If they don't get you one way...

...they will get you another.

Taxes. We hate 'em. Government needs them. If they do not get us with income taxes, they will get us with property taxes. I think what people fail to understand is that we need to pay for government. Those great Bush Tax cuts greatly benefited business and the higher income brackets, but as a result, there was less money to be given back to states and therefore states (also because of a slow in economic growth) had less money to give to local governments. So to make up the shortfall, local governments had to increase property taxes or fees. I know of someone who was all happy with their 300 dollar federal tax rebate from the tax cuts. He was not so happy when he got slapped with a $150 busing fee for his kids and an increase in his property taxes to make up the shortfall in the school budget that more than made up for his federal rebate.

Tax cuts can be great, but if they are not accompanied by intelligent cuts in spending, the deficit will increase and other taxes will increase. So Bush looks popular for cutting taxes while local governments take the heat because they need to increase local taxes partially because of the Bush Tax cut.