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NASA Space shuttle fueling test looks successful
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
PC makers voluntarily supply Web filter in China
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
Michelle Obama bringing glamour to Moscow
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
Woods and Kim tied for lead at Congressional
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
Moyers strong start helps Phillies beat Mets
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
Morneau leads Twins in 4-3 comeback win vs. Tigers
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
Reports Turkoglu headed to Toronto Raptors
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
Federer takes on Roddick, history at Wimbledon
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
Former NFL quarterback McNair killed in Tennessee
Southern Ledger - July 4, 2009 |
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"COMMON SENSE" TAX REFORM IN TENNESSEE.
April 4, 2005 -
April 11, 2005
In 1776 Thomas Paine distributed a pamphlet entitled “Common Sense” laying out the arguments in favor of American Independence in clear terms. It was a turning point in developing popular support for the Revolution. Today, another form of “common sense” is circulating in Tennessee that could be a turning point in the ongoing income tax debate.
A Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is being proposed as a way to inject a strong dose of common sense into the spending and revenue collection process. It would shift the debate from how much we want to spend to how much we have to spend. It is a basic decision faced by every business and family in Tennessee. We do not budget our own spending based on what we want; instead we determine what we can reasonably expect to earn during the upcoming year and then prioritize spending and make choices based on what we can afford.
TABOR is based on the reasonable proposition that government should do the same thing. Rather than simply saying “yes” to everything and then raising taxes to pay for unreasonable promises, legislators would finally start having to say “no” to some things…and some special interest groups.
This is a terrifying prospect for legislators who depend on getting reelected by spending our money – so frightening that key “big government” legislators are already meeting to strategize how to demonize TABOR.
TABOR would amend the Tennessee Constitution to establish rules for state revenue growth, state spending growth and tax increases that could not be broken by the Legislature. There are currently some spending restrictions in place to slow the pace of government growth, but the Legislature simply votes to override them each budget year, making them meaningless. TABOR would be backed by the Constitution, so the Legislature could not ignore the law.
TABOR would essentially limit growth in state spending to the rate of inflation. Growth in revenue would also be limited by the same rate, with any amount collected in excess of the limit either being deposited in a “Rainy Day Fund” or returned to the taxpayers. As it is, if the state “overcharges” taxpayers the legislators simply spend the extra money rather than refund it.
Finally, TABOR would require taxpayer approval to impose permanent tax increases. In other words, state government could not grow its spending faster than the growth of our paychecks -- unless we voted for it.
TABOR is not just some pie-in-the-sky dream. There is a working blueprint. Colorado has had TABOR in its Constitution for several years, and it has protected that state from runaway spending and the requisite tax increases that follow soon thereafter.
Several important business and taxpayer groups support TABOR, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Tennessee Tax Revolt, Americans for Tax Reform and others. Not surprisingly, the entrenched leadership in the Legislature is adamantly against the idea of allowing economic reality to restrict their unbridled ability to tax and spend. Although Governor Phil Bredesen regularly trumpets the idea of bringing business principles to government, he too is working hard against TABOR. Special interest groups who feed at the trough of taxpayer money are also lining up to spend some of that money to defeat TABOR.
Why do these powerful political interests find commons sense reform so abhorrent? Because it puts the power back in the hands of the people of Tennessee and forces elected officials to make tough choices in matters of policy and spending rather than simply promising everybody everything.
Battle lines are being drawn. Like the early years of this nation, there are powerful government elites who believe they are entitled to everything we earn except for what they allow us to keep. They believe they should determine how to spend our money instead of letting us make that decision since we might “waste” it or spend it unwisely.
On the other side of the debate are the taxpayers who pay the bills. Like the patriots who created this country, they share a common belief that government is only entitled to the power and money that the people decide to give to it, and not a measure more. In the end, TABOR’s success or failure will likely depend on whether today’s taxpayers are as committed to the fundamental principles of Liberty and financial Independence as our forefathers were.
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DEMOCRAT FAIRNESS. -
January 17, 2005 -
January 24, 2005
After the elections many Tennesseans were surprised when a couple of Republican State Senators announced that they planned to vote to re-elect Sen. John Wilder, a Democrat from West Tennessee, as Lt. Governor despite the fact that Republicans had gained a slim majority in the Senate for the first time since Reconstruction. Two so-called Republicans, Tim Burchett of Knoxville and Curtis Person of Memphis, claimed they owed Wilder their loyalty due to his “fairness” to Republicans over the ye... |
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TOLD YOU SO -
January 3, 2005 -
January 10, 2005
Last August I had the opportunity to appear before the self-proclaimed “independent” Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission. The Commission had been created after then-Governor Don Sundquist and his pro-income tax allies in the legislature failed to shove an unnecessary and unwanted income tax down the throats of Tennessee taxpayers. The Commission was purportedly intended to study the state’s tax structure and develop ideas for reforming the system. The real intent was to recommend an income... |
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THE TENNCAR DEBACLE -
November 20, 2004 -
December 26, 2004
No, the headline is not a typo. Just imagine if Tennessee had instituted a plan to provide car insurance to the poor, uninsured and uninsurable instead of health care insurance. And imagine that car insurance plan, let's call it TennCar, had been based on the same flawed premises and implemented in the same way as TennCare. And finally, imagine we allowed it to become the bloated, bureaucratic, fraud-ridden nightmare that we have today with TennCare. When you look at... |
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THE TENNESSEE INCOME TAX IS DEAD, RIGHT? -
November 8, 2004 -
November 15, 2004
A Tennessee income tax was not on the ballot this election year, but the issue was clearly not far from voters’ minds. Despite election year pronouncements that the issue is “dead” the contentious debate over a state income tax is still far from over. In fact, when the Tennessee Tax Study Commission issues an expected recommendation for an income tax in December, the issue will re-emerge just in time for a new legislative session. With Governor Phil Bredesen’s much touted TennCare reforms hittin... |
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WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM ELECTION DAY. -
November 1, 2004 -
November 7, 2004
The bitterly contested election of 2004 is finally over, but the fallout from the election will continue for a long time to come. There were plenty of winners, and losers, on election day…and many of them were not even on the ballot!
LOSERS
Governor Phil Bredesen. Governor Bredesen launched a vicious assault on several Republican candidates who ended up victorious, most notably Sen.-elect Diane Black, Sen.-elect Jim Tracy, Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson, and Rep. Judd Matheny, among... |
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