My fair state

I just received an email today from the owner of Wine Shop at Home. I consult for the company, mainly as a hobby and to make a little extra money. He explained that he and other companies that engage in direct sales (where folks hold parties in people's home and sell their wares) lobbied the Govenator to veto a 3% tax on the commission checks of the independent consultants who hold said Tupperware parties.

I fired off a response to him asking where, exactly we should get the money to pay for vital programs if NO ONE WILL PAY TAXES. I have already watched my sales tax go up like 3% in the last two months because the cities are so desperate for cash. It pisses me off! These taxes are extremely regressive and fall hardest on the poor. We need to accept that if we are ever to fix our poor state we need to diversify our tax streams so that we all share the burden and that the wealthy, who use more public services, can't avoid paying their taxes. We are in a fine mess and it breaks my heart. California is the 7th or 8th largest economy in the world. Where has all our wealth gone? Fiore had a good point to make about Californian's predicament.

'nuff said