Taxpayers Revolt: We Are Not ATM's

Here Is What Happens

2008-02-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

Here is what happens when you give 85 Democrats control of the Minnesota House of Representatives!

1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to public health; increasing affordability and continuity of care for state
1.3health care programs; modifying health care provisions; establishing a public
1.4health access fund; increasing the tobacco impact fees; providing subsidies for
1.5employee share of employer-subsidized insurance; establishing the Minnesota
1.6Health Insurance Exchange; requiring certain employers to offer Section 125
1.7Plan; creating an affordability standard; requiring mandated reports; authorizing
1.8rulemaking; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections
1.916A.725, subdivision 1; 62A.65, subdivision 3; 62E.141; 62L.12, subdivisions
1.102, 4; 256.01, by adding a subdivision; 256.9658, subdivisions 3, 9; 256B.061;
1.11 256B.69, by adding a subdivision; 256D.03, by adding a subdivision; 256L.05,
1.12by adding a subdivision; 256L.06, subdivision 3; 256L.07, subdivision 3;
1.13256L.15, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, sections
1.1413.46, subdivision 2; 256B.056, subdivision 10; 256L.03, subdivisions 3, 5;
1.15256L.04, subdivisions 1, 7; 256L.05, subdivision 3a; 256L.07, subdivision 1;
1.16256L.15, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
1.17chapters 16A; 145; 256B; proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes,
1.18chapter 62U; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 256L.15, subdivision 3.
1.19BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

If you are a smoker, a member of the middle class (income $45,000 to $150,000 annual income), an employer, a health care professional or a health care consumer be prepared to pay dearly for your health care. For example:

2.10 Sec. 3. [145.986] STATEWIDE HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
2.11 Subdivision 1.Goals. The initial goals of the public health access fund are to reduce
2.12the percent of Minnesotans who are obese or overweight to less than half by the year
2.132020 and to reduce tobacco smoking by 2 percent annually starting in 2011. By 2011,
2.14and considering available funding, the commissioner of health, in consultation with the
2.15State Community Health Advisory Committee established in section 145A.10, subdivision
2.1610, and other stakeholders, may make recommendations as to future goals related to
2.17alcohol use and illegal drug use.

Do you smoke? Use alcohol? Overweight? Be prepared to have the state dictate what you can and can not eat, drink or otherwise consume.

Say you are a family of 4 living on $66,000 a year (400% of the federal poverty level). Your cost for "free" government health care will be capped at 8% per year or $5280. If you have employer provided health care you will get a "credit" for the amount of your health care premiums, deductibles and other cost sharing, minus an amount based in the "affordability" specified in section 62U.08. Now for this typical family in that range our premiums, deductables and other cost sharing only amounts to about $2500 a year - net increase in health care premiums of $2780.00. I thought this was supposed to make health care "more affordable"?

It also creates a whole new level of state bureaucracy - the Commission of Health! Just what we need.....more government!

I am just starting to read this 52 page book. Keep an eye for more thoughts and notes here in these pages. But if first impressions are anything, I am not expecting much from this.

Open Letter To Rep. Abler

2008-02-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

Dear, Rep. Abler,

I listened, with great interest, to your speech on the House Floor last Monday. While I was dead set against the bill, I was willing to listen to a divergent opinion on the subject. Apparently, based on your remarks, I was the only one of that mindset. I listened to you go on about how so many people from other districts contacted you and how you had over 800 emails and how you were searching for a "local" one. Well, using that "logic" Rep. Abler, since I am in Scott County, does that mean only my representatives in Scott County can raise my taxes? While I wish that were the case (I have two very fiscally conservative representatives in Mike Beard and Mark Buesgens) I know that is not the case. Therefore, since representatives who are outside of my district can raise my taxes, then I think that I am well within my rights to lobby said representatives.

Another thing that struck my about your speech was your insistence that people who publically opposed the bill (like Phil Krinkie and Jason Lewis) didn't tell the whole story about what was in the bill and yet you did the same thing. You never mentioned (in your floor speech in defense of the bill) that the quarter percent sales tax increase was dedicated to light rail! You also never mentioned the 3.5 cent gas tax surcharge that goes on top of the two cent gas tax increase. You mentioned that the gas tax is dedicated to roads and yet you neglect to mention that the Trunk Highway funding formula takes most of the gas tax money that is raised in the Cities and sends it outstate where the needs are not as dire! You also neglected to mention the surcharge on leased and rental vehicles that is in this bill. It is obvious to me, that there is cherry picking of information going on from both sides. I would assume that someone so passionate about the whole story being told would be the one to tell the whole story. Clearly I was mistaken.

It seems to me that your mind was made up on this issue from the get go and no amount of input from anyone outside of your special interest groups (i.e. the Chamber) was going to change your mind. I can appreciate that, but please do not be surprised when the voters, the people you are supposed to represent rally against you. And do not be surprised when taxpayers interestes from outside of your district take an active roll in helping replace you. After all, you worked hard to take money away from taxpayers outside of your district. Can you really blame them for trying to prevent that in the future?

Gov. Pawlenty Predicts Taxpayer Revolt

2008-02-27T00:23:00.000-08:00

That Gov. Pawlenty is predicting a taxpayer revolt is fantastic news for someone who created a blog called Taxpayer Revolt: We Are Not ATM's. Here's how Gov. Pawlenty made that prediction:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty today predicted Minnesota taxpayers would revolt against the gas and other tax increases that Democrats in the Legislature imposed on them Monday by overriding his veto of the transportation bill.

"Yesterday the DFL had their day raising taxes," Pawlwenty said at a Capitol news conference. "Now the taxpayers of Minnesota will have their days between now and when they get to decide how they want this Legislature to run in the future and who's going run it.

"Yesterday will be the day that began a tax revolt in Minnesota," he said with uncharacteristic passion.

Consider that the opening salvo of the 2008 campaign to return GOP to majority status in the Minnesota House of Representatives. I've seen people react with a white hot passion to this tax increase. Outstate Democrats & Republicans should be worried this fall if they voted for the transit tax increase.

The first indicator of people's disgust with tax increases came in November when Minnesotan rejected a significant number of school board levy requests. Another indicator nationally came when Oregon rejected an 85 cent per pack cigarette tax increase. By itself, that would've been newsworthy. That they rejected that tax even though every penny of that increase would've gone to pay for a children's health care program is startling.

This week & weekend, county & district BPOU's will hold their endorsing conventions. It's a formality that Ron Erhardt won't get endorsed. Other BPOU's might send a similar message to the Wayward 6.

Here's another 'reminder' from Gov. Pawlenty:

"The Republican brand, the Republican credibility depends on keeping a lid on and reducing taxes," he said. "That's who we are. That's what we do." He hinted that he would pay back legislators for overturning his veto.

"I guess the announcement over the loudspeaker on the airplane will be: 'Please
buckle your seat belts because there may be some unexpected turbulence,'" he said.

Personally, I'd love finding out that Gov. Pawlenty's staff had compiled a list of all the unjustifiable spending items being considered for inclusion into the bonding bill. Once it passed, I'd use the line item veto to cancel out anything that's wasteful. Like say this item:

$18,197,000, this appropriation is to the commissioner of administration for repair and renovation of the exterior of the Department of Transportation Building

or this:

$23,983,000 for design, construction, furnishing, and equipping a new Department of Transportation district headquarters facility in Mankato

or this:

$4,299,000 for predesign, design, construction, and restoration of historic roadside properties on the Great River Road

Unfortunately, these items can't be vetoed because they were in the Transportation Bill. That said, there won't be a shortage of targets in the bonding bill. If there's anything guaranteed other than death & taxes, it's that politicians seeking re-election won't run out of ideas to waste taxpayer's money.

Technorati: DFL, Tax Increases, Ron Erhardt, MNGOP, Tim Pawlenty, Bonding Bill, Taxpayer Revolt, Election 2008

More Letters From The Revolution

2008-02-26T10:18:00.001-08:00

People are downright pissed off about the DFL’s override of Gov. Pawlenty’s veto. Here’s another person upset with the DFL’s override:

Today is not a day that I am proud to call myself a Minnesotan. As the economy in this state already in dire straits, it greatly saddens me that as a taxpayer in this state that I am forced to stretch my already thin budget even further. Over the past 5 years or so, due to the cost of housing increasing exponentially, many people moved out of the city, however in order for a decent paying job we must commute into the city for work. I live near Princeton, but work in Minnetonka. Like those who need to commute in order to survive, we are the ones who are going to feel even more pain with this bill. For instance, my monthly gas costs are about $340/month, I drive a very small economy car and have pretty much cut out any unnecessary driving. This includes going home to my mother’s for holidays. With this vote, I will need to fork out yet another $100 per month just for gas. I’ll have to update my bankruptcy attorney with this new fact. Yes, bankruptcy attorney.
Have you looked at your local newspaper and counted how many foreclosures are listed?? Elk River paper has 10 pages plus of foreclosures. My development alone has had 3 foreclosures and 4 near or impending foreclosures in the last 3 years; the humbling fact is that there are only 18 homes in my development.
As workers, we have already started to “brown bag” lunch everyday because we simply cannot afford to eat out anymore.
Fact: You have voted to increase your lunch expenditures to $95/day! How many times do you eat every day? That is my grocery bill for the entire month for my family!
Also, where did the money go that was generated by the last transportation bill? Many people now wish that they hadn’t voted “yes” to that one now that another has been forced into existence.
MN is one of the most heavily taxed states in the nation (as I’m still paying last year’s tax bill, despite the thousands I’ve already paid out). With this bill, MN will also be proud to boast that it is one of the highest gas tax states as well. The taxpayers would be happy to pay more IF and only IF there wasn’t so much
wasteful spending being done by our “leaders.”
From the arguments for this bill:
1) It will create 33,000 jobs. Question: What about all the people that will lose their jobs or will not get a reasonable raise this year (one that would not even keep up with the cost of living in the first place) due to increased overhead of already suffering businesses? Won’t the money end up in the construction company’s pockets instead of the worker due to the increased overhead costs??
2) A million people will be coming to MN in the next year. Question: Are these going to be taxpayers or tax suckers? Taxpaying as in working, paying state income tax, not being on any government assistance (welfare, food stamps, daycare assistance, health care)?
With the rising costs of running a company; small businesses have already cut many benefits to their workers including health care. These workers are either uninsured or insured by PMAP or GAMC. As an individual who works in the health insurance
industry and has worked in the metro area hospitals, I see the incredible amount
of waste that the general person who is on state health insurance causes. An
example: Going to the ER for pink eye! Who takes the cut? The hospitals - who
then pass on the loss to the paying people. Some ways to cut expenses of the
welfare system in this state is to:
1) Every able-bodied person will not automatically receive welfare benefits – Get a Job! The system has made it more beneficial to stay on welfare than to get a job.
2) Only people who actually live in this state full-time are eligible to receive benefits, there are many people that drive to MN to pick up their check, committing crimes while they are here. Check the paper.
3) Many workers need to take a drug test in order to have a job, why not require drug testing for a welfare paycheck? That would eliminate a lot of money that goes out the door.
4) As workers, we need to drive to work and complete our job in order to collect a paycheck. Why don’t welfare recipients have to expend some time and energy inreceiving their monthly stipend? Go stand in line; you’re not doing anything anyway (this would cut down unnecessary MD visits). Let’s make these people put some effort in receiving their handout.
Unfortunately, I have personal experience (through a friend) with several drug dealers in the Minneapolis area, they drive nicer cars, have more toys and do nothing all day for their effort, BUT they get a free ride from our state who is not willing tostand up against these thugs and even prosecute them effectively for their crimes which costs the taxpayers about $10,000 each time they are arrested. I won’t even go into all the irresponsible, mentally and financially unstable people who continue to have more and more children. Two words: Mandatory Sterilization.
In light of the tragedy in Cottonwood, how many illegals are getting my tax money directly or indirectly? Get them out of the state, prosecute them and send the bill to the country in which they came from. This needs to stop. I’ve even considered leaving my own country over this.
I believe that part of the “yes” vote was in order to preserve your own status aswell as your friends that are in the ancillary government offices. I am tempted to run for office myself so that at least one more person would stand up for the citizens of MN. I do want to thank each person who did such thing, including both of my representatives who did not bend to meet their own needs.
The sum of it is, if you going to force MN taxpayers, who are already in extreme financial distress, pay more daily just to be able to live in this beautiful state then first cut the wasteful spending that is being done.
We fly coach (if we can even afford that) because we can’t afford otherwise, so as
leaders, you should also fly coach and pay for your own trips if you have made your own choice to go somewhere. If we have to “tighten up our boot straps” then you should be required to as well. That is what the general public’s plea to you is. Our health care benefits, retirement funds, and income are going down while everything we pay for is going up (premiums, cost of living in every way). If you force us to pay even more in taxes, then do as you say!We want to see actual results of our hard-earned money that is being taken without being asked. It seems that every other “temporary” tax has never gone away, the question is: Is this ever going to go away or do I have to leave my home state in order to be able to afford to live?
This is not only my views, but of many Minnesotans.
Just open your ears and listen to the public’s outcry.

Though I don’t agree with everything that this person says, I can’t deny the fact that he makes multiple compelling arguments. That’s why I’ll just get out of the way & let them speak for themselves.

One thing that I spotted was his (her?) saying that "I am tempted to run for office myself so that at least one more person would stand up for the citizens of MN." I'd strongly encourage this person to do exactly that. If they choose not to run, then at minimum, volunteer for the campaigns of those who believe in the same things as you do.

Taxpayers Speak Up

2008-02-26T07:39:00.000-08:00

A loyal reader of LFR just forwarded an email from some angry taxpayers. The email was originally sent to a legislator. I'm withholding the names of the taxpayer. Here's the message that these taxpayers wanted to send:

For those of you who voted to over ride the governor veto shame on you, especially those of you Republicans who defected. My wife and I are finally at a time in our lives when we can enjoy some of life. But our pockets books are continually being raided by politicians local and national who think we have a money tree in our back yard. Local taxes, city taxes, excise taxes, state income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, county taxes, social security, licenses, gas taxes, car license tabs, stadiums, light rail, where does it stop!!!!!!!!!!! When does it stop!!!!!!!!!!

I thought that I would never consider moving away from Minnesota, but you got me thinking now. It is intirely possible we may retire in some other state. Lives with in your means. When money is tight, we spend less, and make our money work more efficiently, cut where we can. If we need more money we don't steal it from our neighbors, we tighten our belt. I suggest you tighten yours, and stop stealing from us. You guys waste so much.

I think South Dakota has the right idea for both business and residents.

Message to the DFL: If you think that these people won't be motivated to boot your arse out of office, think again. And you'll deserve it. You've pushed through tax increases that the people hate with a passion. Your next move is fairly predictable. I'm betting that you'll try your 'soaking the rich' gambit next. You'll hope that people will get distracted. You'll hope that they'll think that everything's ok now that the rich are getting soaked.

That ploy won't work because John & Jane Public will still remember how they've had their pockets picked by ineffective liberal legislators. They'll remember that the vast majority of GOP legislators supported their right to keep their money. I'll make sure of that.

Rest assured that I'll do my best to fan the flames of their anger. Rest assured that I'll throw some white gas onto those flames, too. Mark Buesgens had it exactly right when he said that the bill was a "compromise amongst thieves."

I've heard lefties like former St. Cloud Mayor John Ellenbecker say that high taxes are needed to buy alot of education & good roads. He cites the Perpich years as an example. Unfortunately, taxes then weren't nearly as invasive as they are now. Take this bill for example.

It's refered to as a gas tax bill. While it's certainly contains an increase in the gas tax, that's only part of the story. It also includes an increase in license tab fees, something that the DFL originally touted as only affecting new vehicles. We learned that that isn't true last Thursday when Rep. Rob Eastlund got Paul Marquart to admit that it applies to any vehicle that isn't registered in Minnesota.

Also included in this bill is a 7- county metrowide sales tax plus a provision that lets county commissions levy a sales tax without putting it up to a vote of the taxpayers.

This is serious stuff. We The People demand that the DFL prioritize spending first before increasing taxes. The DFL hasn't shown one iota of compassion for the struggling small business owner or the retired couple living on fixed income. They haven't shown that they're interested in much of anything other than raiding people's wallets and feeding their special interest allies at the public trough.

The DFL as the Party of the People? Don't make me laugh. They're the Party of the Hog Trough Special Interests.

Technorati: Gas Tax, Paul Marquart, Tax Increases, John Ellenbecker, DFL, Mark Buesgens, Rob Eastlund, Fiscal Restraint, Election 2008

And The Winner IS.....

2008-01-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

One of the fun things about moving, especially in the age of the Internet, is learning about your new home. So in order to learn about my soon (?) to be new home's political and legislative landscape, I have subscribed to a couple of politcal blog feeds and newspapers from Utah. One of which is "The Senate Site" which is a blog run by the State Senate Majority! The new session started last week so I have been getting daily updates and today's update pointed me to a very interesting economic study (closed circuit to King - I can't wait to see your analysis of this information). According to the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, the most economically competitive state in the union is.......UTAH! The report rates states based on 16 factors. They are.

• Highest marginal personal income tax rate
• Highest marginal corporate income tax rate
• Progressivity of the personal income tax system
• Property tax burden
• Sales tax burden
• Tax burden from all remaining taxes
• Estate tax/Inheritance tax (Yes or No)
• Recent Tax Policy Changes 2005-06
• Debt service as share of tax revenue
• Public employees per 10,000 residents (ed - Uh oh!!!)
• Quality of state legal system
• State minimum wage
• Workers’ Compensation costs
• Right-to-work state (Yes or No)
• Tax/Expenditure Limit• Education Freedom Index

Minnesota, on the other hand.....

The report also talks about population migration to and from the states and what the causes of this migration appears to be. This includes a cautionary tale to Minnesota (whose top corporate marginal tax rate is the 5th HIGHEST in the country) Legislators - INCLUDING Governor Pawlenty (who lately seems to think that increased regulation is a good thing)....

It takes a lot of public policy folly to persuade people to pack their bags and abandon California’s sunshine, 70-degree weather, scenic mountains, and beaches, but lately the politicians in Sacramento have proved themselves up to the task. The latest Census Bureau data indicate that in 2005, 239,416 more Californians followed Tiger Woods’s lead and left the state than moved in. That was also the case in 2003 and 2004. The native-born outmigration flows have become so systemic that the cost to rent a U-Haul trailer to move from Los Angeles to Boise, Idaho is $2,090—or some six times more than the cost of moving in the opposite direction.23 What’s gone wrong with the Golden State? A big part of the story is a tax and regulatory culture in Sacramento that treats rich people as if they were cash dispensing ATM machines.
The cost for businesses of complying with California’s rules, regulations, and paperwork is more than twice as high as other Western states.24
Perhaps this story is a sign of the times: One of the leading companies that manufactures surfboards, a quintessential California firm, closed operations in California due to fear of “fines, civil lawsuits, and even time in prison.”25
But the real growth killer is California’s steeply “progressive” income tax with a 10.3 percent rate applied to high-income residents—the highest in the nation outside New York City. The richest 10 percent of earners pay almost 75 percent of the income tax burden in the state. And most of these “evil rich” are small business owners, i.e. the people who create the jobs.26

Overtaxation and a nanny government that wants to dictate EVERY ASPECT of your life are a sure fire way of chasing people away from the best of weather and we certainly do not have the best of weather here in Minnesota - especially in January!

Hello, St. Paul????? Is anybody listening??????

Cross posted at Ladies Logic and True North because I have nothing better to do with my time!

Bridges and budget constraints

2007-12-18T17:17:00.000-08:00

I was at a public presentation made by some Republican legislators last week -- I have some notes but don't think I'll post them -- the discussion was about veterans and our support for the Iraq War. Some chirpy woman, who had made several critical comments already that evening, declared that we had made no payment on the Iraq War, which only could make sense to me by her claiming that every dollar taxed by our Federal government has to be spent on all the other things in the budget. That is, her implicit assumption is that we can only spend a dollar on Iraq after all those farm subsidies, health care cost reimbursements and post offices named after everyone and his mother-in-law.

I find this logic either amusing or irritating, depending on my mood. At the time I was irritated, but after visiting with friends I let it go.

Irritation returned this morning as I read the second in the StarTribune's full frontal assault on your wallet in the name of safety.

For MnDOT to keep pace with all statewide transportation needs from 2008 to 2030 -- including construction, safety projects, maintenance, and upgrades -- it would cost taxpayers $38.1 billion, according to MnDOT's most recent estimates.

But over that same time period, with current funding policy, MnDOT estimates that it will only have $14.5 billion.

McFarlin said MnDOT's fiscal 2008 budget is short at least $85 million for scheduled construction projects.

At what point did anyone discuss redistributing money to transportation from other parts of the budget? "Which ones?" you ask. Well, Phil Krinkie has an idea: Maybe we don't need to spend money on transit, particularly when you buy an 80 mile project but get a 40 mile project instead. Nicole Russell wonders about $50 million to provide security at the GOP Convention. Nice that Bemidji State gets some sugar for engineer and nurse training but could that money be better spent?

Every additional dollar spent on bridge repair, construction, or inspection has three sources: You can tax more; you can borrow more; or you can spend less somewhere else. Dropping any of those three from the equation means you are optimizing subject to NO budget constraint. This is the height of folly; you cannot run your own home buying more of X, Y and Z without at least considering if you could do without so much of A, B, or C. Neither can you run a government.

(Crossposted from SCSU Scholars.)

Freedom Minutes

2007-12-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Jason Lewis and Minnesota Majority have a new ad out that is a killer!

This is a video version of the state wide radio campaign that Minnesota Majority launched today! MM also has an online petition that you can sign if you are interested.

If you want to know more about some of the pitfalls of Universal health care, you can read my posts here, here, here, here, here and here. The bottom line is that while health care reform is needed, universal health care is not the answer. The market can and will work, if we the people allow it to happen and do the work necessary to allow it to happen.

Who Said This?

2007-12-03T16:47:00.000-08:00

Who said this?

"We weren't designed in Article I of the Constitution to be the ATM machine...."

Rep. Walz - the taxpayers of America are not the ATM machine for the Federal or State government either. If you don't like being the President's ATM, imagine how the taxpayers feel...

For the Common Good

2007-12-01T16:33:00.000-08:00

My friend John has an article in the American Thinker that explains why history is so important for us to remember and learn from.

The past week saw the anniversary of one of the great tragedies of history overlooked by most of the US mainstream media. On November 24th 75 years ago, Stalin announced plans to collectivize all grain from his people, in an attempt to enforce "true socialism" on the people for their own good. This Holodomor (forced famine) sentenced millions of Ukrainians to their deaths.

The lesson was given to John by a family member who lived through those days.

Last month I was in the Ukraine visiting my family, and got to meet my babushka (Russian word for grandmother), Darina. Darina is in her 80's and has lived in her little house for her entire life. She was a little girl when Stalin forced the food production quotas on the Ukraine people.

What John's babushka lived through was the starvation of 3.5 million Ukranian people for the "common good". It was a phrase that was used by the Stalinists to justify the gradual enslaving of the Russian people. So the next time that a politician proposes taking from one group to give to another, think about babushka Darina and the starvation of the Ukranian people. Stop and reflect on what the people suffered at the hands of an all powerful "benevolent" government that said that they were operating "for the common good".

Cross-posted at Ladies Logic

Minnesota Republican Response to Budget Deficit Situation

2007-12-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

Rep. Seifert held a brief media response to the budget forecast. His comments include:

We do not need tax increases.

Sacrifices need to take place. The question being asked is who is doing the sacrificing? Republicans believe sacrifices need to take place within government. Democrats believe sacrifice happens with businesses and families.

Republicans and Governor Tim Pawlenty brought fiscal discipline to the legislative process last session. Without the Governor's line item vetoes, bonding bill vetoes the budget deficit could have been more than $500 million. We need fiscal accountability. The Democrats should stay within the debt limit of $965 million for the bonding bill. The bonding bill should be focused on infrastructure like roads and bridge. It would be irresponsible to blow that limit and put that much more on the state credit card.

All levels of government must live within their means - state, county and local.

The House GOP will look toward cuts in government spending to resolve this budget deficit. We talk about fiscal restraint but we need cuts in wasteful spending. FY2010-2011 has a projected major deficit. We need to prepare and get spending under control.

We will again bring fiscal discipline to session. There should be no permanent spending with one-term money, the bonding bill should stay within the debt limit and we don't need to raise taxes.

Sen. Dave Senjem also responded:

This is a wake up call.

We live in a highly taxed state. Our business climate is suffering. We rank 42 in the nation for business climate. We need to create investments in our business climate. We should be in the top 10. Business expansion is not happening in Minnesota because there are no incentives to grow business.

Hang on to your wallets...

2007-12-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

I just received word from Ian Marsh that, due to a slower-than expected economy the upcoming forecast calls for a 373 million dollar budget deficit in FY 2008. Though a drop in the bucket compared to the 4 billion dollar deficit inherited by Governor Pawlenty when he took office, look for the caterwalling and gnashing of teeth, along with a death scream by the DFL delegation of the Minnesota House and Senate to raise taxes.

Word to Pawlenty, the DFL and the MN GOP:

You want more revenue? Here's a novel idea.

LOWER THE TAX RATES!

DFL Misreading the Voters

2007-11-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

Tarryl Clark uses this press release to essentially place all the blame on Minnesota's weakening economy on Gov. Pawlenty's shoulders. The sad truth is that the DFL should accept responsibility for attempting to ruin Minneosta's economy by proposing crippling tax increases to pay for their unsustainable spending increases. Here's one paragraph that got a chuckle out of me:

“Minnesota’s economy continues to struggle, but the governor refuses to do his part to lend a hand,” said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud. “Each month, Minnesotans are seeing more and more job opportunities disappear. It is imperative that we do whatever we can to jumpstart our state’s economy.”

I emailed Tarryl a couple weeks ago with the suggestion that the DFL work with Gov. Pawlenty to cut taxes next session. I still haven't gotten a reply from her on that, nor do I expect one considering the subject matter. The DFL hates GOP-proposed tax cuts almost as much as Superman hates Kryptonite or vampires hate wooden stakes.

I'd just like to second Gov. Pawlenty's quote about maintaining Minnesota's prosperity:

“What my DFL friends don’t understand is you can’t government your way to
prosperity. You have to have a real economy,” he said. “So their answer is ‘We’d
have a better economy if the governor would spend more government money on
projects and raise taxes’?”

Here's proof that the DFL hasn't figured out that "you can’t government your way to prosperity":

“The governor has opposed the Legislature’s attempt to help create jobs,” said Sen. Clark. “He vetoed the bonding and tax bills, which would have brought thousands of new jobs to the state. He also opposed long-term investments in transportation and education that are critical to starting an economic revival. The transportation bill itself would have created 60,000 jobs.”

Here's a refresher on last session's Transportation Bill:

The proposed 10-cent-a-gallon gasoline-tax increase moving through the Minnesota Legislature could end up being higher than that, maybe more than twice as high.

Tucked away in a big transportation funding bill being fast-tracked to a Senate floor vote today are future increases in Minnesota’s gas tax that could push it from 20 cents a gallon to more than 40 cents over 10 years, higher than any state’s current bite at the pump.

“I’m not trying to fool anybody,” said Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, sponsor of the measure that would increase funding for roads and transit by $1.5 billion a year once it was fully implemented in the next decade. “There’s a lot of taxes in this bill.”

Here's a better recap of what's in the bill:

Higher registration renewal fees on future new car purchases, but no increases on currently owned vehicles.
A half-cent rise in the general sales tax in the seven-county Twin Cities area, imposed without a voter referendum, plus a $20 excise tax on new vehicle sales in the metro.
Local-option authority for half-cent sales-tax increases in the rest of Minnesota, subject to voter approval.
Authority for all 87 counties in the state to impose a $20-per-vehicle annual wheelage tax. Three suburban counties levied the current maximum of $5 per vehicle last year.
Increased fees for leased vehicle registrations, license plates, titles and drivers’ licenses, plus a $20 reinstatement fee for a license suspended for theft of gasoline.

Please tell me how this Transportation Bill will create a net a 60,000 job increase. How will it accomplish that when people will be leaving the state in droves? The message from the school levy elections wasn't nuanced. It was quite clear. It said that voters were tired of the annual tax increases & that they weren't going to take it anymore. They were tired of being treated like the DFL's ATM machines.

The DFL is free to ignore that message but they do so at their own peril. The DFL is attempting to ignore the message that Rockville citizens are sending, too. That'll lead to their demise:

Resident unrest is growing in Rockville, and some say it reflects how officials have managed the city since its 2002 consolidation with Rockville Township and Pleasant Lake. Some are worried about taxes or assessments they are paying or will have to pay. Others point to the new City Hall and fire station as excess spending and worry about the financial burden placed on residents. It’s prompted about 55 households on the south end of town to petition to withdraw from the city and join Maine Prairie Township.

Spurred by a controversial road assessment policy and general dissatisfaction, petitioners will go before the City Council for the first time tonight. At the meeting, officials also will consider approving assessments on two road projects: Stearns County Road 82 and Stearns County Road 8. It’s the first implementation of the policy that prompted residents to picket City Hall, hire a lawyer and meet with state
representatives.

Tarryl seems oblivious to the fact that people won't tolerate another major tax increase. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the voters wanted a real property tax cut more than anything else & that they'd accept a cut in the marginal income tax rates to boot. Here's the final ironic Tarrylism:

Sen. Clark said the Legislature must focus on passing a new bonding bill, a
transportation finance package to fix the state’s roads and bridges, as well as a new tax bill aimed at spurring job growth and reducing property taxes soon. Many other strategies to promote growth in the emerging bioscience and renewable-energy industries should be examined, according to Sen. Clark.

Last session's tax bill would've created the highest marginal tax rates for small businesses in the nation. It would've driven up state commercial property taxes, too. There isn't any doubt that those tax increases would've driven small businesses out of the state, too. Despite all that, Tarryl wants us to believe that the DFL tax increases will create prosperity? I won't buy into that.

When Bill Clinton increased taxes in 1993, the economy was growing. Increasing taxes when the economy is weakening isn't smart policy. Increasing taxes at that time will hasten, deepen & lengthen the coming recession.

During W's first term, Democrats complained about the middle class squeeze. If they were to pass, the DFL's tax increases on small businesses would be the ultimate middle class squeeze because it'd drive up unemployment. If you want to see what massive tax increases does for an economy, just look at Michigan's. The only thing preventing Michigan from sliding into a deeper recession is the new $600 million business tax cut to draw new businesses to the state.

Listen to this:

The Governor’s new plan, the Michigan Business Tax, was developed on the
following principles:
Create a business tax with the broadest base and the lowest tax rate
possible
Provide substantial personal property tax relief to industrial and
commercial taxpayers
Eliminate the tax on payroll, benefits and health care
Preserve economic development tools to help attract new jobs and investment
Spread the tax fairly to all types of business organizations while
maximizing the number of businesses receiving a tax cut
Ensure stable funding to protect citizens from higher taxes or huge cuts in
education, health care or public safety while preserving the $600 million
business tax cut that takes effect this year
Make the tax simple

That's the polar opposite of what Tarry's DFL wants to do. When I emailed Tarryl, I'm certain that she thought it was a prank email. It wasn't. I firmly believe that cutting Minnesota's taxes right now would give our economy a much-needed shot in the arm.

Simply put, it's time that Minnesotans told the DFL that we can't afford their destructive tax increases. It's time we told Tarryl that "you can't government your way to prosperity."

The only thing you can government your way to is to pay off your political allies.

Technorati: Tarryl Clark, Tax Increases, Income Tax, Tax Bill, Transportation Bill, DFL, Tim Pawlenty, Tax Cuts, ATM

Fighting Pork

2007-11-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

My friend Gary wrote about the pork laden Transportation/HUD bill that contained $300m for the 35W Bridge and how certain representatives are taking others in his delegation to task for voting against the bill. I thought it would be enlightening to take a look at some of the numbers and let the readers decide.

$105.6 billion - that is the total amount of spending in that bill. Of that $105.6 billion, $300 million of it was for the bridge!

2300+ - that is the number of pork projects (some say 2314, others say 2380 we'll just go for the low) that were included in this bill including:

$700,000 for the Chicago Theater on the Lake
$500,000 for the Los Angeles County Fire Museum$400,000 for the Riverfront Boardwalk in Green Bay WI.
$700,000 for streetscaping in Joplin, MO.
$550,000 for the demolition of an abandoned church in Raytown, MO
$750,000 for the Detroit (MI) Engineering Theater

That is only a partial list of the projects that were for more money than was "earmarked" for the 35W bridge. That does not include the hundreds of $100,000 earmarks for various states theaters, cultural arts centers, streetscaping, opera houses, aquatic centers and music academies. This is also not a partisan issue. Republicans such as Mel Martinez ($350,000 for the Cuban American Historical Museum), James Inhofe ($140,000 for the Native American Cultural & Educational Authority Cultural Center and Museum) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson ($140,000 for the relocation of the Tom Green County Library) were bellied up to the trough along with the Democrats!

Missing from the bill was $300,000 that was needed for Native American Housing - isn't that what HUD money is SUPPOSED to go to?

This is exactly the type of spending that I was talking about when I said that our priorities were all mixed up! Here was a transportation and housing bill where most of the money went to everything BUT transportation and housing! I mean really - what does a $1million Woodstock Museum really have to do with housing or transportation Senator Clinton?

Imagine how many "structurally deficient bridges could have been fixed with the money that went to these other projects. Once you have done that, you might want to give Senator Coleman, Representative Ellison and Representative Oberstar a ring and ask them what these museums have to do with housing and transportation.

Getting Started

2007-11-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

The bad news is that politicians have been abusing taxpayers for longer than I'd like to admit. Now is no different. The good news is that taxpayers now have more tools at their avail than ever before. We can & will shape elections.

At Taxpayers Revolt, We The People are about sending a firm, clear message to the political class. That message is simply summed up by telling them, whether the politicians are based in Washington, DC, in the 50 state capitols or in your hometown, that we're sick of being treated like the political class's ATM machines.

One of this blog's goals is to highlight instances where politicians have spent money foolishly and/or raised taxes so they could spend more money foolishly.

Another goal of this blog is to recruit a handful of bloggers from across the nation to highlight their politicians when they overspend or overtax us. Never before have taxpayers had the ability to notice trends of overreaching as we have right now. Right now, we have the ability to read about spending abuses in Pennsylvania, then compare those abuses with abuses we're seeing in Minnesota or Wisconsin or Florida. Right now, a blogger in New Mexico has the ability to write about an abuse in his/her state, only to find out that the same thing is happening in Ohio.

Put another way, this blog's goal is to be the vehicle by which we connect fiscal conservatives across the nation with the purpose of identifying local trends & turning them into national trends.

It is my strong belief that we are in the midst of a taxpayer revolt right now. Taxpayers in Washington State made it mandatory for the state legislature to get 67 percent of each body's legislators to vote yes to increase taxes. Taxpayers in liberal Oregon defeated a ballot initiative that would've raised taxes by 85 cents on each pack of cigarettes to pay for a children's health insurance program. Here in Minnesota, taxpayers defeated school levies, many with 60+ percent of the vote.

This blog's definition of fiscal conservatism means (a) using every penny wisely, (b) not raising taxes unless there aren't any other options and (c) keeping all levels as small as possible while providing for the things that our state or federal constitution mandates.

If you have a passion for this issue & would like to contribute to this blog, go to my profile to get my email address. Email me, then simply explain why I should pick you. If you're able to give a good explanation for including you on our team, I'll invite you in very short order.

Technorati: Taxes, Earmarks, Accountability, We The People, Fiscal Conservatism, Reforms