On my 65th birthday, my wife and I went around to claim my birthday gifts from government offices.
At the City and Borough of Juneau, I got the $150,000 senior-citizen reduction in assessed value of our home. That’s annual savings of $1,500 in property tax. As in every year.
In a nearby CBJ office, a (very handsome) photo was taken for my tax exemption card. No more tax on food, heating oil and electricity. And free rides on municipal buses.
But why take the bus? At DMV, I claimed my free, lifetime registration for one of our cars. That’s $72 per year. (When my wife turned 65, we got it for our other car.)
That’s not all. Fish &Game gave me a free, lifetime hunting and fishing license. (I could have gotten it a few years earlier.)
But I want more.
Sunday’s Empire reported on the campaign by Juneau Seniors Supporting Seniors (JSSS), to get even more for those over 65. Count me in.
What does it matter that Juneau has one of the highest percentage of wealthy people in the country, many of whom are age 65? What does it matter that seniors are already treated better than in most other places.
JSSS points out that seniors vote, and those votes will make a difference in municipal elections. Playing the V card (as in voting) is sure to get the attention of Assembly members running for office.
We’re 65, we vote, and we demand more, even if we don’t need it.
Dean Guaneli,
Douglas