Philosophy behind transfer tax: Christian or communist?

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican

6/26/2008 - 6/27/08

It's handy to quote famous people when making your point, but how important is it to match the right person with the well-known words?

Several people who testified at Wednesday's City Council meeting on a proposed real-estate transfer tax invoked imagery suggesting the fee on high-end home sales was un-American, unpatriotic and practically communist — arguments that led to a rare moment of philosophy at City Hall.

As part of her argument against the proposed tax, real estate broker Ashley Margetson drew on the well-known adage: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." She followed up by saying, "That was said by Karl Marx, the father of communism. ... We don't live in a communist country. We are supposed to live in a free society."

That raised the eyebrows of Mayor David Coss, who said he's more familiar with those words and the idea of charity from the Bible, specifically the Apostle Paul. "Marx may have said that. I have not studied Marx," he said. "But I know for sure that it was said in the New Testament as instruction to Christians on how to live together."

Neither argument can be ruled out. The quote appears in an 1840 book by socialist Louis Blanc called The Organization of Work, but part of it also appears in the Book of Acts, where in the first century, Paul urged help for the needy. Marx, a contemporary of Blanc's, also used the phrase in an essay about German political party organization.

St. John's College professor Bill Kerr said the ideas of the three writers are intertwined. "In the pre-Christian societies, there were public income support programs of a sort, but I think that the root inspiration for most Western thought that we should take care of the needier probably ultimately has its origins in the Bible and in Christianity, even among people like Marx who were very anti-Christian," said Kerr, who has a background in economics and teaches on Marx.

Many concepts that were labeled as socialist 100 years ago, however, are now more mainstream in modern politics, he said. The basic idea, Kerr said, is that socialism calls for a redistribution of resources in a way that guarantees a certain level of resources for everyone.

It's not the first time city leaders have been accused of leaning toward communism or socialism, and they don't deny the transfer tax is intended to move money from the wealthy to the less wealthy. Coss said the same ideas were raised when the city required employers to pay a minimum wage higher than the state's and when it required developers to build and sell 30 percent of homes at "affordable" prices to income-qualified buyers.

"I thought they were bringing in a lot of arguments that I did not agree with. We were really into 'red baiting,' " he said Thursday. "Someone called me a socialist in the hallway, and I thought if we are going to start quoting Karl Marx with quotes that really came from Saint Paul, I just thought I would point that out."

Margetson said Thursday that Coss "meant well," but defended her perspective. "Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God is going to distribute the blessings of the planet equally," she said, adding later that she believes programs such as the affordable housing loan assistance take away individuals' hopes of reaching goals on their own.

Councilors unanimously approved a special election in March to let voters decide whether to impose the tax. The tax would apply only to homes sold for more than $750,000. It would require the buyer to pay a fee representing 1 percent of any amount over $750,000. For example, the buyer of a home costing $800,000 would owe $500. The revenue would go to the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund and would be earmarked to help increase home ownership among the city's work force and for other housing needs.

The original proposal, which was amended late Wednesday, had set the price threshold at $650,000.

Although the change means less revenue, the city estimates the tax will bring in $1.2 million per year. A recent study quantified what the city has known for decades, that working families are leaving Santa Fe to find cheaper housing elsewhere while continuing to earn money here, and that has drastic economic consequences for the city.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.