Tax Everything

I was reading today about the 10% drink tax in Pittsburgh and had to laugh because the 10% tax is on top of all the other taxes a consumer pays to take a drink. Everything is taxed and retaxed and taxed again just for good measure. Buy a product, pay a sales tax. And you know the business selling the product previously paid a tax on that good. And the company that produced the good paid a tax on creating that good. And the seller and the manufacturer had to pay taxes for the employees that created the product. And the employee obviously has to pay taxes on the wages he collects for making the good. And that employee pays taxes on the mode of transportation he uses to get to the place to create the good.

Obviously tax revenue is important for many public projects but the country cannot tax itself to properity. Continuing to raise taxes on an already overtaxed population only further damages the unstable economy. Allowing consumers to keep their own money will allow the tax base to grown which will increase revenue for the country. Tax cuts work everytime they're tried but most politicians are too short-sighted to understand. And, as always, it's the consumer that suffers. Maybe they can make a tax to pay for our mental anguish.

In other news, Tiger made a remarkable comeback in the US Open and I nearly called off work today to watch the playoff but...well, I'm an idiot for not calling off work to watch the playoff. And LA won Game 5 which means that series goes back to Boston. If LA wins the championship, I will honestly never, ever watch the NBA again. Seriously.