A Sign of Things to Come?

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Yesterday, I found a new "miscellaneous" charge added to my phone bill. It was dated May 01, and identified as "PIC C SURCHG-AMERITEL" The Tax Code was listed as 03, the charge was $1.07, and there was an additional "City Occupation" surcharge of $.07. Upon calling my long distance provider, I was informed this was a new tax. "Oh," I replied, "is this to pay for Gore's computers supplied to schools?" He said it is. Now, I never voted for such a tax, I haven't heard anything about Congress having approved it. Is this a forerunner of what's ahead in 2000 when the nation is trying to pull out of the debacle? I'm not against kids having computers in schools; I was a teacher's aide and did a lot of work on computers in the school's computer lab. It was fun seeing the little kids working away on those computers. What's next? Will we have taxes added to our drug store purchases to pay for the kids to have free condoms? Will we have added taxes on our medical insurance to pay for the girls to go over to the neighborhood abortuary (without parental consent)? I can manage $1.14 added to my phone bill; I have a problem with "taxation without representation!"

-- Holly Allen (Holly3325@juno.com), July 07, 1998

Answers

They know you can manage $1.14 to your phone bill, so why should they ask you for it? Don't you get it? They always take without asking! They are thieves in neckties!

-- Barb-Douglas (bardou@yahoo.com), July 08, 1998.

This tax was most likely part of the Telecommunications Act of '96 (date?), which was, naturally, voted on by Congress. It's not a conspiracy of some sort, but the way the government works -- Congress passed a law with some taxes in it.

-- Kurt Ayau (ayau@iwinet.com), July 08, 1998.

Ever hear of representative democracy? You elect congress and they pass the laws. They passed a law raising telecomm taxes, remember? Don't you read the paper?

So you were represented - by your congressman. How did he vote on this law? If you dont like his vote, then get him out of office. Did you fall asleep in high school when this was explained to you?

-- big squid (bigsquid@devonian.com), July 08, 1998.


The telecomm companies agreed to the funding of school Internet connections during their negotiations on the Telecommunications Act. Now some of them are acting like it's something new that was sprung on them - they're not being honest.

-- Richard Woods (ribwoods@execpc.com), July 13, 1998.

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