Yesterday reader Paul M. made this comment on Larry Lambert's blog. He's referring to California taxes.
‘Tax us to death’…saw this:
Payroll taxes, Building Permit Tax , CDL license Tax , Cigarette Tax , Corporate Income Tax , Dog License Tax, Federal Income Tax , Federal Unemployment Tax, Fishing License Tax , Food License Tax , Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon) , Gross Receipts Tax , Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax , Liquor Tax , Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax , Medicare Tax , Personal Property Tax , Property Tax, Real Estate Tax , Road Usage Tax , Recreational Vehicle Tax , Sales Tax , School Tax, Social Security Tax , State Income Tax , State Unemployment Tax, Telephone Federal Excise Tax , Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax , Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax , Telephone State and Local Tax , Telephone Usage Charge Tax , Utility Taxes , Vehicle License Registration Tax , Vehicle Sales Tax , Watercraft Registration Tax , Well Permit Tax , Workers Compensation Tax.
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
When you lay it all out like that, it's a breathtaking tax burden, isn't it? That list isn't even comprehensive: it doesn't include firearms taxes, ammunition taxes, and regulatory fees for this, that and everything else. Now they want to add a wealth tax on top of it all! They say it'll be a one-time tax, but if you believe that . . .
I wondered for a brief moment why any sane California taxpayer would vote for a government that robs them blind like that, but then I realized that most sane California taxpayers probably don't vote for those measures. Taxpayers who've drunk the liberal/progressive Kool-Aid do; but they're not the biggest margin of support. The people who don't have to pay those taxes, but who benefit from the money they bring in, are mostly the ones who vote for them (and the politicians who impose them).
Peter
When I was in New York State 20+ years ago a guy I worked with was working on an MBA/CPA. His project was to calculate total tax burden including hidden taxes. A hidden tax is all the taxes paid on your loaf of bread. Fuel tax and dielsel to deliver, Social Security and payroll for all the employees it took to bake, deliver, and stock the bread, the taxes paid by the farmer who raised the wheat, etc.
ReplyDelete70% was the number he came up with.
States that have mandated boater education and seen boating fatalities go down. We've done cars so long, we take it for granted, but boats are somewhat recent and the data is there. So we do need some of these licenses. Babershop-I think not. Business license-just a vehicle to make sure a business pays taxes.
By the way-no business ever pays a tax. It is cost that is rolled into the price of the product and paid for by the customer.
And politicians love them some shell games with the money collected. Examine a tax or fee and the reason for its existence, then track where the money goes. Or better yet, look at Social Security. That's fund with all the excess money collected over the years is a drawer full of IOUs, Congress has been borrowing that money for years. There is no money, only a promise to cough up the money when needed.
Conclusion-Ain't enough room in this blog. We need some government but how do you know when to stop? What lines should gov't not cross, which we have.
I've said many times that in order to vote, you needed to have a 1040 or be claimed on a 1040. That would give you skin in the game, unlike the news interviewed welfare recipient who said, "Why should I care if taxes go up. I don't pay them anyways." I've always remembered him saying that.
ReplyDeleteRequiring a 1040 would match the Founding Fathers where you had to own property to vote. I think they understood a principle there.
Steve
And when you manufacture the votes, you get whatever you want. It's California.
ReplyDelete-Texas Mike
Often attrubited to Ben Frankin as his writings often refer to this:
ReplyDelete“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.
Often attributed to Ben Frankin as his writing often spoke of the dangers of mob rule aka Democracy.
Seems as California goes so does the rest of the country as Californians flee that mess and VOTE the EXACT same way in their new "host" state.
And WONDER WHY it's getting as expensive as California around here...
They're not only used to buy votes. Government workers in CA get decent compensation and the massive welfare state thrives on the distributed income.
ReplyDeleteMe and my wife were born in California in the late 50s. Our 2 sons in the 80s. Business moved my family to the east coast in 96. We still have many friends and family in the state.
ReplyDeleteWe are Republicans but many in our family on both sides is split to Dems. I feel the last good Gov of CA was Reagan, but after him was when the mass of people came. The Dems really took over and made it a one party state and passed what they wanted at all levels. This is why CA has taxes and fees for everything, CA climate change has driven the closing of Gas Refineries and the state changes the most for gas per gallon, plus CA shut down most of it's energy producing to go to Wind and Solar, which fails after a few years.
Me and my wife was happy to leave as we made out financially. The schools our sons ended up into were bad and me and my wife had to tutor our sons to teach them properly. Woke had hit the HS already.
Xoph, I'd like to read the remainder of you statement
ReplyDeleteTheres a word limit
DeletePart 1
Boron, I was in a mood to go on a rant about the appropriate limits of govt. The problem is those people who run for office have demonstrated time and again that limits mean nothing to them. How do we get a gov't that governs the least, but does what is necessary in this fallen world. Part of the solution is to get feedback with consequences. So below are some ideas to spark thinking.
For instance: Go to one tax, flat 10% at point of sale for a product. I would also be in favor of tariffs. 8% to county, 1% to state, 1% to federal gov't. Money-specie, not fiat. End the Fed. Don't pay lawmakers until End of Year. Pay them whatever is left over. Should any borrowing be necessary, empty the politician's bank account and assets. Not enough, move to next closest family members. Rinse, lather, and repeat.
Quite using GDP to measure the economy, use Gross Civilian Product, that is the economy without Gov't spending. Go check, but a favorite tactic of late has been to increase Gov't spending so GDP increases, even though it is a net negative to the economy.
End welfare - individuals and churches can take care of it, it should not be a gov't function. (Easy to say, we have dug this hole very deep indeed)
End fines of companies. The company officers are responsible. Fine AND jail ALL C level officers rather than issue company fines. Medicaid fraud, the same actors keep getting fined. Shut the business down. Any Doctor who participates loses their license for the rest of their life. Fraud of taxpayer money is a mandatory life sentence. OBTW, I'm against capital punishment. I'm for it, but so many people on death row have been found innocent of the crime that got them there that I have no faith that capital punishment can be applied justly.
Prisons - work or starve. Raise your own food, with hand tools at a minimum.
Productivity - Understand gov't adds nothing to the economy. At best, is can be a maintenance item. We need law enforcement to keep the criminals and parasites in check. Any excess gov't is a drain. No funding of NGOs. The Gov't has no business outsourcing.
Part 2
DeleteSome of the other comments already cover some of the same things I would. You must pay taxes to vote. You must have dependent children at home to vote. You must be Between 30 and 55 to vote.
Businesses - can only pay wages and dividends. No more contributions to charities or political campaigns. All campaign contributions go to a pot. Each registered candidate gets an equal fraction of the pot. Or even better, public office is by lottery. All registered voters are eligible and will be selected at random for 2 years.
End regulatory authority. Laws are the only means. Limit the laws 1000 pages of 200 words per page. Again, discuss the number, but limit it. Latest study I saw said the average American commits 3 felonies a day and doesn't know it. Go look at the code of federal regulations in a library. PhDs know way less material. Currently you are felon when any gov't agent decides to monitor you and find the right law you are violating.
Part of your taxes is to work 1 month a year for the gov't. Maybe a middle manager ends up on a road crew fixing pot holes for a month - it's all good. Imagine the information loop that would create and how it would facilitate accountability.
Finally, if you can get a petition of 100 people together and registered with the court, any one of those 100 may challenge anyone in a public office to a duel. Exempt military and police. I'm not being facetious on this one. Not sure 100 is the right number, but think about the accountability.
Democracy can't work. We have the technology today, but who has the time and expertise. Or maybe that is a feature and not a bug. No voting until enough people want to take up the issue. The reality is most people want to leave governing to others, they have other priorities in their life. Can representative Democracy work, not as configured. What about a republic? Possibly, it is how our founding fathers configured us initially. We should give it a try.
When one party completely controls the election process, it doesn't matter who the people voted for. (or against, as the case might be)
ReplyDeleteBillionaires have plenty of lobbyists and tax attorneys who are all working to defeat this bill or water it down, along with campaign donations and PAC's to make it hard to pass.
ReplyDeleteCalifornians also pay a lumber tax on wood and the legislature is currently in the process of passing a mileage tax on all vehicles. If Gruesome signs it that should kill his presidential aspirations.
ReplyDeleteYou get the government you deserve.
ReplyDeleteMoved from CA to NV in 2021 for a job that paid nearly the same. Cutting out state income taxes, automobile taxes and the drop in cost of living expenses, netted me about a 31% gain in take home pay. I increased my income by a third, just by leaving.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is this--
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/outragedteen_/status/2017395193151164819
Voting day should be April 16th.
All the "sane California taxpayers" left long, long ago. For Texas and Florida, most of 'em.
ReplyDeleteSomething is wrong with our nation.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a democrat out there who never saw a tax or fee they didn't like.
ReplyDelete> There isn't a democrat out there who never saw a tax or fee they didn't like.
ReplyDeleteDemocrats are evil. I suspect that the lot of them are Baal worshipers.
They are working on a breath tax followed by a SEX TAX!
ReplyDeleteShould that be a "friction tax"?
Delete