The solution is just too simple. The American people need to start requiring the government, that works for us, when using our money to purchase all goods and services bought on our behalf, to be only from United States sources. That is what our founding fathers wanted.
The concept that they are saving us money by buying off-shore is bogus, as the jobs lost and subsequent lost income will eliminate the ability for us to buy any products at all. This can only exacerbate the increased unemployment, and cause company bankruptcy. Don’t be fooled, their intention is to grab more power by making us all poor, and by controlling more big business.
If Obama won’t help, the people can do it themselves. Let’s say 300,000,000 Americans each simply reallocated 1 dollar per day, spending 1 dollar less on foreign-made goods, 1 dollar more on American-made goods. (That’s $30 per month, per person, and it is not an extra $30 per month, but just where you spend it!) After a year, this would add up to $109,500,000,000. What could the real, productive American economy do with an extra $109.5 billion? How about 2,737,500 new jobs paying $40,000 per year?
The greed of us all wanting lower prices is also cutting our own throats in the process. The government and businesses, as well as the consumer has forgotten what made this country the greatest in history. To just flush it all away, and end up just another poor socialist country is a tremendous waste of our divinely inspired founding fathers vision, and the lives of all those that fought and died to keep us a free nation and a great Republic. – Read more… –JB
http://www.madeinusa.org/ is just one search engine. Invest in America, buy products labeled “MADE IN THE USA”
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On, July 12, the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) released a report that showed Iowa has 18,444 executive branch employees, which DAS claims is down 2,071 jobs from a year ago and the lowest level since 1994. However, Legislative Services Agency (LSA) numbers show a dramatically different picture.
According to the LSA’s web site, total state FTEs (full-time equivalent positions) increased from 38,434 in FY 1994 to 52,273 in FY 2009. That’s an increase of 13,839. While some of these positions are located within the Regents, it’s hard to believe that they were the cause of the entire increase.
Also, according to Iowa Workforce Development, state government employment in May, 2010 was 65,300. IWD counts actual employees rather than FTEs when calculating its total.
So, why the huge disparity between the numbers? DAS claims that its state job numbers represent executive-branch employment, the departments that come directly under the authority of the governor, such as the departments of human services, corrections and natural resources. The executive branch numbers exclude university jobs and jobs in the judicial and legislative branches.
LSA has yet to confirm the numbers produced by DAS. It is possible that it used assumptions that make the numbers look better than they really are. Also, the department admitted that the entire drop was due to over 2000 state employees opting to take the early retirement incentives. Of that amount, DOM, with Governor Culver’s agreement, has already announced they will allow agencies to rehire at least 1000 replacement employees.
The general fund appropriations for FY 1994 were $3.471 billion. The general fund appropriations (including one-time money) for FY 2010 were $6.015 billion. That is a difference of over $2.5 billion.
Even if the numbers produced by DAS are correct, that next question becomes, if there are the same amount of employees as FY 1994, why is the state budget over $2.5 billion more?
One possibility is that due to collective bargaining, salary and benefit costs have risen at a rapid rate. Another factor could be an increase in contractors who are not considered state employees. The Department of Human Services for instance contracts with hundreds of workers who are not considered state employees despite doing state government work.
Whatever the result, it will be very hard for DAS and the Governor to convince Iowans that state government has not become too big or does not have too many employees.
(Iowa State Representative Dwayne Alons newsletter -July 24, 2010)
As Iowa faces nearly a $1 billion budget deficit, the state is searching for every tax dollar it can find. Reports from federal and state tax experts earlier this year confirmed that when times get tough, it’s more likely that governments will look to raise revenue by increasing audits rather than looking for ways to reduce spending. “In times when more revenue is needed and the tax gap widens, absolutely the Internal Revenue Service is going to step up audits” proclaimed one tax analyst with H&R Block’s Tax Institute. “You’re not going to find a document that says this, but it’s very clear that in a budget deficit, increased tax collection is another source of revenue” a tax expert and university professor stated.
Recently, several of my colleagues in the Legislature have been contacted by their constituents with questions about audits conducted by the Iowa Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue has initiated an audit program focusing on unpaid consumer use tax. Specifically, the Department of Revenue is analyzing United States Customs records to identify purchases individuals have made outside of Iowa.
Iowa’s use tax provision complements the state sales tax. When a transaction is subject to sales tax but occurs outside of Iowa for use in Iowa and Iowa tax is not collected, it is subject to use tax. Taxpayers are responsible for registering with the Department of Revenue when they purchase taxable goods or services outside of Iowa and send the use tax to Iowa. The problem is not many Iowans know this.
One western Iowan, received a notice last week stating she owed tax, penalty and interest on purchases she made in the United Kingdom in the year 2000. Understandingly, she was shocked to learn she owed back taxes on her transactions made 10 years ago and frustrated that the penalty and interest was being assessed, especially because it had taken so long for the Department of Revenue to notify her. Similar reports of similar audits have surfaced throughout the state this year.
Nearly all Iowans understand they must pay their taxes and willingly do so. But many are expressing frustration about the lack of effort that goes into educating taxpayers about their obligations. The majority of Iowans are unaware they are required to pay use tax to the state when a retailer fails to collect it. Moreover, Iowans don’t understand why it takes the Department of Revenue 10 years to issue notification of taxes owed. It is not unreasonable to require the state government to issue notice of unpaid tax liabilities in a timelier manner.
Because such little outreach occurs, most taxpayers rely on certified public accountants to handle their tax matters. Even so, it is rare for an accountant to ask an individual if they purchased anything across state lines and paid sales or use tax. For this reason, it is important for taxpayers to educate themselves on the requirements outlined in the federal and state tax code. Individuals can learn more about federal tax law at www.irs.gov and state tax law at www.iowa.gov/tax. Additionally, if an individual is being audited it’s important everyone knows their rights. The following website is also helpful: www.iowa.gov/tax/educate/78619.html
(From Representative Dwayne Alons Capitol Comments June 29, 2010)
When the Legislature took its final action on the FY 2011 Health and Human Services budget in March, a major assumption was built into that bill. It was expected that Congress would pass legislation extending the enhanced federal matching funds for Medicaid so that the additional money would run throughout the whole year. Things have changed since adjournment and the prospect of a Medicaid shortfall in the new year has increased dramatically.
The ability to balance the state’s FY 2011 budget hinged on the federal government providing more Medicaid funding. The Democrats’ Medicaid budget reduced the General Fund appropriation from $606 million in FY 10 to just $394 million in FY 11. Believing they would receive a full year of an additional 6.2 percent of federal Medicaid funds from Washington enabled legislative Democrats’ to divert money to other departments. Instead of putting $119 million towards Medicaid, it was spent on numerous other items throughout the budget. Kind of a “rob Peter to pay Paul” scheme.
Extension of the federal Medicaid enhanced match was considered for inclusion in the federal health care reform bill, but was not added due to the cost – $24 billion. After health care reform passed, it was assumed that this could be attached to the emergency appropriation bill to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Republicans, who are needed to pass that bill, refused to vote for any domestic spending included in the bill.
Next, congressional leadership decided to add it to this year’s stimulus bill. Instead of being honest with the American public on what the money was to do, they claimed it was a “jobs” provision. The money would go to save public employee jobs. That didn’t work either, as Blue Dog Democrats in the House refused to vote for the bill until the money was stripped out.
Once the House voted before Memorial Day on the bill, the experts in Washington believed the Senate would add the funding to the bill and jam it down the House members’ throats. That has yet to happen since Senate Republicans refuse to go along with the plan. Early last week, Senate leadership offered up a sliding scale where states would instead get 5.3 percent bump for January through March and then 3.2 percent bump from April to June. That idea would have lowered Iowa’s allotment from $119 million to $80 million. That didn’t work either.
Then last Wednesday night, Senator Reid announced that the plan had been changed to 3.2 percent for January through March, and 2.1 percent for April, May, and June. Estimates on Iowa’s share under this plan are not available yet, but it is likely to be significantly less than the previous estimate of $80 million. He also said he didn’t know if he had the 60 votes needed to pass the bill and that he had no backup plan. And, he had no assurance that the House would accept the Senate’s new plan. So, Iowa’s Medicaid budget for FY 2011 looks like it might be short at the start of the new fiscal year, July 1.
(From Representative Dwayne Alons Capitol Comments June 30, 2010)
”The Iowa Vote Tally is a list of our elected Iowa officials and their votes on spending throughout the past year. These bills amounted to over $4.5 billion. Dave Vaudt, Iowa State Auditor, pointed out in an April 16, 2010, press release, “The Legislature’s Fiscal year 2011 budget relies on over $700 million of one-time resources which will not be available for Fiscal Year 2012. In addition, nearly $90 million of General Fund costs are shifted to other funds. This creates a huge spending gap in the General Fund for Fiscal year 2010 when the one-time monies go away.”
Iowa Transparency Newsletter, Volume 3, Number 3 Public Interest Institute, May 2010
Take the time to check out your State Senator and State Representative
and see if their voting habits are ones you want in Des Moines.
For further information go to: www.IowaTransparency.org Click on the Iowa Vote Tally link and you can see the link for Senators and
Representatives spending.
From our president-
“I’ve been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies about taxes,” the president said, noting the numerous tax cuts pushed by his administration. “You would think they’d be saying thank you.”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/15/obama-renews-bipartisanship-takes-jab-tea-partiers/
To our President-
No, Mr. President, the Sheldon Tea Party Patriots will not be thanking you. You might not be aware of it from within your ivory tower, but right here in the heart of the nation, we work to take care of ourselves and our families. We do not want the enslavement of debt you are putting on us, our children and grandchildren for generations to come. It is repulsive to think you, Mr. President, want us to thank you for not taking more of our freedom away.
For just over half of all Americans today is Tax Day. But for the other half it is just another day on the calendar. That’s because they pay no federal income taxes. The old saying goes “you can’t get something for nothing.” But these “non-payers” receive government services and benefits without chipping in.
If more taxpayers continue to drop off the tax rolls, we will soon pass the dangerous tipping point where more than half of taxpayers are non-payers. The individual income tax is the main revenue raiser for federal government. Passing the point where less than half of taxpayers pay it would mean a majority of voters could vote themselves more and more government benefits without incurring any of the costs. In this unstable situation, politicians would have no incentive to restrain government spending since they could garner more votes by increasing it. That is a deadly recipe for never-ending increases in government spending that will inevitably lead to fiscal implosion when there are no longer enough productive taxpayers to foot the bill for the expanding state.
March 25th, 2010
As the session comes to a close in the next few days, the numbers become clearer about what the States budget will show. Its looks like a pilfered Castle, with nothing left but the structure itself.
2009 spending = $5,959 Billion
2010 spending = $5,300 Billion
2011 spending = $5,296 Billion (Proposed)
When you look at these budgets, you will see no real reductions in spending. This is an actual picture. What’s disappointing is that cuts are made to one program so another program can be created. Don’t be fooled, all these across the board cuts have not actually cut the budget, it simply redistributed the funds.
The problem lies in where the money is coming from this year. No spending reduction, so the money needs to be stolen from somewhere. Below is the pots where the money is coming from for the 2011 budget!
Federal stimulus dollars (one-time money) = $328 million
Emergency State government funds = $258 million
Other one time pots of money = $ 97 million
$683 Million of one time spending
Where do we find the money next year? The Democrats passed a budget that continues to spend without cutting, however, it cuts K-12 education by $167 million, and puts the money in other places in government. This is a clear picture of government priority.
Whoever is in control next session, the one-time money is gone, and the reckless spending will meet reality after the November election.
This is a very sad commentary on government and policy makers!