[Discuss] Effort to repeal Mass Tax on Software Services

[Derek Martin]

On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 11:25:16PM +0000, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) wrote:
> > From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> > bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of Greg Rundlett
> > 
> > I think most people, and virtually all people on this list, would view this
> > tax as both unjust and counterproductive. 
> 
> "Unjust?"   I fail to see injustice.  Injustice is when there's a
> disproportional relationship between somebody's actions and the
> actions that are against them.

It does mean that, but that's a very narrow definition.  Injustice
simply means "wrong" or "unfair" (and feel free to consult a
dictionary if you don't want to take my word for it)--see Rich's post
quoting senator Brownsberger's well-worded argument as to why this tax
is indeed unjust.  And N.B.: the senator voted for the bill, and now
wants to repeal it... because it IS unfair.

> Counterproductive?  A matter of perspective.  It's counterproductive
> for me, as somebody who has to pay a tax.  It's productive for the
> other people, who are the recipients.
> 
> I definitely oppose corruption in government.  But I favor honest
> people being employed by government dollars, which have to come from
> somewhere.

We're really straying from topic here [this is your cue to stop
reading if you are concerned about such things]--but public monies
used to employ public employees are only productive if the employees
are productively employed at tasks which benefit the public good.  I
can't tell you how many times I've gone into my public University's
Registrar's office and seen 4-5 full-time government employees sitting
around chatting about NOTHING RELATED TO EDUCATION while I waited in
line for over an hour to change my schedule because the university
screwed it up, while one or two student employees serviced the 100+
students waiting in line for exactly the same reason.  In my parents'
town police employees have been dismissed "honorably" with full
benefits after defrauding the public and committing other crimes.
Productive?  Very hard to see...

I'm for paying my fair share... so long as it's fair.  And frankly
some waste is probably unavoidable, and I'm reasonably OK with that
too.  But the various governments in the USA are notorious for waste,
and Massachusetts is among the worst offenders (and highest tax
burden) in the country.  Do we get more for our tax dollars?  I think
not...

I've had family members and friends of family who've worked in a
variety of state and local government positions, and combined with my
own experiences dealing with various government agencies, the stories
they all have shared UNIVERSALLY led me to think there's very little
that's productive about public employment, without exception.  I view
it more as a necessary evil, than anything remotely resembling
"productive"...

So while I'm not opposed to taxes, I am opposed to the state bleeding
hard-working people dry, simply on account of their inability to
behave responsibly with MY money.  

But that's NOT why I oppose this tax.  See above.
 
-- 
Derek D. Martin    http://www.pizzashack.org/   GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02
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