Richmond Times-Dispatch
P.O. Box 85333
Richmond, VA 23293
Attn: Editor of Editorial Page

Dear Sir,

All right! That’s it! I have had enough of this carping and whining by our State representatives about how much the elimination of the car tax will cost the State.

I have just a few points to make regarding this topic. They are direct, to the point, and based in common sense. That is why I am sure that most of these politicians won’t get it, but here goes. I would ask those of you reading this missive to think long and hard about what I am about to ask, are you ready? When was the last time you can remember a politician asking how we, the working citizens of the Commonwealth, would be able to afford a TAX INCREASE!? Were there stories asking how we would be able to balance our checkbooks, pay our mortgage, feed our children? Don’t hold your breath trying to find such a story. And yet each and every time someone proposes a tax break for the poor working schmucks of this State why the screams can be heard far and wide about how the State Government will suffer. People will starve, programs will go unfunded, children will suffer, life as we know it will come to an end.

One wonders how the country survived at all before the era of big government. I have a news flash for all you politicians, liberals, and fans of big government. The money that you are so willing to see taken from us IS OURS! It does not belong to the government. We worked for it, we earned it, and by God we should be the ones who decide how to spend it! All those programs that the politicians tell us must be saved are in many cases just pet projects of their own, designed to increase their standing with special interest groups. All the while the one group that keeps getting dumped on are those who actually choose to work for a living or, God forbid, choose to own a car or other property.

Something is very wrong when a government decides to punish its citizens for having the audacity to exercise the freedoms they believe themselves to have. On top of all the payroll taxes we must pay we are further punished for daring to buy and hoping to own a home, a car, a boat, fill in the blank. The fact is we never own any of these as long as the government can continue to tax us arbitrarily on any item we choose to buy.

It is time you, the citizens, sat down and took stock of just how many taxes we pay on all levels. Not just the ones you see, such as payroll, but the many hidden taxes as well. As for Governor Gilmore and the many politicians who supported his campaign pledge to abolish the car tax I would say this, We are watching and we expect you to fulfill the promise you made to us! There will be no excuses accepted.

Yours for Liberty,

Floyd C. Bayne

cc: James Gilmore
Arthur S. Warren
R. Lee Ware
Stephen H. Martin