| Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
March 21, 2008
Only 22 days until the April 12th Tax Rally at the State Capitol!
1. David’s guests this week is Grover Norquist.
2. Three government agencies not getting the job done? Then create a fourth!
3. Do you feel better about your Minnesota Dept. of Transportation?
4. If you think Liberals are going to stop with just raising your taxes, think again.
5. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell cometh?
1. The David Strom Show presented by the Minnesota Free Market Institute.
Tune in this Saturday to AM 1280 The Patriot at 9 am when David will be joined by Grover Norquist.
At 10 am, Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform and one of the founding pillars of the “vast right wing conspiracy,” will talk about his new book, Leave Us Alone: Getting Government’s Hands off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives.
Also, be sure to tune in at 9:15 am for the Capitol report with Phil Krinkie. Up this week, what in the world happened to the bonding bill? (apparently putting Minnesotans to work isn’t as important as it was a few weeks ago); Rep. Ann Lenczewski [DFL-Bloomington] wants to do what to business taxes?; and health care “reform” legislation that brings us one step closer to uniting our system with our revolutionary brothers and sisters in Cuba!
And, don’t miss Taxpayers League President Phil Krinkie tonight on TPTs Almanac program. Hopefully Phil’s segment at the end of the show doesn’t interfere with the Gopher’s WCHA Final Five semifinal against the illiterate, unwashed heathens from Colorado College. Go Gophs!
2. Three government agencies not getting the job done? Then create a fourth!
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been talking about the Liberals’ $6.6 billion tax increase. This week we take a look the new level of government created by the legislation; a counties joint powers board that will spend the proceeds from the ¼ cent sales tax increase in the Metro area. The board, now named the Counties Transit Improvement Board (which, by the way, will do nothing to improve transit in any of the counties – but more on that next week), is so ansty in the pantsy to get its mitts on the $100 million that will come from the tax increase that the authorizing votes may come as early as next week. At a hearing held by the Hennepin County Commissioners on Tuesday a few power point slides were produced showing the grand plans for constructing and managing a “world class” Metro area transit system. Strangely, however, no mention was made of the three entities that already exist to construct and manage our current transit system. Perhaps you’ve heard of MnDot? – they’ve kind of been in the news lately. Or maybe the Met Council? – maybe not, they’re kind of easy to miss. They only have an annual budget of $660 million. How about an already existing seven-county joint powers organization, the Metro Transitways Board? No? That’s ok, a majority of state legislators didn’t know either. I guess nothing succeeds like government redundancy.
3. Do you feel better about your Minnesota Dept. of Transportation?
Because the state is paying $550,000 in the hope that you do.
$550,000 is what taxpayers are spending on a local PR firm to lead a “‘proactive, on-the-ground’ initiative since last fall that includes information kiosks, attempts to shape media coverage and weekly ‘sidewalk superintendent tours’ of the construction work.” Like Joe Soucheray said this week, if MnDot really wanted to boost its image it should have spent the money on filing potholes.
So, this half a million, combined with the half a million that is being spent on a legislative investigation of the bridge collapse and now were talking about money that could have been used to fix bridges and build roads. Instead, we get shiny posters, webcams, $6 billion in tax increases and nothing to decrease traffic congestion in the Twin Cities.
4. If you think Liberals are going to stop with just raising your taxes, think again.
Need a reason to show up at the State Capitol on Saturday, April 12th at noon for the Tax Rally? Try this:
From John Fund in Tuesday’s OpinionJournal from the Wall Street Journal:
“Liberals may rail about money in politics, but liberal groups this year are pulling out all the stops to raise money outside the normal Democratic Party structure in order win back the White House and solidify their control of Congress.
“Today, two large labor groups -- the AFL-CIO and Change to Win -- will team up with the left-wing MoveOn.org and the housing advocacy group ACORN to announce plans to spend a whopping $150 million this fall. ‘In '04 the right mobilized its base and its resources,’ Bob Borosage, a co-director of the liberal Campaign for America's Future, told the Associated Press. ‘Well, we've continued to build and expand and gotten more enthusiastic and more mobilized and their coalition has collapsed.’
“Conservatives would beg to differ about that…
“But there's no denying there's a lot of new liberal money flooding the system. John Podesta, a former chief of staff for President Clinton, has set up a group called The Fund for America, which plans to raise and spend $100 million. Among its heavy contributors are George Soros, who ponied up $2.5 million last year, and the Service Employees International Union, which gave an equal amount.
“All in all, liberals apparently have decided to counter what they have long perceived as a vast right-wing conspiracy with a vast financial conspiracy of their own creation. Perhaps that's why talk of new campaign finance reform laws was almost absent from the Democratic Party primary debates this year.”
5. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell cometh?
If a few state legislators get their way he might. HF3913, sponsored by Rep. Bob Gunther [R-Fairmont], would change the name of the [Minnesota Boxing] commission to the Minnesota Combative Sports Commission in order to better represent the scope of the commission which would be expanded to have jurisdiction over mixed martial arts competitions, in addition to boxing.”
So we’re going to expand the charter of an already worthless commission to bring the glory of the Roman Coliseum to Minnesota? Who needs to bring UFC to Minnesota when we already deal with Liberals and their unthinking fiscally catastrophic schemes as is?
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota's eUpdate is written by Mark Giga
If you would like your name removed from our email list, please reply with “unsubscribe” in the subject line to info@taxpayersleague.org.
Taxpayers League of Minnesota
P.O. Box 120444
St. Paul, MN 55112
Phone: (651) 294-3590 Fax: (651) 294-3596 |
