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		<title>Government Bytes</title>
		<description>The Official Weblog of NTU/NTUF</description>
		<link>http://blog.ntu.org/</link>
		<language>en-us</language>

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			<title>New Blog Link and RSS Feed, and New Website!</title><description><![CDATA[At long last, I am pleased to announce that NTU's new website is up and running at www.ntu.org. The new layout will make it easier for folks to see the latest work from NTU and NTU Foundation on federal and state issues, find the reports and information they are looking for, and stay involved with our new Action Center.

And that means our blog has a brand new home: www.ntu.org/governmentbytes/. There will be no further posts at blog.ntu.org so please update your links and shortcuts!

At the new site, please subscribe to our new RSS feed. In case this is helpful, here is the feed's link:http://www.ntu.org/system/rss/channel.jsp?subsiteID=57468158&feed=feed-120870617

Please share your feedback on the new site with us at ntu @ ntu.org!
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:42:54 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5085</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>CPAC Day 3</title><description><![CDATA[I'm up here on Blogger's Row, blogging live from the third day of CPAC 2010. We have an exciting lineup of speakers for today: Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. I'll be posting excerpts and analyses throughout the day, so stay tuned! The energy in here is incredible and I'm looking forward to an exciting final day.

Click here to watch live!]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:02:21 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5084</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Mike Pence at CPAC on Fiscal Discipline</title><description><![CDATA[Indiana Representative Mike Pence was a headliner at Friday’s Conservative Political Action Conference. He began by declaring, “You proved Thomas Jefferson right. He said “The people are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty.” Because of you, the American people have been on the march to restore the timeless values that have built this nation.” 

When speaking of the GOP’s Congressional presence in past year Pence, third in line for Republican House leadership, said, “Some folks like to call us the party of ‘no.’ Well, I say ‘no’ is way underrated in Washington, D.C. Sometimes ‘no’ is just what this town needs to hear… When it comes to more borrowing, the answer is no. When it comes to more spending, the answer is no. When it comes to more bailouts, the answer is no. And when it comes to a government takeover of health care, the answer is no.” 

In terms of the finances of the federal government, the 6th Indiana District Representative noted “fiscal discipline is not enough…we must return incentive to the American people.” This means the across the board tax cuts he asked President Obama about in January’s Question and Answer session in Baltimore. Citing a man talking to President Reagan who said “I want you to pass those tax cuts for the rich because I’ve never been hired by a poor man,” the Representative made a case for less government spending and less imposed taxes on the American people.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:58:12 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5083</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Tim Pawlenty at CPAC Day 2</title><description><![CDATA[Grover Norquist  introduced Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a critic of federal healthcare reform and increasing debt, spoke at 10AM on the second day of CPAC in Washington DC. After praising the recent DC snow storm for shutting down Congress, he described the Obama Administration as “hope and change and teleprompters.” His PAC, Freedom First, has the goal to make candidates who campaign under the conservative banner “walk the walk” when they get to Washington. 

An emphasized point he made was “we can’t spend more than we have.” If the US has an income of $2.2 trillion, the government should only spend that amount. With $65 trillion total unfunded liabilities, he was prompted to declare, “if the US was a bank, they’d shut themselves down.” Pawlenty’s state has “taken the spending curve down to zero…after 150 years.” He has spent his time as Governor cutting his state’s spending, which has generated outrage from big spenders and unions, culminating in a proposed Constitutional Amendment to limit Minnesota’s government spending.

The Governor also criticized the GOP in a recent issue of Esquire magazine. He compared elections with markets by saying, “in 2006 and 2008, the marketplace was telling the Republicans 'We prefer the products and services of your competitors.”
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:47:02 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5082</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Boehner Finishes up CPAC Day 1</title><description><![CDATA[Standing amidst a standing ovation, Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner spoke of his efforts throughout his career centering on doing the right thing and be willing to listen to supporters and opponents. Since 1991, Boehner has served in the US House of Representatives representing Ohio’s 8th District. He stated three lessons he lives by: Be open, transparent, and willing to listen; If you do the right things for the right reasons, good things will happen; Real leaders work harder than their opponents. 

Focusing in on transparency, Boehner said “no one is immune from the finger pointing” when the Obama Administration doesn’t get its way. He cited the closed-door healthcare reform negotiations as a principle case for turning that finger back on the blamer. He pledged to run the House differently if he were Speaker. He would require a 72 review period on the Internet of bills before bills would be voted on. Running cameras in the Rules Committee – the group which decides which bills reach the floor – would also be a priority in the Boehner House. 

I certainly hope the new transparent House of Representatives has less taxes and greater economic freedoms as well.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:38:35 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5081</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>My Day at CPAC</title><description><![CDATA[I had the opportunity to cover the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference’s first day for the National Taxpayers Union.  As a blogger, we were given a room overlooking the floor of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel but that didn’t stop the discussion amongst the tech savvy sect of the conservative and free-market blogosphere. 

While speakers were headlining initiatives like the Contract from America and various campaigns going on around the country, bloggers were chatting, tweeting, facebooking, and snickering. When Dick Cheney and Scott Brown made surprise appearances, you could tell they were the news makers as Internet junkies abandoned laptops for a spot at the nearby balcony to get a look at the national figures. 

Subjects were as varied as the tickers on news networks. I heard one of the first speakers mention Roe vs. Wade, a later speaker described the credit crisis, and two Cheney’s spoke of the United States’ direction in foreign policy and defense. Socially, culturally, and politically, this year’s CPAC brought American grassroots concerns to the national forefront.
 
While Americans are struggling with the economic downturn, the housing crisis, and the uncertain future before them, they understand the triumphs of America’s past were conceived of not through government policy but private sector innovation. However, the two don’t operate independently of each other. Markets rely on government rule of law while governments can’t handle the load the spontaneous order generates on an hourly basis.

It was a great experience to see proponents in the freedom movement planning and organizing for the upcoming elections and rallies, and more can be done. 
Taxes seemed to have become a staple issue but it is much more important than a simple sound bite. Pundits fail to point out the ever-increasing complexity of the tax code, both for individuals and businesses. With that complexity comes a harder way to make taxes more transparent. With less transparency comes much more difficulty in the check citizens have on government. 

Ultimately, fiscal responsibility suffers with the higher revenues and growing fallacy that government solves problems. Higher taxes hurt healthy economies and the government shot of penicillin always turns out to be snake oil. 

Spending also has been marginalized instead of attacked. It wasn’t healthcare reform or the proposed Cap-and-Trade bill that got America into a spending spree but the progressive expansion of government with every new Presidential Administration. Excess spending is a symptom of both Republican and Democrat decisions and results in everyone suffering. If real change is to occur, spending freezes must be acts of Congress on mandatory spending, as well as the discretionary. 

Overall, liberty lovers should sleep a bit better tonight with the happenings at CPAC. Like the Tea Party Convention and numerous conferences going on around the country, the meetings and speeches are coalescing into a unified opposition of big government, higher taxes, and tyranny.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:50:55 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5080</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>“Thank you Massachusetts”</title><description><![CDATA[Citing Barack Obama’s downhill direction in the polls, Mitt Romney spoke at CPAC of the “4 million Americans who lost their jobs last year and millions more who stopped looking for work.” He cited how pillars of business, such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Sam Walton, shaped their enterprises and in so doing, shaped our nation. Capitalism has lifted billions out of poverty but President Obama and fellow “liberals are convinced government knows better than people [do].”  “He (Obama) scared employers so jobs were scare.” Romney went on a timeline of the President’s accomplishments, ranging from Obamacare’s transparency conflict to where Democrats began saying no to his agenda of tax and spend.  He countered the points with a simple solution: Simplify and lower taxes while freeing trade. ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:24:21 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5079</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Scott Brown makes surprise appearance at CPAC</title><description><![CDATA[In one of his first public appearances since being elected as a US Senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown spoke on the first day of CPAC just before 2PM. Citing his election, he feels it happened so fast that it’s just now sinking in that we have changed the course of American politics.” Brown was sworn on February 4th. He introduced former Massachusetts Governor and former Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:45:59 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5078</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Moylan Moderates CPAC Panel on Mobilizing Grassroots</title><description><![CDATA[National Taxpayers Union’s Director of Government Affairs spoke at a CPAC panel focused on helping the grassroots organizers how to organize and to connect with other groups and individuals for promoting greater freedoms. The Saving Freedom One Patriot at a Time panel had many prominent innovators of the freedom movement:

Ginni Thomas, LibertyCentral.org
Dana Loesch, St. Louis Tea Party
John O’Hara, author of A New American Tea Party
Jenny Beth Martin, Tea Party Patriots

The interesting discussion ranged in both scope and application of mobilizing local citizens for the cause of liberty and freedom. Dana Loesch said, “go to your neighborhood waterhole and take them over… don’t ever become predictable… [and] never let opposition define your boundaries.” Jenny Martin, who helped organize the 9-12 March on Washington, made the goal of doubling, if not tripling, the number of Tax Day Tea Parties, numbering over 850 last year.

The underlying point of the panel was, get connected and get active in the movement to make the government for the people, not against the people. NTU has many ways for you to get involved in our efforts for limited government, lower taxes, and greater freedom:

Visit NTU.org and GovernmentBytes.com often for up-to-date developments and grassroots events going on around the country
Text “Fight” to 67292 for NTU’s “Team Taxpayer” text system. You will receive timely alerts about pieces of legislation that affects you and your locality, limited government rallies and events going on in your community, and have to opportunity to speak with YOUR elected official with just a push of a button.
Join the National Taxpayers Union community on our Facebook Group, Twitter Account, and Email Newsletters.

Andrew Moylan also mentioned two ways to help develop new legislation and to show leaders in Washington DC we mean business when it comes to defending our freedom:

Contract from America is a project to bring normal Americans together to generate a list of changes America needs and alternatives to take America. Voting is currently going on to narrow down the impressive list of policy changes and will be presented on April 15th.
Participate in 9-12-2010. Be a part of year two of the March that changed attitudes across the country and in the halls of Congress. 
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:26:35 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5077</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Dick Cheney makes surprise visit to CPAC</title><description><![CDATA[After a rousing speech by Liz Cheney about the security and defense situation of the United States, she introduced her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney. He spoke of the recent elections and rallies as encouraging and stated “I think Barack Obama is a one-term President.” He called for the younger generation to get more active and to encourage citizens to get involved in the cause of freedom.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:57:21 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5076</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Ohio State Representative Josh Mandel at CPAC</title><description><![CDATA[Representing a northern Ohio district, predominately an opposition electorate, Josh Mandel spoke around 11 o’clock on the first day of CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, in Washington DC. He spoke of the many challenges he has faced.  After being elected to a city council position, Mandel set about lowering the local property taxes and mobilizing a community in the process. The young, actively serving US Marine, took an intellectual – not a political – approach to lowering taxes at a grassroots level while keeping the city he served fiscally solvent. Now as an Ohio State Treasurer candidate, Mandel aims to bring his conservative fiscal policies to the greater Ohio government. 

Ohio currently ranks 49th in overall economic performance, while Ohio’s business tax climate ranks 46th. If there was a campaign to reform a state’s tax code and to improve its business climate, Ohio would be the poster child of a basket case. The state’s Auditor predicts an $8 billion budget shortfall.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:04:38 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5075</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Marco Rubio kicks off CPAC</title><description><![CDATA[Senator Jim DeMint introduced Marco Rubio who said, “2010 is a referendum on the very identity of our nation and issues are so big… that many of the old rules of political engagement don’t apply.” CPAC started off with an articulated speech by the Florida Senatorial Candidate who pushed for jobs created by the private sector rather than politicians. He exclaimed, “let’s reform the tax code and reduce the tax rates across the board… lower the corporate tax rate…” Rubio went on to mention the hopeful death of the punishing death tax, a tax that shackles Americans with a 45% penalty on nest eggs.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:06:54 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5074</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>NTU Covers CPAC</title><description><![CDATA[The National Taxpayers Union will be covering this year’s CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, being held in Washington DC. It is one of the largest organizing events between grassroots organizers, political leaders, and everyday citizens. This three-day event will feature well-known national figures such as:

Nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts Herman Cain and Glenn Beck
Governors Bob McConnell and Tim Pawlenty
Former Massachusetts Governor and former Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney
Senator Jim DeMint
Representatives Ron Paul, Thaddeus McCotter, Steve King, Michelle Bachmann, Darrell Issa, John Boehner, and Tom Price

As the speeches and panels detail a national dialogue of the year’s theme, Saving Freedom, NTU will be right there commentating, examining, and contributing on Government Bytes. Join NTU at CPAC over the next three days and add your own ideas to the national discussion!]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:09:05 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5073</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Leviathan is Hungry: Tax Audits on the Rise</title><description><![CDATA[CNN reports that 1.4 million taxpayers were audited last year, the most in a decade. And expect even more audits this year with the Administration's $8.2 billion budget for tax enforcement - a 10 percent increase over last year.

Hat tip: TaxProf Blog.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:35:51 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5072</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Stimulus turns a year old, Gets continued spending and fake jobs as presents</title><description><![CDATA[On the first anniversary of the Stimulus package’s signing, it’s time to take stock of President Obama’s cure-all for the kaput housing market and continuing economic decline. Back in the infancy of the President’s term, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed Congress with little opposition and fewer members actually reading the bill. Still, the fed up electorate was ready for action and that is what the new President gave them.

“Preventing Catastrophe”

While Obama claims the $787 billion expected to be spent over 2 years steered us away from an economic depression, it was more like we dodged the pothole of a market correction and are now headed for the cliff of free-market destruction. The Administration hypocritically advertised a “New Era of Fiscal Responsibility” and put more cash in the spending blast furnace than ever before. So far according to Recovery.gov, a scant $272.2 billion has been awarded – 35% of the total price tag. An even lower amount, $57 billion, has actually been received by state and local governments. 

I have to ask, what kind of catastrophe Obama was trying to prevent? The Great Depression was largely caused by the Federal Reserve’s mismanagement of the money supply. The housing crisis was a result of Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac offering subprime loans to financially incapable Americans. The unemployment rise spawned from increased uncertainty in the market’s future. The theme? Through these periods we’ve been told to trust government while much of what occurs is government’s fault. I wonder, if the government doesn’t trust me with my money when I live within my means then how can I trust it after so many catastrophic failures?

“Increasing Transparency and Job Creation”

After states and citizen groups started noticing phantom jobs appearing in fake Congressional districts, the media rushed to interview the six people whose jobs were “created or saved” in South Carolina’s 16th district. Unfortunately, no plane tickets could be booked and no roads led to such a happy place because it doesn’t exist. In reality, jobs have been created or saved but at fantastic costs. Two jobs in Cebolla, New Mexico for $1.5 million and no jobs in Union City, New Jersey for an impressive $38.6 million. These are but two examples of government inefficiency. Don’t believe me? 595,263 total jobs are listed as created but at a cost of almost $200 billion. That’s $333,489 per job - no wonder the public sector is exploding!

Many proponents of the stimulus have cited this year’s larger influx of government dollars as a reason to wait for the stimulus’ full disbursement. Many economists, such as Brian Bethune, are not so optimistic. The focus on infrastructure spending "doesn't really have a big impact on net employment, simply because a lot of the activity is mechanized.” 

“Reinvestment and Recovery”

The stimulus is not a failure because President Obama wishes to help people, it fails because it helps very few at the cost of so many. We cannot expect to climb out of such an economic downfall expecting the broken leg to work and ignoring the working leg. We have to learn from our mistakes and understand that government is not the solution to many of the problems we face today.

Government reinvesting in America is somewhat counterintuitive. We do not have to pay out dollars and superficial jobs but allow America to reinvest in itself. If the handcuffs are removed on the innovative spirit and capabilities of the nation’s businesses and entrepreneurs, the exports will rise from our competitive labor force, the unemployment rate will shrink with the growth of demand, and our national identity will change from the empty factories of Detroit to the telecommuting bases of Atlanta and Seattle. 

Recovery can only occur when regulations, taxation, and government intervention are all stemmed in our economy. When freedom returns to a free-market, we need only wait for what really employs people in worthwhile jobs: Capitalism. 
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:40:18 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5071</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Lawmakers preventing Postal Service from being responsible</title><description><![CDATA[Who ever thought cuts would cost so much? The US Postal Service is in deep financial trouble and is looking to balance its books, mostly because it would literally take an act of Congress to bail out the federal letter carriers, by cutting Saturday deliveries. Both Congress and the White House want to see your neighborhood postal worker walking their nearly 80,000 routes on Saturdays – the problem is they may only be walking with empty bags. A 14% drop from last year’s volume makes maintaining a sixth day of delivery almost laughable. Lawmakers have gone so far to say if the USPS drops the day of delivery, they will stop picking up the tab for both compensated mail for the blind and overseas absentee-balloting materials. It would be a $75 million cost the USPS would have to cover – most likely passed on to its dwindling consumer base. 

Postmaster General Potter has proposed cutting Saturday from the USPS’s delivery schedule, which would save $3.5 billion in the coming year.  The private sector would immediately cut the day and go back to the drawing board trying to figure out how to increase revenue and overall letter mail. Not government! 

During the ongoing recession, letter volume has decreased significantly – $3.8 billion in FY 2009. Even though it has tried adapting (in a government entity-sense), it looks as though the USPS will go further into debt – projected to hit its $15 billion debt limit in 2011. 

Even though the US Constitution grants the government “to establish Post Offices and post Roads,” it does not dictate the number of days required to complete such tasks. Perhaps the government finds it easier to stick with wasteful spending rather than adopting constructive change. In any case, pitting financial responsibility against ensuring that overseas citizens can vote is less like change we can believe in and more like First Class delivered tyranny.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:40:11 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5069</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Presidents' Day Trivia Flashback</title><description><![CDATA[Here is a presidential trivia quiz from OpinionJournal.com's James Taranto.  The quiz was originally posted on Sept. 1, 2006 and has been reposted on this site a couple of times.  If you haven't tried it before, give it a go.  If you have, see how much you still remember.  Enjoy.
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:11:55 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5068</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Airborne Laser works after billions spent</title><description><![CDATA[A low-power laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 has accomplished its goal of destroying a launched missile in its boost phase. While impressive, perhaps amazing, we need to ask those questions big spenders hate to hear: How much has it cost? How will this help? What's its future worth?

The Airborne Laser Program (ABL) has long been a platform in the cross-hairs of budgetary hawks and practical politicians looking for an end product rather than an eternal R&D project. A 2004 GAO report states "costs for developing ABL have nearly doubled from the Air Force’s original estimate and additional cost growth is occurring", doubling in cost in the first 7 years of development. This is not to downplay the technological achievement but questions the efforts and funds going into the program. The 2009 enacted budget was $401 million, while a total cost totals at least $8.2 billion from 1996 to 2008. The FY2010 expenditure is expected to be $187 million.

In light of President Obama closing the door on more ABL expansion, the program is limited to one prototype, meaning there will be no combat flights for this aircraft. The research will be of great value but a practical application of the data and tests seem to be destined for the scientific shelf rather than to production lines and US bases. In cases of scientific breakthroughs but little military value, the Pentagon has made an effort to transfer the technology to places such as NASA and academia so that the innovation won't go to waste. ABL should be one of those cases because the missile threat to US assets is small. 

Rogue States such as Iran and North Korea are already ringed with ground-based interceptors, ready at a moment's notice. The ICBM Great Powers (Russia, China, France, and the UK) all understand the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) and will not sacrifice themselves for a strike against the US. Those nations in nuclear-limbo (India, Pakistan, and Israel) either lack the will or capability to launch a missile attack. And let's not kid ourselves, terrorists don't have the infrastructure or operating space to steal, develop, or launch a missile which would be within the purview of the ABL system.

More importantly, special interests benefit from the continuation of ABL. “Boeing produces the airframe, a modified 747 jumbo jet, while Northrop Grumman supplies the higher-energy laser and Lockheed Martin is developing the beam and fire control systems.” Science benefits but ABL continuation seems to be less national defense and more boondoggle pork.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:20:43 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5067</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>"Stimulus" Used to Fight Weeds</title><description><![CDATA[WAPT News in Mississippi found that the state's forestry service is using $1.2 million of "stimulus" funds to clear Kudzu and other weeds from private property.

This is a good time to introduce a new pork and waste mascot, Pig Rider:



Ride the Pig!
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:47:49 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5066</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Carton Blogging</title><description><![CDATA[

HT:  Nate Beeler, Washington Examiner
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:35:46 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5065</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>California Use Tax Update</title><description><![CDATA[An update on yesterday's item about California proposed requirement that small businesses file use tax returns.  Forbes.com reports:
A member of California's state-tax-collection-agency governing board said Thursday he would seek a one-month delay in the looming April 15 deadline for 180,000 small businesses to register and file returns covering a tax levied mainly on Internet purchases. 
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:47:05 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5064</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>"Stimulus" Used for iPods</title><description><![CDATA[Florida's Polk County school district is spending $350,000 in federal "stimulus" money on iPods to be given out as rewards to parents who fill out a 10-minute online survey.

It is because of wasteful programs like this (and, of course, the fraudulent "jobs saved or created" metric) that I always refer to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with a touch of irony, so nobody should report to me to the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:19:20 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5063</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Here's a Shocker Headline</title><description><![CDATA[Courtesy of the Associated Press:Jobs bill won't add many jobs]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:31:11 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5062</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>California Use Tax Reporting Requirement Hits Small Biz</title><description><![CDATA[According to Forbes.com:
Upward of 180,000 California businesses are being ordered to register with the state's tax collection agency, the Board of Equalization, and to file a new tax return covering just one levy--the state's "use" tax, a sales tax on items purchased from out-of-state retailers--over the Internet, by telephone or by mail order--and then used in-state. The Supreme Court has ruled that only those out-of-state retailers with some physical connection to a state must collect its sales/use tax. If a retailer doesn't collect it, the buyer is supposed to voluntarily fork over the use tax to his own state.
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:08:25 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5061</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Snowmageddon Update</title><description><![CDATA[The federal government has now been shut on account of weather for three days as the DC-area has been pummeled by back-to-back blizzards. Actually, since the government closed early last Friday, it has now been shut for 3 and 1/2 days.

According to the Office of Personnel Management's website, federal telework employees who have arrangements to work remotely are still expected to perform their duties, and emergency employees are to report for work on time. Other DC-area fed employees get the day off. They used to call these people "non-essential" employees, but recently they've been upgraded to "nonemergency" employees. 

NTU's office has also been shut this week during these historic storms. I've been trying to do as much work from home as I can while cooped up with two kids, and hoping the power stays on as the wind picks up outside.

Here are a few weather-related news items:

Reports estimate the closing costs the government $100 million  a day in lost productivity.

Don Marron blogs about property rights during a snow storm.

A Virginia Representative wants to know how much the fed's telework agreements have saved by having employees work through the storm.

Virginia's snow removal budget has been wiped out.

25 percent of DC's plows are busted, or as my son sometimes says, "busticated."

The weather forced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to change its planned announcement of a new climate change office. 

And, apropos of nothing, here are the 10,000 Maniacs performing Like the Weather:


]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:45:14 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5060</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Frivolous Tax Arguments</title><description><![CDATA[In an earlier post on our blog, someone named JT commented that citizens have no legal obligation to file and pay income taxes. He should take a look at the IRS's latest list of frivolous tax arguments and the legal references that refute those arguments. Claims that there is no legal obligation to both file and pay taxes are the first two arguments the list shoots down. Failing to file taxes could get you in a lot of trouble, and employing one of these frivolous arguments could cost you an additional $5,000 fine. The IRS's list was updated in January with over 40 new cases dealt with in 2009.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:25:15 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5059</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Boom Times for the Transportation Lobby</title><description><![CDATA[The Center for Public Integrity has a new report out about the massive transportation lobby seeking federal funding. Some of their findings:As lawmakers grappled with renewal of an expiring multi-year transportation law last September, the number of cities and counties lobbying on transportation had grown by 80 percent since the last time a transport bill was about to expire, in the fall of 2003.The cities and counties who list transportation as among their priorities spent a total of more than $35 million lobbying Washington through the first three quarters of last year; if even a quarter of that spending was solely devoted to transportation, it totals more than $8 million, a hefty sum for cash-strapped local governments.Data from the third quarter of 2009 shows that, on top of the 650 cities and counties, those contracting with lobbyists include more than a dozen states, 90 mass transit agencies, 45 local development authorities, and 25 metropolitan and regional planning organizations.There is a lot of federal money to chase:Last December, Congress passed its appropriations spending for 2010, including more than $52 billion for highways and transit.The "stimulus" included $35 billion for highway and transit programs.A second so-called "stimulus" passed by the House late last year includes another $35 billion for transportation spending.And, Congress is still to consider a multi-year re-authorization of the regular federal transportation legislation.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:51:37 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5058</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Raising the Penalty for Tax Protesters/Deniers</title><description><![CDATA[Under current law, the willful failure to pay taxes is a misdemeanor. You could go to jail for up to a year and pay a maximum fine of $25K (for individuals, $100K for corporations) for each year you fail to file a return. There is a proposal in the new budget to increase the penalty for repeated failure to file a tax return:Any person who willfully fails to file tax returns in any three years within any five consecutive year period, if the aggregated tax liability for such period is at least $50,000, would be subject to a new aggravated failure to file criminal penalty. The proposal would classify such failure as a felony and, upon conviction, impose a fine of not more than $250,000 ($500,000 in the case of a corporation) or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.  ]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:11:45 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5057</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Doing it again</title><description><![CDATA[In President Obama’s State of the Union address he called for a slew of new spending proposals which include taking 30 billion dollars worth of money that banks have paid back to the government and giving it to other banks to make small business loans.  I might be taking an unpopular stance on this because everyone wants to help small business these days, but this seems eerily similar to the situation that got us into this mess.

I know its been covered extensively, but I think its important to remember the falling domino which ultimately lead to the recession we’re experiencing.  The federal government, over the course of both Republican and Democratic leadership, pushed the banking industry to make loans to people who would otherwise not have qualified for them.  It was considered a noble gesture to help Americans get on the path of homeownership.  Through government coercion and incentives, the sub-prime mortgage market was created.  The government convinced banks to lend to a high risk population and surprise, they defaulted.

Once again, the federal government has stumbled on a population they’d like to “help”.  They’re going to give $30 billion (of what is rightfully taxpayer money) to banks to lend out to small businesses who would otherwise not qualify for a loan.  Einstein’s quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” seems particularly apt here.  Currently, with no government intervention, the small business default rate is already up to 12% and those are the enterprises that banks deem worthy enough to bet on with their own money.  We don’t have to guess what’s going to happen when they get to gamble with ours.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:46:03 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5056</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Arming Up the IRS</title><description><![CDATA[The IRS posted a request for quotes for the purchase of 60 rifles:The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to purchase sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Division. The Remington parkerized shotguns, with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend, are designated as the only shotguns authorized for IRS duty based on compatibility with IRS existing shotgun inventory, certified armorer and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts.Moonshiners, beware!]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:59:17 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5055</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>When the Government Lends, Taxpayers Pay</title><description><![CDATA[The government is heavily involved in lending (through both direct loans and taxpayer-backed guarantees) via education, housing, and dozens of other programs.

The good news is that the subsidy rate for defaults is relatively low (although I would like to see how this compares to private lenders): for FY 2009 the government's total direct loan write-off and guaranteed loan termination subsidy rate is 1.3 percent.

The bad news is that this rate will rise to 1.48 percent in FY 2010 and 2.57 percent in FY 2011.

And worse, although these percentages are small, they represent a lot of money. In FY09 taxpayers ate $30.6 billion in loans and guarantees, and the new budget estimates dollar losses of $38.8 billion in FY10 and $68.9 billion in FY11.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:35:49 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5054</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Former Governor and Everest-climber to take on much tougher job reforming government</title><description><![CDATA[One of NTU’s members alerted us to an upcoming event in the DC-area featuring Gary Johnson, the former Governor of New Mexico and successful climber of Mt. Everest!.  The two-term governor of New Mexico is an entrepreneur and former owner of a New Mexican construction company.  He had a long list of taxpayer-friendly accomplishments while in office, and now he’ll be in Annandale, Virginia to discuss a task far more difficult: reforming our government through the “Our America Initiative.”  This event is an opportunity for you to hear more about the initiative, which looks to be an interesting amalgamation of fiscal conservatism and libertarianism.  If nothing else, it’ll give you an opportunity to ask him what the view was like from 29,000 feet!

Details: 

            Thursday, February 11, 2010 6:30pm
            Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale Campus
            ERNST Community Center
            833 Little River Turnpike
            Annandale, VA  22003

For more information about the event, visit: http://OurAmericaInitiative.eventbrite.com.  ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:09:39 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5053</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>10 Frightening Facts on Obama's Budget</title><description><![CDATA[After President Obama released his $3,800,000,000,000 budget yesterday, analysts with our Foundation plowed through and found some things that should keep taxpayers awake at night.  They are...

- - - - - - -

1) Debts Arrive Sooner. Last year’s budget projected that Gross Federal Debt would hit 100 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017. This year’s budget now predicts the mark will be reached in 2012.

2) Budget Restraint: More Like a Toothpick than a Hatchet or a Scalpel. Outlays as a percentage of GDP are estimated to reach 25.1 percent in 2011, a slight improvement from 25.4 percent in 2010. The last two years when outlays as a percentage of GDP were higher than 25 percent in two successive years were 1944 and 1945; by 1950, it had dropped to 15.6 percent. By 2015, outlays are still forecast to reach 22.9 percent.

3) Recycled Program Cuts. The budget lists cuts and reductions to 78 discretionary programs totaling $10.3 billion annually. Of these, 24 items (representing $4.5 billion in savings) were also included in last year’s list of savings and terminations, which means they’ve already been rejected by Congress. Twenty-five mandatory program changes are proposed, 15 of which were lifted straight out of last year’s budget. New cuts range from the commendable – $3.5 billion for NASA – to the paltry: $5 million by cutting grants to worsted wool manufacturers.

4) Tax Hikes Masquerading as Spending Cuts. Of the 25 mandatory program changes mentioned above, claiming a “savings” of $47.2 billion over five years, $19.2 billion of the total comes from the repeal of 12 energy-related tax credits. These are more properly classified as revenue increases. Of the remaining actual cuts to mandatory outlays, about 90 percent of the savings ($25.1 billion) are attributable to one proposal: termination of lender subsidies in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, itself a holdover item from last year’s budget.

5) Spending Hikes Masquerading as Tax Cuts. The budget shows that federal outlays will increase by $67.5 billion over 2011-2015 strictly because of proposed changes in tax policy (as opposed to foregone revenues). This includes $13.8 billion to “reform and extend Build America bonds” and $547 million to “extend COBRA health insurance premium assistance.” The rest is for “refundable” (i.e., in excess of an individual’s actual tax liability) credits. The largest share of this is $22.0 billion to extend “Making Work Pay” tax credit in 2011. The long- term costs could rise significantly if this “temporary” tax credit is extended in future years.

6) Hidden Tax Increases on Consumers and Workers. Perhaps the hardest-hit sector in Obama’s budget is oil and gas – one of the few areas of the economy with decent short-term employment and growth prospects. Between the clawback of tax credits, repeal of deductions for domestic production available to others, and punitive changes in reporting rules, taxes on U.S. oil and gas producers will rise by $40 billion – which will ultimately be passed on to consumers.

Meanwhile new fees for spectrum licenses (over and above auctions) as well as higher agricultural inspection charges could burden telecom customers and air travelers, respectively. The Administration is also planning on making a supposedly temporary 33 percent increase in the Federal Unemployment Tax permanent, making it costlier to hire new workers.

7) Rosy Revenue Projections, Especially for Corporate Filers. Between 2010 and 2012, the Administration hopes that its personal income tax increases on upper brackets, combined with cuts for lower ones, will still lead to a 42 percent increase in individual income tax revenue. Over that same period, its business tax changes, consisting primarily of punitive, uncompetitive policies on U.S. firms’ earnings abroad, are supposed to lead to a 133 percent increase in corporation income tax revenue. Such a huge jump would be unprecedented in peacetime. The last time corporate income tax revenues increased by anywhere near this amount (111 percent) in any given three-year period was between 2003 and 2005 – during the Bush tax cuts!

8) Stimulus Officially a Bust. In last year’s budget, unemployment at the end of President Obama’s first term was projected at 6.0 percent, assuming enactment of the so-called “stimulus” bill. The current budget puts the 2012 rate at 8.2 percent.

9) More Bailouts for the Politically Connected. The Obama Administration proposes a new tax on financial institutions, in part to supposedly recover Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds for taxpayers. While the White House projects a drawdown in TARP equity fund purchases, from $106 billion in 2010 to $13 billion in 2020, Uncle Sam will own huge amounts of preferred stock from Government-Sponsored Enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in seeming perpetuity – climbing from $102 billion in 2010 to $115 billion in 2011, and remaining at that level through 2020. State governments, which have lobbied Washington hard for more cash, would win big under Obama’s budget: $25.5 billion for a six-month extension of relief from Medicaid’s joint federal-state program payments.

10) Rhetoric vs. Reality. Despite pledges to bring troops home from overseas, defense outlays would rise by 3.4 percent next year, and even that assumes Congress will approve controversial reductions in programs such as the C-17 cargo aircraft. The Administration also recommends abandoning the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, even as the Energy Department continues to pursue a license for the plan.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:25:09 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5052</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Terminations, Reductions, and Savings in the FY 2011 Budget</title><description><![CDATA[Discretionary Cuts
The White House's Terminations, Reductions, and Savings in the FY 2011 Budget lists cuts and reductions to 78 discretionary programs totaling $10.27 billion. 24 of these items (representing $4.477 billion in savings) were also included in last year's list of savings and terminations, which means they were rejected by Congress (6 of these were also proposed in President Bush's 2009 budget). The largest of the repeat savings were for the cancellation of the C–17 Transport Aircraft Production ($2.5 billion), cancellation of the the Joint Strike Fighter Alternate Engine ($465 million), and reductions in health care facilities and construction funding in the Department of Health and Human Services ($338 million). Smaller cuts appearing again include: $1 million each for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation and the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, and $3 million for Anthrax vaccine research.

New discretionary cut proposals:
Constellation Systems Program, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: $3.466 billion
New Construction for Housing for the Elderly: $551 million
New Construction for Housing for the Disabled: $210 million
HOME Investment Partnerships Program: $175 million

Mandatory Proposals
The document listed 25 mandatory proposals claiming a "savings" of $47.177 billion over five years. 15 of these, worth $46.05 billion, are repeated from last year.

$19.187 of the total "savings" would result from the repeal of 12 energy-related tax credits - these will increase revenues to the Treasury. The remaining $27.746 billion is from changes to outlays. 90 percent of the spending cuts come from the termination of lender subsidies in the Federal Family Education Loan Program ($25.092 billion over five years), a holdover item from last year's budget.

New mandatory outlay cut proposals:
Commodity storage payments: $2 million
Grants to Manufacturers of Worsted Wool: -$5 million annually
Telecommunications Development Fund: $7 million annually
Uniform Criteria for Special Monthly Pension (Veterans Administration): -$10 million annually

Other Savings
Other savings include administrative reforms that would save $272.686 million from 2010-2014. The largest savings ($117.8 million over five years) is projected to result from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) award of an Oracle Enterprise Licensing Agreement, meaning Oracle will have an exclusive contract to supply and support all VA software and data architecture. The next largest savings ($32.484 million) would result from improved use of electric power-management of VA's 300,000 PCs. Other savings are expected to occur from cutting travel budgets in executive departments, and increased use of teleconferencing.

Program Integrity Savings
There are 3 program integrity proposals that would increase tax receipts by $14.916 billion over five years, mostly through increased enforcement efforts at the IRS, and 6 that would reduce outlays due to waste and fraud in programs including Medicare, Medicaid, and Unemployment Insurance by $27.282 billion over five years.

The program integrity improvements will require additional federal resources to investigate fraud and implement reforms. The budget calls for $16.247 billion in discretionary allocation adjustments over five-years to fund these efforts.

Net 5-year outlay savings for program integrity (including the discretionary allocation adjustments): $11.035 billion

Annualized Outlay Savings (in millions)
Discretionary: $10,270
Mandatory: $5,549
Administrative:	$55
Program Integrity: $2,207
Total: $18,081 ]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:03:04 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5051</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Where do your tax dollars go?</title><description><![CDATA[Ever wondered exactly how many of your tax dollars go to which programs?  Sure, there are any number of sources that can give you a vague idea of the answer, but the USA Today has a terrific visualization today that allows you to enter your income and generate a detailed "report" right before your eyes.

For example, let's say that you earned an income of $30,000.  Among the interesting tidbits from your estimated tax burden of $4,983 is the fact that you would pay roughly twice as much toward Social Security as national defense ($1,860 and $941, respectively).  Also fascinating: that you'd pay nearly as much just for interest on the national debt as for Medicare ($401 and $435, respectively).

For someone making $60,000 per year, the total burden comes to $13,453, including $3,103 for national defense, $3,720 for Social Security, $1,321 on interest on the debt, and $870 on Medicare.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:13:33 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5050</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>How 'bout that spending freeze?</title><description><![CDATA[In typically brilliant fashion, our friend Matthias (better known as the "10,000 pennies guy") lets you visualize just exactly what President Obama's spending freeze would do to the budget in context...



While we should all be applauding President Obama for this first step towards reining in a federal budget that is wildly out of control, the overall context is nonetheless very important.

I'm glad that he showed what canceling the stimulus would do, but it would have been great to show the effect of canceling TARP to the video as well.  The savings for eliminating the Wall Street bailout fund would be roughly similar to that of ending the stimulus (upwards of $300 billion), so you could essentially add another four "frozen spending" cups to the pile, AKA money that taxpayers would NOT have taken out of their paychecks in the future.]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:31:27 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5049</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Hypocrisy</title><description><![CDATA[	When the failing Merrill Lynch’s new CEO John Thaine remodeled his office he was publicly excoriated.  He spent 1.22 million dollars by the time he was done on such things as the famous designer Michael Smith and a 19th century credenza.  CNBC, CNN, and the blogosphere picked up the story as a classic example of corporate greed.  Even the Obama administration picked up on it as Robert Gibbs said, “The American people need to be greatly assured that their hard-earned money is not going to the bonuses or the remodeling of an office at a bank that’s in trouble".

	While I don’t condone Thaine’s spending or actions, it does seem curious that the mainstream media hasn’t picked up on another story.  Roughly six months after the Thaine story broke, the Obama administration approved 1.4 million dollars of taxpayer money to remodel a 7th floor judge’s office in Tampa, FL.  It seems spending is evil if you’re a corporate executive, but if you’re in the executive branch of government its patriotic.  If you’d care to visit these glorious judge’s chambers feel free, after all you paid for them.  The address is: 801 N. Florida Ave 7th Floor, Tampa, Florida 33602.  

	Finally, as a side note, if you’re wondering what became of the expensive designer Michael Smith, he was subsequently hired by the Obamas to spruce up the white house.
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:57:01 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5048</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>State of the States Part II</title><description><![CDATA[Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri plans to revive the state’s economy through tax credits rather than tax increases and by continuing to cut government spending.  Two of his priorities include balancing the budget with less revenue and job creation.  

Utah Governor Gary Herbert called on lawmakers in his state to exercise fiscal restraint and not raise taxes (without cutting education funding).  He criticized the ever-growing involvement of the federal government in private industry.  Herbert recognized that times are tough but for the first time in three years, Utah expects an increase in revenue in the upcoming fiscal year.  

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s top priority is the state’s green energy production followed by job creation programs.  Strickland plans to take $30 million in federal stimulus funds and $10 million in state funds to invest in fuel cells and clean energy storage.  He also pressed the legislature to eliminate the state’s personal property tax on energy generation for new wind and solar facilities.  
 
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle proposed tax creates to stimulate clean energy jobs and creating a budget stabilization fund to help protect the state’s finances.  The address was filled with specific plans to help the state recover from its worst economic downturn.  The state is struggling to close its budget shortall because its economy is so dependent on tourism.  To do so, the government will need to be downsized because it cannot continue spending at a rate that exceeds revenue.  

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell focused his address on education and called for merit scholarships to Alaska universities.  He also called for a two-year suspension of the state’s gas tax.  The state can afford to suspend the gas tax because oil taxes have given Alaska large enough budget reserves to last the next 10 years.  

Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell plans to rely on spending cuts and not on tax increases to get the state through this tough financial environment.  To create jobs and expand Virginia’s economy, he would like to increase the money for tourism and economic development.  McDonnell pledged during his campaign this fall that he would not raise taxes if elected.  The address reiterated his promise but clearly stating that if the legislature passes a bill that includes tax increases that he will veto it.  While the governor did not say where he would trim the state government, he did say that he would privatize the state-owned liquor stores saving the state an estimated $500 million.  

Stay tuned for Part III
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:59:54 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5047</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Economics Meets Pop Culture</title><description><![CDATA[Russ Roberts, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, released the first of several videos planned for EconStories.TV.  This creative video features two of the great economists of the 20th century, John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek,  break out in a rap – “Fear the Boom and Bust.”  While it scores high on the entertainment factor, it also brings to light why there is a “boom and bust” cycle and what it does to the economy.  





]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:20:21 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5046</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>SOTU Update: Cost Estimate for Nuclear Energy Loan Guarantees</title><description><![CDATA[In a surprising move, President Obama made a pitch for nuclear energy in his State of the Union address:"[T]o create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.”In NTU Foundation's line-by-line analysis of the spending proposals in the SOTU, this issue was listed with an unknown cost. More information is available today from Bloomberg News:
For the 2011 budget, the department will add $36 billion to the $18.5 billion already approved for nuclear-power plant loan guarantees, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the budget hasn't been released.The cost to taxpayers won't be the full $36 billion for the guarantees, but for the percentage of loans that default. In 2003, S. 14 (108th Congress) contained a provision to furnish federal loan guarantees for the construction of the next generation of nuclear power plants. CBO estimated "that the net present value of amounts recovered by the government on its loan guarantee from continued plant operations following a default and the project's technical and regulatory risk would result in a subsidy cost of 30 percent ... ." Applying that subsidy rate, the President's proposal could cost $10.8 billion, $2.16 billion annually over a five year period.

This new data brings the tab for the new spending proposed by the President to $72.6 billion annually.
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:00:55 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5045</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Spending and Budget Issues in the State of the Union</title><description><![CDATA[During the State of the Union address, Presidents generally trot out a laundry list of items and bring a few issues in particular to the top of the agenda, and this year was no different. President Obama laid out an ambitious agenda for Congress to enact, including a jobs bill, final passage of a cap-and-trade bill, and increased assistance for military families. According to NTU Foundation's line-by-line analysis of the spending programs in the speech, the net annual cost of these and his other proposals are around $82 billion.

All of these new spending initiatives were juxtaposed against a call for a budget spending freeze starting in the next fiscal year. The three-year freeze will exclude entitlements, national defense, and some foreign aid, which means that it will affect about 1/8th of the federal budget. White House officials estimate this will save $10 billion to $15 billion next year and $250 billion over the next 10 years, but we should wait for future budget releases to see whether the freeze is still in place before counting savings beyond the first year. So the minumum savings of $10 billion from the freeze plus two other items in the speech which would lead to specific spending reductions bring the net cost of Obama's State of the Union proposals to $70 billion.

This cost does not include other possible increases in the new budget (to be released next week) that have been discussed in recent media reports, such as a $44 billion increase in defense spending, the largest single-year request for federal funding in education (which will include up to $4 billion to reform No Child Left Behind), an increase in NASA spending between 200-300 million, and between $7-17 billion annualized increase in transportation funding.

Given the limited area of the budget affected by the freeze, and the tab of the other items in his speech (on top of last year's spending binge), taxpayers could be forgiven for thinking Obama's new emphasis on the deficit is more of an attempt to create the appearance of doing something about Washington's spending problem. But at least the President's discussion of this topic will be sure to make the deficit a key issue inside the Beltway for the rest of the year. Outside the beltway, this was already a well-discussed topic at the Tea Party protests. The election results in Massachusetts, following those in Virginia and New Jersey late last year, have resounded the issue loudly enough that now the leaders in Washington hear it loud and clear.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:41:55 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5044</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Jobs Bill</title><description><![CDATA[There is some backwards thinking among politicians on the topic of job creation.

In the private economy, jobs are considered an input used towards the production of a good or service.  Businesses need to hire workers just as they need to purchase the raw materials used or the overhead the work is done in.  Labor is simply another factor of production.  Although there are entire disciplines of economics dedicated to studying labor markets, its classically accepted that businesses will continue hiring more workers up to the point where their value to the company (the revenue they produce) equals their wage (total cost of their labor). 

The conclusion from our model is that the only way to increase employment is to either enhance the benefit of an additional worker or decrease the cost.  It just so happens the government can influence both those things.  Instead of feeling threatened every time an idea for an alternative means of education comes up, we should nurture them.  On the topic of benefit, instead of bowing to the whims of teachers unions and dismantling effective school voucher programs we need to try new things and work hard to build the best future work force we can.  

Most importantly, our federal government can take immediate action to reduce the cost to employers who wish to hire workers.  We can lower payroll taxes and decrease medical insurance costs.  Instead wasting billions of dollars on ‘cash for clunkers’ or ‘first-time home buyer’, lets give a tax credit to businesses for each newly hired worker.  Instead of piling on a new mandatory government insurance plan paid for in new taxes, open up the system across state lines for increased competition and naturally lower prices for employers.

The president’s plan of increasing uncertainty over healthcare and pulling money out of the economy in new taxes is the opposite of what is needed.  Its not simply that the plan will not increase job growth, but that it cannot increase job growth.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:11:14 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5043</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Rhetoric vs. Reality</title><description><![CDATA[Did anyone else find it strange that the President fervently praised his stimulus plan at the onset of the SOTU tonight? I guess it should not have come as too much of a shock since he was desperate to get that post-speech bump that would bring him out of an approval rating in the 40s. I do not know if he achieved that goal, but I do know that he deceived the American people.

Despite package of the American "Recovery" Act, 2.5 million jobs have been lost and we hover at a 10 percent unemployment rate. Right now, more than 15 millions are unemployed and 43 states lost jobs just last month. What's worse is that the President wants to propose another federal spending bill before half of the stimulus funds have been spent! 

In tonight's speech, the President proposed a temporary freeze in discretionary spending, but did you know the "stimulus" led to a 66 percent increase in non-defense discretionary funding last year? Spending cuts are great, but this enables him to simultaneously lock in the exorbitant increases. Not so great. 

Furthermore, the President should not be encouraging a $1.9 trillion debt limit increase and deficit commission guaranteed to raise taxes if he is serious about fiscal responsibility.

"Families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The federal government should do the same." We agree! But, now, it's time to back up that promise and you can rest assured that taxpayers will keep him accountable. 

]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:02:55 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5042</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Health Care Alternatives</title><description><![CDATA[Here is another segment from President Obama's SOTU address:

"But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know."

I wonder if he has seen the alternative proposal from the Republican Study Committee (RSC).

H.R. 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act, would increase access to coverage for all Americans by extending the income tax deduction on health care premiums and providing tax credits to low-income families in the non-group/individual market. H.R. 3400 would also increase insurance portability over state lines and would achieve significant tort reform to reign in frivolous lawsuits that continue to drive doctors out of the business year after year. 

Go here for more information on the RSC health care proposal.

And if you want even more examples of health care alternatives, here is a document highlighting 60 additional bills from Members of Congress who do not believe big government is the best government.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:26:40 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5041</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Bipartisanship?</title><description><![CDATA[The President said he will veto any financial reform bill that does not meet HIS definition of true reform. He was referring to H.R. 4173, the so-called "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act," that passed the House on December 11, 2009. 

This 1,300 page bill creates a new "consumer" agency, funded by billions in new taxes on financial companies - many of which did not create the fiscal crisis we currently face. The new Consumer Financial Protection Agency would be given unprecedented regulating authority over financial products, but that's not even the most troubling aspect of this legislation. H.R. 4173 would essentially create a permanent "mini-TARP" with even less acountability than the first one!

Is this reform, Mr. President? ]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:51:19 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5040</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Here we go!</title><description><![CDATA[Word on the street is that the President will focus on a package of "modest" initiatives to aid middle-class families in tonight's SOTU. The big question is how he will fit the issue of health care reform into the context of these proposals. Or will he even try? Here's an excerpt of the President's speech taken from a Washington Post blog just a few minutes ago: 

"By the time I'm finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Co-pays will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans. And neither should the people in this chamber."

That's it?! I guess we'll see. The 2010 SOTU has just begun...

]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:21:29 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5039</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Video Submission</title><description><![CDATA[We recently received this video from one of our enthusiastic members highlighting a board game he's created aptly named, “Screw the Taxpayer”.  We applaud all of our members like Mr. White and encourage you all to keep fighting the good fight!]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:50:10 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5038</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>Reminder: Tomorrow's NTU Online Coverage of the State of the Union</title><description><![CDATA[Don't forget: Tomorrow night at 9 p.m., NTU will provide special online coverage of the President's State of the Union message, and we want you to be there. Details on how you can join the conversation are below. See you online tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Eastern.

If you have a Twitter account, use the hash tag #SOTU to link into our discussions and analyses. Hash tags are like keywords for Twitter. Just use them in each of your messages to link to the ongoing dialogue. Remember to also follow @NTU for all the latest research!
You can also follow the discussion at Tinychat.com. Even if you don't have a Twitter or Facebook account, you can still share your thoughts and opinions by going to our special chatroom at tinychat.com/ntu.
You can also log onto NTU's Facebook page, where we will update our newsfeed with links, comments, and memorable quotes. Be sure to join our NTU Group!
NTU will also be updating our blog, GovernmentBytes.com, as the night progresses. You can comment on each post as well! Just click on the "Post a Comment" link and speak your mind.

Your NTU Grassroots Action Team]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:02:34 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5037</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>State of the States Part I</title><description><![CDATA[Across the country governors are giving their annual State of the State addresses.  Below are a few summaries of the addresses with explicit fiscal impacts:

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford offered three goals for his final year in office: overhaul the Employment Security Commission, require governors and lieutenant governors to run on the same ticket, and impose caps on state spending.  Sanford also called on lawmakers to raise the state’s cigarette tax and cut the corporate income tax.  

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick promised not to cut funding education funding and invest in statewide construction projects in order to create more jobs.  Patrick called for tighter ethics and lobbying rules and further investment in alternative energy.  

South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds is optimistic about the state’s direction and cited their low unemployment rate as evidence.  He reiterated the merits of his proposed spending plan.  Despite arguments from lawmakers, he said that South Dakota cannot afford across-the-board cuts.  Should any additional federal money come to the state, Rounds would propose using the funds to supplement his current budget, not create new spending.  

Maine Governor John Baldacci urged the legislature to close a $438 million budget gap by consolidationg natural resource agencies, streamlining government administration, eliminating government redundancies, and cutting social services.  Baldacci vowed not to raise taxes and renewed his support for an investment and tax-restructuring plan.  Under the plan, sales taxes would apply to a larger number of goods and services, and personal income taxes for those earning more than $250,000 per year would drop to 6.5%.  

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s top priority this year will be creating private-sector jobs.  He pledged to avoid raising taxes and trim the budget.  While state officials have plans to cut the budget by $200 million, Nixon is counting on over $1 billion in federal stimulus money although the state is not sure it will actually receive that amount.  

Delaware Governor Jack Markell called attention to his administration’s efforts to curb state spending and promote jobs.  Ultimately, Markell wants Delaware to provide quality services in an affordable manner.

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch asked lawmakers to change the state’s unemployment benefits so that they could pay for on-the-job training, give unemployment benefits to employees whose hours are reduced and help job applications evaluate their skills.  Lynch said the proposals would help the state’s economy by employing more workers; the programs would be paid for by the state’s unemployment compensation fund.  

Stay tuned for State of the State updates Part II
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:34:26 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5036</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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			<title>You're Invited to NTU's Online Coverage of the State of the Union</title><description><![CDATA[As a friend of the National Taxpayers Union, you're invited to be a part of for our special online coverage of the President's 2010 State of the Union address starting at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 27th. NTU's analysts and experts will be sharing their ideas and comments online using Twitter, Facebook, and NTU's blog GovernmentBytes.com as the President presents his policy agenda for the coming year, and we want you to be a part of the discussion.

Here is how you can join in the conversation:

If you have a Twitter account, use the hash tag #SOTU to link into our discussions and analyses. Hash tags are like keywords for Twitter. Just use them in each of your messages to link to the ongoing dialogue. Remember to also follow @NTU for all the latest research!

You can also follow the discussion at Tinychat.com. Even if you don't have a Twitter or Facebook account, you can still share your thoughts and opinions by going to our special chatroom at tinychat.com/ntu.

You can also log onto NTU's Facebook page, where we will update our newsfeed with links, comments, and memorable quotes. Be sure to join our NTU Group!

NTU will also be updating our blog, GovernmentBytes.com, as the night progresses. You can comment on each post as well! Just click on the "Post a Comment" link and speak your mind. 

As always, the NTU Foundation will release its line-by-line analysis of the spending proposals from the speech the day after. 

So, tune-in and log-on to join our staff and your fellow citizens for a night of policy, discussion, and fun!

Your NTU Grassroots Action Team]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:52:39 MST</pubDate><link>http://blog.ntu.org/main/post.php?post_id=5034</link><category>Blog Entries</category>
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