A Note From AFP Arkansas on TAX Issues~

Stand with AFP Arkansas

Grow Jobs NOT Government

Capital Gains Investment Tax Reduction: SUPPORT

When it comes to creating new jobs, Arkansas is at a competitive disadvantage. Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi and Louisiana have eliminated or have reduced the job killing capital gains tax.  Arkansas has the opportunity to do the same by passing HB 1002.  According to the Wall Street Journal, “Businesses in high tax states invest less…and this leads to lower productivity and eventually lower average pay for workers.”  Let’s invest in Arkansas future by growing jobs, NOT government!

Uncommitted Votes:  Sen. Paul Bookout (Jonesboro), Sen. Linda Chesterfield (Little Rock), Sen. Jerry Taylor (Pine Bluff), Sen. Larry Teague (Nashville).  Senate Phone 501-682-2902.

Billion Dollar Diesel Tax INCREASE: OPPOSE

HB1902:  A bill that increases Arkansas’ diesel tax to 7.7 cents HIGHER than all of our surrounding states (Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi).  Diesel taxes are almost entirely passed on to consumers in higher cost of retail goods including food, clothing, office supplies, etc. (according to a Stanford University study conducted in March of 2010.¹)  For every one cent diesel tax increase per gallon, Arkansas consumers face an increase retail price of 1.09 cents.  Because Arkansas has the third highest per capita recipients of social security payments in the United States, just over 20% of our population², the burden will be felt most significantly by those living on fixed incomes.

Uncommitted Votes:  Sen. Paul Bookout (Jonesboro), Sen. Linda Chesterfield (Little Rock), Sen. Jerry Taylor (Pine Bluff), Sen. Larry Teague (Nashville).  Senator Jake Files (Fort Smith), Senator Bill Sample (Hot Springs) Call Senate Phone 501-682-2902

1.http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/facseminars/events/applied_microecon/
documents/ame_10_10_marion.pdf
2.Social Security Administration Master Beneficiary Record

Remember, states with more economic freedom grow faster, have better wages and better quality of life.  Let’s get government out of the way and work together to grow jobs, not government!

For Freedom & Liberty,

Teresa Crossland-Oelke
Arkansas State Director
Americans for Prosperity

“Man is not free unless government is limited.” - Ronald Reagan

PAGING SENATOR DAVID JOHNSON~WHERE ARE YOU?

(This was originally posted to the American Majority Blog page)

Kudos to Senator David Johnson (D, Little Rock) who received ZERO dollars in per diem, mileage and expense money for 2010, according to an admirable enterprise story by Michael Wickline in Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Going back to 2009, during a regular session as is 2011’s session, Mr. Johnson received only $1081.

I recognize Mr. Johnson is at an advantage over the majority of Arkansas legislators because he lives in Little Rock. Yet so does Senator Joyce Elliott who in 2010 received $25,979 in expenses along with Representatives Greenberg ($31,826), Allen ($31,332), Webb ($29,754), Adcock($28,2 00), D. Williams ($27,976), J. Edwards ($26,500) and A. Kerr($24,600). These 8 legislators alone were reimbursed tens of thousands of dollars, all in addition to their regular salaries of $15,869.

The closest example to Mr. Johnson’s fiscal restraint in 2009 was Representative James Word, (D-Pine Bluff) who received $24,600. And the totals soar from there, reaching a maximum collected of $60,092 by Senator Jimmy Jeffress (D,Crossett, appoximately 150 miles from the Capitol)…YES~I just wrote 60 thousand dollars in expenses reimbursements. This year, Sen. Jeffress cut back a bit after receiving some backlash over his steep expenses during 2009, and only collected $52,427.

We should give Rep. Nate Steel recognition, too, because in 2010 he only received $3,833, and he lives in Nashville, which is some 150 miles from the Capitol. Third runner-up for most fiscally responsible legislator is Rep. Steve Cole (D-Lockesburg) who rang in at $13,647 for 2010 (much less than his figure in 2009 of $35,468). Lockesburg is also right around 150 miles from the capitol.

Wonder why there is such a HUGE discrepancy in the amount of money reimbursed for basically the same travel? I understand that different legislators are on different committees and have different responsibilities but a $60,000.00 annual difference is a pretty big difference…

Wickline’s article points out that the first time an Arkansas legislator collected more than $50,000 in a single year was in 2007. Since then: In 2008 four lawmakers collected in excess of $50 thousand and in 2009 a whopping TWENTY legislators joined the crowd. The word obviously got around.

Those in the Top 20 during 2009 and what they collected from taxpayers for expenses (again, not including their salaries)

Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, D-Crossett $60,092
Rep. Bill Abernathy, D-Mena $56,592
Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro $56,366
Rep. Mark Martin, R-Prairie Grove $56,290
Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne $54,892
Rep. Buddy Lovell, D-Marked Tree $53,998
Sen. Gene Jeffress, D-Louann $53,949
Rep. Billy Gaskill, D-Paragould $53,524
Rep. Mike Patterson, D-Piggott $52,588
Rep. Monty Davenport, D-Yellville $52,047
Rep. Jon Woods, R-Springdale $51,949
Rep. Gregg Reep, D-Warren $51,898
Rep. Tommy Baker, D-Osceola $51,641
Rep. Curren Everett, D-Salem $51,492
Rep. George Overbey, D-Lamar $51,452
Rep. Nathan George, D-Dardanelle $50,860
Rep. Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City $50,603
Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette $50,522
Sen. Steve Bryles, D-Blytheville $50,442
Rep. Allen Maxwell, D-Monticello $50,087

And then there were 8 lawmakers collecting over 50 thousand dollars in 2010:

Sen Laverty, D-Jasper $59,745
Rep. Kidd, D-Jonesboro $54,064
Sen. J Jeffress, D-Crossett $52,427
Rep. T. Baker, D-Osceola $52,199
Rep. Gaskill, D- Paragould $52,100
Rep. Patterson, D-Piggott $51,814
Rep. Woods, R- Springdale $51,467
Rep. Davenport, D-Yellville $51,186

Senator Laverty was the only one of the 2010 big expense collectors not to also reach the $50K mark in 2009, although he was just shy at $43,966.
These numbers are stunning to me, especially since I spent 2010 continuously traveling Arkansas from corner to corner and back again. Kerry Baldwin and I held 41 trainings, over a dozen events and a handful of speaking engagements from Texarkana to Mt. Home to Jonesboro and over to Fort Smith.

I traveled over 100 days and sometimes hit four cities encompassing 400 miles over a two-day period and never submitted a travel reimbursement voucher for more than $1000 in any single month.

It’s my understanding that legislators who live within 50 miles of the Capitol receive a flat fee” per diem of somewhere between $2,000 to $2,200, never having to even fill out an expense report. Those living more than 50 miles away receive $.51 per mile, round trip, and $149 a day per diem, with no expense report required.

As a business owner, I can’t turn those kinds of records into the IRS. Could you? I mean, can we talk some common sense here? And as a person who works for an organization that reimburses my proven travel expenses, I have to turn in a detailed expense report every two weeks with receipts attached. That’s if I expect to receive reimbursement. So someone tell me why should our public servants be any different?

Today (Jan 31, 2011), and not a moment too soon, Arkansas legislators introduced SB194. A bipartisan “Ethics Bill”. Please read this bill (it’s only 2 pages) and let me know if you think this will alleviate the obvious problem of paid officials continually soaking the taxpayers?

In 2010 $4.7 million was paid to 135 part-time legislators, most of whom have other vocations outside of their public service. I don’t think there’s a constituent in our state that would expect or want our law makers to absorb personal costs for officially tending to the affairs of our State. Yet I believe – and am convinced- that the sizes of these “expense” numbers as reported by Mr. Wickline are questionable.

I’d also encourage each of you to contact legislators in your area and make a habit of regularly submitting FOIA requests for their expense records. Show them you care and are watching our business as closely as any newspaper reporter. Itemized accountability has a way of curbing anyone’s desire to “inflate” numbers in the private or public sector.

Disenfranchised Arkansas District 83?

If you have ambitions of being a playwright I hope you are taking notes on the political happenings here in Arkansas. You could have a best-selling drama.


Remember the story of Tom Fite and Leslee Post from district 83? Mr. Fite was found ineligible to be an Arkansas Representative by Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Collins Kilgore because he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor bribery charge more than 26 years ago. (Read more here)


Yesterday afternoon members of the 2011 Arkansas House of Representatives voted to seat Leslee Milam Post (D-Ozark) who received only 41% of the vote.


Rep. John Burris (R-Harrison), the Minority Leader, made a motion to delay the seating of District 83 (Post's seat) asking that the Claims Commission be able to review the case just as they had for Rep. Elect Fred Smith just days prior.  Burris explained that the wished of the people in district 83 need to be taken into account and their votes counted."
His motion failed, 60-28.


Then there was a motion to seat Ms. Post to which Rep. Nate Bell (R-Mena) made a statement pointing out that the ruling to disqualify Tom Fite clearly usurped the Arkansas State Constitution and a ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court case in 2002, Magnus v Carr.


Here is a note from Rep. Bell explaining~

Today I spoke against the seating of Leslee Post in District 83.  My opposition was based on the need to preserve the constitutional separation of powers outlined in the Arkansas Constitution Article 4 sections 1 and 2  and Article 5 section 11 and was not intended to address the merits of the Post/Fite case which is pending before the Arkansas Supreme Court.  The Pulaski Circuit Court ruled in October that the ballots cast for Tom Fite were not be counted.  My argument today was based on the Arkansas Constitution as interpreted by the Arkansas Supreme Court in Magnus v Carr and numerous precedent cases.  The court held that the judicial branch does not have jurisdiction in election cases involving the legislative branch of government due to the separation of powers.  The court has repeatedly held that allowing the judicial branch to intervene in matters related to legislative elections would allow the judges to essentially choose members of another branch of government.  My viewpoint was defeated today 61-29.  I will always stand for constitutional principles even when it is politically unpopular.  6 Republicans voted with the Democrats to allow the judge to usurp the constitutional authority of the legislature.

The citizens of District 83 deserve to have their votes counted.  The votes would have been counted and Fite would have been declared the winner had the judge not intervened. The House would then have determined Fite's eligibility as outlined in Arkansas law.  If he was deemed ineligible then a vacancy in election would have been declared and a special election held.  Instead, the house today voted to seat the person who lost the election garnering less than 42% of the votes cast.  We allowed a circuit judge to elect a person to the legislature who received less than a majority of the votes cast.  I believe we set a very dangerous precedent today.

Here's a link to the case I cited:

http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/2002b/20021024/02-604.html

The legislature voted 61-29 for Ms. Post to be sworn in and seated on Monday.


Anyone else see a problem here? The way I understand it ( and if I am wrong please let me know) according to the Arkansas Constitution and a case that was decided just 9yrs ago by the Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge Kilgore circumvented the Constitution of our state, ignored precedence, and did a huge disservice to the voters of Dist. 83.


The voters clearly voted for the more conservative candidate, as did the majority of voters in the state, and nation for that matter, and were smacked down. Was this a case of  over-reaching judge. Isn't that the story?


P.S
THANK YOU!! to our 29 Arkansas State Representatives that held the line. Thank you to Representatives John Burris and Nate Bell for attempting to stop the circumvention of our Constitution. I look forward to working with these men and women to bring to Arkansas fiscal responsibility, limited government, and Constitutional soundness.

Change or Argument?

WOW we are barely a week out of the gate and the first test of how Arkansas legislators will work with TEA Parties has been a success. On Thursday we got word through the AP that Senator Elect Boozman was “undecided” on the ban of earmarks, which sent colossal reaction through the web-o-sphere.

Imagine for a moment how many times you have formed a misimpression or mistaken conclusion because you failed to think-through, or seek out, the actual facts of a situation in your life. Most people will do this without thinking, or realizing the mistake they are making by acting with inadequate information.

Add to that the fact that today, more than ever in our nation’s history, there are groups of people who want you to act out of emotion rather than rational thought. They intentionally spread falsehoods and half truths just to elicit a knee-jerk reaction. The last thing they want others to do is thinking or taking time to check the facts before they spread misinformation, or act on the untruths.

This situation is only aggravated by the fact that anyone with a laptop or an I-phone is able to misinform thousands of others at a moment’s notice – even intentionally.

In fact, it actually wouldn’t be much of a stretch at all to say that most of us make daily decisions affecting our lives based on inadequate or incomplete information. So my obligation to inform myself as completely as possible stretches well beyond the world of politics.

My hope is that we, The TEA Party people in Arkansas want to be the people who are rational, deal with facts and resist the urge to go on rants based on misconceptions and emotion, giving way to the forces that seek to divide us, are desirous of us being reactionary and unproductive.

The truth is if we want to keep our ability to be effective and fruitful we must stop reacting to sound bites and spinning people up when we don’t have all the information. We are going to have to practice patience, thoughtfulness and diligence.

From speaking with Senator Elect Boozman last night and this morning I am convinced he did exactly what the people of Arkansas mandated he do since winning in the landslide election on Nov 2^nd , took time to read the bill, spent 2 hours (just that I know of) on the phone listening to the concerns of his constituents and did his due diligence.

I for one appreciate Senator Elect Boozman’s willingness not to be reactionary and to want to know more about what he is getting us into.

I am hopeful that if we come alongside our representatives, instead of constantly laying for them to get caught, we will make change. But if we are more interested in arguments and headlines then we will not accomplish much for all the hard work that has been done~

So, Politics is just not your thing? ~ Part One

Growing up in the 80’s one of the mantra’s I’ve heard most of my life is:“Don’t discuss politics and religion.” in polite company.

(As an aside I found this “starter piece” on The Etiquette of Talking Politics, I don’t agree fully but she makes some excellent points, especially for newbies)

I always wondered why that was especially since those pretty much define the belief system of every living person on this spinning planet. Even if a person is an atheist and apolitical, those beliefs still define what they do and how they engage in everyday life. So in effect, what we have done is perpetuate the ignorance of millions of Americans, justifying why they don’t need to be informed and engaged citizens, in the name of politeness or more accurately political correctness.

Politics

Politics defined is the science and art of running a government. Most
of us, however, tend to think of politics as people who are
opportunistic or scheming. It is my belief that this is why most
Folks want nothing to do with it, perhaps for fear of being tarnished. So
why bother? Especially given today’s climate of partisanship and
vitriol, who needs the additional stress?

Well, I would contend that, by default, each and every one of us is

political by our very existence. Our homes are political, our jobs,
our churches even our friendships are political.
Think not? If you are married and you want to purchase something that perhaps your spouse wouldn’t be overly elated about do you think of how to frame the item so it seems more appealing? Have ever embellished a story to impress another? Ever told a friend that you were doing something else because you didn’t want to hurt their feelings? The examples of politics in everyday life are endless.

So why is it when it comes to what affects our lives on a daily
basis - with regard to the laws that regulate our lives and those of our children - do we shy away? It’s been said that people may think they can ignore politics, but politics will not ignore you. Taxes and regulations invade our lives whether we vote or not.

The laws that govern our cities, state and nation dictate things as
simple as where we live, what and where we drive, where our
children go to school, what they learn in school. Our churches are restricted by what they can say. There are laws awaiting approval as I type this that will determine what we eat, how much gas we can use, how much rain run-off we can have and even the size of our lawn mowers and even the types of light bulbs we use.

I’ve also heard it said that no answer is an answer in itself. I guess this is the stance of those who choose not to get involved in politics.

If this is your choice, my question is why? Do you not care about the future of your children (an ADOST (attention deficit Oh Shiney Thing) moment~ little Whitney just for fun), your community your faith? As you “stand idly by” and allow laws and regulations to be passed without your input? After all, your life is being altered and you are choosing to be a victim through your chosen inaction.

So if you are a political junkie like me, a teacher in the Bronx or just ahousewife in Minnesota you are needed by your community to get informed and engaged. I’ll repeat from posts of yonder days: If not you, who? If not now, when?

American Apologetics

The answer to our dilemma really seems fairly simple, at least it does to me on its face. If we are going to make a real difference as conservative voices in this nation, a lot of us are going to have to change our approach and significantly elevate the level of conversations we have to include facts and reason.

More and more on facebook and other social media outlets, I see people who engage in heated emotional arguments sometimes degrading dialogue filled with name- calling, swearing and outright hostility.

Why all the animosity and smearing toward others? Why does anyone believe harsh language and deep resentments aimed at anyone else can change anything about the way they believe? Hasn’t anyone ever heard of the children’s story of the wind and the sun arguing about getting who could get the trench coat off the man first? The cold wind blows hard and the man only tightens his coat. The sun heats up just a bit and the man takes the coat off willingly. Lotsa truth in that folks.

I’ve observed that most people have loosely formed ideas of why they believe as they do. Yet what is it that causes anyone to believe - or disbelieve – anything in their life? Seems to me it all boils down to the way we’ve been taught by others since birth, blended with our personal experiences. In short, most of us are simply products of our surroundings, what we’ve been told, and the environments that continually envelope our lives. If we are told falsehoods, then chances are we will come to believe falsehoods, right?

The ole adage; birds of a feather flocking together, has proven itself true time and time again. As a parent this Truth has some very real personal meaning and potential consequences. If my teenage daughters were allowed to hang out with drug-addicted gang members what do you think the chances would be they would soon become drug users? And worse.

Many groups have realized this piece of reality and taken advantage of it. For instance, Moveon.org. since 1998 has been “reaching out” to people who like-mindedly consider themselves “disenfranchised,” offering to “help” and get them involved in the system so they can take advantage of all their rights.

Statistics show that liberal messaging beats conservative message by a whopping 85 to 15. Although I do believe we are gaining ground, I can’t help but
wonder what is our message?

Our message should be focused solely on: Limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets related to our communities as opposed to national stories inflated to draw our attention away from where our true power and influence lie.

So how do we change the all-critical message? For once, GET THE FACTS on any issue or debate. If we are going to unite to keep our country free and filled with opportunity for all, there naturally will be work involved. We can’t only send continuous e-mails and post rantings and unformed opinions about the BP Oil spill on facebook, call President Obama a Marxist, and believe with any intellectual honesty that we are doing any real good and our work is done. I wish that preserving our precious Republic were that easy. Unfortunately, it’s not anywhere near what is needed.

Those of us, who truly believe our nation finds itself at a tipping point, will have to do pretty much the same things our Founders did. What say we agree to educate ourselves on historical FACTS. How, you might ask? We can begin by reading and understanding theConstitution (yep the whole thing), and the Declaration of Independence written a decade beforehand. Next, let’s all read and understand The 5000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen; Why America is Great. Now we need to visit David Barton’s site at Wall Buildersfor a plethora of resources.

Then learn the names and biographies of our local representatives. Discover the pattern of their votes and how they relate to the issues facing our communities. Then let’s encourage others to come along side us, not by making our present situation about Barack Obama or Democrats or Republicans or those dratted incumbents, but rather about making our own community a more prosperous, community-minded place to live.

If you’d like to learn more about how to do this and how to utilize the social media to your best advantage contact us at American Majority. We will gladly come to your community and work alongside you toward our common goals of preserving American freedoms on every level.

For a Limited Time Only: Getting While They Can

Local and state governments are scrambling to get their “share” of tax payer money while the getting still seems possible.
Here in Arkansas local school districts are seeking millage increases, city councils are proposing local A & P Taxes (Advertising & Tourism Promotion tax) and municipalities are requesting sales tax boosts to build sports complexes; taxpayers are now being bombed with a steady rain of requests to shell out more “for the greater good” in different areas of our state.
My belief is that local and state governments are well aware of the tax tsunami building on the federal level and want to make sure they get their portion while it’s even remotely possible.
Imagine your own paycheck. Now visualize another nickel removed here, and another dime taken there, each and every month being siphoned away. Talk about being nickled and dimed to death. Arkansas is already one of the most heavily taxed states in the union. Every man woman and child breathing in our state today owes $4,305 in state and local debt alone. Not to mention the fact Arkansas is 12th among states growing in its debt. Which means for Arkansans our “tax free day” is not May 31st like some
would have you believe but it is actually July 29th, more than half way through the year!

Friends we don’t have a revenue problem, we have a BIG spending problem-

The Arkansas Primary is just over a month away on May 18th. We have tons of folks (candidates) running around getting their message out of what THEY promise to do if elected. My thought is what will they NOT do if elected? Will they NOT raise taxes? Will they NOT spend more than we take in? Will they NOT put my children and theirs in further economic bondage?
Here is a simple way to tell if those running for office will commit to fiscal responsibility and limited government- ask them if they have signed the American’s for Prosperity’s NO CLIMATE TAX PLEDGE?
http://www.noclimatetax.com/
There is a link on that page that will give you the opportunity to put your candidates and the already-elected officials on record saying they "oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue."
Traveling the state as a field representatives for American Majority, I meet people regularly with an earnest desire to become more proactive and involved in the political arena. American Majority Arkansas has partnered with American’s for Prosperity Arkansas to help Arkansans to do just that-become more informed, engaged and empowered. If you want to learn more attend one of our Impact Arkansas Tour stops. Join our crusade. http://americanmajority.org/arkansas/events/