Budget and Tax
Thursday, May 15, 2008Alabama Transparency Bill is Considered for an Award--of SortsMichael Ciamarra, Alabama Policy Institute Filed As: Budget and TaxThere is a tradition in the Alabama Legislature that on the last day of the session an award for the "deadest-of-dead" bills is given. There is specific criteria when evaluating who is going to be given this award: The bill would change the way things work but never even got out of committee and ... more »»
|
Wednesday, May 14, 2008Spending Cuts are Temporary; Tax Increases are PermanentBy John LaPlanteFiled As: Budget and TaxI was recently reading a story of a time when public officials needed to address a budget deficit. The governor argued for spending cuts while the legislature argued for tax increases. The eventual solution involved both. So who won? The view that government should grow. Spending cuts ... more »»
|
Tuesday, May 13, 2008Take $419,953 From Roads to Raise Health Care CostsBusiness as Usual at the Colorado Statehouse By Linda GormanFiled As: Budget and Tax, Health CareIn the annual General Assembly spend fest, this year’s Colorado legislature has sunk to new depths by diverting money from the state highway budget to fund regulations that will increase health care costs. While the roads and bridges crumble, Colorado politicians have already begun the ... more »»
|
Tuesday, May 13, 2008Milwaukee to Extend "Temporary" TaxBy John LaPlanteFiled As: Budget and TaxThere's nothing so permanent as a temporary government program--or tax. The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute's blog notes that Milwaukee's temporary tax on cell phones--meant to upgrade the city's 911 call center--will be extended, if Mayor Tom Barrett gets his way. Did I ... more »»
|
Friday, May 9, 2008I'm a Taxpayer: Show Me the MoneyBy John LaPlanteFiled As: Budget and Tax, Education (k-12)The Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy has several projects that help taxpayers understand how government is spending their money. Check it out. If you don't have something like this in your state, you should.
|
Monday, May 5, 2008Shred those Papers!By John LaPlanteFiled As: Budget and TaxHere's one cost of our excessively demanding and complex tax system that doesn't get much attention: It generates a lot of paper. I received in my virtual inbox an invitation from my accountant, to shred some real papers. "On Saturday, May 10 we will have a document destruction ... more »»
|
Monday, May 5, 2008Voting With Their ... TiresBy John LaPlanteFiled As: Budget and TaxA fundamental insight of economics is that people respond to incentives. One of those incentives, though certainly not the only one, is the price of a product. The price is in turn affected by a variety of factors, including the sales tax levied by governments. Maine has a sales tax. Its ... more »»
|
Friday, May 2, 2008Wisconsin Poised to Punt their Budget DeficitFiled As: Budget and TaxDue to a slumping economy and virtually no rainy day fund on which to draw, Wisconsin legislators have been struggling to fill in a $527 million general fund budget deficit. Rather than using the shortfall as an opportunity to make changes to avoid future revenue and spending problems, Governor Doyle ... more »»
|
Wednesday, April 30, 2008Cutting the Budget GapBy John LaPlanteFiled As: Budget and TaxWith many states on track to spend more than they're taking in, the work of state-focused groups to find ways of making government smarter and smaller are more needed than ever. The latest example comes from Maine, ... more »»
|
Monday, April 28, 2008If Taxpayers Build a Theater and Nobody Books It ....By John LaPlanteFiled As: Budget and TaxCharles J. Sykes writes about an edifice complex that has built an expensive--and largely unused--theater in Milwaukee. "From the beginning, critics sniped that spending $42 million in taxpayer ... more »»
|
| Total Posts: 161 | [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 » »| |
| SPN Headquarters: 2020 North 14th Street Ste 250 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: (703) 243-1655 | West Coast Office: PO Box 5208 Richmond, CA 94805 Phone: (510) 965-9700 |
