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Must America Endure 23 More months of Betrayal?
The promise that the Bush-McCain weary heard was that there were no red states and no blue states, but just the United States. The stimulus would arrest the recession and keep unemployment under 8%. ObamaCare would lower the deficit and you could keep your own insurance if you wanted. Foreign nations would love the anti-cowboy, and oh yes, anyone that was saddled with white guilt would have it instantly purged.
Two years later down the yellow-brick road, the curtain has been rent and revealed, not a wizard, but rather a lawless, arrogant alien in the White House that is not just presiding over American decline but actually egging it on.
He is not alien because he wasn’t born in Hawaii, but, rather because he doesn’t love America and what it is and has stood for. Rather, he loves the Obama-nation he is in the process of building in which he issues waivers to those that tickle the King’s fancy and organize communities for his Democrat like the hordes of spoiled public sector union brats in Wisconsin.
Pro-Life Leaders Urge GOP Leadership to Follow Through with Defunding Planned Parenthood
Today, Susan B. Anthony List sent the following letter, signed by 27 Pro-Life leaders, to Speaker of the House John Boehner and the GOP Leadership urging them to keep the proposed Pence Amendment of defunding Planned Parenthood intact through the legislative process saying “…the House vote on the Pence Amendment is nothing more than symbolic unless it remains intact though the legislative process. Defunding Planned Parenthood must be a non-negotiable in the Continuing Resolution and we urge you to accept nothing less than this outcome.”
SBA List Coalition Letter to Leadership:
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Coalition_Letter_to_Leadership_2.24.11
See Penny Nance’s piece @ the FoxForum for more.
“Reality Check”
Our gross national debt is $14.1 trillion, and we are in a spending-driven debt crisis. Democrats need a reality check. http://www.GOP.gov
Welcome to TMR “On Deck”
We here at The Minority Report Blog have decided to reintroduce member diaries as a feature (sort of).
When TMR was first created we offered a personal diary to everyone who created an account although that feature was fairly popular it wasn’t really being taken advantage of enough to justify the extra work to bring that functionality to the new Word Press version but we miss the community aspect of the site that we lost due to that decision so… we’re bring back a slightly modified version to test the waters and see if we can grow a community here at TMR.
With that, TMR “On Deck” is born!
On Deck will be a TMR members blog were non-front page contributors can post their diaries to. We’ll start with a handful of contributors and promote community members who heavily engage in comments and express and interest in posting diaries.
On Deck can be accessed in two ways:
1) by clicking on “On Deck” in the drop-down menu under “Diaries” in the main menu bar at the top of TMR
2) by clicking on a post tile in the sidebar under TMR “On Deck”
I hope you all enjoy the new section and we look forward to reading some great diaries from some old friends we’ve not seen around these parts in some time!
Thanks,
-Steve Foley
Welcome to TMR “On Deck”
We here at The Minority Report Blog have decided to reintroduce member diaries as a feature (sort of).
When TMR was first created we offered a personal diary to everyone who created an account although that feature was fairly popular it wasn’t really being taken advantage of enough to justify the extra work to bring that functionality to the new Word Press version but we miss the community aspect of the site that we lost due to that decision so… we’re bring back a slightly modified version to test the waters and see if we can grow a community here at TMR.
With that, TMR “On Deck” is born!
On Deck will be a TMR members blog were non-front page contributors can post their diaries to. We’ll start with a handful of contributors and promote community members who heavily engage in comments and express and interest in posting diaries.
On Deck can be accessed in two ways:
1) by clicking on “On Deck” in the drop-down menu under “Diaries” in the main menu bar at the top of TMR
2) by clicking on a post tile in the sidebar under TMR “On Deck”
I hope you all enjoy the new section and we look forward to reading some great diaries from some old friends we’ve not seen around these parts in some time!
Thanks,
-Steve Foley
New York Times Magazine Profile Piece on Governor Chris Christie
How Chris Christie Did His Homework
Matt Bai
New York Times Magazine
Published: February 24, 2011
Like a stand-up comedian working out-of-the-way clubs, Chris Christie travels the townships and boroughs of New Jersey, places like Hackettstown and Raritan and Scotch Plains, sharpening his riffs about the state’s public employees, whom he largely blames for plunging New Jersey into a fiscal death spiral. In one well-worn routine, for instance, the governor reminds his audiences that, until he passed a recent law that changed the system, most teachers in the state didn’t pay a dime for their health care coverage, the cost of which was borne by taxpayers.
And so, Christie goes on, forced to cut more than $1 billion in local aid in order to balance the budget, he asked the teachers not only to accept a pay freeze for a year but also to begin contributing 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health care. The dominant teachers’ union in the state responded by spending millions of dollars in television and radio ads to attack him.
“The argument you heard most vociferously from the teachers’ union,” Christie says, “was that this was the greatest assault on public education in the history of New Jersey.” Here the fleshy governor lumbers a few steps toward the audience and lowers his voice for effect. “Now, do you really think that your child is now stressed out and unable to learn because they know that their poor teacher has to pay 1½ percent of their salary for their health care benefits? Have any of your children come home — any of them — and said, ‘Mom.’ ” Pause. “ ‘Dad.’ ” Another pause. “ ‘Please. Stop the madness.’ ”
Michigan Senate Finance Committee Dominated by FairTax Discussion
For the first time this legislative session, the Michigan Senate Finance Committee heard testimony Wednesday about the FairTax proposal to reform Michigan’s tax code. The day’s testimony was largely comprised of discussions about REPLACING the tax code with the proposed “Michigan FairTax”. The proposal would eliminate the Personal Income Tax, all state-imposed Business Entity Taxes and rely on an expanded Sales Tax.
Everyone Wants the State Tax Code Reformed
Ron Babin, Vice President for the Michigan FairTaxAssociation, advised Senators that while Governor Snyder’s plan for improving Michigan’s economy is a good one, it would be far superior and longer lasting by substituting the so-called Michigan FairTax plan in place of current proposals to keep the Personal Income Tax and a tax on Michigan corporation profits. Michigan FairTax proposal language.
Babin, a small business owner from Sterling Heights, urged the Senate to consider that, according to the Tax Foundation in Washington, DC, the Snyder proposed plan would move Michigan’s 
Business Tax climate from being the 48th worst in the nation to #22. By completely eliminating and replacing state business entity taxes completely, the FairTax would vault Michigan into the best position for attracting businesses to locate and expand here.
“Senator Warren mentioned wanting revenue certainty, the MI Chamber supports a transition of knowing what the replacement is first, the MML and my local Mayor don’t want to lose more revenue, and Chairman Brandenburg wants no replacement of the business tax!”, Babin said.
“Senators, the MI FairTax gives all of that and more. It puts a limit on state government growth controlled by a vote of the people. It constitutionsalesally forces down the sales tax rate in excessive growth years after the Budget Stabilization Fund is filled.”
Sales Tax is More Stable Than Income Tax
Stephen Vear, a practicing CPA and former state representative from Hillsdale, told the Finance Committee that under the MI FairTax ‘Taxpayers will provide our state government the revenue it needed to operate last fiscal year. But, rather than taxing ourselves at that point when we EARN our money, we will tax ourselves at that point when we SPEND our money.”
Vear also helped explain how changing from the current business and income tax system to one focused on the state sales tax will make Michigan-made products more price-competitive.
“Additionally, history shows that revenue collections of a SALES tax are much more stabile and predictable than are collections if Income Taxes.”
Babin also reminded senators that a sales tax is more stable and more predictable than an income tax is. He added, ”The Michigan FairTax is not in opposition to whatever the legislature is going to agree upon with the Governor. That’s a short term fix that will help.
“But we need a long term fix, a game changer if you will, that gives the business community constitutional certainty, (local) communities’ (revenue) stability, and the public a voice.”
The Michigan FairTax replaces the following state-imposed tax with an across-the-board sales tax on all New Goods and Services purchased by retail customers:
- MBT 22% Surcharge
No one in the packed hearing room offered any comments in opposition to the Michigan FairTax proposal.
The full text of Babin’s testimony, including graphs, is available for your use and review.
Additional details are available at www.mifairtax.org.
