Re: alfa-digest V7 #1474

[Italiacars@domain.elided]

In a message dated 3/22/00 5:09:57 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided writes:

<< I think the general principle of funding public transport
 systems by taxing private car transport is a sound one - it
 has to work that way though - otherwise it's just another
 source of income for the state. >>

Jacob,
    Social engineering doesn't work. Back in the early 90s our government 
came up with the bright idea of taxing luxury items such as cars over 
$30,000, yachts, jewelry etc. The tax was only 10% on the portion over a 
certain amount. The feeling among these brain dead people that came up with 
idea was that the rich people that can afford to buy these type of items, can 
afford to pay the tax and they will have a huge tax windfall for their social 
engineering programs. 

One small problem, they never took into account what would happen if these 
people just stopped buying these items? And that is exactly what happened, 
highend cars sales dropped, the luxury boat industry collapsed, to the point 
of bankrupting many manufacturers. It lost more tax revenue from newly 
unemployed workers and bankrupt companies, than it gained from the tax 
imposed on its products. 

Now the luxury taxes are being fazed out, the industries are booming and US 
Government now boasts surpluses instead of deficits

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