Mayor G.T. Bynum and the Tulsa City Council can raise taxes or fees without any measurable response from the public.

A recent example is the raising of the hotel tax by 3 percent for hotels with more than 110 rooms.

There seems to be two criteria for these tax increases: they have to be approved by the chamber and they have to have some benefit for Downtown Tulsa.

Here is something that city leaders don’t realize: most Tulsans don’t live, work or play Downtown.

Tulsa isn’t Europe or New York City. Tulsans don’t want to get rid of their suburban homes and their cars and be shoved into high-rise apartments downtown.

This drive toward densification by the mayor and council is proven by the constant tax support for privately owned businesses (hotels, expensive apartments, sports and entertainment venues, etc.).

This taxation is palatable for most because it is done with slick incrementalism. Who cares if visitors to hotels have to pay extra? Who cares if the chamber gets millions from the hotel tax? The liberal news media reinforces the marketing theme that these taxes only “cost a few pennies a day.”

But these taxes add up. It is getting more and more expensive to live in Tulsa. Utility rates rise about 7 percent a year. Parking fees are headed up. Everything costs more.

How do poor people live in Tulsa? What about seniors and others who live on fixed incomes? How do they cope with higher costs.

And yet the mayor and the city council can’t wait to raise more revenue.