I found this on the Drudge Report. This is the article.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,24659589-5005369,00.html
The question is when will the Obama Administration start to push for this new tax.
Two weeks I think. That is if they can stop sniffing each other’s rear end long enough. (They are worse than dogs.)
I guess down under there will be a sale on corks. I mean putting a cork in it will be an old saying with a new meaning. I wonder when there will be a new study that advocates the placement of these bodily corks.
The Obama administration will have to start a new stimulus plan for corks. The poor will have to share theirs. The Rich will have gold-plated corks. Their will be agitators for and against these corks. I mean I think Jackson and Sharpton will have a whole new intolerance to moan and complain about.
Just think of the possibilities. The mind boggles.
Moe Lane
PG DeFreese
Victoria Coates
Daniel Horowitz
Dan Spencer
Actually, the misnamed "flush" proposal is more sensible than the current tax
civil truth (Diary) Tuesday, February 17th at 1:08PM EST (link)According to the article, right now, people are charged for sewage on the basis of their home value, which is strictly a “tax the rich” socialist kind of approach that I think we all at RedState would raise our voices over it someone tried to institute that kind of tax scheme here.
What’s being proposed is not a “per flush” tax, but rather to install meters and tax on the basis of volume of sewage. That’s perfectly sensible to me, although it would seem that taxing sewage on the basis of water usage (as they do in my community) would suffice.
Indeed, the one flaw I see is that if sewage is taxed separately from water usage, it may encourage people to illegally divert sewage and dump it where it won’t get treated.
Thus the idea needs refinement, but the concept of taxing users rather than the rich is an advance forward.
The greatest evil…is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern. -C.S. Lewis
http://www.gmsplace.com/
Based on this one article, there does seem to be a problem
6eorge Jetson (Diary) Wednesday, February 18th at 6:37AM EST (link)…in that the solution is still not directly linked to the highest priority.
The problem is a drought. And, lacking elaboration, it seems to me that the scarce resource (water) that needs to be rationed/allocated by incentives (price)is the amount of water coming into the home, not where that water goes.
Another instance of the law of unintended effects.
I do agree that in switching to a usage fee over the poorly named “sewage” real estate tax is a step in the right direction. But installing meters to measure household water output separate from household water input seems to be driven as much by “the govt exists, therefore it should do something,” rather than considering the efficiency and perverse incentives (including dumping) that measuring separately introduces.
I think we both identified the same flaw
civil truth (Diary) Wednesday, February 18th at 10:17AM EST (link)…they need to charge on the basis of inflow, not outflow. Even so, there’s a recognition that the current system isn’t sensible, which is a step in the correct direction.
If we can see the problems with taxing outflow, I would hope that surely the experts would see that too. But that’s where I run into the obstacle of assigning intelligence to tax officials.
I’ll be curious to see what is the final product of this labor.
The greatest evil…is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern. -C.S. Lewis
http://www.gmsplace.com/
I wonder what the Cork futures look like.
Joel Farnham (Diary) Tuesday, February 17th at 1:43PM EST (link)Does any one know?
Call me what you want, just don’t call me late for dinner.
Flushing out the truth
GreyCloak (Diary) Wednesday, February 18th at 8:03AM EST (link)I don’t know anything about Aussie taxes, but it seems the “old” method taxes people who poop in elegant bathrooms more than those who poop in less-elegant homes.
My sewerage taxes are based on water usage, which I find to be more reasonable. A year or so ago, I had two leaky toilets that set my water usage at 25,000 gallons/month! It didn’t seem much, but 24-hours a day, it added up to about $150/mo. Water is so cheap that I thought that usage “reasonable” for years … I had no idea how much a shower (500 gallons?) or flush (5 gallons?) might use.
I replaced the valves for less than $50: just because the sound irritated me. My water usage dropped to 5,000 gallons (or less) per month! My water/sewerage/garbage monthly bill dropped to a bit more than $50: it’s one municipal bill, based on water usage.
I shower every day (thank you), and do that other thing too, once or twice … I don’t count recycling coffee, beer, or water … I assume Wife does the same, and I’m not about to ask.
Out on the farm, washing water comes from a rainwater cistern and drinking water comes from a well … sewerage ends up in a septic field, where “the grass grows greener.”
I’m ok with fees based on water usage … meters for “dumping” might not be accurate.
If the city/state/federal governments start taxing “waste,” I’ll be happy to find some bushes they can ask for tax returns!