In 2019 the federal government collected about 52 million dollars in fuel taxes. That's it, 52 million dollars. The largest portion coming from California on a state by state basis. Regionally the northeast collects the most. The President is considering a "pause" on these taxes to help with inflation. The advanced child tax credit being proposed however will cost about 1.8 trillion dollars! Makes me wonder just how detrimental the loss of 52 million will be. Makes me wonder why the hesitation to implement that. Why do we have that at all is a better question. 52 million dollars isn't much when you are talking about the government. In fact, a pittance. We have lottery winners getting more that and we barely turn our heads at that. We don't even buy a ticket thinking, I'll wait for the prize to be bigger, you know a hundred million. But this administration is balking at 52 million?
Gas went up ten cents overnight. We are being told the situation in Ukraine will impact fuel costs. No kiddin', glad I have a government expert to tell me that. Maybe Hunter will get us a deal, he's pretty tight with the Ukrainians. Joe is blaming inflation on "supply chain" issues. Having fuel prices soaring certainly isn't helping with that! Imposing mandates, restrictions and vaccinations on truck drivers ain't helping with that. Literally thousands of containers sitting on ships waiting to be unloaded ain't helping with that. But it ain't that! Inflation is the result of the incompetence of this administration. They put people out of work, dispersed trillions of dollars, closed businesses and created general panic and fear throughout the country. That is what caused inflation! But "pausing" the fuel tax for a few months, which would only cost the government coffers about 4 million a month is supposed to fix that?
I'm not surprised though, I've been around long enough to know the deal. Give something out for "free" or have "free" time, like tax free shopping, no gas tax for a period of time, and people figure they are getting something. People upset over the rise in gasoline will be "calmed" down a bit if you take 18 cents off the gallon. It's like getting a coupon for the grocery store. Save 10 cents on celery and pay 20 cents more for the carrots, but you got a deal. Back in 1977 the government collected just a bit over nine million in fuel tax. In forty four years a rise of 5677.7%. Inflation? Yup, looks like it to me. And it is only a net gain of 43 million dollars.
I listen to the experts and shake my head. Seems they are giving the political response rather than the actual facts. Biden says it is the supply chain, others say the economy was over stimulated. That's political talk for spending more than you have. The truth is we, the United States, haven't been taking care of ourselves. We have been expending millions of dollars on illegal aliens and social programs rather than being prudent with our resources. We are thirty trillion dollars in debt! We need to stop borrowing and spending! We need to stop giving it away!
Look the price of goods and services tends to be whatever the market will bear. That's a simple business practice. If I can convince you that you need that seven dollar cup of coffee from Starbucks, I will sell you a seven dollar cup of coffee. What has to happen is the consumer needs to just stop buying, saying no to this stuff. Yes it takes self discipline. Don't take out a loan to buy that 72 inch television set. Don't finance a 1200 dollar phone! Did anyone really believe that a demand for fifteen dollars an hour wouldn't result in rising prices? Does anyone really believe "free" health care is going to be free? Does anyone believe you are going to get the best service when I am forced to serve you? If you buy 40 gallons of fuel per week and the government pauses the sales tax that will save you seven dollars and twenty cents. That will fix this 7.5% inflation rate for sure. Of course, the experts all say, it will take time, probably not until spring to see any change.
What a change? Quit financing your wants and simply buy what you need. If you're not buying, those companies will start having "sales." And what is a sale? It is when you sell a product with a smaller profit margin. They are still making a profit! I saw an advertisement for the sleep number bed. You can finance that puppy for five years! Think about that, do you really need a bed that takes five years to pay for? Oh, and it's on sale too. The government needs to quit doing that also. Quit financing dreams and start being fiscally responsible. The government needs to heed its' own advice, JUST SAY NO.
No comments:
Post a Comment