Exercising our voting privilege in the 2010 and 2012 upcoming elections is a major political element in voicing our individual freedom from government suppression at all levels. Those whom we elect should support a governing philosophy that will redirect this nation and its citizens on a new path leading to prosperity, and not on the fiscal destructive and deceptive legislative path that currently exists within our government.

 

When will those who politically represent us come to the realization that accumulating trillions of dollars of national debt is not in the best financial interest of our nation or in the best financial interest of current and future taxpaying citizens? The fiscal and monetary policies and legislative absurdities we are now witnessing could be the downfall of this nation economically and militarily.

 

Those who now serve us in the Executive and Congressional branches of our government are promoting Health Care Reform legislation that in these recessionary times our nation and the majority of taxpaying citizens simply cannot afford. If Health Care Reform is enacted into law the cost will most certainly add trillions to our nation’s debt. It will also politically accomplish an immediate desired affect in increasing government tax revenue a portion of which will be redirected to help pay for the hundreds of billions of annual interest on our nation’s trillions of debt.

 

Our elected representatives have allowed the Social Security and Medicare programs to fall into a state of insolvency that will now mandate an increase in taxes and a reduction of benefits to keep them solvent. Can we trust those who politically represent us that Health Care Reform will not suffer the same negative consequences?

 

Our government is in such desperate need of additional tax revenue that Congress is now proposing legislation to increase the national sales tax on a can of soda by 10 cents a can. Will a national sales tax increase on a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk be next? It’s becoming apparent that our government could care less about consumer’s financial food budgets that continue to increase on a month-to-month basis even without increasing the national sales tax on targeted food products, or any other consumed products.

 

Larry Erickson
Retired Payroll Manager

FOR YEARS SMOKERS HAVE BECOME AN ISOLATED GROUP OF TAXPAYERS AND HAVE BEEN SALES TAX ABUSED ON THEIR PURCHASE OF CIGARETTES. RECENTLY OUR FEDERAL AND SEVERAL STATE GOVERNMENTS PASSED LEGISLATION INCREASING THE SURCHARGE SALES TAX ON A PACK OF CIGARETTES BY OVER ONE DOLLAR. THIS ENORMOUS INCREASE IS TO HELP SUBSIDIZE RECESSIONARY FEDERAL AND STATE BUDGET DEFICITS THAT SMOKERS HAVE NO CONTROL OVER.

 

FOOD AND GASOLINE ARE CONSUMED BY ALL EATING AND DRIVING AMERICANS RESPECTIVELY, AND THE SALES TAX RATE IS EVENLY APPLIED ON THESE CONSUMED PRODUCTS. THE PURCHASE OF CIGARETTES IS ALSO AN ISOLATED AND LEGALIZED COMSUMER PRODUCT, BUT IS SUBJECTED TO A SURCHARGE SALES TAX THAT'S OVER AND ABOVE AN EQUALIZED SALES TAX RATE STANDARD. IN THIS REGARD, IT BRINGS INTO QUESTION THE CONSTITUTIONALLY OF TAXING ONE CONSUMER PRODUCT HIGHER THAN ANOTHER, AND IN PARTICULAR DERIVING INCREASED TAX REVENUE FROM A SINGLE GROUP OF TAXPAYERS.

 

THE GOVERNMENT FUNDING OF INCREASED HEALTH CARE COSTS SHOULD BE TAX SUBSIDIZED THROUGH THE FEDERAL AND STATE INCOME TAX SYSTEMS, NOT THE SALES TAX SYSTEM. OUR NATION IS IN DIRE NEED OF TAX REFORM AND WHAT IS ADDRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE IS BUT ONE INDICATION OF THIS FACT.