FROM THE DESK OF: A Lot Of Things Made Me Mad Yesterday.
BY: Taft Matney
A lot of things made me mad yesterday. I’m not going to tell you how many because I might forget one, and my only recourse would be to say, “Oops. I really stepped in it.”
One was the Penn State “situation.” Almost anybody with a TV and who leaves the house at least once a day knows what this “situation” is and has an opinion on it. I’m not going to get in to it here other than to say that those who lost their jobs got off light. As a father, had one of those victims been my son, the wrath that came down upon that school would only be rivaled only by Armageddon itself.
On a MUCH lighter level of irritation, I got mad at my hometown newspaper – the one I quit subscribing to a while back because its parent company gutted the newsroom through layoffs and substantially decreased local news coverage.
I mean 2A is a literal rehash of USA Today. Nevertheless, there are times when I need to access the paper, so I resubscribed. Well, long story short, I paid for Saturday / Sunday delivery so I could get 24 hour access to the web site and iPad app. Unfortunately, my access to the electronic outlets wouldn’t start until my first weekend of delivery.
That didn’t work for me because I paid for (I thought) immediate access (access that “customer service” was more than happy to give me IF I upgraded to 7 day delivery for $6.20 more per month when I only wanted the electronic component). Frustrated, I cancelled the subscription I just got.
After taking my case to Twitter, the newspaper addressed my concerns, came up with a work-around, and this morning I’m renewing my subscription for the second time this week.
The third thing that lit me up yesterday was Christmas. Not the holiday, but an asinine new fee hanging on live Christmas trees.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration approved a $0.15 fee on live Christmas trees to fund a marketing campaign to promote “benefits of live trees” over artificial. The fee was expected to collect around $2 million.
I know that $0.15 isn’t even enough to argue about, but it’s the principle. Who taxes a Christmas tree? That goes on the list of “Stupidest Things I’ve Heard this Year.”
It’s also really bad economic policy.
Think about it. How much sense does it make to tax the people who are already doing what you’re going to tax them for so you can run a marketing campaign that encourages them to do what they’re doing?
That’s dumb. After all, the people they need to convince to buy fresh trees are the ones currently buying imported artificial trees. They’re the ones the advertising will be geared toward, not me.
I understand that a large segment of the public would rather have artificial trees. They’re easier to put up and take down. They’re used for multiple years, so they’re more cost-effective. They’re easier to store. They don’t shed needles. They usually come prelit. They’re good for people with allergies. I get it.
There are a lot of upsides for buying an artificial tree, but I’m buying a live tree. I always buy a live tree. Don’t punish me for buying what you want me to buy. I’m already buying it and obviously don’t need the “benefits of live trees” promoted to me.
Besides, IT’S A CHRISTMAS TREE! Taxing a Christmas tree? Who does that?
UPDATE: Apparently the “Christmas Tree Tax” has been shelved as quickly as it was approved. According to The Huffington Post, “White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said the USDA would delay the program, but defended it, saying it was not a tax.” And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.
