Representative Westmoreland: I have recently been redistricted into District 2 and have been following your positions on state tax issues. I wish you to realize that I, as your constituent, oppose any change in appropriation of tax revenue, specifically an income tax. The governor and legislators of Tennessee have proven themselves unwilling and unable to define projects such as TennCare within a budget the state can afford and likewise have chosen not to address the horrendous spending, waste, and/or fraud within this and other state programs. The people deserve adequate funding of well-conceived and executed projects, not to bear the financial brunt of political boondoggles such as TennCare. While I pay for an unheard of proportion of the state’s population (with a generous addition of fraudsters from in and out-of-state) to access poorly administered health care and for former Representative Ford to carry home millions in “consulting fees”, the state’s educational system languishes near the bottom among the fifty states and industry shies away from a state with such poor governance.
In short: 1. The ineptitude of the legislative and executive branches of the government of Tennessee is the problem, not a paucity of tax revenue. Fix the programs you have created, and a tax increase is not needed. 2. Your constituents need to know of their Republican representative exactly what part of “no income tax” you fail to understand. Sincerely,
Tennessee’s governance has become a sad joke nationally with recruiting firms unable to interest employees in exploring what the state has to offer due to national coverage of the ineffectual legislature and governor, and the horrors of TennCare, not to mention the consistent defiance of the will of the people by elected representatives in Nashville. I am in contact with multi-state recruiting firms on a weekly basis and this is their unsolicited opinion of our national image. In short: 1. Our governance is a disgrace. We know it and the country knows it. This hurts the state now and into the future. It will take years of positive work to overcome our negative image. 2. The ineptitude of the legislative and executive branches of the government of Tennessee is the problem, not a paucity of tax revenue. Fix the programs you have created, and a tax increase is not needed. 3. You and our other legislators are not in office to pursue a separate, elitist agenda with tax dollars. The people say they want TennCare fixed, education bettered, and no income tax. Do it. It’s your job. If you do not respect your constituents, leave the office. 4. Your constituents need to know of their Republican representative exactly what part of “no income tax” you fail to understand.