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Taxpayers League of Minnesota eUpdate
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
2. Minnesotans and Americans to politicians everywhere: “Gas tax, schmas tax.”
3. Time to ante up and kick in, folks.
4. Hopefully the President’s search for the veto pen will work out better than his search for WMDs.
5. I can certainly tell you what isn’t the solution to the problem…
1. Taxpayers League Live! with David Strom.
Tune in this Saturday to AM 1280 The Patriot from 9 – 11 am when David will be joined by Conrad deFiebre and King Banaian.deFiebre, a former Star Tribune political reporter and currently a Fellow at Minnesota 2020, will stop by during the first hour to talk gas tax and Minnesota’s transportation needs as seen from the left.
Banaian, a blogger and economics professor at St. Cloud State, will drop by during the second hour to talk about the credit crunch, mortgage foreclosures and the hit that the housing market has been taking.
2. I think it’s pretty clear what people think about a gas tax increase.
Two polls came out this week that should serve as a reminder to politicians and sanctimonious media pundits that Americans have a pretty good B.S. detector.
First, a poll from 5 Eyewitness News and Survey USA that shows that 57% of Minnesotans oppose a state gas tax increase. Next, CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation produced a poll that shows that 65% of Americans oppose a federal gas tax increase.
What makes these polls remarkable – especially the Minnesota survey – is that the polling must have been conducted immediately after the I-35 bridge collapse when the hair pulling and scape-goating were are their most feverish. Ah yes, the wisdom of crowds strikes again.
Want to throw your two-cents in about a gas tax increase? Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page and vote in this survey from the Marshall Independent.
3. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Hey, I’m not even asking for eternal. I just want you to pay attention once and awhile (which happens to be right now).
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota has two great opportunities for you to get involved in making your state a better place to live. First, and for fourth time, you can volunteer to stand guard at the Taxpayers League’s booth at the Minnesota State Fair. Whether you’re new to fiscal conservatism or have been around since the days of “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue,” reply to this email or give me a call and we’ll get you on your way to sustaining the good things that actually contribute to our quality of life: our families, our jobs and our churches (and sometimes our dogs).
Second, is Americans for Prosperity’s “Defending the American Dream” Summit (definitely more glamorous than the State Fair, but also fewer opportunities to engage in hand-to-hand combat). AFPs Summit, which will be held in Washington, D.C. October 4-6, will be a rare chance to hear from today’s preeminent conservative leaders. The Taxpayers League is hosting the Minnesota delegation and we have reasonably priced packages for anyone who may be interested. If you are, send me an email or give me a call and I’ll get you more info on how you can do your part to defend the American Dream (thisone, not this one).
4. From the National Review editorial, “Veto S-CHIP.”
“Last week the House and Senate voted, over the Bush administration’s objections, to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). Congress initially created the program to cover kids whose parents were doing too well to qualify for Medicaid but not well enough to buy their own insurance. The expansion Congress is seeking now would go even further, extending coverage to families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (just over $60,000 for a family of four) and “children” up to 25 years old. The Bush administration is correct to call this “a welfare benefit for middle-class households,” and if the final bill emerges from conference looking anything like the current versions, Bush should make good on his promise to veto it.”
And just to show you that we’re not just “no, no, no” all the time – here’s a solution that I kind of like: “Reform the tax code so that individuals who buy health insurance for themselves can get the same tax break that employer-provided health insurance gets.”
5. And that’s a gas tax increase and speeding up work on Northstar.
From the APs, “Northstar, after bridge collapse, looks to speed up rail project” as found in the Brainerd Dispatch:
“Northstar officials are looking at ways to speed up the development of the commuter rail line service in response to last week's bridge collapse, with temporary service possible as soon as this fall.”
[ed. For what reason? So Minnesota taxpayers can start the bailout sooner?]
“Tim Yantos, executive director of the Northstar project, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that officials are exploring ways to begin ‘emergency mobility service’ by this October or November.”
[ed. “Emergency mobility service”? Is there some kind of problem with 94 or Highway 10 that I don’t know about?]
“That would involve service on four of the six planned stations linking Minneapolis and Big Lake, even if it meant putting in wooden platforms, he said, assuming federal funding comes through.
“U.S. Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar are attempting to speed up the federal funding, asking Bush administration officials to immediately recommend authorization for the Northstar project. In a visit to Minneapolis last month, a few weeks before the bridge collapse, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the state should be confident it would receive the federal matching funds — $156 million.
“‘The collapse of the I35W bridge has placed an enormous strain on the transportation infrastructure of the Twin Cities,’ Coleman, R-Minn., and Klobuchar, D-Minn., wrote in a letter to Peters and Federal Transit Administrator James S. Simpson.”
[ed. Huh? Do you happen to have some numbers on that?]
“‘Northstar represents one of the most readily available alternatives to ease the congestion and delays caused by the bridge's collapse.’"
[ed. Really? Speeding up construction on Northstar is going to ease congestion in the Twin Cities? How in the world does that work?]
As Phil Krinkie said on MPR on Wednesday, what will fastracking Northstar – which is projected to handle 5000 trips a day – do to relieve congestion on a bridge that carried upwards of 200,000 vehicles a day? And, with subsidies for Northstar projected to run anywhere from $5-$7 per rider (on the low end) to $15-$18 per rider (on the high end), where will future transportation spending be focused? Not where we need it, that’s for sure.
If you really want to talk about transit subsidies here’s another number for you to throw at your neighbor the next time he opines as to where our priorities should be: per Minnesota state statute, Metro Transit must achieve of farebox recovery rate of between 33-34%. So every dollar a bus or train rider puts in the till, $2 is coming out of your pocket. Pretty slick how that works, huh?
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota's E Update is written by Mark Giga
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