Obama Couldn’t Wait: His New Christmas Tree Tax
 

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)). And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).

To pay for the new Federal Christmas tree image improvement and marketing program, the Department of Agriculture imposed a 15-cent fee on all sales of fresh Christmas trees by sellers of more than 500 trees per year (7 CFR 1214.52). And, of course, the Christmas tree sellers are free to pass along the 15-cent Federal fee to consumers who buy their Christmas trees.

Obama Couldn't Wait: His New Christmas Tree Tax

ARE YOU FRIKKIN KIDDING ME!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
MY ****ING HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!!!!
IS IT FRIKKIN NOVEMBER 6TH, 2012 YET???!!!

Buy a fake one

That's missing the whole point Strat. The EPA wants to impose a tax on Christmas trees to improve the image of...CHRISTMAS TREES! WTF??!! These stupid SOBs in Washingtom don't even believe in Christmas. And how much of this money do you think will actually go to improving the image of Christmas trees. And does the image of Christmas trees REALLY need to be improved?

Besides, I'm old school. I hate fake Christmas trees.

I know..man ..but i wouldn't let get to me..just buy fake and don't give em the money...

OK, I ignore it. What about the next time, when they have a special tax on toothpaste to improve the image of toothpaste. Or shoes, or "fill in the blank" here. Holy cow Strat, when does it stop? Look, I know you're a liberal, and that's your decision, just like being conservative is my choice, but you're also self employed. You work hard for the money you earn to take care of yourself and your family. How much of your hard earned money do you have to be forcefully seperated from before you get angry? 40%? 50%? 70%? 90%? Holy crap, man. These bastards don't care about you just because you have a D on your voter registration card. If you make money, Washington wants it...PERIOD. This year it's 15 cents on each tree. Next year it's 25 cents, $1.00 the next year, $2.00 the next year. When is enough enough? It's time for people to wake their asses up and put a stop to this. And I'm not talking just about Christmas trees. It's about The EPA, or any other government entity, assessing a federal tax without even going through Congress as required by the Constitution. These people have unbeleavable power to do almost anything they want and we cant do a thing about it. Sorry Strat, you're my bud, but we cannot simply keep ignoring what's going on in Washington by saying "Buy a Fake one". I don't want a fake one! Besides, I already pay federal taxes on that Christmas tree. The grower of that tree has to pay federal taxes on his capital, he has to pay federal taxes on the fertilizer that is used on his farm, he pays federal taxes on the fuel it takes for his farm impliments and the truck that ships the tree from Wisconson to Shreveport, and I'm sure there are more taxes that you and I don't even know about. Who pays all those taxes, the grower right? No, those taxes are passed right down to the consumer...ME. So no, I'm not going to be compalcent by buying a fake tree. I'm going to do whatever I can to stop a Christmas tree tax and ANY other tax that is imposed on me, especially if it's unconstitutional.

Which state produces the most real Christmas trees? I have no doubt if you followed the trail (if they haven't already covered it up) you'll find where a group from that state got their rep to push this through with help from industry participants from other states. The rep, who is probably well aware of the idiocracy of such a thing, is more interested in getting this groups support than he/she is doing the right thing. This is political pork at it's finest...or at it's most maddening.

As someone who DOES NOT support Obama's politics I can promise you this isn't on him. This is the system as it has been corrupted by...well...the system, and "We, The People" are ultimately responsible for it. So I'm with you 100% Hulka. We, The People have been overlooking or otherwise allowing this kind of crap to continue until now it's a common practice that we (some/most) don't even bother to notice. We don't even blink an eye.

WE HAVE TO WAKE UP AND VOTE THOSE RESPONSIBLE OUT OF OFFICE! The vote is our ammunition. WE HAVE TO ORGANIZE ENOUGH VOTES TO MAKE A POINT.

A collective American voice would put a stop to this, but we're too busy worrying about getting free advertising for our Christmas Tree business from the government. The system is as the system does, if you'll forgive the Forrest Gump reference.

First off we are friends no matter what..second and ive had to correct others..IM NOT A LIBERAL ..im nothing..I don't like either side..I prefer to just be an independent...

I used to be a yellow dog...but now i prefer to just say screw all of em..they cant agree on whats important...they cant see that we are all fed up...they don't care about the middle class..

Congress should be tried for crimes..the only thing im hoping for is an end to the wars...so no more American blood dies for their agendas..

There are real issues that we need to deal with....but we tend to harp on the crap that doesn't matter.

I just worry about my family and how we can survive in this crazy mess that we have no control over..:(

Of course we're friends Strat. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Ok, my bad. I didn't realize you were an Independant. I appologize for making assumptions. I certainly was not trying to insult you or anybody else. You know that's not the way I am. I too have an "I" on my registration card. It's been there since I first registered. I didn't know a whole lot about politics when I turned 18. I just knew our current President, Jimmy Carter, was Democrat, and he sucked, and he gave away the Panama Canal, and a former President, Nixon, was a Republican, and he was a lier. So I marked the "I" box.

That's why the Tea Party was organized. It started out as just a bunch of ordianary people, not polititions, who were fed up with what's going on in Washington. The Tea Party is not necessarily a bunch of white, racist, rich, ultra-conservative right-wing wackos like Ed Shultze and MSNBC would like you to believe. The Tea Party is made up a bunch of different beliefs, Liberal, Conservative, Independeant, White, Black, rich and poor, ALL of whom are sick and tired of the exact same thing you say you are tired of. We have to take care of Americans first. We CAN NOT tax our way to prosperity. It will not work. We have to make some serious cuts in spending. We have to stop spending our children's future. Hell, it's not even our children's future any more...It's OUR future. They believe that Washington, as it is now, is unsustainable, and something has to be done about it now. The Country as we know it will cease to exist if it's not done soon.

If any thing, they should ALL be fired. We need term limits, and we need to get rid of the massive retirement benefits that they recieve.

True, maybe a 15 cent tax on Christmas trees doesn't matter. It's just 15 cents, right? What does matter is how they went about implementing that tax. They had a federal department, the EPA, impose a "fee". It's not called a federal tax, so they don't have to go through Congress to get it approved. If they can do that with Christmas trees, what else can they do it with. Those in Washington believe they can do it with whatever they want. So a 15 cent tax on Christmas trees is not a little thing that doesn't matter. It is an uncostitutional act of the current administration. And yes, I think the Constitution matters.

I'm with you. I look at my kids sometimes and I want to cry. I am truly scared for their future. We just have to keep at it and try to gain control over it. We just can't sit back and let it happen. This country still has great potential, but it's going to take some brave people making some very tough and unpopular decisions to get her back on track. I don't think anybody has all the answers, but we just have to take it one challenge at a time...even if it's a 15 cent tax on Christmas trees.

Peace Brother!
Play some blues for me tonight.
SH

I'm getting my sign ready to protest the christmas tree farmers. Yeah that's it, the christmas tree party.

Well no tax for the Xmas tree farmers....it was scrapped..so all is well in the world...

Was it really scrapped, or did they just say it was..... can't trust them!

They probably just renamed it to the "Holiday Tax". LOL. I crack me up...

Nope, not scrapped. Just postponed until after the 2012 election.

Well for now..them dam tree farmers...lol

In protest im cutting my own tree..screw the man....

What do you mean. "... This isn't on him?"

It happened during "his" administration, so that makes it on him.

If Obama didn't approve/like/authorize, then he should have vetoed it!!

Stick it to him buy a fake one. I have a fake one. Christmas Tree that is.

Thanks for the clarification ..... For a second we all thought you had a fake something else ... LOL

What do I mean? I mean this is politics as usual. This has been going on from the beginning of time. Blaming Obama for something like this is like blaming Vilma for an interception Drew throws because they both wear the same uniform.

The REAL blame here - those who are TRULY responsible for this particular piece of ignorance: THE PEOPLE. The people who pushed this from the beginning, and you can bet those people are Christmas Tree farmers, not politicians.

Do you think Obama really sat down and said, "you know, the government needs to promote real Christmas Trees." Of course you don't. Of course he didn't.

He's a politician. He's a vote whore. Blame HIM for THAT, but blame them ALL while you're at it. They, they politicians, are the devil that we know.

The special interest groups, concerned only with what benefits THEM...that's where the finger of blame should point here. There is no criteria for submitting this type of pork. It's akin to wasting a courts time by suing McDonalds because their coffee is too hot. It's a joke. It's absurd. And it's on the people, not the politicians, because the PEOPLE are empowered to change it and don't.

There should be some sort of benchmark required - some sort of criteria that any legislation like this should be required to meet before the politicians the people pay quite well spend 10 seconds of their time designing it and promoting it. It doesn't exist. If it were attempted, do you think the special interest groups (the people) would allow it to pass? The PEOPLE would surely revolt, because the PEOPLE are far more interested in protecting their special interests. Believe that.

That's the thing that's regularly missing from rants about politicians - mine included. Lately I've started looking in the mirror. We can blame the government up to a point. In the end, the constitution provides a number of methods to correct issues. The people have to be active. Frankly the people aren't very active. Typically passive in my humble opinion.

That's just my .02 on this one. I'm starting to think the hippies were on to something in '67.

I'm calling it now. ... Obama is a douchenozzle!