By Samuel Strait – October 10, 2020 Most of those that think that a growing local government is a "good thing" remain unmoved by the rate of inflation that this Country is experiencing. 8.3% was I believe the last figure being reported. That hardly represents the true nature of the matter when energy and food remain outside of that number. In a recent graphic display of what the cost for supplies at a bakery in New York City have risen over the last eighteen months the 8.3% inflation rate is but a memory. Most products used in the production of baked goods have risen by more than 50%. While food and energy for the most part have crested the 8.3% margin here in California by a substantially larger margin, those that are resisting any sort of tax relief remain unmoved. Even our State's governor seems unwilling to address the matter in any sort of functional way, blaming the rise in gasoline costs on "greedy corporations". This statement, of course, quickly came back to haunt him when state regulation and taxes were shown, as one would explain it to a child, to be the actual culprit. Yet here locally, the "State" is not the only governing agency that is directly responsible for this growing crisis. For some reason, not unlike the blindness exhibited by our "empty suited" governor, local representatives also seem to have exhibited the same disregard for those that they represent. It is one thing to display the ignorance of the cost that rising taxes, sales tax in particular, do to most things that are purchased, but to pretend that the local population actually benefits from this legalized theft in any meaningful way is the thinking of the mentally challenged. While food may not be taxed directly, the sales tax increase does have an effect on the over all cost of producing food, and transporting them to your local grocery outlet. This cost is primarily found in the increasing cost of energy which has increased sharply both in California and here locally. Economics 101 will tell you that as the price of diesel and gasoline go up, so does the amount of sales tax collected. This is but one of the many ways that local sales tax increases substantially harm your financial well being without the consumer even realizing it. In the initial arguments for Measures "S" and "R" we were told that tourists would bear some of the costs, as well as those from Oregon, yet no one bothered to explain that the transient population that flows through Del Norte County hardly measure up to the cost to full time residents, particularly those that exist with very slim margins of financial well being. Energy to heat ones home, fuel ones form of transportation is and always will be a significant portion of most budgets and is heavily taxed at every level. The local population should be aware of the fact that the increase in sales tax levied by the City and the County makes those costs increase with every sale of gasoline and diesel. A responsive government and those that support it should recognize this issue and be inclined to shoulder the burden of "doing with less" in order to shelter those it is meant to benefit. Not so in Del Norte County, as we have a portion of the population that seems bent on keeping taxes higher to fund largely unsubstantiated claims that it was necessary to provide "essential services" for local governments. Most of the City's efforts have mirrored the failed efforts by the local Harbor District, to make Crescent City into a Destination Resort similar to Santa Cruz, but does nothing to alleviate the crunch many local residents are feeling in their wallets. The County, in the mean time, has focused on enlarging County staffs, which only serve to highlight the disconnect between perceived government problems and the public's. The combination of the economic fumbling's by the National, State, and now local governments have created a need for any sort of tax relief, something the elite in this County have no patience for. In November, Vote YES on Measures T and U for that tax relief that local government appears unwilling to grant. Reduce the Sales tax by 1% with a YES vote on Measures T and U.