CBS news has a post on their web site dated February 18, 2015.
They tell us that El Paso is the 8th poorest major city in the nation. The article says:
- Percentage of incomes under $25,000: 30.7%
- Percentage of population with bachelor’s degree: 22.7%
- Percentage of incomes over $150,000: 5.2% (#28, tied with Indianapolis)
- Total population: 660,795
Education and low wages are two of the biggest economic issues in this border city. The U.S. Census Bureau notes only 74 percent of El Paso residents ages 25 and older have a high school degree or the equivalent, compared to the national average of 85 percent. And lower levels of education often equal lower earning power. According to a recent Forbes survey of 100 metropolitan areas where people earn the biggest and smallest paychecks, El Paso was ranked 97, with median starting salaries of $39,600 and an overall median salary of just under $47,000.
Making this even more unfortunate is the fact that El Paso is now ranked as having the fifth highest property tax of the fifty largest cities in the United States in the “50 State Property Tax Comparison Study” published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence.
Highest taxes, lowest incomes
Not quite but close. We have the fifth highest taxes and the eighth lowest incomes.
Stay tuned. Tomorrow we will look at the study in more detail.
We deserve better
elpasospeak 
I read the Minnesota study and certainly like the group’s established purpose- The Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence was founded in 1926 to promote sound tax policy, efficient spending, and accountable government. I would add to your follow up the important context that Texas in a no income tax state and from the Minnesota study notes, “This study is most useful when used in connection with other information about state and local tax structures. Some locations have relatively high property tax levies because those local governments are more dependent on “own-source” revenue (revenue they raise themselves) or have limited non-property tax options available to them. Other states have higher income and sales taxes in part to finance a greater share of the cost of local government. Also, the property tax on a selected class of property may be relatively high or low due to state or local policies designed to redistribute property tax burdens across the classes of property through exemptions, differential assessment rates, or other classification schemes.”
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There are six other states without income taxes.Those six include Washington, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, Alaska, South Dakota, and New Hampshire. Also, El Paso taxes are higher than some other major cities like San Antonio. The reality is that we have big problems.
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None of this happened over night, but over years of bad leadership and citizen apathy. Things have become worse since the CM form of government in 2005. The Council meets in secrecy over trivial matters that used to be discussed openly, like contractor defaults and poor performance of senior employees. Now any time these come up (San Jacinto), it’s into the backroom.
Gonzalez seems to have figured out who can be held accountable and who gets a free pass, so he is in the game, too, now.
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You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.
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