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(Note: while the following is intended to be funny, through
the use of imitation and satire, it does demonstrate the
absurdity of the self-righteous "how dare you even think of
making us pay for what we consume" opinion which is the
basis of the "Stop Taxing my Car!!!!!!" misinformation
brochure.)
STOP MAKING ME PAY FOR GROCERIES!!!!!!
Important information for all eaters
Fruits, Vegetables & Politics
Food payer protest is erupting everywhere - watch out for
flying turnips! It became obvious many years ago that direct
charging for food had reached a saturation point.
There have been few greater targets for food charges than the
private food eater. Food eaters, in the food-grower's mind, seem
to have acquired the stature of cows, helpless consumers to be
relentlessly milked. The food industry plans factories and buys
farm equipment which collectively costs in the billions of
dollars, and too often the private food eater is seen as the cash
cow to help pay these bills.
Food is essential to most of us. Speak up against these
outrageous charges.
Food costs
The contribution made through food purchases made by the
private food eater to the national economy is beyond comparison.
The jobs represented by the growth, distribution, sales and
serving contribute dramatically to every tax base in the country.
The food industry is taxed on vast real estate and business
holdings. Farm equipment construction, government regulation,
enforcement and related farm concerns all add to this awesome
economic generator. Everything is taxed at every stage, before
the eater takes a bite.
Using figures prepared for members by the Canadian Eater's
Association, and adding a modest increment to reflect
predominantly urban cappuccino consumers, the average family eats
$7045 of food annually, exclusive of finance charges. How much of
this $7045 is directly grabbed by food producers?
Food producers, fees & service
It is important to confuse things by claiming that food
growers are evil even though they don't get all the money.
Part of the price of food goes to pay for retailers, food
transportation, storage, and inspection. These aren't going
directly to the Evil Food-Growing Conspiracy directly, but we'll
include some of them anyway because we're so outraged.
What's next - tips? Minimum orders? Dress codes?
These figures demonstrate that direct charges by food growers
now represent a large percentage of the total cost of eating. And
now we're being asked to ante up even more when we go to a
restaurant!
What can we do about it?
Make your voice heard. Food fights are taking place from coast
to coast in Canada. Phone, fax and write your grocery store.
Convey loudly this simple message:
STOP MAKING ME PAY FOR GROCERIES!
This drawing is a spoof of the ludicrous original which seems to suggest that,
if it weren't for the government "grabbing" money,
commercial parking lot owners would provide their land for free
and would work for free. Do they really think we're that
gullible?
Speaking of gullible: the Auto Tax Coalition wants you to
believe that insurance premiums are a tax! Furthermore, they want
to count GST and PST as being "user fees"! See for
yourself: the original and a
pie chart which shows the true user
fees: $836 out of approximately $8000 ($7045 + financing
charges).
There are, of course, more serious replies to the Auto Tax
Coalition put out by Transport
2000 BC and the Victoria
Transport Policy Institute.
James Strickland
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