One wouldn’t think that rainwater could be an issue of concern to the average American. . If there was concern the topic of flooding would probably be on the top of the list, or a lack of rainwater that hurts the farmer’s crops. But this is 2010 and we have seen what rain water does around here. It was only a few years ago that a consent decree was signed by the powers that be and the EPA to stop overflows in the sanitary system.
It was Hurricane Hugo that started the oversight. The EPA got involved because in old towns like ours the sewer systems were built as a co-mingled system. That means that storm water, or rainwater runoff, is directed into the sanitary system and goes through the treatment plant. In severe weather the treatment plant overflowed, causing sewage to go into the river. The original idea of co-mingled systems was to push the sanitary waste out of the pipes and down stream. That was before we had water treatment plants as far back as the 1800’s.
Our town has been upgrading our sewer system for the past 20 years but spending big money in the past 10 years. The City of Pittsburgh has finished their work that leads to the Farragut sanitary line and storm line, Bellevue and Ross Township finished years ago. The visible result is the reworked “Tiger Cage” that was installed on Farragut at the end of Jacks Run Creek back in the 1950’s. The Tiger Cage was originally installed when raw sewage was still being put into Jacks Run and needed to be directed to the treatment plant. The Tiger Cage is gone, replaced with a series of debris interrupters that stop trees and tires from entering the sewer system from Jacks Run Creek. Now, storm water from Bellevue, Ross Township and the City of Pittsburgh headed for the Farragut valley is directed to the Ohio River rather than ALCOSAN.
If you have been paying attention you know that ALCOSAN is about to raise fees that we will pay on our sewage bills to help pay for the EPA consent decree work that ALCOSAN has to do. By the time the work is completed, and who you choose to listen to or believe, the cost will be somewhere between $1 billion and $3 billion dollars.
It is nice to talk about the nostalgia of the “Tiger Cage” and pre water treatment days, but this is all old news. Yes, fellow resident, it is old news that we haven’t really started to pay for yet. However, our elected leaders are already pushing their weight around through the EPA for a new round of regulation and taxes. The EPA is looking to regulate the discharge of “rainwater runoff”.
That means a U.S. government agency wants to tax me for the water that falls on my house, driveway or sidewalk and is “runoff” or discharged somewhere. The proposed rule making says the plan is only to affect new or newly redeveloped sites. I guess I shouldn’t worry because my house would be grandfathered wouldn’t it? Well, that depends on what one means by newly redeveloped sites. Did Bellevue just newly redevelop our sewer system? Does that mean that Bellevue will be forced to figure out how much water is coming off private property and into our new storm sewer system?
Does this mean that the surcharge I pay to the Borough for the sewer system we put in, is being added to a surcharge to ALCOSAN for the sewer system they are going to upgrade, for water I use to water my lawn? In the future will I have to pay an EPA tax for the rain when I don’t have to water my lawn?
Oh, by the way, ALCOSAN existed prior to the EPA. We were cleaning our water in Allegheny County before the EPA began operation in 1970. The EPA was originally charged to protect human health and the environment and exists to develop and enforce regulations based on laws passed by Congress.
The EPA ‘s 2010 budget exceeds $10.5 billion, $1 billion of that is for clean air and global climate change investigation and close to $1billion for what they call compliance and environmental stewardship. I’ve got an idea, since the EPA has solved all of our health problems to the point that they want to figure out how much rain water runs off our property, I think they have outlived their original mandate. They aren’t protecting human health any more, if they ever did. It’s time for Congress to pass a law dissolving the EPA.
Showing posts with label Budgets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budgets. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tire Tax
Depending on whom you believe, the excise tax on tires is protecting American jobs or running up the cost of tires. President Obama imposed a 35 percent excise tax on foreign made tires, that took effect, in September to counteract the claim that about 5,000 U.S. workers have lost their jobs in the past five years due to imports.
The tax adds about $35 to the price of two $50 snow tires or $70 for a set of four tires. We are expecting to replace 210 million tires in the next year. Assuming that the price for a tire is $50, the price of two would be $100 with an add on that would be $135. The cost of domestic tires is going to increase also because of the shortage caused by the tax. With 105 million sets sold that would mean that we will pay 3.675 billion dollars in tax. That’s 735 thousand dollars annual tax per job lost in the domestic tire industry. I didn’t know tire workers made that much. How does that make any sense unless the government having a windfall in tax collection is the only goal?
I was talking to a friend who was upset that his medi-care premium was going up from 98 dollars a month to 150 dollars a month next year. That is a hefty increase. Are all senior citizens getting the same increase? I wonder if that increase was calculated by the same people who figured out that a 35 percent excise tax on tires would save jobs or that carbon emissions are causing global warming?
Cap and Trade is on the way to our neighborhood. That’s another word for a tax on any business or person who uses energy to live or work. You see, energy use causes carbon emission that is causing global warming, and the tax will save the world while destroying jobs in the United States. Don’t worry, that hoax you are hearing about being perpetrated on the world will be put to rest when the Copenhagen agreement is endorsed by the President next week. Ironically, on December 7th.
While this is going on the City of Pittsburgh is in a debate concerning taxing student tuition as a privilege. Mr. Motznik told the students that he hoped they were upset with the universities because they don’t pay their fair share of taxes. The audacity of elected officials, who forget what schools and non-profits do for our cities and the region, just so they can tax the public in a new way.
Wait until you see the VAT tax that comes with the health care legislation we are bound to get. Ah yes, a tax that is hidden and the people don’t realize they are paying, what a windfall for tax and spend officials. Another means, like those listed above to tax the public in a new way! I think it is time we all wake up and smell the coffee.
The tax adds about $35 to the price of two $50 snow tires or $70 for a set of four tires. We are expecting to replace 210 million tires in the next year. Assuming that the price for a tire is $50, the price of two would be $100 with an add on that would be $135. The cost of domestic tires is going to increase also because of the shortage caused by the tax. With 105 million sets sold that would mean that we will pay 3.675 billion dollars in tax. That’s 735 thousand dollars annual tax per job lost in the domestic tire industry. I didn’t know tire workers made that much. How does that make any sense unless the government having a windfall in tax collection is the only goal?
I was talking to a friend who was upset that his medi-care premium was going up from 98 dollars a month to 150 dollars a month next year. That is a hefty increase. Are all senior citizens getting the same increase? I wonder if that increase was calculated by the same people who figured out that a 35 percent excise tax on tires would save jobs or that carbon emissions are causing global warming?
Cap and Trade is on the way to our neighborhood. That’s another word for a tax on any business or person who uses energy to live or work. You see, energy use causes carbon emission that is causing global warming, and the tax will save the world while destroying jobs in the United States. Don’t worry, that hoax you are hearing about being perpetrated on the world will be put to rest when the Copenhagen agreement is endorsed by the President next week. Ironically, on December 7th.
While this is going on the City of Pittsburgh is in a debate concerning taxing student tuition as a privilege. Mr. Motznik told the students that he hoped they were upset with the universities because they don’t pay their fair share of taxes. The audacity of elected officials, who forget what schools and non-profits do for our cities and the region, just so they can tax the public in a new way.
Wait until you see the VAT tax that comes with the health care legislation we are bound to get. Ah yes, a tax that is hidden and the people don’t realize they are paying, what a windfall for tax and spend officials. Another means, like those listed above to tax the public in a new way! I think it is time we all wake up and smell the coffee.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Municipal Budgets
We are lucky, Mayor Doscher presented a balanced budget for 2010, without a tax increase. With the current council we might just get the budget passed before the end of the year. Other municipalities aren’t so lucky. We have been in an economic down turn for over a year now and some elected officials just don’t get it.
Right next door Mayor Luke wants to tax post secondary school students, for the privilege of attending school in the city. When the Intergovernmental Cooperative Group said no to the tax the mayor immediately said he would have to stop the next class of police officer trainees, eliminate a firehouse and all school crossing guards. He even hired a $650 dollar an hour Philadelphia lawyer to get his way. Sounds like a joke doesn’t it?
I wonder why the first thing to go wouldn’t have been the 125 Citiparks Summer Food Service Program sites that “provides healthy and delicious breakfasts, lunches and snacks to all children up to 18 years old” seems like a luxury to me. I wonder how many other line items are less important than police, firemen and school crossing guards but they aren’t on the chopping block?
I’m guessing his threat was to scare the people of Pittsburgh into supporting a tax on all those outsiders who attend Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, Chatham, Carlow, Robert Morris and CCAC. Why should Pittsburgh stop at the post secondary schools? Why don’t they tax the grade school kids also? I mean, after all isn’t all education a privilege? Most of the people around the world would agree that all education is a privilege.
Now the city is calling for a study to see how many city services can be laid on the schools by calculating their property values. Following that logic does that mean that a million dollar home in Fox Chapel uses more services than a $50,000 walk-up in East Liberty? Remember, these people want to tax patients in hospitals like they do hotel guests to pay for government services.
We can’t rely on the property taxes paid by the residential and commercial property owners to pay for needed services. We can’t rely on wage taxes paid for by the residents who work. We can’t rely on the Emergency Services Tax paid for by workers in the community. We can’t rely on license fees, parking fees, enforcement fines or a sales tax to pay for our regional assests. We have to tax student tuition?. Why not go after EPA consent decrees that cause our storm water runoff to cost so much and government taxes on landfills that cause garbage collection costs to skyrocket?
Why is it that politicians go after the police and fire departments when they want to add a tax? Why is it that eliminating police officers and firefighters is what they go after to reduce budgets? Locally our police department takes less than 20% of the budget but I’ll bet somebody thinks that is a lot. But it’s not really how much emergency services cost, rather it’s that the topic scares people into supporting a new tax. While they look for recurring revenue they have failed to see their population has been cut in half over the past 30 years because of the taxes they believe give them recurring revenue.
Pay attention to what is going on next-door, because that type of politics is like a virus, it spreads. Watch and see if it spreads this way and if you see that bug step on it, and the politician who is carrying it.
OUTRAGEOUS NEWS
When questioned about discrepancies in the unemployment rate and the failure of the American Recovery Act, President Obama's Recovery Czar, Ed Pound, responded "Who knows man, who really knows?" 11/19/2009
Right next door Mayor Luke wants to tax post secondary school students, for the privilege of attending school in the city. When the Intergovernmental Cooperative Group said no to the tax the mayor immediately said he would have to stop the next class of police officer trainees, eliminate a firehouse and all school crossing guards. He even hired a $650 dollar an hour Philadelphia lawyer to get his way. Sounds like a joke doesn’t it?
I wonder why the first thing to go wouldn’t have been the 125 Citiparks Summer Food Service Program sites that “provides healthy and delicious breakfasts, lunches and snacks to all children up to 18 years old” seems like a luxury to me. I wonder how many other line items are less important than police, firemen and school crossing guards but they aren’t on the chopping block?
I’m guessing his threat was to scare the people of Pittsburgh into supporting a tax on all those outsiders who attend Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, Chatham, Carlow, Robert Morris and CCAC. Why should Pittsburgh stop at the post secondary schools? Why don’t they tax the grade school kids also? I mean, after all isn’t all education a privilege? Most of the people around the world would agree that all education is a privilege.
Now the city is calling for a study to see how many city services can be laid on the schools by calculating their property values. Following that logic does that mean that a million dollar home in Fox Chapel uses more services than a $50,000 walk-up in East Liberty? Remember, these people want to tax patients in hospitals like they do hotel guests to pay for government services.
We can’t rely on the property taxes paid by the residential and commercial property owners to pay for needed services. We can’t rely on wage taxes paid for by the residents who work. We can’t rely on the Emergency Services Tax paid for by workers in the community. We can’t rely on license fees, parking fees, enforcement fines or a sales tax to pay for our regional assests. We have to tax student tuition?. Why not go after EPA consent decrees that cause our storm water runoff to cost so much and government taxes on landfills that cause garbage collection costs to skyrocket?
Why is it that politicians go after the police and fire departments when they want to add a tax? Why is it that eliminating police officers and firefighters is what they go after to reduce budgets? Locally our police department takes less than 20% of the budget but I’ll bet somebody thinks that is a lot. But it’s not really how much emergency services cost, rather it’s that the topic scares people into supporting a new tax. While they look for recurring revenue they have failed to see their population has been cut in half over the past 30 years because of the taxes they believe give them recurring revenue.
Pay attention to what is going on next-door, because that type of politics is like a virus, it spreads. Watch and see if it spreads this way and if you see that bug step on it, and the politician who is carrying it.
OUTRAGEOUS NEWS
When questioned about discrepancies in the unemployment rate and the failure of the American Recovery Act, President Obama's Recovery Czar, Ed Pound, responded "Who knows man, who really knows?" 11/19/2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)