Democrats Enact Christmas Tree Tax for the Lulz

In internet culture terms, it seems that the Obama administration is trolling the American people. Recently, the Agriculture Department enacted a policy in which all fresh trees used for the holiday will have an added $0.15 charge. While this is basically a meaningless sum of money for the majority of people, it really is the thought that counts. While the conservative bloc is sure to blame the president himself for this "atrocity," it does not make sense why anyone would be so mad. Did the democrats do this just because they could or because there's something smart behind the idea?

First of all, $0.15 is literally meaningless to pretty much everyone considering buying a fresh, brand-new tree. I am positive that this particular demographic would find $0.15 in their cars on the way to the store to purchase the tree. If the government enacted an actual tax of a dollar or two, then it would be a different story. However, $0.15 is simply too small an amount. It seems that Obama's opposition is simply trying to scrap anything they can find to berate his administration's attempts to bolster the government.

Secondly, the tax, albeit small, is a another source of revenue for the administration. In any event, even barely any Christmas trees were purchased this year, the proceeds from the tax would be able to cover the salaries of several workers in the Agriculture Department. In the grand scheme of things, this is fairly insignificant, but it eventually makes a difference. Every penny saved is a penny earned.

Lastly, conservatives need to understand that Obama did not spend weeks contemplating the pros and cons of the "Christmas tree tax." There's a reason he hired the people in the Agriculture Department: to figure out ways to drive revenue for the government and to bolster the state of agriculture in the US. There's a good chance that the primary agricultural advisor came up to Obama after deriving this idea and said, "hey, this may be a good revenue generating idea." Obama probably thought about it for a few minutes and signed off on it. No matter who you are, you'll have the time to do something like that.

The conservatives need to help themselves by being productive. Instead of complaining about a fairly meaningless "tax" that affects a minority of Americans, they should focus on picking a presidential candidate who can realistically fix the country's economic situation. Although some people may say that it is the thought that counts, I would rather see the debt go away than some guy who wants a fresh Christmas tree save $0.15. In fact, that is exactly what I'm going to ask Santa for: A magical $14 trillion erasure!