Friends of ATR

The Friends of ATR Blog has Moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Wing Man) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:49:00 +0000

ATR recently relaunched its website. This newly designed site includes a blog on the front page.

Be sure to check it out at www.atr.org. Hope you'll continue to read and leave your comments on our blog.

Hilarious AFSCME ad Warning: explicit language!

noreply@blogger.com (Free Market Frank) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:48:00 +0000

This is VERY FUNNY, but VERY DIRTY. You have been warned.

noreply@blogger.com (Seco Tributa) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Senator Harkin joins Bill Press and Senator Stabenow in calling for regulating free speech.

noreply@blogger.com (Free Market Frank) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:56:00 +0000

As if Senator Debbie Stabenow's calling for ignoring the First Amendment wasn't bad enough considering her standing to personally benefit from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, now we have Senator Tom Harkin joining the call for making the unelected 5-person FCC the de facto program director of every talk radio station in the country.

While talking with the struggling, once famous Bill Press on his radio show, Senator Harkin said this:

"By the way, I read your Op-Ed in the Washington Post the other day. I ripped it out, I took it into my office and said 'there you go, we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again.'"

As if it isn't bad enough that a bunch of old men with no real-world experience and no background in economics are attempting to micromanage the economy with a power-grab and spend bill that would even make Stalin blush, these central planners are seeking to silence dissent in the name of diversity.

Press has reason to be upset, his show was taken off the air in Washington, DC, though not for the black helicopter type reasons he would like you to believe. Press, and the rest of the "progressive" talk is going the way of the dodo because more people listen to him sing in the shower in the morning than listen to their radio shows. So it's in their financial interest to have the government mandate stations carry the type of show they just so happen to be producing. The legislators on board with this power grab have more nefarious motivations.

The "spendulus" bill currently worming its way through a House-Senate conference is facing its toughest obstacle not from squishy lawmakers, but from a public being informed about the pork-laden bill through the only media outlet where conservatives and libertarians have a clear voice - talk radio. Those phone lines on the Hill aren't melting down because of outrageous aspects of that bill discovered by MSNBC or The New York Times, it's coming from talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.

If Liberals are able to silence them, or at a minimum, "balance" them by forcing station to carry what amounts to direct propaganda for the so-called "progressive" agenda, the public will be less informed by omission. Rather than a choir of liberty loving hosts singing from the Constitutional hymnal, stations will be forced to morph into a battle of bands format and lose their self-chosen identity.

Add to that the fact that liberal talk radio fails, doesn’t sell and doesn’t attract an audience or advertisers, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for disaster for the talk radio business as a whole. That, come to think of it, may well be what they’re hoping for.

In typical left-wing fashion, the phrase "celebrate diversity," while accepting of nearly anything you can think of that liberals embrace, stops just short of differing opinions. The modern liberal movement has turned into Trotsky with better suits and friend provided drivers.

Lone Star State Lawmakers Work to Avoid Fate of D.C. and Sacramento

noreply@blogger.com (Chocolatey Shatner) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:40:00 +0000

What better day than Reagan's birthday for a conservative group of legislators to release their priorities for 2009.

Michael Quinn Sullivan, president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, reports out of Austin that the Texas Conservative Coalition today "announced their fiscal priorities for the current session ‘to help keep our economy strong and growing’ by noting that the economic climate has been caused by ‘poor decision-making in Washington D.C. and lack of responsibility on Wall Street.’ High on their list: real reductions in property taxes.”

Another top goal this year for the Texas Conservative Coalition, led by Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Nacogdoches), will be the implementation of a tax and expenditure limit to ensure that the state lives within its means and avoids the ill fate of their profligate counterparts in other states like California and New York.

ATR supports legislation by coalition member Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney), House Bill 994, that would tie increases in state spending to population growth and inflation. The text of that legislation can be found by clicking here.

The TX Conservative Coalition sent a letter to key state officials today outlining their priorities. Click here to read the letter and here for Sullivan’s full commentary on the matter. To learn more about the TX Conservative Coalition click here.

Debbie Stabenow's conflict of interest on the so-called Fairness Doctrine.

noreply@blogger.com (Free Market Frank) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:58:00 +0000

So Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, well known for...um, something, not really sure what, is now going to make a push to censor conservative talk radio. While on the Bill Press Show, Bill touted Senator Stabenow as the leader in the Senate advocating for "progressive" talk radio, even though it doesn't sell and the audiences don't listen.

Well, there's a reason Stabenow is champion for the type of talk radio, she's got "skin in the game," to steal a phrase from the President. Her husband, when not sleeping with 20 year old prostitutes, dabbles in the liberal talk radio business. So it's only natural that she would seek to impose regulations to "balance" what people do want to listen to with what people don't want to listen to, namely her husband's products.

Not Any of Our Taxes Mr. President? President Obama Breaks Campaign Promise 16 Days into Office

noreply@blogger.com (Wing Man) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:41:00 +0000

Dear President Obama,

Do you remember the campaign promise that you made in Dover, NH on September 12th, 2008 where you promised never to raise taxes on any family making less than $250,000 a year? You specifically said, "“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." If you want visual proof, click the video below.

Did you watch the video? It appears from this video that your word doesn't mean much all. On the sixteenth day of your presidency, you broke one of the central promises of your candidacy: No American earning under $250,000 per year would face any form of tax increase under your administration. By signing the S-CHIP legislation today, Mr. President, you have now broken your oft-repeated promise. Did you know that on average, smokers, whose median income is a little more than $36,000, make about 30 percent less than non-smokers.

I think Grover Norquist's quote says it best, “Tom Daschle and Leona Helmsley believe that only the little people should pay taxes. Obama agrees; he just raised taxes on millions of lower-income Americans. His central campaign promise was a lie.”

Yours truly,
Disgruntled taxpayer

You think this is bad?

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:11:00 +0000

If you think what’s going on here is bad, spare a thought for conservatives in Australia.

Having won election as an "economic conservative",

Australia

's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd earlier this week called for a new world order that goes even further than "the 70-year-old interventionist principles of John Maynard Keynes".

Today, he proved his call for socialism, and introduced into Parliament the largest spending increase in Australia's history - equivalent to 4% of total national output. He plans to ram this through in - wait for it - one day. Opposition legislators got to see their first copies of the bill the morning that they are expected to vote on it.

Full details here.

Michigan Governor Granholm Gives Kickback to Former Republican Tax Hiker

noreply@blogger.com (Kaptain Kapitalist) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:21:00 +0000

In October 2007, Governor Granholm shoved over $3 billion in new taxes down the throats of Michiganders telling them it would solve the state’s budget crises and turn Michigan around. However, in order to pass her tax hike, she needed bipartisan support - and she found it in former republican State Representative Ed Gaffney. Well, last week the term-limited legislator finally received his thank you note from the governor – attached to a big, fat $82,000 a year appointment to the state Liquor Control Commission.

After a private meeting with Governor Granholm in 2007, former Representative Gaffney was one of only two republicans to vote for her “temporary” 12% increase in the Michigan personal income tax, which brought over $750 million into state coffers last year.

On another note, after the budget passed in 2007, Granholm released this statement: “With the state back on solid financial footing, we can turn our focus to the critical task of jumpstarting our economy and creating new jobs.” Well, over a year later Michigan currently has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 10.6%. Good work, Governor Granholm.

For some other good posts on this story, visit the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance blog and the RightMichigan blog.

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:57:00 +0000

Even if Congress approves a massive $825 billion economic stimulus package, states would still be left with billions of dollars of overspending gaps to close on their own, a new analysis released Jan. 26 shows.

New Jersey Transit has threatened fair hikes if it doesn't get $150 million of Federal Taxpayer Bailout - the same day it begins construction on an $8.7 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River, officials said yesterday.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has created a new Pork Czar and 15 person state agency to dole out more than $3.5 billion in federal stimulus funds to be heated by the Pork Czar.

The governing body of the California Teachers Association voted over the weekend to support signature gathering for a ballot measure that would hike the California sales tax by a penny on the dollar.

The WSJ Online has a must-read article on the unprecedented state spending binge of the last five years. The GAO estimates that state and local governments will face cumulative overspending problem by $131 billion in 2009, increasing to a staggering $181 billion in 2010.

California towns are bailing out local car dealers.

Illinois taxpayers are footing the bill for at least part of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's TV tour.

Iowa Governor Chet Culver's is recommending reducing overspending by 6.5% in the budgeting year that begins July 1, which would spend less than the state budget from two years ago.

Colorado activist Freda Poundstone on Monday submitted a proposed ballot measure that would drastically cut taxes and fees paid by Coloradans on everything from car registrations to telephone bills.

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:44:00 +0000

As states request one-quarter of the entire bailout package to save themself from their own fiscal incompetence - making them the plan’s biggest beneficiaries - there is a silver lining today to some taxpayers.

Arizona Governor promised to "right the ship that has been looking to the left" over the weekend, and stated that former Gov. Napolitano had unnecessarily increased the state budget by $4 billion over her six-year tenure. California legislators have endorsed $6 billion in spending cuts, and Missouri Rep. Chris Kelly has filed a revenue-neutral bill that would replace Missouri's state income tax with a state sales tax.

Unfortunately, some can't break the tax-and spend habit: New York Gov. Paterson has decided to jet off on a European junket this week, despite a $15.8 billion overspending problem and growing concerns over disorder in his administration.

In a case of the plain bizarre, Virginia Taxpayers are paying for a mouse puppet to promote the Tax Department.

Finally, as freedom-hating Gov. Timothy M. Kaine seeks to double the state's tax on cigarettes to get more money for health care, in a case of the blinding obvious, state statistics have revealed that cigarette sales declined after the previous two rounds of tax increases.

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:11:00 +0000

After increasing spending year after year, North Carolina Senate leader Marc Basnight proposed to make taxpayers suffer the consequences of the state's fiscal irresponsibility by raising taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

Florida Governor Crist has stated would block legislative budget cuts

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has instituted a hiring freeze and pledged to work with state lawmakers to rein in spending

Hawaii plans to spend $4 billion on roads, paid for by "increases in fuel taxes and fees once the moribund local economy starts to perk up". Which of course will cause it to come crashing back down again.

Key Iowa Democrats said Thursday they expect to debate legislation to increase the state’s gas tax by up to 8 cents per gallon this session.

Kentucky Senate President David Williams says the state needs to make deeper cuts before considering new revenue sources to deal with a projected $456 million budget shortfall.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Thursday the budget he will unveil next week contains "no tax increases and little in the way of fee hikes" and Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell said yesterday that he would "not propose any increases in the state's sales or personal income taxes in the next fiscal year's budget"

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:13:00 +0000

Moody's Investors Service said it might downgrade California's general obligation bonds, currently "A1.", giving California the lowest rating among the 50 states

In 2007 Michigan taxpayers and businesses were punished with $1.4 billion in new taxes -- the Michigan Business Tax, the 22 percent business tax surcharge and a higher state income tax -- increasing unemployment to 10.6%, the worst in the nation. While families and workers are struggling to make ends meet, state government brought in $712 million this past year more than it could spend - on the heels of a $350 million surplus the year before. Now more than ever Michigan must CUT TAXES!

The Connecticut comptroller's office says state government has added 824 full-time employees since Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered a "hiring freeze" in May of last year.

Incoming Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has promised to "shrink government but grow freedom"

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley unveiled his new budget, including $1.2 billion in cuts, 700 state employee layoffs and level-funding for numerous programs.

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:38:00 +0000

Arizona Senate President Bob Burns ruled out any tax increases, and said that the reason the state got into its current fiscal mess is that spending has increased faster than tax collections.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has endorsed a draconican bill to impose a 'cap and trade' system - ie kill jobs by taxing companies for greenhouse emissions.

New York Democrats have decided that Gov. Paterson's 100+ hikes aren't enough, so are proposing even more tax increases on the "wealthy".

In the midst of a $40 billion overspending crisis, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed former Democratic Assemblywoman Nicole Parra to a newly created $128,124-a-year job and named former Republican Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian to a board slot with a similar salary. The appointments were the fourth and fifth six-figure jobs that Schwarzenegger has given to legislators who departed office last year. (The Assembly and Senate appointed three other former lawmakers to positions with similar pay). California still hopes for a $26 billion bailout with federal tax dollars.

The $2 Billion Budget Shortfall That Wasn't

noreply@blogger.com (Chocolatey Shatner) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:03:00 +0000

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, Taxpayer Protection Pledge signer and as of last week, Pledge breaker, recently released his budget proposal which included a 3 percent room tax increase. Tax and Spenders in the Silver State claim the tax hike is needed to address what they say is a $2.3 billion shortfall (aka overspending) for the next biennium.

Luckily the good folks at the Nevada Policy Research Institute have revealed the real fiscal situation, employing an old but useful tool know as “facts.”

NPRI policy analyst Patrick Gibbons thoroughly debunks the myth of the $2.3 billion shortfall here. As it turns out the false deficit is derived from a baseline that assumes an automatic 20 percent budget increase, representing a government operating in stark contrast to the employers and families that have been cutting back in the midst of the economic downturn. As it turns out, the Governor’s budget includes only $900 million in cuts, or a meager 0.9 percent reduction. Indeed, many Nevada workers and businesses would gladly welcome less than a 1 percent cutback in these tough times. Click here to read the full analysis.

Not only has NPRI exposed the fallacy of the $2.3 billion budget shortfall, they have proposed a bold and innovative package of policy recommendations and reforms that would increase government efficiency, reduce waste and redundancy, and implement the structural reforms needed to protect Nevada taxpayers. Click here for NPRI’s proposal in its entirety.

In regards to Gov. Gibbons’ violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, more on that to come tomorrow.

Strike One of the Troika: House Passes First Tax Hike of 111th Congress

noreply@blogger.com (bird's eye viewer) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:27:00 +0000

A few days ago we asked "Who Are They Screwing First?" and with "they", we were referring to the Pelosi-Obama-Reid troika. And we now have our answer: The very same people they said they'd protect from higher taxes - Americans making less than $250,000.

We all remember President-elect Obama's solemn promise: "If you make less than a quarter of a million dollars a year, you will not see a single dime of your taxes go up." Well, never mind, huh?

Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 2, the State Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, a bill that would not only grow an already seriously flawed government program, but do so on the backs of a segment of the population that on average makes significantly less than a quarter of a million dollars - in fact on average little more than $36,000: smokers.

Not only should government not scapegoat a segment of the population for the use of a legal product. With this vote, we're also walking down the slippery slope of funding a program expansion on a declining revenue source. Essentially, the tobacco tax hike is no more than a place holder for the next tax hike, which will will be called for as soon as revenues dry up.

I have a hunch this was only the first of many tax hike votes. Way to start the 111th Congress!

Now it's off to the senate. You can still tell your senator to oppose this bad idea here.

Here's the roll call vote in the House of Representatives: 289 in favor, 139 opposed, and 6 NV.

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:42:00 +0000

New Jersey Governor set to proposes a $75 million cut to school aid while New York seeks $6.4 BILLION from the Feds for "teacher salaries & other (school) operational expenses.”

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Monday promised a no-new-taxes budget and cuts to most state agencies.

Massachussett's push for a gas-tax hike shifted into high gear yesterday as Gov. Deval Patrick indicated it was a serious alternative to toll hikes, and his new transportation boss distanced himself from a massive toll increase proposed on the Pike.

Tax-refugees continue to flee California

The American Lung Association continues to corruptly mismanage donors funds. Yesterday the ALA released a report praising fiscally irresponsible spending, onerously high taxes, and other misguided policies.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski has called for legislators to continue their big-government agenda, irrespective of the massive deficit their overspending is causing. Kulongoski, who is seeking $2 billion in higher fees and taxes, listed his recession-year priorities - socializing medicine, environmental spending and infrastructure - all things that will crowd out the private sector and make the economy even worse.

State governments from Rhode Island to California have run up estimated pension-fund losses of $865.1 billion.

The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008 Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:04:00 +0000

I’m hearing that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has re-focused his attention on The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008 and hopes to get it passed this session.

In light of Speaker Pelosi’s recent changes to the House Rules, it seems clear that the Congressional Democratic leadership has no desire to work on bi-partisan solutions to real issues. They would rather push their ultra liberal, big-government agenda and force more problems on American taxpayers.

The $10 Billion (until it’s loaded up with even more pork barrel spending) Omnibus bill is a compilation of over one hundred land-grab bills that would forever subjugate nearly one million acres to permanent federal government control and beyond the reach of anyone who wants to use it for purchase, hunting, biking, energy exploration, farming and anything else. Emboldened by a new, overwhelming Democratic majority, Senator Reid will stop at nothing to pass this shameless legislation that ignores hundreds of years of common law property rights.

The Federal Government already owns over 650 million acres of land, many of which are simply designated as “wilderness,” and many more that are kept in neglect. Since when have Americans been prohibited from inhabiting the “wilderness?” That lifestyle is a big part of our history and heritage but big city liberals don’t care. They would rather conceal their true intentions of ultimate government control beneath the rhetoric of “environmentalism.” If this is their true intention, why do they want to waste more money on acquiring new land when they aren’t even keeping up the land they already own?

Quick action is needed to stop this bill in its tracks – cloture vote is this Sunday. For more information, a 111-member coalition letter opposing the bill can be viewed at http://www.propertyrightsalliance.org/images/File/110608lt_coalition.pdf.

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:17:00 +0000

Have you visited www.statebooks.org yet? Check it out for the latest on state economic and fiscal policies

Some good news today:

Colorado Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter announced that he is working with state Treasurer Cary Kennedy (D) and Rep. Don Marostica (R-51) to make government more transparent by putting Colorado's revenue and expenses online

10 Governors have signed a letter to Congress opposing the proposal to abolish the secret ballot on union voting and bring back institutionalized intimidation known as card-check

Florida was able to deal with their overspending problem with no tax hikes.

But, as usual, state governors still want to hike taxes:

Maine Gov. Baldacci has unleashed a budget with a $4.1 increase in fees charged by the departments of Conservation, Marine Resources, and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and an increase in the smokeless tobacco tax. and Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue is trying to convince the legislature to create a new tax on hospitals.

California teachers (AKA Communist Propaganda Agents) have unleashed an initiative to hike taxes, while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration issued a plan to close many state offices on the first and third Fridays of each month , while in New York a Queens assemblyman has proposed a four-day workweek for some state employees to help offset the $15 billion budget deficit faced by New York in 2009. New Yorkers might instead want to look at the fact that New York City employee wages growing twice as fast as those in private sector with the average New York City employee cost the city $107,000 a year in wages, health insurance, pension and other benefits in the 2008 fiscal year, an increase of 63 percent since 2000, according to a new report.

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:07:00 +0000

A great resource has started up for state policy wonks, with the launch of www.statebooks.org, an aggregate of all #statebooks Twitter hashtags - check it out!

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. endorsed a $2.30 tax increase on a pack of cigarettes yesterday, giving Utah the highest state cigarette tax in the country; Arkansas Gov. Mark Beebe wants to increase cigarette taxes to expand health care, and Rhode Islander Carcieri plans to increase cigarette taxes to solve the states overspending problem.

An Ohio state task force is recommending that Ohio's 28 cents per gallon fuel tax be increased by 13 cents; in Iowa special interest groups are lobbying hard to increase the gas tax by at least 5c a gallon to fund their pet projects - even though 70% of Iowans are against it.

Florida State Senator Sen. Mike Haridopolos has proposed legislation that would end welfare for politicians known as public financing.

Iowa Republicans have proposed to, cut in half the money given to each state agency, then ask leaders of those agencies to justify why they should get more.

Peter Brown has a great article at the Wall Street Journal demonstrating how low tax states fare better in times of economic downturn.

A new taxpayer-rights group was formed in Illinois: the Illinois Alliance for Growth

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley announced the launch of Maryland's spending transparency website, which allows taxpayers to search and view summary information on payments made to vendors that received $25,000 or more for the respective fiscal year

Watch the first ever RNC Chairman debate

noreply@blogger.com (Market_Madness) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:16:00 +0000

The smoke has settled around the first ever Chairman debate (for either party).

This one, however, was the RNC Chairman debate hosted by ATR at the National Press Club.

Questions were asked from www.RNCDebate.org and all 6 major candidates were present.

With 600 people in attendance, the room quickly filled up. The 10 TV cameras and the 50+ media outlets had no problems covering the 90 minute forum.

To view the full debate, that was broadcast live on CSPAN-2, click here.

Showdown Over Speaker in the Lone Star State

noreply@blogger.com (Chocolatey Shatner) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:40:00 +0000

With the Texas legislature 8 days away from convening the 2009 legislative session, the topic dominating all political discussion in the Lone Star State is the race for Speaker of the House.

Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland), the first Republican speaker in TX since reconstruction, had been facing a number challengers and a vocal “anybody but Craddick” contingent in his own party. However, Craddick’s reign as speaker effectively came to an end on his own accord this weekend with the announcement that he is withdrawing his name from consideration.

That leaves 15 members of the House vying for the speakership. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has put together a list of all speaker candidates and how they rank on their Fiscal Responsibility Index, which measures how often TX legislators voted in the best interests of taxpayers (the higher the score, the better).

Click here to view the list.

Since that list was published, Rep Joe Straus (R-San Antonio), Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano), and Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo) have joined the race for speaker. Straus scores a 71.43% on the Fiscal Responsibility Index, McCall has a 64.29%, and Smithee has racked up a 91%. The House Republican average is 75.01%.

ATR joins Texans for Fiscal Responsibility in taking issue with lawmakers who wish to conduct the vote for speaker in a secret and opaque manner. ATR agrees with TFR that there should be more recorded votes – not less and that the vote for speaker must be conducted in a way that is transparent and open to the public.

Schwarzenegger Unveils Budget Solution....Again

noreply@blogger.com (Chocolatey Shatner) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Gov. Schwarzenegger, his staff I should say (the Gov. is vacationing in Sun Valley, ID), introduced the latest iteration of his administration’s proposed fix to a state budget that is already $14 billion in the red for the current fiscal year and projected to reach $40 billion by 2010.

The main components in the new budget package include a blend of the governor’s previous proposals along with some new additions. The key provisions -

The Old:
- Temporary (yeah right) sales tax increase
- Alcohol tax increase
- New tax on oil production

The New:
- Cut dependent care tax exemption from from $309 to $103 per dependent.
- Adoption of legislative Republicans’ proposal to borrow surplus money from mental and children’s health programs. This requires voter approval.
- Carryover portion of current deficit to ’10-’11 fiscal year.
- $4.7 billion in borrowing from the private sector.

The Good:
- $15.4 billion in spending cuts

A more ambitious proposal that would deliver the sweeping reform that is needed to right the Golden State’s fiscal ship, as well as address structural budgetary problems, would have included tax and expenditure limitations that tie growth in state spending to inflation and population growth. Putting all the state's expenditures online in a searchable format would also be a step in the right direction, enabling more than 38 million California taxpayers to see how their tax dollars are spent and help identify potential savings.

ATR has repeatedly called attention to the adverse economic impact that the proposed taxes increases would have (see here, here, here, and here) but Schwarzenegger refuses to give up his push for tax increases despite the fact that the entire GOP caucus, whose votes are needed to pass a budget, has repeatedly made clear that tax hikes are off the table.

Schwarzenegger seems to continue where the Obama campaign left off as there is a heavy dose of HOPE found in his budget proposal. The $4.7 billion in proposed borrowing is contingent upon the financial market getting “much healthier than it is now” – not exactly something economists, are anyone for that matter, are predicting for the foreseeable future.

The budget package once again proves that Gov. Schwarzenegger really is the King of Wishful Thinking!

RNC Debate: It's About Time....

noreply@blogger.com (Market_Madness) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:53:00 +0000

Grover Norquist has a recent RedState post where he discusses why he created the first ever RNC Debate.

Visit www.RNCDebate.org and submit questions for the candidates for RNC Chair. Stay logged on the watch the debate LIVE from your computer on January 5th at 1:00pm EST.

In his post, Grover said:

Some French Guy once said that “War is too important to be left to the generals.” Well, the RNC chairmanship is too important to be left to the politicians. Every liberty loving American deserves to have a stake in who is elected to lead the party that should, and could be the leader of the fight for freedom in America.

Click here to read the post and all comments are welcome.

Don't forget to visit www.RNCDebate.org and submit your question for the candidates.

California Democrats' Stinking Pile of Tax Hikes

noreply@blogger.com (bullpenhero) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:51:00 +0000

Picture the scene:

Boarded up homes. Factories crumbling to dust. Towns depopulated. Once giant behemoths of production, now little more than rubble. Former broad causeways of industry now only populated by tumbleweeds and vermin feasting upon carrion.

A post-apocalyptic scenario? A nuclear holocaust?

No, a realistic depiction of the future of California if the Democrats' preferred tax policy becomes a reality. California is already bleeding citizens at an alarming rate. In the last 5 years over 2.5 million tax-refugees have fled its borders and sought sanctuary in lower-tax states. Virtually no-one chooses to move there. And this mass exodus of almost Biblical proportions is increasing in raw terms at an alarming average rate of 25% a year.

Rather than reversing this trend, California's policies of reducing economic freedom have been statistically proven to exacerbate it. Just as when climbed the Berlin wall, people are fleeing California's opressive tax regime in search of economic freedom. The Golden State is set to become the Ghost State.

As we reported yesterday, California's Democrats again put their hard-left ideological agenda above the needs of the California people and voted for an unprecedented and unconstitutional $9.1 billion tax hike. Having passed this illegal proposal and given a giant up-yours to the constitution and California taxpayers, they announced lawmakers are going home for the holidays.

In a rare moment of sanity however, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger briefly remembered that he was actually elected on the promise to cut the size of Government and said he'd veto the proposal and recall the legislators by Executive Order (probably fearing that if he didn't recall them, he himself would be recalled). Of course, his reasons for the veto had nothing to do with the illegality of the legislation, or the job-killing, economy-destroying, freedom-hating tax grabs, but only due to the fact that they didn't include some of his (admittedly laudable) proposals to relax draconian Environmental regulations. But in the torrid wasteland of Californian politics, we'll take whatever victory we can.

Today, the Governor warned Big Labor that he will order two-day-a-month unpaid furloughs for state employees, and an outright 10 percent pay cut for managers and non-union employees over 18 months and a 10 percent elimination of jobs in the state workforce. The unions, of course, plan to sue, preferring everyone to be unemployed in California equally.

The Governor also stated: "I ask the people of California ... to put pressure on the legislators. E-mail them, call them, and send them cards. Really bombard them and just let them know 'we sent you there to do the right thing.' Indeed. So for once we agree with the Governor. Contact your legislators and let them know exactly where they can stick their tax hikes."

Friends of ATR

The Friends of ATR Blog has Moved!

Hilarious AFSCME ad **Warning: explicit language!**

Senator Harkin joins Bill Press and Senator Stabenow in calling for regulating free speech.

Lone Star State Lawmakers Work to Avoid Fate of D.C. and Sacramento

Debbie Stabenow's conflict of interest on the so-called Fairness Doctrine.

Not Any of Our Taxes Mr. President? President Obama Breaks Campaign Promise 16 Days into Office

You think this is bad?

Michigan Governor Granholm Gives Kickback to Former Republican Tax Hiker

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

The $2 Billion Budget Shortfall That Wasn't

Strike One of the Troika: House Passes First Tax Hike of 111th Congress

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008 Revisited

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

Ear to the Ground - State News Roundup

Watch the first ever RNC Chairman debate

Showdown Over Speaker in the Lone Star State

Schwarzenegger Unveils Budget Solution....Again

RNC Debate: It's About Time....

California Democrats' Stinking Pile of Tax Hikes

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