This week's Chester County Press contains the county's list of those properties whose owners have failed to pay property taxes and are subject to sheriff sales.
Tens of millions of dollars of unpaid property taxes have caused those honest citizens who paid their taxes on time to subsidize the county, municipalities, and school districts who add 5 to 8 percent to anticipated millage to make up for this shortfall. The State Legislature has not changed the antiquated laws that govern collection of back property taxes, so you and I who pay are punished, while the deadbeats go to Aspen.
Some significant deadbeats from Southern Chester County are:
• Edward V. and Jacquelyn M. Stout, who owe $118,187 on their apartment house in Avondale;
• C. Donald and Linda Cox owe $21,964 on a dwelling on Spear Street in Oxford;
• Timothy Wickes owes $25,065 on 78.8 acres and a swimming pool in West Marlborough Township;
• Jayne and Ruth Timothy owe $17,669 on 42 acres on Muddy Run Road in Upper Oxford;
• Evans and Jacqueline Todd owe $18,258 on Woodcrest Road in Penn Township;
• Walter Paddifer owes $14,975 on 1.56 acres and a swimming pool on State Road in Penn Township;
• Mark and Susan Lafferty, on 4.4 acres and two mushroom houses, owe $19,706 on Limestone Road in New Garden Township. The Laffertys owe an additional $17,000-plus on two other properties;
• Gary and April Spencer owe $20,092 on 3.3 acres and a swimming pool in London Britain Township.
Readers are invited to read the entire list, broken down by municipality, in this week's Press. There may be a few people who are broke on the list, but note that Uncle Irvin's examples are on properties worth more than $400,000 and many have swimming pools.
Those of means who do not pay property taxes ought to be fined big time, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law, which needs to be tightened up.

(Uncle Irvin's column is his opinion only, and is not a news story.)