Doctor in Seattle wants to Tax Your Espresso so that Daycare Workers can be Paid Better

KING 5 TV, Seattle's NBC Affiliate | 6/1/2002 | DennisR

[DennisR]

Get ready, everyone (especially small businesses that serve espresso) in Seattle. KING 5 news is running a story about a group of people that wants to tax your espresso drink 10 cents a cup to raise the pay of daycare workers. (This is not an anti-daycare worker post--God bless them for doing what they do.) If they can get enough signatures, it will be an initiative on the ballot in November. It is expected that this will raise $7 million a year.

Oh, and if this thing passes in Seattle, get ready Tacoma, Everett, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, ... Maybe this will turn Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, into a Republican. Not likely.

So, to have some fun, let's think of other things that could be taxed so someone can get some free money through the power of government.

[DennisR]

My idea: Tax sports stars and entertainers instead of coffee drinkers.

Taxing sports stars would provide way more than $7 million. Tax them $1000 each time they play a game in Seattle. Taking the NBA's Sonics as an example: 42 games x 12 players x $1000 = $5,040,000. The opposing team's tax would double that. Then throw in the Seahawks (45 players?) and Mariners (25 players?) and you're talking about a lot of money, baby!

Taxing entertainers $10,000 for every concert and every movie in town, and you should be able to do a major pay raise.

The nice thing about doing this is that a very small percentage of the population falls into these two categories, so their votes would be inconsequential. See how class warfare works?

[Jeff Chandler]

Might as well work this through to its logical conclussion. Why not tax sports figures in order to subsidize espresso dinkers?

[A. Morgan]

Let's tax doctors with stupid ideas!

[DennisR]

I like it! After all, I am an espresso drinker and would really appreciate government help in enforcing my right to have a daily cup without having to pay for the whole thing. I am probably addicted, so that even makes it more essential that I get government help. I might even be eligible for ADA help. By the way, drip coffee would not be taxed. I guess it's punishment enough having to drink that stuff. :) And it would also free most restaurants from having to collect the tax. Probably too many people would vote against it in that case.

[Grampa Dave]

I'm sure if there was an income tax in Washington, that sports stars would be taxed. When Joe Montana and Steve Young played a game in Phillie (I believe) they were taxed at some incredible amount. The tax and spenders took the number of games played and figured that the game in Philly was worth X%. Then they applied their state and local taxes to the base salaries of the out of state NFLers. Of course no one care as they were rich athletes.

When the Medicare tax was put in an unlike the FICA tax it had no cap, Steve Young and other NFL, NBA and major league baseball players were hammered big time. Again no one cared.

[DennisR]

That also sounds good. And doctors make fairly decent money, so why can't they subsidize it themselves out of their own free wills?

[ValerieUSA]

Seattle is totally hopeless - filled with liberal socialist IDIOTS. I can't begin to count the compounding wrong-headed notions throughout this little article:

Seattle P-I -- Group wants to tax espresso for child care
It's a tax that could hit Seattleites where it really hurts: their coffee mugs.
A group of child-care advocates, seeking more money for early education, filed an initiative Friday that would place a 10-cent city tax on Seattle's lifeblood -- espresso drinks.
But in Seattle, where voters have already voted to tax their tobacco, their meals and their hotel rooms, among other things, initial word of the proposal caused barely a jolt among the area's latte lovers.
"Coffee, in a way, it's kind of a luxury item," said Patty Grazini, who frequents the Diva Espresso Bar in Seattle's Greenwood district. "As long as the money went to the programs it was supposed to, I would support it."
The Early Learning and Care Committee, which is made up of parents, teachers and child-care directors, expects the tax would raise $7 million to $10 million a year in this coffee-addicted city. The money would be used to increase wages for child-care teachers, assist low- and middle-income families in obtaining quality child care and increase the amount of high-quality care in Seattle, said Lisa Moy, campaign manager. ......
"We know that the city of Seattle voters are dedicated to their children," Moy said. "This is one way they can enable children more access to quality pre-kindergarten care."

Voters dedicated to their children. How about the PARENTS? Where's the dedication in dropping them off at gov't day care centers throughout their infancy and early childhood before moms stop off for over-priced lattes on their way to work, feeling good about themselves because 10 cents from that purchase will go to improve wages for daycare workers???
GGGRRRRRRRR ....It's INSANE! If you don't want to raise children, don't breed.

[Jeff Chandler]

Restaurants might try to get around the espresso tax by just serving coffee which has been left on the warming plate all day. Call it "expresso" or something.

[NittanyLion]

Tax sports stars and entertainers instead of coffee drinkers.

Already happens. Whenever a visiting athlete or entertainer performs in Philly they're subject to the city's opressive 4% city wage tax (might be 3% if you don't live IN the city, but even so). The city determines what percentage of income was earned that night, and assesses taxes accordingly.

[goodnesswins]

I want a 10% tax on taxes - this "tax" would come back to any person who WORKS and PAYS TAXES! Hmmm, wonder if we could get up an initiative to do this?

[DennisR]

This is why we need a bloodless revolution. People have become so used to paying huge taxes that they are complacent. And this is why the Dem-Com-Soc-Libs stay in power--they enact class warfare so they can get the abundance of votes from middle- and lower-class people. After all, rich people are evil and greedy and taking money away from the rest of us, right?

[Jeff Chandler]

If you don't want to raise children, don't breed.

Amen sister!

[Free the USA]

How about a 100% asset tax on idiots that propose new taxes?

[DennisR]

". . .any person who WORKS and PAYS TAXES. . ."

Nice idea, but because you are "blessed" and "lucky" to have a job, you have no say in what gets taxed. You are too busy to know how to vote correctly. Sorry. :)

[DennisR]

The newest slogan to describe Seattle if they pass this initiative: "Saneless in Seattle."

[Grampa Dave]

Just look what the tax and spend left wing governors and their helpers have done to the economies in Kali, Oregone and ChiCom east or Washington in the last 2-3 years.

They never reduce taxes, they just find new schemes to tax or fee us even more. Wait until the residents of ChiCom East/Washington are taxed for the area of their roofs to pay for the sewage costs to carry the extra runoffs due to the roofs. As if there is never runoffs in areas without roofs in the land of rain.

[DennisR]

Wow...not sure if 100% is enough.

[DennisR]

I second that "Amen sister"!

[DennisR]

"ChiCom east"? I like that. I usually refer to WA state as USSRW. Yes, the left-wingers only know how to take our money and waste it. Like "light rail." The only thing that is going to be "light" if they ever finish this pork barrel project is our wallets. By the way, everyone in WA sign I-776. That will help defund light rail.

[Grampa Dave]

I used to refer to Seattle as Moscow East. Since the USSR has failed, rolled over and fell apart, the major commy state still left, is China. So to update my remarks, I refer to Wash. as ChiCom East.

I know that basically when you get out of the Bejing Province/Seattle, some wonderful conservatives live in a frustrating state. Like us down here in Kali Land. Once you get out of LaLa land, Gay Frisco, the Silly Con Valley or Santa Clause county and Sacramento, the rest of the state has more conservatives than the left wing socialists.

Take care up there and good luck with your propositions that are good and defeat the one that will raise taxes on your coffee intake.