Big Government Taxes Crushing Private Sector BONUS! Liberal Letter Mocks Me (Below)
By Len Mead
May 14, 2010
Do pictures of policemen burning on the streets battling mobs of Greek "government workers" bother you, Dear Reader? They sure bother me. A bankrupt, socialist country is showing the world that "entitled" government workers and citizens will never, ever pay back the borrowing that enabled Greece's uncontrolled spending. Mob scenes like that may visit California in a 
few years unless the private sector there finally shucks off the encroaching, destructive weight of the big taxing California state government.
What about here? At our Westborough Town Meeting last October, 133 citizen voters slapped our lodging industry with higher "local option" taxes. Staying at the Double Tree now costs a hapless traveler an 11.7% tax with 6% going to Westborough and 5.7% going to "the state." Those who opposed the surtax lost by 31 votes. This tax increase "solution" was Governor Patrick Duval's campaign promise. "Elect me and I'll lower your property taxes" (by letting you raise other local taxes)!
This cruel promise works like hitting yourself on the head with a hammer so you forget you just stubbed your toe. Allow local communities to plunder their lodging industry by extorting extra taxes, split the booty with Beacon Hill and then -- of course -- the local community will lower property taxes! This fantasy is so preposterous even your clueless teenager will laugh at it. Good thing there aren't other hotels to stay at outside Westborough.
The "option" to plunder our town restaurants with a higher local .75% tax on top of the 6.25% sales tax was narrowly rejected by only 5 votes. But wait! The cheeseburger tax is baaaaaack -- it's Article 16 on the May 15, 2010 town meeting!
In fairness to the argument that possibly "outsiders" deserve to pay extra when they eat or stay here in Westborough, our Town Manager, Jim Malloy explained to me that our community of 18,500 residents grows to 35,000 each working day. And because Westborough has to provide roads, police, fire and other services to these "visitors" maybe we are justified in surtaxing outsiders..
My take, however, is to ponder how lucky Westborough is to have these 16,500 spending travelers, workers and shoppers coming to our town. Why drive them away with higher taxes when they can go elsewhere and not be gouged?
Mr. Malloy says estimates are that raising the meals tax would generate $370,000 to Westborough. That may sound great at first -- but do you believe our taxes will drop $45 per household if the local meals tax is raised? More likely it will be fodder for the next public bargaining session where union demands will be made to continue to give pay and benefit increases twice the private sector because, "Westborough has the money."
Credit does need to be given, however, to our town's outreach to welcome and attract business growth, discover and meet business needs, speed up permitting and become an economic target area allowing tax credits for business growth.
Unfortunately, however, our average home taxes remain 60% over the state average and estimates are for them to go up 3% to $7,400 next year. Friends, let me please remind you that the power to tax is the power to destroy. Funds for needed public services don't come from government. They come from productive taxpaying citizens, profitable businesses or new debt incurred which taxpayers have to pay back.
The engine of wealth creation is private sector capitalism. But capitalism is steadily losing to socialistic higher taxes, more government regulation, more destructive social engineering and wealth re-distribution. Tax increases drive citizens out of their life-long homes and businesses out of our town or state. Tax cuts bring growth, more jobs and prosperity.
So what tax changes seem to be coming? A tsunami of big government higher taxes for Obamacare, the sun setting of the Bush tax cuts, new "energy" taxes justified by bogus "global warming," and the economic killer of Europe, the Value Added Tax!
At least the Attorneys General in 37 states are suing the federal government to fight the costs of Obamacare claiming the legislation is unconstitutional because it forces their residences to buy health insurance, according to Newsmax March 17.
Folks, we in the private sector are now in a war -- a war, sadly, against rapacious government. We've got to remember that government has no money. And with our country's $12 trillion (and growing) debt http://www.usdebtclock.org/ compared to only $4.5 Trillion in US revenue, our great grand children may never come close to repaying our nation's borrowing.
40 million of our population of 307 million now get food stamps. 9.9% are unemployed, and almost half of our population pay no federal income tax. Our wealth creating private sector is being intentionally shrunken, vilified, taxed and attacked by encroaching government at all levels.
If our private sector is crushed by big government socialism, eventually, like Greece, there won't be anything left to redistribute. As Ronald Reagan said so eloquently, "We are not taxed too little; government spends too much." To preserve and protect our lives and our fortunes, let's proudly assert, "NO NEW TAXES." And let's return no Democrats or tax hikers to government office this November.
Len Mead can be reached anytime at mead1720@gmail.com
Bonus Letter -- Look hard and try to find any FACTS to refute my column above -- good luck!