Tax our Trash, says Leslie Ghiz

 (Steve Driehaus gets ready for bed)

Dear fellow tax hikers, it's the night of December 28th and Cincinnati still doesn't have a budget for 2011.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  With Cincinnati trying to close a huge budget shortfall, we plead with them to do the right thing - raise our taxes!

Leslie Ghiz is listening.  Our favorite Councilperson Leslie Ghiz has announced her support for a Trash Tax.  This is exactly what the city needs.  Our trash deserves to be taxed. (Note: that was not a reference to Simon Leis.)

Not only should Cincinnati tax our trash, but they should also raise the Income Tax, Property Tax, and any other tax currently implemented.  Cincinnati residents are undertaxed.  And we at Republicans for Higher Taxes applaud Leslie Ghiz for recognizing this. 

Jean Schmidt votes for higher taxes

Dear fellow tax hikers, recently we were very disappointed to see Congress vote to extend the tax cuts that were introduced during the Bush Administration.  We as Americans are undertaxed.  The government needs to raise taxes - all kinds of taxes -  to deliver us the big government we deserve.

In spite of our disappointment, we are extremely proud that our Congresswoman Jean Schmidt voted against continuing these tax cuts.  Her vote would have raised income taxes on every single American taxpayer starting in January.  We have endorsed Jean in all of her races, and this vote should help you to see why.

Jean Schmidt is one of the finest politicians we have ever endorsed.  As a State Representative, she voted for all of Bob Taft's tax increases.  As a Congressman, she voted for the $800 Billion Bailouts for Wall Street Billionaires.  And now, to pay for programs such as these bailouts, she has voted to raise income taxes on everyone.  We salute our tax-hiking hero, Jean Schmidt, for everything she has done to raise taxes and grow government.  Keep up the good work!

Virgil Lovitt criticizes Kasich for killing 3C plan

Dear fellow tax hikers, once again we have great reason to be proud of our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt.  Today, Virg, our favorite Tax-and-Spend Republican, criticizes the decision made by our enemy, incoming Governor John Kasich for killing the Obama Administration's 3C rail line.  This would have allowed people to travel between Ohio's biggest cities at an average speed of 39 MPH. 

Virgil Lovitt knows that the government can do more with your money than you can.  That is why Virg strongly supports every tax increase and government spending program that comes before him.  Some people, like our conservative enemies, want the private sector and citizens to determine where our money goes.  But wiser folks, like Barack Obama and Virgil Lovitt, understand the benefits of central government planning. 

The 3C line would have helped Sharonville replenish its supply of prostitutes to help maintain its thriving prostitution industry.  Prostitutes struggling to make a living in other Ohio cities could have simply hopped the train and landed right in the heart of Sharonville.  We know that Mayor Lovitt will rebound from this poor decision of Kasich's and ensure his city's prostitution industry continues to move ahead. 

We have a great suggestion for Virg.  We encourage the city of Sharonville to raise taxes to build a state-of-the-art brothel.  This brothel would employ men and women on an equal-opportunity basis, and serve men, women, transgenders, and transexuals.  The city could turn a profit from this enterprise by establishing a modest tax on all revenues.  This would bring new meaning to the term, "gross revenues".  This economic development plan could happen without the support of our incoming miser of a Governor.

1997: Pete Bronson discusses Tax-and-Spend Republicans

Dear fellow tax hikers, you are going to love the latest little gem that we fantastic researchers have unearthed.  In 1997, former Enquirer columnist Pete Bronson wrote an article about the Tax-and-Spend Republicans of Hamilton County.  These were some of our finest days, fresh off of passing the legendary Stadium Sales Tax hike and the three Republican Commissioners Bob Bedinghaus, John Dowlin (RIP), and Little Tommy Neyer raising every other tax that they could. 

Bronson wrote:  

If Democrats have "tax and spend" disease, Republicans must get elephantiasis of the budget. They talk about cutting big government - but when they get behind the wheel of the Governaut they gas it up on high-octane taxes, round up their friends and take a road trip to Fat City.

That's right.   It is Republicans who passed the Stadium Sales Tax hike.  It is Republicans who supported two different jail taxes a few years ago.  It is Republicans, led by the great George Voinovich and Jo Ann Davidson, who tried to pass a statewide Sales Tax increase in 1998.  It is Republicans who voted for Bob Taft's Sales Tax increase, Gas Tax increase, and hotel tax increase.  And let's not forget about great local Republicans like Simon Leis, Leslie Ghiz, Virgil Lovitt, and Randy Smith, who have worked extremely hard to raise taxes locally. 

We are the party of higher taxes.  Greg Hartmann has realized this, and that's why he joined David Pepper to raise property taxes so more money can flow to the Bengals and Reds Industrial Complex.  The bad Republicans like Steve Chabot and Chris Monzel better watch themselves.  Now that Republicans are in control, we are going to get back to raising taxes and growing government and they better not get in our way. 

Tax Hike Hartmann Raises Property Taxes

Dear fellow tax hikers, Happy Winter Solstice Greetings to all of you!  One of our favorite parts of running this pro-tax movement is bringing converts to our side.  We are so proud to announce that our latest convert is Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann!  Your property taxes have just gone up, and without Tax Hike Hartmann's support it would not have been possible. 

When voters were lobbied to support the big Stadium Sales Tax hikes in 1996, they were promised that county homeowners would receive a sizeable property tax rollback.  Well, promises are made to be broken.  The Sales Tax revenues aren't coming in as expected and the Commissioners need some money.  We completely concur with their decision to break their word to the lowly taxpayers.  After all, who cares what they think? 

We cannot expect the County Commissioners to break their promises to important people, like the ones who receive this money.  No, instead they needed to break their promise to county homeowners.  The purpose of homeownership is to provide a taxing mechanism to give more money to important people like Mike Brown, and to fund important projects like giving Mr. Brown his very own stadium.  Without this necessary tax increase, Mike Brown might have had to pay for his own team's operating expenses, pay market rent to the stadium's owners, or even allow the county to impose a ticket surcharge so that the users of the stadiums would have to pay for more of the costs. 

Thankfully, we have Tax Hike Hartmann and David Pepper to ensure that homeowners will pay these costs themselves. 

We saw where Greg Hartmann said he would cut some levies to make up for this.  Yeah, ok there Greg.  Tax Hike Hartmann has already shown that he will break his promises to the taxpayers, so we tax hikers know not to worry about this promise of his. 

Those levies will never be cut.  County levies are like your mother-in-law.  They will always be around, for as long as they want no matter how much anyone wants to get rid of them.  (Now unlike many, I happen to love my Civil Domestic Partner's mommy.  She is perfect in every way, except for her vag unit.)  Back to the levies, Hartmann himself knows there is little to cut for them because of the strong support that we tax hikers have built for them.  Hartmann knows to make promises to the conservative crowd.  But as we saw last week, a Greg Hartmann promise to taxpayers is made to be broken.  Welcome to our movement Greg!