Bill Wayne Weblog

Tuesday February 14, 2006

Filing for LP Committees Filing for offices opens in just two weeks. While we're concerned about fielding candidates (preferably competitive ones) for state, federal and county offices, let's not forget about party offices. Each established political party may have a committeeman and committeewoman from each precinct (township, ward, however you're organized - see the statute for details. All you have to do is file at the appropriate office, normally the County Clerk. If you're the only person who files for a position, your name won't even appear on the ballot. Naturally, there are some requirements. According to Missouri Revised Satutes 115.607. 1. "No person shall be elected or shall serve as a member of a county committee who is not, for one year next before the person's election, both a registered voter of and a resident of the county and the committee district from which the person is elected." There is a $25 filing fee in Jackson County (but this money goes to the local LP and can be waived - see the statute); it's free in all other counties. St. Louis County only selects committee members in gubernatorial years. Financial disclosure is NOT required. Plus, you get your name in the "Blue Book." OK - You live someplace other than St. Louis and you will have lived in your precinct for over a year on August 8th, you can file, between February 28th and March 28th. Let's all do it. Bill ( Feb 14 2006, 08:15:16 AM CST ) Permalink

Tuesday January 10, 2006

Tax credits for non-profits Y.E.S., Aquila and tax credits: I suppose I should be pleased that Aquila (the electric company) has donated $7,000 to Youth Excited about Sports (Y.E.S.), since I have 300 shares of that benighted company. You see, that donation will reduce their state taxes by $3,500, thereby decreasing their loss for the year and inching them ever-so-minutely toward profitability. And, as I've said in a previous post, Y.E.S. appears on the surface to be a pretty worthwhile organization as a private entity offering an alternative to the tax-supported Warrensburg Parks & Rec programs. Then, why am I upset? I'm upset with state laws that give away great gobs of our money (in this case, up to $650,000 over two grants) to private charities. Wouldn't it be better to let taxpayers keep the money and donate to the organizations they feel are best qualified? I'm not sure how well-qualified Y.E.S. is, since on a quick search of charitable databases they weren't to be found (and the official Missouri state website was down), but it's still a decision I should make myself rather than having some committee do it for me (& for every other taxpayer). I'm upset with Aquila. The company is run by the Green brothers (nephews of Warrensburg Daily Star Journal owner Avis Tucker), who tried to make it a high-flying energy trader - like Enron. When Enron led the collapse of whole energy trading industry, it almost took Aquila with it. Since then, Aquila's been busily selling off its assets to cover its bad debts - and giving management substantial bonuses for doing so. And now they are asking the state to allow them to raise rates by about 30%. It would be nice to see what Aquila's annual donation expenditures are, even locally, and what percent of them qualify for tax credits. It would be very nice to see what Y.E.S. has been spending directly on programs compared to its overhead. It would be nicest of all if we got rid of the favor-laden income tax system that allows governments to give away other peoples' money ( Jan 10 2006, 08:52:09 AM CST ) Permalink

Saturday December 31, 2005

Transportation Development Districts - A Consumer Rip-off The Warrensburg City Council got into an unholy alliance with a developer and approved a Transportation Development District for a new commercial development here. Businesses who build in the district will collect an extra 1/2 cent sales tax for the next 25...

Thursday December 29, 2005

Eminent Domain Coming to Johnson County? Highway 13 Bypass of Warrensburg – another example of the need to reform eminent domain rules: It seems that the Warrensburg area will soon have its own eminent domain crisis. The Missouri Department of Transportation had a “public...

Tuesday December 27, 2005

Stop the Bribery - Johnson County Enhanced Enterprise Zone Written for Warrensburg on 11/4: The Daily Star Journal reported that "local officials are looking into whether the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Tax Benefit Program would be a helpful way to increase economic growth in Johnson County." To be eligible, a location has to fit some formula that includes population, unemployment rates and poverty rates. This EEZ is another method to transfer taxpayer dollars to private businesses by giving them tax credits - i.e., corporate welfare. I call it bribery.

What's wrong with tax credits? Well, to start with they distort economic decisions. Businesses, instead of looking at true economic factors (labor force, cost of construction & production, transportation, etc.), have to compare the bribes offered by competing locales.

Second, they're based on artificial statistics. The so-called "poverty line" implies that people are in dire need. While some are truly needy, many people living in "poverty" have the modern amenities of American life - color TVs, cell phones, cars, etc. Unemployment rates discount the mobility of the population and the existence of unemployables. Traditionally, 4-5% unemployment rates are considered "full employment" and Johnson County's rate has been far below that rate.

Third, tax-based incentives for business take money from agencies other than the one granting the credits. In Johnson County, we have many taxing bodies outside of the cities and County. These include the schools, emergency services such as the hospital, ambulance district and fire districts, and community services such as the library, community health and the sheltered workshop. Presiding Commissioner Brenner is correct in citing this concern.

Whenever taxes due to a taxing district are taken as part of some sort of development incentive, the other districts must either do with less (not always a bad idea) or try to increase their own tax rate. In either case, the taxpayers are paying for services they are not getting because the money is going to "economic development."

In a Libertarian world, governments wouldn't be allowed to bribe businesses to relocate. Tax incentives are just another facet of government "taking" compensation, which our Supreme Court approved of in the 5-4 Kelo decision. While I recognize that we live in a competitive world where foreswearing tax incentives is tantamount to unilateral disarmament, we can start somewhere. On the local level, we can be very judicious in their use; at the state level, our legislature should forbid the use of incentives to induce a company to relocate from another city in the state. Eventually, perhaps we can rid ourselves of this pernicious practice.

( Dec 27 2005, 08:20:44 PM CST ) Permalink

A new Blog I've decided to add my comments to the Show ME Blog, based on the comments I write for local consumption in Warrensburg & Johnson County. I'll cross-post those that may be of interest outside the immediate area, possibly with additional comments to make them more relevant to our Missouri Libertarian community as a whole. I also want to help identify issues that we can use in legislative races, casting them in libertarian terms, but in a way to attract other voters disgusted with the excesses of government at all levels.

Please bear with me as I try to figure out the configuration of this blog as opposed to the one I do in Warrensburg. ( Dec 27 2005, 08:07:15 PM CST ) Permalink