Wednesday, May 13, 2009

LIVING PROOF THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS WORKING...

...with more than just a few screws loose!

OR

Safety Issue My @$$! It's a Revenue Issue!

(RSCT to Fr. Erik) These idiots are now proposing a new federal tax on soda. When the hell have we seen a new federal tax on booze??? That, to me, is a hell of a lot more dangerous than soda! Oh wait! Soda IS the new booze!

This is definitely NOT a safety matter at this point. It's a revenue matter. RI and MA do the same thing with the state cigarette tax. All they're doing is duking it out to see who can have the higher tax. Though I haven't smoked in three years, I still have a problem with this tax (not to mention, you still pay the ordinary sales tax - 5% in MA, 7% in RI - on top of this tax). Cigarettes are now about eight bucks a pack up here, double what they were just nine years ago, and nineteen times what they were when I was a kid going to the store for my parents. Safety measure my behind!

RI does another similar thing with speed limits. You'd be surprised how many speed limits are far lower than what their roads are geared for. Route 117, for example, in the western part of Coventry, is geared for 50 MPH, but is posted at 35 MPH. Route 114 in Cumberland (Diamond Hill Road) was posted at 40 for almost its entire length when I was a teen growing up there. Now it's dropped to 30 (south of I-295) and 35 (north of I-295). George Bennett Highway in Pawtucket (formerly known as the East Pawtucket Industrial Highway) is posted 25. It's geared for at least 35. Yet these are the streets that are more heavily patrolled.

And how about the "Pawtucket Bridge"? This is a bridge on I-95 that crosses the Seekonk River between exits 27 and 28 in Pawtucket. It's needed extensive repairs, so they lowered the weight limit to 18 tons and imposed a $3000 fine for overweight trucks crossing this bridge. To this day, they've collected over $2 million in fines from this bridge. You'd think they'd be doing some work on the bridge at this point, but guess again! Not a thing!

Now the federalies wanna tax soda!
Safety issue my @$$!

Peace,
BMP

2 comments:

Motherhen said...

You know, it's only a matter of time when red meat, butter, fats, etc will be taxed "in the name of good health". Mark my words!

I don't believe a higher tax on soda is going to keep people from drinking it. You're right, it's not about health, but about $$.

Steve O said...

Everything will soon be taxed, including the air we breathe, thanks to the screaming liberal idiots that the people of this country have so wisely elected! Did you see now that even the FDA is getting in on the "ultra" control portion of our lives....Cheerios aren't allowed to make a claim of lowering cholesterol because they're not medicines.....well of course the heck not. But we don't want the stocks to shrink on the drug industry now, do we??????
Give me a break.