Fiscally conservative states pulling away from the pack
January 17, 2013 at 5:31 pm in News by Dustin Siggins 13 Comments
Last week, Texas made news for tremendous budgetary and economic projections by the state’s comptroller. Less widely discussed are the positive fiscal situations in which Indiana, Iowa, Florida, and Michigan find themselves. These states, empowered by sound tax and spending policies, are the antithesis of flailing states like high-tax, high-spending California and Illinois.
As of this week, it looks like the good tax policies of these several states may have two new friends in the near future. From Erika Johnsen at Hot Air comes news that Nebraska’s governor is looking at eliminating all corporate and income taxes in his state. Of course, special interests are opposing this plan – their exemptions are more important than a fair, efficient tax code. Johnsen sums it up nicely in her post:
States that do without having employing all three of the most common tax methods (income, sales, and corporate) tend to be more competitive, and the Nebraska code currently harbors a lot of exemptions for farmers, ranchers, and large agribusiness, some of the state’s biggest industries. Simplifying the tax code and breaking up the influence of large and organized special interests is something for which I won’t hold my breath out of the Obama administration, but at least certain states are brainstorming and doing what they can to improve their own economic outlooks.
Perhaps more relevantly for national politics is the welcome proposal by Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal to eliminate the same taxes in his state. From Daniel Mitchell at Hot Air’s sister site, Townhall.com:
He’s already implemented some good school choice reform, notwithstanding wretched and predictable opposition from the state’s teachers’ union.
Now he wants to get rid of the state’s personal and corporate income taxes.
This would be a big and bold step, and I shared some evidence recently showing that states with no income tax grow faster and create more jobs.
Correctly, Mitchell mostly shrugs at the idea that Governor Jindal is only looking at this tax proposal for political reasons:
Some people probably think Jindal is pushing this agenda merely because he may run for President in 2016.
My attitude is “so what?”
So long as he implements better policy, I don’t care if he’s motivated by a Ouija board.
But since he has a reputation for being a policy wonk, I suspect his motivations are to make Louisiana a more prosperous state.
And if bold reform also happens to increase his national stature, I’m sure he’s more than happy to reap any political benefits.
If he succeeds, Louisiana will enjoy more growth.
Equally important, as I stated in the interview, his success would show that Obama’s class-warfare agenda may have some appeal in basket-case states such as California, but it doesn’t have much support among people who understand that growth is the only effective (and moral) way of achieving a better life.
As the federal government looks to take more of our money to feed spending addictions, it is increasingly up to the states to enact sustainable, fiscally-sound policies to increase the livelihoods of their citizens. Texas, Iowa, Indiana, Florida, and Michigan have done so in dramatic fashion, and it looks like Nebraska and Louisiana may be joining the crowd.
IMPEACH NOW
Please talk about balancing the trade policies with ALL Countries, that is really killing our tax base because the jobs all going overseas or being phased out by technology….
Also making the tax policies fair, get rid of the loopholes and unfair benefits for the rich, and the large corporations many do Not pay a fair share at all…..
Many people don’t pay there fair share either like the 51% that is getting free phones,99 weeks of unemployment,snap and other government assistance. It is not the job of the rich to take care of them so I tell you what cut all the hand outs before you start asking for more money
????? I’am new here why dont we just Impeach Obama Now. how far is this man going to go. it kills me to see Amercia this way God Help us all
Impeach Obama for what? What laws did he break? Stop with all this nonsense. Why do you think the Republican elites want to kick the Tea Party to the curb. We need to be serious about the issues and increase our numbers. Our base is old and dying off while the deadbeat liberals are increasing in numbers.
This morning I watched Arnold Swartzennegar on Fox and was suprized by his GIRLYMAN respose to a question on what he would do if he were in Boehners shoes (sorry if misspelled).He said he would cut a deal maybe not the exact words but you can see where Im going. I would like to know how his negotiation skills have helped California so far. Since he is good (or maybe his agent is) at negotiating movie deals and makes more at it maybe he should have walked away from California as it may just be a welfare possition that keeps liberals employed. Obama has already said he wont negotiate and in the same breath gave the republicans the responsibility to come up with the answer as long as its his way. Obamas style is a no win scorched earth policy even if he wins we all lose. DONT BE A NATIONAL CALIFORNIA OR NEW YORK. that have or had republicans like Arnold and Bloomberg running Nanny states that cant get their citizenry off the tit. Bloomberg thinks its OK to decide what resturants can serve and what size soda you can have. (a good example of government taking your rights because they know better than you) Neither is a conservative Rhinos at best Bloomberg should
be asked in a big way to remove his republican lable.
Hooray for Jindal and anyone with guts that Arnold had to start with but lost by a defeat of his agenda the next election. I hope Bobby Jindal gets back up and fights until there is nothing left if need be. There may be more than one round in his fight.
I am an imigration enforcement Hawk. I listened to Rubios plan and agree with most of it as of now and can accept it the way it is only and no weeker than it is. It only benefits those willing to get in a line pay taxes and stay out of trouble without benefits while being checked out and only getting a greencard while they learn english and await a turn in line behind legal imigrants. Its not instant amnesty it has fines for illegaly imigrating.It removes crimminals and those who cant obey the laws after they apply.
Most of all it calls for border controll as a priority. Fences and check points do stop vehichles and modern technolegy can see by camera people coming across along the border. E- verify has even caught Obamas fake SSN we just need to followup on that. Its earned amnesty not instant and reforms the system of imigration. Take a look at it as a whole before shooting it down.
Look at Texas that seems to be the pattern most Red states want to follow. Had it not been for the price of oil going through the roof Texas would have been in worse shape than any other state. Look at what these policies do to the working people of that state. Tied with Mississippi for minimum wage jobs. Number one in the country for teen pregnancy thats with the insane primes of abstinence only. Huge tax breaks to companies that are making billions. 25% of the population don’t have insurance. The state and the federal government wrote off 4.6 billion in hospital bills. Cut education just don’t cut the tax breaks. We are #2 for high school drop outs. We are well over 100 billion in debt right now half way into our budget. We use a budget two years. They will cut education when they come up short again or medicare. Medicare in Texas has the toughest rules in the country. Medicaid is even worse. When you back Jindal just think Texas good for business terrible for working people. Jindal tried to divert education funds to religious schools the only problem is with that the Hindu’s and Muslims and Scientology all will get the same share of all of our tax dollars. Everybody suffers except for the elite. That 7.25 dollar wage should be 12-13 just to break even. But it stays at the top. Think about two twenty five year olds that have been on a job for 5-6 years and have a child. How can they have a place to live and at least one vehicle. The numbers don’t work. They end up living with their parents just to survive. Before you buy into these tax cuts find out who is going to make up the lost income to that state. It won’t be the upper esultants of the companies. Their profits will stay the same and the wages stagnate. You will make up the difference. Just look at Texas. Its tough in Texas for the average worker. Ever had to compete 7.00 an hour job. Follow their formula and you will have to.
John – I agree – I lived in Round Rock Texas for over 2 years and hated it. Between the broken infrastructure, heat, and contaminated water, I had enough and left. People don’t understand that low taxes come at a price. Also lower cost of living is offset by lower pay in Texas.
what was u living in a sewer and what the hell does the heat have to do with lower taxes. so you live in one city, what broken infrastructure that’s a buzz word you libs use to get tax money for bullshit, 6 trillion dollar in debt in 4 years and i don’t see any “infrastructure” what did Obamas stimulus in 2009 that he tried to add to Bushs 09 budget and libs have tried to say o had spent less than any other pres he added 17.9% to Bushs budget in Feb of 09. i live 100 miles from Round Rock when did u have contaminated water? what after a storm, New york has contaminated water. and to the lib above you industry is industry Ca has oil industry why are they bankrupt their min wage is higher why are their people in no better shape, you’ll want inflation in tx .
A minimum wage job is an honest job and sucks less off the tit than job creation through fed or state and its contractors who rob us for unsustainable benefits and construction that cost far more than it should. even so those jobs are only so many so alot of people in those states are unemployed .raised on welfare.and its far more impossible in those states because costs always get passed on. Think about how much cheaper things would be if the raised cost of regulation was gone and the people were not so frustrated with regulation they could start more businesses and creat a better demand for labor. And if the government got out from between an employer and labor since it is the driving force behind part time employment at all major supermarkets and dept stores trying to make a profit around regulations because they have to. It was better before intervention my grandfather got full retirement from CVS that used to be peoples drug store.
In spite of King Barack being reelected, the Conservative agenda is making progress in these states. As more states improve their financial stability, citizens of other states that don’t will start to sit up and take notice, i.e. “what are they doing to achieve this?” We need to start working toward the 2014 elections NOW, as you know “King Barack and his court” will never stop working toward picking our pockets like a thief on the street. We have to realize that this is a fight for the existence of the America we all used to know. Let’s get started!
The real problem here is very complex and complicated. Dealing with any one single issue will never bring about a real solution. Lets look at spending responsibly. That is a great plan that should be instituted on a state and national level. Lets look at the jobs market. I’m no guru, but common sense tells me that if you would create a structure that would encourage buying and selling locally, more jobs and revenue and people working as a result would be the outcome. Lets look at foreign trade policy. Anyone that really thinks about it can figure out that because of the trade policies, the corporate fat-cats are the ones that are getting richer, all the while the jobs, savings, and money of the American people are being sent overseas, because they have the market stacked that way.
Real solutions?
The government and the corporations are at the root of the problem. BIG business. BIG government. Unfortunately, Republicans too often want Big business, and the Democrats too often want the Big government, while both are the problem. The real issue is that we are not a government FOR the people BY the people anymore. We are a government that whoever can get up there and put on the best show and spend the most money to have a good media campaign, that is the one that wins, regardless of the true facts involved. We don’t have very many, and not nearly enough politicians that are ‘regular joes’ in society with a real interest in the well-being of our nation as a whole. We have people that are motivated by corporate interest, the corporations have them in their pockets, special interests, they have an agenda that is not about our country as a whole, or the government has them in their pocket, a certain political motivation. So we have many many puppets that say nice things to the people, and behind closed doors they are taking a handout or a cut from some special interest rather than taking a stand.
This country could be turned around. That’s for sure. But not while these dynamics are allowed BY THE PEOPLE to go unchecked and under the radar. The media and everyone involved are very good at manipulation, to keep people divided on petty issues while they are going for your jugular vein behind your back. Its the whole slight of hand trick that all the magicians use to give you the illusion of something that really isn’t that way.
At the end of the day, our conservative viewpoints are dying out in this country. Why?
What gave us the insight, the work ethic, the ingenuity, the endurance, the confidence to fight against the odds? What gave us our moral convictions of right and wrong, and the ability to rise above every other nation in freedom, economics, status, etc? Where did we get our blueprint for wisdom and counsel and understanding on how to treat our fellowman, and how things ought to be done? Look at the fabric of the society that you live in. Look at the fading principles that once made it great. Is it any great wonder that God had his rightful place in peoples lives to which they were accountable, and the wisdom we used to establish this country was the Bible, THE Truth, and the very fact that it is true was evidenced by the fact that its principles of Truth endured in our country for the long term, unlike any other country. And people were connected to the truth, they loved and lived in their lives, creating men of integrity and honor, very unlike what we have today. We cant divorce ourselves and exonerate (to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship …) ourselves from truth in our personal lives and expect that society as a whole will continue to maintain the prosperity that Truth once produced, especially since we all as individuals ARE the building blocks OF our society. We all need to look at our own lives at our own greater need and do business with God, and recognize where we have fallen, and then take a stand in the public and social arena of life and make a difference. Change has to start at home. Its just the way the world was designed.
Lets make a difference.
In response to the minimum wage comments: The establishment of the minimum wage was
not so people could have a “living wage” which is something else entirely.It was established
to ensure that no one or a company could pay anyone working,any wage they wanted or thought the job was worth. It was intended to establish a base rate of pay that could be used
to base other pay rates on.It was also never meant to be a wage that people would actually
“live on” all their working years,it was intended to be an entry level job base rate of pay,
however,in our country as a whole, we have let the politicians and corporate bean counters send our good paying jobs out of the country,only to be replaced by minimum
wage service jobs.Look at any town or city and you will see factories that used to provide
good paying jobs closed down.This is a major concern,it all started when the North American Free Trade Act was passed.There are many other concerns also,but that is another story.