Seattle car tab rebate needs fine-tuning or it’s ‘not worth it’

The City of Seattle wants to lessen the pain of $60 car tab fees on low-income families by offering $20 rebates. Those rebates, however, could cost the city up to $17 in overhead, The Seattle Times reports.

The city has the best intentions, but the plan needs to be a little more thought out, KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney said.

“If it really does cost $17 to save $20, even a good Liberal like myself, who believes in government, won’t feel that it is enough bang for your buck,” Tom said.

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The cost of providing a rebate should be between 10 to 15 percent of the total, Tom continued. A total of $2 for the $20 rebate is more reasonable.

“I like 10 percent,” KIRO Radio’s John Curley said. “It’s very similar to charity.”

If someone gives $1 to charity, most people would be OK with 90 cents going to that organization or cause, with the remainder going to costs.

But “if you find out only 15 cents go to charity, you probably wouldn’t want to give the money unless you want some sort of payback from Hillary Clinton,” Curley added.

The costs could be less than $17, or reduce over time.

“I’m willing to take the worst-case scenario and say yes, here’s a program the government needs to figure out, or it’s not worth it,” Tom said.