TAXPAYER BREAKING NEWS, September, 2007
continued from MTA Home Page

September 28, 2007. Questions rise on push for special legislative session. "The only reason for a special session is that the Democrats are 'hellbent on raising taxes' instead of getting better control of the budget, said Senate Minority Whip Allan H. Kittleman (R-Dist. 9) of West Friendship." READ MORE.

September 27, 2007. Why Is New York's Governor Inviting Terrorists to Get a NY Drivers License? READ MORE.

September 27, 2007. "End of the DREAM -- for Now," writes Mark Krikorian in The Corner. "Senate Democrats have given up trying to append the DREAM Act amnesty to the defense authorization bill, though Sen. Reid says he wants to pass the amnesty before Congress adjourns in November." READ MORE.

September 26, 2007. O'Malley is looking at gas tax; Governor would link rate to rising costs for roads, reports Andrew A. Green in the Baltimore Sun. "The governor said the state is facing a $40 billion backlog in transportation projects and that without new money, Maryland's economy would be at risk. 'Marylanders in the Washington area waste a full week of work every year sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic,' O'Malley said. 'It's a different kind of tax. It's a tax by circumstance. A tax based on our failure to invest.'"
TBN points to sensible alternatives which readers are urged to pass on to concerned taxpayers: Transportation solutions from Peter Samuel: User Financed Roads, Congestion Pricing, and Privatization.

September 26, 2007. Examiner Editorial: Scores fail cost effectiveness test. "One thing absolutely clear is the $1.7 billion “structural” deficit looming for Maryland taxpayers — and threats of higher taxes to pay it down — demands state legislators explain precisely why schools should siphon more hard-earned dollars from residents for reforms that don’t work."
TBN notes: Faithful readers understand this is just another demonstration of why throwing money at an unreformed Maryland school cartel hardly helps the pupils whose families can only afford public education. Too many Maryland elected Democrats depend on the teachers unions to support them for public office; too many elected Republicans fear crossing the teachers unions; that combination of dependence and fear is too bad for the children of Maryland and their families.

September 26, 2007. September 25, 2007. Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot: ..."disappointed that the Governor has chosen to include a proposal to legalize slot machine gambling and open the door to full-blown casinos." "Slots are a regressive tax - hitting hardest those who can least afford it. Slots will offset the Governor’s goal of making our income tax code more progressive, and will lead to increases in addiction, bankruptcy and crime."

September 26, 2007. John Fund on Rudy and Taxes. Extract from Opinion Journal's Political Diary (subscription only): "Then, in an interview with the Associated Press, he refused to rule out raising taxes to offset a Social Security deficit. "I am opposed to tax increases, but I would look at whatever proposal they came up with and try to figure out how we can come up with a bipartisan way to do it,'' Mr. Giuliani said. That very approach has been tried many times before -- most notably by the Greenspan Commission in 1983 -- and always the resultant higher payroll taxes have far outweighed any modest reforms imposed on future Social Security obligations. Mr. Giuliani's stance may explain why he has refused to sign the 'no new taxes' pledge made famous by Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform. But he should realize that since almost every Republican in both the House and Senate has signed it, the maneuvering room for a GOP president to push for tax increases is quite limited."
Faithful TBN readers will recall MTA's (and others) year-long but unsuccessful effort to get US Senate candidate Michael Steele to sign the no-new-taxes pledge.

September 25, 2007. O'Malley to propose slots to cut budget gap; He says slots needed to eliminate $1.7 billion shortfall, save state's horse racing industry, reports Andrew A. Green in the Baltimore Sun. "O'Malley announced his proposal on the fifth day of a campaign to promote his plan to close Maryland's budget shortfall. He has also proposed raising the state sales tax, increasing income taxes on high earners as part of an overhaul of the system, and closing corporate tax loopholes and raising the corporate income tax rate. O'Malley favors reducing the state property tax, as well as income taxes for low- and middle-income filers."
TBN believes that until we have a thorough fiscal note (including the usual multi-year projections) on an introduced version of the governor's fiscal proposals from the Department of Legislative Services, Mr. O'Malley initiatives are largely cheer-leading for his base of public-employee union heads and governmentalist activists. We need to know, for example, the net amount of new or increased taxes over several years. [Read MORE]

September 24, 2007. SECURING PROPERTY RIGHTS: Property Rights Alliance Opposes Legislation to Establish National Heritage Area; writes to members of Congress."On behalf of Property Rights Alliance, I am writing today to bring to your attention a matter of grave importance to property owners nationwide. By attempting to pass into law the “Celebrating America’s Heritage Act” (H.R. 1483), you are eternally locking land into government control and regulation, and will prevent American citizens from exercising their right of property ownership. This abuse and intrusion by seizing land infringes on the most fundamental of rights and endangers property owners across the nation. I urge you to side with Americans and protect the right of land use by opposing H.R. 1483."
TBN notes: H.R. 1483 contains a re-offering of the "Journey Through Hallowed Ground" proposal that would take in large parts of Northern Virginia and Western Maryland.

September 21, 2007. Unionizing Public Safety Employees Threatens Volunteer Fire Departments and Public Safety, writes by James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation. "The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (H.R. 980), passed by the House in July and now before the Senate, threatens to put millions of Americans at greater risk of fire-related loss, injury, or death. By requiring every local government to collectively bargain with its public safety employees, H.R. 980 would force many firefighters into the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), a union that prohibits its members from belonging to volunteer fire departments, even as volunteers in their off-time. Off-duty professional firefighters form the core of America's nearly 26,000 volunteer fire departments, and forcing them into the IAFF would cause volunteer fire departments across America to shut down, threatening public safety and straining local budgets. Congress should not force every local fire department in America to collectively bargain." Read more.
TBN reminds readers that only Representative Roscoe Bartlett in the Maryland delegation voted against this capitulation to union muscle. Readers may wish to ask Representative Wayne Gilchrest what he has against volunteer fire departments.

September 20, 2007. Michigan Republicans Say 'No New Taxes,' reports OpinionJournal's Political Diary. "This weekend House Republicans in Lansing voted unanimously against the Democrats' tax hike budget. Democrats control the state House of Representatives with a 58-52 majority, and need 56 votes to pass a tax hike. State Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis tells me: 'Granholm and Democrat House Speaker Andy Dillon cannot come up with more than 50 votes from their fellow Democrats. What is even more unbelievable is that Granholm and Dillon are refusing to force 10 Yellow Dog Democrats to put up so much as a `yes' or `no' vote on the bill.'" [for earlier coverage of this story, scroll down]

September 20, 2007. Taxing the Hand That Feeds Us, writes Ramesh Ponnuru in the New York Times. "Republican presidential candidates can’t get elected without owning the tax issue. So far, the current crop is giving it away. . . . As the Republican Party has gotten more socially conservative, its voter base has become lower in income. Many of the working-class social conservatives on whom the party relies are parents trying to make ends meet, or young people who want to start families but have financial worries. They have no particular attachment, or hostility, to free-market principles. A Republican Party that found a conservative way to meet their economic needs would both hold and expand its base. "

September 20, 2007. J. Scott Moody and Wendy P. Warcholik, Ph.D. report on The Risks of 'Tax Reform' In Maryland, for the Maryland Public Policy Institute. "This report shows that balancing Maryland's budget by increasing the sales tax, via a rate increase or base expansion, would negatively affect Maryland's economy and impair state businesses' ability to compete in the global marketplace. Moreover, a budget deficit is a clear sign that government spending is exceeding the economy's ability to create income, and that is especially worrisome given that Maryland's current budget woes are coming at a time of steady economic growth and healthy tax revenues. Rather than dampening the economy by raising taxes, Annapolis should reexamine its fiscal priorities."

September 19, 2007. O'Malley Rolls Out Income Tax Proposal to Help Cut State Budget Deficit, reports Kate Prahlad in Capital News Service. "Richard Falknor, executive vice president of the Maryland Taxpayers Association, said tax increases should be expected from O'Malley. The governor cannot make cuts, Falknor said, because he has powerful interest groups that demand support. O'Malley has to come up with a 'substantial, predictable source of additional revenue year in and year out' in order 'to take care of the folks that put him in office. Those folks have a very governmentalist vision, their own vision, of what Maryland should be like, where prosperity and the good life comes from the government,' he said. 'That's not our point of view. It's economic disaster.'"

September 19, 2007. O'Malley eyes increase in sales, income taxes, reports Tom LoBianco in the Washington Times. " . . [L]awmakers said they expect to return to Annapolis this fall for a special session and that Mr. O'Malley wants the session to last seven to 10 days. "

September 18, 2007. Maryland state court denies same-sex marriage, reports Jaime Malarkey in The Examiner. "Maryland’s Court of Appeals today declared that marriage must be between a man and a woman, reversing a Baltimore City Circuit Court ruling that said such prohibitions are unconstitutional."
UPDATE! September 19. "'It is a wonderful day. This is great news,' said Delegate Don Dwyer Jr., Anne Arundel Republican, who has introduced a constitutional amendment to ban homosexual 'marriage' for three consecutive years in the Assembly."

September 17, 2007. Heritage Foundation's Appropriations Weblog: "The fiscal 2008 spending bills are moving through Congress. Things are not looking good for taxpayers. The House has passed all of its appropriations bills and the Senate has passed four. So far, Congress has outspent the President by almost $39 billion. The President has threatened to veto seven House bills and one Senate bill for spending more than he requested. Check Appropriations Watch for further updates."

September 17, 2007. MTA joins national coalition calling for permanent ban on internet access taxes. "Since 1998, Congress has ensured that Internet access is not subject to either state and local taxes or multiple and discriminatory taxes on Internet commerce, regardless of the technology consumers use to access the Internet. With the moratorium’s expiration rapidly approaching, it is imperative that Congress continue to prohibit Internet access taxes and multiple and discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce."

September 17, 2007. Global Warming Lawsuit in Calif Tossed, reports Paul Elias of the Associated Press. "It is impossible to determine to what extent automakers are responsible for global warming damages in California, a federal judge ruled in tossing out a lawsuit filed by California against the world's six largest automakers. In his ruling Monday, District Judge Martin Jenkins in San Francisco noted that many culprits, including other industries and even natural sources, are responsible for emitting carbon dioxide. The ruling was a defeat for California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has made fighting global warming a priority.
TBN notes junk-science critic Steve Milloy's analysis:
"It's terrific victory since the lawsuit was used by California to intimidate global warming skeptics, including JunkScience.com. Read more about California's effort to silence debate..." Jenkins ruled that a court "injecting itself into the global warming thicket at this juncture would require an initial policy determination of the type reserved for the political branches of government."

September 17, 2007. Why not the best? asks Paul Mirengoff on POWERLINE. "It's telling that the Washington Post is more protective of President Bush's prerogative to nominate a partisan conservative than Bush himself appears to be."

September 17, 2007. Cap-and-Trade Could Cost Average Family $10,800 in Lost Income, Says Economist Arthur Laffer; Proposed Global Warming Policy Likened to 1970s-Era Energy Crunch, reports the Free Enterprise Institute. "Dr. Laffer's analysis is another death knell for the cap-and-trade approach to addressing concerns over carbon dioxide emissions," said Steven Milloy, executive director of the Free Enterprise Education Institute (FEEI), the nonprofit group sponsoring the study. "The Department of Energy, Congressional Budget Office and, now, Dr. Laffer have all concluded that cap- and-trade would be disastrous for the U.S. economy," added Milloy.

September 17, 2007. Examiner editorial: Wasted dollars waste young lives. "After five years and almost $2.2 billion spent on trying to boost student performance, only one conclusion emerges. Maryland’s Thornton has failed..... Data show students generally are no more proficient today than they were before the state started sucking more money out of taxpayers pockets and pumping it into schools based on National Assessment of Educational Progress scores."

September 17, 2007. Rangel would swap 'patch' for mother of all tax increases, reports Robert Novak in the Chicago Sun-Times. "Unlike the Republican Ways and Means chairmen who preceded him in the last 12 years, Rangel has a comprehensive tax strategy and a tactical game plan. His wedge is the AMT. Its present form would raise $1.4 trillion in revenue over the next decade, through taxation of 23 million additional families this year alone. Congress regularly prevents this calamity by enacting a patch that limits the tax's coverage to 4 million upper-bracket families."

UPDATE #2: September 17, 2007. They're Still Voting Out There In Michigan, reports David Freddoso in The Corner. "Democrats in Michigan's state House are determined to squeeze more out of the state's dry-lemon economy, but they can't convince enough of their own to vote for it. They have been voting on a tax increase since 2 pm on Friday — that's 51 hours of straight legislative boredom. For the third day in a row, all Republicans have voted 'no.' Ten Democrats still have not voted. Democrats enjoy a 58-52 majority in the chamber."
UPDATE #1: September 17, 2007. Today's Political Diary (subscription only) declares: "Democrats have been gaining electoral ground in this national battleground state in recent years, but today's tax fight could be a pivotal moment to define the differences between the two parties. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, says that Mr. Anuzis is a 'party chair worthy of cheering.' And Mr. Anuzis isn't backing down. 'We have to hold the line on no new taxes,' he tells me. By giving voters a real choice between lower taxes and more spending, Mr. Anuzis is doing exactly the right thing to bring Republicans back to majority status in Michigan.'"
BACKGROUND: September 10, 2007. GOP boss's activism causes party furor; Some Republican lawmakers say his strong anti-tax e-mails make it tough to forge budget fix, reports Mark Hornbeck of the Detroit News Lansing Bureau. "Republican lawmakers are increasingly irritated with their state party boss, Saul Anuzis, because they say his steady drumbeat against raising taxes is making it more difficult to work out a deal to resolve Michigan's nagging budget deficit."

September 14, 2007. "Union Money Floods into Utah, reports the Educational Intelligence Agency. "Today was the first campaign finance disclosure deadline in Utah for the November referendum on vouchers, and the state received the shocking news that the National Education Association had already sent the Utah Education Association $1.5 million for the campaign." reports the Education Intelligence Agency."

September 14, 2007. Virginia coalition formed to address illegals, reports Natasha Altamirano in the Washington Times. "Virginia localities are forming a coalition to collectively address problems associated with illegal aliens. Culpeper County officials, who are leading the initiative, sent out more than 450 invitations to the governments of every county, city and town in the state. So far, the county has received responses from 19 localities that want to participate, Culpeper County Administrator Frank Bossio said yesterday. "

September 12, 2007. Biofuels harm the environment, reports the Heritage Foundation. "Also in the report’s findings: Biofuels raise food prices by competing for the same crops, and will inevitably lead to a “food-versus-fuel” debate. The issue will come to a head in the House–Senate conference for the 2007 energy bill. The Senate version would more than quadruple the renewable fuel standard between the years 2012 and 2022. Farming interests are drooling over the prospect of adding to the billions of dollars in subsidies they receive every year. They even put out their own 'Ethanol Fact Book' which claims that ethanol is just wonderful for everyone. "

September 10, 2007. Funeral Home Entrepreneurs Have Their Day in Court; Will Ask Judge to Strike Down Unconstitutional Maryland Law, report John Kramer and Bob Ewing of the Institute for Justice. “'The Federal Trade Commission, the Maryland Department of Health and the nation’s leading funeral industry economist all agree that this law is a pointless restraint on trade that clobbers consumers,' added IJ Staff Attorney Jeff Rowes. 'The only entity to support this outrageous law has been the industry lobbying group, the Maryland State Funeral Directors Association.'”
See also Examiner editorial: Deregulate the Death Cartel.

September 11, 2007. Close to 20 groups in Office of Labor Management Standards Coalition send letter urging the Senate to use budget-neutral methods to restore full funding to the OLMS as requested by the President. "At a time when unions are increasingly desperate to maintain their relevance, OLMS investigations have resulted in 780 convictions and more than $100 million in restitution for union members, why would the Senate pass legislation that would ultimately give 'union bosses' a free pass over the control and intimidation of workers nationwide?"

September 9, 2007. Examiner Editorial: Dixon must save Baltimore City by cutting taxes in half. "First on her agenda must be halving property taxes to the same levels as surrounding jurisdictions. It is the key to luring young, well-educated professionals and the employers that want to hire them. We do not need any more evidence of how high taxes 'help' the city."

September 8, 2007. Cutting deficit with smoke; Cigarette tax may hit $2 to trim shortfall, governor says, reports Andrew A. Green in the Baltimore Sun. "'The legislature realizes there is only so much tolerance out there for revenue increases,' Busch said. 'You have to do it in one package. You can't do these things as water torture where you do things piecemeal.'"

September 6, 2007. State Horse Park Is Up for Discussion in Howard; Site Could Generate $9 Million in Tax Revenue, Study Estimates, reports Susan DeFord in the Washington Post. "But John Robert Burk, executive director of the Department of Agriculture's Maryland Horse Industry Board, promised that the effort would continue because 'establishing a state park is seen as a necessity. We're losing championships to other states.'"
TBN notes that only in the Annapolis universe of endless governmentalism, especially during a fiscal crisis (however contrived), would Maryland getting into the horse-park business or any other normally private enterprise be seen as a "necessity."

September 5, 2007. Examiner Editorial: We’re wealthiest on the backs of others."It is only prudent for state legislators to acknowledge that fact by not increasing the state’s tax burden on businesses or individuals. In times of need, those in the true private sector — not dependent on government largesse — will pay the bills. Higher taxes on members of that group only mean fewer will be able to survive or choose to stay in Maryland — and that would mean less backup for everyone else."
TBN reminds faithful readers that Maryland already receives $1.44 in Federal spending for every dollar of Federal taxes paid. California, by way of contrast, receives only $.79 for every dollar of Federal taxes paid. Maryland is already subsidized by the national taxpayer.