What about the tax comparisons in this article:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-08-08/pols_feature5.html

The price of an "average home" in Austin is about twice as expensive as other cities.

One more note from this article:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2002-08-09/pols_atlarge.html

"We spend more per capita on public safety than any other Texas city, largely because our police have the highest salaries in the state, but you may have heard from the powerful citizens who think we don't spend nearly enough. Compared to other cities, on a per capita basis, we have an absurd amount of parkland and twice as many branch libraries, and that's exactly how many in the community want it. And so on and so forth. Even Smart Growth incentives -- everyone's favorite fish to shoot in the budget barrel -- are attempts to compensate for the ornate and expensive development process born of citizen desire and outrage."

So our police department has the highest salaries in the state?
From this page:

Salary range, low-end: $37,746
Salary range, high-end: $60,139
(Source: ACC and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, Interviews, August 2002)

And check this out: http://www.policepay.net/austin/summary.pdf

San Antonio pays their police far less:
http://www.policepay.net/sanantonio/summary.pdf

And they don't have that many more police officers:
http://www.policepay.net/sanantonio/count.pdf
http://www.policepay.net/austin/count.pdf

I'm not certain what you're trying to say here. There is a legitimate point to be made that differentiates between the county that taxes the most in raw dollars and the county with the highest total tax rate. However, both points don't really make much of a different to my opinion since the taxes themselves - regardless of their magnitude - are the problem.

The Hospital District is a secret label for "tax increases for county residents." Another Republican way of packaging the dog meat and name it the Wonder Food.

Mr. Wu, who cares who proposes the tax? It's a bad idea if Democrats push it and it's a bad idea if Republicans push it. It certainly makes hypocrites out of conservative supporters, considering their alleged committment to a freer society.

I do like your dog meat-Wonder Food analogy, though. :)

I am outraged over the hospital district tax. One of the main reasons is that the city GAVE Seton the money maker, Childrens Hospital and are now letting us PAY for Brackenridge, the money loser. Before, these 2 helped balance each other out. Health insurance companies HAVE to use Childrens Hosp because they are the only childrens hosp in town and all of the pediatric specialists practice there. Because of that, insurance companies have always had to pay whatever rates Childrens Hosp wanted where the other hospitals were always more negotiable. (At every insurance company I know of, CHildrens ALWAYS had higher rates or was paid as billed or within 90% of what was billed!!!!! THat is unheard of at the other hospitals in town.) Now that THE CITY GAVE CHILDRENS HOSP TO SETON, it gives them an unfair advantage over the one other hospital network in town, Columbia. They will be able to get higher rates than the other group simply because of now owning CHildrens!!!! (They can say, that if you want to get lower than billed rates at childrens, you have to give them higher rates at all of their hospitals, etc.) Additionally, they are the most aggressive and meanest group of people to deal with at Seton when negotiating, whereas the Columbia group treats you like a client rather than an enemy. It is so bad, that people in the health insurance industry in Austin, refer to SETON HOSP as SATAN HOSPITAL AND THE DAUGHTERS OF CURRENCY!! If you look at all of the hospitals in town and who gives the most charity medical care, I would bet you would find that Brack and ST DAVids give more than Seton. OF COURSE SETON DIDN"T WANT THE MONEY LOSER< BRACKENRIDGE-----they want us to pay for that in taxes and I guess the city just wants to give Seton the money maker!!!In fact, I feel like SETON IS THE REPUBLICAN HOSP AND ST DAVIDS IS THE DEMOCRATICS HOSP!! (Even the volunteers at Seton wear RED and the volunteers at ST Davids wear BLUE! Seton doesn't do abortions/ st davids does. Seton wouldn't have a gay person in the administration and st davids has several...need I go on???) Let's give ST DAvids & COlumbia Hospitals our business!!!! OUR CITY IS GIVING SETON (SATAN) HOSPITALS< CONTRACTING ADVANTAGES< AND LAND IN CENTRAL AUSTIN TO BUILD A NEW HOSP ON!!!! I have lived here for almost 20 years and I love Austin the way it was, but NOW I WANT TO MOVE OUT!!!! THis hospital district tax has put me over the edge!! (Then add the toll road thing in.........I"m getting out!!!!)