YOU ballance the budget!

[Phox]

It does apply to that in Illinois. And at least here it's 8-10% most places. The county I live in has the lowest in the area (6.5%), and refuses to raise it 1% so we could afford to keep our fucking ambulance service. 

Well, sure. I mean, it's not like anyone is using that ambulance or anything. I've never used an ambulance. So why should my taxes support ambulance services? 

They could also do something like increase income or property tax to cover such things. But quibbling over 1% is silly, especially where, I imagine, goods are less expensive in Illinois County about to give up its ambulance service.

Any tax increase would get voted down. And that does prevent me from getting a job working for that service, and I refuse to work for the next closest for reasons I will not share. So, yea,h i'm a little bit upset by the outcome of that measure.

[East Coast Hustle]

You guys really don't get it about sales tax, do you? It's the single most regressive way of raising tax revenue there is, short of just sending the king's goons around to strongarm people. Sales tax costs the same on a product whether the person buying that product makes $250K a year or $15K a year, so in terms of percentage of income it is VASTLY disproportionate. If you need to raise tax revenues, do it by raising the income tax or property tax, not by instituting a tax that the well-off will barely notice but that will ensure that a family below the poverty line probably has to choose between food and diapers during the lean times.

[East Coast Hustle]

I mean, really, anyone advocating an increase in ANY sales tax should be fucking ashamed of themselves.

[Cain]

Yeah, but from a realpolitik point of view, right now, if I needed to raise money and I was in government (and I was feeling especially cynical that day), I'd seriously think about screwing the working and middle class.

I mean, they created a mob to defend the banks when the government gave away billions, whereas actual rich people have powerful friends and political connections and take away campaign spending money and move jobs overseas and such.  Given the choice between picking on people who fight back, and picking on people who are morons, pick the latter every time.

From the POV of actually being a middle or working class person it sucks.  But how many of those are in government?  Jared Diamond made a good point about societies where massive inequalities exist and the ruling cadre are insulated from the effects of their decisions in his book Collapse, and it seems this point is going to proved yet again.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

You guys really don't get it about sales tax, do you? It's the single most regressive way of raising tax revenue there is, short of just sending the king's goons around to strongarm people. Sales tax costs the same on a product whether the person buying that product makes $250K a year or $15K a year, so in terms of percentage of income it is VASTLY disproportionate. If you need to raise tax revenues, do it by raising the income tax or property tax, not by instituting a tax that the well-off will barely notice but that will ensure that a family below the poverty line probably has to choose between food and diapers during the lean times.

I'm just saying that I've dealt with a sales tax for as long as I've been purchasing things and I really never even noticed it. And MA voters haven't seen fit to do away with it everytime Carla Howell comes around and tries to cut out portions of the state's income. It may be a flat tax, but it's a flat tax on non-essentials. It's an optional tax. You don't have to buy anything you don't need.

That said, apparently we consider booze necessary since we repealed the recently passed liquor tax.

[Whatever]

Yeah, but from a realpolitik point of view, right now, if I needed to raise money and I was in government (and I was feeling especially cynical that day), I'd seriously think about screwing the working and middle class.

I mean, they created a mob to defend the banks when the government gave away billions, whereas actual rich people have powerful friends and political connections and take away campaign spending money and move jobs overseas and such.  Given the choice between picking on people who fight back, and picking on people who are morons, pick the latter every time.

From the POV of actually being a middle or working class person it sucks.  But how many of those are in government?  Jared Diamond made a good point about societies where massive inequalities exist and the ruling cadre are insulated from the effects of their decisions in his book Collapse, and it seems this point is going to proved yet again.

This is sad, but true.  While the working class may be the majority in actual votes, it's the rich who pay for the campaign.  Who are the politicians going to try to make happy?  Follow the money trail.

[East Coast Hustle]

You guys really don't get it about sales tax, do you? It's the single most regressive way of raising tax revenue there is, short of just sending the king's goons around to strongarm people. Sales tax costs the same on a product whether the person buying that product makes $250K a year or $15K a year, so in terms of percentage of income it is VASTLY disproportionate. If you need to raise tax revenues, do it by raising the income tax or property tax, not by instituting a tax that the well-off will barely notice but that will ensure that a family below the poverty line probably has to choose between food and diapers during the lean times.

I'm just saying that I've dealt with a sales tax for as long as I've been purchasing things and I really never even noticed it. And MA voters haven't seen fit to do away with it everytime Carla Howell comes around and tries to cut out portions of the state's income. It may be a flat tax, but it's a flat tax on non-essentials. It's an optional tax. You don't have to buy anything you don't need.

That said, apparently we consider booze necessary since we repealed the recently passed liquor tax.

so, you're saying that nothing besides food is an essential purchase? People don't need cars or computers? Or clothes? If you'll pardon my indelicate turn of phrase, that's total bullshit.

[LMNO]

Also, please remember not to use personal experience as your anchor when making decisions regarding people who earn substantially less than you or your family does.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Also, please remember not to use personal experience as your anchor when making decisions regarding people who earn substantially less than you or your family does.

I don't make a whole lot of money. My family was the same while I was growing up. But, I'll bear that in mind then.