EDITORIAL THERE THEY GO AGAIN SACRAMENTO'S DEMOCRATS USE THE WAR ON TERRORISM AS THE PRETEXT FOR ANOTHER TAX HIKE.ECONOMISTS tend not to agree on much, but on one point they are nearly unanimous: The worst time to raise taxes is during a recession. Somebody tell that to the Democrats who are totally in control up in Sacramento. Having squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. a $10 billion budget surplus on exorbitant spending and a horrendously mismanaged energy crisis, the state's Democratic legislators find themselves short on cash. Their response, predictably, is to gouge gouge (gouj) a hollow chisel for cutting and removing bone. gouge n. A strong curved chisel used in bone surgery. gouge a hollow chisel for cutting and removing bone. taxpayers with another 0.25 percent increase in the sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. . That's right - another sales-tax hike. Democrats jammed the first one into this year's budget by refusing to renew a legislatively mandated one- year cut. That cash infusion apparently wasn't enough, so they want more. They've got various front groups working to put a measure on the November 2002 ballot that would call for the average California family to send an extra $100 or so their way each year. Here's the kicker: They're doing it in the name of the war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act . It's the state Assembly's Task Force on the Impact of Terrorism that has created the rationale for the proposed tax hike. Assemblyman John Dutra, D-Fremont, the task force's chairman, argues that the state needs the extra funds to help pay for police, firefighting 1. firefighting - What sysadmins have to do to correct sudden operational problems. An opposite of hacking. "Been hacking your new newsreader?" "No, a power glitch hosed the network and I spent the whole afternoon fighting fires." 2. and medical care in the wake of Sept. 11. Yes, they think voters are so gullible gul·li·ble adj. Easily deceived or duped. [From gull2.] gul - or stupid - that the mere mention of the word ``firefighter'' will inspire us to empty what's left in our depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d wallets into their cavernous cavernous /cav·er·nous/ (kav´er-nus) 1. pertaining to a hollow, or containing hollow spaces. 2. having a hollow sound, such as certain abnormal breath sounds. coffers. The Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. is trying to pull the same trick by putting a bond measure for police and fire facilities bond measure on the March ballot. We're all in favor of doing whatever possible to defend against terrorists and, truth be told, if Democratic legislators hadn't burned through a $10 billion surplus so quickly, they would have more money than they could possibly need. The war on terrorism is merely their excuse for clobbering the taxpayers yet again. It wasn't the war on terrorism that caused Gov. Gray Davis to spend $9.3 billion on energy, money that was supposed to be returned to the state treasury, but wasn't. Nor did the war on terrorism force him to sign $23 billion worth of contracts that will have Californians overpaying for power for the next 20 years. It wasn't the war on terrorism that caused state legislators back in July to pass a $101 billion budget that increased spending by twice the rate of inflation. And it wasn't the war on terrorism that caused Democrats to cram that budget with millions in vote-buying pork. Rather than trying to trick voters into approving another tax hike, the Legislature's Democrats should try to balance the books themselves. They can begin by slashing their overly generous salaries. After that, they can try cutting back on all the fat in state government and getting rid of programs that don't work to the public's benefit. The Democrat legislators have no one to blame for their busted budget but themselves. Taxpayers, who are already battling layoffs and tight times, shouldn't get stuck with the bill. |
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