Pennsylvania

Since no one else but Gov. Corbett is sticking up for the existing impact fee on Marcellus drilling in PA that raises millions of dollars (and not doing all that great a job of it), on Monday MDN took a stab at making a case for the fundamental unfairness of targeting a specific industry or group of people for high taxes by justifying such an action as being “for the children” (see PA Dem Candidates’ Siren Song: Severance Tax “for the Children”). We told you that Democrats and their sycophantic supporters in the media would turn up the volume on a call for high severance taxes on the natural gas industry. We didn’t know just how quickly our words would come true!

Today, after having met with and getting stoked by extreme liberal Allyson Schwartz (who is running for governor), the liberal Democrat editorial propagandists at the Scranton Times-Tribune dedicated their precious editorial space to a call for high severance taxes–and to bludgeon Republicans into supporting those high taxes. So we thought we would take the opportunity to tweak their editorial and in every instance of “severance tax” and “natural gas industry” replace those words with “news tax” and “news industry.” We wonder if the Times-Tribune editors would be in favor of this tax if it specifically targeted–or included–their operation and the operations of their liberal brethren? And what if the severance tax bill also included a new, extra 5% tax on the salaries of PA legislators. Would it pass then? You get the idea. Targeting a specific industry or group of people, no matter how “noble” the cause in using the money raised, is an obscene governmental abuse. It is theft. Here is our attempt to illustrate the absurd by using absurdity and turning their argument right back on them…
Read More “Pressure Rises for Fair Tax on News Industry (Absurdity Illustrated)”

Once upon a time there was a man who worked really really hard. He was the type to arrive at work early, stay late, and go the extra mile. He paid (as we all do) nearly half of the money he earned in taxes–federal income tax, social security tax, Medicare tax, disability tax, property tax, school tax, state income tax, sales tax on everything he purchased, and fees on just about everything his hands ever touched. It adds up to about 50% of the man’s income (as it does for every single person reading this), whisked away and given to other people. However, because the man made a pretty good salary, the man’s neighbor had a brilliant idea: Each day when the man arrived home the neighbor was waiting, with gun in hand. He would point the gun at the man’s head and demand the man give him “just 5%” of what the man earned that day. It was so easy, the neighbor did this every day–and he targeted other nearby suckers, er hard-working people too–collecting 5% from them.

Getting shaken down for 5% (on top of 50%) isn’t all that bad, is it? Sure it belongs to the people who worked so hard to earn it. Sure the people who earned it played by the rules, were super careful and considerate of those around them–upstanding members of the community. But the money is going to a good cause–the neighbor’s pocket! (Did we mention the neighbor with the gun doesn’t work nor earn a dime on his own?) Of course, in time, the neighbor with the gun got more greedy and 5% eventually turned into 10%, but hey, the people earning the money still got to keep 40%. I mean, good golly, 40% out of 100% ain’t all that bad, is it?…
Read More “PA Dem Candidates’ Siren Song: Severance Tax “for the Children””