How About a "Suckers and Morons" Tax?
That would bring billions into the Massachusetts state coffers.
Remember back in 2008, when the voters of Massachusetts went to the polls and shot down a ballot initiative to eliminate the state's income tax? It wasn't even close. By a 70-30 margin, the people of Massachusetts told their elected officials that they wanted to keep paying their income tax.
Why would they do that, you ask?
Because the special interest groups and political insiders who run the Commonwealth, and didn't want to see this precious revenue stream dry up, ran a very successful ad campaign, in which they scared the flock into compliance with their wishes.
The voters of Massachusetts were told that if the state income tax were to be eliminated, then the state would have no other option* but to raise other taxes, such as the sales tax, gas tax, taxes on consumable goods, and toll hikes on the turnpike.
The voters of Massachusetts were told that if the state income tax were to be eliminated, then the state would be forced to reduce the amount of local aid being returned to cities and towns across the Commonwealth, and that these municipalities would have no other option* but to raise user fees and create new fees to make up the difference.
The voters of Massachusetts believed what they were told.
The voters of Massachusetts acquiesced, and acted in accordance with the wishes of their benevolent, protective government.
The voters of Massachusetts are gullible, non-thinking idiots.
Boston Globe: A tax hike primer
Boston Herald: Fee hikes in works for cash-strapped towns
Then again, this is the same group of people who voted for a liberal Democrat for governor to bring "change" to Massachusetts.
* Because, as everyone knows, cutting unnecessary spending, flushing the state of redundant, do-nothing agencies, severing state ties with organized labor and their over-inflated contracts, getting rid of double-dipping into the state and municipal pension funds, cracking down on patronage hiring, and eliminating "free" healthcare for illegal aliens are the wicked desires of hate-filled racists.
Remember back in 2008, when the voters of Massachusetts went to the polls and shot down a ballot initiative to eliminate the state's income tax? It wasn't even close. By a 70-30 margin, the people of Massachusetts told their elected officials that they wanted to keep paying their income tax.
Why would they do that, you ask?
Because the special interest groups and political insiders who run the Commonwealth, and didn't want to see this precious revenue stream dry up, ran a very successful ad campaign, in which they scared the flock into compliance with their wishes.
The voters of Massachusetts were told that if the state income tax were to be eliminated, then the state would have no other option* but to raise other taxes, such as the sales tax, gas tax, taxes on consumable goods, and toll hikes on the turnpike.
The voters of Massachusetts were told that if the state income tax were to be eliminated, then the state would be forced to reduce the amount of local aid being returned to cities and towns across the Commonwealth, and that these municipalities would have no other option* but to raise user fees and create new fees to make up the difference.
The voters of Massachusetts believed what they were told.
The voters of Massachusetts acquiesced, and acted in accordance with the wishes of their benevolent, protective government.
The voters of Massachusetts are gullible, non-thinking idiots.
Boston Globe: A tax hike primer
The debate over raising taxes in Massachusetts has featured twists, turns, and plenty of limbo-like contortions by the state's political leaders. And it's not over yet, as they continue to hunt for a politically palatable way to solve a budget crisis of historic proportions.
[...]
The one clear signal is that the taxes you pay probably will go up, in one form or another. Virtually every tax except the income tax has been seriously discussed, but there's been little agreement over which taxes to raise and how much to raise them.
Patrick has proposed taxes on items from water bottles to candy, and he also wants a 19-cent-per-gallon jump in the gasoline tax.
But so far, what's most likely to rise is the sales tax, which would increase for the first time in more than three decades.
Boston Herald: Fee hikes in works for cash-strapped towns
Municipal officials across the state, scrounging local coffers for revenue, are proposing hundreds of thousands of dollars in hikes on fees, fines and permits for everything from marriage licenses to penalties for false home alarms.
The fee hikes are coming on top of layoffs, furloughs, wage freezes and service cuts intended to cope with falling property-tax revenues and drastic cuts to local aid.
Then again, this is the same group of people who voted for a liberal Democrat for governor to bring "change" to Massachusetts.
* Because, as everyone knows, cutting unnecessary spending, flushing the state of redundant, do-nothing agencies, severing state ties with organized labor and their over-inflated contracts, getting rid of double-dipping into the state and municipal pension funds, cracking down on patronage hiring, and eliminating "free" healthcare for illegal aliens are the wicked desires of hate-filled racists.
