On 7/21/2010 4:02 PM, ATP wrote:
wrote in message
...

So it's a tempest in a teapot. If you'd rather be "taxed" for building
permits, car registration, etc., you can call them taxes if you wish.

--
Ed Huntress
22% of local revenue in NY is a big number. If my local government starts
charging to use a previously free park, for example, I don't dispute that
the charge is a fee, but the government should still be accountable for
what
they are doing with the extra revenue. Same goes for tuition increases at
state colleges. Fee increases on the local and state level in NY have
been
significant in recent years. RBnDFW is right, unless previously tax
supported functions were converted to fee supported functions on a
revenue
neutral basis, the government is taking more money from citizens.

It's understandable why government is taking more money from citizens.
It's taking less money from corporations. So you are making up the
difference. In the 1950s total revenue collected from corporations was
close to 35%. Today the total revenue taken in from corporations is 7%.
That 28% difference is now being picked up by the ordinary taxpayer. But
that shift in tax burden from corporations to average workers is exactly
what the conservatives/republicans wanted. My question is why do regular
working people like you want to pay more in taxes so that corporations can
pay less? I would think you would want it the other way around. But then
wanting things that are against their own interest is just what most right
wingers are for these days. Go figure.

Hawke

How did you come to the conclusion that I'm a right winger? I'm not talking
about tea parties or the great cull, just fiscal responsibility and
transparency. I'm more concerned about local taxes than federal. If you saw
our property taxes and NYS income tax, you'd know why.


I didn't mean to label you personally as a right winger. I don't know
where you stand politically. I was just addressing the fact that so many
ordinary working people vote for republicans who support policies that
are directly contrary to the interests of working people. Like when you
hear republicans whining about the "death tax" and all kinds of ordinary
people get behind them and support that position. The supposed "death
tax" applies to exactly 1% of the population, the richest 1%. Which
means the estate tax has no application to the ordinary citizen. So why
would he support that? Because he wants the rich to be able to leave
more to their kids? Or take your case in NJ. If the new republican
governor takes a meat axe to the school system to balance the budget and
you have kids in school why would you support that? That would only hurt
your kids. I see this all the time from right wing folks. They have been
fooled into supporting right wing causes and politicians that work
directly to penalize them. If they go to the polls this November and
vote in a republican majority they're the ones who are going to get
hurt. But they will probably do it anyway. I think it's crazy, like Jews
voting for Hitler, crazy.

Hawke