Friday, June 11, 2010

When Governments "Invent" It Means Tax

EDITORIAL: FTC dodges Drudge Tax questions - Washington Times

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) leaders are attempting to distance themselves from controversial proposals published in a May 24 working paper on "reinventing" the media. The report presents a suite of options through which government could step in and supposedly rescue journalism, most notably by imposing taxes. A fee could be levied on websites such as the Drudge Report that link to the best news of the day, or a tax could be imposed on consumer electronics such as iPads, laptops and Kindles. Funds collected would be redistributed to traditional media outlets. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz torpedoed the device tax in testimony Wednesday before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, saying, "I think that's a terrible idea."


Comments: Notice how government "reinvents" with "taxes". This is the creative side of government. They put their collective minds together, meet and talk and plan and then, after high level discussions, come up with a new idea - taxes. What would we expect? If these yahoos were really talented and/or creative, would they be in government? Well, maybe but the government's only real access to funding is taxes (your money). It sustains their power, lines their pockets, feathers their beds and greases their wheels.

You might think that governments would view life like a business franchisor - the better the franchisee does the better the franchisor does. This must be a concept too deep and difficult for government to get its mind around. Don't kid yourself. Plenty a business franchisor is oblivious to this basic and universal law of the economic universe. Franchisors often attempt to float their boat on the backs of the franchisee. As is often pointed out, the franchisor then goes out of business. The government does not. It just keeps creating and reinventing - new taxes.

Compounding the problem, not everyone in government sees its business as a business. Like a scientist breaking down matter to the smallest elements and discovering the laws of physics appear not to apply at the quantum level, the pixie dust government believes as we go up the economic scale in largess to government levels, the laws of economics do not apply. Such is the case with our current Unicorn Administration and Congress. Oh, that it were only stupidity, but alas it is delusion and no amount of education or experience on earth can cure it.




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