| FASTER or tips? |
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| Written by Bill Sutton | |||
| Wednesday, 12 August 2009 00:00 | |||
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Dear Editor:
I stopped for lunch the other day for a snack and a beer. The total was $10. With the added sales tax it was $10.95. Then, according to accepted standards, I left a couple more bucks on the table as a tip for the waitress, the bus boy and the guy who brought me the beer. So the total bill was $13 for a $10 lunch, which was worth about $5. A quick mental computation tells me I was "taxed" 30 percent on my meager lunch. Then I considered the recent Ritter FASTER "tax" on the vehicle I was driving, and also on the small dirt bike I sometimes ride on the highway. I considered FASTER fees on the other vehicles I drive, ride or pull. Reality hit hard. So I wondered.What if I asked the waitress if she voted for Governor Ritter? If she answered "No, I didn't vote for him," the conversation would end and the expected tip would be left. But what if she said, ‘Yes, I did vote for him' and I then informed her that, thanks to the governor I have to pay hundreds of dollars for additional fees on vehicles generally not used. What if I told her that now, thanks to these additional FASTER fees, I cannot justify giving her the tip she expects, an additional tax by another name? What if I explained that a tip is voluntary to a degree, and that the Ritter FASTER fee is mandatory. Would she understand that I have an option to mitigate some of the expenses on my fixed income? I wondered what if I told her there would be NO tips for any waitress or bar tenders who voted for Ritter until I had protected my fixed income to the break even point? Would he/she realize that if if they hadn't voted for Ritter, they would receive the tip expected? What if she/he realizes that how they vote has consequences? Why should I be punished for her/his vote? I didn't vote for Ritter for obvious reasons. So why shouldn't he/she understand the additional financial impacts imposed on me by Ritter and his stupidity because of his/her vote? Sorry waitperson. When you feel the same fiscal insult I feel and why, you may consider how you vote and who you vote for in the future. Bill Sutton Delta
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