New Outlet for Continued Protests against Rice/Ritter/Mullarkey Car Tax
by The Peripatetic Pundit | 9:59 am, July 24, 2009
Now that’s customer service! Colorado citizens protesting the increased costs of vehicle registration and the outrageous “late fees” imposed by the Rice/Ritter/Mullarkey Car Tax (officially, the “FASTER” bill) now have a new outlet to register their complaints (at least if you’re a resident of Park or Moffatt county), according to a recent Denver Post article (2 Colorado counties help public register fee gripes):
Unhappy Motor Vehicle registration patrons in Park and Moffat counties are venting their displeasure over increased fees by filling out postcards provided by the counties and, in some cases, mailed by the counties.
The postcards are addressed to Gov. Bill Ritter, who raised fees…
“It takes the pressure off my staff,” Park County Clerk Debbi Green said of the postcards. “They can vent to the governor.”
Naturally, the usual suspects came out in criticism of the County Clerks for shifting the anger (and blame) where it belongs (at least 1/3 the blame, anyway):
But Pat Waak, chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party, questioned whether the practice was legal or practical.
“The clerks … can pay for mailings of postcards to the governor?” she said. “At the very least, given the economy, is this the best use of taxpayer dollars?”
Curiously, this fake outrage and defense of taxpayer dollars was nowhere in evidence when other counties spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to hire additional security (see previous post, “Don’t Get Mad – Get Even“) nor was there even a peep of protest at the expenditure of taxpayer dollars by Ritter’s Department of Revenue director to produce and distribute a “fact sheet” – in reality, a supportive political propaganda piece – on the “FASTER” car tax bill:
Far be it for me to accuse the Democratic Party Chair of rank hypocrisy, but if the shoe fits…
Meanwhile, the Post perpetuates the propaganda purveyed by Ritter spokesmouth Evan Dreyer justifying the outrageous and disproportionate “late fees” charged under the new car tax law:
“The majority of people in Colorado… never have to worry about a late fee.”
Well, sure, the majority of people in Colorado never get mugged, either, but that doesn’t make it right when it does happen. Ritter (and his apologists) are attempting to marginalize those unfairly impacted by the “late fees” as indolent scofflaws, who have only themselves to blame for not “handing it over” on the governor’s schedule.
This “blame the victim” tactic is belied by the facts. As noted earlier, the majority of people are being charged a “late fee” for something they didn’t have to pay in the first place. As long as the vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle, or trailer) hasn’t been using public roads, it was NOT required to be registered (you’ll still have to pay the ownership tax, but the registration fee is linked to use of the service/amenity of public roads).
DON’T BUY INTO THE ‘BLAME THE VICTIM’ LIES! REFUSE to pay this unfair tax (er, fee) – DEMAND an immediate and retroactive rollback whenever the legislature next convenes. Contact Governor Ritter, the FASTER bill’s primary sponsor Joe Rice, and your state representatives (House and Senate) and demand action!
Tags: bill ritter > car tax > Colorado Constitution > Colorado Legislature > Colorado Supreme Court > Denver Post > FASTER > Joe Rice > late fee > Mullarkey Court > Ritter Auto Tax > TABOR > taxation without representation
