Are Taxes Forcing Long Island Seniors Out?

A phone call from a senior citizen yesterday made me stop and think about the effect escalating property taxes are having on an already overburdened, aging population on Long Island. He sadly, and with some bitterness, told me that he might be forced to give up his long time home and leave for a place where he could afford to live. What a sad commentary when the people who helped support our towns, schools, merchants and the officials who turn a deaf ear to their plight, have no option but to abandon everything they know for the uncertainty of a future somewhere else. In this writer's humble opinion they have earned the right to be here and to live out their lives in the home of their choice, not one dictated by happenstance. After all they bought into the dream, and sometimes risked everything to achieve it.

Long Island, with some of the highest property taxes in the nation, needs to take a long hard look at the house of cards they're building and find another way to fill the coffers. Otherwise not only will the seniors be leaving town in droves, so too will the young as they search for greener pastures.

Author: Geri Sonkin
www.LongIslandsBestHomes.com