In the upcoming year Police officers will get even more payment from tax money then other years about $319.3M according to “Open Budget: Oakland” Oakalands fire department gets $176.2M, lower payment than Oaklands police department even though both of their jobs are similar and could be life risking, yes both of the jobs are necessary but they give too much money to police and they should divide up the money which can go towards both of the departments. It is undeniable from these numbers, that Oakland taxes are giving either too little or too much towards jobs that have the same amount of life risks which shows that Oakland can be using the money for unnecessary essentials, here is how they are being used. Research shows that Oakland’s tax money is mostly spent on unnecessary expenditures that everyone doesn’t need because of this tax money isn’t being used on items Oakland needs.
Taxes can be used on better objects around our community which can make the city better. For example, in the article “How much money does OUSD spend?” by Gloria Lee a woman who works with OUSD and children around the school. She explained,” OUSD spent $705 million dollars last year. Of that, spending from the General Fund (which is the fund affected by the budget cuts) was about half a billion dollars” (Lee). Other than OUSD giving their students an inadequate amount of money for studies they also got budget cuts which means they gave even lower money to the schools and students. If Oakland gave more money to schools then it would be a better environment for the students to work. The budget cuts are hurting students because they could have their tools they need and it can help with their education. For instance, in an article, “Here’s how $183 billion in taxpayer dollars will be spent in California’s new budget” by John Myers, he explains how much is given to schools and other places that are given tax money, John Myers explains, “The budget allocates $74.5 billion to K-12 schools and community colleges, a mix of state revenue and property taxes. That’s $3.2 billion more than the final tally of funds for the current year” (Myers). The amount of tax money that LA gives there schools is myriad more than what they give students in Oakland , which could mean that LA has more opportunities for their students that help them better than what they offer for Oakland students. The opportunities that are being offered to them is a way to open doors in life that can impact them later in a great way.
On the contrary, another perspective is that Oakland should invest Tax money on Police because the police department does risk their life for the community and takes care of crimes in Oakland. According to a website called “AreaVibes” statistics show that 30,943 people have reported crimes and 7,282/ 100k people in Oakland have encountered a crime. And so if Oakland paid police officers more, more people would want to become a police officer because they are offering more money which then can lead to less crimes in Oakland.
In conclusion, research shows that Oakland tax money is mostly spent on unnecessary expenses and should go to more items Oakland needs that can impact the community. It is inconceivable what Oakland’s tax money keeps going towards; Irrevocable spendingings that should be better spent. It would be innocuous if our community made any changes to have better expenses that can only make our community better. Our community deserves to spend the tax money on expenses that are relevant to items that can help our community in the future.
Annotated Bibliography
Mireles, Amy, and Ruben Mireles. “Taxes Interview.” 29 Nov. 2019.
“Taxes are not difficult because someone helps me pay them. Taxes have never really impacted me. Taxes are a good thing because then this is a way so we have working services in the city.”
Mireles, Amy, and Christian Mireles. “Taxes Interview.” 29 Nov. 2019.
“Taxes are difficult but mostly annoying because you put a whole lot of work and some of that money is taken away with taxes. But tax money can be a good thing because it can help our community to rebuild by using our tax money”
Open Budget: Oakland. “Compare Budgets – Open Budget.” Oakland, 24 June 2019, openbudgetOakland.org/compare.html.
Myers, John. “Here’s How $183 Billion in Taxpayer Dollars Will Be Spent in California’s New Budget, 15 June 2017, 7pm, www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-california-budget-details-20170615-htmlstory.html.
“The budget allocates $74.5 billion to K-12 schools and community colleges, a mix of state revenue and property taxes. That’s $3.2 billion more than the final tally of funds for the current year.”
Lee, Gloria. “How Much Money Does OUSD Spend?” Educate 78, 21 Apr. 2017, www.educate78.org/much-money-OUSD-spend/.
OUSD spent $705 million dollars last year. Of that, spending from the General Fund (which is the fund affected by the budget cuts) was about half a billion dollars.
Areavibes. “Oakland, CA Crime.” Oakland, CA Crime Rates & Crime Map, www.areavibes.com/oakland-ca/crime/.
Dear Amy, I am a student of SJSU. After reading your blog, I very much agree with you. It would be a good idea if Auckland could spend more money to support education rather than unnecessary demand. In addition, I like the way you compare the education budget of Los Angeles with Oakland. “The amount of tax money that LA gives there schools is myriad more than what they give students in Oakland , which could mean that LA has more opportunities for their students that help them better than what they offer for Oakland students.” It It can draw the reader ’s attention, which is a good way to prove that Auckland students need more support financially. I like how you pointed out that the Oakland Police Department obtained more than $ 143 million more than the Fire Department, and then you try to understand that this is reasonable because people need more police in Auckland to reduce the risk of crime. One thing I am interested in is what is the percentage distribution of the average annual expenditure in different categories (such as housing, food, transportation, health care, etc.). Overall, your blog is very powerful and inspirational.
Amy,
It was really interesting to read you blog post and learn about the use of city taxes in Oakland. You’ve highlighted a number of important points and questions. The comparison you made in the beginning about how the police department and the fire department should have a similar budget as both jobs are risky and vital was an important one. I’m curious though what the average salary of a police officer is versus a fire fighter. Is there a big difference? Also, I got a little confused later in your post as it sounded like you were advocating for police being paid more money. Am I understanding that right? And what are the ways you think the city should gather feedback and input from residents of the city so the process is more transparent and the city is accountable to the tax payers?
Thanks for sharing what you learned!
Erica
Dear Amy,
I think your post is very informative because because you made me realize how Oakland is not using the taxes money aprodietly. A line that stood out to me was “It is undeniable from these numbers, that Oakland taxes are giving either too little or too much towards jobs that have the same amount of life risks which shows that Oakland can be using the money for unnecessary essentials…” because I didn’t know what the Oakland people did with the taxes money and now you informed me and made me realize that they are not using the taxes right. I agree with you. Thank you fro writing and keep it up can’t wait to read your next post.
Thank you so much for reading my blog. The part of your comment that stood out to me was , “I didn’t know what the Oakland people did with the taxes money and now you informed me and made me realize that they are not using the taxes right.” A question I have for you is has taxes ever impacted you or and one you might know? Looking forward to hearing back!