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TAXPAYER
BREAKING NEWS, February 2006, February 28, 2006. John Tamney in the National Review on Getting Estate-Tax Repeal Right. "The estate tax shouldn’t be abolished as a favor to the super-rich, but instead as a favor to the U.S. economy. It should be repealed on estates of all sizes because the economic impact will be greatest if the largest estates are fully exempted." February 28, 2006. Carroll leaders oppose tax plan; Commissioners say state senator's proposed reduction would lead to budget deficits, reports Mary Gail Hare in the Baltimore Sun." Sykesville resident Larry Helminiak testified that 'most people can't afford to buy the houses they are living in today because of increasing assessments. Even county employees can no longer afford to live in Carroll County.'" February 23, 2005. MPPI's William L. Anderson explains the High Benefit of Low Prices. "The year was 1936, the legislation was the Robinson-Patman Act, and the company that supposedly was ready to “swallow” the United States was the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P. In retrospect, such fears seem almost comical, given that A&P, while still a viable firm, hardly is a major player among retailers these days." February 23, 2006. Bill Gertz reports on security fears about infiltration by terrorists in the Washington Times. "Mr. Rumsfeld said both he and Gen. Pace were unaware of the port-deal security issue until the weekend. The defense secretary said he was reluctant to judge whether the management contracts posed national-security risks because he was not fully informed." February 23, 2006.Stem cell bill gains; 2 House panels OK research measure, including adult cells, reports Jennifer Skalka in the Baltimore Sun. "Embryonic stem cell research is more of an issue than adult stem cell research because it uses cells from human embryos. For that reason, some believe that the science is akin to abortion. But because the cells have the ability, many scientists believe, to replicate many different kinds of cells, they are seen as a hope for treating diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. 'The proponents have made a lot of claims, but there's scant evidence at this point' to support embryonic research, said Del. William J. Frank, a Baltimore County Republican who opposed the bill yesterday in the health committee." February 22, 2006. Peter J. Sepp and Sam Batkins of National Taxpayers Union call bloated budgets a bipartisan trend in Maryland. “'Maryland is one of the richest and most educated states in the U.S.,' Batkins concluded. 'It should be a destination for aspiring entrepreneurs and young professionals. Annapolis, however, has shown the propensity to tax and spend first, and think about taxpayers last.'” February 22, 2006. For Bush, a backlash over ports; Focus on security said to invite attack on deal with UAE firm, reports Julie Hirschfeld Davis in the Baltimore Sun. "'It just plain looks bad that a company from the United Arab Emirates is in charge of American ports, and from a public relations standpoint, it's awfully hard for most Americans to get beyond that simple fact,' said Terry Holt, a former Bush campaign communications director. The deal is 'almost the perfect storm for a hot political topic,' Holt said." February 21, 2006. Ehrlich seeks to delay Arab deal on port report S.A. Miller and Jon Ward in the Washington Times. "Mr. Ehrlich said he was not necessarily opposed to the business arrangement in which state-owned Dubai Ports World (DPW) of the United Arab Emirates purchased the company that runs the cargo operations at Baltimore and five other U.S. seaports -- New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Miami and New Orleans. However, he said Maryland needed to study the deal, and he called the state's long absence from the months-long approval process 'very troubling.'" February 21, 2006. States Curbing Right to Seize Private Homes, reports John M. Broder in the New York Times."'It's open season on eminent domain,'said Larry Morandi, a land-use specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures. 'Bills are being pushed by Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and they're passing by huge margins.' Seldom has a Supreme Court decision sparked such an immediate legislative reaction, and one that scrambles the usual partisan lines. Condemnation of the ruling came from black lawmakers representing distressed urban districts, from suburbanites and from Western property-rights absolutists who rarely see eye to eye on anything."
February 20, 2006. No shortage of issues for Ehrlich to run on, according to a Washington Times editorial. "And finally, we urge the governor to support the legislation filed by Delegate Herbert McMillan, Anne Arundel Republican, last week (H.B. 1443) that would ban illegal aliens from obtaining Maryland driver's licenses and bring Maryland into compliance with the REAL ID legislation passed by Congress last year. If such legislation is not passed by 2008, Marylanders will be unable to use state driver's licenses to board an airplane. But unless Mr. Ehrlich is prepared to act, General Assembly Democrats will defeat this critical homeland-security bill. The governor should support it and challenge Martin O'Malley and Doug Duncan to do the same." February 20, 2005. Tax cuts muted despite Maryland surplus, reports the Washington Times. "This year, with one of their own in the governor's office, they have been largely silent on the tax issue. An exception is state Sen. E.J. Pipkin, Eastern Shore Republican, who has introduced a tax-reduction package that includes a 10 percent cut in the income tax phased in over three years. 'I'm putting my bills in to get the discussion started. Taxpayers should be at the table,' Mr. Pipkin said. 'There is an underlying philosophy, 'Whose money is it?' I believe it's the taxpayers money. I also believe taxpayers know how to spend their money better than government does.'" February 19, 2006. Sending up prayers for lawmakers; Conservative Christians hold regular sessions seeking divine guidance for the legislature, reports Matthew Hay Brown in the Baltimore Sun. "Querencia House, named for the spot in the bullring where the animal feels safest and strongest, offers solitude, Bible study and meetings with legislators, aides and others during the legislative session. It has hosted about 20 legislators this session, says Stiegler, who runs the house. 'This is a place of shelter in a time of storm' said Del. Nancy R. Stocksdale, a Carroll County Republican. 'It's a place to come and have peace and quiet and feel loved.'" February
17, 2006.Today in Annapolis, members of the House Economic Matters February 17, 2006. Dan Mitchell says the ethanol scam is far worse than Abramoff, backing up his point by a quote from Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute . "Growing and harvesting the corn, and heating and reheating the fermented corn to produce ethanol of a high enough quality to replace some of the gasoline in your car requires an enormous amount of energy. How much? A recent careful study by Cornell University's David Pimentel and the University of California at Berkeley's Tad Patzek added up all the energy consumption that goes into ethanol production. ...Putting it all together, they found that it takes 29 percent more energy to make ethanol from corn than is contained in the ethanol itself.... The answer appears to be that elected officials from corn- growing states such as Iowa and Illinois see it as a cash cow for their constituents." February 15, 2006. Charter School Advocate Asks for Sufficient Money and Facilities to keep Program from Failing (SB293). "The proposed language appears to leave charter schools at the mercy of the school board, with unclear wording and no ability to negotiate how dollars are allocated. Charter schools need to be able to negotiate numbers not unclear words. Most critical is the fact that the proposed formula does not offer adequate funding to charter schools. Also, removing transportation and special education from the general budget of a charter school limits innovation and flexibility." [emphasis TBN's] February 13, 2006. Septic fee angers Ehrlich's rural base; Governor trying to explain signing, reports Andrew A. Green in the Baltimore Sun. "A Cecil County couple has erected a giant sign reading 'Flush You! Gov. Ehrlich' off Interstate 95." TBN reminds faithful readers that MTA was skeptical of the economics and skeptical of the science behind the Flush Tax scheme which gave every appearance of being political theater, not sensible governing.
February 10, 2006. Largess Preceded Md. Vote on Wal-Mart; Two Unions Vastly Outspent Company in Run-Up to Legislative Session, report John Wagner and Ann E. Marimow in the Washington Post. "The contributions, totaling more than $36,000 in the run-up to the January vote, came to more than a quarter of the state's legislators from affiliates of the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, according to analysis of campaign finance reports filed last month." February 9, 2006. Taxes up over past 10 years reportsTarron Lively in the Washington Times. "Richard Falknor, executive vice president of the nonpartisan group Maryland Taxpayers Association Inc., said he was disappointed with the state's ranking. He pointed out that despite sniping between the two parties, Mr. Ehrlich and the General Assembly were jointly responsible for more than $2 billion in tax increases in 2004." February 9, 2005. MTA joins Center for Tax Competition coalition request, asking OMB Director Joshua Bolton to de-fund the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). "The OECD used to focus on gathering statistics and publishing innocuous studies. Although it is doubtful that these activities were ever a particularly good use of American tax dollars, the OECD's more recent pursuit of policies that undermine America's competitiveness is deeply troubling." February 8, 2006. Retailers challenge 'Wal-Mart' law in Maryland; Trade group sues over health care, report Andrew A. Green and Jill Rosen in the Baltimore Sun. "Kennedy said she hopes the legal action serves as a warning to the 30 other states considering similar laws. 'We certainly hope other states will pause and look at what we've done in Maryland and in Suffolk County,' she said." February 8, 2005. More government spending is not the way to boost competitiveness, writes Yesim Yilmaz in MARKET CENTER BLOG. "During his State of the Union address, President Bush unveiled his American Competitiveness Initiative, designed to help America keep its leadership in scientific discovery and innovation. The initiative allocates almost $7 billion (in funding and tax breaks) to science education, teacher training and workforce training, but there is no evidence that federal government spending will translate into better economic performance."
February 7, 2006. Bolton, Timmerman Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize; Swedish Leader Cites Efforts Exposing Iranian Nuclear Plans, reports Yahoo News. "Timmerman, an independent researcher, has written extensively on Iran's nuclear activities for more than 20 years. His report for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in 1992 first detailed Iran's ties to A.Q. Khan. His most recent book, 'Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran,' was published last year. Bolton and Timmerman were formally nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Sweden's former deputy prime minister and Liberal party leader Per Ahlmark. " TBN reminds faithful readers that last July MTA joined center-right groups across the US in urging John Bolton's recess appointment as our ambassador to the UN underscoring the importance of Bolton's being on the job to fight UN schemes for global taxation. And naturally TBN is proud of the Nobel nomination given former MTA president Ken Timmerman for his vital work over many years on Iran. February 7, 2006. Increases in taxes, fees found to be key to state's $2 billion surplus; Budget cuts accounted for 18% of fiscal reversal, analysis shows, reports Andrew A. Green in the Baltimore Sun."...nearly every state department and agency will spend more money this year than it did when the governor took office. In fact, the only state department to see its budget cut is the budget department." February 3, 2006. The Virginia Miracle? Puh-lease! Presidential wannabe Mark Warner is a big-government, tax-and-spender — no matter what he says, reports analyst Peter Farrara of the Free Enterprise Fund in the National Review. "All of which was a complete fairy tale. The state ended the 2004 fiscal year with a surplus of over $400 million, before the tax increase took effect. That surplus eventually grew to $2 billion, proving that talk of a looming budget deficit was completely false." February
3, 2005. Delegate Dwyer a Beacon
on the Right, reports Jill Rosen in the Baltimore Sun. "The
man driving the attempt to outlaw gay marriage in Maryland is comfortable
on the fringe and in the spotlight. Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr., an Anne
Arundel County Republican, barreled into the State House three years ago,
in his words, throwing 'grenades.' He has tossed them strategically ever
since." TBN
notes that many Maryland Republicans did not internalize the Reagan Revolution.
Thus their counterparts on the Maryland Left are used to a more genteel
Republican model. Consequently Dwyer, whose positions are not at all out
of the national conservative mainstream, seems somehow "novel."
TBN offers classes in American history and the founders' beliefs to delegate
Luiz Simmons. Perhaps the gentleman from Montgomery County has confused
the American founders with the ACLU.
February 2, 2006. Md. Stem Cell Bill Stalls as Block Looms; Panel Will Get First Look This Week at Governor's Plan to Fund Research, reports John Wagner in the Washington Times. "'It's the same issue we had last session, and it's the same people,' said Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr. (D-Anne Arundel), one of a half-dozen Democrats who last year were prepared to join a GOP-led filibuster. DeGrange and others who oppose the legislation say the research is tantamount to abortion, because it involves the destruction of a human embryo." February 1, 2005. The GOP uses the wrong approach to reach out to black voters writes Dan Mitchell in MARKET CENTER BLOG. "Tom Sowell comments on the inept way in which Republicans try to woo African-American voters. Instead of preaching a message of opportunity and values, GOP leaders cravenly try to curry favor with hard-core leftists who will always support Democrats." Februray 1, 2006. Anne Arundel, KIPP, debate school space, reports Daniel de Vise in the Washington Post. "In a series of letters sent in December and January, Nancy M. Mann, the interim Anne Arundel County school superintendent, and members of her staff denied requests by the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) to rent space at the public middle school, the most underenrolled in the county. KIPP sought the space to create a 'school within a school' there, according to the correspondence." February 1, 2006. Repeal is sought in gas-cost control, reports the Baltimore Sun.. "'The effect, the purpose and indeed the intent of the Maryland below-market sales law is to increase the price of gas,' said Mike Cortez, the vice president and general counsel of Sheetz. Representatives of AAA Mid-Atlantic also testified (see action alert) in favor of the bill, saying they support anything that could reduce costs to consumers. Maryland's gas prices remain about 6 cents a gallon higher than the national average, they said. |