mass voters overwhelmingly decided to NOT eliminate our state sales tax last november for fear of “retaliatory tax increases.” well guess what mass voters? as i predicted, a tax increase has happened anyways. last night, the mass senate voted to increase the state sales tax from 5% to 6.25%. did i mention that we’re in a recession with record-high unemployment?
oh, it doesn’t stop there. the state also decided to lift the sales tax exemption on alcohol. so when you go to buy your 6-pack, you won’t only be paying for ridiculously high sin-taxes the state already has in place, you’ll be paying a TAX on top of a TAX. yup – mass. is taxing a tax.
when asked about the tax, senator candaras said “… this sales tax will fund a lot of very important programs, at least in part for some of the most vulnerable citizens.”
as of yesterday, i’m now an official university of massachusetts boston sophomore student. it has taken me a total of 6 years off and on schooling around the country to complete my first year, but i managed to do it while maintaining a GPA slightly under 4.0 (3.8 to be exact).
the last time i was enrolled in a university was when i was an eighteen year-old father-to-be at the univerisity of texas – austin. that was a rough time but a necessary one that ultimately led me to california and then to boston.
i feel incredibly blessed and excited. i don’t doubt i’ll spend the bulk of the next decade trying to finish this degree, but i’m looking forward to it.
michael graham is probably my favorite talk radio host. he recently posted a short list of programs we’re currently paying for in mass. the list includes:
ACORN
Boston Coalition for Justice in Bhopal
Boston DSA (Democratic Socialists of America)
Mass Transgender Political Coalition (WTF?)
Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts
OK. That’s just redonkulous. I get how people are scared that somehow by keeping their own money, it’s going to cost them more money – but truth be told, it shouldn’t! This is the part I don’t get – people go, oh if we eliminate the state sales tax, they’re just going to cut education and police and raise my already insane property taxes. But wake up people! Don’t let them!
Freak out on them. Get mad!!! Don’t just sit back and let them keep taxing you because you’re scared of what they’re going to do. There’s a great line from the movie V for Vendetta, “People should not be scared of their governments – governments should be scared of their people.”
Are mass. tax payers scared? Yes. Is it your money they’re spending for you? YES. Why don’t you want to keep your own money and spend it on programs that YOU care about. Why don’t you start holding the politicians YOU vote for accountable for where your tax money is going.
We’ve wasted billions on a tunnel that is said to be the least safest tunnel in America and has has already killed someone. Don’t get me started on the tax in the form of tolls we pay for roads that have been paid for 4 times over.
Want to know how much we’re spending total on Labor & Workforce Development? $77 Million.
Astonishing. To me, this is not a partisan issue. It’s common sense: you earn money and so you should be able to spend it how you see fit. You should not feel as if you must keep being taxed for fear of what your government will cut in return.
