Have you heard that Barack Obama is imposing a special tax on Christmas trees? If so, you probably also heard that it's because he has a special animus towards Christians, because he's a secret atheistic Muslims, or something like that. It's all a lie, of course, spread by conservative Christians who care more about hate mongering and self-righteousness than niggling little things like truth, honesty, or basic human decency.
The truth is far simpler and much more boring: the U.S. Department of Agriculture is reacting to a request from Christmas tree growers to create an extra fee on Christmas trees that will go towards industry promotion. The growers want it and the government has let it sit for two years for comment; now that the government is agreeing to go along with what the industry wants, conservative Christians are lying about it in order to promote fear, hate, and tribalism.
It would be pathetic if it weren't also so dangerous. I'd say that the people behind this lie should be ashamed, but you know that they don't have any shame anymore.
The National Christmas Tree Association says the fee would fund a program "designed to benefit the industry and will be funded by the growers" and is "not expected to have any impact on the final price consumers pay for their Christmas tree."
According to the Federal Registry, the proposed Christmas Tree Promotion Board, which would be funded by the new fee, would launch a "program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry's position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry" and to "enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States."
White House spokesman Matt Lehrich told ABC News that despite some media coverage, "I can tell you unequivocally that the Obama Administration is not taxing Christmas trees. What's being talked about here is an industry group deciding to impose fees on itself to fund a promotional campaign, similar to how the dairy producers have created the 'Got Milk?' campaign."
Source: ABC News
The fact that the industry itself requested this cannot be stressed enough. They want it because more and more people are buying artificial trees and they want to create a promotion campaign akin to the "Got Milk" and "Beef, It's What's for Dinner" advertising that we've all seen.
Christmas tree growers have been at the forefront of the defending the government and Obama from the lies, but conservative Christian leaders have a much bigger audience so their lies are spreading further and faster. Even after people hear the truth, the idea of an Obama tax on Christmas trees is what people will remember -- and the Christians behind this lie know that.
This is what conservative Christianity in America has become: a series of scurrilous, bigoted lies about even trivial matters simply because the wrong sort of person is in power. I don't think there is anything that they wouldn't stoop to anymore -- no lie is too blatant, no hate too evil, no crime too great.
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