Budget and taxes | Okie Pundit

Archive for the 'Budget and taxes' category

Obama’s “stimulus” cost more than Iraq war

Aug 23 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Economy

One sign the Democrats know they’re in major trouble this November is that they are reverting to two year-old talking points and blaming George W. Bush for the country’s ills. This fact shows they are aware their record of governing is an abysmal failure. If they were confident in their record, they would have more original and timely responses to their critics, not to mention a desire to talk about their accomplishments. Instead, they have neither. In fact, they have nothing show for their four years in control of Congress, except a deeply unpopular health care bill and a national economy in shambles.

One of the criticisms we’ve heard return in recent weeks concerns the cost of the Iraq war. Democrats cite the cost of the war as proof that they are more trustworthy with the nation’s pocketbook. Of course, this talking point conveniently ignores the fact that they, by and large, voted in favor of the Iraq war, and when they were in control of Congress, passed every single war funding bill that came before them. Furthermore, now that they have full control of the government, they’ve even expanded the war in Afghanistan–the one of the two wars that virtually no one believes can be won through “nation-building.” These are inescapable facts.

Now, a CBO analysis has been completed that shows Mr. Obama’s “stimulus” bill cost our nation more than the entire Iraq war, and we probably got a whole lot less for it.

Obama’s stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War — more than $100 billion (15%) more.

* Just the first two years of Obama’s stimulus cost more than the entire cost of the Iraq War under President Bush, or six years of that war.

* Iraq War spending accounted for just 3.2% of all federal spending while it lasted.

* Iraq War spending was not even one quarter of what we spent on Medicare in the same time frame.

* Iraq War spending was not even 15% of the total deficit spending in that time frame. The cumulative deficit, 2003-2010, would have been four-point-something trillion dollars with or without the Iraq War.

* The Iraq War accounts for less than 8% of the federal debt held by the public at the end of 2010 ($9.031 trillion).

* During Bush’s Iraq years, 2003-2008, the federal government spent more on education that it did on the Iraq War. (State and local governments spent about ten times more.)

Just some handy facts to recall during coming weeks as Obama and his congressional Democratic buddies get more desperate to put the blame for their spending policies on Bush and the war in Iraq. For more from Hoven, go here.

Picture of the Day: Obama’s Deficits

Aug 03 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes

Comments are off for this post

Federal deficit tops $1 trillion, Democrats blame Christopher Columbus

Jul 13 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes

The Obama administration and the Democrat Congress continue their disregard for our financial situation, the citizens’ pocketbooks, and our children’s future.

The Associated Press:

The federal deficit has topped $1 trillion with three months still to go in the budget year, showing the lasting impact of the recession on the government’s finances.

In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Tuesday that through the first nine months of this budget year, the deficit totals $1 trillion. That’s down 7.6 percent from the $1.09 trillion deficit run up during the same period a year ago.

Worries about the size of the deficit have created political problems for the Obama administration. Congressional Republicans and moderate Democrats have blocked more spending on job creation and other efforts. Republicans also have held up legislation to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless because of its effect on the deficit.

Yes, yes, we know what the react-first, think-last Democrats out there are thinking. Nearly two years into the Obama administration and nearly four years into Democratic control of Congress, it’s all Bush’s fault. Look, these Democrats are like captive gorillas. They hang out in their cage all day, eating crap off the floor, and bang their chest and froth at the mouth when they hear something they don’t like. Once they’ve done that, they feel better and they go back to eating crap off the floor, probably an orange peel or a stick.

Democrats: Sooner or later blaming the Bush administration for your party’s inane, profligate spending will sound ridiculous even to your ears. Believe us, it will. Thus far, you’re only a year behind everyone else in figuring out where the blame should go.

You can blame “Bush’s tax cuts, wars, etc.” But that doesn’t explain your party’s tax “cuts” (i.e., rebates), the fact that your party keeps funding and expanding the wars, or that they wasted a trillion on “shovel-ready” idiocy, or that they enacted Round Two of corporate bailouts, in addition to the first one they approved, or that they enacted the most expensive health care takeover in history, or…nevermind. We hope you get the point.

The best thing that happened to the conservative movement in the past decade was the backlash against the Congressional Republican apologists who defended massive spending as a means to re-election. Unfortunately for liberals, the Keynsian spending experiment failed by every measure. The best thing liberals can do now for Obama and the Democrats is to start holding them accountable.

When the day comes that you realize you can no longer blame others for the problems you’ve caused, don’t worry, it won’t hurt. In fact, it will be a relief for you and the people who are tired of hearing lame excuses for failed government and inexcusable spending.

One response so far

Oklahoma ranks 7th for economic performance

Jun 02 2010 Published by Bill the Butcher under Budget and taxes, Economy, Oklahoma

The American Legislative Exchange Council has released its third edition of Rich States, Poor States, which examines the economic performance and policies of states.

Oklahoma ranked 7th for performance in 2010, with middle of the pack results in domestic migration, above average employment growth, and the third best per capita income growth. This is in stark contrast to the dire rhetoric from some members of the Oklahoma media that we have discussed before.

The bad news is that Oklahoma’s rank falls to 14th for economic outlook. This is from a few major factors:

Workers’ compensation costs ranks 41st
Public employees as a share of the population is 36th
Sales tax burden is 34th
Recently legislated tax decreases only rank 31st
The “other tax burden” (non-income, sales and property taxes) ranks 27th

Hopefully legislative leaders will reform the workers’ comp system, as has been discussed for years. With the state workforce aging it would be wise to trim it with attrition and pass the savings on to the taxpayer. These two changes can improve the fiscal and economic outlook of Oklahoma, and make our state more attractive to businesses fleeing the disaster zones of California, New York, and Michigan.

The detailed breakdown of Oklahoma’s performance and outlook is available here.

Comments are off for this post

Quote of the Day

May 27 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Economy

“Fiscal policy does not work. The US has just tried the biggest fiscal experiment in history and it has failed.” -Professor Tim Congdon, on “The Stimulus”

Comments are off for this post

City of Norman Cuts 38 Jobs

Apr 21 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes

Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal announced the city will be eliminating 38 jobs on July 1 in order to address a growing fiscal crisis. The workers were informed on Friday that their jobs would be gone on July 1.

Norman’s Finance Director informed the public that sales tax revenue has declined 13% for the last 16 months and no recovery in revenue is expected until 2011.

City Councilman Tom Kovach, a candidate for House District 44, said he wants to see an alternative plan that doesn’t include eliminating jobs.

Comments are off for this post

Dan Boren Votes to Increase National Debt Limit

Feb 04 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Congress, Economy

Dan Boren, who fancies himself a fiscally conservative Democrat, just voted with his Democrat colleagues to raise the national debt limit by a record $1.9 trillion. If the raise in the limit passes the Senate, the Democrats will have raised the national debt ceiling to a staggering $14.3 trillion, which is close to 100% of our GDP and $45,000 per every person living in the United States.

37 Democrats voted “No.” All but three Republican members voted “No.” Those three were not present during the vote. The federal government now borrows 40 percent of every dollar it spends.

2 responses so far

Reuters: Middle Class Faces Tax Increases Under Obama

Feb 02 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Economy

Obama made many pledges on the campaign trail in 2008 and in the beginning stages of his presidency. These included prohibiting lobbyists from serving in his administration, enacting a net spending cut, closing Guantanamo Bay by January 2010, and open and transparent health care negotiations. All of those pledges have been violated. And now we can add another one to the list: Obama’s famous pledge to ensure the middle class will not see a tax increase during his administration.

Reuters explores a slew of upcoming tax increases set to hit America’s middle class and hit them hard. These so-called Backdoor tax increases include a jump in the personal income tax rate, an increase in the tax on dividends and capital gains, and the elimination of several tax credits and deductions lower income American can take advantage of.

With the economy showing signs of a nascent recovery, these tax increases have the potential to send us right back into a recession by killing jobs and investment in the economy. As has been noted many times on this site, Obama promised us an unemployment ceiling of 8% if Congress passed his Stimulus package. It’s now at 10% and shows no signs of abating. The budget deficit has skyrocketed and the national debt has increased to an all time high. Obama can break all the promises he wants, but if he expects Americans to trust him, he’ll have to keep at least one of his major pledges to the voters that helped elect him.

One response so far

Add This To Obama’s Accomplishments: Pure Waste

Jan 13 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Economy

Oops! In our previous post on Obama’s “accomplishments” we forgot to include the most obvious one of all: spending hundreds of billions of borrowed money on a “stimulus” package.

You know things are bad when the New York Times, the lion of the liberal media, is reporting this:

“A federal spending surge of more than $20 billion for roads and bridges in President Barack Obama’s first stimulus has had no effect on local unemployment rates, raising questions about his argument for billions more to address an “urgent need to accelerate job growth.

“An Associated Press analysis of stimulus spending found that it didn’t matter if a lot of money was spent on highways or none at all…”

Save or create. Save or create. Save or create. Say it long enough and maybe, just maybe, you’ll actually believe it.

Comments are off for this post

Obama’s Record of Accomplishment

Jan 13 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Good government, Presidential politics

Remember the good ol’ days when Barack Obama promised the nation that he’d close Guantanamo Bay, end the wars, enact no new taxes for the middle class, and cut net spending rather than raise it? I was reminiscing about those days when I read the following news that Obama is seeking a record amount of cash from Congress to pay for the wars:

“President Barack Obama will ask Congress for an additional $33 billion to fight unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on top of a record $708 billion for the Defense Department next year, The Associated Press has learned…

The extra $33 billion in 2010 would mostly go toward the expansion of the war in Afghanistan. Obama ordered an extra 30,000 troops for that war as part of an overhaul of the war strategy late last year.”

We’re not making any judgment as to the wisdom of the request or the overall policy. No, we’re just laughing at all those doe-eyed liberals who believed this man was their savior-in-chief. They believed every word he said, no matter how incredible, as if it was the word of God. Many of us knew better. We knew he was just another typical politician who would offer nothing but the incompetence born from his ego and inexperience. And now the disappointment descends on those who didn’t know better, but should have.

Remember the woman who, upon voting for Obama, said she no longer had to worry about paying her mortgage or gas for her car? Embarrassing. Remember all those naive college students who fawned over him as if they were teenage girls witnessing The Beetles debut on the Ed Sullivan Show? Embarrassing and sad.

And it isn’t just the wars. It’s the Guantanamo promise being broken; it’s raising taxes on the middle class; and it’s massively increasing spending, deficits as far as the eye can see, and exploding debt.

Who can question this record of accomplishment?

Comments are off for this post

Exclusive Coming: State Legislature Circumventing Restrictions on Spending

Jan 12 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, State Legislature

We will have an investigative story this week on a possible violation of the state constitution by the Oklahoma Legislature. Both parties may be implicated. The violations involve illegally funneling tax dollars to private businesses through a politically-connected entity. Stay tuned.

Comments are off for this post

M. Scott Carter, You Have Chosen….Poorly

Jan 08 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Economy, Oklahoma

Oh, dear. Well, it looks like Mr. Carter didn’t take to kindly to our thrashing of his inability to separately examine the condition of the economy and the condition of the state budget, so he’s written another article in the Journal Record responding to us. I’m glad to see he finally got our point…sort of. Carter’s anger that we were willing to question his journalistic vigor apparently resulted in some pretty turgid interpretation of our piece, including a tired slap at “blogs” (N.B. Carter used to be a blogger himself).

Carter did finally provide some evidence that Oklahoma is facing economic turmoil. Unemployment is relatively low, but nearly three points higher than it was last year. And unemployment benefit claims are up substantially. The fact that Oklahoma was facing a recession was never in doubt. Everyone who lives here (or anywhere other than North Dakota) knows we’re in an economic recession. We simply asked that Carter include data relevant to his argument, which was that Oklahoma’s economy was “crashing and burning.” We even tried to help him in the right direction by linking to a Tulsa World article that showed the Oklahoma Business Conditions Index had fallen below 50, indicating a contracting economy. Instead, as proof that our economy had “crashed and burned,” Carter cited our budget deficit, which, as we showed, is an improper measure of economic health.

Still, Carter’s latest attempt to prove his claim does not even come close to showing our economy is crashing and burning. Michigan, for example, is crashing and burning. Oklahoma is not, no matter how much Carter’s sensationalism wishes it was.

And, Scott, we weren’t complaining about your liberal bias. We simply noted it. There’s a difference between pointing out that you were well known for inserting your liberal views in news stories while working for the Norman Transcript and complaining about it. We long ago learned it will do no good to whine about bias in the news. We simply seek to counter it with the facts.

What we did complain about was your misrepresentation of facts (e.g., no one ever called Oklahoma recession-proof) and your either deliberate or inexcusably lazy conflation of government finances and economic strength. We speculated it was deliberate since liberals such as yourself tend to view government, normatively or positively, as the prime driver of economic growth. But we were also willing to give you the “benefit” of the doubt and just assume you were on deadline, thus resulting in forced intellectual torpor.

Next time if Carter simply uses facts in his reporting rather than jumping to illogical and ideologically-guided conclusions, we won’t have to dismantle him like we did. So, next time please choose your arguments…wisely.

Comments are off for this post

Journal Record Reporters Economically Illiterate or Just Lazy?

Jan 05 2010 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Oklahoma

Not too long ago the Journal Record hired M. Scott Carter to report for them. Carter is well known in Norman as a former writer for the Norman Transcript and as someone who heroically refused to allow any hint of objectivity to seep into his “news” stories. Carter was so clearly proud of his liberal bias in reporting, it makes us wonder what the Journal Record was thinking when it hired him. After all, the Journal Record is supposed to be an objective source for Oklahoma’s business and legal news, isn’t it? Perhaps not.

Anyway, last week we were perusing the Journal Record when we came across Carter’s latest report on the state of Oklahoma’s supposedly no-longer-recession-proof economy. Entitled “Oklahoma’s Recession-Proof Reputation Fizzles,” we expected to read an article about job losses and how businesses were shuttering or leaving the state and that the gross domestic product of the state had contracted at least two consecutive quarters, thereby technically leaving us in a recession.

“Remember that story in the national magazine about the Oklahoma economy being recession-proof? Don’t believe it,” Carter writes. Carter then cites the looming $1.3 billion budget deficit as proof we’re now in a recession.

Read the entire thing. There are several astonishing problems with Carter’s reporting and logic, not least of which is his singular reliance on former Democrat State Senator Cal Hobson as an economic expert. First of all, no, I don’t remember that story from a national magazine about Oklahoma recession-proof because that story was never written. And I’m sure Carter doesn’t remember it either. He’s just being inexcusably lazy. The article he’s attempting to reference was in Forbes, entitled “America’s Recession-Proof Cities,” and it didn’t say Oklahoma was recession-proof; it said Oklahoma City was recession-proof. Hence, the name of the article wasn’t “America’s Recession-Proof States.”

Second and most importantly, Carter’s logic is an excellent example of how Democrats and liberals conflate the health of government finances with the health of the economy. For many of them, it’s the same because they desire to have government as the primary driver of economic production–an impossible goal learned poorly throughout history. If the government doesn’t have enough money, it can’t prop up the economy with more government workers, entitlement programs, social programs, and tax giveaways. Thus, because we’re facing a budget deficit of over $1 billion, a worrying sign to be sure, Carter believes the economy “has officially crashed and burned.”

By Carter’s and the Journal Record’s logic, the United States has been in an almost persistent state of economic crashing and burning due to our relatively constant budget deficit. The reality is our budget deficit is more a function of our spending obligations than it is our economic health. Of course if our economy is doing well we’ll bring in more tax revenue, but it is also true that our economy could be growing at 10% annually and we could face a massive budget deficit because legislators have agreed to expand government spending obligations by 50%. Alternatively, our economy could be growing at 10%, but if our tax revenue base is comprised solely on the revenues of a single industry, we may face the same budget problems. In neither case is our economy “crashing and burning,” though if such deficit spending is constant it will ultimately lead to economic decline as government must suck more equity out of the productive private sector to pay for the unproductive public sector.

The Journal Record would have been better served if Carter had put a little more effort into his reporting and cited falling economic indicators or job losses (which haven’t been too bad in Oklahoma thus far) to show our economy is in trouble like most other states. But with the facts we have right now from the Commerce Department and the Labor Department, it is objectively impossible to make the case that Oklahoma’s economy is “crashing and burning.” Carter is either economically illiterate or willfully lazy to conflate the government budget deficit with the state of the economy and he is being irresponsible as a reporter by using such sensational (false) language. Alternatively, as an unabashed liberal, he could truly believe that one equals the other, which would just be sad. Either excuse isn’t flattering for the Journal Record and its credibility as a source of news.

3 responses so far

State Senator John Sparks: Panderer Extraordinaire

Dec 30 2009 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Good government, Oklahoma Politics, State Legislature

It looks like State Senator John Sparks, Democrat out of Norman and my senator, has just made the December 31st deadline for the Most Worthless Idea of 2009 Contest. Yesterday it was announced Sparks will be filing legislation to enact the Second Amendment Weekend Tax Holiday, which would make all purchases of firearms tax free for a weekend yet to be determined. We’re beginning to think Sparks’s policy adviser is an ouija board. Otherwise, where does this guy get his ideas?

Look, we’re big fans of the Second Amendment (we even have its jersey) and we support legislative actions that strengthen every citizen’s right to bear arms. We’re also big believers in tax cuts that enhance economic growth and promote a fairer tax system. But let’s be honest: Senator Sparks’s bill does not do one thing to strengthen our rights or promote a better, fairer tax system. Instead, this bill is clearly designed for political expediency rather than good public policy. Perhaps liberal Sparks sees a threat to his re-election this year and wants to beef up his moderate credentials. Democrats aren’t very popular right now and Sparks’s senate district is relatively conservative, though Democratic. Or perhaps Sparks is planning a run for higher office in the near future and needed to buttress his rural bona fides. Who knows? What we do know is that this borders on embarrassing pandering and takes valuable time away from addressing more pressing matters.

We also know that Oklahoma is in a severe budget crunch and is struggling to decide what services to cut and where to squeeze more efficiency out of the government machine. The proposed tax holiday won’t do one thing to fortify our economy, bring relief to struggling families, or solve the budget crisis.

What is most mind-boggling is trying to divine Sparks’s thinking and decision-making process. Did he look at his list of ‘Most Pressing Problems Facing Oklahoma’ and see taxes on firearms in the Top 10? If so, perhaps residents of Senate District 16 need to look for a senator who has his priorities in order.

If we’re serious about protecting Second Amendment rights, let’s continue supporting measures such as those that prevent government authorities from unlawfully confiscating legally-owned firearms or further intruding on your right to carry a concealed weapon for protection. And if we’re serious about creating a better tax system, let’s do it in a way that treats every citizen fairly, brings new businesses and investment to the state, promotes our economic well-being, and gets rid absurd tax giveaways to corporations and special interest groups.

In other words, let’s not waste our time on silly ideas meant only to further a single politician’s future political career.

Comments are off for this post

Report: 60% of Health Care Controlled By Government

Dec 23 2009 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Congress, Health Care

The Congressional Research Service, the non-partisan research arm of Congress, recently released a report showing government already controls approximately 60% of all health care spending. It was also revealed that Medicare, the government-run health insurance program for seniors, is the most frequent denier of medical claims, denying up to twice as many claims as private insurers. Also, due to their low reimbursement rate compared to private plans, nearly 30% of Medicare beneficiaries had trouble finding a primary care physician (PCP) to treat them. These facts call into question Democrat claims that government needs a greater role in the health care industry to reduce costs. In fact, one of the primary reasons health care spending and costs have risen so rapidly is because of sweeping government control that prevents competition and consumer choice.

Responding to this finding by CRS, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn said, “Defenders of the Reid bill say we need ‘reform’ to keep insurance companies honest. A better question should be: ‘Who’s going to keep the government honest?’”

In government there is no competition and there is no incentive to lower costs, hence the rapidly rising Medicare spending and the program’s impending bankruptcy within the decade. Congress could increase competition and immediately lower health care costs for the American people by doing two simple things, none of which require spending a single taxpayer dime: 1) allow consumers to purchase a health insurance plan across state lines, from anywhere in the United States; and 2) require medical care providers (e.g., hospitals, urgent care clinics, doctors, surgical centers, etc.) to post their prices online.

As it stands now, many health insurance companies benefit from a state-sponsored monopoly or oligopoly in several states. This limits competition among the insurers and limits consumer choice. Furthermore, and perhaps most detrimentally of all, patients have no idea what the cost of their medical treatment is until they receive the bill. It’s like going to Best Buy and purchasing a flat panel HD television without knowing the price, only to receive a bill from Best Buy two months later for $12,000. No market can work efficiently in such a manner. If health providers are forced to post their prices like almost every other industry does, health consumers can shop around and choose the cheapest, highest quality option available to them. This competition will serve to lower prices and enhance affordability, thereby allowing more low income Americans to obtain the medical care they need.

Of course those two measures won’t solve everything wrong with our health system, such as our perverse fee-for-service payment structure. It will, however, go a long way in lowering costs. But if government keeps intruding into the market, after already gaining a 60% market share with wasteful programs, the problems of health spending and inflationary costs will only worsen as consumer choice is sacrificed on the altar of political survival.

Comments are off for this post

Creating or Saving Oklahoma Jobs… and Tax Revenue

Dec 21 2009 Published by Dr. Havel under Budget and taxes, Congress, Oklahoma, State Legislature

Today we got the news that state revenue is expected to be approximately 20% less in 2010 than it was last year. That will amount to a $729 million total shortfall in the state’s budget. State agencies have already cut 5% from their budgets each month since August, bringing the budget deficit down to $530 million. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Oklahoma faces the largest deficit of any state in the country. That’s somewhat misleading, however. Oklahoma has the largest deficit percentage-wise at 18.5%, but in absolute terms is nowhere near as bad off as California or New York, where high tax rates, mind-blowing reckless spending, and sky-high unemployment have sent people and businesses fleeing.

It’s times like these we can thank God Obama’s stimulus package worked, right? Well, no. Remember, friends, we were promised the stimulus would keep unemployment below 8%. We’re now at 10% and it’s likely to get worse. The longer unemployment remains that high, the worse the economic situation will become as workers begin to lose their skills, get discouraged and give up looking for work, and become dependent on government aid. That means more foreclosures, tighter credit markets, and a greater fiscal burden on state governments. Instead of the 5% cuts Oklahoma state agencies have been making due with, we’re now cutting 10% a month, and that could lead to disaster. A disaster for those on Medicaid, children in state custody, public safety, and common education (too bad the great emancipating lottery didn’t save education). We’ve been told by the administration spin doctors that we’re now out of the recession and into a recovery, but it doesn’t seem that way to the American people who can’t find jobs or stay in their homes. Now, Democrats are exploring a second stimulus, which seems to be an implicit admission that the first one was an expensive failure.

Oklahoma, thankfully, has enough cash in the Rainy Day Fund and saved about $600 million in stimulus funds that can be used to plug the revenue shortfall (and you thought all that borrowed money was out there creating jobs instead of sitting in savings accounts). If energy prices rebound, we may get a bit of relief, but probably not enough to erase our woes. State leaders have some tough choices on their hands. Let’s hope they make the right ones, because our leaders in Washington sure aren’t.

Comments are off for this post

Pork Battle Brewing

Aug 24 2009 Published by admin under Budget and taxes

hurt_pork2000

Several Conservative leaders in both State and County Government are taking action to stop questionable spending practices at the Capitol. At issue is $16 million appropriated in SB 153 this past session for capital improvements to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the Jim Thorpe Association.

As the Oklahoma Constitution forbids state dollars being spent for private entities, the money doesn’t actually go directly to them, instead SB 153 directs the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) to pass through the money. This “pass through” scheme has been employed for decades at the Legislature as a means for legislators to steer tax dollars to favored entities.

In the past, local government officials who sit on the COG boards have essentially rubber stamped such directives. However that stopped at the last ACOG meeting when Cleveland County Commissioner Rod Cleveland and Logan County Commissioner Mark Sharpton stood up and opposed this pass through funding.
Randy Brogdon, State Senator from Owasso and candidate for Governor has requested an Attorney General’s opinion on this matter. And State Representative Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) has penned a blog post praising the courage of Cleveland and Sharpton.

In a summer where state agencies are being forced to cut their budgets, and in many cases passing those cuts down to counties, cities and school districts, perhaps the timing is right for there to be a discussion about the merits and indeed the legality of this funding scheme. Okiepundit.com has learned that in addition to the request for an AG’s opinion, there may also be a separate legal challenge filed to SB 153.

Comments are off for this post

Cash for Clunkers is a Costly Boondoggle

Aug 06 2009 Published by admin under Budget and taxes, Good government

Unless you are a new car dealer or an advertiser, the “Cash for Clunkers” program that is the brainchild of the liberal Democratic majority in Washington DC is a billion dollar plus boondoggle. Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation has been rightfully vocal in its opposition to this costly socialistic experiment . . . and here’s why:

Cash for Clunkers is driving up prices of used cars for the millions of low and medium-income Americans who buy them because the program is creating a diminishing pool of used cars.

As Senator Inhofe put it, “This means that many Americans who, even with the government incentive, cannot afford to purchase a new car will end up being charged more when trying to purchase a used car.”

Charities are also taking a hit. This program is drying up the pool of clunkers that in the past were donated to charities. Charities have had such programs for years that involved collection of the clunkers and which were either used by the charities themselves, or turned around and sold to finance their charitable operations.

This program further entangles the government in the business of the free market (in addition to a few more billion dollars of theft from the American taxpayer). Again, Senator Inhofe describes the problem, “On the surface, the ‘cash for clunkers’ program may seem like a good idea, however, closer examination highlights why government should not get into the business of running businesses. It just doesn’t work.”

Citing an analysis by a private firm, Inhofe said the $1 billion already spent has provided a boost of only about 50,000 in additional vehicle sales above the typical 200,000 sales.

“That means that taxpayers have spent $20,000 for each additional sale,” he said. “The program simply feeds the myth that the government offers something for nothing when in reality, the program acts as a regressive tax.”

And finally, Cash for Clunkers adds to an already staggering debt. We are trillions in debt from all the reckless spending and borrowing, and this just sinks us a little further. Senator Tom Coburn, in voicing his opposition to the program, reminds us where lawmakers will get the additional money to keep the program going. “We are going to steal it from our children,” he said.

Any way you slice it, this program is . . . a clunker.

One response so far

Is Fair Tax really just a front for candidates?

Jul 31 2009 Published by admin under Budget and taxes

fairtax
Okiepundit.com has received several reports about local Fair Tax representatives using “informational” meetings to bash Republican incumbents Tom Cole and Mary Fallin. The Oklahoma Fair Tax organization is the local chapter of a nation-wide advocacy group whose disclaimer states they are “not associated with nor endorse any political candidate or party.”

According to reports received by okiepundit.com, Fair Tax representatives have spoken out against Congressman Tom Cole, who has not signed on as a Co-Sponsor of the FairTax bill. Fair Tax representatives have urged attendees to support RJ Harris, a Republican challenger to Tom Cole and State Senator Randy Brogdon, who is vying with Mary Fallin for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2010.

The Fair Tax maybe a great way to reform our nation’s tax code, but the organization would be well served to keep a tighter leash on its representatives who are violating its own disclaimer against endorsing particular candidates.

One response so far

Older posts »

Latest Posts
Feed on
- Posts RSS
- Comments RSS
Categories
Monthly
- September 2010 (1)
- August 2010 (23)
- July 2010 (77)
- June 2010 (32)
- May 2010 (18)
- April 2010 (31)
- March 2010 (22)
- February 2010 (18)
- January 2010 (50)
- December 2009 (24)
- November 2009 (1)
- October 2009 (8)
- September 2009 (8)
- August 2009 (8)
- July 2009 (17)
- June 2009 (24)
- May 2009 (27)
- April 2009 (6)
- March 2009 (2)
Pages
- About
- Contact Us

Archive for the 'Budget and taxes' category

Latest Posts

Feed on

Categories

Monthly

Pages