the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Aug 19, 2013
Michigan legislators are considering a ballot proposal for next year to ask voters to approve raising the state sales tax from 6% up to 7%. They pose this as an alternative to Governor Rick Snyder’s proposal to raise vehicle registration fees and gasoline sales taxes.
They tell us most of the gasoline sales tax currently goes to schools and cities. Under their proposal, gasoline sales taxes would go to the roads, and the across-the-board sales tax increase would go to schools and cities.
The politicians want people to believe that unless they agree to raise taxes on themselves, there will be no other way to pay for roads that don’t destroy their cars, decent schools for their kids, or working street lights in their cities.
Many Michigan residents have seen this scam before, when we were promised lottery proceeds would go to improving the schools. That turned out to be a complete bait and switch when the politicians simply reduced the money the schools got from the state’s General Fund by the same amount the lottery took in.
Both Snyder’s and the legislature’s proposals are just more ways to make ordinary people pay for all the handouts and tax breaks they’ve given to the corporations and the banks. Working people should say, “Hell no!” to both.