Things I learned at last night’s Town Council meeting

• Rich people have reached the limit of how much taxes they’re willing to pay.
• Unless it’s to increase the town’s open space, in which case raising taxes is A-OK.
• Rich people will drive 100 miles to save $100 on their taxes.
• The rest of us prefer to spend time with our loved ones at the end of a work day rather than sit and listen to rich people bitching about having to drive 100 miles to defeat a proposal put forward by residents of a town they don’t live in.
• If rich people’s taxes go up, they might have to {gasp!} rent out one or two of their houses.
• Or they’ll withhold any other charitable donations that they ultimately benefit from.
• When rich people tear down their houses to build larger ones, no economic setbacks of any kind that might detract from the level of luxury they expect to live in are permitted. Any setbacks the rest of us might suffer are, on the other hand, of no consideration.
• The rest of us are just supposed to shut up and be grateful to the rich folks who deign to pay property taxes here despite having contracted for their own private services from their own private associations.
• Uncle Tom is alive and well and living in Charlestown.
• For rich people, it’s not enough just to win; the vote must be unanimous.
• The rest of us can see the handwriting on the wall and know when to give up.
• This town desperately needs more businesses so we’re not so reliant on the multimillion-dollar properties for our tax base.

By Linda Felaco