When Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, stood on the steps of Roswell City Hall a little over two weeks before Election Day, he had this to say about Nathan Deal: “The choice that’s in front of you is whether or not you’re going to go back to policies of the past, policies of higher taxes and greater spending, greater dependence on Washington, D.C., or to a state government with lower taxes, less spending (and) smaller government.”
“That’s what Governor Deal stands for, and he needs you to stand for him Nov. 4.”
If we’re to believe Christie, Deal opposes tax increases and wants to cut spending, right?
Not so fast.
Earlier this week, a little over a month after Election Day, when asked about his thoughts on new taxes or “fees” on Georgians, Deal indicated that “we should be looking at everything.” He even was quoted as saying he supports new “user fees” in Georgia.
Deal’s “user fees” is political speak for tax hikes. The fact is, ever since Deal’s $18.67 billion T-SPLOST tax hike was defeated in 9 of 12 Georgia regions by a 2-to-1 margin, there have been rumblings of another effort to ram a tax hike into law. And now, after safely winning his re-election campaign, all the stars seem to be aligning for the largest Republican-led tax hike in Georgia history.
Echoing the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s call for an additional $1 billion to $1.5 billion in new revenue per year, Republican state Rep. Jay Roberts of Ocilla, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, indicated he’s not looking at a “two-year or three-year plan,” but a plan “to bring that much money in every year.”
Would Roberts really put his name behind a 10-year, $10 billion to $15 billion tax hike? He admitted a tax hike could cause some “heartburn” for Republican legislators who just finished campaigning on a message of lower taxes and less government.
Roberts’ “heartburn” is political speak for hypocrisy.
Adding further fuel to the prospects of a Republican tax hike push, when asked about it, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle sounded like a Massachusetts liberal: “It takes people who understand that you have to invest in order to grow. Every company that I’ve ever been involved in or ever started — I never could cut my way to prosperity. I had to invest.”
Cagle’s “invest” is political speak for pork-barrel spending.
The reality is, government in Georgia already has enough money. If Deal wants more money for transportation, he should cut spending elsewhere and put it toward transportation.
Next year, Republican members of the House and Senate — all of whom face re-election in 2016 — will face a choice: Vote for the largest tax hike in Georgia history, or vote against ALL tax hikes, just as virtually every one of them pledged to do earlier this year.
If it’s the latter, then the Deal-Cagle-Roberts tax hike will go down in flames. If it’s the former, Georgia Taxpayers United will be happy to tell voters what their Republican representative has been up to at the Capitol.
I encourage you to join us in the fight at: www.StopTheGasTaxHike.org
Nathan Adams is executive director of Georgia Taxpayers United.
