Same Ol' Tax Rant... With Feelin'...!!!

Die...!!!

DIE! DIE! DIE! YOU GRAVY SUCKING PIGS...!!!

JUST DIE...!!!

Now as you all know, I take pride in my "getting the most bang for the buck" skills. As the soon to be late, in his own mind great Charlie Sheen would say...

Winning...

DUH...!!!

So here's the deal: Today - for the first time ever - I used Price Line to successfully bid upon a rental car Mary and I will be needing for our upcoming (Second Annual...) Charleston, South Carolina trip to see Pat, Vicki, and the boys.

We're flying Spirit into Myrtle Beach and driving down to Charleston from there. (Our best airfares are LGA-MYR on Spirit... more on that later.)

Anyway... I know what car rental rates are... what they should be... what deals are available... yadda, yadda, yadda. Bottom line, with the outrageous taxes and fees tacked on for renting at the airport (which I'll get to... which are the point of this post...), I knew what I was shooting for - namely - under $200... all taxes and fees included.

We're talking a full-size car... four door sedan... seating for 5-passengers... plenty of room for luggage... yadda, yadda, yadda.

Anyway... I place my bid with Price Line... $17 a day for a full-size sedan... and the bid was accepted.

(Frankly, I'm fairly confident that I could save a few more bucks if I were to keep "playing," but to be totally honest... even the big bad car rental companies have to make money and from where I sit... $17 a day for a full-size sedan is a fair price.)

O.K., folks... so now we get to the ground zero of this Bill Rant...

We're talking $17 times 7 days. That's $119.

Yet...

Total charges amount to $199.94

WTF...?!?!

Well... the way we get from $119 to $199.94 is simple... disgusting... outrageous... abusive... figuratively criminal... but in the final analysis... simple.

To the fair and reasonable $17 a day rate...

(*DRUM ROLL*)

...government adds $80.94 in taxes and "fees."

(*TAPPING MY FOOT AS MY BLOOD PRESSURE SKYROCKETS*)

Do you understand what this amounts to, folks...???

WE'RE TALKING 68%... SIXTY-EIGHT FRIGG'N PERCENT... IN TAXES AND "FEES."

Tell me it's not time... not long past time... where we who cling to our bibles and guns...

(Oh... forget it... you guys get the general idea...)

Oh... and before I forget... let's return to my flight deal...

Total airfare - with taxes and fees - for two round-trip tickets LGA-MYR... $254.80; that works out to $127.40 per person.

Can't beat that, right...? I mean... I guess it's possible, but that's a damn good deal, right...?

The only thing is... the airfare alone... it's only $90 per person! The rest... $37.40... that's taxes!

Taking out the ol' calculator... that gives us... a tax rate of 42%.

Folks... a 42% tax rate is beyond unreasonable... a 68% tax rate is beyond obscene.

It's gotta end, folks... it's gotta. One way or another... it's gotta end. I fear when the American People reach their breaking point - which is coming - it's not gonna end well... not well at all for those responsible for these outrages.