What's NOT In Your Wallet?

I was washing my car last week-end (I know, I should be conserving this precious resource, but read on and you’ll understand why I don’t give a damn about restricting my water consumption anymore) and noticed by the time that I was finished, there was a small puddle just below the spigot.  I had not tightened the hose to the spigot enough, and as a result, tiny drips of water eventually created the puddle.  It brought to mind an analogy between this phenomenon and the trickle of new tax increases that have been imposed upon us by our ever-voracious-for new-tax-revenue politicians, which combined are already lightening the load of your wallet.

The pain-points of this government money-grab are extensive.  For example, starting in July, ironically (not!) just in time for the heart of the vacation season, the state gasoline excise tax will increase by 3.5 cents per gallon.  Why?  Because the State Board of Equalization felt it had to do so in order to ensure that gas tax revenues remain neutral.  You see, for all the pining to “save the planet” and reduce greenhouse gases that we have endured from Sacramento, asking the public to reduce their gas consumption, the public responded in kind.  The thanks we received from Board of Equalization members John Chiang (State Controller), Assemblyman Jeff Horton, and Assembly member Betty Yee, Democrats all, was a tax increase due to the fact that our collective reduction in gasoline purchases equated to less taxes being collected.  The horror!  What these buffoons are telling us is, “Stop global warming, but not at the expense of reducing tax revenue, please.”  Talk about hypocrisy!  Cost to you and me?  Do your own math, but if you consume 20 gallons per week, that’s about $36.00 annually.  The excise taxes are supposed to be spent on highway and mass transit projects, but instead have been swiped by past Governor Schwarzenegger and current Bozo Brown and consumed by the black hole General Fund. 

More “ouch.”  Increases in local water (8%) and sewer rates (2) here in Carlsbad took effect in January.  According to the City of Carlsbad, that will equate to about $75.00 annually for an average household.  The culprit in this pilfering lies at the door of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which must keep increasing water rates to it’s monopolized clients in order to maintain the $100,000+ per year salaries for 70% of it’s employees!  Question of the day:  Please name a private-sector company whose employee pay is similar to the MWD?

Are you sick yet?  Let’s not forget the nice 3.5% sales tax increase that was brought about by the approval of Proposition 30 last November.  Forgot about that one, huh?  Thought you were just voting on raising the income tax on the rich and didn’t read the fine print on the ballot, right?  Or did you really believe the millions of dollars from new sales taxes would in fact go to public education?  Wrong on both counts!  And the cost to you?  At least $2,000 per year!

This is just the beginning.  Wait until the Democratic Party majority in Sacramento eventually gets around to increasing the annual auto registration tax and attempts to repeal Proposition 30, which would drastically increase property taxes on residential and commercial property.  Yes, that “drip, drip, drip” will soon enough equate to a torrential flow of hard-earned money from your disposable income!  To paraphrase a credit card commercial…...”What’s NOT in your wallet????”