March 28-31, 2013
Mar 28 05:37 Dayton's Dishonesty Mar 28 13:56 Government as the enemy Mar 29 00:27 Was tax expert's testimony willfully ignored? Mar 29 06:58 Moorhead University names Bill Ayers Visiting Scholar Mar 30 17:33 SCSU hockey team a game away from first Frozen Four appearance Mar 31 19:18 SCSU punches ticket to Frozen Four
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Was tax expert's testimony willfully ignored?
Dr. John Spry is one of the best, if not the best, tax experts in Minnesota. He provided written testimony to the Senate Tax Committee on the Gambling Control Board's estimates on e-tabs revenues. The text of Dr. Spry's written statement is contained in this post . This testimony is particularly troubling:
There is obviously a large difference in revenue between the Gambling Control Board's estimate that 95% of paper pull-tabs and tip boards would be eliminated and its estimate that 20% would be eliminated. One thing we know for sure is that not all of the Gambling Control Board estimates can be close to being correct.
It is hard to understand how the Gambling Control Board estimated that the new forms of gambling would reduce paper lawful gambling but not have any negative effects on lottery sales and state revenue from the lottery. Perhaps they just didn't consider effects on the lottery in their estimation process. This is a significant omission.
In the rush to pass a Vikings stadium bill, did legislators and Gov. Dayton willfully ignore Dr. Spry's testimony? It isn't a stretch to think they did, though that's still an open question.
What isn't in question is whether the Gambling Control Board didn't have a clue about their revenue estimates. Their conflicting estimates indicate that they weren't certain of their estimates. In essence, their estimates were nothing more than wild guesses.
That's unacceptable considering the size of the state-held bond of this project. To make this type of estimate based on -- who knows what they based it on -- is unacceptable, almost to the point of fireable malfeasance. If a private sector revenue forecaster was off by that big of an amount, that forecaster would be fired within minutes of reality settling in.
What's more troubling is the composition of the Gambling Control Board. Why weren't there massive firings after this disaster? There isn't a justification for someone being off by this much. Is it that these government employees are held to that low of a standard of competence? God help us if that's the case.
Whatever the standards were in the past, these employees have to be held accountable. Anything less is unacceptable.
Posted Friday, March 29, 2013 12:27 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 29-Mar-13 06:35 AM
I think we have just witnessed a tremendous example of the liberal talent for magical thinking. They want it to be so, and therefore it must be so. They believe they can command it.
Comment 2 by walter hanson at 31-Mar-13 01:11 PM
Gary:
It is quite obvious what happened. The gambling board put out the number so the lawmakers who wanted to vote for the stadium could claim it was fully funded (when it wasn't) and the gambling control board could claim they didn't lie. It was just tough to estimate.
Though there were lots of people last year saying that this wasn't going to work.
For this year's budget anybody who thought that the Vikings was fully paid for shouldn't have a say in shaping the budget since they don't know anything about budgets.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Dayton's Dishonesty
When Gov. Dayton visited St. Cloud Tuesday night, he said that he wouldn't raise taxes on the middle class. That's a verifiable lie. His budget includes increases in the metro sales tax and the cigarette tax. Both taxes are regressive taxes, meaning they'll hit the middle class and the working poor harder than they'll hit 1-percenters.
Appearing on Ox in the Afternoon, Sen. John Pederson said that he's the ranking minority member on the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee. He's also the ranking minority member on the Finance- Transportation and Public Safety Committee. As a member of the Senate Transportation Finance Division, he got a fiscal note on the Senate's proposed .75% metro sales tax increase. That fiscal note said that it would raise $300,000,000 a year, all of it dedicated to metro transit projects.
That tax will hit the middle class and the working poor the hardest.
That's before talking about Gov. Dayton's 94-cent-per-pack cigarette tax increase, which hurts convenience store operators :
Convenience store owners challenged a cigarette tax hike proposal by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton at a town hall meeting earlier this week, Minnesota Public Radio reports.
The retailers said that the governor's plan to raise the cigarette tax by 94 cents a pack will send their customers to bordering North Dakota.
"When you lose those tobacco customers, those guys and gals that come in every single morning and get their coffee, their pop, they buy their gas, they buy their car washes...we're all of a sudden looking at running our business on 75%-60% of our customer base. And that's pretty tough to do,' said Frank Orton, owner of 15 convenience stores.
Dayton said the tax is designed to deter smoking, though he told Orton that he is willing to consider adding tobacco products to legislation that equalizes taxes for businesses located along state borders.
"If people can go across the river and buy their cigarettes in Fargo for whatever less the tax difference is it's obviously undermining the intent of our raising the tax at all because they can just go over there and not be affected by it," Dayton said.
Gov. Dayton is utterly clueless. People driving across the Red River to North Dakota or crossing into Wisconsin or Iowa is the totally predictable outcome to his proposal. Though this wasn't the intent of the legislation, that's the predictable outcome of raising taxes.
In that article, Gov. Dayton admitted that people change their behavior when taxes get raised. What's galling about that is that he apparently thinks that businesses that can relocate to other states won't move if he raises income taxes. According to this article , St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce President Teresa Bohnen has proof he's wrong:
St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce President Teresa Bohen says she's recently talked with four local companies who say they may have to transfer their investments to other states, if the Governor's plan goes through.
That's a polite way of saying they'll move if their taxes get raised.
One thing that came through clearly from Tuesday's meeting was that Gov. Dayton and his supporters think of businesses as second class citizens. That attitude was clear this week. It was clear when Gov. Dayton addressed the State Chamber of Commerce gathering in St. Paul 2 weeks ago.
That's after they applauded Gov. Dayton for pulling his sales tax increase from his budget proposal. Gov. Dayton then went on a hissy fit tirade, saying that businesses weren't paying their fair share, that they were essentially getting a free ride.
In addition to being dishonest, Gov. Dayton apparently isn't the brightest bulb in the DFL chandelier. If Minnesota's businesses start expanding in other states as a direct result of Gov. Dayton's and the DFL's tax policies, their move will undercut whatever growth is happening right now.
Gov. Dayton hasn't made economic growth his highest priority. Apparently, tax fairness is Gov. Dayton's and the DFL's guiding principle. They apparently haven't learned that a rising tide lifts all ships and that a growing economy benefits everyone.
That's a sad day in Minnesota.
Tags: Mark Dayton , Townhall Meetings , St. Cloud , Moorhead , Tax Increases , Metro Sales Tax , Cigarette Tax , Transit , DFL , John Pederson , Economic Growth , MNGOP
Posted Thursday, March 28, 2013 5:37 AM
Comment 1 by Jane Wegener at 28-Mar-13 10:19 AM
I for one am sick and tired of the tax and spend policies and the lies coming out of the democrats in MN AND IN DC!!
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 28-Mar-13 10:59 AM
Jane, You're far from alone. There's a growing number of people who think what you think, believe what you believe.
Comment 2 by Chad Q at 30-Mar-13 08:38 PM
And yet the poor and middle class morons will continue to vote for those who continue to do them harm. Got to love party loyalty.
Comment 3 by walter hanson at 31-Mar-13 01:17 PM
Chad:
They still think that they are voting for good things! You know mass transit which isn't working, the school which are bad, health care which only gets worse the more that government is involved, etc.
They don't see that! Of course when the Republicans point it out the MSM ignores them or makes fun of them.
Walter Hanson
Government as the enemy
Sen. Ron Johnson, (R-WI), has introduced a project that illustrates how the federal government ruins lives . It's called the Victims of Government Project. This video explains how the Army Corps of Engineers ruined a man's life for trying to prevent flooding in his neighborhood:
The documentation of how the federal government, specifically the Army Corps of Engineers, uses the Clean Water Act as a weapon against private property owners is instructive. It should tell every landowner that the government, including the Interior Department, the Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, the Energy Department and other government agencies, are the enemy because militant environmentalists have infiltrated those agencies and departments.
To them, "the environment" is an article of faith. The left's obsession with controlling people's lives through regulatory agencies is frightening. The thought that there's a group of activists that think they have the right, responsibility and authority to tell private property owners what to do is frightening.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act, militant environmentalists have the legislative authority to wreak havoc on private citizens' lives. By most people's opinion, Steve Lathrop tried doing a good thing. According to the government's own recommendations, he did was the government didn't do. As a result of his taking the initiative what experts said needed to be done rather than waiting through another series of do-nothing studies, Mr. Lathrop got stripped of his wealth.
Predictably, liberal activists aren't happy with Sen. Johnson. Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now wrote Sen. Johnson. Here's what he said in his letter:
"Spending your time, and our money, producing YouTube videos doesn't move us one iota closer to solving any of the challenges facing our nation. In fact it seems the real victims of government are your constituents who were counting on you to work for them in the United States Senate."
Solving problems is what elected officials are supposed to do. The Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA and the Interior Department use the Clean Water Act to control what private citizens do with their property. This is a problem everywhere in the United States. Regulations and procedures are put into place. Then citizens like Mr. Lathrop follow the permitting procedures of one agency, only to be told that he didn't comply with another agency's regulations. Then the process starts again.
Putting a video together that highlights how the federal government destroys families' lives is the right tool to affect positive change. That's what Sen. Johnson was elected to do. Especially in this instance, that's the right thing to do. When families do what the federal government recommends, they should be rewarded. They shouldn't be punished.
People across the political spectrum should be outraged by the government's reprehensible conduct. The Army Corps of Engineers' actions can't be justified. Their reprehensible actions can only be rationalized.
It's time that Congress put common sense restrictions on the Clean Water Act. It's been used as a weapon for far too long.
UPDATE: Follow this link for more information on Sen. Johnson's Victims of Government Project.
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers , Clean Water Act , Private Property Rights , EPA , Interior Department , Bureau of Land Management , Militant Environmentalists , Progressives , Ron Johnson , Victims of Government Project , Conservatism
Posted Thursday, March 28, 2013 2:54 PM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 29-Mar-13 09:48 AM
Perhaps a respectful note to Mr. Ross explaining that his jackboots are leaving marks on the floor would be in order.
Moorhead University names Bill Ayers Visiting Scholar
If there was ever doubt that universities were homes for extremist radicalism, this article should eliminate those doubts:
Bill Ayers has been named a 'visiting scholar' at the Minnesota State University Moorhead, the school announced late last month.
The Weather Underground co-founder will be the 2013 College of Education and Human Services Visiting Scholar. He gave a talk at the university last month titled 'Teaching from the Heart: Education for Enlightenment and Freedom.'
Ayers is an admitted terrorist :
In the late Sixties, Ayers became a leader of the Weather Underground (WU), a splinter faction of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Characterizing WU as ' an American Red Army ,' Ayers summed up the organization's ideology as follows: 'Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, Kill your parents.'
There's nothing profound or useful for a university to appoint a former domestic terrorist as a visiting scholar. Unfortunately, this isn't surprising. Universities shouldn't promote domestic terrorists. It's one thing to bring in people with contrarian perspectives. It's quite another for them to bring in people with a history of violence:
All told, Ayers and the Weather Underground were responsible for 30 bombings aimed at destroying the defense and security infrastructures of the U.S. "I don't regret setting bombs," said Ayers in 2001, "I feel we didn't do enough." Contemplating whether or not he might again use bombs against the U.S. sometime in the future, he wrote: 'I can't imagine entirely dismissing the possibility.'
Violent psychopaths shouldn't be brought onto campuses. They should be ridiculed from the podiums. Instead, Moorhead University named him a visiting scholar.
Tags: Bill Ayers , Weather Underground , Domestic Terrorist , Visiting Scholar , Moorhead University , Radicalism , Indoctrination
Posted Friday, March 29, 2013 6:58 AM
Comment 1 by Bob J. at 29-Mar-13 09:45 AM
"Violent psychopaths shouldn't be brought onto campuses. They should be ridiculed from the podiums."
Actually, they should be in prison, but that's another matter.
Comment 2 by PoliPresence at 29-Mar-13 12:26 PM
Ayers served as the inspiration and precursor to the Newton, CT, and Colorado Theater shootings. I suppose the event's planners at Moorhead State support stricter gun control laws. They are hypocrites.
Comment 3 by Jethro at 30-Mar-13 10:18 AM
Taxpayer dollars spent on sex week, the female orgasm, and now Bill Ayers. Since it's March, it must be "administrators gone wild."
Comment 4 by walter hanson at 31-Mar-13 01:07 PM
I guess this shows Moorhead University doesn't need any money! Thanks for the budget cut Moorhead. Oh wait a minute the state lawmakers don't care since they think this is important education spending.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
SCSU hockey team a game away from first Frozen Four appearance
This afternoon, I watched the SCSU Huskies utterly dismantle the top-seeded Notre Dame hockey team, winning going away by a score of 5-1. Ben Hanowski got the Huskies started 11:32 into the opening period on a great lunch pale goal.
Notre Dame appeared to tie it just 24 seconds later, only to have the goal waved off because the Notre Dame forward clearly kicked the puck. To be fair, the Irish forward appeared to be trying to kick it to his stick. Regardless, he didn't get his stick on the puck.
After that, Notre Dame didn't have any life to their game.
That wasn't the case with the Huskies. They dominated the Fighting Irish in the second period, scoring 3 goals in 5:25. This time, the snipers were Joseph Benik, Cory Thorson and Jonny Brodzinski. Benik's goal his first of 2 power play goals, with both coming on big rebounds that happened while he snuck in on the goalie's weak side. Brodzinski's goal was a pretty give-and-go-give play.
Ryan Faragher made 10 saves in the first period, then faced a total of 8 shots in the second and third periods. Combined.
Steve Summerhays gave up 4 goals in the first 2 periods on 18 shots, including giving up 3 goals on 7 shots in the second period.
Thanks to today's performance, SCSU is just a win away from their first appearance in the Frozen Four, collegiate hockey's equivalent of basketball's Final Four. I'll be watching tomorrow's game on ESPNU but I'll have my radio tuned into KNSI so I can hearn Don Lyon's call of the game.
For those who haven't heard Don call a hockey game, make sure you listen. He's an NHL-caliber play-by-play announcer. For those of you outside KNSI's range, follow this link to tune into the livestream of the game. I promise you won't regret it.
Posted Saturday, March 30, 2013 5:33 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 31-Mar-13 01:05 PM
Gary:
At least one of the Minnesota Hockey teams is doing well in the tournament!
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
SCSU punches ticket to Frozen Four
About an hour ago, St. Cloud State punched their ticket to get into their first Frozen Four tournament. Playing stellar hockey all weekend, St. Cloud State just wouldn't be denied. The line of Cory Thorson, Joey Benik and Brooks Bertsch played a monster of a game, scoring all 4 of the Huskies' goals against Miami.
The game started with the fastest first period I'd ever witnessed. It took 31 minutes to play a 20 minute period. Both teams entered with reputations of pushing the tempo. Benik got the Huskies on the board first just 5:28 into the first period. After that, Miami put on some pressure, twice hitting the pipe with shots on the same shift.
Benik provided the second goal of the game, too, getting his fourth goal of the weekend 5:36 into the second period. after Miami scored to make the score 2-1 Huskies, the "Thorson line" (Coach Motzko's name for it) went to work again. This time, Cory Thorson lasered a shot past Miami's Ryan McKay to give SCSU another 2-goal lead. For those who didn't watch the game on ESPNU, Thorson's shot is what's known as a goal scorer's goal, the type of shot few players are capable of making.
For the game, the Thorson line was a +10, with Thorson being on the ice for 4 even-strength goals, with Bertsch and Benik being on for 3 even-strength goals each.
What was most impressive for me was watching the Huskies playing with such total confidence. I suspect that's because they went through the competition of a grueling WCHA schedule. No disrespect intended towards Notre Dame or Miami of Ohio but it's tough to get frightened after facing the likes of North Dakota, the Gophers, Mankato State and Wisconsin.
The Huskies played like they belong in the Final Four from the drop of the puck against Notre Dame to Cory Thorson's empty netter with .2 of second left in today's game.
The telling stats for me weren't what you'd expect. It wasn't that Ryan Faragher was the second coming of Patrick Roy or Ken Dryden, though he certainly played well. The first stat that jumps out at me is that SCSU didn't give up an even-strength goal all weekend. The other statistic that's worth noting is that they gave up 3 shots in the second period and 5 shots in the third period against Notre Dame, then essentially did the same thing today, limiting Miami of Ohio to 5 shots in the second period and 7 shots in the third period.
The Huskies put a thorough thumping on Notre Dame and Miami of Ohio this weekend. Their defense was strong all weekend. They moved the puck out cleanly most of the time, which is impressive considering how Miami was buzzing today. Their 'third line', aka "the Thorson line", dominated throughout the weekend. Ryan Faragher gave up a goal Saturday and another today.
If they play like this when they get to Pittsburgh, there's no reason to think they can't win the last game of the NCAA hockey season and bring home the big hardware.
Admittedly, I jumped on the Huskies' bandwagon late this season. That said, they've given hockey fans reason to get excited. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if more jumped on the bandwagon.
The Huskies' flight is expected back to the St. Cloud Airport at 10:30 tonight. I plan on being there. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a big gathering at the airport tonight.
Posted Sunday, March 31, 2013 7:18 PM
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