Posts Tagged ‘Taxes’

Colorado Politics run amok!

March 3, 2009

Senator Greg Brophy keeps us all informed about the goofy, illogical, and at times immoral things that go on under the golden dome on Colfax avenue. Reprinted here is his latest newsletter, with my commentary in bold.

The Car Tax

SB09-108, the Car Tax passed the House 34-31 on Wednesday. All of the Republicans and three Democrats voted against it.

I thought Ref. C was supposed to take care of things like that, and a whole lot of other things as well!

Kudos to State Rep Jerry Sonnenberg (R-Sterling) for adding an amendment to allow new axle configurations to be used by trucks in Colorado. This is something that I have been working on since my first year in the House and Jerry pulled it off!

So? There are some with a sense of logic down there? Astounding, simply astounding!

I expect the Senate to concur with House amendments today, Friday the 27th. I am truly sorry that we were unable to derail this quarter billion dollar tax increase levied during a recession.

Hold on Colorado! A full blown depression is heading your way like a train with a stuck throttle! Brought to you by the Bill Ritter Express!

Another Car Tax

Senator Morse (D-Colorado Springs) added an additional buck to each car registration for a grant program for emergency services.

A dollar here, a dollar there. Special Districts are probably the fastest growing taxes in the state. People regularly over-ride Tabor for Special Districts without really understanding the consequences, and now this?

Of course, administering the grant program will require three brand new state employees. Take a look at the fiscal note for SB09-002. You can see that this grant program already exists and has about $2.9 million available each year, but adding another $4.9 million to it will require more state employees. Why can’t the existing employees dole out the money? This can’t be that hard; I’m absolutely positive that existing staff can write more checks.

Bureaucracy in action !

The additional new employees aren’t the only insulting part of the tax (fee) increase. Only 11% of emergency service calls go to car wrecks. Eleven percent. Eighty nine percent of the time our car registration will be subsidizing other emergency services.

I think the stats are off a bit, but the point is still the same. Most cited statistics that I have seen for fire departments ( which respond to medical emergencies along with Police, and EMS) show that ninety percent, or even higher are for medical calls. In my experience Motor Vehicle Accidents account for roughly twenty percent of those emergency responses. Sounds a lot like using cigarette taxes for anything but smoking cessation programs.

Will this ever end?

Paper or Plastic?

We killed the Plastic Bag Reduction Act on Tuesday.

The bill would have taxed plastic bags at grocery stores and other large stores six cents each bag for the next three years and then banned the plastic bags altogether in 2012.

I know, don’t we have more important things to do? Well, yes, but Senator Veiga introduced the bill and under our Constitution, it had to have a hearing.

The background story is this: the idea was brought by a bunch of high school kids who have been brain washed about the importance of saving the environment from humans since grade school. So they decided to rid the earth of the scourge of plastic bags.

The problem is that the alternative of convenience, for those times when folks forget to bring their canvas bags is paper and paper actually fills up land fills three times faster than plastic bags, plus bringing the paper bags to the stores takes three times as many trucks!

Talk about unintended consequences.

Or maybe “stupid is as stupid does..?”

Marriage Tax

Senator Tax Morse is back raising taxes and calling them fees by this time taxing marriage.

The current charge for a marriage license is $10. Seven dollars goes the local county clerk for handling the transaction and the other three dollars is spent on state record keeping of the data.

That’s just what a government fee is supposed to do, cover the cost of administering the program.

Along comes Senator Morse with a strong desire to find a way to fund domestic violence programs in the state, so what does he do? Increase the fee on a marriage license from $10 to $30 and convert that additional twenty bucks into domestic violence funding.

Fact: Men are overwhelmingly charged with non-felony D.V. in Colorado. Unless you are a celebrity of have social or political connections you are denied probation, and still have to attend thirty-six weeks of “counseling” that the man has to pay for in full. Additionally, the court assesses fines, much of which already goes toward DV programs such as safe houses and hot lines. Court ordered mysandry and the lawmakers refuse to deal with it because of political correctness.

Never mind that married couples are three times less likely to have domestic violence issues. Never mind that fees are supposed to be related to the cost of the program. He just wants the money.

YOUR MONEY!

I have decided to join the world of FaceBook. I am not the most professional politician in the world, so I am actually using mine as it was intended – almost strictly for social purposes. If you want to “friend” me, search FB for Greg Brophy. I think this link will work: http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1192617444&ref=profile

I am also using Twitter as SenatorBrophy. You can follow me on Twitter go to http://twitter.com/SenatorBrophy for that.

Finally, I always appreciate a campaign donation you can do that through PayPal by clicking on the “Donate” button, but don’t click if you are a lobbyist or have a bill in front of the legislature this session.



Pay Now

Taxes, taxes…

February 24, 2009

Who really likes taxes? I consider them to one of two things. Necessary evils for the things that we all need, and outright theft.

What to do about taxes? Well, you can go the route that California has done, and end up like California. Or, you can do like Colorado did years ago, and pass as well as enforce what was called the taxpayers bill of rights, or TABOR.

Look for an instant back at the very first thing I wrote. It was a question. The list is in fact very long. That being who really likes taxes. Bill Ritter likes taxes. Unions like taxes. People with social agendas like taxes. The list goes on…

Despite the California experience, as well as more than a few other states; there are still people that are completely irresponsible, if not immoral. Below is a piece written by a Colorado Senator that takes a rather candid look at the taxation situation. He addresses Colorado, but in reality, it is the nation. No, I was not attempting to be a poet.

Colorado’s Fiscal Restraint vs. California’s Failed Socialist Experiment

By Senator Ted Harvey

The current and steep recession across the country has not spared Colorado or its budget.  With only five months remaining in this fiscal year, the legislature is racing to cut $600 million from our current year’s budget.   This is a lot of money, but it pales in comparison to the massive $42 BILLION hole that the state of California is trying to manage.

The Golden State legislature has been under lock down as the Democrat majority tried to twist arms and find one more vote to increase government revenue by $14.2 billion by taxing  income, sales, gasoline and cars.  Six years ago Mr. Schwarzenegger defeated Governor Gray Davis by calling him “Car-taxula.”  Ironically, Governor Arnold’s current budget is asking to double the same tax.

The difference between Colorado’s budget troubles and California’s budget meltdown is not random – Colorado is doing comparatively well because its people have pursued fiscal restraint, while Californians have approved reckless spending packages year after year.

US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said that state legislatures are laboratories of democracy in America.  The impact of the current economic crises on national and state budgets could not provide a more vivid opportunity to prove this theory.

While Colorado has chosen fiscally prudent constitutional constraints on growth and spending—through the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and a 6% growth cap on state spending—California has chosen the path of a socialist experiment in their state.  Like the failed communist experiments of the 20th Century, the irresponsible Californian experiment is soon to find its appropriate place atop what President Ronald Reagan called “the ash heap of history.”

The results of California’s experiment are in: the Wall Street Journal explained that California’s “total state expenditures have grown to $145 billion in 2008 from $104 billion in 2003.” As a result, California’s credit rating has fallen beneath Louisiana’s as the worst in the nation, and the state can now boast the nation’s fourth-highest unemployment rate of 9.3%, and the second-highest foreclosure rate.

Businesses in California have been heavily taxed to fund the $145 billion of entitlement programs, and have been heavily regulated to live up to special interest “green” and “pro-union” policies.

While California businesses are fleeing the burdensome tax and regulatory schemes of the Golden State, Colorado is aggressively marketing to these companies.  Just last month, Douglas County successfully secured 500 new jobs resulting from the relocation of a division of Charles Schwab from California to Colorado—partially because of our friendlier business climate.

The lesson Colorado’s legislators must learn from this recession is clear: fiscal responsibility works. Even though the legislature collectively fell short of creating a rainy day fund, TABOR and the Arveschoug-Bird 6% spending cap forced Colorado legislators to keep spending low. Had the government enjoyed free rein in ramping up spending – which is a great temptation to many lawmakers tasked with spending other people’s money – Colorado’s budget crisis would be as serious as California’s.

The spending limits of TABOR and the Arveschoug-Bird cap implement a culture of fiscal responsibility where there would otherwise be a temptation to spend every dollar that can be stripped from the taxpayers. Colorado must keep these spending limits in place to avoid falling into the trap of state socialism.

The Car Tax

February 9, 2009

So what is going on at the Golden Dome in Denver? Here is a small, but important item. Information sent by State senator Greg Brophy.

The Car Tax

What you saw at the Capitol these past couple weeks
was a classic example of concentrated versus
diffused interests.

Mike Rosen gives examples of this all the time on
his show, and speaking of Mike, he should have
taken his own advice and stuck
with Greenburg and Associates; then no one would
have made off with his
money.

The concentrated interests are the contractors and
business communities that benefit from state
expenditures on roads. The diffused interests are
the regular tax
payers who foot the bill for this fee (tax) increase.

The tax increase amounts to a quarter of a billion
dollars a year, so you can see why the contractors
are interested. It means $41 to you for each regular
sized
car and $51 for a pickup or bigger SUV.

It’s probably not worth your coming to the
Capitol to complain about $82 in registration fee
increases a year (two
cars), but for sure the road construction guys are
interested in their share
of an extra quarter billion dollars.
Diffused (tax payers) versus concentrated (tax
receivers).

The bill also allows for tolling of existing roads
just to raise revenue. We took that
part out on Wednesday morning and after the four
Democrats who sided with the
14 Republicans had their arms twisted all through
lunch, they voted to put it
back in during the afternoon session.

We also took out of the bill the provision that
would allow the state to tax you for every mile
driven by putting a GPS
transponder in your car. I expect them
to try to put that provision back in during
discussion in the House.

For sure, we need to spend more money on roads.
I’ve offered many ideas to do just
that, such as the Plus One idea from last year,
which gradually put
transportation funding into the general budget and
built the amount up to a
billion a year additional spending over ten years.
It would work if given a try.

Remember, we didn’t get to this overall road
condition overnight and we won’t solve the problem
for ever overnight.

And, I think it is really important to note that
only a fool would raise taxes during a recession.

We also need to come up with a fair way to pay for
roads in the future.

One of these days, people may be driving fully
electric cars. They won’t pay
much in fuel taxes will they? Heck, I drive
a Prius, so I don’t pay nearly as much as I used to
pay. During the period of $4 gas, I left my
pickup parked as much as possible.
We’ll see that again, I’m afraid.

I’d trade the gas tax for something else.

Bob Beauprez suggested a sales tax on all items as a
trade for the gas tax. It would work.

I have been thinking about an annual stamp on a
driver’s license; kind of like my elk hunting stamp
on my conservation
certificate. Get away from the car,
after all, a lot of people, especially farmers own
lots of cars, and
concentrate on the individual driver.
You can only drive one vehicle at a time; seems
fairer to me than this
increase on all car registrations.

Then the question comes up, when to collect it?
Happy Birthday, you owe the state $150 for
your road stamp! Maybe the fourth
Monday in October would work, that way if the stamp
costs too much, the
voters would revolt.

I am a rural guy, and I always will be. Any idea
that I support will not harm my
neighbors.

I’ve been blogging at
http://www.SenatorBrophy.blogspot.com you can get shorter
and more timely stuff
there.

You can donate to my
campaign by clicking the button below.
Don’t click if you are a lobbyist or have business
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Committee recommends gun rights resolution

February 9, 2009

Mostly those fly over states, the ones with square sides? They have been quietly  telling the Federal Government to take a hike. From unfunded mandates to inalienable rights we the people are telling the big-shots in Washington D.C. to back off. The constant and continual effort to wax fat from the backs of those that they attempt to laird it over is becoming more than can be bared. Not since prohibition has there been such a flare up of resistance against Federal tyranny. Soon, it will reach proportions that lead to the bloodiest conflict the United States has ever known. Latest of the rebellion is Wyoming:

CHEYENNE — A state legislative committee backed a resolution Friday that seeks to reinforce Wyoming’s right to bear arms.

The House Judiciary Committee endorsed the resolution unanimously. The resolution would instruct Congress to stop trying to pass federal legislation that restricts firearm ownership.

Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, the legislation’s sponsor, said Wyoming citizens are concerned that Washington might begin imposing stricter gun control laws.

“A resolution like this isn’t going to change much,” Zwonitzer said, but added that the resolution would send the federal government a message.

The resolution mentions the Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, a federal bill Zwonitzer said is gaining strength in Congress.

He said the bill would impose more stringent government licensing measures on gun owners and place increased restrictions on guns in homes with children under 18.

Zwonitzer said the resolution has wide support among Wyoming citizens. He said the bill would “strengthen the bond between us all.”

SOURCE

For too long the Federal government has used the interstate commerce clause as an excuse for wielding power that is in fact reserved to the states by the Constitution. Both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments are very clear about this, and no, you don’t need to be educated as a high powered attorney to understand the meanings. The Bill of Rights isn’t about what rights you, or the states have, it is about the limits of the Federal government. Over you as a person, and you as a state when combined with others in your locale.

Now, these very same people are attempting to pull a fast one on we, the people, that will have generational effects upon the ability of Americans to live a normal life:

“On page 151 of this legislative pork-fest [the ‘stimulus’ bill] is one of the clandestine nuggets of social policy manipulation that are peppered throughout the bill. Section 9201 of the stimulus package establishes the ‘Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.’ This body, which would be made up of federal bureaucrats will ‘coordinate the conduct or support of comparative effectiveness and related health services research.’ Sounds benign enough, but the man behind the Coordinating Council, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate [since withdrawn] (and tax cheat) Tom Daschle, was kind enough to explain the goal of this organization. It is to cut health care costs by preventing Americans from getting treatments that the government decides don’t meet their standards for cost effectiveness. In his 2008 book on health care, he explained that such a council would, ‘lower overall spending by determining which medicines, treatments and procedures are most effective-and identifying those that do not justify their high price tags.’ Once a panel of government experts decides what is and what is not cost-effective by their definition, the government will stop paying for treatments, medicines, therapies or devices that fall into the latter category. … Mind you, they are not simply looking to exclude treatments that don’t work, but to exclude treatments that are effective, but whose cost, in their opinion, does not justify their use. You, the patient, and your physician don’t get a vote. This would make the federal government the single most important decision-maker regarding health care for every patient in America.” –public affairs consultant Douglas O’Brien

Things like the above are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s not simply about firearms rights, or abortion, it is about the fundamental rights of Americans to be free of oppression from government. Be that Federal, State, or local.

How so..?

“The so-called stimulus bill may not do much for the economy, but it’s certainly stimulating a lot of laughter, as its supporters are reduced to arguing essentially that it would be irresponsible not to waste boatloads of taxpayer money. We do not exaggerate. Consider this article by Michael Hirsh of Newsweek: ‘Obama’s desire to begin a “post-partisan” era may have backfired. In his eagerness to accommodate Republicans and listen to their ideas over the past week, he has allowed the GOP to turn the haggling over the stimulus package into a decidedly stale, Republican-style debate over pork, waste and overspending. This makes very little economic sense when you are in a major recession that only gets worse day by day. Yes, there are still some very legitimate issues with a bill that’s supposed to be “temporary” and “targeted” — among them, large increases in permanent entitlement spending, and a paucity of tax cuts that will prompt immediate spending. Even so, Obama has allowed Congress to grow embroiled in nitpicking over efficiency when the central debate should be about whether the package is big enough. When you are dealing with a stimulus of this size, there are going to be wasteful expenditures and boondoggles. There’s no way anyone can spend $800 to $900 billion quickly without waste and boondoggles. It comes with the Keynesian territory. This is an emergency; the normal rules do not apply.’ Who is this Michael Hirsh, who has elevated unrestrained spending of the people’s money to a high principle? Here’s his bio: ‘Michael Hirsh covers international affairs for Newsweek, reporting on a range of topics from Homeland Security to postwar Iraq. He co-authored the November 3, 2003 cover story, “Bush’s $87 Billion Mess,” about the Iraq reconstruction plan. The issue was one of three that won the 2004 National Magazine Award for General Excellence.’ The bill for ‘Bush’s mess’ is less than the margin of error in reckoning the cost of the ’emergency’ legislation about which Hirsh now chides lawmakers for ‘nitpicking over efficiency.'” –Wall Street Journal columnist James Taranto

What I am suggesting, is that the Federal government, at least the vast majority in the Congress, Senate, and Executive branches, are, in fact working day and night to change the Untied States into some socialist utopia, and that the several states, are rebelling.

Has free-market capitalism died?

January 27, 2009

Always, and in  all ways  freedom and individual liberty will forever be the favorite whipping boy of those with a socialist bent. Populist’s, such as the new President are in bed with socialist on a number of issues that are directly related. Be that Gun Control, or taxation. However, the economy is currently at the forefront. Below, is an excellent expose of this better than thou attitude by those that are of the collectivist mind set.

Has free-market capitalism died?

Michael Miller

Who would have imagined 20 years ago — when the Berlin Wall fell and we celebrated the death of socialism — that capitalism would be under heavy fire? The cardinal of Westminster, Cormack Murphy O’Connor, reportedly said 2008 was the year when “capitalism died.”

What are we to make of capitalism in light of all the crises, fraud and government intervention, when even some traditional supporters of markets are supporting bailouts?

Before answering this question, it is important to note that “capitalism” is a Marxist term. It gives the impression that the market is a nebulous force. This impersonal understanding can lead us to blame markets when things go wrong instead of exploring reasons that are harder to diagnose.

Pope John Paul II rejected the term, preferring “market economy,” “business economy” or “free economy.” He did so to illustrate that markets are networks of human relationships. This sheds light on the underlying moral nature of markets.

Markets are the combined activities of millions of individuals. They are not composed merely of some guys on Wall Street; they are made up by us. Like anything else run by humans, markets can fail. If we become overly speculative and convinced that prices can go nowhere but up — as happened in the Tulip Bubble in 1637, the dot.com bubble in 2000 and the recent housing bubble — sooner or later reality will set in.

Despite their failures, however, free markets have lifted more people out of poverty and helped create prosperity and peace better than any system.

In these days of financial turmoil, we often hear critics speaking about deregulation or “unbridled capitalism.” But try to think of one country where there are no regulations. For free markets to succeed, they require a framework built on rule of law, contracts and secure property rights.

The real question is what kind of regulation and what level of intervention we should choose.

Many contributing causes of this crisis were an overly invasive government. Federal regulators required banks to provide mortgages to customers who could not pay back the loans; the Federal Reserve manipulated the money supply, exacerbating the housing boom; and politicians promised bailouts that created incentives for irresponsible behavior.

How many of us, out of greed, gluttony or pride, used credit cards to buy things we did not need or could not afford? What about Wall Street bankers who took imprudent risks with clients’ money? Markets cannot succeed without a strong moral fabric among the citizenry.

Yet we again hear calls for increased regulation and government involvement.

If we regulate too much, we concentrate the power of markets in fewer and fewer hands. This has led to all sorts of evil and corruption. Socialist economies, cartels, oligarchies and union-controlled industries produce stagnation and create incentives for corruption. It is a false hope to believe regulation will make everything right.

It is likewise delusional to believe markets alone are enough. Our Founders taught us that without virtue political liberty could not long be sustained. The same holds true for economic liberty. And yet without economic liberty there can be no political liberty. Like liberty, the market must be moral, or it cannot exist.

Michael Miller is director of programs at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids. E-mail letters to letters@detnews.com.

SOURCE

RITTER: MY STAFF AND I DECEIVED COLORADO ON THE STATE BUDGET DEFICIT

December 31, 2008

People simply cannot say that they were not warned. From the Independence Institute to Gunny Bob the warning was sent out loud and clear.

Gov. Bill Ritter’s office now says its economists used outdated information and underestimated the size of the budget shortfall that Colorado is facing this year.

The new forecast from Ritter’s budget office puts the shortfall in the current fiscal year ending in June at $230 million — more than three times the $70.2 million the governor’s office forecast on Dec. 19. A forecast from legislative staff put the shortfall at $604 million, and the two offices agreed to sit down and go over their calculations together.

Evan Dreyer, a spokesman for the Democratic governor, said a major difference in the forecasts from the two offices was in how they projected revenue from capital-gains taxes levied on the sale of securities or property.

“They (legislative staff) were utilizing a more current data source for their capital-gains projections,” Dreyer said, saying that information came from the Internal Revenue Service while Ritter’s office was relying on older information from the Colorado Department of Revenue.

“We adjusted accordingly,” Dreyer said. “That said, we are going to make every contingency necessary to achieve even deeper cuts if we need to.”

Ritter now is asking state agencies to submit proposals to cut their budgets by 10 percent in the next fiscal year, which starts in July. He had already asked departments to show how they could cut 2.5 percent from their budgets in the current fiscal year.

Even after the revisions from Ritter’s office, there is still a nearly $400 million difference between the executive and legislative branches in their visions of how bad the current year will be.

Dreyer said there are still differences between the offices in how they project revenue from sales tax as well as corporate and personal income taxes.

“Forecasting is an extremely difficult job, even in the best of times, and this is an unprecedented bad time,” Dreyer said, adding that economists had not done anything wrong.

“For the past several months, we have been adjusting the budget and creating the necessary flexibility to keep the budget balanced,” he said. “Regardless of the differing forecasts, we will work together with the legislature to continue prudently managing the budget.”

For members of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, whose job it will be to slash spending, the difference in the forecasts is unsettling.

“From a budgeting standpoint, it leaves us as a legislative body the difficult task of deciding which scenario — and we’ll probably be cautious and use the worst scenario — to balance our budget for the current year,” said Sen. Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge.

Rep. Al White, R-Hayden, another member of the panel, agreed.

“We are tasked with picking a lane here, and we’ve got two different road maps that have drastically different destinations,” White said. “We can only take the most conservative one because therein lies the least danger.

SOURCE

Insanity, it’s not just a Boulder thing

December 15, 2008

Insanity, it’s not just a Boulder thing, and it never has been. Take a look at New York. The place is in so much trouble you would think that it’s California. The Governor in New York must have been sleeping when he was being lectured about fundamental economics. He thinks that taxing cash strapped New Yorkers is the path to fiscal stability. Read on about the coming fiasco

HERE

Taxes; an oldie but goodie!

September 18, 2008

This has been around for quite a while and gets a bit of re-working every year.

Tax 
          Poem 

          The Tax Poem Be sure to read all the way 
          to the end! 

          Tax his land, 
          Tax his bed, 
          Tax the table 
          At which he's fed. 

          Tax his tractor, 
          Tax his mule, 
          Teach him taxes 
          Are the rule. 

          Tax his work, 
          Tax his pay, 
          He works for peanuts 
          Anyway! 

          Tax his cow, 
          Tax his goat, 
          Tax his pants, 
          Tax his coat. 
          Tax his ties, 
          Tax his shirt, 
          Tax his work, 
          Tax his dirt. 

          Tax his tobacco, 
          Tax his drink, 
          Tax him if he 
          Tries to think. 

          Tax his cigars, 
          Tax his beers, 
          If he cries 
          Tax his tears. 

          Tax his car, 
          Tax his gas, 
          Find other ways To  tax his 
          _ss. 

          Tax all he 
          has 
          Then let him know 
          That you won't be 
done 
          Till he has no dough. 

          When he screams and 
          hollers; 
          Then tax him some 
          more, 
          Tax him till He's good and 
          sore. 

          Then tax his coffin, 
          Tax his grave, 
          Tax the sod in 
          Which he's laid. 

          Put these words 
          Upon his tomb, 
          "Taxes drove me to my 
          doom..." 

          When he's gone, 
          Do not relax, 
          Its time to apply 
          The inheritance tax. 

          Accounts Receivable 
          Tax 
          Building Permit Tax 
          CDL license Tax 
          Cigarette Tax 
          Corporate Income Tax 
          Dog License Tax 
          Excise Taxes 
          Federal Income Tax 
          Federal Unemployment Tax 
          (FUTA) 
          Fishing License Tax 
          Food License Tax Fuel 
          Permit 
          Tax Gasoline Tax (44.75 cents per 
          gallon) 
          Gross Receipts Tax 
          Hunting License Tax 
          Inheritance Tax 
          Inventory Tax 
          IRS Interest Charges 
          IRS Penalties (tax on top of 
          tax) 
          Liquor Tax 
          Luxury Taxes 
          Marriage License Tax 
          Medicare Tax 
          Personal Property Tax 
          Property Tax 
          Real Estate Tax 
          Service Charge T ax 
          Social Security Tax 
          Road Usage Tax 
          Sales Tax 
          Recreational Vehicle 
          Tax 
          School Tax 
          State Income Tax 
          State Unemployment Tax 
          (SUTA) 
          Telephone Federal Excise 
          Tax 
          Telephone Federal  Universal 
          Service Fee Tax 
          Telephone Federal, State and Local 
          Surcharge Taxes 
          Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge 
          Tax 
          Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring 
          Charges Tax 
          Telephone State and Local 
          Tax 
          Telephone Usage Charge 
          Tax 
          Utility Taxes 
          Vehicle License Registration Tax 
          Vehicle 
          Sales Tax 
          Watercraft Registration 
          Tax 
          Well Permit Tax 
          Workers Compensation 
          Tax 

          STILL THINK THIS IS 
          FUNNY? 

          Not one of these taxes existed 100 years 
          ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had 
          absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the 
          world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What in the tar nation 
          happened? Can you spell "politicians?" 

          And I still have to "press 1" for 
          English!?!?!?!? 

          I hope this goes around THE USA at least 
          100 times!!!!! YOU can help it get there!!!! GO AHEAD - - - BE AN 
          AMERICAN!!!!!!

The Gang of twenty

September 15, 2008

Dear Fellow Taxpayer,

The so-called “Gang of 20” Senate energy compromise will raise taxes on domestic energy production, and will cost America more than 600,000 jobs. That’s not all, because the bill raises corporate income taxes, it is a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge sponsored by our organization, Americans for Tax Reform.

Currently, there are eight Pledge signers who are listed as supporters of the “Gang of 20” Senate Energy Plan; Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Bob Corker (R-TN), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), John Sununu (R-NH), and John Thune (R-SD).  These eight Senators are in serious danger of breaking their Pledge to their constituents.  All for an energy bill that will do almost nothing to increase the supply of oil, and which will cost American jobs.

Tell your Senators that raising taxes on energy production is a big mistake!

Tell them to abandon the fatally flawed “Gang of 20” energy plan.

And it gets even worse...the “Gang of 20” plan will also create a new permanent ban on offshore drilling forever. We need more domestic oil supplies, not less! (which is now set to expire on October 1st, 2008). This means that these Senators want to lock away the 115 billion barrels of oil domestically available

Tell your Senator to oppose and abandon the “Gang of 20” energy plan and instead allow the ban on offshore drilling to expire on October 1st!

Take Action Now!

Click Here

Onward,

Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform

This is just plain bad politics…

Of mice, men, and politics

August 5, 2008

A viable new political party is often the subject at hand, all, or in part at various blogs such as Stiff Right Jab, TexasFreds, and here. This would be a serious, and difficult undertaking. I worked for ballot access here in Colorado, and it was difficult to say the least. That would be just one of many problems that would have to be overcome when establishing a serious alternative to the present situation. Certainly one should look to the past to learn about the things that would lay the ground work. Below is from the Patriot Post. It is worth the read…

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE

Demonomic deja vu

By Mark Alexander

The current “change” in economic policy, as proposed by the latest protagonist of Leftist ideology, can best be summed up in the inimitable words of that great philosopher Yogi Berra: “It’s deja vu all over again.”

Politicos come and go, but the essential philosophical divergence between conservatives and liberals remains as stark today as ever. That disparity is most evident in how conservatives and liberals have always viewed the role of government, and its policies concerning taxation, spending and regulation.

While one may correctly argue that the majority of elected Republicans do not justly honor the conservative principles set forth in the Republican Party Platform, the majority of Democrats certainly march in lockstep behind their Leftist despots, and their electoral lemmings are close behind. (As George Bernard Shaw once noted, “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.”)

So what informs the two distinctly different visions from the Right and Left?

Essentially, conservatives, as the root word implies, strive to conserve the principles outlined in our Constitution, and our vision for America requires robust support for individual liberty, the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and the promotion of free enterprise, national defense and traditional Judeo-Christian values.

On the other hand, the Left one, liberals, as the root word implies, aspire to liberate the nation from its founding tenets by promoting a “Living Constitution,” as a primary tool for constricting individual liberty, expanding the power of government, regulating all manner of enterprise, gutting national defense and advocating relativism.

Conservative economic policies are founded on the ideals of liberty and freedom advocated in the historic writings of Adam Smith, Jean-Baptiste Say and John Stuart Mill, and further refined by such economists as Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, and most recently, the late Milton Friedman. Economic liberty is embodied in the practice of free-enterprise capitalism, which functions best if largely unconstrained by government taxation and regulation.

These are the economic principles advocated by our founders.

As James Madison described it in his era: “[I]f industry and labour are left to take their own course, they will generally be directed to those objects which are the most productive, and this in a more certain and direct manner than the wisdom of the most enlightened legislature could point out.”

Madison certainly understood the threat of centralized government power, writing in Federalist No. 45, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined.” Madison noted further, “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”

Anti-federalist Thomas Jefferson similarly observed: “Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread. …[W]hen all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another.” He noted correctly, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”

Jefferson was clear on his disdain for taxes: “To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.”

But the Left adheres to a very different group of economic philosophers.

Barack Hussein Obama’s economic plan is nothing more than a remake of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s class-warfare proclamation: “Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.”

In fact, Roosevelt’s “principle” was no more American than Obama’s. Not to be confused with the biblical principle in the Gospel according to Luke, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required…” (which, ironically, some Leftist do-gooders cite as justification for socialist policies), Roosevelt was essentially paraphrasing the gospel according to Karl Marx, whose maxim declared, “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”

Jesus used parables to enlighten the heart, in this case, about our personal responsibility. Marxist methods are a bit more coercive—rejecting God and anointing the state as the supreme deity.

Soviet dictator Nikita Khrushchev said of Roosevelt’s “New Deal” paradigm shift, “We can’t expect the American people to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism.”

Perennial Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas (the grandfather, incidentally, of Newsweek Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas), echoed that sentiment: “The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

We are much closer to that day in 2008.

Obama insists we have “an economy that is out of balance, tax policies have been badly skewed, and wages and incomes have flatlined.” To resolve this he says we need a “tax policy making sure that everybody benefits, fair distribution, a restoration of balance in our tax code, money allocated fairly—we’re going to capture some of the nation’s economic growth… and reinvest it.”

Obama says that free enterprise is nothing more than “Social Darwinism, every man or woman for him or herself… tempting idea, because it doesn’t require much thought or ingenuity.”

Obamanomics is nothing more than a Marxist echo, and Obama himself a “useful idiot,” a Western apologist for socialist political and economic agendas advocating Marxist-Leninist-Maoist collectivism.

Obama’s campaign theme, like that of all useful idiots before him, is built on “The Politics of Disparity,” class warfare.

Between now and Election Day, Obama will be faking right and looking centrist. He has been invoking his version of another Yogi Berra witticism, “I didn’t really say everything I said.”

Of course, Yogi also said, “You can observe a lot just by watchin’.” In deference our great national heritage and our Founder’s legacy of liberty, one would only hope that a majority of voting Americans are sufficiently observant to see through Obama’s deception.

(To compare U.S. tax tables since the implementation of the federal income tax in 1913, see Tax History 1913-2008. The Patriot also offers a comparison between the FairTax, Income Tax and Flat Tax. For additional constitutional context, read “To secure these rights…” on The Bill of Rights and A “Living Constitution for a Dying Republic”. For additional resources, see The Patriot’s Topical Essays and Policy Papers page and our Historic Documents page.)