Kansas state Sen opposes tax cuts in case poor buy more food

Here's the report:

A Republican state lawmaker in Kansas says that he opposes cutting the taxes on groceries because it would be a form of “social engineering” that encourages people to buy food over other items.

The Kansas state Senate on Thursday voted to cut the state sales tax on food from 6.3 percent to 4.95 percent, but Sen. Jeff Melcher (R) led opposition against the measure, arguing that it would lead to people eating more.

"It seems to me we are encouraging the behavior of purchasing food and discouraging the behavior of purchasing anything else," Melcher reportedly told his colleagues.

So that's a 1.05% drop in the tax - 1 cent in a $??

Just to show that this is not just a matter of bashing eth GOP, there are plenty of GOP members baffled by this sort of thinking too - fellow (??) Rep State Senator Barbara Bollier wasn't quite sure what to make of this:

I have no words. That’s just beyond comprehension to me. We each get to think what we want to think. But this is so far out there that I can’t believe someone said it. It’s frightening. That’s what it is.”

Y'all got to stop electing jerks!!

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


I've never factored in taxes while shopping.

I would go for any tax cut myself.

And just because he is GOP doean't mean he's a Conservative.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


It's not the nature of the tax cut - it is the reasoning for opposing it that I find obnoxious!

Originally posted by Aloysius the Gaul
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

It's not the nature of the tax cut - it is the reasoning for opposing it that I find obnoxious!

Well, in all likelihood that's not the real reason it's being opposed. Just the "official" story.

Originally posted by NOTurTypical

Well, in all likelihood that's not the real reason it's being opposed. Just the "official" story.

From the OP.

"It seems to me we are encouraging the behavior of purchasing food and discouraging the behavior of purchasing anything else," Melcher reportedly told his colleagues.

My work is Done.

I keep telling people that republicans want all of us peons to suffer, this is a pretty good illustration of that mindset.

Originally posted by Aloysius the Gaul
Y'all got to stop electing jerks!!

edit on 27-5-2013 by Aloysius the Gaul because: (no reason given)

My initial thoughts on reading that story was that Sen. Jeff Melcher (R) was merely opposing the law for no other reason that it was being pushed through by Democrats, and that he just made up an excuse off the top of his head as his reason for opposing it.

But it gets more bizzare.

A quick check elsewhere on the net tells me that the Kansas Senate is actually 80 percent Republican, and so it was Republicans who pushed this tax bill through the Senate.

So... not only is this guy an idiot, he's also opposing his own party.

reply to post by alfa1


Kansas has a "sales tax" on food? Is it the only state in the union? Food is non-taxable.

Am I wrong about this? No where that I've lived in the US is there a sales tax on food.

Originally posted by Happy1
reply to post by alfa1

 

Kansas has a "sales tax" on food? Is it the only state in the union? Food is non-taxable.

Am I wrong about this? No where that I've lived in the US is there a sales tax on food.

Raw food isn't taxed, but in my state, (Indiana), prepared food is taxable.

reply to post by Happy1

Here in Ohio food from grocery stores is not taxed except soda. prepared food from restaurants is only taxed if it eaten at the establishment there is no tax on prepared food on take out orders except again soda.

What a piece of garbage. Why do we keep electing these fools?

reply to post by jholt5638


Which pretty much illustrates how arbitrary the taxation is!!

Originally posted by Aloysius the Gaul
Here's the report:

To nit-pick....that isn't the report...that is the article from Huffington Post. Maybe I misinterpreted, I thought it linked to the actual Senate report.

Y'all got to stop electing jerks!!