure activities which the state so heavily relies on economically. This new rate increase will possibly be the final blow to all except the wealthy, connected, and powerful elites that pat themselves on the back for looking out for the downtrodden when in fact it is their own policies that punish regular working citizens so harshly.

As landlords in the city of properties that are meticulously kept up on, we provide quality affordable housing to people, and we care about our tenants. It is a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship with our tenants.

Some individuals chose to rent as they do not want all the headaches that come along with property ownership. Others, and oftentimes, it is young families that have to rent for financial reasons. Many do so to squirrel away money each month, so that one day they can fulfill a personal dream of home ownership.

Regardless of the reasons, it is a positive for all parties involved. Landlords take all the risk.

As well as the labor to manage the property such as doing maintenance and as anyone who has ever lived in a home knows, issues come up all the time and have to be fixed. In turn, the landlord builds equity on the property as an investment and possibly earns some modest income. The state also taxes that rental income each year!

Most landlords like us have full time jobs. We do this on the side to supplement our families finances and only own one, two, or three properties. There is honor in doing this important work and we value our renters.

What the bureaucrats and elected representatives in the city do is the polar opposite… people, both landlords and renters are to be used, a means to an end. Their goal is power, and they have an unquenchable thirst for money to spend as they please while trumpeting their plans as good and just. It is a sickness and we will continue to pray for their hearts and minds to be transformed to see their constituents as a reflection of God’s love. Only divine providence can change the failed politics in this city.