State Policy Groups

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Liberals - Louisiana - Taxes - Truth in Accounting - Warner Todd Huston

Truth in Accounting Issues: Louisiana’s ‘Financial State of the State’ – True Tax Burden $24.7 Billion

January 14, 2011 by

From the Institute for Truth in Accounting…

Chicago (November 29, 2010) Today, the Institute for Truth in Accounting released Louisiana’s “Financial State of the State.” After an intensive review of the State’s 2010 audited financial report the Institute determined the State is in a precarious financial position because it does not have the funds available to pay more than $24.7 billion of the State’s commitments as they come due. Each taxpayer’s share of this financial burden equals $19,800.

Louisiana state law requires a balanced budget. “If governors and legislatures had truly balanced the state’s budget, no taxpayer’s financial burden would exist,” said Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA). She continued, “A state budget is not balanced if past costs, including those for employees’ retirement benefits, are pushed into the future.”

While Louisiana reported total assets of $45.4 billion, the Institute’s review of the state’s 2010 financial report revealed that there is more than $16.9 billion of off-balance sheet retirement liabilities. More than $30.8 billion of the State’s assets cannot be easily converted to cash to pay State bills of $39.4 billion as they come due. These assets consist of capital assets, including infrastructure, buildings and land, and assets the use of which is restricted by law or contract. The State does not have the funds needed to pay for more than $24.7 billion of state obligations.
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Truth in Accounting Issues: Louisiana’s ‘Financial State of the State’ – True Tax Burden $24.7 Billion”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Repealing and Eliminating the Tax Hike‏

January 13, 2011 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

On the same day the General Assembly abolished the death penalty for capital crimes in Illinois, lawmakers also implemented the death penalty on Illinois’s economy and taxpayers by passing a 67 percent income tax hike in the face of overwhelming public opposition. The good news is that the citizens of Illinois have the power to overturn this effort during the 2012 elections, now just over a year away.

This tax hike tells the working and middle class voters of Illinois where they stand with the Democratically controlled state government – on the outside looking in. At the front of the line are the public employee unions, their leaders and all who benefit from state government spending at the expense of average citizens (who pay for state government with their private sector jobs).

Today’s study on taxpayer migration shows that the negative Illinois environment is not just driving out job creators and workers, but also the income and tax revenue they represent. Between 1991 and 2009, one Illinois citizen left the state every 10 minutes – that’s 1.2 million residents in all. But these folk didn’t just take their friendships with them; they took $163.6 billion in income and $16.9 billion in state and local tax revenue – gone forever.
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Repealing and Eliminating the Tax Hike‏”

Americans For Prosperity - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Democrats approve massive bail out of state government‏

January 13, 2011 by 1 Comment

From Americans for Prosperity, Illinois…

6% tax hike passes, goes to governor for signature

Democratic Illinois lawmakers beat a looming deadline during the last hours of the lame-duck session and approved a 66 percent income-tax increase. Corporate taxes will also be raised 46 percent.

The proposal passed the House on Tuesday night 60-57, the bare minimum. No Republicans backed the measure there or in the Senate, where the measure passed 30-29.

The budget plan is coupled with strict 2 percent limit on spending growth. Allegedly, if officials spend above those limits, the tax increase will automatically be canceled. The new tax money will balance the state’s annual budget and let officials begin chipping away at the backlog of unpaid bills.
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Democrats approve massive bail out of state government‏”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Liberals - North Carolina - Taxes - Truth in Accounting - Warner Todd Huston

Truth in Accounting Issues: North Carolina’s ‘Financial State of the State’

January 12, 2011 by

From the Institute for Truth in Accounting…

Chicago (November 29, 2010) Today, the Institute for Truth in Accounting released North Carolina’s “Financial State of the State.” After an intensive review of the State’s 2010 audited financial report the Institute determined the State is in a precarious financial position because it does not have the funds available to pay $43.4 billion of the State’s commitments as they come due. Each taxpayer’s share of this financial burden equals $16,300.

North Carolina state law requires a balanced budget. “If governors and legislatures had truly balanced the state’s budget, no taxpayer’s financial burden would exist,” said Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA). She continued, “A state budget is not balanced if past costs, including those for employees’ retirement benefits, are pushed into the future.”
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Truth in Accounting Issues: North Carolina’s ‘Financial State of the State’”

Americans For Prosperity - Warner Todd Huston - Washington D.C.

A Note on My Trip to Washington D.C.

January 11, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Some of you are aware that I was in Washington D.C. on swear-in day for the 112th Congress. I spent Jan 5 running around to many Congressional Offices leaving info on the desks of congressional staffers and having meetings with folks in government.

But one thing is sure. Trying to get something done on swear-in day is almost impossible. With the hundreds of extra visitors, family members, media and tourists there to see their favorite member of Congress being sworn in, The Hill is a madhouse.

I met quite a few politicians, bloggers, and newsmen, of course. It was hectic enough that I did not get many photos, but here are the few I took of those I met:


The White House was 2 blocks from my hotel
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A Note on My Trip to Washington D.C.”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - United Republican Fund - Warner Todd Huston

URF to Primary Illinois Republican Legislators That Vote for Tax Increase

January 11, 2011 by

From the URF…

WINFIELD, IL – The United Republican Fund (URF) has announced that they will aid in the recruiting and support of primary challengers to any Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly that votes in favor of raising taxes during this lame duck session.

“The problem is not a lack of revenue,” said Mike Uremovich, President of the URF. “The problem is spending, which the Governor and Legislature continue to increase.” According to the non-partisan Illinois Policy Institute, real spending by the Illinois General Assembly rose more than 26% between 2000 and 2009 after adjusting for inflation. “We don’t need to raise taxes; we need to cut spending from a budget that has exploded. Raising taxes as this state struggles to come out of a recession is economic suicide.”
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URF to Primary Illinois Republican Legislators That Vote for Tax Increase”

Budget - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - For The Good Of Illinois - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

A 75% tax hike? Make Democrats Own It!‏

January 9, 2011 by

From For The Good of Illinois…

“The taxpayer: That’s someone who works for the government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.”
– Ronald Reagan.

Do Illinois Democrats hate the private sector? Yesterday, they put their cards on the table. They want to hike our taxes by 75%- a NEAR DOUBLING of the income tax! They will increase the corporate tax rate to 10.9% the second highest in the country! On top of all this, they plan to increase spending and borrow up to $20 Billion more!

Call your state representatives. Look up their name and phone number.

No Republicans should vote for the tax hike! Click here to read our message to all Republican legislators- MAKE DEMOCRATS OWN IT.
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A 75% tax hike? Make Democrats Own It!‏”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Chicago - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Don’t Give Springfield Politicians Any More Money‏

January 9, 2011 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

The fix is in. Democratic leaders want you to bail out their spending-and-borrow addiction with a massive tax hike.

The back room deal, announced late last night, would boost the state’s personal income tax by 75 percent − up to 5.25 percent from the current rate of 3 percent. You can find out exactly what this would mean to you with our UPDATED tax hike calculator. We will have that available on IllinoisPolicy.org this afternoon.

Consider this: A firefighter and a preschool teacher with two kids earning a combined $80,000 would pay $1,620 in higher taxes under the Quinn/Madigan/Cullerton agreement. That’s on top of the $2,160 they’re already paying in state income taxes. That’s food off the table, clothes off their backs and savings from college and retirement accounts.

Will you stand up to this injustice?
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Don’t Give Springfield Politicians Any More Money‏”

Americans For Prosperity - Budget - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Michael Madigan - Pat Quinn - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Tell your lawmaker to vote NO on tax increases during lame duck session‏

January 8, 2011 by 1 Comment

From Americans for Prosperity, Illinois…

WOW! This year’s lame duck session in Springfield has been one of the most fast paced and productive sessions in recent memory. With only three days remaining, it appears that lawmakers will be receiving a formal legislative package that includes a request for a 75% increase in state income taxes.

It appears that the initial debate on the language will start in the House of Representatives. Our sources advise that Speaker Madigan is going to allow a straight up vote on the package. There is rumored to be 51 members in favor. In order to pass the House, the bill will need 60 votes. Therefore, it’ll be up to Governor Quinn to convince nine additional House members to move in favor of the tax hike. And so, this weekend, the hard lobbying will begin. The language of the full tax package is being drafted.

Below are the basic tenets of the package as we understand it today.
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Tell your lawmaker to vote NO on tax increases during lame duck session‏”

Americans For Prosperity - Inernet - Net Neutrality - Technology - Warner Todd Huston - Washington D.C.

Headed to Washington D.C. …

January 4, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

I’ll be heading to Washington D.C. for the next few days. I am going to meet with some new congressmen and attend the Americans for Prosperity Internet Freedom Forum.

I am hopeful that I’ll have some exciting posts on the next three day’s events and doings.

… Stay tuned.

Update

Made it to D.C. No idea what my day will be like tomorrow, yet.

Budget - Chicago - Dan Proft - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes

Video: Dan Proft on WTTW Channel 11 on Illinois Budget Mess

January 3, 2011 by

A new year is upon us but it is the same old tax-and-spend, borrow-and-spend policies being promulgated in Springfield. Proft and State Rep. Lou Lang join Eddie Arruza on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight to discuss the governor’s plan to borrow $15 billion.

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Video: Dan Proft on WTTW Channel 11 on Illinois Budget Mess”

Adam Andrzejewski - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - For The Good Of Illinois - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

For The Good Of Illinois: Go out with a bang…‏

December 30, 2010 by

From Adam Andrzejewski of For The Good Of Illinois…

As 2010 draws to a close, I wanted to share a few reflections on what we’ve achieved together during the past year.

I began the year as a candidate for governor in Illinois running on a platform of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, and traditional American values. We captured the votes of more than 110,000 Illinoisans, but fell short of the Republican nomination.

Like many of you, I believed the fight we waged against the underperforming Illinois establishment had not come to an end. With your encouragement, we set out to re-launch For the Good of Illinois and introduced For the Good of Illinois PAC.
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For The Good Of Illinois: Go out with a bang…‏”

Budget - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pat Quinn - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Policy Institute: Statement on the Governor’s Borrowing Plan‏

December 29, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

On Wednesday, December 29, John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute will appear on Fox 32 WFLD, Good Day Chicago at 7:25am to discuss problems with and alternatives to Quinn’s crazy borrowing plan. Please tune in. Important details below:

GOVERNOR QUINN’S CRAZY BORROWING PLAN MAKES STATE’S PROBLEMS WORSE:
Debt-driven plan is short sighted and will lead to worsening budget pressure in the coming years

CHICAGO – Governor Quinn’s borrowing plan will worsen the state’s fiscal health, not improve it, notes the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute. The independent think tank points out that while borrowing now might give the state some temporary breathing room, the funding of core government services will be threatened in the future as the cost of debt service mounts.
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Illinois Policy Institute: Statement on the Governor’s Borrowing Plan‏”

Budget - Chicago - Children - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Republicans - Taxes - The Heartland Institute - Warner Todd Huston

Teachers Union Prez Lewis With Heartland Institute’s Behrend on Chicago’s Fox

December 24, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Illinois state government is discussing ideas of education reform and it is assumed that a vote on a plan of one kind or another might occur in the state capitol in Springfield as early as January. Fox Chicago had Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and the Heartland Institute’s Bruno Behrend on the show to discuss the issue. (Dec. 17, 2010)

FOX Chicago Sunday: Karen Lewis & Bruno Behrend: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

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Teachers Union Prez Lewis With Heartland Institute’s Behrend on Chicago’s Fox”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Policy Institute: Merry Christmas and a Year in Review

December 24, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

How many people do you know who are out of work or whose business is struggling to meet payroll during this holiday season? I know quite a few, and it is heartbreaking. The good news is that Illinois’s own President Obama and Senator Dick Durbin understand that raising taxes now would be a disaster. Check the links to watch these very brief videos that demonstrate all too rare wisdom coming from them.

Now, we just need a little wisdom in Springfield. Right now Gov. Quinn, Speaker Madigan, and Senate President Cullerton are negotiating behind closed doors to put coal in your stocking by raising your taxes by 67%—$6 billion! How crazy is this when even President Obama and Senator Durbin understand how devastating that will be to all our friends looking for work? Under the new federal law, which includes a payroll tax cut, a preschool teacher and a firefighter earning a combined $80,000 with two kids would save $800 in 2011 federal taxes. That’s money they can use to purchase a new water heater, buy winter jackets, or put toward college savings. But not anymore if Quinn, Madigan, and Cullerton take it away—they want not just that $800 but about twice that—$1600! So much for the water heater…I guess cold showers are the order of the day…unless you and I get busy to let them know we don’t need a tax hike to fix Illinois’s budget woes. You can go here to learn more about what you can do to help stop the tax hike: www.illinoispolicy.org/taxhike
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Illinois Policy Institute: Merry Christmas and a Year in Review”

Americans for Tax Reform - Budget - Congress - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Government - House of Representatives - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Strong Coalition Urges House Republicans to Create Anti-Appropriations Committee

December 22, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

President of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR.org), Grover Norquist, wrote about having an “anti-appropriations committee back in June n the American Spectator.

Norquist talked of Democrats, Republicans and “the appropriators” in congress and proposed an idea to take the starch out of the appropriator’s assumed sense of entitlement to spend our money with abandon.

Hearkening back to the board that identified needless spending during WWII, spending congress then cut from the budget, Norquist suggested a similar board today that would look over the budget and decide in a non-partisan way what was worth the spending and what should be cut.
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Strong Coalition Urges House Republicans to Create Anti-Appropriations Committee”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Liberals - Taxes - Truth in Accounting - Warner Todd Huston

Truth in Accounting Issues: California’s ‘Financial State of the State’

December 21, 2010 by

From the Institute for Truth in Accounting…

Chicago (November 29, 2010) Today, the Institute for Truth in Accounting released California’s “Financial State of the State.” After a review of the State’s 2009 audited financial report, the Institute determined the State is in a precarious financial position because it does not have the funds available to pay more than $195 billion of the State’s commitments as they come due. Each taxpayer’s share of this financial burden equals $18,000.

California law requires a balanced State budget. “If governors and legislatures had truly balanced the State’s budget, no taxpayer’s financial burden would exist,” said Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA). She continued, “A State budget is not balanced if past costs, including those for employees’ retirement benefits, are pushed into the future.”
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Truth in Accounting Issues: California’s ‘Financial State of the State’”

Budget - Chicago - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Michael Madigan - Pat Quinn - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Policy Institute: Tax Hikes for Christmas

December 17, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

Governor Pat Quinn and House Speaker Mike Madigan want to stick a lump of coal in your stocking this holiday season — in the form of a lame-duck tax hike. They’re spoiling to raise taxes before the new General Assembly is sworn into office in mid-January.

Despite receiving less than 50 percent of the popular vote, Governor Quinn believes he has a “mandate” to pad his public employee union friends’ pockets while sticking Illinois families with the bill.

We’ve been here before. Remember 2009, when everyone said a tax hike was “inevitable”? Well, we stopped it then and, with your help, we can stop it again.
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Ill. Policy Institute: Tax Hikes for Christmas”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Policy Institute: Capitol Day, Fight Quinn’s Tax Hike, Education Reform‏

December 16, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

Capitol Day: Join Us January 5!

A number of highly important issues including the proposal to hike income taxes, a landmark voucher bill, and pension reform are anticipated to be voted on early in the new legislative session. That’s why the Illinois Policy Institute is going down to Springfield on January 5 with our Liberty Leaders. We’re chartering a bus from the Chicagoland area. Join us on Capitol Day!
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Ill. Policy Institute: Capitol Day, Fight Quinn’s Tax Hike, Education Reform‏”

Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Sam Adams Alliance - Taxes - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

SAM Examines Tea Party Culture

December 14, 2010 by

From the Sam Adams Alliance…

As part of our new “Green” Energy series, we unveiled today our latest research: a study of the Tea Party as a cultural institution. SAM’s Chris Stolte explored this idea in a piece he wrote for the Daily Caller.

Tea Culture: This party is not just about politics
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SAM Examines Tea Party Culture”

Americans for Tax Reform - Barack Obama - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - Liberals - President - Regulation - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

ATR: Why Business Extenders in the Tax Deal Aren’t Earmarks, TARP, Pork, Etc.

December 13, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Americans for Tax Reform has a must read piece on some of the provisions in the tax deal that Obama is trying to work out with Republicans. Many on the left are saying that the business extenders in the deal are pork, or are an earmark, or are even “costing the government.” Ryan Ellis explains why these claims are incorrect re the business extenders.

The first thing he mentions is that business extenders aren’t new to this tax deal and that they’ve been around for a long time. For the left and the Old Media to be focusing on them as if they are new policy is simply wrong.

In any case, whatever else is wrong with this idea — such as the pork that is being added every other hour at this point — the business extenders are not a detraction here.
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ATR: Why Business Extenders in the Tax Deal Aren’t Earmarks, TARP, Pork, Etc.”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Policy Institute Breaking Report: A Public Menace in Cook County‏

December 11, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has seen a “strong desire and need for real transformation in the County.” A good place to start this much-needed transformation process would be at the county’s Adult Probation Department, which receives more than $43 million per year to keep the public safe by monitoring dangerous criminals sentenced to probation rather than prison.

Preckwinkle will soon discover these taxpayer dollars are being poorly spent and the department is not keeping people safe–a key tenant of Preckwinkle’s “Compact for Change.”

My latest special report reveals how the Cook County Adult Probation Department, according to its own chief probation officer, “dropped the ball,” by allowing a convicted sexual predator to go unmonitored, which resulted in his arrest for molesting a 13-year-old girl. The special report also documents how a lack of leadership, transparency, and accountability have crippled the department, while senior staff worked off-duty jobs, including providing a personal security detail for Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
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Illinois Policy Institute Breaking Report: A Public Menace in Cook County‏”

Budget - Climate Change - Democrats/Leftists - Energy - Environment - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Policy Institute: Cancun Fiesta!‏

December 6, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

Climate Fiesta in Cancun!
The UN Climate Change Conference is underway in Cancun and Americans for Prosperity cut this video of climate change activists (you know, the ones who want to ration travel, energy, food, and the like) whooping it up at a beach party. Apparently, rationing is for the rest of us.

Spotlight on Spending: Foster Grandparents
Encouraging volunteerism among Illinois’s senior citizens is a worthy goal, with many benefits for both individual volunteers and those they serve, but is the Illinois state government doing a good job at accomplishing these goals—or should be looking for ways to increase senior involvement beyond government programs? Our latest Spotlight on Spending asks these questions.
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Ill. Policy Institute: Cancun Fiesta!‏”

Americans For Prosperity - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Climate Change - Coal - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Energy - Government - Liberals - Mexico - Nuclear Power - Oil - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

The Con in Cancun: UN Climate Change Summit Update

December 2, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

I am here in Cancun, Mexico investigating the U.N. Climate Change Conference to see what sort of wonderful solutions to save our very planet are being planned for all of us here in sunny Mexico. It’s always nice that we can come to save the planet… at a nice resort hotel complex… on a beach… in a moderate clime… isn’t it?

For those of you that are unaware of what this conference is about, this conference is being called COP16/CMP6. That stands for — prepare to doze off here — the 16th edition of Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and the 6th Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). Just like the UN to puff itself up with grand sounding titles, isn’t it?

And it’s a good thing we are here in time to save the earth, too. I mean what with thousands of delegates having winged their way here on private jets and as they drive themselves about in fleets of armored SUVs, as well as the hundreds if not a thousand or more Agentes Policiacos Federales and military personnel driving about in trucks toting machine guns and armored vests to keep us all safe from drug cartels, why it’s about the nick of time that we are here to save the planet.
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The Con in Cancun: UN Climate Change Summit Update”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Liberals - Taxes - Truth in Accounting - Warner Todd Huston - Wisconsin

Truth in Accounting Issues: Wisconsin’s “Financial State of the State”

December 1, 2010 by

From the Institute for Truth in Accounting…

Chicago (November 29, 2010) Today, the Institute for Truth in Accounting released Wisconsin’s “Financial State of the State.” After an intensive review of the State’s 2009 audited financial report, the Institute determined the State is in a precarious financial position because it does not have the funds available to pay more than $14.4 billion of the State’s commitments as they come due. Each taxpayer’s share of this financial burden equals $7,400.

Wisconsin law requires a balanced State budget. “If governors and legislatures had truly balanced the State’s budget, no taxpayer’s financial burden would exist,” said Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA). She continued, “A State budget is not balanced if past costs, including those for employees’ retirement benefits, are pushed into the future.”
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Truth in Accounting Issues: Wisconsin’s “Financial State of the State””

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Grassroot Hawaii - Hawaii - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

New Hawaii Government Transparency Website Debuts

November 30, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is starting a new effort to spotlight wasteful government spending in the Aloha State and one of the central parts of this program is a new website that the group promises will, “revolutionize government accountability in Hawaii by revealing waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars at the state and local level.”

The new site can be seen at hawaiisunshine.org.

The site, that was unveiled to the public Nov. 30th, exposes line item details for more than $12 billion in state spending and transfers since 2008. GRIH filed hundreds of open records requests to procure spending data from nearly every state agency, and has placed it online in an easily searchable database, for free use by interested citizens.
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New Hawaii Government Transparency Website Debuts”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Pay Disparity in Illinois‏

November 29, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

Illinois is in rough shape. Out of all of the states, Illinois is:

  • 48th in economic performance
  • 47th in economic outlook
  • 48th in domestic migration
  • 48th in job growth

With those poor results it’s curious to note that our state has the:

  • 2nd highest Governor’s salary
  • 2nd highest Secretary of State’s salary
  • 3rd highest Attorney General’s salary
  • 5th highest Lieutenant Governor’s salary

Our 17th report in the “Spotlight on Spending” series highlights the alarming disparity between nationwide averages and the salaries and pay levels for our statewide elected officials.
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Pay Disparity in Illinois‏”

Adam Andrzejewski - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - For The Good Of Illinois - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Who’s Afraid of the Forensic Audit?

November 26, 2010 by

From Adam Andrzejewski and For The Good of Illinois…

An orchestrated attempt to discredit the forensic audit is well underway.

On Sunday, Bernie Schoenburg wrote an article defending Illinois Audit General William Holland. Holland claims that we misunderstand the term “forensic audit”. Holland said, “A forensic audit normally involves using accounting methods to investigate criminal activity, such as embezzlement and fraud.” Click here to read the full article in the State Journal-Register.

Whew, thanks for the clarification Auditor Holland. Sure glad we don’t have to worry about criminal activity, embezzlement, or fraud here in squeaky-clean Illinois. Guess we’ll just ignore the $4 million in wire transfer receipts that were found in Blago’s desk.
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Who’s Afraid of the Forensic Audit?”

Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Policy Institute Update

November 24, 2010 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute…

You may have joined us earlier this month for our Election Night Party when we watched and celebrated as free market proponents took control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, what’s in store for Illinois in 2011? I hope you’ll join us on Wednesday, December 8, for our annual holiday party to find out. Come kick off the holiday season and hear from Congressman Peter Roskam, who will share insight on how developments in Washington will affect you next year.

You can RSVP here. The holiday party sold out last year, so reserve your spot now—I hope to see you there! In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!
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Illinois Policy Institute Update”

Elections - Illinois - Sam Adams Alliance - Warner Todd Huston

Green Energy: Charting Citizen Activism

November 24, 2010 by

From the Sam Adams Alliance…

SAM’s insightsLab has released the first in a series of reports examining grassroots activist energy for the 2010 midterm election. In this study we aimed to measure the intensity of this energy at various times: before the general election, on Election Day, and following the election. Please join us in considering several insights revealed by our research team:

Election Day enthusiasm: Small-government activists were 31 percent more likely to participate in early voting during the 2010 midterm elections.
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Green Energy: Charting Citizen Activism”