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It was Reagan who once said that, "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Apparently the Virginia locksmith industry just wouldn't stop moving.

Del. Dave Albo, who "represents" my district in Springfield, is pushing a bill to regulate locksmiths. Apparently the industry is incapable of policing itself and this is necessary to prevent just anyone from becoming a locksmith.

The Virginian Federalist blog hit the nail on the head: "To my knowledge there are no studies or findings to show the need for such regulation. A politician found an unregulated, free market industry and had to fix it." Very rarely are regulatory and licensing schemes cooked up in the "public interest." They are usually a tool, used by certain players in the regulated industry to restrict competition through licensure exclusions and fees, and used by legislators to raise revenue. This bill is no different.

Yesterday the bill went breezing through a Senate committee thanks to testimony from the "locksmiths present." Not a single locksmith showed up to defend their industry against the regulation, no advocate of limited government was present to tell of the evils of regulation in general, the voice of liberty or even of common sense was nowhere to be found. As the Assembly takes a step down the road to serfdom, there isn't even any coverage of this government expansion outside of TVF and now this blog.

Reagan also said that, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction... It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

I fear that he was right.

Last week, pop star Britney Spears was taken to a psychiatric ward (which may or may not be a surprise) in an ambulance amid cop cars, helicopters, and a crowd of some 60 photographers. The ensuing chaos has prompted the L.A. city council to impose restrictions on the paparazzi, legislating that they cannot overstep Spears’s “Personal Safety Bubble” of 20 yards. Some speculate that such “safety bubbles” may become a new status symbol for celebrities everywhere, like Martha Stewart’s GPS anklet.

This ruling, perhaps unconsciously, gives rise to another potential status symbol that celebrities may attain, and one that is more sinister to American interests:  being so famous that you can get the local government to impose laws that suit you personally. Since when does Britney Spears’ celebrity status have more say in local legislation than, say, the First Amendment?

Last time I checked, we have freedom of speech in this country, and don’t legislate where the press is allowed to go. If we start handing out safety bubbles from the press to celebrities, how long will it be before we start distributing them to individual citizens, businesses, elected officials, and government buildings?

For now, Britney’s where she needs to be. Now let’s get the local government where IT needs to be—in support of the Constitution.

Indiana has a property tax crisis on its hands.

The combination of a broken system and ever-increasing government spending has caused property tax bills across the state to skyrocket in the last year—from 30 to 50 percent, or higher.

In fact, it was Indiana’s growing property tax burden that led Sammy winner Melyssa Donaghy to stage numerous Tea Party protests across the state.

Thankfully, other citizens are fighting back as well. Hoosiers for Fair Taxation—a citizens group that Donaghy is associated with—has been joined by numerous taxpayers and homeowners to speak out against this issue. They’re calling for the property tax to be repealed completely with an amendment to the Indiana Constitution.

On January 3, a group of activists braved frigid temperatures to hold a candlelight vigil at a property tax repeal hearing. On January 10, activists gathered together in Indianapolis for a tax forum, where they discussed the possibilities for property tax reform. And this Tuesday, January 15, even more activists came to the Indiana Statehouse to listen to Governor Mitch Daniels’s State of the State speech—and to protest loudly when his calls for property tax reform weren’t enough.

Stay tuned—this fight isn’t over yet.

When I was home for Christmas last month, my parents and I got in a discussion over dinner about the latest shenanigans going on in my hometown. Here’s the situation in a nutshell:  because a few businesses in downtown Schoolcraft are unhappy with the current septic system, the Village Council has proposed putting in a new sewer, which will affect the entire community despite the fact that there isn’t a problem with the septic system, nor a proven need for the community to replace it.

(I realize this sounds like disgusting dinner conversation, but I assure you it was actually more about the politics behind the proposal, instead of about the actual sewer.)

Anyway, in other words, all of Schoolcraft would be forced to bear cost—to the tune of $8 million—of a new sewer simply because a few businesses have an issue with the current septic system.

To make matters worse, the Village Council is not being entirely honest with the community about this proposal and how it will actually impact Schoolcraft citizens. In turn, many ill-informed citizens remain apathetic about the whole situation because they believe it doesn’t really affect them.

The good news is that several citizens are working hard to give the community the facts on the proposal, confront the council members behind the proposal, and raise awareness about what’s going on. One woman, Dee Fitzsimmons, even did extensive research on the proposal and put together a guide to understanding it to help spread the word in the community.

It’s good to see citizens standing up for good government, especially when it’s a topic as unsexy as a sewage proposal.

Stay tuned for updates, and check out our Action Toolkit if you, too, want to get involved in your community but don't know where to begin.

If you're interested in blogging about local or state political issues, but don’t know where to begin, check out this wiki site: Voices. It aims to be a comprehensive how-to manual for conservatives and libertarians to help make your career as a citizen journalist rewarding, impactful, and fun.

Voices offers tons of tips and advice about various topics—including how to find political blogs in your state, plan a blogging schedule, set up your blog itself, keep track of your site traffic, and much more to help you be an effective blogger.

Even if you’re not a brand-new blogger, the site offers plenty of resources on how to make your blog better, including tips on how to write great headlines or how to perform search engine optimization techniques on your site.

Check it out, and get involved today.

From tumultuous tundra, to flat farmland, to sluggish swamps, taxpayers across the US have reason to celebrate this New Year!

Cheers to Alaskan State Senator Bill Wielechowski who has introduced the "Alaska Open Government Act". If passed, concerned citizens will be able to keep their government accountable with the click of a mouse; the bill would establish a comprehensive website on state expenditures.

Cheers to Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor and Attorney General Marc Dann who have published and released a resource manual to the citizens of Ohio regarding public records and open meeting laws. In the words of Attorney General Marc Dann, "I firmly believe that government at all levels should be transparent and accessible...transparency and accountability increase the public's trust and confidence in the institutions that serve them".

Cheers to the voters of Louisiana who have elected Bobby Jindal for governor - a staunch supporter for transparency and accountability. Governor Jindal plans to issue an executive order to post the state's expenses online. Sadly, with all the financial debacles during Hurricane Katrina at the local and state level such measures are well overdue - better late than never.

Each day, more and more "Modern-Day Sam" activists and politicians are advocating and fighting for a more open government, and their message is spreading like wildfire! Last year, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota began posting their state expenditures online, and the governors of Missouri and South Carolina issued executive orders for expenditure transparency. 2007 will continue to serve as a testament to a concerned citizenry as 13 states are now considering taxpayer transparency acts.

And when those local politicians like State Senator Bill Wielechowski reach the federal level, they take their beliefs and passion of a government that serves and get results like Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Faced with strong opposition from spend-happy politicians like Senator Ted Stevens (R-AL) and Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), these two worked tirelessly for the successful passage of the OPEN Act, which strengthened the FOIA and allowed for federal posting of expenditures online. Check it out!

Well, it's official. Our inaugural Sammie Awards presentation was a hit!

Last night at Chicago landmark restaurant the Berghoff, we gathered together with friends and allies to celebrate the holidays and our one-year anniversary—and to honor citizen activists doing important work for liberty across the country. (Read our press release to learn about the winners—and stay tuned for features on each of these citizens, beginning the first week of January.)

In addition to recognizing the six Sammie winners, we played a short video recapping our first year, our chairman and CEO Eric O'Keefe spoke about what we've been doing, and our Senior Advisor Paul Jacob gave a rousing speech about his political persecution in Oklahoma—and about the need to keep fighting for freedom. (Richard will be posting video footage of the event sometime next week—check back to see it.)

It was good to be re-energized—reading story after story about government abuse day after day can be discouraging. But last night's festivities were proof that people are doing something about this abuse, and that their efforts are working.

So, today, in the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to share that (instead of posting on one of the many stories of government fraud, waste, and abuse). Plus, today is my dad's birthday, so I didn't want to bum him out.

Be encouraged: citizens across the country are fighting for freedom—here's to another year of doing just that!

Happy Holidays from all of us here at the Sam Adams Alliance!

Those were some the chants last night at an impromptu protest outside of Chicago Alderman Gene Schulter's office following a community meeting, where residents supported business owners in their fight to keep their property.

Nic should have pictures online later today, but let me say that the turnout was amazing. In my estimation, there were about 300 people at the meeting, 100 of whom marched in the freezing weather to make their voices heard. 

Check out our latest SamTV report below, and visit SaveLincolnSquare.com for the latest information on the fight for the right to own property. You can also view our previous SamTV report on this issue.

I’ve written about the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association before, and today I ran across a great op-ed, written by Jon Coupal, the group’s president.

The piece ran in the California Republic, and it discussed some of the work the HJTA is doing to “provide hope in a tax-happy state.”

Here’s an excerpt:

“People ask why we bother to fight government waste and the misuse of taxpayer dollars. It seems that the triple threat of out-of-control government spending, tax increases and government debt—in all its myriad forms—are so daunting that it is scarcely worth the effort.

 

“In many ways, our work is like fighting an invasion of ants in the kitchen. With diligence, you can kill hundreds of them, yet hundreds still remain. You battle the ants knowing that you won't destroy all the ants in one fell swoop, but every one you get reduces the threat to your health and food supply.

 

“The same basic principle holds true as we jointly released our fifth annual California Piglet Book last week. This 35-page booklet carefully scrutinizes dozens of examples of waste, fraud, and abuse that occurred in California state and local government. By increasing transparency and continuing to shine a spotlight on the twisted maze of government bureaucracy, we can end some abuses and build pressure for reforms that will guarantee taxpayer dollars will be better spent in the future.”

 

Read the whole thing here.

The New York City Council recently voted to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying. This is good news, of course, but be aware that this decision came on the heels of a report released by the Citizens Union, proving that the City Council has spent $1 million on taxpayer-funded lobbying in the last five years.

Nice work saving face, guys.

At any rate, kudos to the Citizens Union, a group dedicated to engaging New Yorkers to reform government—and they’ve been doing it for 110 years. Their website states, “For more than a century, Citizens Union has worked to ensure local and state government values its citizens, addresses critical issues, and operates in a fair, open, and fiscally sound manner.”

Visit their website to learn more about how they’re working for better government in New York.

So do lower taxes, for that matter, but they aren't the ones on the mind of Maryland's Gov. Martin O'Malley. It's the higher ones that he's eying.

It always surprises me just how frequently politicians say that they're cutting your taxes when, in reality, they're raising them. The manouverings of Maryland's governor are just such a case. He's proposing a 20 percent hike in the general sales tax, as well as a 14 percent hike in the "corporate" income tax. He also wants to double the cigarette tax to $2 per pack. For all of this, Marylanders will get a whopping 0.03 percent reduction in their property taxes (for assessed value).

What really grinds my gears is not only that the increases far outweigh the reductions, but also that the guv is marketing this plan as something good for low and middle income earners, and only a tax hike on high income earners. Excuse me, but doesn't everyone buy things and pay sales tax? And don't more middle class families own stock in corporations than any other demographic? Their 401Ks and IRAs are going to suffer because of this so-called "corporate" income tax increase.

By the way, if this plan is being sold to help low income earners then why is the sales tax being increased while the property tax is being (ever-so-slightly) decreased? Last time I checked the poorer among us didn't own homes, but they sure do buy things from the store.

At least someone is standing up for common sense in Maryland. Here's what Dee Hughes of the Maryland Taxpayers Association said in a Baltimore Sun article:

"Why can't our governor and his gang of spenders cut taxes instead of raising them? The only thing I can think of is the grab for power. They think they are in a gold rush, but the gold isn't in the ground, it is in our wallets."

One other thing: Read the entire article, because some people speculate that the governor's plan is intended to improve his political chances next year. Seems about right to me! 

This just in from Michigan: 

When blogger Dana Potocki listed the State of Michigan on Ebay to draw attention to the problems in the state capitol, she had no idea that her husband, a state government employee, would have his job threatened.

But that's exactly what happened. On Monday, he was called into his supervisor's office and ordered to take the Ebay listing down, and so he complied, even though he had nothing to do with his wife's listing. In the meantime, he was sent home Tuesday suspended with pay pending investigation of misuse of state internet computer system. He expects a letter tomorrow  outlining the charges.

He is expecting to be fired.  

Isn't it crazy that he is being threatened and harrassed by his employers because SHE put up an e-bay listing on HER e-bay account to ... sell the Capitol Dome in Lansing?

Remember the Boston Tea Party? Sam Adams and his fellow taxpayers dumped tea into the harbor to protest "taxation without representation." Chicagoans did something similar yesterday, by pouring bottled water into the river.

The politicians are proposing new taxes, including a 10 cent per bottle water tax, as well as property tax increases. Protesters modeled their protest after the 1773 Boston Tea Party, where patriots threw boxes of tea into Boston Harbor to protest "taxation without representation."

Check out Katie as she interviews protesters in this special SamTV report of the "Chicago Water Party!"

Today, a few members of the Sam staff (including myself) attended a Chicago-style Tea Party, where citizens gathered to pour bottled water into the river in protest of a proposed 10-cent tax on bottled water—not to mention high taxes in general.

We even got a few interviews on video—check back here tomorrow to see it.

Spend more money than you take in? Of course you don't--perish the thought! But Martin Co., Florida does, and an organization down there has some tips for how it might change its spendthrift ways.

Donald Pickard--president of the Martin County Taxpayers Association--has a great column in the Treasure Coast Palm today, in which he lays out the county's financial problems and suggests some remedies (of which I've excerpted)...

1. Use professional negotiators for all future union and senior staff contracts, especially the administration’s pending union contract.

Would you believe that a government wouldn't use a pro negotiator when renewing government worker contracts? I do. 

2. Develop and adopt a 5-year budget, updated yearly.

3. Set “cost-of-living-plus” maximum budget increases for every department.

You do these things in your home, so why can't your county? 

5. Institute new personnel policies that reward merit and responsibility, using a valid performance-measurements system. 

Don't businesses do this? Why can't government?

Read more in the entire column.  

I just posted about the 12 elected officials in Tennessee who were told that their meetings weren't allowed to be kept secret from the public - and their taxpayer-funded retaliation effort.

Well, Tennessee citizens aren't the only ones standing up against hidden government. In New Hampshire, Granite Grok is going through a very similar case.

Granite Grok also shares this fine quote:

Loren Cochan, director of the Freedom of Information Service Center at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Arlington, Va., said a national trend may be developing at the local level.

"We are seeing that the public is standing up and complaining when they are shut out," he said.

We do some thinking over here at Sam Adams, but not as much as they do at IPI, Illinois's free-market think tank, which celebrated its fifth birthday last month.

The Illinois Policy Institute's mission is to develop policies that advance the cause of free enterprise and limited government. They're currently developing policies for school choice, health care and tax reform. It may sound pretty dull here, but the work that they're doing is extremely important.

Sam Adams Alliance board member and IPI chairman and CEO John Tillman spoke at the anniversary luncheon last month, where he mused about IPI's past and future. (He also mentioned Sam!)

Check out the video below, and be sure to visit IPI's YouTube channel to see the other remarks at the luncheon, including a talk by the world-famous Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. 

It looks like Leon Drolet and the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance aren’t the only ones fighting Governor Granholm’s tax hikes.

The Taxpayer United Michigan Foundation is planning to respond with a lawsuit, on the grounds that Granholm violated Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, Open Meetings Act, and Headlee Tax Limitation Amendment, which guarantees citizens the right to vote on any state income or sales tax hikes.

Watch out, Jenny. Michigan taxpayers are fed up.

The status quo won in Lansing, MI the other day as politicians raised the income tax in an already over-taxed state. Leon Drolet worked hard to avoid this outcome, and now, he's running an aggressive Plan B to show that it's the people--not the politicians--who are in charge of the government.

Drolet wrote the following in a recent e-mail to supporters: 

Friends,
 
I am no longer in Lansing. The battle to prevent a massive tax increase has already been lost and the tax hike will happen. Hanging out in Lansing is now a waste of my time.
 
I am now spending time every day preparing to support recall campaigns against key legislators who allowed this tax hike to happen. Successful recalls will change the way policy and tax questions are answered in Lansing.
 
Speaking of answering questions, the question that I hear most frequently asked by ‘regular’ people outside of Lansing is; “Don’t they know what they are doing? Don’t they understand what these tax increases are going to do to the economy? How can they not understand the obvious?”
 
The answer is that they do understand. When I served in Lansing, I frequently asked colleagues if they thought reforms, like eliminating the state’s prevailing wage laws or becoming a right-to-work state, would help Michigan. Nearly every Republican and a few Democrats told me that they knew such reforms would help the economy, but they could not vote for them because the unions would harshly punish them in an election. Privately, legislators support education reform BUT fear the teacher union would punish them. Shrinking government spending is also supported BUT government employees would target legislators caught enacting such cuts.
 
I soon realized that the problem in Lansing isn’t that politicians don’t know solutions to our state’s woes, the problem is the Buts. The Buts are the excuses politicians give for not supporting what they know is good public policy.
 
At first, I thought that I could beat their Buts by arguing that my colleagues could still win reelection even if they voted their conscience. Or that enacting solutions was more important than angling for easy reelection. But their Buts couldn’t be beat.
 
So how can we, those who support reform and restrained government, prevail in Lansing? By joining the Buts. We need to change conversations in Lansing so that politicians are telling spending and special interests that they wish they could support the status quo, But they are afraid of the wrath of taxpayers! Organized taxpayers who successfully recall politicians who have increased taxes would make taxpayers real players in Lansing - positively impacting policy decisions by lawmakers.
 
“I want to keep up spending, But I am afraid of the taxpayers,” are words that equal real change in policy.
 
So, fellow taxpayers, let us join together now in a unified quest to become Lansing’s biggest But!
 
Leon Drolet
MI Taxpayers Alliance

Go get 'em, Leon. And if you're in Michigan, visit MTA's website to get involved. They'll need you. 

A friend of the Sam Adams Alliance and its staff passed away suddenly yesterday. Dr. John Berthoud will be sorely missed.

Please visit NTU's blog to leave your thoughts on this great defender of liberty. You might also consider joining the Facebook group, "God Bless You, John Berthoud."

Chetly Zarko announced the launch of a new political news/community website, OutsideLansing.com on Monday.

Already, there's a resource page that uses data to show the relationship between state tuition increases and administrators. It's interesting stuff - and I'm looking forward to checking out what they post next!

I'm kind of cranky today. No reason, except maybe it's getting colder outside and I'm very depressed about the oncoming winter. The good thing is that crankiness isn't always a bad thing. When well-executed, it can be pretty funny.

Case in point? This sign, as posted over at Passive Aggressive Notes:

Yeah. Nothing like a little citizen resentment to brighten up a blah afternoon. 

We’re always happy to see local groups getting noticed for their efforts to defend liberty.

That’s why we’re glad that Michigan’s Education Action Group (EAG) is gaining more and more traction. We featured them earlier this summer, and the Michigan Media recently took notice of their work—and just this past weekend, they were promoted by Dick Morris, best-selling author, Fox News analyst, and former strategist to Bill Clinton.

Morris was part of a panel discussing school reform issues at the Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island, and he spoke highly of the EAG’s work to ensure that taxpayer dollars are actually going to educate children. He said:

“What I love about [EAG’s] approach is that instead of dealing with [reform] on a cosmic level, they’re dealing with it on a very specific level—of real tangible stuff that has nothing to do with children, except freeing more assets to go to children.”

The EAG hopes to have a video of Morris’s full remarks soon—so stay tuned.

A mayor is elected with a mandate to promote a greater sense of transparency and citizen involvement in his small Oregon city. A few months later, he resigns after being stonewalled at every turn, but former Mayor Darrell Flood is now working harder than ever to make a new, accountable government for Lafayette.

A group of concerned citizens--of which Flood is a member--have created a group called Concerned Citizens of Lafayette, which includes a website that provides access to public documents and serves as a resource for citizens hungry for reform.

The new group already has an impressive number of accomplishments under its belt, including making the city's public records more accessible online, forming issue-based task forces, and putting pressure on the new mayor and city officials to uphold city building codes.

Visit newlafayette.org to find out more about what this group of concerned citizens are doing to take their government back. 

A while back, I featured Modern-Day Sam Adams Susan Kniep for her efforts to defend Connecticut taxpayers as the president of the Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations.

I’m not the only one who’s taken notice of her hard work, either—on September 11, Kniep won the Republican primary for the East Hartford mayoral race.

Kniep, a former mayor, says in a letter to citizens, “This election is not about party politics. It is about you, the residents and taxpayers of our town. It is about money. Your money! It is about improving the quality of life for all of us by allowing us to keep more of our money while giving government less and improving the management of our town.”

Here’s to Susan Kniep! Stay tuned for updates.

We’ve profiled Michigan resident Kyle Olson before for his efforts as a Michigan Education Association (MEA) watchdog and as “the guy who will rally communities to support school boards when they are casting those tough votes on union contracts and privatization.”

But we’re not the only ones who have taken notice.

Today, the Grand Rapids Press printed a piece spotlighting Olson’s work. Read it here.

Who says you can’t take on the government?

Taxpayers in Indiana are fed up with their state’s wacky property tax system, which they say doesn’t adhere to a state constitutional mandate that taxes be applied fairly and equitably. So, 11 individual taxpayers and seven taxpayer organizations are speaking out:  yesterday, they filed a lawsuit challenging this system.

The suit also challenges a recently-adopted income tax increase in Marion County and deadline extensions ordered by the governor to give counties more time to implement local income taxes.

“We're here today to file what we think may be an historic case,” said Indianapolis attorney Jon Price, who is representing the plaintiffs.

Read all the news about this case here and stay tuned for updates.

Chula Vista resident Larry Breitfelder is tired of his city’s budget problems. So, he decided to do something about it.

After learning of Chula Vista’s budgetary woes, including a $396 million infrastructure backlog, he decided to form a taxpayers association “dedicated to promoting cost-effective, efficient government and opposing unnecessary new taxes and fees.”

This is the kind of thing we like to see—citizens taking action when they don’t like how their elected officials are conducting business, particularly when it comes to the tax dollars they’re providing.

Here’s to Larry Breitfelder and the Chula Vista Taxpayers Association!

Let's face it, the two main political parties exist today solely to ensure the reelection of their politicians. People in general are beginning to realize this, and that's why I hope that we'll see more taxpayer-candidate forums like this one in Augusta, South Carolina.

Candidates--Republican and Democrat--for the state's newly-vacant 25th Senate district have been invited to participate in a forum on September 6th, hosted by the Aiken Taxpayers Association. So far, only one candidate has responded that he'll be coming.

Questions are the forum will include: 

- What they hope to accomplish for taxpayers if elected for the remainder of Mr. Moore's term.

- What are the top three fiscal concerns they have about the state government.

I've got some others: Do you plan to run for the office after the term expires? Will you promise to serve a limited number of terms? What do you think about adding competition to education (one of SC's biggest issues of late)? 

The list could go on. 

I hope that the other candidates show up, and that more groups like the Aiken Taxpayers Association start popping up around the country. 

I posted yesterday about my suspicions of a politicians’ toolkit. Maybe the Santa Clara County Government is following this nefarious guide in its recent schemes to considerably boost employee salaries as their deficit climbs to $227 million?

Perhaps this is covered in a chapter titled, “How to Waste Taxpayer Funds.” (It’s probably also cross-referenced in a chapter about creating deficits.)

It turns out pay and benefits for Santa Clara County employees has risen at more than twice the national average over the past six years—so it’s hardly a surprise they’re running a gigantic deficit. But somehow, officials are confounded by this problem, and they continually place blame on a “lack of revenue.”

Thankfully, a local taxpayers’ group sees through this hollow excuse and stands up to say so. (I’ve written about them before—the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.)

“Whenever we hear arguments that they have a lack of revenue, we don't buy it,” said Jon Coupal, president of the group. “You look at where the money’s going, the lion’s share is going to public employee compensation, either salaries or benefits.”

Even better—watch out, politicians!—they have their own set of “taxpayer action tools” to help citizens fight back. Visit their website to learn more about them.

We’ve written before about the group Citizens for Accountable Elections in King County, Washington, and their work to make the King County Elections Director position an elected one, accountable to voters.

Well, they gathered more than 74,000 positions to put the measure on the ballot in the form of Initiative 25—and the former Elections Director, Ron Sims, is not at all happy about it. In fact, he’s decided to spend $50,000 in public funds to oppose the initiative.

And he wonders why voters want to give him the heave-ho…

Bob forwarded me a copy of tax hero Leon Drolet's farewell speech from when he left state office in 2006 - and it's golden.

Here's a snippet:

Why do people in government hate term limits? Because they take away our job and our job as lawmakers comes with the unfair advantage we have in extending our power over others. Now, nobody in this chamber believes me. We believe we hate term limits because we lose institutional memory.  And we believe that we lose our newfound ability to work productively with each other that magically happens in our final term. We believe that Lansing used to be a better place before term limits. Well, Lansing was a better place before term limits for lawmakers because a lawmaker’s power could go on for so many more years.

Read the whole speech here. Also, read my profile on Leon here and click here to learn more about what he's up to these days.

We're not the only ones who draw inspiration from Sam Adams and the Boston Tea Party—in California, a group of citizens were motivated by the same historic event, leading them to join together against the outrageous tax climate in their state.

"In the finest tradition of the Boston Tea Party, California taxpayers stood up and said 'No more!' to excessive taxes."

In 1978, California voters overwhelming passed Proposition 13, which cut out-of-control property taxes by about 57 percent. Tax revolt leaders Howard and Estelle Jarvis, however, "knew that taxpayers' gains would be temporary without a permanent citizens organization to protect Proposition 13 and to continue the movement against higher taxes.'

From there, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association was born. The organization carries on today, continuing the work of Howard and Estelle after they died. In fact, the group recently sued the city of Solana Beach for violating Proposition 218, which requires voter approval of taxes.

Visit their website to learn more about their important efforts to hold California governments accountable to the taxpayers and voters.

A short time ago in a state very, very nearby...

The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance defeated a scheme by Governor Jennifer Granholm to raise the personal income tax rate by a whopping 15%. They've put together this little retrospective to show how everything went down.

We've written about this group and its leader Leon Drolet in the past. Keep an eye on them...they're doing great work.

That's the question that one Montanan named Steve Daines has posed, and has taken Governor Schweitzer's absence as an opportunity to propose a common sense plan for revitalizing the state.

Daines's site--GiveItBack.com --advocates that the state government do something sensible with the $1 billion surplus that it has: give it back to the voters.

There are rumors that Daines might be considering running for governor. Let's hope... 

So what does a Louisiana state auditor do when presented with more than 700 pages of evidence of spending fraud at a local airport? He tells concerned citizens to get lost.

Last week, citizens and officials in Lafayette, LA had their request for a for a forensic audit of their local airport's expenses denied by a state auditor who cited high costs as his reason. (Nevermind the high costs associated with the fraud that he was asked to investigate. Isn't that sort of an auditor's job?)

Locals had determined a pattern of fraud and waste at the airport over such expenses as meals, airfare and perks for spouses. The bottom line is that it looks like a pretty sweet deal to work at this airport...too sweet.

The Daily Advertiser writes:

The bottom line is that the information submitted to the legislative auditor and other officials justified more than a cursory scan and some gentle recommendations. The possible expenditure of public money with no apparent benefit to the people is a serious matter. The hard work of the citizens involved showed commendable concern for government transparency and accountability. Louisiana needs such citizen action.

The article suggests that this incident is likely to dishearten people who may have been motivated to request and research public records in efforts to advance accountable and transparent government. I disagree. If I were in Lafayette, I would be so angry right now with those officials who are supposed to be working in my interest that I would press them even harder on getting some results.

Stay tuned... 

Last week in this blog we posted about an organization called TrinityVote in Dallas. The group is working to get a referendum on the November ballot to let the citizens weigh in on a proposed toll way the city wants to build. Initially, the road was supposed to be a parkway through the new park system that was being built on the Trinity River. A citizen vote in 1998 authorized public funds for the parkway, but later on the city decided to build the tollway instead, and never solicited any further public input.

 

TrinityVote has been out collecting the necessary 50,000 signatures before the June 29^th deadline to get the referendum on the ballot, but recently city hall has hired “blockers” to delay the effort. These blockers are doing everything they can to deter citizens from signing the referendum proposal; this isn’t even the actual vote to decide on the fate of the toll way though, this is just to bring the issue to a vote. If the Dallas government is already taking such drastic, and possibly illegal, steps at this point, one shudders to imagine what they will do in the fall campaign leading up to the referendum vote.

 

I stumbled across the website of an interesting organization today—Common Cause, which strives to hold those in power accountable. With nearly 300,000 members and 36 state organizations, Common Cause has been working for more than 30 years to make citizen voices heard in the political process and to hold elected leaders accountable to the public.

 

Check out their website to learn more about their efforts—and if they have an organization in your state, get involved!

 

What happens to a politician in Milwaukee who violates their power and citizens petition successfully to recall that person? Nothing, apparently.

Petitioners in Milwaukee met every statutory requirement to have Milwaukee City Alderman Michael McGee recalled for soliciting bribes from business owners in exchange for help in getting or keeping liquor licenses. In addition, he is also being recalled for several other reasons including perjury, fraudulent use of aliases, and suspected threats. Following the petition, no legal procedure by either the Milwaukee Election Commission or the State Elections Board (SEB) could decertify the petition.

Yet, the SEB somehow voted to decertify the petition and postpone indefinitely any recall election. How did the SEB do this? Well, by violating a handful of state statutes and creating a loophole. This loophole makes it so any politician can disqualify a certified recall-regardless of how closely the petitioners have followed the law or the number of signatures collected.

What kind of message does this send to politicians? More importantly, what kind of message does something like this send to voters? Click here to learn more about the tyranny in Milwaukee.

 

If you were a member of The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) you chose to spend $409,103 on the latter.  For 19 months, the state student aid agency fought in court to hide the fact that they spent $800,000 on retreats to luxury resorts. That money could have been spent on 102 $4,000 scholarships for students to attend higher education.  The only reason why we know about this spending is because Jan Murphy with the Patriot News filed a FOIA request. However, all that came of this original attempt was the PHEAA’s refusal to disclose public information to the public.  They continued to refuse to disclose the information for as long as possible, leading to a mountain of legal bills, all adding up to $409,103 – financed by the taxpayers.

 

John Kirkpatrick, editor and publisher of The Patriot-News stated, “PHEAA's decision to fight any and all attempts at giving the public a look at how it was spending public money produced only one clear winner: the attorneys on all sides of the issue.” 

 

When I ask myself who should be benefiting from the use of public funds, I answer with public.  What about you?

 

What is even scarier is to think of how that public money would have been spent—and continued to be spent—without the courage of a few citizens to hold their government accountable.  Click here to learn more about how members of this state financial aid organization decided to waste public money.

Terrorism in Michigan?

 

Apparently so declares the state’s Deputy Director of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Andy Levin, describing present Michigan employer policies as “terror campaigns.” 

For a state whose unemployment rate is at 7.1%, higher than any other state, it’s no wonder such a move is considered outrageous.  Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saulius Anuzis is even calling on Governor Jennifer Granholm to remove Levin from office.

 

Her silence, though, leads to only one conclusion, she agrees with Levin's absurd assertions of terrorism.  Right Michigan has the correct idea:  “Bad enough this governor's chosen to appoint friends and political cronies to high-paying government jobs in the first place but to continue to demand zero accountability? It's no wonder we lost another 4,000 jobs in April and have the nation's highest unemployment rate at 7.1%....Where exactly does the buck stop?”

Good Government: In 1998, the voters of Dallas, Texas voted to fund the Trinity River Project, which would revitalize the riverside of Dallas.

Bad Government: In 2006, Dallas mayor Laura Miller backed a plan to install a high-speed toll road in the middle of what was supposed to be the central and crowning glory of a beautiful urban park.

Solution: A citizen’s group named TrinityVote formed in order to combat this power play by the mayor.

The controversy is that the decision to undertake the Trinity River Project was put forth to the citizens, to the taxpayers, to decide. When they voted in 1998 the project called for large expanses of parkland with just a small road to facilitate travel to the various areas of the park. But, since the initial vote, the city reworked the plan, stuck in a superhighway, and all the while maintained that it was within the scope of the project which the citizens had initially approved. Ever since, city hall has been unwilling to listen to concerns, instead declaring to the people what is best for them. This sort of heavy handed government is an artifact from a bygone era, and thanks to groups like TrinityVote, average citizens are doing their best to ensure that this sort of “governing” does not come back into fashion.

TrinityVote is collecting signatures all over Dallas until June 29th, so for Dallas readers, get out and sign the petition!!!

So says a Detroit News editorial that talks about a pending lawsuit between a Michigan leader and the state education union.

Yesterday's commentary writes:

The head of the union local, Doug Norton, told The News earlier this month that [Chetley] Zarko "has an ideological bent to attack unions." That's irrelevant. The Freedom of Information Act is for the use of all citizens, even ones who are disliked by the MEA.

A private group like the MEA is entitled to keep secrets, but not on public property. If it can afford to be one of the state's most generous lobbying outfits, it can afford to make sure that officers of its locals conduct business on their own computers.

You can read more information at Chetly Zarko's website.

The New Mexico Foundation For Open Government has been doing some pretty cool things to keep police records available, meetings open, and corruption from hiding. Click here to check out their website.

Over at the Citizens for Responsible Spending - 834 blog, Julia Jacobson points out some contradictory statements from the area school district. On the one hand, they're telling voters that buildings are in "dire" condition in an effort to get more tax money. On the other hand, they're telling prospective students about the recent face lift the building received.

Click here for the whole thing.

CalTax, a California advocacy group, keeps a great database of state-wide tax waste, fraud and mismanagement. Click here for what's been wasted in 2007 alone, and click here for an MSAccess database that documents literally billions of dollars from 1999 - 2006.

Of the summaries posted, as a train commuter myself, this one is my fav:

Two Dedication Celebrations Cost Muni $158,000. Municipal Transportation Agency officials in San Francisco say they were justified in throwing two taxpayer-funded parties to celebrate the opening of the T-Third Metro line. Spokeswoman Maggie Lynch said one was to thank the community for putting up with five years of construction on the 5.1-mile streetcar line, and the second was to thank the politicians, bureaucrats and activists who worked to get the $648 million project built. Columnists Philip Matier and Andrew Ross concluded, "The most surprising thing about the Muni parties: They started on time." (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, April 22.)

For more local government-specific examples, click here. 

Community leaders fought back when the mayor went after a treehouse in Mississippi, who spent more than $30,000 of taxpayer money his extreme efforts to tear down the structure.Hundreds of people signed petitions, sent in letters to the editor, and children ran lemonade stands to save the treehouse.

Eventually, the state Supreme Court said the family could keep the treehouse.

The people behind the project spent more than $50,000 themselves to defend the structure, but they stayed positive, saying, "Our children have learned about government, politics, public relations, the importance of friends, and the news. What an education this has been!"

Click here for more on this story and for great pictures of the tree house.

Thanks to the National Center blog for pointing me to this great story.

Taxpayers in Shasta County, California are tired of waiting around for their local government to represent them—so they’re taking matters into their own hands. Citizens are joining together to form the Shasta County Taxpayers' Association, which hopes to provide a “voice of reason” in local politics.

Their website says:  “Today we will add another voice to those considered by decision makers - the opinion of the ones paying the bill- the taxpayers….Our mission is to protect and defend the interests and rights of taxpayers in Shasta County as a watchdog of government at each level.”

Well done, and best wishes!

Do elementary schools need guidance counselors?  Well, in Auburn, ME, the School Committee thinks so, but City Councilor Ray Berube says otherwise. He thinks the local school can do just fine by dropping five counselors, saving taxpayers more than $200,000.  

Berube didn’t stop there, either—in response to the School Committee’s attempts to scare taxpayers into increasing spending by saying that high school principals and athletic programs would be axed otherwise, Berube proposed 1.2 million in cuts, targeting non-essential administrative and support personnel. The positions include:  Office of Learning and Technology co-director, at a $75,511 salary; Administrative assistant to the assistant superintendent, $31,870; Assistant grant writer, $38,192; and one dean of students at the middle school, $68,298.

Taxpayers should have more public servants like Mr. Berube, who are willing to stand up to threatening tactics from school administrators. Now Berube has set his sights on city hall, looking to cut more than $300,000 in administrative expenses. Auburn has about 25,000 people—just imagine the savings to taxpayers if every other city of 25,000 made similar cuts.

When Mike Dunmir saw legislators snickering and rolling their eyes at citizens, he decided to do something about it. Find out what steps he took in today's Common Sense .

Once in a blue moon Tax Day and Election Day manage to fall on the same day. This usually isn't good news for those officials on the ballot who advocate greater government spending. But taxes can sometimes act as a diversion so that unaccountable politicians can sneak in their little pet projects while the "little people" are rushing to the post office at the last minute.

Take what's happening in Corpus Christi, TX today. On this Tax Day 2007, voters--those who turn out--will decide on whether they will renew their Crime Control and Prevention District's spending mandate for 10 years.

Sounds good, right?

Sure, everyone likes good police protection, but some community leaders think that giving the district authority for a decade is a bit too much. Jack Gordy, for one, says that he recommends extending the mandate for only five years, and advocates a "No" vote on the ballot item today. Gordy is the president of the Corpus Christi Taxpayers Association, a local group that advocates government accountability with taxpayers' dollars.

Visit their website today to learn more, and don't forget to vote!

Community leaders worked with the Sam Adams Alliance this week to stop Target from using eminent domain to seize property from small business owners. You can join them - click here to read more and download a printable flyer to take to your local Target. 

Thanks to  North Buffalo Journal and Review, Paulie's Point, and Your Daily Dose of Vitamin Moose for spreading the word.

James Saleet, the leader of the Lakewood, OH battle against eminent domain abuse, died last week at 79 years old. He is survived by his wife, three children, 12 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and his enduring legacy of model citizenship.

A senior attorney from the Institute for Justice, which helped the Saleets and their neighbors secure a victory for private property rights, said that James and his wife, JoAnn, really showed what eminent domain meant to individual people—and that, “together they changed the world.”

Lakewood’s mayor, remembering Saleet’s battle against eminent domain abuse, echoed this praise:  “Jim emerged as a leader and a model citizen from what was really a sea of controversy and confusion,” said Lakewood Mayor Tom George, then a city councilman. “His arguments were always clear and fair and he never, ever made any personal attacks against the other side, even though it was a very emotional issue.”

Here’s to remembering James Saleet, and the powerful example he set as a Modern-Day Sam Adams.

Community leaders and bloggers in Kansas City successfully used FOIA to hold city politicians accountable last month. They got the word out about the abuse of some serious money - and when election time came, voters kicked some of the officials involved out of their positions. Great work!

As Heather noted in a blog post a couple weeks ago, corruption in Chicago politics is pretty much par for the course—and from that file, here’s the latest:  a man who, while a Secretary of State employee, took nearly three thousand in bribes from motorists to clear their records has been hired by the city again, this time as a policeman.

Jay Stewart, the president of Chicago-based Better Government Association called it “astounding, even by Chicago standards.” In a city where abuse of power is more often the rule instead of the exception, it’s wonderful to see an organization battling government corruption and promoting government accountability and transparency. You can even help them by keeping an eye out for government corruption, and reporting any foul play here.

Well done, BGA. Keep up the good work.

If you're in West Haven, CT tomorrow you might want to stop by Italian-American Club/Westwoods for a little jazz music get-together hosted by the West Shore Taxpayers. Proceeds will benefit the organization whose mission is to promote government transparency, lower taxes and municipal accountability.

One of their main campaigns is to "encourage the elected commissioners of the Fire District to work in the best interest of the entire district of the taxpayers in the West Shore who have elected them and not one group or union."

Here's the info for tomorrow's event from the New Haven Post: March 23, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Italian-American Club/Westwoods, 85 Chase Lane. Tickets are $30 per person, including open bar, coffee and dessert. Membership applications with optional dues will be on hand. For tickets and more information, contact Michelle at 203-641-6906.  

I really dig this group.

There's a group in Gardena, California called NoGRAB (No Gardena Redevelopment Agency Boondoggle) that has taken a stand against the formation of a city "redevelopment agency"...and won.

They've convinced Gardena's citizens to vote against forming the agency whose mission would have been to mark homes and communities for condemnation and transfer the land to private developers--classic eminent domain abuse.

But they're not stopping there. NoGRAB is sticking around, continuing to raise public awareness of the issue. They're now supporting candidates for their city council who are against the use of eminent domain, and working with state legislators to change state law.

Watch this group and attend one of their two monthly meetings to get involved.