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		<title>Government Bytes</title>
		<description>The Official Weblog of NTU/NTUF</description>
		<link>http://blog.ntu.org/</link>
		<language>en-us</language>

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			<title>Fresh Off the Press</title><description><![CDATA[It looks as though Hillary Clinton will be the new Secretary of State.  ]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:20:49 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4027</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Cartoon Blogging</title><description><![CDATA[

HT:  Tim Wise

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			<title>And this is what the bailout has been like...</title><description><![CDATA[

Hilarious hat tip: RedState.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:29:52 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4025</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>This is how I felt when the bailout passed...</title><description><![CDATA[

Hilarious hat tip: Radley Balko.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:18:10 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4024</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Calling all Twitter users</title><description><![CDATA[Just a reminder that NTU and some members of staff are on Twitter; follow us for updates ranging from what Josh had for breakfast to which states are begging for federal bailout money.

NTU: http://www.twitter.com/ntu

Kristina Rasmussen: http://www.twitter.com/kmrasmussen

Andrew Moylan: http://www.twitter.com/amoylan

Natasha Altamirano: http://www.twitter.com/naltamirano

Josh Culling: http://www.twitter.com/joshuaculling

We've also set up a #statebooks hashtag to keep track of state governments' responses to the economic slowdown. You can track that conversation here.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:01:22 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4023</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>There they go again XXXI</title><description><![CDATA[Another in an ongoing series intended to highlight the actions of legislators/governmental officials/bureaucrats/do-gooders who want to expand the nanny state in an attempt to improve your life.

Australians may be facing a toilet tax, according to the Register.com:  
Australians could face 'pay as you dump' charges as part of a Toilet Tax. It's all in the name of "sustainability" -- and part of a growing eco-movement to replace flushing conveniences with smelly and unhealthy inconvenience.

Water use experts Mike Young and Jim McColl, of Adelaide University and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, respectively, presented new proposals to South Australia state parliament last week. The two renewed their call to create a market in sewerage, with the pricing element controlling scarcity.  Controlling the scarcity?  It's my understanding that everyone does it, so I'm not certain how scare it will be.  

I'm sure there are a lot down under jokes that could be inserted here, but there they go again.... 

------------
If you would like to submit an elected official, or other do-gooder, for consideration in "There They Go Again," please email dircksen @ ntu.org.

In place of the usual list of previous posts, here's a link to our del.icio.us RSS feed for this topic. 
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:45:56 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4022</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Starting a New Chapter in Detroit: Eleven</title><description><![CDATA[Following up on yesterday's post urging bankruptcy as the only way to save American cars, here's Mitt Romney on Morning Joe arguing for Chapter 11 not bailouts:



And for the wonky types out there, The Volokh Conspiracy has a fabulous post by bankruptcy professor Todd Zywicki explaining why the Big Three are excellent candidates for Chapter 11:
What GM needs to do is shed labor contracts, retirement contracts, and modernize its distribution systems by closing many dealerships. It appears to need new management as well. Bankruptcy gives them the opportunity to do all that.

So GM will almost certainly reorganize, as will the other car companies. GM does not look like an economically-failed typewriter manufacturer at this point, but rather a financially-failed company that needs to reorganize and go forward.

...Which brings us to the final benefit of a reorganization over a bailout--reorganization forces a market test on the enterprise to determine what is economically valuable and what is not. A bailout will inherently be a political process. Political processes are not in any way designed to determine which assets are allocated in an economically-efficient manner.
Be sure to check out the full post.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:58:16 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4021</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>2008 Earmark Database Available</title><description><![CDATA[LegiStorm has teamed up with Taxpayers for Common Sense to launch a database of 2008 earmarks. Here is the press release, and here is the bilious pork.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:26:54 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4020</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Flake for Appropriations!</title><description><![CDATA[Hey, remember last year when we blogged about the prospect of Jeff Flake on the Appropriations Committee, only to have Republican Leadership ignore us and get slaughtered in this year's election?  Good times!

Well, we're getting the band back together!  Flake is again putting his hat in the ring for membership on the Appropriations Committee.  Maybe, just maybe, this time Republican Leadership will get the memo that business as usual isn't exactly working out for them.  Having a Member on the Appropriations Committee that does not seek earmarks would be one hell of a step forward.

To quote the Facebook group started by our friends at Americans for Prosperity, "Put Jeff Flake on the Approps Cmte. & He'll Kill More Pork Than Jimmy Dean!"

For the uninitiated, Jeff Flake is THE best member of Congress on fiscal issues, period.  In his years in Congress, his LOWEST ranking ever on our Rating of Congress was 2nd!  He's been our top scorer for the last five years in a row, setting a recent high-water mark of 96%.

He would be an absolute dynamo on the Appropriations Committee.  Which is exactly why the powers that be won't give him the slot without a fight.  So, let's give them a fight!

Call Minority Leader John Boehner's office at 202-225-4000, or email him at john.boehner@mail.house.gov, and tell them you want Flake!]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:04:51 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4019</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Persistence Pays Off for Anti-Tax Activist</title><description><![CDATA[Local officials were afraid this would happen. The final tally is in and the liberal bastion of Montgomery County, Maryland approved a measure to make it more difficult for the County Council to exceed limits on property tax revenue.

Activist Robin Ficker, the sponsor of the ballot measure, has been fighting the County on tax issues for 34 years and this vote is his first victory. How's that for hope and change. Kudos!

]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:48:47 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4018</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Paterson's $21k rug</title><description><![CDATA[I broke my BlackBerry this morning, so I was already in a questionable mood when I got to the office. NY Gov. David Paterson has exacerbated my condition, upon this report that he is the proud new owner of a $21,000 Turkish rug, purchased at taxpayer expense.
While stressing that she was not familiar with the mansion's rug, Lucille Laufer of the Oriental Rug Importers Association, a New Jersey-based trade group, said that Turkish rugs have been in vogue lately.

"It's a warm look, and people are really migrating toward that now," she said.
Hahaha. Someone please let the New York Congressional delegation, as well as Sen. Reid and Rep. Hoyer know where the bailout dollars proposed by Paterson will be headed.

For more information on how state governments are dealing with the economic slowdown's effects on their budgets, follow the Twitter conversation at http://twemes.com/statebooks. ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:58:39 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4017</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>SC Comptroller Promotes Transparency</title><description><![CDATA["And at a time when so many have lost their faith in government and when the cost and spending of government is skyrocketing, sunshine is more important than ever."  

Three cheers for a government official so bold about promoting transparency!]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:41:24 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4016</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Italian Government Sells Alitalia</title><description><![CDATA[The BBC is reporting that the Italian government has agreed to sell Italy's bankrupt airline to a private business group.  According to the report, "The airline filed for bankruptcy in August, weighed down by high labour costs, strikes, surging oil prices and political interference."  Does that sound a bit like anyone that you know -- Detroit perhaps?  Perhaps bankruptcy can help Detroit turn things around as well.
 ]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:33:53 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4015</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>New RSC Chair</title><description><![CDATA[Rep. Tom Price (GA) has been nominated to chair the Republican Study Committee, a group of House conservatives, in the 111th Congress.

His NTU Rates Congress 2007 rating = A.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:19:31 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4014</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Tax Foundation Podcast</title><description><![CDATA[I did a podcast with the Tax Foundation this afternoon about ballot initiative results. You can find it here.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:21:43 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4013</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>I'm happy Joe Knollenberg lost...</title><description><![CDATA[Joe Knollenberg is (theoretically) a Republican from Michigan's 9th district, where I grew up and my family still lives.  Knollenberg lost his Congressional seat in this most recent election and I am HAPPY about it.  Why am I so happy?  Because Joe Knollenberg doesn't think he's bailing people out with OUR money...



Hat tip: HotAir.

]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:33:32 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4012</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Good news from down under</title><description><![CDATA[Tax cuts could be on their way in New Zealand... ]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:09:53 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4011</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Big Labor's Christmas Wish List</title><description><![CDATA[The Alliance for Worker Freedom has a great list of big labor legislation we're likely to see in the 111th Congress.

]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:05:00 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4010</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>MyPrivateBallot.com</title><description><![CDATA[A great ad...



]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:04:32 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4009</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>NTU Vote Alert on Auto Bailout, Stimulus</title><description><![CDATA[November 19, 2008

******************************************
National Taxpayers Union Vote Alert 

NTU urges all Senators and Representatives to vote “NO” on the various unemployment insurance, stimulus spending, and auto industry bailout packages that may come before you this week.

Our members know that government doesn’t create wealth; it either redistributes or destroys it. Shifting money from individuals to government programs (many with questionable performance records) will not “stimulate” sustainable economic growth. Low tax rates on hard work and investment will do much more over the short and long term to expand prosperity in America. Ramming through billions in new spending at the last minute isn’t responsible legislating.

Whether through loan guarantees or some other form, under no circumstances should taxpayers be put on the hook for the bad business decisions of America’s auto companies. Fundamental problems in the cost structure and business model of the Big 3 American car manufacturers have been apparent for decades. Though the auto industry occupies a special place in the American story, nostalgia alone should not entitle it to billions in public money. If they seek relief, the Big 3 should restructure their businesses the way millions of families have had to restructure their budgets, rather than bellying up to Congress’ trough.

Roll call votes on any bill proposing or containing an unemployment insurance expansion, stimulus spending, or an auto industry bailout will be heavily weighted in our annual Rating of Congress.


If you have any questions, please contact 
NTU Government Affairs Manager Andrew Moylan at (703) 683-5700
******************************************
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:47:41 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4008</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>The TARP Bailout Queue</title><description><![CDATA[MoneyNing.com put together a list of the companies that have applied for a bailout via the Troubles Asset Relief Program:

   1. First Midwest Bancorp Inc. (FMBI) - Received preliminary approval for about $193 million worth of investment
   2. South Financial Group Inc. (TSFG) - Applied
   3. CoBiz Financial Inc. (COBZ) - Plans to apply
   4. E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) - Applied for $800 million
   5. Associated Banc-Corp. (ASBC) - Preliminary approved for $530 million
   6. Capital Pacific Bancorp (CPBO) - Preliminary approved for $4 million
   7. Fulton Financial Corp. (FULT) - Filed an application for about $375 million.
   8. Trustmark Corp. (TRMK) - Preliminary approved and will issue $215 million in senior preferred shares and $32.3 million in common shares.
   9. Pacific Capital Bancorp (PCBC) - Preliminary approved for about $188 million
  10. Heritage Commerce Corp. (HTBK) - About $40 million was preliminary approved
  11. Banner Corp. (BANR) - $124 million was approved in senior preferred, $18 in common shares
  12. Columbia Banking System Inc. (COLB) - $76.9 million was preliminary approved
  13. Heritage Financial Corp. (HFWA) - $24 million in senior preferred, $3.6 in common stock.
  14. Bridge Bancorp (BDGE) - Considering participation
  15. Cascade Financial Corp. (CASB) - About $39 million
  16. Midwest Banc Holdings Inc. (MBHI) - About $85.5 million in preferred, $12.8 million of common stock.
  17. Goldman Sachs - part of the initial 9 banks that the government bought equity stakes into, along with the 8 below
  18. Morgan Stanley
  19. J. P. Morgan Chase & Co
  20. Bank of America
  21. Merrill Lynch
  22. Citigroup Inc.
  23. Wells Fargo & Co.
  24. Bank of New York Mellon
  25. State Street Corp

Link to Source.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:40:24 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4007</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Quotation of the Day</title><description><![CDATA[Duane Parde, president of the National Taxpayers Union, likened ethanol to a 30-year-old deadbeat still living rent-free in his parent's basement.

"It's time for all of us to march into that basement and say, 'Happy 30th birthday, ethanol — now grow up and get out of our house!' " Parde said.

Link.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:10:28 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4006</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Gov. Paterson and his crew head to DC</title><description><![CDATA[NY Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and probable Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith are headed to Washington today to ask for federal bailout money to resolve their pending budget crisis, according the PolitickerNY. They'll be meeting with New York's Congressional delegation, along with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. My favorite line from that article is the last sentence:
New York is required to have a balanced budget; the federal government is not. Oh, cool, might as well throw a few billion New York's way then. It's not like we need to balance our budget or anything.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:03:55 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4005</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Want to Save Detroit?  Let Them Go Bankrupt.</title><description><![CDATA[I don't know much about medicine, but I do watch both House and Scrubs.  I'm pretty sure that makes me a medical expert.   

One thing I've learned from those shows, is that when a vital organ fails you can buy time by hooking a person up to machines.  But ultimately, you're going to need a transplant to fix the problem.

I think everyone agrees the auto industry is vital to the U.S. economy.  Likewise, I think we all agree the industry has failed.  But while pumping tax dollars money into the industry might keep the industry afloat, it's not a cure for the disease.

But Mitt Romney has a prescription (I promise, last doctor allusion) for Detroit: let the Big Three go bankrupt.  As Romney, who happens to be the son of the man who saved American Motors, notes:
A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs.
A bailout will reward incompetent managers and keep the Big Three operating at a severe disadvantage to their foreign competitors.  It will come at a high cost to the taxpayers.  And it won't solve the problem.

Bankruptcy isn't a pretty solution, but unless someone comes up with a better plan, I'm stickin' with Mitt's.
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:52:38 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4004</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Carton Blogging -- the Wednesday Edition</title><description><![CDATA[

HT:  Tim Wise

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			<title>I present the funniest series of YouTube videos ever created</title><description><![CDATA[I figured we'd start of this morning with a laugh completely unrelated to fiscal policy. Yesterday at lunch, Andrew Moylan mentioned the video posted below. Naturally when I got home I scoured the intertubes for it. Anyone who grew up in my generation fondly remembers trips to Chuck E Cheese (those such as myself from Toledo, Ohio prefer Major Magic's)...

]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:41:59 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4002</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>The zig-zagging bailout roils markets and the economy</title><description><![CDATA[It's not really Hank Paulson's fault that he's had to switch gears so many times in the few weeks since the bailout bill was passed. The mandate of the "TARP" has changed at least weekly since then, as Paulson reacts to what he's learning about how it's functioning -- or not functioning.

Still, this sort of chaos was predictable with government getting into areas that it shouldn't, taking on problems that are even bigger than our Federal Treasury.

For a much more thorough discussion, please see my headline article at Human Events:
"Paulson's Ever-Changin Bailout"
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29546]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:05:20 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4001</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Buying in for a Bailout</title><description><![CDATA[CNBC reports a Dutch firm, Aegon, is considering buying a US thrift so it could be eligible for a sweet slice of bailout pie.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:42:22 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=4000</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>The 145th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address</title><description><![CDATA[On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address at the dedication of the Gettysburg national military cemetery.  The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History highlights the anniversary of the address by making it the Institute's featured document of the week.

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			<title>NY Senate Republicans prefer bailouts to spending cuts?</title><description><![CDATA[Posted on behalf of NTU's State Government Affairs Manager, Josh Culling:

NY Gov. David Paterson had proposed $5.2 billion in budget cuts to confront a looming state budget crisis. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, apparently thought it would be political advantageous to resist the cuts. He first urged a vote on the cuts, which he knew would fail. Eventually, he killed any prospects of a vote on budget cuts this year. A political “win” for Skelos, but a devastating loss for taxpayers. Remember yesterday’s poll showing that NY voters prefer spending cuts to tax hikes by a 75-10 margin? Skelos either didn’t get the memo, or simply doesn’t care. 

Possibly the worst part is Paterson’s Plan B. He’s headed to DC tomorrow to lobby the feds for bailout money.
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:43:51 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3998</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Paying for firewood in a wooded state park</title><description><![CDATA[Maine's transparency database allows users to post comments on spending information they view.

This comment by user "upg52" caught my eye (and made me laugh):BAXTER STATE PARK:

Let me try to understand this. Baxter State Park Authority paid Baxter State Park $4,280 for firewood, in one of the largest state parks in the country, which is nearly 100% wooded and does require trees to be trimmed around campsites, roadways, etc. so the wood is available for free? And even though a state agency pays a state park (which it oversees) it's a budget item? So where does the $4,280 actually GO?Good question, upg52!

Spending sleuths are welcome to join the conversation at ShowMeTheSpending.com. 

This month's collaborative project  is linking to sites containing state employee salary info.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:59:25 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3997</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Public Transit Needs Help Too</title><description><![CDATA[Apparently, recent record-high gas prices and spikes in ridership weren't enough to keep America's public transit systems from imploding along with the financial system, state governments, and the auto industry.  CQ.com is reporting today that "transit agencies hope Congress will include a provision requiring the Treasury Department to guarantee billions of dollars in financing agreements at risk because of American International Group Inc.'s collapse in any economic stimulus bill voted on this week."  If it's Tuesday, it must be hand out day.
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:06:52 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3996</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Just say no to a state bailout</title><description><![CDATA[Steve Malanga has an excellent guest opinion in the Wall Street Journal on how governors need to learn to use fat years to prepare for lean ones.

He points out how states were in D.C. this time last year demanding a SCHIP spending expansion, but now they're begging for a bailout: "This zigzagging -- beseeching the feds to let them spend more money one year, begging for a bailout the next -- is what passes for long-term budgeting in many state capitals...the money will only encourage them to keep doing business the same old way rather than seek innovative solutions."

Two other gems from the piece:For years, state and local politicians have bought support from public sector unions by promising big benefits. Over time these promises exert severe pressure on their budgets. A study three years ago by the Employee Benefit Research Institute estimated that the average public sector worker earns 46% more in total compensation than his counterpart in the private sector...

States have collectively racked up some $731 billion in unfunded liabilities for pensions and other retirement benefits, according to a study published last December by the Pew Charitable Trusts' Center on the States. In particular, the states have been promising their employees rich nonpension benefits -- such as retirement health and dental care -- and paying for virtually none of it. According to Pew estimates, states have put aside a mere $11 billion to fund $381 billion in future nonpension benefits.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:39:23 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3995</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>The Georgia Senate Runoff  and the FairTax</title><description><![CDATA[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the FairTax is turning into an important issue in the runoff between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:04:55 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3994</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>You are not alone</title><description><![CDATA[Governor Mark Sanford (SC) started his Sunday WSJ “Don't Bail Out My State” op-ed with: “I find myself in a lonely position. While many states and local governments are lining up for a bailout from Congress, I went to Washington recently to oppose such bailouts. I may be the only governor to do so.”

I’m pleased to report that you are not alone, Governor Sanford. Nearly 60 organizations signed a coalition letter organized by NTU and the American Legislative Exchange Council and asked Congress not to bail out the states.

Need more reasons why a state bailout disguised as a stimulus won’t work? We’ve got ‘em.
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:59:20 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3993</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>New Yorkers prefer spending cuts to tax hikes, and it's not even close</title><description><![CDATA[According to a Siena College poll, New York voters overwhelmingly support spending cuts, rather than tax increases, to eliminate a projected $2 billion budget gap.
Seventy-five percent of voters think the state budget gap of $2 billion for this fiscal year should be closed by cutting spending, while 10 percent support increasing taxes and nine percent favor borrowing money.
Though Gov. Paterson has stressed the need for spending cuts, the same poll shows that 77 percent of voters think he'll eventually stray from that message and support tax hikes. Here's to hoping they're wrong.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:17:10 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3992</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>How McCain Could Have Bailed Out Taxpayers</title><description><![CDATA[In today's print and online versions of the DC Examiner, I make the argument that McCain could have protected taxpayers, improved his chances of being elected President, and perhaps more importantly, changed the course of the bailout, in one fell swoop.

By opposing the bailout, McCain could have separated himself from the unpopular Bush Administration and stood on the side of taxpayers.  That might have forced Senator Obama to oppose the bill as well.  With both Presidential candidates opposed to the already deeply unpopular plan, it would likely have been redrawn in a way that didn't write a $700 billion check left solely to the discretion of Henry Paulson.

I specifically remember one brief, fleeting moment of optimism in the midst of the bailout negotiations.  It was late in the evening and I was participating in a conference call, looking out my apartment window, with the television on mute.  This is just after McCain had suspended his campaign and the Presidential candidates met with Congressional leaders at the White House.

Early reports (which turned out to be false) were that McCain had blown up the negotiations by indicating he was unwilling to support the plan and was leaning toward the plan that the Republican Study Committee was putting together.  For that one night, I actually thought we might be able to derail this thing once and for all.  If McCain had indeed walked into that room and said, "No way, I refuse to sign on to this debacle," you can bet your bottom dollar the outcome would have been different.

But alas, he supported it, so did Senator Obama, and Congress quickly fell in line under intense pressure from the Administration.  The rest, as they say, is history.  $700 billion worth of history.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:51:35 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3991</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Thoughts on an Auto Bailout</title><description><![CDATA[NTU sent a letter opposing a $25 billion auto bailout as Congress apparently gears up to work on one this week.

Two interesting thoughts...

First, as an aside, I heard that organized labor raised $80 million for this year's presidential election.  Am I the only one who thinks maybe they should have instead raised $80 million for their retirement and health care costs?  Maybe then we'd only be talking about a $24.92 billion bailout.

Second, on a more substantive note, you'll hear a lot over the next few days and weeks about how the Big 3 have missed the boat on hybrids and green technology, and what they really need is for the federal government to force them to build more such vehicles.  Well, don't (necessarily) believe the hype.

The Big 3 are certainly late to the hybrid party, but they have plenty of models now that are hybrids and/or get very good gas mileage.  Yes, it's true that they focused too much of their efforts on big trucks and SUVs, but that's because that's what Americans were buying at the time.

You'll hear that companies like Toyota and Honda are models for how the Big 3 should operate (smaller vehicles, hybrids, etc).  While that's partially true, it should be noted that Toyota and Honda make very little profit on hybrids, and both had high-profile forays into the world of trucks and SUVs (e.g., the Toyota Tundra and Honda Ridgeline).  Those forays were expensive and, ultimately, bore little fruit.

You'll also hear that the Big 3 doesn't make any vehicles people want to buy.  That is also not really true.  10 years ago, the Big 3's products were vastly inferior, but that isn't necessarily the case today.  Cars like the Cadillac CTS, Chevy Malibu, and Chevy Cobalt are actually very good vehicles that are more than competitive with their foreign counterparts.  The product isn't terrific top to bottom, but it's getting better.

The product mix is a part of it, but the biggest reason that companies like Honda and Toyota are in such a superior position right now is the cost structure.  The Big 3 pays their American workers 52% more than Toyota pays its American workers.  The Big 3 have ENORMOUS costs for retirement and health benefits that their competitors simply don't have.  That is the biggest difference.  So don't let the rhetoric fool you into thinking that if the Big 3 just start making small, efficient cars that all will be well.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:06:19 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3990</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Tax Foundation Sales Tax Rate Map</title><description><![CDATA[Joseph Henchman prepared a useful map of sales taxes in the United States.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:20:47 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3989</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Required Bailout Reading for the Weekend</title><description><![CDATA[Prof. Russ Roberts, writing for NPR, has some interesting thoughts on the problem with the bailout: Hank Paulson.  According to Roberts:
When no one knows how the rules of the game are going to change — and they seem to change from week to week — who wants to take a risk? Who wants to borrow money? Who wants to invest? Business and consumers are hunkering down, waiting for the storm of change to pass.

The problem isn't liquidity.

It's uncertainty.

Paulson doesn't realize that his erratic attempts at creating liquidity are creating the uncertainty that makes liquidity meaningless.
And over in the Wall Street Journal, Gov. Mark Sanford tells Uncle Hank not to send any bailout money his way:
I find myself in a lonely position. While many states and local governments are lining up for a bailout from Congress, I went to Washington recently to oppose such bailouts. I may be the only governor to do so.

But I suspect I'm not entirely alone, as there are a lot of taxpayers who aren't pleased with Christmas coming early for politicians. And I hope these taxpayers make their voices heard before Democrats load up the next bailout train for states with budget deficits.]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:13:47 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3988</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Carton Blogging</title><description><![CDATA[

HT:  TaxGuru

]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:07:09 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3987</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Auto Bailout: Lemon Socialism</title><description><![CDATA[Says Charles Krauthammer for National Review Online:

Saving Detroit means saving it from bankruptcy. As we have seen with the airlines, bankruptcy can allow operations to continue while helping shed fatally unsupportable obligations. For Detroit, this means release from ruinous wage deals with their astronomical benefits (the hourly cost of a Big Three worker: $73; of an American worker for Toyota: $48), massive pension obligations, and unworkable work rules such as “job banks,” a euphemism for paying vast numbers of employees not to work.

The point of the Democratic bailout is to protect the unions by preventing this kind of restructuring. Which will guarantee the continued failure of these companies, but now they will burn tens of billions of taxpayer dollars. It’s the ultimate in lemon socialism.

]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:48:18 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3986</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Transparency: Achieved in Louisiana, Progressing in Montana</title><description><![CDATA[Spending transparency has come to Louisiana!  Check out the new government spending database, LA Trac (Louisiana Accountability and Transparency).  The database resulted from an executive order by Governor Jindal and the authorization of the legislature.  As the Commissioner of Administration, Angele Davis, said, “This is an important event, an extraordinary step forward, and a historic reform initiative for Louisiana and its pursuit of better, more accountable government…Today we begin to empower four million citizen auditors to monitor what the state spends and to judge whether it’s wise, necessary, and achieving results.”

On the other hand, Montana, like many other states, still lacks spending transparency.  But thanks to independent transparency sites, citizens can still get involved in the movement to open government.  For an outstanding example of how transparency should be pitched to citizens and legislators, visit the Montana Policy Institute’s transparency project, www.bigskysearch.info.
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:54:54 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3985</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>State Taxes</title><description><![CDATA[TaxGirl has begun what should be an interesting series of reviews of tax policy in each state of the Republic. 

Here's her intro to the series. She's also looking for feedback:I really do welcome personal anecdotes about your experiences in various states. I’m especially interested in folks who have moved for tax reasons (be sure and vote in the poll) as well as quirky tax rules. You can send your thoughts via email or leave as a comment.So far she has examined two states: Alabama and Alaska.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:16:38 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3984</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>A Simpsons Parable</title><description><![CDATA[Here's some levity for a dreary, cloudy (at least it is in DC) Friday.

In the 1998 episode "Trash of the Titans," Homer Simpson is elected as Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner after running on the slogan, ""Can't Someone Else Do It?"

Thanks to Fox's ruthless, Internet-trolling team of lawyers, only this montage clip is available of Homer's campaign theme song, "The Garbage Man Can":



The sanitation department goes bankrupt as Homer carries out his "crazy promises."Mayor Quimby: Simpson, you idiot!  You spent your entire year's budget in a month! Your department's broke!
Homer:  [panics] Uh...oh no!  Wait!  I think I've got the perfect solution.
Mayor Quimby: You'd better!  'Cause those garbage men won't work for free!
Homer:  D'oh!
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:45:41 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3983</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Hurry, holiday shoppers! Is a sales tax coming to the Internet?</title><description><![CDATA[According to Forbes, a  web sales tax is looming. 

Here’s why the tax grabbers should be stopped.
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:39:53 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3982</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Way Cooler Than Those Nerdy Segways</title><description><![CDATA[Coming soon from the Defense agency that gave us the Internet: flying cars!]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:24:26 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3981</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>That's the Government for Ya</title><description><![CDATA[The Administration and Congress stampeded head over heels to get the $700 billion financial bailout package passed into law, and since then it turns out there has been much foot dragging and delay when it comes to oversight of the program. (By the way, we were told Paulson needed authority to go out there and buy up the toxic assets spawned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but that isn't even how the program is being implemented: the Troubled Asset Recovery Program has been mutated into the Capital Purchase Plan.)

There is supposed to be a Congressional oversight panel and a new inspector general. In the meantime, the Treasury Department's Inspector General has been saddled with auditing the program in addition to his regular duties."It's a mess," said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing."This, sadly, seems to be the modus operandi in Washington: spend, spend, spend, and worry later about financing and/or auditing. Congress won't even kill off programs with a history of poor performance.

And the entitlement crisis still looms.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:08:04 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3980</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>A Closer Look at the Big Three Auto Makers</title><description><![CDATA[As lawmakers contemplate giving more taxpayers' money to the Big Three auto makers, Michelle Malkin received an interesting letter from an auto industry worker that highlights some of the reasons these unionized companies are in need of a bailout.  The letter states:

Their business practices are not a tax payer problem, but a terrible management problem. It was a noble idea for the Federal Government to lend them $25 billion to help. It is now known 4 X’s that amount will not cure the root cause of the problem, but only buy them 4 X’s the amount of time. 

When a cancer is identified inside a person, it is immediately removed if possible. The Big 3 has a cancer that needs to be removed. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why they cannot compete profitability. They have parity on supply costs, materials, and energy with Honda and Toyota. So why can’t they compete? It is clearly the cost of labor.
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:29:45 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3979</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Governator catches bailout fever</title><description><![CDATA[Gov. Schwarzenegger has asked the federal government to give some bailout money to the states as part of a stimulus package while "insisting that such aid would not be a bailout" and insisting that "the important thing is not to confuse spending with investing."]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:00:23 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=3978</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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