Weekend Wondering

Why did I rant (in My previous post) so much about the sales tax? It's a done deal, right?

Right. Though it shouldn't be.

At Friday's "guided tour through economic rape" one gentleman asked if the local 5% surtax on jewelry would be eliminated. The CPA delivering the "We're slipping it to you gently" message said it "might" be replaced by the 5.5% sales tax, so in essence, it would "go up .5%."

Wrong, Fool: the legislation says nothing about eliminating the jewelry surtax. Just like it didn't say anything about eliminating the 6.6% import tax (remember, Chris?) And that import tax was eliminated just this past week after major hullabaloo.

So how long do you think it will take to eliminate the jewelry surtax? I'm betting it will go in 2008 and not a day sooner.

What the sales tax amounts to is suffocation, a plastic bag about the head of Our economy that will slowly--but surely--asphixiate Us.

---We have no growth industries. So We raise taxes and that's supposed to attract new industries?

---We have a fossilized, over-regulated, brain-dead business set-up procedure. So We make it harder to get started by throwing more taxes into the mix. This is supposed to make creating new businesses easier?

---We rely on small and medium-sized businesses for 64% of Our job creation. So We make them tax collectors with additional costs and that's supposed to make them more effective and efficient?

---We have a consumerist economy, so instead of reducing the tax burden to let it generate more capital, We tax its existence. Is this supposed to free up capital for investment?

---We have a corrupt, venal, vicious and uncontrolled government, so instead of jamming Our boot into their butts and kicking them straight We let them jury-rig Our economy to their benefit. And this is supposed to help Us deal with Our future?

---We have decades--decades, people--of evidence from around the world that reduced taxes and reduced government (in personnel and regulations) are the two basic ingredients of strong economic growth. But what do We care about evidence? Hell, We're Puerto Rico! We're gonna RAISE taxes and ADD government leeches and ADD regulations! So what if Our tourism niche has eroded? So what if Our economic model is more vacuum cleaner than jet plane? So what if Our key government agencies are infested with maggots? We're Puerto Rico! We do it better!

Uh-huh, better: In the race for slow-motion sucide, We're winning.


The Jenius Has Spoken.