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HE exploded into US politics with a message of hope and change that has people around the world believing President Obama will save America and the planet. He’s running a veritable Santa’s Grotto stacked with promises of health care reform, protectionism in trade, cheaper petrol, more money for schools, the space program, veterans, students, infrastructure, as well as lower taxes. He’s promised energy security, an end to the Iraq war, to befriend America’s enemies and remain unindentured to big business and lobbyists. A less optimistic panel of Harvard thinkers at the Centre for Public Leadership recently said the problems facing...

Link below: Senior citizen property tax work-off program is a winner due to copyright issues.

By the year 2035, Interstate 70 between Glenwood Springs and Silt can be expected to join Highway 82 as a congested road with rush-hour delays. Those projections are included in a draft 2035 transportation plan for Colorado's Intermountain region... That plan is part of a draft statewide plan that forecasts a $151 billion funding gap between anticipated transportation needs and projected revenue from 2008 to 2035. Absent new funding, the plan says, the average driver on the state's congested routes would experience daily delays of nearly 70 minutes, up from 22 minutes today. Only a quarter of the state's roadway...

Two years ago, lawmakers asked voters for a "time-out" from the spending restrictions of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights in order to allow the state budget to rebound from the recession of 2001-2002. Referendum C, which passed by a narrow 52-48 percent margin, erased the TABOR spending limits for five years and permanently increased spending caps thereafter. Following the 2005 vote, Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald said, “‘We already agreed, if Ref D failed, it would be (one-third each) for schools, colleges and health.” But a funny thing happened after the election. Spending on programs not associated with Ref C...

Colorado could face its largest tax increase in history if state officials choose to ask voters in 2008 for new revenues to meet future transportation needs, Colorado Department of Transportation Director Russell George said Thursday. George, whose comments came at the 85th annual Colorado Municipal League conference, told a group of more than 170 local government leaders that the state’s projected needs are “mind boggling.” George said by 2030, just to maintain the current level of road and bridge quality, the state is projected to face a shortfall of $59 billion. If Colorado were to get everything the state wants...

special interest groups from higher education to prisons to capital construction are demanding more state aid, many saying they've waited long enough for funding, and now it's their turn. At the same time, opponents of Referendum C are saying, "we told you so," over the proposed changes. Several said the ballot question that allowed the state to keep billions of dollars it otherwise would have returned to taxpayers should be more than enough to handle the state's needs. Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, said he fears the new Democratic governor and the now Democratic-controlled Legislature will go hog...

SB 255-FN-A "AN ACT requiring non-motorized vessels to display conservation decals issued by the fish and game department." This bill will be voted on next Thursday, March 22. You can contact the NH State Senate at: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/ It is a sad fact that out of the three sponsors for this bill, two are Republicans. This includes the bill's primary sponsor. Sen. Barnes, Dist 17; Rep (Primary) Sen. Gallus, Dist 1; Rep Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20 Dem There would likely be more opposition to this legislation but the public appears to be unaware of it.

ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. Martin O'Malley called for more spending on public schools, health care and the environment yesterday in his first State of the State address, but acknowledged that Maryland will need new sources of revenue to make his plan work. "We will never be able to multiply bread and fishes to cover the multitude of needs without new revenue," said Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat. "It's a big, big challenge that we have for our future."

When politicians break their pledges not to raise taxes, they come up with the darnedest evasions. Take Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wants to levy new charges on California doctors, hospitals and employers to help pay for his $12 billion health-care plan. "It is not a tax, just a loan, because it does not go for general [expenditures]," he told the Sacramento Bee last Thursday. "It goes back to health care." A loan? The first reaction of many Californians was: What state office will I be able to go to and get my loan back--perhaps with interest? It's preposterous, for example,...

A lame-duck governor morphs into a Bill Clinton-Phil Angelides composite on policy and rhetoric. “That depends what the definition of ‘is’ is.” — Soon-to-be-disbarred William Clinton, speaking to the Lewinsky grand jury and showing that weasels know well how to use weasel words. Of the many indignities Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has inflicted of late on common sense and fundamental Republican principals, his support for the long-held socialist dream of state-run health insurance is perhaps the worst. As if his support for this deformed monster of public policy weren’t enough, he adds the insult of hiding behind weasel words as shamelessly,...

Families who live in desirable areas face massive increases in their council tax bills under plans being drawn up by Labour, it was revealed. Homeowners in affluent neighbourhoods with good schools, low crime rates and clean streets could be charged thousands of pounds extra than those in more run down places. Ministers have purchased sophisticated 'Big Brother' computer systems which calculate the desirability of an area based on the quality of local services and the types of people who live there. The software, which will be used in the forthcoming revaluation of all 21 million homes in England, contains astonishingly...

Secret green tax blitz planned for cars, air travel and consumer goods By SIMON WALTERS, Mail on Sunday Secret plans for a multi-billion-pound package of stealth taxes on fuel, cars, air travel and consumer goods have been drawn up by the government to combat global warming. The proposals, leaked to The Mail on Sunday, show that the Government is considering introducing a raft of hard-hitting 'eco-taxes' that will have a devastating effect on the cost of living. Families with big cars could end up paying more than £1,000 a year extra in tax. And nearly every household in Britain will...

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton made a star turn this morning at former President Bill Clinton’s conference on global challenges, calling for a concerted attack on the “feminization of poverty” by destroying cultural, political, and economic barriers that trap women and children in desperate conditions. Before a standing-room-only audience in a ballroom of the Sheraton hotel in midtown Manhattan, Mrs. Clinton gave opening remarks at the conference session “Women and the Power of Economic Opportunity” then moderated a panel that included President Bush’s former secretary of agriculture and three leaders in the development and anti-poverty fields. “Far too many women are...

The energy demands of Britain's obsession with flat televisions could require two nuclear plants Our insatiable appetite for the big picture is threatening the planet. A scientist has warned that if half of British homes buy a plasma-screen TV, two nuclear power stations would have to be built to meet the extra energy demand. Britons were buying flat-screen TVs every 15 seconds from Currys and its online sister company Dixons during the build-up to the World Cup, and subsequent price reductions have ensured they remain hugely popular. Article continues But plasma sets can use up to four times as much...

Statutes on matters that range from death to taxes now in effect... An annual sales-tax holiday for Virginians, cracking down on underage drinking and raises for state employees are among the nearly 1,000 state laws that went into effect yesterday. Virginia's civil-service-type workers will see a 4 percent increase in their paychecks starting in early December, though the budget authorizing the raise took effect yesterday. Some of the laws were emergency measures and had already taken effect, while others will at a later date. But the bulk of the legislation became effective a little more than 24 hours ago. The...

Peabody businessman Bruce Lerner is joining the fast-growing list of entrepreneurs “frustrated out of business” by strict state and local regulations that small-business advocates say are choking the lifeblood of America’s economy.     “It’s the sheer plethora of regulations,” said Carolyn Logue, a state director with the National Federation of Independent Businesses. “It seems many were just drafted to give someone, somewhere a job to do. Nobody looks at the goals and whether they’re actually accomplishing anything.”     Three weeks ago, the North Shore Tobacco Control Program sent a 17-year-old decoy into Lerner’s Main Street Smoke Shop in Peabody. She made it...

For the first time since 1972, the United States is planning to fly to the moon, but instead of a quick, Apollo-like visit, astronauts intend to build a permanent base and live there while they prepare what may be the most ambitious undertaking in history -- putting human beings on Mars. President Bush in 2004 announced to great fanfare plans to build a new spaceship, get back to the moon by 2020 and travel on to Mars after that. But, with NASA focused on designing a new spaceship and spending about 40 percent of its budget on the troubled space...

Today and over the weekend, high-level nogotiations are taking place among the legislative leadership and the Governor - the focal point of these discussions - infrastructure investment. LOOK CAREFULLY at what comes out of the negotiations. Were the Republican Governor and Republican legislative leaders able to hold the 'line in the sand' against the big-government, spend-a-holic Democratic leaders? Does the plan: 1) HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PAY-AS-YOU-GO COMPONENT FOR FY '07-'08 AND BEYOND?2) HAVE A 6% BORROWING CAP?3) CONTAIN CEQA AND OTHER NEEDED REFORMS?4) LIMIT THE BORROWING TO MORTOR-AND BRICK REAL INFRASTRUCTURE?*From Senator McClintock:5) LIMIT GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDING TO STATE SCHOOL...

Hawaii residents paid more state taxes in 2004 than residents of any other state in the country... Hawaii residents paid an average of $3,050 per person in 2004, while Texans paid the least — an average of $1,368. Every state but one collected more taxes per person in 2004 than it did a decade earlier... State taxpayer burdens increased by an average of 41 percent from 1994 to 2004. Only Alaska saw the amount it collects per person decline. Even when the numbers are adjusted for inflation, the individual tax burdens increased in 43 states. Rising education and Medicaid costs...

Taxes were up in the past 10 years for Maryland and Virginia residents, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, disappointing both lawmakers and anti-tax advocates. The tax burden in Virginia increased by 55 percent in that period, with a per capita amount of $1,903 in 2004. In Maryland, the tax burden increased by 46 percent, with an individual tax burden of $2,214 in 2004. The District's tax statistics are computed with cities' and local governments' financial data, which won't be available until April, the Census Bureau said.

Posted on Fri, Jan. 27, 2006 Corzine advisers calling for taxes Their transition report has outlined unpopular budget solutions. N.J. lawmakers joined in a chorus of boos. By Kaitlin Gurney Inquirer Trenton Bureau TRENTON - Expand the sales tax to include clothes and online purchases. Tax 401(k) retirement accounts. Raise the gas tax. Consider a temporary increase in the state income tax. With New Jersey's finances "perilously close to ruin," Gov. Corzine's budget advisers have recommended these unpopular solutions and more to fill what they estimate to be a $6 billion hole in the state's budget. The grim transition report...

BOSTON New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were the only states to lose population from 2004 to 2005. The U-S Census reports that New York lost 26-thousand residents, a tenth-of-a-percent decrease. Massachusetts also had a tenth-of-a-percent decline, losing 8-thousand. Rhode Island lost about 3-thousand, or three-tenths of a percent. Experts attribute the trend to soaring housing costs, a stagnant job market and the arrival of fewer immigrants. Most of the states with the largest population growth are in the South and West. Nevada, with an estimated population increase of 3-point-5 percent, was the fastest growing state for the 19th consecutive...

The sales tax in town will increase ... "I don't think now is the time to put the squeeze on other things just because we have additional expenses," (Hans Scharer) said. That's just what Tom Ahern, who owns Latitude 33 bookshop, is proposing. He worries shoppers will now head elsewhere with higer taxes in Laguna. "Why do they always have to consider raising taxes, rather than cutting taxes from a fat government?"

Republicans, Democrats Disagree On What To Do With Money One day after voters agreed to let the state keep an extra $3.7 billion in taxes...Democrats and Republicans were already disagreeing on how to spend it. GOP Gov. Bill Owens said the money should be used to shore up transportation, fix crumbling schools, hold down college tuition increases and strengthen police and fire pensions. Democrats said the state should restore Medicaid programs and ... Referendum C suspends the tax limits in the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment, for five years, allowing the state to keep money that otherwise would...

Already looking beyond Referendums C and D. At this week's meeting of the interim committee on school finance, she proposed what she called Referendum E, for 2006 or 2007. It would provide additional money ... She already had a sales pitch based on the letter E: "Everyone's Effort for Equity and Excellence in Education." Much of the money ... Committee Republicans were appalled. Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, described the proposal Friday as "absolutely ludicrous." Her party would never go for anything like that unless Amendment 23 were removed from the state constitution first... Republican opposition might be predictable, but even...

AUSTIN -- No two issues in state government can provoke as much passion as public education and taxes. A collision, then, seems inevitable as state leaders struggle to change the way Texas pays for public education. Texas relies primarily on two taxes: property and sales. Property taxes pay for most of the state's $30-billion-a-year public education system. Lawmakers want to lower school property taxes by 30 percent to 50 percent, which means a huge shift elsewhere to replace up to $8 billion a year in revenue. Some fear that the shift will land on increased sales taxes and a new...

<p>What if the budget is ruled unconstitutional once the budget impasse ends? The Governor's deliberate mixing of taxes and appropriations in the same bill makes this a distinct possibility - one that we must avoid.</p> <p>The constitutionality of the budget bill is a pressing issue because, unlike any other legislation, there are substantial consequences if the budget is not enacted. Time in which to resolve the legal uncertainty is short: Local school divisions must know by May 1 the amount of funding the Commonwealth will provide for fiscal year 2005 in order to finalize contracts with teachers and other employees.</p>

DeWine Wants Answers On Gasoline Prices Ohio Senator Mike DeWine asked the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday what it's doing about high gasoline prices. The Ohio Republican and Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl have written the agency requesting a confidential briefing on what the commission's monitoring of gas prices has found. The agency confirmed it has received the letter but couldn't say when a briefing may be scheduled. DeWine is chairman of the Senate Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee. He said he may consider formal hearings if prices keep rising. The average price of regular unleaded in Ohio is...

Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay calls his party's $373 billion spending bill "worthy of the national challenges it meets." Republican House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young says it's "the best product we could provide.” Democratic Rep. David Obey says it's not only "a bad bill" but "a gratuitous insult to every worker entitled to overtime pay." The president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Tom Schatz says not only are the Republicans three months behind in presenting the bill, they've apparently spent the time to "pile on the pork." DeLay says the bill is an "achievement in...

Measure would eliminate tax exclusion for Americans abroad By Elizabeth Olson/IHT (IHT) Saturday, May 17, 2003 WASHINGTON: A provision to eliminate the income-tax exclusion for American wage earners overseas was in the Senate version of the tax package approved late Thursday, and its future could be decided within days when congressional negotiators are to begin hammering out the final bill. Repealing the income tax break, which allows each American worker to exclude $80,000 in income in calculating U.S. taxes, is not in the House of Representatives' $550 billion package, passed this month. Reconciling the two very different versions will be...

Someone needs to add up ALL the tax hikes and compare them wih ALL the expense cuts!WHAT?? There are NO EXPENSE CUTS?? How much will this "Special Session" COST US? HB 1001 - SECTION 1. APPROPRIATION. There is hereby appropriated, to the ArkansasHouse of Representatives, to be payable from the Constitutional Officers Fund, for necessary expenses of the Arkansas House of Representatives for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, the following: (01) SALARIES OF EMPLOYEES ................ ............. ........ $ 560,000 (02) PERSONAL SERVICES MATCHING ......... ............ ........ 47,400 (03) MAINTENANCE, OPERATIONS AND EXPENSES .. 1,460,600 TOTAL AMOUNT APPROPRIATED...

<p>On a bad day the waiting time in Dr. Brian Johnston's emergency room can run as long as seven or eight hours. It's a symptom of what Johnston and others see as a looming "meltdown" in California's health care system.</p>

Borrowing, income tax are options for House 09/03/02 HARRY ESTEVE Democrats 32-28 -- was far from certain. Even the chairman of the committee working on the proposal, Rep. Ben Westlund, R-Bend, called it "half a plan." Try Our Classifieds The Legislature is meeting in a record fifth special session of the year to deal with a $482 million shortfall caused by plummeting tax revenues. With the borrowing plan Simmons supports, a little more than half the shortfall would be covered by selling cigarette tax bonds. State agencies would have to trim their budgets to cover the rest. A second option...

WASHINGTON (GOPUSA News) -- Recently, President Bush refused to sign the anti-terrorism spending bill because it allocated more funds than he requested and included items not related to homeland defense. The Democratic National Committee in turn has accused the President of playing politics with critically-needed emergency funding. In an email alert sent out to Democrat party members last week, the Democratic National Committee accused President Bush of withholding funds for firefighting equipment, health care benefits for veterans and additional funds for the Transportation Security Agency. The original bill as requested by President Bush would have included many of these programs...