Does anybody remember the Johnstown Flood of 1936? Yeah, me neither. But do you know that in 1936, Pennsylvania enacted a “temporary” liquor tax in order to help pay for the damages caused by that flood? At the time, it was 10%; today, it is 18%.
Fast-forward to 2020 and the covid-19 pandemic. Gasoline sales are down, state sales taxes are down, lottery ticket sales are down, casinos are closed, turnpike usage is down and we are told to stay home. Now unemployment is up, which drains the state budget by decreasing the amount of money collected due to state wages, and by people collecting unemployment compensation.
You can bet that our governor and his cronies are plotting to impose a tax on us, the likes of which has never been seen, in order to make up for the loss in revenue, and like the liquor tax and the turnpike fees, it will be “temporary.”
You heard it here first.
George Silowash
Penn Township, Westmoreland County