Yet Another Rant About Taxation, But Since You Can Read This, It Applies To You Directly!

OK!

The reality is that we have too many goddamn taxes.

We use those taxes to fund programs we shouldn't even have.

But regardless, we have too many goddamn taxes. EVERYTHING you do is taxed; income, "sales" tax, which really ought to be called a purchasing tax, luxury taxes, capital gains; real property; gas; phone; dying; medical care; everything you do, from A to Z, is covered by a tax.

Why?

What a draining effect on our economy. If we tried - we could at least TRY it, rather than simply saying "it wouldn't work" in the absolute absence of any evidence - running the government within a balanced budget, and requiring that it do so from personal income taxes and a real property tax, the economy would be hundreds of times stronger than it's ever been.

Because contrary to screaming liberals' beliefs, no tax cut in the history of the world has ever had a negative effect on an economy. Not one. NONE. EVERY tax cut, no matter where it's directed, has a positive effect. It's that simple; there's just no way around it. Tax cuts benefit the economy in general, without fail, every time. Tax increases damage the economy in general, without fail, every time.

So.

We have a service that all of us use - all of us capable of reading this page, at least - that has never been taxed.

That would be the Internet.

Know why? Because - demonstrating an understanding of economics they deny when it comes to their favorite pork barrel - Congress banned taxation of Internet service from the get-go, saying that a tax would prevent it from reaching "commercial viability" because it would have a "chilling effect" on e-commerce.

Right, because increased taxes are always bad, and decreased taxes are always good.

I'm glad Congress can understand that.

So, now the ban is a few months away from expiring, which would allow states to set their own tax rates on Internet service.

The Internet companies, of course, are trying to provide their services to their customers at an ever-cheaper price, so that more people will use them, because they understand basic economics better than, say, the oil companies: you have more pies if you take a tenth apiece of fifty pies, then if you take a fifth apiece of only five. This being the case, they hate the idea of states being able to tax their services at any rate they feel like, because they know as well as you or I do that the states will view Internet service as an untapped honeypot, and tax it as much as they think they can get away with without people actually turning it off.

The states, of course, and a lot of the larger municipalities, are of course trying to convince Congress to let them tax your Internet service as much as they want to.

Think about living in New York - a famously tax-happy state anyway - and specifically in New York City - a famously tax-happy city anyway - and more specifically in one of the boroughs. You might see taxes on your Internet service not from one, but from ALL THREE, if this ban does not become permanent. I don't know how many of you would object violently to a sudden 30% hike in the price of your Internet service - I'm following New York tradition, and starting all three taxes at 10% - but I'd bet it would be a lot of you.

So, start complaining in advance. Write your Representative, and your Senator, and tell them that the ban needs to be permanent.

Local governments have enough piggy banks that end up coming out of your pockets already; they don't need to tax this too.

Especially when their arguments basically are that they ought to be able to tax anything they want, and besides, you already use the Internet, so it's commercially viable and therefore - because there's no evidence that people EVER stop using things that get too expensive, Noooooooo - doesn't require tax protection, because you'll keep right on using the 'Net, like heroin, no matter how high they jack up the price.

I look forward to seeing a wave of liquor store robberies to pay Verizon.