Higher taxes at amusement park won’t help town’s economy

Like numerous other local governments, the small Ohio city of Mason is scraping to make ends meet. So officials proposed a 3 percent admission tax at local attractions and a 5 percent parking tax.

It is no coincidence that one of the attractions that lies in Mason happens to be Kings Island amusement park.

Kings Island fought back, with messages on its electronic marquee and statements from officials.

One might think the $1 million a year the park pays the city in property taxes should count for something. Plus, the park draws more than a few visitors a year who patronize a number of surrounding businesses, paying sales taxes and boosting employment for local workers, who pay income taxes.

Cooler heads prevailed, and the matter was tabled. Mason officials should do everything they can to encourage more people to visit Kings Island, and raising admission and parking prices with taxes will not accomplish that goal.

Congress should get ball rolling on dropping outdated laws

When the liberal ACLU agrees with the conservative Heritage Foundation about a problem, it’s most likely a real problem and not a political ploy.

Increasingly, conservatives such as former attorney general Edwin Meese are agreeing with liberals that there are simply too many federal criminal laws, and far too many of them are vague.

Liberals blame conservatives for the tough-on-crime mentality, and conservatives blame liberals for being too willing to give the government too much power. But many on both sides agree that the problem is real.

For example, “it’s a violation of federal law to give a false weather report,” Meese told the New York Times.

The Supreme Court will hear several cases that could give justices the opportunity to roll back some of those laws, including three regarding a vague law that criminally forbids officials from depriving their employers of “honest services.”

With conservatives and liberals aligned, perhaps Congress will take a message and start paring back some of these criminal laws before the courts make it do so.