Musings on a Sales Tax Hike: Brooks Hatred for Taxes

It was interesting to watch County Executive Maggie Brooks try and maintain her image as a conservative on taxes while calling for this increase. At one point during the question and answer session – she said something even more amusing – that she hated taxes… hated them. As if she hated all taxes.

Going over the top is a tried and true method of getting the basic point home (which was that she hates increasing taxes). And maybe her line was a subtle misstatement. But it makes you laugh just the same – this notion of "hating taxes."

Government doesn’t exist but for the raising of taxes. Of course, taxation is a relative way for the collective being served to pay for services that they benefit from. Hating all taxes would mean hating the funds that pay for garbage collection, sewer pipe repairs, the cop on the beat or the program that pays for Aunt Jenny to get long term nursing care.

That’s not to say that government shouldn’t grapple with how much it’s collecting and how much it’s spending. And, frankly, in New York State… that argument about the basic work of government and how much it should collect to pay for it has long stalled out. That gets me to my next thought…