When I was little, before I was old enough to have friends, I would look forward to every Friday night to watch "T.G.I.F." on ABC. Some of you know what I'm talking about- it was a bunch of family-friendly television shows that my family would watch together- Including Step by Step, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Teen Angel and others. The shows included in the group would change from time to time, but the time was always the same- they would play every Friday evening. For a while, one show became part of T.G.I.F. that didn't appeal to me very much. The show was called "Clueless". As best as I could figure, it was about a few spoiled rich girls who were slowly coming into understanding the world as normal, not rich, not spoiled people see it.
I didn't really like the show that much except that I remember one specific part of an episode that made me think. The main ditzy girl character and her best friend just returned home from shopping at one of their favorite places to shop. They were pulling out their clothes from the bags, discussing what they were going to wear when they went out again in 20 minutes. Enter half-brother, who has been listening to the conversation. He asks where they're going, and they answer that they plan on going right back to the exact store to buy more clothes. He asks more questions, and learns that the girls were planning on buying more clothes while already wearing clothes from the same store to show their commitment and dedication to the store. In response to the obvious ludicrousness, the half brother asks "So let me get this straight- you're buying clothes... to buy clothes?"
And, he has a point. That's stupid! Why would you buy something you don't want, in order to get what you really wanted? (In case it wasn't obvious, the girls in the show were to be made fun of, not to be agreed with.)
I honestly can't make any sense of the girls' logic. I may just have completely wrong expectations of the human race, but I would even go so far as to say that NOBODY would defend the girls on their stance. In fact, it was supposed to be ridiculous- it was a joke on a comedy series.
Now, with that in mind, can someone please explain WHY WE HAVE SALES TAX??? Hear me out- does it make sense to spend money- to spend money? Is there any reason why this shouldn't sound JUST AS ridiculous as the ditzy, spoiled and silly girls' joke just before mentioned? I'm doing the same thing that the girls are doing- I'm buying something I don't need, in order to get what I DO need. And, just like the girls' logic, it's stupid!
"But Trent, you DO need it! You're paying taxes, and the government needs taxes to supply schools, roads, services, etc.!"
Yes. you're right. The government needs taxes, and those are all wonderful things to have. But what the government doesn't need is SALES tax. Here's my logic- I should be paying the government for their services. To pay for roads, we should have a gas tax. To pay for the schools/education, we can have taxes on the tuition, etc. For services, it would make sense to have a yearly tax made to the fire and police departments for their vigilance and services. The idea here is that I'm paying for the services that the government is supplying me, through the services that they are supplying me.
The reason I'm so against sales tax is that if I walk over to the dollar store, pick out a chocolate bar that is priced at $1, go to the counter and hand him a dollar bill, I should be able to walk out! There is no government involved in the matter! There was no service offered to me in the process of me buying my chocolate bar, and I don't want or need the government involved in it! What, is the government "letting" me buy my chocolate? Is that the service they're giving me- "letting" me legally buy something? Are they going to have to "let" me walk on the sidewalks put in buy the government-paid construction workers, and "let" me check out a book at the public library supported by my taxes, and "let" me breathe the American air that's been cleaned by campaign promises to clean the air? Do they need to "let" me live? That's absurd!
If you couldn't tell already, I hate sales tax. I grew up in Oregon, where there is no sales tax. Now I come to the funny part. While I think it's unjust, illogical, an encroachment on our rights as American people, and just stupid, the truth is that the main reason I hate sales tax is because when I go to the dollar store, I have to make sure I have coins with me. Even if I just bring an extra dollar, I get change in coins. Really- who really cares about pennies anymore?
Government, I'm willing to compromise. You can keep your stupid sales tax. Just be sure to include the price in the price tags so that I know what I'm paying before I buy it, and I'll be happy. K?
What about the government regulations that ensure only a minimal amount of bug parts make it into your chocolate bar? Or the government oversight that keeps Hershey and Mars, Inc. from colluding, insider trading, Ponzi schemes and other attacks on the American economy?
ReplyDeleteOh snap! (maybe)
I'm not trying to defend sales taxes, they're annoying. But nothing is more certain than death or taxes, as Benjamin Franklin would say, and the government has to tax us somewhere. And of course, no one wants that somewhere to be where they are. At least sales tax is all-inclusive, which makes it fair, at least in the sense of not being biased. The only way to avoid it is to live like a hermit and be off the grid. Everyone else - rich, poor, citizens, illegal aliens, men, women, black, white, Latino - all pay it.
Or, instead of being a hermit, just live in Oregon.
(Or what if you were a hermit who lived in Oregon? Double whammy against the sales tax!)
Fine, change "chocolate bar" to "pencil". Besides, aren't big companies like Nestle already taxed in certain business subjects? For example, trade/commerce, inspections, etc.? Shouldn't that tax cover the government's service to make sure that they can safely give me their chocolate? But even if not- go back to the pencil idea. Bugs wouldn't have anything to do with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd again, why don't they just INCLUDE THE TAX IN THE PRICE I SEE WHEN I GRAB THE ITEM???
That's the biggest part that annoys me.
See, I'm thinking that if the tax were included in the shelf price, that prices would actually go down. I think with time people would realize that it's better to say "$1.00" than "$1.07", so they would lower the price to be .95 so that adding sales tax would make it an even $1.
That's my theory, anyway.
I like that theory. And you're right. They really should just include the tax in the price. They do that at movie theaters, so why not everywhere else?
ReplyDelete