Tax protesters take time out for TEA

By the sound of their applause, the overwhelming majority of the 150 people who came to the Prince William County T.E.A. Party, otherwise known as taxed enough already, are not happy with the direction the state and federal governments are headed.

The multiple speakers who took the microphone at the James J. McCoart Government Center on Saturday galva-nized their belief that the current state of government is not working.

"It took Virginia 390 years to reach a budget of $36 billon, and it took only 10 years to double it. If that doesn't make you upset, I don't know what will," said Ben Marchi, director of the Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity.

The Virginia branch of the self-described economic watchdog group was formed in 2005.

Marchi went on to address another concern of many who attended—the cap and trade tax included in the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed recently by the House of Representatives.

The bill imposes a cap on the amount of carbon emissions by U.S. companies nationally. Companies would be given the option of purchasing permits from the government to continue emitting the same amount of Co2, although the federal government is expected to significantly ratchet down the amount of carbon allowed over the next 10 years.

The bill is now headed to the Senate and, if passed, it is expected to generate nearly $9 billion over the next 10 years. This could reduce future budget deficits by $4 billion, according to a letter from the Congressional Budget Office.

But Marchi said the bill isn't a good idea. "There would be a tax levied on everything that we use that requires energy to produce, from soap to toilet paper. That's a tax on every working family. That's a tax on people who don't even work," he said.

Marchi added that companies would undoubtedly pass the cost of the new tax to their customers, increasing the monthly cost of living for the average family by $150 a month.

Health care was on 72-year-old Don Donley's mind when he decided to attend the rally.

The Dale City resident, 72, said he feels threatened that government-controlled health care would limit his ability to get access to the health services he needs. He added the right to own guns has also become a major focus of many Americans.

"If you take our guns away, you are going to see a revolution in this country," he said.

Prince William County was once more recognized as ground zero for the illegal immigration debate by Jack Martin of the Federation of American Immigration Reform.

He said lawmakers in Richmond should pay more attention to the estimated 300,000 illegal aliens working in Vir-ginia.

"They should make all employers verify the work documents of all employees. Every state should be doing that and every state senate should be held responsible for that," said the Washington resident.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.