Taxes go up while wallets deflate
By Chris Coke
GUEST ESSAYIST

“Spiral out and keep on going.”

The prophetic words of Maynard James Keenan ring truer now than ever.

Let me take a moment to explain. I’m talking about New York State. I’m talking about Elliot Spitzer and I’m talking about taxes. Yep, taxes — the bane of all New Yorkers. You and I know it well.

Here’s the good news, though: Spitzer isn’t raising taxes. He’s raising your bills.

Spitzer recently made an announcement that he has “closed a loophole” in the automotive insurance industry that will result in your car insurance rates rising by $15.

This change will result in $140 million dollar benefit to the government and will help fix the $4.4 billion dollar state deficit.

But it’s not a tax. It’s a surcharge. No wait, even better … it’s auto insurance.

Here’s the deal: this is a crock and you and I know it. It’s a tax by any other name and Spitzer is trying to deceive you by dressing it up as a closed loophole. He wants you to believe that we’ve been getting lucky by not paying it for so long, so now it’s time to pay the piper.

It costs enough to own and drive a car right now, but I guess our representatives haven’t picked up on that. Then again, why would they? Let’s not forget, they don’t drive — they’re driven. Scandals over the past couple of years have shown us not only that, but that they have other people driven, too. I couldn’t help but be a little disgusted as Spitzer peddled his deception on the local news.

What really got me though was that sly little smile as he told us about it. It was his smile that screamed to the world how slick he thought he was. It was the smile of a snake. Hold on to your wallets, everyone, they may be sprouting little mouse tails. That’s not all. Spitzer’s not raising taxes, but he does want you to pay them in more places than you do right now.

Another effort he has under way is to make Internet businesses, such as Amazon.com, impose New York State tax on your purchases. Even though they’re not based in New York state.

I wonder what’s next. When my family goes on vacation to Florida, will I be paying New York State sales tax over the counter? It’s the same thing. Thankfully, Spitzer is being met with some opposition.

I don’t think Spitzer, or others like him, really care about what happens to this state. We’re already experiencing a “brain drain” because college students are leaving in droves. Hell, most of us have to move to get jobs in our fields of study. Personally, most people I know only stay because they have roots here. If they could, they’d pull up stakes and move to a state that values the opinions and welfare of its citizens. It’s a shame. New York, despite all the snow, is a beautiful place with a lot of great people. I wonder though, how much is enough?

(Ed. Note — this essay was written prior to the other big news involving Mr. Spitzer came to light.)

Editorial: "BSG needs your imput"

Luettger "Easter travel times a necessity for students"

Seef: "Snow troubles make me miserable"

Craddock: "Quasi-famous people dig me"

Jennings: "President Bush loves to torture"

Coke: "Taxes go up while wallets deflate"

Boron: "Procrastinating causes GPA drop"

Butterworth: "Kosovo's independence challenged"

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