Why don't you and Blaydrnr get together and come up with a post that asks a full question...
i wasn't really asking a question...i was merely being rhetorical towards your response to my so called rambling.
Novabonker pretty much hit the hammer on the nail.
like you stated before, a tax is a tax, regardless of how it's packaged...it's all tied into the strength of the economy and it determines the stability of our finances...the problem is government create or raise taxes for the sake of social services, but they never seem to have enough so they cut back on needed programs then they want to create more taxes and raise existing ones.
forget semantics and deal with reality...just like here in Richmond where they spent millions building the B line for a bus only lane that was created and dismantled 2 yrs later to make room for the Sky Train...Years of planning and millions of tax payer dollars for what?... how about the fast cat ferries...budgeted for 200 million...went over budget by 300 million then sold for the price of scrap metal at a mere 20 million dollars....also funded by tax payers...now the controversy with the ferry CEO and his rich pension plan which exceeds the national and american average..(board of director approved)....the new addition of the carbon tax for gas when the price of crude oil dropped...
the list goes on...everything tax based and poorly managed...so forgive me, if i'm a little skeptical.