The American economy is shaky at best. Since the economic collapse in 2008, and thanks in large part to Obama’s grand recovery/stimulus plan, the country has been teetering on the edge of another recession. Frankly, despite the rigid definition, many Americans would agree we’ve been in a recession for years.
As Republicans and conservatives, we are supposed to be the fiscal hawks. Our party and our representatives are supposed to be the ones who understand that you can’t tax your way out of a bad economy. Quite the contrary. We know, or should, that excessive taxes will kill any recovery.
But we are not politicians – politicians like Virginia Republican and House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte.
It’s been well-publicized just how fragile the American economy is and how it won’t take much to push it over the edge. But politicians like Goodlatte don’t have to deal in the real world, which is why on Aug. 25 his committee released a proposal called the “Online Sales Simplification Act.”
Wow – who wouldn’t be for that? A way to simplify online sales. But wait – it’s not difficult now. That’s right. The rather pleasant and innocuous-sounding proposal has nothing at all to do with making life easier or more pleasant for the consumer.
It is in fact a national online sales tax. And Goodlatte, knowing full well how unpopular this will be, has decided it best to table the proposal until after the election.
Yes – we wouldn’t want to burden the voters with this prior to them going to the polling booth. We already have enough on our minds. What a guy.
The Conservative Action Project stated that this pig of a proposal “would clearly be harmful to consumers and businesses of various sizes” and “would disadvantage small businesses.”
In an open letter to Congress, the Conservative Action Project wrote: “Small online retailers and catalog companies will be forced to determine and remit the local and state sales taxes in each of these places – and fear audits and reprisals if they get it wrong (which would be common, since local tax laws and the regulatory definitions within are changing all the time).” They also state that the Internet sales tax is “a cronyist handout to big business.”
But of course this is of no concern to Goodlatte and the other hacks in government. Their only concern is corporate cronyism. Big-box retailers and online mega-sites have the resources to develop tax software, so one can only conclude that once again, the political class is picking winners and losers, and the losers will be the little guy – the guy who can’t afford to donate to the Goodlatte reelection campaign.
As usual, big business equals big lobbyists equals big favors.
This is supposed to be the domain of the Democrats, but the Republicans, it seems, are cut from the same cloth. When I first read of this, the name Goodlatte rang a bell. It should, as I have written twice about him.
Just a few weeks ago, I wrote that Goodlatte and his fellow Republican and House Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan who made a little-publicized deal to also postpone the impeachment hearing of arrogant liar IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.
In 2013, I wrote that Goodlatte had quietly worked on a “Comprehensive Immigration Plan” that would grant legal status to the always-estimated 11 million illegal aliens.
With Republicans like Goodlatte, it is difficult to refute claims from the right that there is a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties any longer.
Term limits anyone?
