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Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
2. The stock market is at an all-time high, state income tax collections are up and the sun is shining. Who wants to hear doom and gloom from the DFL?
3. What do you picture when you hear the words “Iowa” and “destiny?”
4. How much pandering did the State Legislature do to your special interest group?
5. The Price of Gas: Another Policy and a Pint event from the Citizens League.
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
Tune in this Saturday to AM 1280 The Patriot from 9 – 11 am when Taxpayers League Live will be guest-hosted by State Rep. Chris DeLaForest. DeLaForest, a third-term Republican from Andover, is a member of the House Taxes Committee and Lifetime “Best Friend of the Taxpayer.” Chris’s guests this week will be Mark Brunswick from the Star Tribune, Neal Levine from Minnesotans for Compassionate Care and Tom Pritchard from the Minnesota Family Council.
2. Forbes puts Minnesota in the top 10 best places to do business.
Hmm. Last year Forbes ranks Minnesota as the 14th best state in America to do business in. Not bad. But then November comes, responsibility is thrown out the window and dozens of new legislators slinging shiny new slogans like “invest in prosperity” and “no more mediocrity” are given the keys to the Capitol. They believe they were elected to bring change to St. Paul so they give that a try ($5.5 billion worth of trying by the way). Fortunately, they failed…miserably. “No new taxes” wins again, but listening to the rhetoric of the defeated, you’d think a new Dark Age was descending on Minnesota. What does Forbes think of all this now? Apparently enough to move Minnesota into the top 10 and cite our state has having the highest quality of life in the country.
But, if you happen to be the kind of person who has to cling to some sign that the apocalypse is just around the corner, there is this: “The Northstar rail project, seeking nearly $160 million in federal funding, got a boost Thursday when a U.S. Senate committee approved $65 million for the commuter line next year.”
3. Perhaps a sale on fertilizer at the local Farm and Fleet?
Generally, I’m of the mind that the only good things to come out of Iowa are AE French onion dip and Chad Greenway. But last week, while sunning myself on the beach at one of Iowa’s seven beautiful lakes, I was heartened to read about an opposition campaign that had been organized to defeat the proposed “Yes to Destiny” campaign. “Yes to Destiny,” an initiative Iowan taxpayers were forced to fund ($250,000 worth), sought to impose a one-cent sales tax increase in three Iowa counties that would be used “for mandated property tax reduction (one third), one-third for additional local property tax relief as set forth in community plans, and one third to fund a new three-county regional effort to provide resources for recreational trails, regional quality of life facilities, scientific, arts, cultural and historic preservation organizations, and additional regional property tax relief.” Fortunately, common sense and the good folks at NoLocalOption.com prevailed (while being overwhelming outspent) and saved Iowans from a property tax reduction scheme along the lines of what the DFL tried in Minnesota a few months back. I guess the tax-and-spenders in Iowa don’t understand that property taxes are controlled by local government spending decisions. The voters seem to get it, though.
Here’s my favorite stat from the July 10th vote:
“Yes to Destiny supporters spent roughly $69.43 for every vote Tuesday; opponents spent roughly 8 cents per vote.”
And in case you missed it, here’s Phil’s column on “Why State Legislators Can’t Control Property Taxes” (and why robbing Peter to pay Paul – even in Iowa – will never work).
4. Find out by searching a database of all the new laws passed in 2007.
“Now available on the web is New Laws 2007, overviews of the 150 new laws enacted during the 2007 legislative session. Compiled by the nonpartisan House Public Information Services staff, with help from the nonpartisan House Research and House Fiscal Analysis departments, the overviews are written in an easy-to-understand style, and include links to the House or Senate version of the bill signed into law. The site also includes a selection of bills that did not make it into law, but could be considered when the Legislature convenes for the second year of the biennium on Feb. 12, 2008. To access New Laws 2007, click here or the House of Representatives website here and click on New Laws under the information category located in the center of the main page (you might have to scroll down the page a little bit). For further information, contact House Public Information Services at (651) 296-2146 or (800) 657-3550.”
5. Join the Citizens League and 89.3 The Current (and David Strom) for Policy and a Pint: The Price of Gas!
“It seems to be one of those great mysteries of American life - why does a gallon of gas cost the price it does? Sometimes we think we have a rough idea why: that it's tied to some nexus of Middle East politics and turmoil, oil company greed, and supply-and-demand. But is there more to it than that? And who is really pocketing the most from the profits? We'll ask all those questions and even hear about how some consumers believe it should cost more.
Policy and a Pint®: The Price of Gas
Thursday, July 19th
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., program begins at 6:00 p.m.
Varsity Theater
1308 4th Street SE, Minneapolis (U of M, Dinkytown)
Cost: $10, $5 for students with valid ID
Appetizers from the Loring Pasta Bar included.
Click here to register online, or call Annie Levenson-Falk at 651-293-0575 ext. 16.
[ed. Before you go – and you should go – make sure you’ve read “Gasbags: What the politicians and the pundits aren’t saying about the fluctuating price of gas and oil – and what you need to know” available from Taxpayers League. Just hit “reply,” include your mailing address and we’ll drop a copy in the mail for you.]
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