Tuesday, December 24, 2013 7:34:28 AM
Watching Scotty Blow, Continued
Photo Illustration by DonkeyHotey [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/6212806734/ ] via Flickr/Special to The Politics Blog
By Charles P. Pierce
Dec 20, 2013 at 12:15PM
It's the holiday season, and all that Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to run their midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin, wants is a little more help in turning his state [ http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/scott-walker-eliminating-income-tax-raising-sales-tax-on-the/article_4438e053-22bc-5d4c-9475-5655f36c440c.html ] into Mississippi with cross-country skiing.
Walker told WisPolitics.com on Tuesday that he is "envious" of other states that have eliminated income taxes, and that he could support raising the state's 5 percent sales tax rate or eliminating sales tax exemptions to help cover the revenue loss that would result from killing income taxes. Income taxes make up about $8.4 billion a year - roughly half of the state's general fund. "Any discussion about this clearly should involve an outright elimination (of state income taxes)," Walker told the website.
Welcome to the world of the $19 apple, Badgerland!
It should be noted here that this is the same trial balloon [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/us/gov-bobby-jindal-shelves-tax-plan-in-louisiana.html ] floated last spring by "Bobby" Jindal, the warped bit of superannuated presidential timber who presides over Louisiana. It didn't stay aloft long enough to get from Baton Rouge to Gonzales. (The Louisiana business community probably killed the idea.) Wisconsin should be a tougher sell. But Scotty's doing all he can to make the plan as thoroughgoing a bag job as is humanly possible.
Walker's comments come as Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Department of Revenue secretary Rick Chandler have begun holding private, invitation-only discussions around the state about tax reform at Walker's direction. The first meeting - last week at Beloit College - came under criticism for barring the public from most of the meeting. About 25 participants had "a candid and robust discussion," according to Kleefisch spokesman Casey Himebauch. It's unclear how many meetings the administration will hold, but the goal is to start a discussion about tax reform, he said. Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said the public will eventually have a chance to weigh in, and that Walker has no preconceived ideas about what to do.
That last statement is almost assuredly a barefaced non-fact. (For example, Walker surely has a "preconceived idea" that income taxes should not rise on the upper 1 percent of Wisconsin's taxpayers.) But don't underestimate Scotty's ability to finagle in the shadier areas. A lot of people in Wisconsin are looking at that talent quite closely [ http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scott-walker-says-he-hopes-john-doe-investigation-ends-soon ] even as we speak.
In other Walker-related news this week, the guy who sent his Capitol goons out to arrest grandparents for singing in the state capitol building this week defended the free-speech rights of high-schools to have school mascots [ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/19/scott-walker-signs-bill-making-it-harder-to-change-racist-school-mascots/ ] that the state's Native American tribes find offensive. What a guy. Truly.
©2013 Hearst Communications, Inc.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/scott-walker-wisconsin-income-tax-122013 [with comments]
--
Eliminating income tax would hurt
December 21, 2013
http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/opinion/mailbag/article_a722eb77-74df-5062-b26c-9c860745c181.html [with comment]
--
Koch brothers' foundation backed [totally bogus] rosy May report on Wisconsin economy
Dec. 18, 2013
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/koch-brothers-foundation-backed-rosy-may-report-on-wisconsin-economy-b99161239z1-236425631.html [with comments]
--
Walker Is Responsible for the State’s Economic Disaster
Dec. 23, 2013
http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-22393-walker-is-responsible-for-the-state-s-economic-disaster.html [no comments yet]
--
The year in movies, from 'Citizen Koch' to cocktails at Point
December 23, 2013
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/the-year-in-movies-from-citizen-koch-to-cocktails-at/article_782bd869-30f7-5347-8e7f-d0b3671a42ce.html [with comments]
--
(linked in):
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=93900695 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94155550 and following
Photo Illustration by DonkeyHotey [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/6212806734/ ] via Flickr/Special to The Politics Blog
By Charles P. Pierce
Dec 20, 2013 at 12:15PM
It's the holiday season, and all that Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to run their midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin, wants is a little more help in turning his state [ http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/scott-walker-eliminating-income-tax-raising-sales-tax-on-the/article_4438e053-22bc-5d4c-9475-5655f36c440c.html ] into Mississippi with cross-country skiing.
Walker told WisPolitics.com on Tuesday that he is "envious" of other states that have eliminated income taxes, and that he could support raising the state's 5 percent sales tax rate or eliminating sales tax exemptions to help cover the revenue loss that would result from killing income taxes. Income taxes make up about $8.4 billion a year - roughly half of the state's general fund. "Any discussion about this clearly should involve an outright elimination (of state income taxes)," Walker told the website.
Welcome to the world of the $19 apple, Badgerland!
It should be noted here that this is the same trial balloon [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/us/gov-bobby-jindal-shelves-tax-plan-in-louisiana.html ] floated last spring by "Bobby" Jindal, the warped bit of superannuated presidential timber who presides over Louisiana. It didn't stay aloft long enough to get from Baton Rouge to Gonzales. (The Louisiana business community probably killed the idea.) Wisconsin should be a tougher sell. But Scotty's doing all he can to make the plan as thoroughgoing a bag job as is humanly possible.
Walker's comments come as Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Department of Revenue secretary Rick Chandler have begun holding private, invitation-only discussions around the state about tax reform at Walker's direction. The first meeting - last week at Beloit College - came under criticism for barring the public from most of the meeting. About 25 participants had "a candid and robust discussion," according to Kleefisch spokesman Casey Himebauch. It's unclear how many meetings the administration will hold, but the goal is to start a discussion about tax reform, he said. Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said the public will eventually have a chance to weigh in, and that Walker has no preconceived ideas about what to do.
That last statement is almost assuredly a barefaced non-fact. (For example, Walker surely has a "preconceived idea" that income taxes should not rise on the upper 1 percent of Wisconsin's taxpayers.) But don't underestimate Scotty's ability to finagle in the shadier areas. A lot of people in Wisconsin are looking at that talent quite closely [ http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scott-walker-says-he-hopes-john-doe-investigation-ends-soon ] even as we speak.
In other Walker-related news this week, the guy who sent his Capitol goons out to arrest grandparents for singing in the state capitol building this week defended the free-speech rights of high-schools to have school mascots [ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/19/scott-walker-signs-bill-making-it-harder-to-change-racist-school-mascots/ ] that the state's Native American tribes find offensive. What a guy. Truly.
©2013 Hearst Communications, Inc.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/scott-walker-wisconsin-income-tax-122013 [with comments]
--
Eliminating income tax would hurt
December 21, 2013
http://www.wiscnews.com/wisconsindellsevents/news/opinion/mailbag/article_a722eb77-74df-5062-b26c-9c860745c181.html [with comment]
--
Koch brothers' foundation backed [totally bogus] rosy May report on Wisconsin economy
Dec. 18, 2013
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/koch-brothers-foundation-backed-rosy-may-report-on-wisconsin-economy-b99161239z1-236425631.html [with comments]
--
Walker Is Responsible for the State’s Economic Disaster
Dec. 23, 2013
http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-22393-walker-is-responsible-for-the-state-s-economic-disaster.html [no comments yet]
--
The year in movies, from 'Citizen Koch' to cocktails at Point
December 23, 2013
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/the-year-in-movies-from-citizen-koch-to-cocktails-at/article_782bd869-30f7-5347-8e7f-d0b3671a42ce.html [with comments]
--
(linked in):
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=93900695 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94155550 and following
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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