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12.08.2005
So, if you live in Oklahoma and filed state taxes last year you've probably received a check by now. Mine's for $45. A letter of explanation, very similar to the one we all got when Bush issued his "Relief" back in the day, reads that the State of Oklahoma needs to send us this money because of the surplus $91 million it collected. Interesting... Because we have all this excess money but we still have all these toll roads? Why not use that money to pay off those roads and make them free like most of the nation? Because we've just started a state lottery, the rationale of which included raising money for the Oklahoma Schools. Are we to assume that the schools are past that crisis and that we wouldn't benefit from putting a little extra money into fixing up some of our schools? Because, last I heard we were way behind on fixing our roads and bridges...$9 billion according to one group. I was also wondering whether this tax "relief" check would be a smokescreen for larger, more destructive tax cuts to come in the future. For we all know (yet some deny) that those checks we got from the federal government were an attempt to get us all to think that we all shared in tax "relief", when in fact, the majority of the budget busting tax cuts are just starting to roll in and are very heavily tilted to benefit the wealthy. Seems the same might be true on the state level as well, if we are to believe this press release from Senate Republican Leader Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City "Senate Republicans are pleased that Senate Democrats have acknowledged that tax relief is needed in Oklahoma. However, we believe it is better to enact job-creating, long-term tax reforms such as broad-based reductions in the income tax, reducing the estate tax to that of surrounding states, and fully eliminating the state capital gains tax." Income, estate and capital gains... all rich people's taxes*. Silly me, I thought we solved all the problems with Oklahoma when we passed Right to Be a Serf back a few years ago? It seems like Brad Henry and the State legislators are playing games with us. They are either giving us money that should be used to do the state's business, lying to us about the needs of the state, or buying our silence on future tax cuts to come. * yes, captain obvious I know that working people pay income taxes as well, but I've written about the way that different taxes affect different economic segments and I'm not going to rehash them again, go do some research. |
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