Tapped Out

It is astounding, though not surprising, to read that the County Grand Jury now gets on the bandwagon of confiscatory taxation, recommending that Santa Barbara County attempt to add yet another tax on oil production in the county.

When are we going to wake up and realize that the fiscal problems of this county and most other governmental agencies are not income problems, they are expense problems brought on by gross mismanagement of spending – everything from unfunded pension liabilities to waste and overspending in almost every county department.

At some point, government has to begin to operate like the citizens do. The citizenry does not have the luxury of just reaching in to someone’s wallet to make up a shortfall; we have to stop or reduce our spending. The taxpayers in this county, state, and country are tapped out.