Letter: Don't tax people who can't vote here and demonize tourists who support our community

To the Editor: Council members Robbins and Bass must think they can win an election by taxing the motels with the highest transient occupancy tax (TOT) in the state and by targeting the second homeowners with an unfair vacancy tax, to further damage tourism. It's clear that they are trying to suck more funds into the black hole of government spending by taxing people who can't vote and by demonizing the tourists who support our community. They don't understand that tourists do vote. Vacationing families vote when they decide where to vacation.

There are real people who lost their jobs and families who had to move when Measure T swept 1,000 vacation homes away, ending the livelihoods of hundreds of local families. They were reservationists, gardeners, painters, laundry workers, house cleaners, snow blowers, bartenders, baristas, waiters and desk clerks to name a few. I knew those local workers. They no longer go to our schools, buy groceries, tires, medical services, go to the movies or eat in local restaurants because they had to move away. Now some council members want to double down on the policies that didn't work as promised here and that haven't worked in other places.

Further, the council possibly raising minimum wage across the board, sticking their noses into other people's business, will cause layoffs and higher prices for the goods and services that locals need to survive. The vacant home initiative will just make things worse. They must have read a book called, "How to Destroy a Local Economy."

- Gigi Herbert
South Lake Tahoe