Vermont, once famous for its dairy – I dig a good Vermont Cheddar – is getting cheesy in other ways. Progressive legislators, some of them elected as actual progressives, are always looking for ways to steal money from people.
Two facts or rules of progressive political life.
First, when it comes to the Elected Left and the cost of government, there is no “enough.” Government can never be too big, do too much, or get in the way too often. Mostly because they don’t trust you to pay for their priorities without being forced.
The second is that no matter how limited the resources to satisfy the hunger of rule number one, or how much left-Wing policy has depleted them, Democrats will never stop looking for ways to tax or fee you deeper into poverty while giving themselves and their bureaucrats raises so they can afford the intolerable cost of living they themselves create.
With that fixed in your mind, nothing else they say or do matters. Those two things are universal constants that will undermine every bribe, welfare program, gimme, or handout. From Healthcare to school lunches, when the money runs out, you get the ugly end of the stick, so think about that as you ponder this.
It is meant to appear trivial. A retail delivery fee. You know, because all those Ubers and Door Dashers and Amazon, and UPS, and the rest, are using your roads and bridges. You are not meant to remember that they pay motor fuel taxes, registration and inspection fees, taxes on the purchase or sale of vehicles, and any other taxes they levy to fund roads and bridges.
The more you drive, the more fuel you use, the more gas taxes you pay, and none of that matters. Rule number one and rule number two.
They don’t need the revenue for roads and bridges; they need it to pay for bloated, wasteful, incompetent, expensive government. We know this because blue states tend to have higher taxes and crappy roads that just keep getting crappier. But here we were.
Vermont lawmakers have taken an early procedural step toward what could become a statewide retail delivery fee, opening a policy discussion that mirrors debates playing out in other states over delivery costs, gig work, and transportation funding. …
The proposed definition of “retail delivery” is broad. It would cover the physical delivery by vehicle of tangible personal property purchased as part of a retail sale to a Vermont address, including alcoholic beverages, clothing, grocery items, and taxable meals. Home heating fuel deliveries are excluded.
They’ll sell it as “they will be paying it,” but the fact is that these costs will get passed down, so you’ll be paying it. To be fair, some of the increase could result in fewer jobs, shorter hours, lower wages, reduced availability, or other downsides that will also affect you, but raising prices is the easiest fix. Unlike the government, they can’t just levy a tax to paper over incompetence, fiscal incontinence, fraud, or abuse.
It has twenty-one sponsors, and the three that are not Democrats are elected Progressives. Yes. Vermont is so left it has Left and further left, and then some Republicans, none of whom support this. And it’s easy to see why. This is just another loosely framed effort to steal money from people who are already overtaxed. The thing they are driving was taxed. The fuel they put in it was taxed. What they are carrying was probably taxed; they tax the salaries of the people doing the work to deliver it, and the businesses that generated the product or service.
It’s not enough.
They need another tax to satisfy rule number one.
And Vermonter’s are very close to the point where the Left has reached escape velocity, and at no point in the state’s future will anyone be able to reel them back. Yes, the 2024 elections were a positive sign, but the state needs an enema and only voters can bring one big enough to get the job done.
I’d be happy to be wrong, but I’d bet the Dems get some seats back in 2026. Not good for Vermont, or taxes or spending, but I’m not just here to bitch.
Vermont’s proglodytes have been using tax incentives to increase the number of EVs on the roads. EVs are very heavy and add exponentially more wear and tear to your roads and bridges. Two thoughts. First, since Dems aren’t going to stop demanding more of them, kill any incentives if there are any (or any left) and redirect them to roads and bridges. Thought two, ‘cuz there’s no way they’ll do that even if it is an option, how about not just a vehicle miles driven tax (because EVs pay taxes on electricity but not fuel), how about a personal use vehicle weight tax?
Relax. Thanks to rule number one, they’ll get there eventually. That’s right, progressive voters, you too will have to pay because elections have consequences, and you keep electing these people. And while Gov Scott can veto it if it gets to him, and there aren’t enough proglodytes to override it this time around, they will keep trying because of rule number one and rule number two.
It is why any notion that Democrats could make life more affordable is absurd, and why voters need to grasp that before November and any election after it.
