Arthur C. Schaper: MA GOP Takes Down Tax (Dems, Not So Much)

Friday, October 11, 2013

Arthur Christopher Schaper, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

The MA GOP is rearing up and girding for battle on the next front: a new Obamacare tax.

Republicans across the country should respect and revere the Massachusetts GOP. They fight hard in a state which has been drifting (or rather, falling fast) into Democratic hands. The Mass GOP gave us Edward Brooke, the first popularly elected African-American US Senator, a statesman who inspired me with: "Your place is anywhere you want it to be."

Who can forget Scott Brown of 2010, who drove his truck, who shook every hand, who resisted Obamacare, and took back the US Senate for the GOP for the first time in forty years?

Despite his presidential follies, Governor Mitt Romney brought some business sense and restraint to the Commonwealth (I write "some", because Romneycare is just as careless as Obamacare, except only hurting the Bay State, instead of the United States.)

The Mass GOP rejected the Republican National Committee party platform, making a case for abortion in certain circumstances . The RNC should adopt "safe, legal, rare" and rub it in the Democrats' faces. But I'm not inhaling at this point.

And now, the Mass GOP has the unprecedented distinction of a minority caucus leading the charge, channeling populist frustration, and forcing the repeal of a heedless tax, the software services levy, which would have killed businesses in the Commonwealth.

The Mass GOP lined up against the anti-Democratic hypermajority, most of which decided not to show up, apparently. Then again, perhaps the Dems should take a permanent vacation, and let the Commonwealth gather its wealth from the common store of "Mister Governor" Deval Patrick and his un-Democratic coven.

Rep Marc Lombardo (R-Middlesex) attacked the tax's lack of clarity. Are services getting taxed? Hardware? Software? Consultation? Optimization? Frustration! Dems were probably angling for all of them, but hoped that no one would notice the ambiguity.

Rep Geoff Deihl (R-Plymouth) reminded his colleagues (what few were listening) that the Commonwealth already had an unexpected budget surplus: $600 million. So why raise taxes?

Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) could not have said it better:

If you could find the darkest, hottest place in the world and call it "Hell for Business", you'd see a "Welcome to Massachusetts" sign.

Ouch. Don't light my fire. Sorry, Ryan, but I think California has you beat on that pathway. We have mountains, trees, bums on their knees, bans on hunting dogs, and now illegal immigrants can earn a driver's license. And the taxes. At least Los Angeles said "No!" on a sales tax increase, but nineteen businesses said "Adios!" when Prop 30 passed. . .

I am telling all of my Republican, conservative, and liberals Californian firends (mugged by reality) that the Massachusetts GOP took down the tech tax. If the Northeast GOP, warts and all, can face such odds and repeal a tax, then we Californians have nothing to complain about, and a lot to contemplate.

Now about another tax, one which Massachusetts residents really hate, yet their representatives have not learned to listen.

This tax was hidden in Obamacare, a taxing law full of taxes. The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the law as a tax. President Obama denied that the law was a tax. Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) refused to call the law a tax.

The imposing impost that needs to be repealed for everyone, not just in the Bay State, is the medical device tax. This fee will require businesses to put out a 2.3% excise on every product they manufacture. It's a job killer, according to US Senator Scott Brown. Here's a comprehensive list of medical device industries in the Bay State. Innovation is what the Commonwealth is all about. From the telephone to the microwave. At least that's what US Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigned on, since she wanted to get rid of the medical device levy.

Warren is not alone among liberal lawmakers who have not liking for the device tax. Aside from his war on everything conservative and business-friendly, Congressman-turned-US Senator Ed Markey hates the medical device tax. He may not know the difference between math and arithmetic, but who's counting? And what counts is that he promised to repeal one tax.

Has hell frozen over in Massachusetts?

Not quite.

The House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to keep the federal government running for three months. They also included a provision to defund Obamacare. Not the greatest move, one which US Senator Tom Coburn called "intellectually dishonest" because no way would Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid or President Barack Obama sign off on the measure.

Deleted of defunding, a dirtied continuing resolution returned to the House. Their next move was brilliant, timely, and moral. House members, Republicans and Democrats, sent a bill which would fund the government, delay the Obamacare individual mandate for one year, and (yes!) repeal the medical device tax.

Not just the Massachusetts liberals (yes, a deadening repetition), but the not-so-funny Al Franken (D-Minnesota) sponsored a non-binding resolution against the medical device tax. The toll is a job-killer all over the country.

Yet Warren and Markey voted to reject the bill.

Hell hasn't frozen yet in Massachusetts. Markey's up for reelection in 2014. Feeling the heat, Mass Dems?

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance. Contact him at [email protected] and check out his Twitter at @ArthurCSchaper. Schaper's Corner; As He Is Ministries