Where will government stop?

Today’s Advocate editorial on Council’s proposal to increase Newark’s bed tax by 3 percent is well-conceived and written, but it ignores the most important issue.

Beyond the Advocate’s concerns for Council’s need to determine beforehand how funds will be spent, how they will be accounted for, and who will be involved in those decisions, there should be concerns about the purpose and power of government.

Did citizens really bestow upon government the authority to screw around in private business profits for the benefit of self-proclaimed tourist attractions? More important, how do we stop these intrusive attitudes and practices?

Requiring a 3-percent hike in local hotel fares is one more example of Council sticking its nose into private affairs of certain businesses for the benefit of a few vocal “customers.”

Hotel owners and employees in Newark represent a miniscule number of voters, so reaching down from above and ordering a new tax on their profits is a shoo-in. More easy money for Big Brother - like the auto tag tax and the charge for emergency squad transportation.

And no real harm done, right? Except that nearby hotels without that new tax aren’t far away.

Support for tourist attractions should be generated from whatever attractiveness they can muster, not from more attempts at jiggering the marketplace with another tax-and-spend plan by Big Brother.

Where will government stop? It’s up to us to draw the line and the way to begin is to stop thinking of this meddling as a legitimate function of government.