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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."

Last Saturday, the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (MTA) traveled to Mackinac Island for the Republican Leadership Conference in the hope that conference attendees would join them in their fight against a tax increase. The MTA has stated from the beginning that they would work to recall state legislators (on both sides of the aisle) if they favored increasing taxes—and on Saturday, they lived up to that statement.

In order to raise awareness among the Republicans on the island, members of the nonpartisan Alliance masqueraded as Republicans in Name Only—or RINOs—in favor of tax hikes…much like Sam Adams and his Sons of Liberty once masqueraded as Mohawk Indians at the Boston Tea Party. To complete the illusion, the MTA acquired a Rhino costume, which was worn by an MTA member. The Alliance then took to the streets of Mackinac Island, “praising” Rinos like State Senator Valde Garcia for working with those who would raise taxes.

Conference-goers responded very favorably as both young and old wanted their picture taken with Robbie the Rino—including me, as you can see. Many former colleagues of Senator Garcia criticized him for his past performance, and many current constituents promised to call his office and offer their feelings about his raising taxes.

It was an all around victory for the MTA and a great welcome for their new mascot, Robbie the Rino— although the other mascot, Mr. Perks, is still considered an invaluable member of the Alliance.

You know how the saying goes…“the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

This could not be truer in the case of government planning, which Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O’Toole discusses in his new book, “The Best-Laid Plans:  How Government Planning Ruins Your Quality of Life, Your Pocketbook, and Your Future.”

In an email I received today from Cato promoting this book, O’Toole writes:

“Government planners still control much of our infrastructure and land, and they believe they know how far you should live from your job, how big your backyard should be, and how cities and forests should grow. They say that if you want to live in pleasant communities, enjoy beautiful wilderness, and get to work on time, they should be in charge. Well, the facts prove them wrong.

In spite of government planning, traffic congestion, unaffordable housing, diminished environmental quality, and spiraling government costs have gotten worse. As you’ll read in the book, they frequently result from short-sighted plans going wrong, with warning signals ignored or dismissed by government planners along the way.

What’s the answer? I cover that extensively, with solutions that include incentives, government limits, the power of the marketplace, and reforms that can help solve social and environmental problems without heavy-handed government regulation.”

Check out Cato’s website for more information, or visit your local bookstore to pick up a copy of the book.

Nic was right--we are excited about today. Happy birthday, Sam Adams, from all of us here at the Sam Adams Alliance.

So grab a pint and relax. We hope you like the balloons.

Check out some of our birthday-month facts about Sam, and also take a look at the rationale behind our name and our mission. 

You may have also missed our new Vision Statement, which is also online.

As always, if you have something to share about Sam--the man--or the movement that we've named after him, please get in touch. Sam understood that movements for freedom could only be achieved if the people got involved, and they could only get involved through steady communication with each other.

Sam didn't have access to radio, but we do, and so does Garrison Keillor, who profiled Adams on his 'Writer's Almanac' program today. You can read his profile and listen to it here. 

Lastly, since it's Sam's birthday and all, won't you consider adding him as a friend on Facebook, and joining the Sam Adams Alliance Facebook group? Consider it a 285th birthday present.

Get Fuzzy is pretty funny today, so I'm going to share, especially since they're being clever with a French-derived free market term. Enjoy.

Thanks to my friend Ashley for sending this to me. She's a big Get Fuzzy fan. 

Here at the Sam office, everyone is squealing with excitement, anxiously awaiting tomorrow's manifestation. Imagine a bunch of 6-year olds on Christmas eve.

Being the new guy, frankly, I'm a little freaked out. However, after giving some thoughtful reflection to the matter, I think I understand what all the hoopla is about.

No, it's not The Office season premier. It concerns an individual. An individual historically important, vital in developing the liberty paradigm. So much so that some non-profit in Chicago felt compelled to adopt his namesake.

What is it already? Bring the balloons and light the candles - it's Sam Adams birthday! And, as I've come to realize, Sam Adams was the man. Wait, scratch that. He is the man. The man, I think, politicians should be modeling their thought processes after.

An example? Okay. Let's say you have these politicians, right? And let's just hypothesize that they're proposing to triple the sales tax. I know! I know! Like that would ever happen. A location? Oh, I don't know, how about Cook County, Illinois.

So how would Sam Adams handle the situation?

A cool thing I learned in reading Mark Puls's book Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution (a staple here in the office) was that Sam foresaw arguments Adam Smith would later develop in The Wealth of Nation. Sam knew the economics of taxation. So when the British imposed sales taxes on the colonists, Sam stressed that such actions would not only stifle private economic growth but also "reduce government revenues in the long run".

The logic is simple. Consumers naturally avoid areas with high sales tax for those that lack such costs, and businesses naturally avoid areas that lack consumers. If there aren't any businesses, and therefore, consumers to tax, there won't be any government revenue. As Adams wrote, "It is the trade of the colonies that renders them beneficial to the mother country."

I think we need to remind the "mother country", Cook County, of that.

 Happy birthday Sam! You know, I'm really feeling the office buzz.

Illinois’s District 300 has made it easier for citizens to submit FOIA requests, reported by the Daily Herald.

Visit their website and click on the “Freedom of Information Act” link to download FOIA request forms and learn more about your rights under FOIA and the Open Meetings Act.

The headline says it all.

Ironic, huh? Of course, it comes as no surprise to anyone that politicians will say whatever they want—or whatever they think will get them elected. But actually doing what they say they will? Well, that’s a whole different story.

“As a state senator, Attorney General Marc Dann twice sued the Taft administration for public records. He likes to be known as ‘Mr. Public Records,’ and wrote a model policy on how local and state government should handle records requests.”

Well, it turns out “Mr. Public Records” still hasn’t fulfilled an open records request made in May.

Read more here.

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. 

On a video camera, of course. Aspiring liberty-minded filmmakers can win up to $10,000 to make a film about free market solutions in the US and around the world.

Due by October 15, Atlas's contest aims to produce quality video pieces for use on the web and by other free market organizations. 

We are going to offer FIVE opportunities for a young film-maker to do a project (from 30 seconds to 3 minutes in length)...We expect to then give a $10,000 grant to the most successful of these film-makers. This grant will enable a “bigger budget” video production to assist another one of our think tank partners.  

To take a look at some of the video ideas that they're proposing, visit their page on the contest.

And don't forget to enter the Sammies, our contest for short filmmakers, local-issue bloggers and open records champs. Entries are due by December 7.

 

What constitutes a public record? In Colorado that's being decided in court, with the governor and unions on one side and people who have a right to know on the other.

Brad Jones--a friend this site and the editor of Face the State--is at the center of a battle to make public a memo sent from Service Employees International Union attorney Steven Ury to the Colorado governor's staff. Since the union is collaborating with the governor to craft legislation, Jones says that the so-called "Ury memo" should be made public..and the Rocky Mountain News agrees:

Scott Gessler, who's representing Jones, argues that once Ury sent that memo to the governor's staff, [state representative] Marshall could no longer claim that it was solely her "work product." It became a public document subject to the open-records act, he asserts, and should be fully disclosed.

We agree, and hope the courts will as well. Otherwise, it might be possible for government officials to shield volumes of correspondence with private interests from public view. 

We'll be watching to see how this one pans out... 

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.

Thursday is Sam Adams's birthday. (He would have been 285 this year.) Check out some of the fun Sam-bits that we've posted on the blog throughout this month:

Sam had a bunch of nicknames...

Sam was a taxman...

Sam struggled as a brewer...

Have any other tidbits on Sam? Comment on the post to let us know.

About a month ago, I featured Chicago Reader columnist Ben Joravsky for his efforts to expose corruption associated with tax increment finance districts (TIFs) and educate readers about it. Richard also posted about Joravsky after the Sam Adams staff had lunch with him and learned about his experiences learning and writing about TIFs.

If you read any of these earlier pieces, you’ll remember that one of the problems with TIFs is that they have built-in eminent domain power, which elected officials continually abuse.

And, sadly, the current situation on the 4800 block of North Western is no exception:  earlier this summer, the city warned the owners of about 20 businesses that they might use eminent domain to seize their properties.

“The city’s reserving the right to buy all the property on the east side of Western between Lawrence and Ainslie so that a developer yet to be selected can build a development to be determined sometime down the road.”

Joravksy covers this issue in a great piece, where he also encourages readers to write a letter to the editor opposing this action—read it here.

I’ll be honest:  I have an insatiable sweet tooth. So I can commiserate with McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi and his penchant for all things sweet.

I do not have any sympathy, however, for his choice to use $17,000 of taxpayer funds to pay for these cookies, cakes, doughnuts, ice cream treats, and so on.

I’m also not happy to hear that Bianchi didn’t react very well when confronted about these expenditures.

Good news, residents of Santa Cruz, California! Your local government is planning on temporarily repealing its smoking ban (now two years old) to allow you to smoke in the park on September 29. Why? Because the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana is holding their annual festival.

 

It seems strange that the City Council feels it should stay out of the lives of medical marijuana users, but not lives of other law-abiding citizens.

 

According to the City Council, the reason for lifting the ban is to allow medical marijuana users to medicate. But if a medical marijuana patient were to light up in the park on any other day, they would be subjected to the same fines as any other citizen—so what exactly is the point of this temporary ban?

 

Perhaps this event will allow the City Council to see the light and stop playing big brother to its citizens; however, I wouldn’t count on it.

The bloggers over at Conservative Oregon are trying to get the word out about a proposed road name change - and why it's a bad idea. One of the major streets in Portland, currently called Interstate Avenue, has been renamed before already. It was called MLK Jr. Blvd. in the 80s. Now, Mayor Tom Potter is pushing to change it to Cesar Chavez Blvd. on his website.

No problem, right?

Well, here's the thing. It will cost the taxpayers more than $100,000 to make the change. Businesses will have to buy new letterhead, business cards, signs, and so on. And it's going to make old maps very confusing.

So what can you do?  

If you're from Portland, sign the anti-name change online petition. Also, write a letter to the editor, and send it to The Oregonian or The Portland Tribune. 

Last year, when the Solana Beach, CA, city council raised property taxes without voter consent, they were sued by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Apparently, they learned their lesson.

With the recently proposed solid waste fee about 6,000 ballots were received of an eligible 12,653, a very high percentage for a vote of this kind.

This proves yet again that voters/taxpayers like to know what's going on and have to have a say in what taxes they have (or don't have) to pay.

As we continue our celebration of Sam's birthday month, today we're going to talk about the long list of nicknames Sam used.

Sam Adams wasn't big on taking credit for...well, anything. He didn't even care about having a byline on his articles, as his writings were published under names including:

• "Determinatus,"
• "Candidus,"
  
• "Vindex," "
• Populus,"
  
• "Alfred,"
  
• "Valerius Poplicola,"
  
• "T.Z.,"
  
• "Shippen,",
  
• "a Bostonian,"
  
• "a Tory,"
  
• "E.A.,"
  
• "a Layman,"
  
• "an Impartialist," and
  
• "a chatterer."

The reason why he didn't worry about credit is because he just cared about the message getting out there. And it worked - people united behind his issues in force.

My favorite of Sam's nicknames is Vindex; it sounds like Windex. Since we're trying to make government more transparent, and Windex makes it so you can see through windows, it seems quite fitting. 

 

Last week, we posted a Sam Adams Alliance Quarterly exclusive—“Where’s the Party?”—by Paul Jacob. (If you haven’t already, sign-up for a MySam account to read it.)

Then today, I read a great piece in National Review Online that strikes a similar chord. It’s written by Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth.

In the piece, entitled “When Will They Learn?,” Toomey addresses some “taxpayer-funded travesties” approved by Congress—and how Republicans have failed to take action on all their talk about fiscal responsibility.

“It is easy for conservatives to attack Democrats like Harry Reid and Robert Byrd for baseball field slush funds, and they certainly deserve a hefty dose of criticism. But it is time for conservatives to take a long and hard look at their own party and leaders, and ask why it is always the same ten to twenty guys willing to put their necks on the line while the rest of the bunch follows Ted Stevens over the cliff like lemmings to their death.”

It’s a great piece—read the whole thing here.

Congressman Jeff Flake is doing so much good these days in the Congress. Check out this video that pits Congressman Henry Waxman (who wants the government to teach values to children, and the taxpayers to pay for it) against Flake who says that the government shouldn't fund every little museum out there.

Hat tip- the Club for Growth blog

Voters in South Fulton County, GA yesterday annunciated a clear 'No' to the idea of forming a new city. I'm quite surprised.

After a string of new city incorporations in North Fulton County, GA--where I'm from--I expected the voters in the south to be eager to incorporate themselves so that they could have a little more say in how their government is run. As it stands currently, a single commissioner represents 45,000 people on a seven member county commission.

But I guess I was wrong. 85% of voters said 'No' to the idea, which surprised even opponents of the plan.

"We are all in a state of shock," said Benny Crane, an insurance agent who helped organize the pro-city efforts. "The voters of south Fulton spoke today. They made it clear they want to have a city controlled by six commissioners who don't live in south Fulton County."

Wow. Well, there it is. 

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.

Why are politicians always talking about mustering up the votes for a tax increase instead of searching for why all the money that we give them already isn't enough?

In Sam's (new) hometown of Chicago, Cook County Commissioner Joan Patricia Murphy has proposed increasing the county's sales tax from 9 to 10 percent. "We just need to do something other than cut jobs if we want to maintain services to our residents," Commissioner Murphy said in a ABC 7 report. Apparently, Murphy believes that raising taxes is the only way not to have a budget crisis next year. Never mind the ever-present crisis of government spending more than it takes in...oh, wait, that's not a crisis per se anymore; it's reality.

Spending Murphy went on: "Cook County is a destination place. We have great conventions and conferences here. The sales tax is going up 2 ¾ percent. That's not a back-breaking increase."

Oh yeah, the cost of doing business in Chicago has nothing to do with people actually coming here to do business. So yeah, let's make it more expensive--that'll do wonders.

And where do the tax increases stop? Once the government gets its hands on that much more revenue, the county commission will have license to increase spending above and beyond, triggering another so-called "crisis" the next time around. It's a never-ending cycle of increasing the non-market driven services that always seem to go way over budget.

We all know the rules.  You do not wear white after Labor Day.  Brown belt with black pants?  No go.

As for saggy pants -well that is nothing short of criminal.  Literally.  A new law was recently passed in Trenton, NJ that says if you are sporting the fashion faux pas your reward will be: 6 months jail time, a $500 fine and counseling.

I can just see the future of nanny-state, government mandated clothing: power suits, red ties, and shoulder pads.

Say it with me people, "Ridiculous."

My husband told me a story a few weeks ago about how he had recently discovered that a couple of people he knows from back home are, shall we say, not exactly history scholars. In casual conversation, these people revealed that:  a) they didn’t know who was president during the Civil War, b) they didn’t know about what the Civil War was fought, and c) they didn’t know who we fought in the American Revolution.

I can’t even imagine what they’d say if I asked them to hazard a guess as to what the Declaration says.

This epitomizes one of the reasons we’ve strayed so far from a government accountable to citizens and to the fundamental principles of the Declaration and Constitution:  many citizens don’t even care enough to learn about the role our Founders intended our government to play, let alone be vigilant enough to hold the government accountable to this role. (Well, plus many public schools are really awful, but that’s another story.)

We could all use a reminder about the important words contained in the Declaration of Independence—and for those less interested in history, this video shows Hollywood celebrities reciting it:

So went the subject line of an e-mail sent out last night by Leon Drolet of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance as he watched the showdown between the big spenders and those who believe that Michigan's state government is already spending more than enough, thank you very much.

More from the e-mail:

Tax –Hostage Crisis: Day 4. After a long, late weekend of intense, furious House inaction, the Senate convened today. And senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Hero?) has made his move: the Senate has passed a ‘continuation budget’ that would, for one month, spend money using the current year’'s budget as the blueprint. But expected tax revenues wouldn’'t cover this year’'s budget, so copying this year’'s budget would still leave a deficit. Basically, the remaining eleven months of the 2008 budget year that begins on October 1 would have to bear twelve months worth of cuts or tax hikes.

Now that the Senate passed the continuation budget, there is more pressure on the Democrat-lead House. Why? If the state government shuts down on October 1, it will be the House’'s fault for not passing the continuation budget. This means more pressure on Dillon to get the 18% income tax through his chamber so that the House Dems can blame the Senate for not passing the tax hike and therefore, shutting down the government.

The deadline for a budget is (supposedly) September 30. If you're in Michigan, be sure to call your state rep and senator and tell them that more government spending is NOT the way to get the economy back on its feet. Get in touch with the MTA on their website to find out how you can help spread the word. 

Ever wonder if the claims about union bosses’ salaries are true?

Well, look no further:  this week’s Human Events Top 10 list features none other than the 10 union bosses with the highest salaries.

Just to whet your appetite, the president of the state, county, and municipal workers union earns $629,291 per year…and he was tenth on the list.

Check it out here.

Our friends at E³--New Jersey's educational freedom organization--have begun a weekly podcast/radio show called The Third Rail, and it's worth checking out.

Listen to it on their website, and keep an ear out for it on your local NPR station.

The highlight of last week's episode, for me, was E³'s Deputy Director Derrell Bradford calling foul on the concept of "highly qualified teachers" as outlined in the big-government No Child Left Behind program. When the program's host recounted a newspaper headline that said, "99 Percent of NJ School Teachers Are 'Highly Qualified,' Derrell chimed in, "That's like saying that 99 percent of people with two legs are highly qualified at walking."

For more amusing--and painfully true--rhetorical gems like that, listen to The Third Rail for yourself.

California has joined the growing number of states that think the government knows what is best for its citizenry, this time banning cell phone use for teen drivers. The decision was made on the advice of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a government agency that has been encouraging states to implement these laws.

While it may be true that some teens are easily distracted, who is to say that cell phones are the cause of this? In fact, plenty of teenagers are perfectly capable of multitasking like their adult counterparts, and California already requires that drivers use hands-free cell phone devices. Instead of punishing all teens, why not increase the fines for accidents caused by anyone while using cell phones? What’s next, banning teens from listening to the radio?

This law may not be enough to upset most citizens, but it opens the door for similar laws that interfere in the daily business of otherwise law-abiding citizens, and represents unnecessary government intervention. Like Sam Adams himself, we need to speak up for our freedoms before it is too late.

A troubled Tennessee state lawmaker recently acquitted of federal fraud charges probably didn't anticipate fallout from the case would land him in unrelated hot water with election officials.

But just that occurred last week when, in response to a complaint filed by a Nashville-based government watchdog group, Tennessee's campaign-finance oversight board voted to investigate Sen. Jerry Cooper for allegedly funneling political contributions into his personal bank account for private use.

Cooper, a Democrat from Morrison, Tenn., was cleared in June of bank fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the 1999 sale of a lumber mill he owned. Had he been convicted, Cooper faced 65 years in prison and more than $2 million in fines. Afterward, his attorney told reporters the feds likely never would have prosecuted the case "if Jerry Cooper wasn't a political figure."

Nevertheless, a public servant he is. And acting on a tip, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research dug into evidence submitted in his fraud trial and discovered that an IRS agent had testified the agency was aware Cooper would on occasion dip into his campaign finance reserves and, all told, had shuffled more than $95,000 into his personal account.

If the accusations are true, Cooper's actions constitute "a flagrant violation of state campaign finance laws," wrote TCPR President Drew Johnson in the formal complaint his group subsequently filed with state election regulators. Cooper (who also last month pleaded nolo to drunk-driving charges after he wrecked his SUV following a legislative reception back in February) now faces up to $240,000 in fines if he's determined to have handled political funds illegally.

Trent Seibert, TCPR's director of government accountability, suggests advocates of open, clean and limited governance pay careful attention to civil and criminal trials, even cases that only peripherally involve political actors or their known associates and benefactors. Evidence and testimony submitted in open court is part of the public domain, and often offers the chance to strike "open-records gold," he said.

"We often don't utilize court records enough," said Seibert, formerly an investigative reporter with The (Nashville) Tennessean and the Denver Post. "It is the rarest of things to get someone's bank account, for example. You can't get that type of information without a subpoena."

"There are great opportunities with corruption cases happening all over the United States: New Jersey, New York, Chicago, Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, you name it," he added. "They are an excellent way to discover items that might not otherwise come to light, which you can then in turn bring to the attention of the proper authorities."

It’s pretty well known around the office that I’m not an Apple fan. (Just to be clear:  the company, not the fruit.) However, my complaint today has less to do with the company than with its customers who don’t understand basic economics.

If you hadn’t already heard, Apple dropped the price of the iPhone by $200 last week. Those who hadn’t bought one yet were in luck; those who had already purchased one, meanwhile, were outraged: “I just felt so used as a consumer. They hyped up the iPhone for six months and built up our expectations, and then they grabbed our extra $200 and ran.”

Oh, come on. Give me a break. This is Economics—not to mention Technology—101.

At first Apple stood firm, which I respected, but then Steve Jobs caved and offered $100 vouchers to earlier purchasers, although with a fairly unapologetic statement.

“This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon.” He could have been even more succinct. “This is life” would have done just fine.

Reason, supporter of free minds and free markets, featured a good piece on this issue today—“When Bad PR Happens to Good Economics:  iPhone whiners get more than they deserved.” Read it here.

Do Texas taxpayers have a right to challenge unaccountable state spending? CLOUT--Citizens Lowering Our Unfair Taxes--says 'Yes' and is moving forward with a lawsuit that questions the legality of discretionary spending that appears unconstitutional.

CLOUT is challenging nearly $1 billion in state spending, which lead plaintiff and Executive Director Edd Hendee says violates the Texas constitution's cap on spending. But they have no friend in the state's Attorney General...

“The Attorney General has made every possible effort to deny taxpayer standing and drag this suit out while the state continues to spend beyond its means.  Now the Supreme Court of Texas has spoken, and it is time for the bureaucrats to recognize taxpayer rights and proceed with this case.”  

The case now moves to a jury trial:

“We’ve factually established our case, we’ve know the arguments, and we’re ready for trial.  Assuming the state provides the discovery we’ve awaited for over a year, our case is only growing...We’ve been before judges at every level, now it’s time to let a jury decide.”

Kudos to this group for giving the people the CLOUT they deserve! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) 

So you want to start working with open records, eh? It makes sense to get advice from someone who's been there, and Cal Skinner is just that person.

The State Sunshine and Open Records blog today posted a great interview of Skinner, covering his most outrageous open records moment, and his advice to other potential open records champions.

Q: Has your local newspaper ever commented on the work you do? Favorably or unfavorably?

A: Yes. Both daily papers, reporters for the Daily Herald (the 3rd largest in Illinois) and the Northwest Herald (the dominant paper in McHenry County with about 50% penetration) picked up on the county board’s attempt to punish me for taking pictures of the board members in what unknowingly were a series of flash photographs by proposing a rule to prohibit flash photography and force photographers to the back corners of the county board room.

Pay a visit to the blog, and consider stopping by Skinner's blog--The McHenry County blog--to read more about his effective and enlightening experiences with open records. 

Los Angeles isn’t the only place where the government is trying to keep you away from greasy food. Across the country, elected officials are doing their best to legislate obesity out of society with trans fat bans, calorie-counting requirements, and more.

Click here to read the Chicago Tribune’s latest piece on the nanny state debate, and the government's fight to “get between you and your cheeseburger.”

On Wednesday, the Michigan State House of Representatives turned down a proposal that would have put a measure on the January 15 ballot to raise the sales tax by one cent. It's good news, but this is a small and almost insignificant victory as the state is still in the clutches of a budget crisis.

On Friday, the House will vote to raise the income tax and extend the sales tax to some services. As we have reported before, the State Legislature is racing to put forth a balanced budget by October 1—and failure to do so may prompt a partial shutdown of the government.

Interestingly, the Michigan Legislature is not in session today to observe Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish year, and the Ten Days of Repentance. Perhaps Michigan lawmakers should take this time to repent for their past mistakes, which have led to this unfortunate economic situation, and to consider not making taxpayers pay for those mistakes.

Continuing our celebration of Sam Adams's birthday--he would have been 285 years old this month, I'll have you know--we delve into the rather ironic fact that the hero of the Boston Tea Party himself was a tax collector.

But, apparently, he wasn't that great at it. He was elected as a Boston tax collector in 1756, a position that put him into contact with people of every class in Boston--the businessmen and the farmers. He began to recognize everyone in the city, and realize what issues were on the people's minds. Mark Puls notes in his book on Sam that he "developed a feel for the pulse of public opinion that no other local leader could match."

Sam's connection to the taxpayers meant that wasn't really all that vigilant in collecting funds, even though he got a 5% commission on everything he took in. In March of 1761, Boston was short £4,000 in taxes, £2,000 of which was due to Sam's failure to collect. This significant shortfall caused a financial crisis in Boston, and eventually cost him his job as taxman.

Good thing, too. One who cares about hard-working people keeping the money they earn shouldn't enter a tax collecting vocation. 

Read more on Sam in Mark Puls's book 'Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution,' and check back here next week for another bit on the man for whom our group is named.

In what’s being called a “creative approach to legislating health” (read:  nanny law), elected officials around the country—particularly in Los Angeles—are considering limiting the number of new fast-food restaurants put up. This tactic is called “health zoning.”

Call it what you want; it’s a load of garbage.

“The people don't want them, but when they don’t have any other options, they may gravitate to what's there,” said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who proposed the ordinance in June.

Yup, that’s right—even if people don’t want to eat at fast food restaurants, they’re so dumb that they will anyway because the restaurants are just…there. Oh, and they don’t have any other options, either, like eating at home.

Thank God we have the government to save us from ourselves!

The CTA is continuing to trumpet the sounds of doomsday for the public transit.

"600 employees laid off!"

"Routes must be slashed!"

"Monthly passes must be raised from $75 to $84!" they cry. 

Beyond feeling like I'm at a public transit Labor Day Sale, I can't help but be annoyed by the city's fear mongering when there are other obvious solutions (look to London's rail system).  Or, apparently, Mayor Daley has found his own Euro-solution and we can steal Paris's idea of bike rental. Oh joy—I can't wait to take a government-funded bike down Michigan Ave through the February sleet and snow. 

Soon I will be returning to Chicago for my second year of what is becoming an annually ritualistic offering of my soul to higher academia's ruthless reaper. Yet, not only will my brain be hurting; my wallet will too.

As many Chicagoans know, our transit authority's bureaucratic monopoly has hit the fan. The CTA traveler's "Doomsday" is approaching. No surprise here - just the expected consequence of the governmental leviathan and its continual feeding through wasted tax dollars; as SAA's Michael Livshutz has keenly pointed out, Chicago can break its citizen-hurting, transit monopoply through privatization and therefore allow expansion of choice, cheaper fares, and more efficient services. Maybe with the added pressure of losing passengers, the CTA won't allow their tracks to be inspected just "once in five months" as revealed during further study of the July 2006 Blue Line derailment.

BUT HAVE NO FEAR! BLAGOJEVICH IS HERE!! That's right...the savant of corruption himself, the governor who fellow Illinois Democrats have called a "madman", the problem-solver that sues his own party's house majority leader!!! The gov has announced that he will outline a plan this week to remedy the CTA of having to raise fares and cut routes. Now, maybe I'm jumping the gun, but Blagojevich's actions of precedent might just shed light on his coming proposition. Don't take my word for it; just listen to the man himself.

The politicians said they would fix it, but they didn't. That's why Maine residents today filed an initiative to provide tax relief in an overtaxed and overspent state.

Portland attorney David Crocker today filed a petition with Maine's secretary of state to get "An Act to Provide Tax Relief" on the ballot next year. The plan was devised by the Maine Heritage Policy Center.

The AP reports:

The proposal would limit state spending to the rate of inflation plus population growth over a three-year average, but there could not be a decrease in spending. It would limit municipal and county spending to the increase in personal income growth, capped at 2.7 percent, plus the growth of new property on the tax rolls. The legislation does not address school spending; proponents say the newly enacted school reorganization plan already accomplishes that.

Long-time citizen leader Mary Adams weighed in on the petition:

"I think a lot of people figure (legislators) had their chance, they didn´t take it and now the citizens will help them out by pointing the way with this legislation," Adams said. 

Good job, Mainers! 

There just might be something to Joseph’s theory about the University of Michigan’s devastating start to the season. (He satirized that the state’s economic woes were to blame for the Wolverines’ loss to the Mountaineers.) The winningest program in college football history defeated first by Appalachian State, and now Oregon? What’s going on?!

Things just keep getting worse, and not just for Wolverine fans. Matt posted earlier today about tax increase talks and the need for reducing Michigan legislators’ salaries, and I just read that lawmakers are still debating solutions to the budget crisis, which if left unresolved will lead to at least a partial government shutdown in three weeks.

It’s going to be a long season, for Michigan fans and taxpayers alike.

On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Michigan lawmakers are days away from taking the state’s economic woes out on taxpayers. The question is not whether taxes will be increased in Michigan, but by how much and for how long. While some legislators are striving for permanent tax increases on income and services, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce is encouraging lawmakers to make any tax increase temporary, and to reduce unnecessary government spending.

One way to reduce spending may be salary cuts for Michigan’s legislators themselves, who earn a whopping $79,650 per year, plus an additional $12,000 “expense allowance.” This puts Michigan legislators behind only California for highest legislative salaries in the nation.

On top of this, the Michigan legislature has been ranked as a “red legislature” by the National Conference of State Legislatures, a rank given to legislatures that have the longest sessions, highest salaries, and the most staff. It’s unclear what Michigan legislators have been doing with all this time and resources, however, because Michigan’s economic performance is one of the worst in the country.

Michigan’s problems run deeper than just this, but it’s clear big salaries for legislators mean big losses for taxpayers.

 

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.

How much do government school teachers and administrators make in your neck of the woods?

If you're in Illinois you can find out. A group called The Champion Foundation has a database of the salaries of government school employees, as well as a pension calculator.

Did you know that the New Trier superintendent's pension would be $231,000 with a 3% annual increase? That's paying him not to work! Did you also know that Superintendent Henry S. Bangser's salary increased by $116,000 just since 2003?

The mission of The Champion Foundation is "to act as a counter-veiling force to ineffective and uninformed school boards, administrators, and teachers unions." To that end, they've done a good amount of research for The Champion School Accountability Project. 

Go ahead and do your own digging. Share what you find out. 

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!

 

ANN ARBOR, MI - Following what many are proclaiming the greatest upset in collegiate football history, Wolverine Coach Lloyd Carr expressed what he believed to be the primary explanation of his team's unsatisfactory performance: "With the future of our state's financial standing in doubt, my boys just can't concentrate as they hear all this stuff in the media. Our boys are tough fighters but ain't able to get focused as word reaches their ears of how our state's politicians have wasted our tax dollars, created a deficit approaching $1.8 billion, and are talkin' about taking more of our hard-earned money."

Wolverine's senior kicker, Jason Gingell, admitted to not coming through in the clutch; yet, he did not fail to also mention that right before the game, he read how his tax dollars were helping the governorship's "first-gentleman Mulhern fulfill his metrosexual needs" as Mulhern can boast the largest, gubernatorial staff in the US, which aids him with proper hygiene help, wardrobe assistance, and acquiring the latest books like "How to be Whipped in Your Political Relationship" and "Making the Most of Your Spouse's Constitutional Office".

Sadly, the independent Emergency Financial Advisory Panel's released statement didn't ease the Wolverine's trepidations either. The players felt that the panel merely spewed forth scapegoat generalizations in favor of big government even though the panel claims to have provided concrete and clear solutions to the budget problems.

Some of the panel's "highly-detailed" solutions include the following: "Michigan must reform spending and taxing. Michigan's tax and spending policies should reflect the needs of the 21st and not the 20th century" and "There is a fundamental, urgent, and compelling need to increase revenues to protect and expand essential investments. We urge policymakers to act quickly. Policymakers must solve problems, not push them to the future."

Former Governors William Milliken and James Blanchard serve as the emergency panel's bipartisan representatives; they stand for the need to solve the budget problem hand-in-hand. Wolverine quarterback Chad Henne, however, couldn't seem to have gotten the irony of the panel's representatives out of his mind during his failed two-point conversion. Henne noted the "warm" partnership and lack of partisan bickering between Milliken and Blanchard that had existed in the past.

When asked about his opponent's helplessness due to the budget dilemma, Appalachian State Coach Jerry Moore firmly answered that the only hope for the disgraced Michigan team rests in the efforts of Modern-Day-Sam Leon Drolet and his Michigan Taxpayers Alliance.

*Satirical Portrayal

A new local, online-only newspaper picked up Michael Livshutz's piece on the Chicago Transit Authority. Check it out.

Michael writes:

The CTA’s costs are twice as high its revenues. Wages and overtime costs alone are 60 percent higher than its revenues. Its retirees enjoy complimentary medical care forever. Its 10,000 employees have 17 labor unions, and any one of the 17 unions can hold CTA hostage with a strike threat. It cannot convince its employees to regularly come to work on time. No wonder CTA’s trademark slogan is “doomsday.” 

Check back our website for more from Michael Livshutz in the coming days. 

Just like Chicago needs to deal with its transit problems before (possibly) hosting the Olympics, so does Massachusetts need to "cut costs first," that is, before looking at raising taxes to balance the budget.

An editorial by Beacon Hill Institute executive director David G. Tuerck--an economics professor at Suffolk University--asks citizens to consider underlying causes to Massachusetts's budget problems, and points to the labor unions directly.

Casino gambling, closing corporate loopholes, and increasing taxes on meals might or might not be good ideas. But unless we first stand up to the public employee unions, all such measures will go more toward inflating already-inflated costs than toward the genuine needs of state and local government.

The Beacon Hill Institute also has a detailed report on the Fairtax and its possible economic impacts. Suffice it to say, their conclusion is positive for Fairtax supporters like myself. Check it out.  

September is a big month here at the Sam Adams Alliance. Why? Well, September 27 is none other than our namesake’s birthday. And at the Tea Party, we’re doing our part to celebrate him.

Each week we’ll be posting a different fun fact about Sam Adams. We hope you’ll join us in learning a little bit more about this great patriot and about how his political efforts helped shape the foundation of freedom we enjoy today.

So, let’s begin!

Did you know that even though Sam is famous for his beer, he actually struggled as a businessman and showed little interest in managing the brewery he inherited upon his father’s death? He was so bad at the brewery business, in fact, that he went bankrupt by 1760.

It’s a good thing he was so effective at political work, then.

Tune in next week for another fact about Sam—and in the meantime, in honor of Sam’s upcoming birthday, you just might want to toast Sam’s political success with a cool brew. Sam may have been a lousy brewer, but we’re pretty sure he knew how to enjoy a pint or two. (And so do we!) Besides, you can only enjoy the Summer Ale for a little while longer…here's to Sam!

That's how long the Michigan legislature has to turn out a balanced budget. The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance is keeping the politicians in check and accountable to this serious constitutional obligation.

Recipients of the MTA's e-newsletter were reminded of this upcoming deadline this morning when the group's leader Leon Drolet laid out the plain and simple truth:

Governor Granholm proposed a budget way back in February that would spend about $1.8 billion more than economists believe will be received by the state Treasury in current taxes. The state House has passed several budget bills that increase this disparity to $2 billion. The state Senate has passed budget bills that spend (so far) $1.6 billion more than anticipated tax revenues.  

Apparently, the majority of politicians in Lansing see an 18% income tax increase as the solution to the economic problems in the state, but Drolet disagrees, and has a nice blurb in Crain's Detriot Business magazine.