fees

Forced charity

Posted on by backuphill

Charity is great, but when it is forced charity, well, that Pisses me off. Then it isn’t charity, it’s just big business charging you a fee (read that as “tax”) to cover the cost of doing their business. So, I am going to Moan really loudly about this.

Cascade Natural Gas in Washington has asked the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for a fee that will basically recoup the cost of it’s service to people who can’t afford it. Rather than covering that cost themselves and using it as a write-down on their taxes (I am sure they will do this too – as in, double dip), they are going to charge all their customers an extra fee on top of all the other fees to pay for a program most people don’t even care about.

There is no option to opt out. There is no option to opt in. It’s just, “Let me reach into your pocket once again and take your money without consent.”

I say without consent because the WUTC is an unelected, oversight board that is filled with people appointed by our governor (Democrat) and approved by the state senate (Democrat). Essentially, there is no recourse for customers because these things get hard stamped approval because – liberals.

I shouldn’t be forced to pay for something someone else can’t pay for. That’s robbery. That’s a tax. That’s coercion at it’s worst.

And, once again, it’s government approved.

Another fee

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

Accessing health care in the US is problematic, at best. The overall debate on whether it should be free to all (via government funds and a huge increase in taxes) or whether it should be something each individual should be responsible for is one I am not going to talk about today.

However, we all know that the cost of health care in the US keeps many people from accessing the care they need. People have to think about how it will impact their overall finances and whether or not they can afford to see a doctor. Obviously when you don’t think you can afford to get care you don’t go.

Yesterday, at a doctor’s appointment that is an hour away from home, I noticed the large facility that the appointment have been at for almost a year had new signage up in their parking garage and in the elevator areas. The signage basically said that “Parking is on us until we get the technical difficulties figured out.”

SAY WHAT?

So what has been free for at least the last year is now going to have a fee? I imagine at some point (based on construction and existing facilities) that there was parking for a fee previously. Not sure why it has been free up to the point of the visits.

But, it raises a larger question about yet ANOTHER FEE to access health care.

Should you really have to pay a fee just to park so that you can access health care?

It seems almost unfair for people who may already be struggling to access health care to add yet another fee.

I know of at least one other health care facility in the Seattle area that charges parking at it isn’t cheap – almost $10 an hour.

Something feels really slimy when thinking about people getting charged just to access their health care. They are already being gouged when paying for the care they need, but to add insult to injury they are now going to be charged to even access the building.

Imagine if you had to pay for parking at a grocery store so you could go inside and buy food (maybe this already happens in big big cities, I don’t know)…awkward right?

Gives me a really icky feeling. I am all for making money in places that make sense, but to punish the public to access something so vital almost seems underhanded – especially since they become a pretty captive audience one they’re in the parking garage.

How do you feel about these “hidden access fees”?

Double

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by Rathaphon Nanthapreecha on Pexels.com

Double. More than double. But not for your pleasure.

A new licensing fee appeared on the renewal form for the car I drive most, a hybrid. It wasn’t there last year, but appeared this year and it more than doubled the cost of registering my vehicle. There was no mention of this fee anywhere in the media, that I can find, until after the fact that it was applied to people’s licensing fees. Surprise! The cost of registering your vehicle more than doubled!

The biggest kicker, I am paying a fee for something I don’t use, an electric vehicle charging station (and those this fee is supposedly going to build). Thus the word HYBRID, meaning it powers itself by using two different types of fuel.

License fees rise for hybrid and electric cars in Washington

I tell you, bigger government means bigger fees. Always. There is never an exception to this. Ever. The problem is that many times the fees aren’t actually used for the stated purpose, nor do they totally justify the collection of the fee in the first place.

Why is the government in charge of building charging stations for electric vehicles? Why is it that those not driving plug-in cars are paying a fee to plug in a car that won’t plug in?

The epitome of what is wrong with government. I mean there is a LOT wrong with our government, at many different levels, but this is just another fine example of why so many people dislike and don’t trust the government.

Road fees

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by veeterzy on Pexels.com

Governments and their fees.

I realize that being part of a society requires some assent to a certain level of fees for the common good. That’s part of the social contract we make for living in a society.

I don’t mind paying some taxes and fees because I know that it provides for the common good. It makes life better for more people than just me. I’m someone what reasonable.

However, there comes a time when those fees become unnecessary and overbearing. Sound familiar? You might look back to one such fee that helped lead up the the American Revolution. What really gets me is that fees are being charged and collected and the government is rarely held accountable for the way the money is spent or mismanaged. That part irritates me to no end and isn’t part of the social contract. I don’t like waste. Big government wastes money. Big government isn’t accountable. Big government perpetuates bad government and bad spending.

So, to say I was shocked when I got my vehicle registration renewal yesterday might be an understatement. I have had the car for almost 2 years now and suddenly there was a new fee that wasn’t there before – a “hybrid vehicle transportation fee”. That one fee was $75! That one fee doubled the cost of the vehicle registration all by itself!

Ridiculous.

How about we stop using state funds to pay for heroin injections sites? How about we stop using state funds to pay for an idiot governor? How about we stop using state funds for things that don’t benefit the greater good? How about we stop using state funds to pay for unnecessary art in public spaces? Get the idea? There are lots of places where money is spent that it shouldn’t be.

I pay the gas tax every time I fill up. They already collect the “Vehicle Weight” fee to fund the highway on top of all the other fees.

I’ve had it.

I am going to drive on both sides of the road whenever I feel like it. I paid for it, therefore I am going to use as much of it as possible!