John Hood’s column today explodes the mendacity in Democrats’ campaign rhetoric of opposing taxes on the working class, citing numerous times over the past decade they voted to raise sales taxes and other taxes “dramatically on households of low to moderate incomes.”
Ah, but that’s campaign rhetoric, one might say. Why, it’s only focus-grouped buzzwords and catchphrases that function as tribal signaling that induce voters to support them on a subconscious level. It’s acceptable fibbing these days, to be expected, really.
Media should know better, though, right? Alas, the preceding remains only a normative statement.
Try to find a consistent position from our local media on the propriety of raising the sales tax, which they recognize is a highly regressive tax. You won’t find a consistency of position on that ground.
They haven’t always supported raising it, just mostly, as if there is an outside factor at work that takes precedence of protecting poor households.
