Earlier tonight, we posted video of WI Democrat Senators fleeing expected Tea Party activists. They were in another state because they decided to shirk their constitutional obligations. We asked BG readers to identify the Senators in the video.

Our readers have responded.

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Hopefully, Big Government readers can help us identify these Democrat senators from Wisconsin. In the video, they claim they are heading back to the state to fulfill their constitutional obligation. They’re Democrats though, so we’re skeptical they worry about things like that. We’ll see.

As countless states across the country face budget shortfalls prompting calls for tax increases to ward off deep spending cuts, legislators in three states are taking a novel approach.  In New Jersey, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, Capitol Confidential has learned that bills have been filed to reduce, not raise, cigarette taxes.

In New Jersey, where a previous increase in the state’s cigarette tax ultimately resulted in a loss of revenue as against the pre-hike figure, the proposal is to cut the state’s cigarette tax by 30 cents, from $2.70 per pack to $2.40 per pack.

In New Hampshire, several Republican legislators in the House want to take 10 cents off the tax applied to each pack of cigarettes, and cut the tax applicable to other tobacco products from 65 percent to 48 percent of the wholesale price.

And in Rhode Island, a House bill aims to cut cigarette taxes by a full $1 per pack.

The approach favored by the legislators behind the bills stands in stark contrast to that favored by some of their colleagues: In a full nine states to-date, bills to increase cigarette taxes have been filed.  Anti-tax advocates remain wary of proposals to hike cigarette taxes in states including Illinois, Massachusetts, and even more conservative Idaho and Georgia.

Backers of the tax-cutting bills however continue to make their case that cigarette tax hikes operate like tax cuts– when taxes go up, revenue decreases, because smokers cut back, buy smuggled cigarettes illegally, or cross state lines to purchase cigarettes in cheaper jurisdictions.  On the flip side, they say cutting cigarette taxes will bring in more revenue.

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Abdicating their legislative responsibilities, Wisconsin Senate Democrats are huddling at the Clocktower Resort in Rockford, Illinois. Democrats were poised to lose the vote on an important bill to fix Wisconsin’s fiscal crisis, so they picked up their legislative ball and fled the state.

Big Government has learned that local tea parties, throughout Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin are planning to protest the legislative cowards at their resort hide-away.

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At this very moment, the battle for America’s future is happening in states all around the country as newly-elected governors try to wrest control from tax-eating unions. Today’s battle is just the beginning of what America will be facing through 2012 and beyond. It is a battle that, if lost, will likely have catastrophic consequences on the fiscal well being of many of the states and, as a result, the nation as a whole.

Nowhere is the fight the loudest than in Wisconsin, where over 10,000 union supporters protested Madison’s Capitol Square on Tuesday and about 1,000 protesters demonstrated outside Governor Scott Walker’s private home Tuesday night. Hundreds of union protesters also packed Ohio’s statehouse on Tuesday to condemn Governor Kasich’s efforts to stem the union bosses’ power and reign in out of control spending. In Indiana, hundreds of Steelworkers descended on the Hoosier’ statehouse to protest unemployment reform as well. Even in New York, with a Democrat governor, unions are spending millions on fighting reform.

Make no mistake, this is a battle for America’s economic future. It is one that will ultimately decide whether Americans will be enslaved by debt created by a government beholden to public-sector union bosses, or whether some sort of fiscal sanity can be restored before the system collapses due to the weight from years of cronyism.

As labor activists strategize for “class war,” Leftist union bosses also know they may be losing their grip on taxpayers’ throats and they are desperate to keep it there. They’re not going to let go easily either. They’re organized and they have millions to spend on marches, sickouts, protests, candlelight vigils, and advertising.

So, the question becomes, what are YOU going to do about it?

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Oh, those calls for “civility” seem so long ago. Of course, there will be no mention of these signs–or the violence and hatred that inspired them–in any newscasts or reporting of the protest. Still, keep this in mind as you review these signs; a large number were created by teachers, responsible for educating the next generation of Americans. Shudder.

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Now that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is on the road to recovery, labor unions and others on the American left have pulled out all the stops in blocking spending cuts in D.C. and across the country. Since the left has no substantive, intellectually-honest arguments to offer in defense of the insane levels of government spending, they are once again resorting to hate, vitriol and downright nastiness as its political weapons of choice.

Right now, ground zero is Madison, Wisconsin where legislators and newly-elected Gov. Scott Walker are attempting to stop the state from financially bleeding to death. To get state spending under control, the governor and the Republican-controlled legislature are planning to end collective bargaining rights for public sector employees.

EAGtv released a story showing union activists ditching class to protest spending reform.

The left has come unglued. Forgetting that public sector employees work for the taxpayers (and not the other way around), unions descended upon the Capitol in protest.

Among the loudest protesters were the teacher unions. Angry that the governor was not treating them as professionals, some teachers unions staged a “sickout,” causing schools to cancel classes due to insufficient staff levels. (Talk about a mixed message.)

Better still, some teachers dragged students to the Capitol as political props. Video released by the MacIver Institute shows students marching through the streets, carrying signs and protesting. Only one problem: the kids don’t have the slightest clue why they’re there. In the video, one student says, “We’re trying to stop whatever this dude (meaning Gov. Walker) is doing.”

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Republicans are considering ways to trim the federal budget — and the funds that go toward public broadcasting are on the chopping block. Now it appears that certain public radio stations may be violating federal law to convince listeners to lobby Congress to stop these cuts.

Reps. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) already staged a silly press conference this week with Elmo, Grover and Big Bird dolls, along with someone in an Arthur the Aardvark costume, to try to embarrass Republicans into continuing to pay for public broadcasting. Of course, using these characters was probably not a good marketing idea to begin with, given the money-making powerhouse that Sesame Street represents and the enormous profits that have been earned through merchandising these characters.

Now public radio stations such as KCRW 89.9 in Santa Monica are sending out press releases with detailed information about the recommended spending cuts from the House Appropriations Committee in H.R. 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriation Act. KCRW’s message comes from Sarah Spitz at kcrw.org and urges listeners to “take action in support of public broadcasting” by visiting another website. That website allows you to “Click Here to Write Congress” and asks visitors to “contact your representatives in Congress now and urge them to stand up for public broadcasting funding.”

What KCRW is doing, however, may violate the federal Anti-Lobbying Act. 18 U.S.C. § 1913 provides that “No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the introduction of any bill, measure or resolution proposing such legislation, law, ratification, policy or appropriation.”

Under a prior version of the statute as it was interpreted by at least one court decision, this anti-lobbying provision applied only to federal officers and employees. But the law was amended in 2002 and now applies to anyone who receives federally appropriated funds including recipients of federal grants such as NPR. Such grants cannot be used to lobby Congress directly or indirectly, which would include trying to persuade NPR listeners to lobby Congress on NPR’s behalf. So if any of the funds received by KCRW from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting were used to pay Sarah Spritz’s salary in writing this lobbying appeal or to fund the facilities used to broadcast her message on behalf of the radio station, then KCRW has violated federal law.   And if any federal funds were used to pay for this website, that is also a violation of the law.

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Transparency, accountability and limited government are the cornerstone principles of For The Good of Illinois. We encourage citizens to ask their local school districts, municipalities, counties, and other units of local government to show taxpayers exactly where government spends every dime.

Recently, a citizen brought transparency to his hometown of Palatine.

As a private sector executive compensation expert, he did a very professional one-page overview of the village manager’s compensation plan. He discovered that the village manager in Palatine has an unbelievably lucrative employment contract.

PalatineVillageManager

Base salary = $183,700. Total estimated annual compensation = $350,000.

Then, there is the…perquisites. I wasn’t familiar with that word. Here’s what it means: country club membership, health club membership, and luxury car. This contract has $23,000 of perquisites. Sickening.

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Shortly after the state of Arizona began cracking down on illegal immigration, President Obama and company went on the offensive against the state.

Now, with the Gov. Scott Walker taking on unions in Wisconsin, it was only a matter of time before Obama gave his two cents. He has taken the side of the state government unions against Walker’s plan that would force state workers to cover half of their pension contributions and 13 percent of their own health insurance cuts. The plan would also strip government workers of the power to collectively bargain for higher wages unless the public approved it through a vote.

When asked about the public employee benefits cuts in Wisconsin and the resulting union protests President Obama said he saw the cuts as an “assault on unions”.

After these comments it seems that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is going to become the next conservative sweetheart. Soon enough people will see Scott Walker doing something awesome and they’ll think to themselves… Christie who? Walk on Walker… walk on.

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RevenueRaisersOverviewFY12Budget021411

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Aaron Blake to discuss the redistricting battle, then Pejman Yousefzadeh talks about Israel and the UN.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Aaron’s Redistricting Coverage
Could GOP grab control of redistricting in Virginia?
Mapping the Future: GOP will draw map in Texas, but gaining seats difficult
The political perils of California’s redistricting process

In sharp reversal, U.S. agrees to rebuke Israel in Security Council
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First of all, I need to disclose a conflict of interest.  I am a huge fan of the Jersey Shore, so please do not construe my commentary as critical of Snookie or any of the others on the show.  I feel the pain of all those in America who want to tan without paying a massive new tax to the federal government.  What’s next?  Taxing gym memberships or Laundromats.

An army of Internal Revenue Service agents have been hired to enforce the new taxes contained in ObamaCare.  Snookie and her Jersey Shore pals should watch out, because the IRS has hired 81 agents to crack down on any tanning salons that don’t pay the new Obamacare 10% excise tax on tanning.  Let’s say a serious tanner buys a package for $100 per month.  Get ready to hand over $1o per month to Uncle Sam.

According to Paul Bedard at US News, the IRS has to hire an army of federal bureaucrats to take more of your money pursuant to the mandates in ObamaCare and we are not merely talking about the tanning tax enforcement squadron.

The Internal Revenue Service says it will need an battalion of 1,054 new auditors and staffers and new facilities at a cost to taxpayersof more than $359 million in fiscal 2012 just to watch over the initial implementation of President Obama’s healthcare reforms. Among the new corps will be 81 workers assigned to make sure tanning salons pay a new 10 percent excise tax. Their cost: $11.5 million.

That is correct.  81 new bureaucrats to travel the nation to see if tanning salons are paying the 10% tax.  They need to make sure that underground tanning salons don’t pop up next to Meth Labs and illegal casinos.  Who knows what will happen if somebody sets up a tanning bed in their basement to make some money without paying the new ObamaTax.  Maybe some jail time for that ObamaCare criminal.

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The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a union-funded organization, has estimated that the cuts contained in the CR would result in a loss of 994,000 jobs. This analysis is based on a highly simplified economic analysis that has repeatedly been demonstrated to be wildly inaccurate.

EPI’s Jobs Analysis – Even the White House Thinks It Is Wrong

• EPI’s track record on forecasting the impact of policies on job creation is even rejected by the White House.
  • For example, EPI estimates that the U.S.-Korea Trade Promotion Agreement would result in a loss of 159,000 jobs.
  • In contrast, the President has said repeatedly that this trade agreement will create 70,000 jobs.

Romer/Bernstein Analytical Methods – Wrong Before, Wrong Now

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There’s a bad law on the books that is costing lives every single day.

Cancer patients from around the country have teamed up with a world-famous doctor, a non-profit and the Institute for Justice in a major federal lawsuit against the U.S. Attorney General to change that.

This week, we argued before the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  (You can listen to the audio of the argument here.)

As our client Kumud Majumder wrote this Monday in the USA Today:

My 11-year-old son, Arya, was an angel who transformed my life. His death from leukemia last April took away not just my only child, it also took away my very heart and soul, and triggered the collapse of my 23-year marriage.

Arya’s tragedy happened in part because of a lack of bone marrow donors. Each year, as many as 3,000 people in the U.S. die waiting for a bone marrow donor match. A significantly higher number of people die from complications arising from partially matched donors. This is largely avoidable, and the shortage of donors is made worse by a federal law that I and other families of cancer patients are fighting in federal court.

There is chronic shortage of bone marrow donors in the United States.   The sad reality is that cancer patients die every day as a result.  More people would likely donate their bone marrow if we did one simple thing:  compensate them.

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Hard on the heels of his speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in which he jawboned the owners of private businesses to increase hiring in return for federal tax breaks and other subsidies, President Obama has included in his budget request for fiscal year 2012 a proposal to make a $8 billion down payment on a six-year, $53 billion taxpayer-financed “investment” in high-speed rail.

The president’s budget proposal is a bad idea for at least two reasons. First and foremost, the public sector has little or no incentive to spend the taxpayers’ money in ways that maximize the ratio of benefits to costs. What is more important, no public transit system in the country, with the possible exception of New York City’s subway, generates passenger revenues sufficient to cover operating costs, let alone capital costs. All others gush red ink year after year.

Passenger fares on public transit modes typically are set at rates below full cost in order to maximize ridership and to “prove” that transportation via bus or rail is a worthy public service.

It may be reasonable to assume that high-speed rail transportation in the Northeast corridor, linking Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston, could pay its own way, but that conclusion depends on the relative cost of rail versus air and automobile travel among those same cities.

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Today, in 2011, the United States will support a United Nations rebuke of Israel. (Read that sentence again.) So, we’ll go along with utopias like Venezuela, Cuba, Pakistan, etc., against the only democracy in the Middle East. We really may not survive this administration.

I had high hopes after the fall elections that things would change. I expected once the Republicans took power that they would make a concerted effort to reverse the downslide of our health care system into the hole that is created by Obamacare. Apparently, it is just business as usual on Capitol Hill… big surprise.

The House rules committee voted against the amendment by Rep. Steve King that would defund Obamacare thus clearing the way for the mandatory self-funding provisions initially written into the bill by Pelosi et al to take effect.

Either the Republicans are playing politics by allowing this fiasco to drag on into the election season so that they can use it as ammunition against Obama and the Democrats, or they actually like the bill and only pretended to oppose it to increase their chance of getting elected. Whichever scenario is true the outcome is still the same. The further down the road to implementation Obamacare gets, the harder it will be to reverse.

While the Republicans dither there are a few truths that are becoming quite clear.

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As the union-controlled National Labor Relations Board continues its job-killing push to unionize America’s workplace—including deciding whether to break-up and unionize company employees by classification—Republican Congressman Tom Price (GA) has introduced an amendment to completely defund the NLRB through the end of FY 2011.

[via Labor Relations Today]

The House continues its consideration of H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2011.  This bill, if passed, will make appropriations for the continuing operation of the various federal government agencies through September 30, 2011.  As reported by The Hill several hundred additional amendments have recently been introduced, which are taking up considerable time in the debate.

Among the amendments introduced is C.R. 578, introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), to defund the National Labor Relations Board, as follows:

At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:

Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out and implement the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.)

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