It's Only A Penny!

On 12 May, the cost of mailing a letter increases a penny. That brings the price up to 42 cents, but the post office has warned us that the price will increase at least a penny every year from now into the foreseeable future.
The explanation for this is that the post office receives no federal money and must operate like a business. If only that were true! Name any other business that is a monopoly on mail delivery that can raise its price each year and need not worry about competitors? There are none.
I love it when the government talks about money and how a penny does not mean much. Those pennies add up to a huge amount. Why is it that we can do with less, but the government must never do with less?
There is talk about having a summer holiday for the federal tax on gasoline. Those opposed report that the savings would only amount to a few dollars a week for the regular driver and that money is needed to maintain the roads and infrastructure of the nation.
Isn't $1.3 trillion enough?
Here in Florida, we seem to add toll roads when new roads are built. The Suncoast Parkway that goes from Citrus County to Tampa costs $7.50 a round trip. It is busy once one nears Tampa, but farther north it is not used as it could be. If this were a business, the price would be reduced so that more customers would use it, and the overall revenue would increase.
What does the government do? It raises the cost so that fewer use it in the long run. Run the figures. The cost per week is $37.50 and for a month it adds up to $140.20, and for the year a whopping $1,682.40. If one buys the passes for the turnpikes, the cost is reduced, but still high.
In November, Florida citizens will have the option of voting for an increase in the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent. We are told that if we approve the increase of 1 percent, then the state will reduce the property tax. Does anyone really believe that nonsense? Even if it were true, it would be only for a short period of time before the property tax increased again.
Tourism is a huge business in Florida and until the recent past, there were few competitors for the tourist dollars. That is no longer true. The competition is becoming more and more competitive and raising the sales tax does not bode well for the tourist industry in Florida. Once again, there will be those who state that an additional penny will not make any difference in the decision about where to spend a vacation. I recall my grandfather saying that if you watch the pennies, the dollars will watch themselves.
The bottom line in pushing through proposals or programs remains in how it is presented. The government attempts to show that, "it is only a penny or nickel" and most people fall for it. When I was in business following my career in the Marines, I never told an employee that he was receiving a 50 cent or $1 raise. I told him that he was receiving a raise of $1,000 or $2,000. That is what the half dollar and dollar added up to in a year - actually it is $1040 and $2080. Which one of those statements carries more meaning?
The government does the same to us when it portrays pennies as nothing until one adds them up. If pennies do not mean much, then why do the governments fight so hard for each one?