08-13-2019, 09:11 PM
(08-13-2019, 06:02 PM)Dill Wrote: What if the BLM director sells off public lands to fund parks and such?
The burden should not all be on hunters, especially if there numbers are declining. Maybe the tax could be extended to recreational vehicles as well.
The problem is that when public lands are sold, they are often sold to corporations that end up destroying the wild that the land was intended to protect.
(08-13-2019, 06:30 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Taxing tents is just going to mostly be hurting the homeless. Wealthier people are renting places, or getting a RV/Camper.
If you think this, then you don't really understand the outdoor industry or how these places are utilized.
(08-13-2019, 06:30 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Kids use backpacks to go to school, which is nothing to do with backpacking in nature. If you restrict it to just trail backpacks, people are just going to buy nice non-trail backpacks and use them.
This is one of the arguments against the tax. However, already we have individuals being taxed on this sort of thing that aren't necessarily using the benefits. For a long time, target shooters have contributed to these funds even if they do not hunt. For instance, I don't believe SSF hunts, any, but he does own firearms and engages in recreational shooting. So he is paying into this system without benefits. So this is an argument that either means we need to completely overhaul the system, or it isn't a valid argument against adding a tax to other items.
(08-13-2019, 06:30 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Both proposed taxes will end up just hurting people who aren't your targeted crowd. You also run the risk of creating financial incentive for kids, who are already going outdoors less and less, to stay inside rather than enjoy the outdoors and exercise.
Yeah, kids aren't the ones buying these things and the taxes are already passed on to people not utilizing the benefits. I could also make the argument that maybe if people were educated on the taxes they were paying when they buy a backpack that they would be more inclined to get outside because they could take ownership of the public lands they have now supported.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
