The Obama administration decided the federal government should be in the Christmas tree business as reported on The Foundry.org. Every fresh Christmas tree in the nation would be taxed 15 cents in order to fund a Christmas Tree Promotion Board.
Federal officials claim that the charge is not a tax and would not yield revenue to the federal government. Regardless of the validity of the nontax claim, the image of the Christmas tree does not seem to be endangered or require a federal bailout.
It is clear that many officials in the federal government do not have the faintest clue of what constitutes a proper limited role of government as envisioned by the Founding Fathers. It seems we could help reduce the federal deficit by eliminating entire programs and even departments in Washington, D.C. If federal officials do not have anything better to do than market Christmas trees, taxpayers don’t need to fund their salaries.
There is some Christmas cheer, however. Once the story broke, it caused so much consternation that the Obama administration decided to reconsider. The American people have apparently stopped, or at least slowed down, the Christmas tree Grinch.
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