The automated voice of Rep. Ben West Jr. informed me this week that this weekend we get to shortchange our schools, provide less money for health care and create more layoffs for state employees.
That's right, it's the weekend of no sales tax on selected items. Since sales tax is the primary source of revenue for the state, it's also the time when revenues are cut back while expenses continue unabated. That means state revenues will become even tighter leaving less money for services such as elder care or making sure the gallon of gasoline we pay for is accurately delivered at the pump.
What a swell idea!
Sales tax holidays were sold to us as a way of easing the cost of sending children back to school each fall, especially for families on the lower end of the economic scale. While that's a laudable goal, it also gives businesses and affluent families the chance to buy electronics and office supplies tax free.
We don't need to shortchange all Tennesseans to help families who need aid. Schools know what families take advantage of free or reduced price lunches and the state could easily use that data to provide relief.
But prudent management such as that doesn't allow politicians facing an election to paint rosy pictures about a government that will be facing increasing fiscal challenges.
Ben West and other public officials want us to see the tax free weekend as their gift to us while what they are doing is reducing the services we're paying for in the hopes of reaping political gain. Taxes aren't a punishment. They are the cost of operating a civil society.
It's our government and, in the end, we're responsible for it. We can only make good decisions if our elected officials are honest about the challenges we face.
And if they can't be honest about it, perhaps they aren't up to the challenge.
-- Jim Grinstead
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