Tag: Taxes

Democratic Governor Chet Culver’s campaign started running its second television commercial today, a 30-second spot focusing on the governor’s response to last year’s flooding and this year’s budget shortfall. (A few weeks ago Culver ordered a 10 percent across-the-board cut in the current-year budget.)  

Like the commercial Culver ran last month, this ad emphasizes that the governor cut spending and his own salary in order to balance the state budget during this recession without raising taxes. I think the ad is well-crafted in terms of script and visuals, but like Bleeding Heartland users IowaVoter and dricey, I am concerned when Democrats rely heavily on Republican anti-tax messaging. Culver may be reinforcing conservative frames and limiting his future policy options if he does win re-election.

Des Moines Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich highlighted another potential problem not long ago:

Gov. Chet Culver vowed to balance the state budget without raising taxes. And yet a third or more of Iowa school districts might end up raising property taxes as a direct result of the cut to state school aid ordered by Culver.

Is the governor breaking his promise? Well, no. And yes.

When Culver talks about avoiding a tax increase, he really means income and sales taxes – the two major revenue streams for the state. He’s referring to tax increases that he would have to sign into law. In that sense, he hasn’t raised taxes.

But he acknowledges that property taxes are a concern. Culver says he’ll ask the Legislature next year to require school districts to use their cash reserves before raising taxes.

Republicans are already blaming Democrats for the property tax increases many Iowans will experience next year. Their outrage is hypocritical, because the state cuts affecting education and local governments would have been far more severe if not for the federal stimulus bill, which included aid to state governments. Of course, Republicans denounced the stimulus package and bashed Culver for using these federal funds for their intended purpose: to help backfill the 2009 budget.

In any event, Democrats should be wary about staking next year’s campaign on “we didn’t raise your taxes during this recession.” That won’t be a comforting message to Iowans who have to pay a larger property tax bill in September 2010.

As her Republican opponent files the biggest single quarter fundraising report from a Kansas congressional candidate in the state’s history, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (D-KS) actually finds herself increasingly more secure in her first re-election bid.

Even with a $681,000 quarter and running in a district that went to George W. Bush by double digits, Republican Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins woke up today to not only still find herself behind in cash-on-hand, but she also had to read that The Cook Political Report had moved the race in the Kansas 2nd out of the “Toss Up” column and into “Leans Democratic.”  

The question is: Why?

For those of us on the ground, it’s easy to see the answer to that question.

Over the course of the last 2 years, Boyda has been an able representative- never quite liberal enough for the liberals, and never quite conservative enough for the conservatives.  Instead she has been a very traditional Kansas Democrat, bucking the party when it doesn’t represent her district’s interests.  While that hasn’t always made her popular with lots different interest groups, it has left her quite popular and well-regarded back at home.

Also, the simple fact the folk back at home have seen so much of Boyda has made a massive difference in the way she’s perceived in district.  Boyda has held hundreds of public meetings, has been home nearly every single weekend (save the few she spent in Iraq and Afghanistan- including Christmas 2007), and her constituent services office has been open and accessible, potentially the very best in Kansas.

While those things certainly have insulated Boyda, in at least some regard, to the ceaseless partisan attacks she’s been bludgeoned with for two years, simply coming home a lot and being available only goes so far for a Democrat in an R+7 district.  Why, then, is a Republican like Jenkins having such a hard time gaining traction in this previously reliably Republican district- and why has The Cook Political Report moved this race out of the toss up category this late in the game?

All you need to do is open a district newspaper to find out.

Over the course of the last two weeks, Lynn Jenkins has been hit by two revelations that went straight to the core of her candidacy (the fact that, as a CPA and a competent state treasurer, she could better manage the fiscal house of the United States than Boyda) and have totally derailed her bid.

First: While campaigning against former Congressman Jim Ryun in the Republican primary, Jenkins skipped every single monthly meeting of the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System Board of Trustees- while that fund, which provides for the pensions of every state employee and school teacher in Kansas, lost more than $1 billion.

Missing board meetings certainly isn’t a sexy scandal, but it resonated in the district, if only because Jenkins had been hitting Boyda hard for months for Boyda’s infamous 10-minute “walkout” on Ret. Gen. Jack Keane from a 2007 Armed Services Committee meeting, with Jenkins saying Boyda wasn’t doing her job because she left the room.  Unfortunately for Jenkins, when the voters compared the two it was all too obvious who actually wasn’t doing their job and who’s lax attention to their duties had actually harmed the people of Kansas.

Jenkins dug herself deeper when she wouldn’t explain where she had been instead of at the meetings, only to state she was “busy” and that she has “a lot of balls in the air” at the current time.  Oh, also, Jenkins said she was never actually out of contact with the board, and that she communicated with everyone via email.  But, in the very same newspaper piece she was quoted saying that, the Executive Director of KPERS said:

(KPERS executive director Glenn Deck) said he hadn’t received any e-mails or phone calls from Jenkins recently and said he wasn’t aware of others receiving contact either.

“I don’t think so because I think I would be copied,” Deck said.

He also said he wasn’t aware of feedback Jenkins has provided to the board while she was away.

Ouch.

It got worse for Jenkins October 16 when the Topeka Capital-Journal ran a story revealing that, during her terms as state treasurer, the state of Kansas misallocated upwards of $15 million in motor fuel taxes in the way payments were made out to Kansas counties.  The accounting error that led to the mismanagement of funds wasn’t the fault of the Jenkins administration, and her staff did indeed find the flaw after using the wrong formula for six years.

But our story gets better.  So, for six years Lynn Jenkins either overpaid or shortchanged Kansas counties- millions of dollars potentially mismanaged.  After her staff discovered the error, she dashed off a letter to the governor’s office alerting her and then Lynn…did nothing…for two months.  Not a single word to any counties to let them know they might be asked to repay thousands back to the state in their next fiscal year- nor notification that they may be receiving extra cash, either.  By the time she got around to telling the counties what had happened, 2009 fiscal year budgets were already set and we can promise you not one county in Kansas budgeted an extra $150,000 just in case Lynn Jenkins screwed up.  If Jenkins had moved appropriately, counties might have been able to adjust to repay the state (or, of course, absorb new funds), but she didn’t.  

One last bit: Still to this day the treasurer’s office has not produced a spreadsheet showing where overpayments and underpayments have occured, so Kansas counties still have no idea what they might owe.  

Eventually someone’s going to have to pay for Lynn Jenkins’ mismanagement, and, sadly, it’s going to be the taxpayers of Kansas.

Lynn Jenkins’ star was near particularly bright- generally, the people of the Kansas 2nd seem happy with Congresswoman Nancy Boyda.  But, over the course of the last two weeks, Jenkins’ task ahead became much, much more difficult- all because she’s really not good at the job she already has.  When you’re running a campaign based solely on the fact you’re really competent and that you’ll be able to “clean up Washington,” nothing is more damaging that it being revealed that you’re really, really just not competent.

Boyda’s reelection certainly won’t be a blow out, and Jenkins has already tried her best to distort Boyda’s record in an effort to make her own record problems go away, but, for those of you wondering why The Cook Political Report had decided this race was a little less close than it was a couple of weeks ago, we hope this provides a little local perspective.

While everyone was focusing on the fate of the bailout plan this week, the federal government’s debt passed the $10 trillion mark with hardly anyone noticing.  Of course, the bailout plan insures that this debt will climb even higher as there is specific language in the bailout plan authorizing the federal government to raise the debt limit and borrow up to $840 billion to fund the bailout.

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U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 05 Oct 2008 at 12:45:21 PM GMT is:

$10,156,891,193,312.09

The estimated population of the United States is 304,852,050

so each citizen’s share of this debt is $33,317.19.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of

$3.08 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

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The working people of the United States should be outraged that the members of Congress passed the bailout bill without addressing a way to fund the cost.  It is bordering on criminal that our elected leaders at the federal level continue to allow this debt to grow ignoring the impact it will have on the future security of our nation.  I have continued to stress as the main theme of my campaign that we must elect leaders who will make fiscal responsibility a top priority.  We must solve this problem now or we will pass it on to our children and grandchildren, leaving this country a weak shell of what it once was.

In a typical campaign year, voters would be looking for the candidates that are spreading the “Happy Days Are Here Again” message.  However, in 2008, unless you are living a severe state of denial, you have to realize that tough times are upon us and tough choices must be made.  I’ve heard my Republican opponent regularly state “I believe our best days are ahead of us.”   The hard facts are people are struggling with higher fuel prices, no health care coverage, higher food prices and higher local taxes because of the failed policies of the last 8 years and the neglect of the problems affecting the middle class.  While they’ve worked to reform welfare for individuals, our government is now passing bailout legislation that amounts to corporate welfare.

The real message voters need to hear is the hard truth.   This country is a mess and tough decisions must be made to turn the country around.   The turn around won’t be a quick and it won’t be easy.  But, if voters do their part and make the right choices on November 4th, we can start the process to bring our country back.  And, in bringing the country back, the emphasis must be on putting the needs of the working people above the desires of corporate America for profits.  

Review of the Past Week on the Campaign Trail:

This past week I was on the road doing interviews with several newspapers from within the 5th district and I also recorded a ½ hour interview that will be broadcast later in October on PCN.  There were also candidate forums this week in Clearfield and Bradford where I had the chance to discuss the issues with my opponents.  Finally, we finished the week with 2 great events.  On Friday in State College Justin Braz and Bill Van Saun arranged an event with some Penn State students so we could talk with them about how important this election is to young voters.   State Rep. Scott Conklin also spoke with the young voters.  

On Saturday we traveled to Clarion to participate in the Autumn Leaf Festival parade.  It was a great event with special guests Franco Harris and his wife Dana on hand representing the Obama campaign.  The people in Clarion were chanting “Franco, Franco” throughout the parade route and it was really encouraging to hear the cheers for the Democratic floats and the enthusiasm for Barack Obama.  Special thanks go out to Clarion County Democratic Chairman Bill Miller for pulling everything together, State Rep. Matt Ellenberger and the Clarion University Young Dems for their work building 2 great floats.

Franco Harris with Clarion University Young Dems

With State Rep Candidate Matt Ellenberger in front of Democratic Float

Bob Myers from Venango County getting autograph from Franco Harris

Talking with Franco Harris

Schedule for the Upcoming Week:

Tuesday — Cameron County Debate – 6:00PM

Wednesday — WJAC Interview – 9:00AM

Thursday — Debate at State College High School [TENTATIVE] – 10:00AM, PSU-DuBois Debate – 6:30PM

Friday — Lycoming County Grange Meet the Candidates Forum – 6:00PM, Dinner with the PSU Young Dems – 8:00PM

Saturday — Renovo Flaming Foliage Parage – 12:00PM, Venango County Democratic Dinner – 7:00PM

FUNDRAISING REMINDER — Keep talking with people about the 5,000 Friends to Flip the Fifth project. We can win the 5th District Congressional District for the first time in 32 years but we need to be organizing our forces heading into the final weeks. The only way to turn this country around is to send people to Washington who will make the tough decisions. The choice in the 5th district is clear. My opponent regularly states that he supports the fiscal policies of the Bush administration AKA “the Bush tax cuts” and will continue them — More of the Same. While I continue to stress that we must balance the budget, built a surplus and pay down the debt.

In order to get the message out to voters we will need to advertise which costs money. Please contact your family and friends and urge them to financially support our campaign as we move into the final weeks. Donations can be made online through www.actblue.com or by direct mail to McCracken for Congress, PO Box 332, Clearfield PA 16830.

Mark B. McCracken

Your Candidate For Congress

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This diary is cross-posted at McCracken’s campaign blog, PA’s Blue Fifth

Mark McCracken for Congress

ActBlue page

In Kentucky’s First Congressional District we managed to field a great Democratic woman who believes in fighting for the working american, for equal opportunity for everyone, and for the American dream. She believes that every American who works hard should be rewarded with fair wages and benefits. Now, in the coming campaign I am sure Ed Whitfield will run as a “moderate”, who cares about everyone. This record doesn’t bear itself out, and there are monumental differences between the priorities of Exxon Ed Whitfield and Heather Ryan, who wants to work for the betterment of ALL the people of our district.  

One has only to look at the rankings put forth by the Shriver Center to see glaring differences in the committments of these two candidates toward supporting the working, average Kentuckian and American and towards supporting the goal we should all have of creating One America for all. Take the Employee Free Choice Act. This legislation would have empowered millions of Americans to fight against rampant corporate greed and have the power to negotiate for fair wages and benefits. Organized labor is the most effective deterent to poverty. Don’t just take my word for it, look at this overview of H.R. 800:

– Requires the National Labor Relations Board to review petitions filed by employees for the purpose of creating a labor organization for collective bargaining, and to determine whether or not a majority of employees have signed the petition (Sec 2 (a) (6))

–

Requires the National Labor Relations Board to not hold an election, but to certify the bargaining representative if a majority of employees have signed the petition (Sec 2 (a) (6))

–

Requires the parties to begin bargaining within 10 days of the receipt of the petition, or within a longer time frame acknowledged by both parties (Sec 3 (h) (1))

–

States that if the parties are unable to agree in the bargaining after 90 days, either party may contact the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which will mediate and attempt to facilitate an agreement (Sec 3 (h) (2))

–

States that if an agreement has not been reached within 30 days of the request for mediation, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service may refer the matter to an arbitration board which in turn will render a decision binding to both parties for two years, unless both parties agree to amend the terms within that two years (Sec 3 (h) (3))

–

Provides civil penalties for employers who engage labor practices in violation of the National Labor Relations Act to affect the formation of a union, including back pay and liquidated damages for employees, and a penalty to be determined by the National Labor Relations Board not to exceed $20,000 per infraction (Sec 4 (b) (1)) (Sec 4 (b) (2))

http://www.govtrack.us/congres…

Of course, because of his close ties with the Chamber of Commerce, and his membership in the McConnell Machine of corrupt Kentucky Republicans, Ed Whitfield voted against this valuable legislation to give the citizens of his district a chance at a better future, while his own numerous stock holdings are making him even richer.

Well, Heather Ryan believes in the working Kentuckian and wants to give them more opportunities for a better future for themselves and their children, she supports the aims of organized labor, including the Employee Free Choice Act. Her is her recent email answer to my question about what can be done to strengthen the labor movement once more:

Our country has seen an all out assault on Organized Labor in the last several decades. We believe Organized Labor is essential in achieving fair wages and benefits for workers. We believe we need to rebuild our Union movement by passing the Employee Free Choice Act and give workers real choices in forming a union. We believe penalties for breaking labor laws should be tougher, and enforced faster. We also support banning the permanent replacement of striking workers. We should also defend and restore a workers right to overtime. We also need to end the practice of mislabeling workers as an independent contractorsÂ? to avoid paying benefits and taxes. We should expand minimum wage protections to tipped workers and home healthcare workers. We should give public employees every opportunity to compete with private contractors and evaluate a companies record on tax, labor and environmental standards before awarding them any federal or state contracts. Finally, we should recognize that any work that involves essential government functions should not be privatized.

Now, we all know how we are always hearing how Republicans will lower your taxes and Democrats will raise them. We have all fallen prey at one time or another to the term, “tax and spend” liberal. Well, from what I have seen, Exxon Eddie is the one who believes in raising taxes, as long as it isn’t on himself, or his fellow millinaires. Why else would he vote against HR 3996? Just look at what this bill attempted to accomplish:

This bill amending the Tax Code includes a provision that greatly benefits low-income families by expanding the Child Tax Credit

(CTC).

1 The CTC is a par tially refundable tax credit aimed at

offsetting some of the expenses of raising a child.

2 Under current law, families must have earnings above $12,050 to qualify for the refundable CTC; this bill lowers the threshold to $8,500.

3 This change in the CTC would benefit the families of thir teen million

low-income children, including three million whose families would

become newly eligible for the CTC and ten million whose families

would see their credit increase.

4 The House vote was on passage.The Senate cloture vote was the

decisive vote on whether the Senate would approve an expansion

of the CTC.

So Exxon Eddie rails against raising taxes. Unless of course it is on the backs of working Americans, not his fellow Exxon and Chevron stockholders.

Contrast that with the position Heather Ryan has taken on taxes, also recieved by me via email:

We need to rewrite our tax code. Our tax code should be more simple and fair. We need to ensure that the tax code rewards American workers and not just the wealthy. To do this we should triple the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for single adults and cut the marriage penalty. We should also at least double the Child and Dependent Care Credit making it up to $2500 per child. Also, we need to restore a fair investment income tax rate so that the wealthy don’t pay less taxes on investments than workers pay on income. Additionally, we need to repeal the Bush tax credits for the rich which gives tax breaks to those who make over $200,000 a year. Finally, we need to close loopholes that allow the wealthy to pay just 15% of taxes on their huge incomes while American working families often pay twice as much.

It is pretty easy to see who has the interests of the majority of Kentuckians and indeed Americans at heart. Heather Ryan actually fights for tax policies that loosen the tax burdens on millions of working Americans, while Ed Whitfield stubbornly clings to the failed “trickle-down” policies that failed once, and are now failing again as our economy crashes.

We need to win this seat not only for the people of Kentucky, but for Americans everywhere who are seeing the policies of our government, which are set up to benefit the very wealthy and multi-national corporations destroy their lives and the futures of their children.

Heather Ryan will be a constant voice for One America and will fight with tenacity for a Democratic vision for our country that means hard work translates to success. She believes in unions and the work that they do, and she would fight to restore a fair tax system where work, not only wealth is rewarded.

We need your help in this race. Our national party seldom supports the great Democrats here in Kentucky and we expect nothing different this time. We have 62% registered Democrats in this district and getting our message out to them means victory. Please help expand our Congressional majorities and bring another Democratic vote to Kentucky’s delegation.

I have started “Americans for Ryan” to raise $1500 by May 20. I am already just under one-third of the way there. Please help us fight for our state, and elect a “Fighting Democrat” to the Congress who will not forget what she was elected to fight for here:

http://www.actblue.com/page/am…

Visit her site and sign up for email updates:

http://www.ryanforkentucky.com/

Also, don’t miss this awesome diary and interview with Heather here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

Please help us in our quest to take back this seat with a Democrat, and to make history in electing the first woman to this seat!!

 

Here at Ryan for Kentucky, our campaign is gathering steam. We believe in the fight for Democratic vision and want to fight for our ideals in the Congress. With this in mind, Heather Ryan has addressed some new issues that are important to Kentucky, and our nation. She is ready to fight for working Americans against the special interests.

First, as stated before at Ryan for Kentucky we believe Alternative Energy is the future of Kentucky, and her surrounding states. We can use our rural areas to end our dependence on foreign oil. With research and innovation we can easily end up growing and refining the fuels of the future right here in Kentucky. Imagine the high-paying jobs that could be created here and the shut down factories that could be re-opened in this exciting new field!!

To make true progress in this field, we simply must defeat Exxon Ed Whitfield this fall. Whitfield sits on the Energy commission and has done nothing to stop soaring gas prices that pinch our families and take more and more of their savings. Of course, the fact that Ed Whitfield owns a lot of Exxon and Chevron stock means he will never lead the way towards making America Energy independent. He is actually profiting from keeping America beholden to foreign oil:

Chevron Corp  $100,001 to $250,000  

Exxon Mobil  $100,001 to $250,000

Worse yet, Exxon Eddie votes his stock options against renewable energy despite the promise it holds for the citizens of Kentucky’s First District and indeed the nation:

http://www.votesmart.org/issue…

Yes, Exxon Ed Whitfield votes against economic incentives to increase renewable energy because he cannot bear the thought of his precious Exxon and Chevron stock being de-valued, despite the promise renewable energy holds for his constituents, and this nation.

Well, here at Ryan for Kentucky, we don’t own any stock in Big Oil. We own stock in the people of Kentucky’s First District and they are who we are beholden to. With that in mind, Heather Ryan believes that we simply must invest in researching the fuels of the future and the promise that they hold for our state and indeed the whole nation. Here is Heather’s newly released take on Renewable Energy:

We need to double the budget for the Dept. of Energy to research in renewable energy and increase efficiency. We should help businesses that are bringing new energy solutions to the marketplace at an accelerated pace. We should mandate the use of safe renewable energy sources that hold promise for Kentucky such as solar, wind and biomass and require them to produce 25% of our energy needs by the year 2025. We should require that Oil Companies make biofuels available at their pumps and that all new cars after 2010 be flex-fuel and be compatible with gasoline or biofuel. We must develop new ways to produce and use ethanol and cellulistic ethanol and offer incentives to new refineries for the fuels of the future. Last, we should make permanent the expiring tax credits for the production of renewable energy and repeal tax credits for dirty energy producers who have made record profits at the expense of the American citizen.

We simply cannot afford to ignore the promise of the fuels of the future any longer. While Exxon Ed Whitfield and his ilk are profiting handsomely from our dependence on foreign oil, the citizens of Kentucky and our nation are feeling the pinch of their profits. Heather Ryan will fight tooth and nail in the Congress to insure that the promise the fuels of the future hold for all of us is not cast aside any longer. With American ingenuity and investment we can become energy independent. It just calls for us to be patriotic about something besides war.

Our tax code is another area where Heather Ryan wants to fight for working Americans over the rich and powerful. The last eight years working Americans have watched in horror as they foot more and more of the tax bill, and the very wealthy have seen their taxes cut. It is past time we restored fairness to our tax code and gave middle and lower class families the tax relief they so desperately need. Here are Heather’s newly released ideas on doing just that:

We need to rewrite our tax code. Our tax code should be more simple and fair. We need to ensure that the tax code rewards American workers and not just the wealthy. To do this we should triple the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for single adults and cut the marriage penalty. We should also at least double the Child and Dependent Care Credit making it up to $2500 per child. Also, we need to restore a fair investment income tax rate so that the wealthy don’t pay less taxes on investments than workers pay on income. Additionally, we need to repeal the Bush tax credits for the rich which gives tax breaks to those who make over $200,000 a year. Finally, we need to close loopholes that allow the wealthy to pay just 15% of taxes on their huge incomes while American working families often pay twice as much.

As you can see, Heather shares our values of fairness and progress and would fight for us in the Congress. She would give Kentucky’s First District a Congresswoman they could be proud of. Since she is invested in the well-being of her constituents they would be her special interest group, not Big Oil.

We are determined to fight for the progress of all Americans, not just the wealthy few. Exxon Ed Whitfield has a million dollars of special interest money the status-quo has invested in him to make sure that he will continue to impede progress for all Americans and protect his stock options and the record profits of Big Oil reaped on the backs of hard working Americans. If we are to defeat Exxon Eddie and the powerful special interests he represents we simply must have your help. Lets show Exxon Eddie and his mentor, Mitch McConnell that they can no longer impede progress on the backs of working Americans. Please go here and make an investment in expanding our Congressional majorities and help out a grassroots Democrat that will fight tooth and nail to represent our interests in the Congress:

http://www.actblue.com/page/am…

We can and will defeat Exxon Eddie in the fall with your help. We have no primary and any support we recieve will be put to work immediately to defeat a sitting Republican Congressman.

Until next time, best wishes fellow Democrats!!