Everyone's Opinion Newsletter

A recent article titled “1958 Revenues Aren’t Cutting It”, from Poeman of Penn’s Woods, exhibits a peculiarity that has become a trademark, in that; the article reflects its author’s compulsive labors to misrepresent, which suggests a liberal attitude that shuns responsibility.

It has been a while since Poeman has visited us; wonder what rousted her out of Penn’s Woods? Perhaps she has been lost for a while wandering around in circles and has finally blundered back out into the light of day. One can only wonder what triggered the recent rant directed at me, instead of staying with the issues. I suppose it was my last article, titled “An Exercise in Debauchery”.

What do the labor unions, the Democratic Party, and Poeman have in common? They habitually misrepresent, make demands and always want someone else to pay. The Democratic Party used to be known as the workingman’s party. What workingman in his right mind would allow his property to be put in jeopardy by taxation? A home that he works to build, a home that he works to maintain, a home that he works to pay for, a home that provides shelter for his wife and children, a home that has paid witness to tragedy and triumph, a home that most likely he wishes to die in, leaving it free of debt so that his remaining family has a place of refuge; a workingman, does not arbitrarily allow his home to be put in jeopardy unless misled or misrepresented. The Democratic Party has betrayed the workingman and now represents the influence of unions.

With the clutter of sarcasms woven around issues, Poeman does a disservice to the reader and leaves us confused; however, there are a few key points used to support this article’s argument for reassessment, which produce a good argument against reassessment or any taxation of property.

Poeman sets forth that 1958 revenues aren’t cutting it to finance county government; therefore, reassessment is needed. It is obvious that 1958 revenues in any present day situation won’t cut it, nor will 1988 revenues, nor will 2008 revenues cut it for very long given governments inability to discipline itself; they will always whine that they never have enough fiat money and when their compulsive spending habits are combined with inflationary pressures the net result is for their debt to spiral out of control. 1958 revenues only work as long as growth or volume is high; we are now caught in a downturn.

Inflation has a natural creep from generation to generation and as long as it stays within natural reasonable bounds, the generations that are living will accept fiat money’s ability to execute credit-debt transactions and remain a credible form of security. It is when inflation approaches or becomes hyperinflation that fiat money becomes insecure as a security and the issuing institution that has sanctioned it as legal tender becomes as insecure as its fiat money. It is for these natural inflationary or hyperinflationary reasons associated with fiat money that reassessment or any form of taxation of real property should be denied; the eventual net result is a theft of property along with the liberties associated with the property. It is a gigantic Ponzi scheme.

The $14+ billion that property taxes generate to run local governments and school districts should be shifted to the state sales tax and earned income tax, as I have maintained all along, despite Poeman’s attempted misrepresentation. - And my how we will whine. - The recent attempt by the Democrats to raise the state income tax to balance the budget serves as a good indication. In this case though the electorate is justified in the whining, because the ploy is to cannibalize future revenues and thwart any future attempts at transferring the property tax over to these other revenue sources. The inability to make cuts in state government spending will throw the burden to the local level and raise property taxes, which allows Harrisburg to continue on its merry undisplined way, causing reassessment by proxy.

Put the burden of taxation on the paper, this will produce the necessary natural discipline. If a taxable item costing $100 ten years ago generated $6 in sales tax at 6% and that same taxable item today through inflation now costs $150, then $9 in sales tax at 6% is realized. The cost of inflation over ten years through the percentage is taken into account with an increase in revenue. Inflation is a shabby excuse to cover up government’s bad behavior and one would have to wonder what they did with all of the revenues they gleaned off of the past very good years.

Of recent, Commissioner Tomassetti has indicated that he would favor a 1% county sales tax that could be collected by processes already in place. Rather than take an extra percentage point, the commissioners collectively should demand that the state return 1% of the existing sales tax to pay the bills they were responsible for to begin with and make the state clean up the financial mess it has created.

Another excuse for concealing this compulsive bad behavior is that government offers more services today. Government is instituted to govern not become a service industry, I am a citizen not a consumer and there is not one government service offered that can’t be personally taken care of and if were not careful they will eventually consume us all; we won’t, as the old saying goes, have a pot to pee in nor a window to throw it out.

The Bill of Rights, contrary to what Poeman thinks is not for protecting a minority from a majority; if that were to be so, then the majority would have no rights until they were reduced to a minority. The Bill of Rights extends to everyone.In the original bill are the rights to keep and bear arms, freedom of speech and of the press, and all can be used to protect, preserve, and defend our property from a majority or a minority.

The whiners that say the bills cannot be paid with the sales tax and earned income tax are deviously disingenuous at best. The bills have been paid up to now, unfairly, on the backs of the property owners. Intercept the taxes needed to run state government at the source of income and sales. Except for food, water, clothing, and shelter, eliminate the other tax exemptions that are really niche subsidies for special interests clocked in the tax code. Then when government gets carried away, we can all collectively whine in a harmonious cord of dissent and won’t be bickering amongst ourselves all the time. Divide and conquer, that is what they have done, don’t you think it is about time to wake up and smell the tea?

For Poeman to maintain her flippant attitude towards the property tax she must not be a property owner or has a job where her wages come from the property tax. Otherwise she must be inhibited with a fractured logic that denies her the ability to judge difference in measure or degree. To think there is little difference when the state snitches a few percentage points out of incomes and sales taxes as opposed to stealing a person’s property or causing them to capitulate on the American dream speaks of an insensitivity that is uncivil at best and criminal at worse. There is a big difference between petty larceny and grand larceny but a crime it will always be of different measure or degree, as long as this government continues to act irresponsibly.

The satisfaction that arises out of moral duty fulfilled is realized upon seeing the principles upheld. So tell us Poeman, which do you think takes precedence, morality or principle? - Either way Poeman in Penn’s Woods, welcome back.

The Freeman

Blair County

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