Kalifornia--The Nanny State
Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 11:59AM 
The bureaucrats of the nanny state of Kalifonia have been busy. That means tax-increases on everything-- including gas, smokes, and beer.
With gas prices already sky-rocketing, motorists in Los Angeles County might be stuck with an additional ten-cent per gallon tax to "help fight global warming." Actually, the money will go to pay for highway improvements for which the state can't pry money loose from the federal government. But if the tax increase is offered as a means to "improve the environment," then (the bureaucrats argue) it might be easier to get it through the legislature. Click here: Gas Tax to Fight Global Warming? | Southland and California News | KTLA The CW | Where Los Angeles Lives
As if that wasn't enough, a fall ballot measure will call for a 300% tax increase on cigarettes, designed to make smoking so expensive, that people stop. Of course, this won't create a black market, or put small businesses (which depend upon revenues from cigarette sales) out of business. The law of unintended consequences never occurs to these guys. I hate cigarette smoke as much as the next guy, but just make them illegal, or leave smokers alone. It is a matter of personal responsibility. Click here: USATODAY.com - California cigarette tax could skyrocket
Now this one really chaps my hide . . . State assemblyman Jim Beall has proposed a 1500% increase in the tax on beer! How dare he! This would raise the tax on a bottle of beer from 2 cents to 30 cents ,or $1.80 per six-pack. Click here: Higher state tax on beer? - San Jose Mercury News
Nevada and Montana look better to me every day. I wish we could throw tea in the harbor, or do something! I'm all for rendering unto Caesar, but enough is enough!
Reader Comments (11)
Should you not be throwing beer into San Franciso Bay? (sorry, that would be...bad. Real bad.)
The idea is to get CA out of its budget mess ($14 billion in the hole, last check) by increasing taxes on the people.
Of course, liberals (who are all about taxes) claim that taxes are needed, but in taxing beer, gas and tobacco they place a larger portion of the burden on the already hurting "poor" who engage in these activities to a greater degree than others (driving, smoking and drinking beer.)
Of course, liberals are the same ones who claim to want to help the poor and claim that tax cuts help only the rich. (I got over $800 back from the last cut, and I'm by no means even close to "rich".) Keep in mind, the poorest folks in the nation PAY NO TAXES anyway.
So now, as the country heads into recession, our state will further damage itself by taxing gasoline, already at $4 a gallon, taxing tobacco (not just cigarettes, all tobacco, this means I will buy pipe tobacco online and my local pipe shop will close down.)
Meanwhile the schools are begging for more money and demanding they not lose one penny of their lie-soaked cash so they can keep teaching sex ed to grade schoolers and communism to high schoolers... yet the govt tells homeschooling parents that they have to be credentialed.
Oh... pray for our state and for those of us who live there. It is a beautiful place, graced by God in natural beauty.
The growing population influx of people from Calif. is creating a very liberal, left wing political base in the Goldwater state!
Yet I still see the term 'global warming' all over the media. So on days where its unusually warm we call it global warming. Yet when its rather chilly we call it global climate change.
All this non-sense is nothing short of sugar coated paganism and communism. And I resent that the government is trying to force me to give them my hard earned tax money to fund such a pathetic state religion, or any religion for that matter!