Will Energy Costs Go Up?

If you listen to Repubs, it will.  They pick some obtuese figure to use and scare the public into submission.

Recently Gov. Barbour made this observation:

“Instead of a policy of more American energy, the proposed Obama policy is to establish a cap and trade tax, increase taxes on oil and gas companies by $81 billion and create a requirement that a certain percentage of electricity be generated with renewable fuels … a so called renewable portfolio standard,” Barbour said. “These policies have in common that they would all inevitably and substantially increase the cost of energy to the American families and American businesses, especially manufacturing.”

This should not effect manufacturing in the state….why?….they are given a free ride at every turn….so Barbour BS concerning industry is just so much crap.  Barbour is just repeating the playbook and daily talking pointys issued for Repubs to use in their count-offensive against “clean air”.

The Barbours have been champions of eliminating litter in Mississippi…good idea…but some how clean air means NOTHING to them.  Eliminating litter would involve getting free labor out of the the residents…..eliminating air pollution would require the govs donor base having to do the work…something we cannot have (that is sarcasm, in case you missed it).

Mississippi’s Low Income Workers

There is a movement taking hold that would try to protect low income workers….and Mississippi has it fair share of those, as well as day workers and such.

Original source: civilrights.org

Organizations that advocate for working-class Americans, such as the Institute for Policy Studies and Jobs with Justice, recently formed a coalition called the Inter-Alliance Dialogue to address the needs of low-income workers, minorities, domestic workers, day laborers, and other groups most affected by the recession.

In recent months, employers have been eliminating jobs at a rate of about half a million per month, causing many people to lose their homes and healthcare, especially low-income workers and minorities.

The groups that make up the Inter-Alliance Dialogue are urging Congress to address the needs of low-wage workers, by:

* passing the Employee Free Choice Act to expand workers’ right to organize and improve working conditions;
* enhancing worker protection laws to prevent wage theft and workplace abuses;
* preventing the lending and credit industries from taking advantage of minorities and low-income people;
* implementing fair immigration reform that protects workers and their families; and
* providing equal opportunities for jobs for all workers in the emerging green economy.

The Mississippi Budget

The state legislature ended the regular session in early April, they came back in early May, recessed and now are back to see just how the Fed Stim cash will help the budget.

Forbes magazine is reporting:

Mississippi lawmakers said they did the opposite of what they intended Thursday as House and Senate negotiators moved farther apart, rather than closer together, in their budget talks.

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour has urged legislators to be cautious because the recession has caused a decline in state tax collections.  (Yes it has and thanx to Barbour’s BS of giving away everything to corporations.  If you want someone to thank then send Barbour a note.)

The session is now scheduled to end next Wednesday. If the budget is still not done by then, it would take a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to extend the session to allow more time for talks.

You would think that people that are suppose to be our leaders would show some cajones and tell the residents the truth…..that is that they will most likely have to pay higher taxes if they want state programs to continue.

That is a pipedream on my part…they guys and gals that I speak of are cowards and will do nothing that can be used against them in their re-election bid.  The state’s poor will suffer…the state’s workers will suffer…….and still nothing will get accomplished….AS USUAL!

Do Not Give Mississippi Ideas

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s finance officials, faced with a growing budget gap, Thursday unveiled more ways to cut spending by doing away with a popular health care program for children, welfare payments to poor families and grants to university students.

That is the plan to cover a California budgetary shortfall.  After reading that I thought…Damn!…please do not give Barbour any ideas on new ways to screw the poor in Mississippi.

The recession is bad and the poor suffer more than others especially at the hands of state government.  Always the programs for the poor take the biggest hits, and the corporations get yet more tax cuts on the hope that it will stimulate the economy.  So far that has been a bust but no new tact is considered.

Eventually Mississippi will get out of the tax cuts for the rich and taxes for the workers mentality, but until then……workers continue to suffer at the hands of their state government.

Your Car Tags

Something had to be done or the price of Mississippi car tags was going to go up……enter a trick play…..tie the unsuccessful cig tax to the car tag bill……genius…it worked….cigs have gone up.

If we look back 10 years ago and the tobacco lawsuit that was won by the state….think about it……that windfall was to be used to fund an ailing MedicAid program…did not work out that way…did it?  Or that the tax revenue from the new casinos would be used to fund education…..another lie……never do new taxes go to the promised programs or if it does it is some minor that it does not help in the less.

The big argument for a new cig tax was that it only effected a small portion of the population…using that logic….maybe the car tags could be funded by a whopping tax on luxury SUVs…after all that effects only a small portion of the population…..thast will not happen…why…rich people rule!

One of the biggest selling points was that Mississippi collected one of the lowest cig taxes in the country……they wanted it to be more in line with the rest of the country……cool……using that logic….why not bring teachers pay more in line or unemployment benefits or ….well you get my drift.  That selling point was as lame as the population argument.

The true is that it , the tax, will effect the working class more than any other and Mississippi is notorious for crap on its workers.

Is Low Income Housing Gone For Good?

My is answer is yes.

Low income housing is taking a hit on the Coast……many of the units that were destroyed by Katrina are being rebuilt and will be more like Section 8 that the traditional low income housing.

I would expect the housing to change….why?…the state ignores the low income person.  To them they are a group that has no champion…therefore it is about profit not people.

I watched a local housing authority go from an organization of 15 maintenance people to about 5 on the Coast.  That number sadly hinders the quality of the work and repairs.

The people suffer, but it is NOT a maintenance man’s fault they can only do what management allows them to do.  I mean I am talking about a management team that did not want homes to have flowers growing.  The only thing that stopped the plant massacre was the intervention of one Trent Lott.

The housing authority went about planting many, many trees some of which were dead and the contractor was not forced to replace the dead ones.  Just a minor waste of money, but you can see where I am going with this.

To save money, the authority uses contractors instead of in-house people…..but I ask if it really saves money?  At one point the authority had very capable electricians, plumbers, carpenters and such.  And as normal for Mississippi they were paid a lot less than the going job market…..but yet these people have since gone and replaced with low bidder contractors, that have to make return visit after return visit to make good their screw ups.  Does that save money?

Still looks like the residents are not that important, saving money and giving management their raises are.

There Is Always Bad News For Revenue

It constantly amazes me that the state and local administrations continue to have a difficult time finding the money to fund the needed programs.  Yet there is a way and a way that could lead to a self-sufficient community, but stupidity comes into the equation.

Year after year after year, funds are not available and year after year the legislature tries to find ways to come up with the cash.  Most times it involves the bulk of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the working class in Mississippi.

It is time for the state and local entities to find a better way to raise funds that are needed.  As the economy keeps getting worse, funds become smaller and smaller, the people of the state become less and less safe and secure.

The only way to keep the much needed cash rolling into the coffers is by finally accepting the need for Land Value Taxation.  (read page on LVT)  Why?  Easy answer…it fits all the requirements of a perfect tax.  These are:  1–the distribution of the burden would be equitable, 2–tax should minimize the effect on economic activity, 3–the structure should facilitate stabilization and economic growth, 4–should be simple and easily understood by the taxpayer.

If you want the governmental services for your community then a new system of taxation must be found.  It can be done and the people can make it happen.  But as long as they depend on the stale thinking of the past then their community will suffer and possibly wither and die.

It is your choice.

Time To Rethink Property Taxes

Mississippi is struggling with the reality that there is not enough cash to pay for the programs they have, much less any new programs.  The tax structure has been the problem….give aways to business and increases on others have made the whole system a joke at best.  It is time to rethink taxes, especially property taxes.

May I see a show of hands on the people that pay NO property tax thanks to Homestead Exemption?

I hate to be the one that pops a bubble here….but…you do realize that property taxes pays for such services as schools and funds many local programs, right?  Times are tough and getting tougher every year and every year the local politicians find ways to tax everybody.  Eventually reality will set in.

For too long Mississippi has given away revenue with the hope of attracting business and then asks the working majority to foot the bill.  There is a better way…and it would be a win-win scenario.

By making the Land Value Tax the rule, then the Coast and all of Mississippi could have the needed funds to use where it is needed, whether it is education or Medicaid or wherever.

Land rent means taxing land. Not buildings, not work, not commerce, just bare land. Or if land has buildings (as most land has) then the equivalent value of the land if it had no buildings.

Land gets its value its improvements (buildings etc) and from its location. The improvements were made by the hard work of the owners. But the location has value because of what society does, because of roads and schools and good neighbors.

If society taxes buildings and improvements, it steals people’s hard work, their time and energy, their life. Most taxation is therefore theft. But if society taxes the location, then it simply claims back the value it creates. Land rent distinguishes between the individual’s property and society’s property.

If you tax work, the amount of work goes down, because some work becomes less profitable. But if you tax land, the amount of land remains the same. So if you want to encourage work, you should tax land, not work.

Land rent is the only guarantee of fair property rights. If people can charge rent but they pay no rent themselves, eventually one person or one elite will own everything and nobody else can have any property unless it suits the elite. To see why, play the game Monopoly. Monopoly is based on “The Landlord’s Game,” invented by Lizzie Magie as a way to show why we need land rent.

Land rent is the most efficient way of creating wealth because it gives resources to those who can use them best (that is, those who can generate the most wealth from the land).

Land rent creates economic justice, by ensuring that everyone keeps the wealth they create, and any extra is given back to society. So nobody has unfair privileges, and everyone has an equal chance to succeed.

Land rent provides a fair system for all, because it generates wealth for society, yet it is so simple that corruption and inefficiency have nowhere to hide.  This is a definite plus, for today, those are the major problems with the taxation of land.

Even the Mississippi Economic Policy Center has called for the state to revamp its taxation system, then why not take the opportunity to truly revamp the tax policy?  Mississippi is always in need of funds, but its ruling few refuse to find a more equitable system.  The economic situation that Mississippi and the country finds themselves is a perfect time to find a more efficient tax system.

Taxation Proposal

In a local Coast community, Ocean Springs, MS has come up with a novel idea to get people to expand or innovate their businesses.

The proposed tax abatement will allow businesses to deduct up to 80 percent of their city property tax for a period of 10 years on any expansions or renovations.

It does not apply to businesses such as apartment complexes and condominiums.

Mayor Connie Moran said some business owners in Ocean Springs are unsure about expanding or renovating their businesses because of the higher tax bill they’ll receive.

By receiving a break on their city taxes, they can proceed with their improvement projects.

Another give away to business—where will the city make up for the revenue loss for this move?

Instead of looking for ways to increase the revenue and thusly able to fund city preojects without going in the hole, these people want to give away the revenue and worry about it later.  It is all just a stupid political game.

This could be avoided by one very simple move–Land Value Taxation–it is not a difficult thing to do…it will take will and ability…two things that most of the mayors on the Coast do not have.  They are elected by personality and likability, not capability

If more is needed about LVT then please click on my page here entitled, Land Value Taxation, and an explanation of the proposal will be there to check it out.

Buy And Shop Locally

We have all seen the ads on the tube where local business leaders stand around and tell you that it is your duty to help the local economy during this time of crisis by shopping and buying locally.

But where is the incentive for the consumer to do so?  They will go where they save a buck, not because some overpaid spokesperson is saying to to so.

Recently I read an article about the use of BerkShares, a currency printed by some local people in the Massachusetts area.

BerkShares are a local currency for the Berkshire region. Dubbed a “great economic experiment” by the New York Times, BerkShares are a tool for community empowerment, enabling merchants and consumers to plant the seeds for an alternative economic future for their communities. Launched in the fall of 2006, BerkShares had a robust initiation, with over one million BerkShares having been circulated in the first nine months and over two million to date. Currently, more than three hundred and fifty businesses have signed up to accept the currency. Five different banks have partnered with BerkShares, with a total of twelve branch offices now serving as exchange stations. For BerkShares, this is only the beginning. Future plans could involve BerkShare checking accounts, electronic transfer of funds, ATM machines, and even a loan program to facilitate the creation of new, local businesses manufacturing more of the goods that are used locally.
Click here for more information about BerkShares.

This is a better idea that needs exploring  if these people are serious about shoppinmg and spending locally.  This concept fulfills all the criteria of shopping locally and helping the establishments.

The problem is that Mississippi is never serious about the local thing….local business do not pay the political bills and buy few friends, real friends.  Coastians need to give with their local reps and force these people to do something for the Coast and its  people and businesses.

I am afraid that my writing is falling on blind eyes….but that is not unusual.