$95 Too Taxing for Greatest Generation?

The greatest generation has never asked for an exemption before.

It survived the Depression and fought World War II. With its hard work and taxes, it guaranteed America would be a dynamo second to none in the world.

If anyone epitomized “sacrifice,” it was that generation.

I have such admiration for its collective life story that, like a lot of other Americans, I gave Tom Brokaw’s best-selling “The Greatest Generation” to my mother for Christmas in 1998.

It’s a little disheartening, then, to conclude that a group of senior citizens is calling in some chits. They may not say so in so many words, but it’s hard to escape that conclusion as Irvine Unified School District trustees strategize on how to get a parcel tax passed on April 11.

Knowing that a significant senior vote against the tax helped kill the proposal in November (it needed 66% but got 62%), the trustees are buying them off. They’re offering to waive the $95 tax to homeowners older than 65.

The idea, plain and simple, is that seniors may not oppose the tax if they don’t have to pay it.

I wouldn’t be making a peep if the tax were frivolous. Some voters probably think it is, but the trustees say it is necessary to maintain Irvine’s art, music and science programs and spare about 100 teachers from the employment gallows.

No generation should be subjected to cutbacks like that.

The unpleasant inference from the failed vote in November is that many seniors feel it’s time to pass the torch. But not in a good way.

Someone Else’s Turn

Recently, a member of the public relations firm trying to push through the tax said: “A lot of [elderly] people have the sense that, ‘We’ve put our children through the schools; we’ve done our duty. It’s time for someone else to give back.’ That was a common sentiment among older voters.”

This is the moment to say that, obviously, not all seniors who opposed the tax felt that way. Some no doubt philosophically opposed the tax or are so strapped financially that it represented a hardship.

But that can’t be everyone--I’m thinking of seniors who own their homes outright and would gladly pony up $8 a month (the cost of the parcel tax) for other community projects.

The questions are: Why not for schools? Why not for the current generation’s future?

Trustee Karen Preston apparently is much too kind or politic to attribute the seniors’ anti-tax motivation to self-interest. They were part of the anti-tax bloc, but not the whole bloc, she says. Younger voters also opposed it, and the expected “pro” side didn’t show up in force on election day, Preston says.

Why then, offer the exemptions only to seniors? Why not to younger families who might be financially strapped, as well?

“Primarily, because they’ve paid their dues and a lot of them are on fixed incomes,” Preston says of the deal for Irvine seniors. “I don’t think that many will file for the exemption, when it comes down to it. So one is the fairness issue, because they’ve paid through the years.”

Taxpayers of any age, including those with or without children, face ballot decisions on school spending all the time. Some think the spending is unnecessary. Others simply can’t afford higher taxes.

Fair enough.

In the Irvine case, no one begrudges seniors on a tight budget. No one begrudges those who honestly think the trustees are misleading them. Some probably think the district is crying wolf.

But I have grudges aplenty for those who can afford it but don’t want to pay on the grounds they have no school-age children.

To the members of that group, whoever you are, this reminder:

You earned the mantle of “the greatest generation.” You earned it through sacrifice and commitment.

Perhaps you think you’ve done enough.

Sorry. For the truly great, no exemptions allowed.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821, by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.