Car Tax Repeal
In 1997, the Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Jim Gilmore, had a minor soundbyte that became the platform of his campaign: No Car Tax. Political analysts claimed this soundbyte as the deciding factor in the voters 'minds. Like saltwater blue fish in a feeding frenzy, Virginia voters chased this dangling saltwater policy. Jim Gilmore's milking it for political gain using tax dollars raised citizens's complaints. The author received the above $5.55 tax rebate which wouldn't buy 3 gallons of gas.
What does it mean when people riding buses get no tax relief while the drivers of expensive foreign cars get thousands of dollars in relief? The poor receive fewer goods and services at a higher price, at first. Then the middle class starts to pay, especially those dependent on tax dollars. As the ensuring years showed, the Commonwealth of Virginia could not afford the car tax without curtailing many programs. The following sequence shows what happens to people who support something-for-nothing, tax relief that benefits only the top few percentage points.
- Community and family programs to help the children of the poor are curtailed RTD
- Education support and pay raises for state employees are cut. RTD
- Pension funds of state employees are attacked in violation of the state constitution RTD, and,
- Health care programs for state employees. RTD
Ultimately, only the top 5% will benefit from this saltwater policy as the other 95% will be confronted with higher costs of living.
The car tax repeal--like all tax cuts--should be looked at terms of the hours of freedom that it buys the recipient. Since the average lifehour is about $14 (Year 2001), each $14 in tax cut buys you one hour of someone services. If you get $140 tax break, you have been given (before inflation) ten (10) hours of freedom by employing another person. But what if your receiving a ten hour tax break legalizes another person's receiving 100 lifehours of tax breaks? Well, your cost of living will go up, for with more money chasing the same number of goods and servicse, the person with the biggest tax break becomes the winner in the inflationary bidding game for the goods and services of other people. The author with his $5.55 no car tax rebate could buy less than a half hour of someone's time. Virginians will for many years be paying a cost for their self-delusional "no car tax" greed.
As Governor, he used the rebate checks and the Dept of Motor Vehicles for
partisan politics: Rebate
Program. This was not the first time this individual has used public
office and public funds for personal promotion. As Attorney General, he used
over $200,000 in tax dollars to produce promotional material which included
cut-and-paste bid-rigging. Criticism was widespread. Individuals were
arrested.
However, when you are the Attorney General and probable governor, the courts
prooved the adage: Laws don't judge but judges use laws. The peons were
plea-bargained in unannouced, never-before Saturday morning
court
session ... after the election. For full account,
Virginia Fraud 1997
Regardless of where a politician finds something for nothing for his campaign, someone has to pay. The consequence is the main cause of inflationary suffering among those who are not at the top of the dribble-down economy--see Wealth Transfer.
