Via a newsletter, I see that the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has given the 2007 Lump of Coal Award to Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and the Knox County Commissioners. The Lump of Coal Award is given every year to "the person or group in Tennessee who, more than any other over the past year, acted as a Grinch to taxpayers by wastefully spending tax dollars and bah-humbugged the principles of open, transparent government."
It's easy to see why Knox County was so honored. From the newsletter:
After the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the term-limited Knox County Commission could not serve once their terms expired, commissioners voted to fill 12 soon-vacant commission seats with friends and family members. Among the new appointees were the son, wife, father, campaign treasurer and chief deputy of outgoing council members.
Following the vote, it came to light that Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale had threatened to withhold funding to districts of commissioners who did not vote for the mayor's preferred candidates. The mayor and commissioners were later found in violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act for the closed door vote-trading that occurred during the selection of the new commissioners.
To make matters worse for Knox County taxpayers, members of Mayor Ragsdale's staff and county commissioners made questionable and unapproved purchases at taxpayers' expense on county credit cards. This led to the resignation of the Knox County finance director, the mayor's executive assistant and an administrative assistant. Among the dodgy expenses were a cruise and a $227 lobster lunch for three.
Shame.
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research has awarded the 2006 Lump of Coal award to Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee General Assembly for failing to return an estimated $918 million in surplus tax monies to the taxpayers.
Rather than returning the money to Tennesseans by reducing or suspending the state’s six percent sales tax on groceries, lawmakers frittered much of the surplus on pork projects and political payoffs. Among the surplus-funded pork projects are a $1 million program to encourage state employees in Nashville to take the bus to work, a $123,000 grant to a soul music museum in Memphis and $50,000 for an online encyclopedia.
“When customers pay more than an item costs in a store, the cashier gives them their change back. When taxpayers, who are fundamentally customers of government services, overpaid for the cost of government this year, lawmakers kept the change for themselves,” said Drew Johnson, president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.
74 million dollars in pay raises go into effect 1 January as about half of all state employees will get a pay raise, some over $30,000.
The prevailing Southeastern states government employee wage average determined the amount of raises for each employee category.
In other words, merit had nothing to do with it. Figures.
And while some may get angry at taxpayer money being used for sexually explicit films (like "Hung", in which lesbian friends experiment with penises), the real issue is why taxpayer money is being used at all. Drew Johnson, of the Tennessee Center For Policy Research, absolutely nails it with:
Films considered by some to be sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable garner greater public outrage for being shown at a taxpayer-supported film festival. Yet all taxpayers should be incensed that their tax money is spent to support art of any kind.Precisely.Government funding of the arts is inconsistent with a free society. Art—like all other goods and services—should exist in a market environment. If art is of value to a society, people will buy it, listen to it, watch it and enjoy it. It should not be a role of government to tax individuals to support art.
Eliminating government funding of the arts means that taxpayers would have more money to attend films that they personally choose to support. Instead, the state forces taxpayers to support films like Brothers of the Head, a mockumentary about Siamese twin glam rockers. This just goes to prove that the state government has no business spending our money on most of the things they spend it on.
Technorati Tags: Government Pork, Government Waste, Abusing the Taxpayer, Tennessee Politics, Film Industry.
The ban is on hold in the Senate because of people like Republican Lamar Alexander who is demonstrating his Democrat tendencies.
The left-wing Tennessean says:
Sen. Lamar Alexander is not voting to raise taxes. He is not trying to increase the cost of Internet access, nor is he advocating a new tax on e-mail.But my question to Alexander is why he is choosing this issue to stand up for State's Rights? What other issue has Alexander even hinted at wanting to stand up for States Rights?Instead, Alexander is trying to protect states from excessive control by the federal government. Yet the conservative, states-rights position the senator has taken on Internet access taxes has been turned on its ear by his critics, many of whom are Republicans.
This is a smokescreen for the tax-hungry Alexander, proving that at least this leopard hasn't changed its spots.
I backed Congressman Ed Bryant, a true conservative. But in a massively disappointing move, Bush selected ex-governor Lamar Alexander, who is Republican only in the Yankee sense of the word. Besides having a few skeletons in his closet, he was a mediocre governor, a poor Secretary of Education, and failed at two presidential bids.
But most telling about Alexander is that Tennessee sales tax increased 83% while he was governor.
And now he's at it again.
In spite of a tax surplus in Tennessee (well reported by the indispensable Hobbs), Tennessee Tax Revolt Alexander is aligned with Democrats to keep a crucial vote from happening - the vote that will extend the moratorium on internet sales taxes, which ends this Saturday.
Given that the Wall Street Journal reports that third quarter economic growth was at "a sizzling 7.2% rate" (the strongest in 20 years), one would think that Lamar (who owes his job to the president) would align himself with the president's tax-cutting policies. But Alexander wants more taxes.
As he is nearing the end of his political career, it is doubtful that Alexander will respond to public pressure from the voter base. IMHO, he is more interested in expanding his those-who-owe-him-favors circle and feathering his own nest.
Still, it certainly won't hurt to try. Contact Senator Alexander and demand that he get in line with his party and his president.
Update: Hobbs has more on this subject (of course).