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“For
the want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for the
want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for the
want of a horse the rider was lost; for the
want of a rider the battle was lost; for the
want of a battle, the kingdom was lost, and
all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
-- Benjamin Franklin
So
it went long ago. Nowadays, the ditty might go
like this: For the sake of a tax hike, a pizza is not bought; for the
want of a pizza, a job is lost; for the want
of a job, more jobs are lost; for the want of
those jobs, tax revenues are lost; and all for
the sake of a tax hike.
This
is what happens when the RINOs and Demos stick it to Virginia
with a tax increase. Class warfare never works, except to
punish the poor. Too bad 17 Republican
delegates and 12
Republican senators don’t get it.
The
bottom line is that every $150 million in
additional taxes costs 5,000 jobs. I learned this studying economics at
two of the most liberal graduate schools in America. The
laws of economics and the laws of nature, like
gravity, are uncompromising. The post script is that poor working
people, not rich folks lose their jobs.
Consider
just little York and Poquoson on The
Peninsula. Pretend the RINOs and Dems take just
$840 million (actual House proposal is $970
million) from 7
million Virginians. That costs each person about $120. Pretend, again, only the upper half of
income earners pay extra taxes. That equals 35,000 people in Poquoson
and York County. These
‘rich’ people lose $4.2 million. So, 140 persons lose their jobs –
right here (4.2 million is to 140 as 150
million is to 5,000). And
it’s all for the sake of a pizza.
If
a family of four has $40 less every month ,and
$10 buys a pizza special or 2 combos of fast
food, then this is a first cut from the family
budget. So,
if half the families in York and Poquoson have
fewer pizza nights and fast food meals, then
it means there are 35,000 fewer pizzas and
fast food meals every month. The math is
simple: $10 x 35,000 = $350,000 less is spent
in York and Poquoson each
month.
Soon, one carryout driver and one shift
worker in every fast food place is fired. It doesn’t take long to kill 140
jobs. Those
fired workers have 140 fewer car payments,
auto insurance, gas, maintenance, movies,
rents/mortgages, clothes for school, etc.
The impact ripples out like waves.
Look
who loses. The
"rich" people – professionals
and business owners – keep their jobs, but
working people don't. And, hey, if you are a family where a
teacher is married to a deputy sheriff, giving
you more than $50,000 in annual income, you’re going to get soaked.
It’s
ironic that the RINO’s panicked when Del.
Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, recommended closing corporate
tax loopholes for the Newport News Shipyard,
if it wasn’t so pathetic. They screamed that the tax costs jobs. Duh. Like taxes do when you hit
everyone for
that "little" half cent on the dollar
sales tax. But, of course, the pizza drivers and
shift workers don’t make big campaign
contributions like the Shipyard. Their jobs don’t count to politicians
who go on vacations and hunting trips with
their corporate special interests. Every day folks don’t dump thousands
of dollars into the political funds, like the
colleges/universities, VEA, lawyers, etc. who
get millions right back in government
spending.
This
is why real Republicans are populists
representing the
majority in Virginia. We
care about people more than the power and
self-interests of special interests. We understand economics. We don’t feed at the public trough
and whine for more.
Local
delegates Melanie Rapp, R-Yorktown, and Tom Gear,
R-Hampton, supported
a budget that grew by 11 percent without a penny
increase in taxes. They supported raises for teachers,
deputies and set aside money for
transportation and the Rainy Day funds.
They’re fighting to save 140 jobs or
more in Poquoson and York. Rapp and Gear represent and serve the
working People.
For
the sake of pizza, a neighbor loses a job. Is it someone you care
about?
--
April
26,
2004
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