That big sucking sound you hear
Shhhh. Listen carefully… can you hear the sound of money being sucked out of your pockets? Yeah, the money you worked to earn… and it's just being sucked away while you're not paying attention. Sure, I'm talking about taxes. You can't do anything that doesn't cost you taxes. Even if I just sit here, I'm paying property taxes, as part of a mortgage payment or increasing the amount of my rent. There are taxes on my utilities and taxes on my car, even if I don't drive it. Anything I buy has had the price raised by taxes at every step of production and marketing, and on most items I'll pay a sales tax just to make it mine. Go out for a drink and a smoke and MOST of what you spend will be taxes. I bought a new TV recently. Aside from all the taxes paid by the manufacturer of all the parts, and the taxes paid by the store I bought it from, and the taxes paid by all the employees involved, and on the trucks and gas involved in getting it to the store and then to me, I paid $45 in sales tax. If all the taxation was removed, the TV would almost certainly have cost me HALF what I paid for it. That's true with almost everything we buy.
Not that paying attention would do a lot of good. Many of us believe that the sucking sound is not as annoying if we pretend to ignore it. We tell ourselves that there is still enough left to satisfy our needs, and we'll even REDUCE our needs and desires to match what is left in our pockets.
You may recall that a few years ago, our state government reduced aid to local governments. It was a good start at reducing the overall cost of government, or so it seemed. It might reduce our state tax bill, and it just might make local governments become more fiscally sound. Local governments, unlike the state, would be forced to at least ASK us for more money, giving us a chance to say NO (the REAL definition of freedom).
Think again. Local governments seem to have developed a spending habit they have no intention of breaking, which left them in a quandary… how to get more money without asking us for it? Can you guess what their solution has been?
You may not be aware that your local government is no longer JUST your local government, but is part of a number of associations of other local governments. They've organized… associations of cities, associations of counties, etc. There are some valid purposes for such organizations, but there is a dark side to them as well… the associations give their members more power… more political clout.
So… the local government response to reduced state aid has been to LOBBY… to try to get back what they lost in state aid, and more if possible. They've been lobbying the state legislature, and the associations they belong to have been lobbying for them as well.
At first glance, that might not seem like an unreasonable response. The state took money away… so ask the state to return the money. But, as is always true with government, it just ain't that simple… nothing ever is. Lobbying… pulling together your arguments and displays, then going to the capitol and chatting with individual legislators, takes a lot of time, which means that it takes a lot of money. A lot of money. Local government either sends employees, who were hired to do something else, to lobby, or they hire a professional lobbyist to do it for them.
Boy, have they been lobbying. The Minnesota State Auditor, in a recent report (PDF), announced that Minnesota local government expenditures on lobbying in 2005 was up 24.4% over 2004. Local governments spent almost $7.8 million on lobbying in 2005, plus another $9.5 million to associations that represent their interests.
Belt-tightening like the rest of us? Think again. They spent a whole lot MORE, just to try to take more money out of our state pockets. They obviously don't want to have to ask locals for more money, so they gamble on being able to sneak it away from us via the state. The State Auditor believes that the actual lobbying costs are EVEN HIGHER than reported… that some of the lobbying costs are being hidden as non-lobbying costs.
Government is out of control… so addicted to power and spending, at all levels, that there is only one effective way to keep it from spiraling even higher, and that is to keep our money away from them altogether. If they get it… no matter HOW they get it… they WILL spend it. In the process, much of it will simply be WASTED, as all the money on lobbying is. About half of the money local governments spent on lobbying went to a few professional lobbying firms. They're the ONLY ones who benefited. Either the local governments wasted their lobbying money, or they succeeded in taking more out of the pockets our state government has their hands in. Either way, the taxpayers lost a lot… even more than if the state aid to local governments hadn't been reduced in the first place.
Government is like a severely spoiled kid; there are NO easy solutions. Ignoring the problem doesn't work. Expecting the kid to un-spoil himself is supremely unrealistic and an invitation to still more abuse. Cutting off the money is the only solution. I would suggest reducing your taxes as much as you can, through whatever means you're comfortable with, but even that isn't much of a solution.
The ONLY way we are going to get government back under control is by electing people who are determined to do just that, and by holding them to their word once elected. We have to stop falling for political mumbo-jumbo and really upset the applecart. That means, without exception, voting for minor party candidates who will cut taxes and spending at every opportunity and then keeping their feet to the fire to make sure they do it.
In Minnesota, that means supporting and voting for Sue Jeffers for Governor, who will be the only legitimate tax-cutter in the race.
On a local level, we can all pay some attention to the local candidates' campaigns. Attend city council meetings… challenge what they're doing, and make it clear that they'll be held accountable at election time. If you agree that government is spending far too much, I encourage you to run for local office yourself. If you've considered it, I want to hear from you. Send me an email at bob@smith.mn and I'll try to assist (with some help from my friends).
Not that paying attention would do a lot of good. Many of us believe that the sucking sound is not as annoying if we pretend to ignore it. We tell ourselves that there is still enough left to satisfy our needs, and we'll even REDUCE our needs and desires to match what is left in our pockets.
You may recall that a few years ago, our state government reduced aid to local governments. It was a good start at reducing the overall cost of government, or so it seemed. It might reduce our state tax bill, and it just might make local governments become more fiscally sound. Local governments, unlike the state, would be forced to at least ASK us for more money, giving us a chance to say NO (the REAL definition of freedom).
Think again. Local governments seem to have developed a spending habit they have no intention of breaking, which left them in a quandary… how to get more money without asking us for it? Can you guess what their solution has been?
You may not be aware that your local government is no longer JUST your local government, but is part of a number of associations of other local governments. They've organized… associations of cities, associations of counties, etc. There are some valid purposes for such organizations, but there is a dark side to them as well… the associations give their members more power… more political clout.
So… the local government response to reduced state aid has been to LOBBY… to try to get back what they lost in state aid, and more if possible. They've been lobbying the state legislature, and the associations they belong to have been lobbying for them as well.
At first glance, that might not seem like an unreasonable response. The state took money away… so ask the state to return the money. But, as is always true with government, it just ain't that simple… nothing ever is. Lobbying… pulling together your arguments and displays, then going to the capitol and chatting with individual legislators, takes a lot of time, which means that it takes a lot of money. A lot of money. Local government either sends employees, who were hired to do something else, to lobby, or they hire a professional lobbyist to do it for them.
Boy, have they been lobbying. The Minnesota State Auditor, in a recent report (PDF), announced that Minnesota local government expenditures on lobbying in 2005 was up 24.4% over 2004. Local governments spent almost $7.8 million on lobbying in 2005, plus another $9.5 million to associations that represent their interests.
Belt-tightening like the rest of us? Think again. They spent a whole lot MORE, just to try to take more money out of our state pockets. They obviously don't want to have to ask locals for more money, so they gamble on being able to sneak it away from us via the state. The State Auditor believes that the actual lobbying costs are EVEN HIGHER than reported… that some of the lobbying costs are being hidden as non-lobbying costs.
Government is out of control… so addicted to power and spending, at all levels, that there is only one effective way to keep it from spiraling even higher, and that is to keep our money away from them altogether. If they get it… no matter HOW they get it… they WILL spend it. In the process, much of it will simply be WASTED, as all the money on lobbying is. About half of the money local governments spent on lobbying went to a few professional lobbying firms. They're the ONLY ones who benefited. Either the local governments wasted their lobbying money, or they succeeded in taking more out of the pockets our state government has their hands in. Either way, the taxpayers lost a lot… even more than if the state aid to local governments hadn't been reduced in the first place.
Government is like a severely spoiled kid; there are NO easy solutions. Ignoring the problem doesn't work. Expecting the kid to un-spoil himself is supremely unrealistic and an invitation to still more abuse. Cutting off the money is the only solution. I would suggest reducing your taxes as much as you can, through whatever means you're comfortable with, but even that isn't much of a solution.
The ONLY way we are going to get government back under control is by electing people who are determined to do just that, and by holding them to their word once elected. We have to stop falling for political mumbo-jumbo and really upset the applecart. That means, without exception, voting for minor party candidates who will cut taxes and spending at every opportunity and then keeping their feet to the fire to make sure they do it.
In Minnesota, that means supporting and voting for Sue Jeffers for Governor, who will be the only legitimate tax-cutter in the race.
On a local level, we can all pay some attention to the local candidates' campaigns. Attend city council meetings… challenge what they're doing, and make it clear that they'll be held accountable at election time. If you agree that government is spending far too much, I encourage you to run for local office yourself. If you've considered it, I want to hear from you. Send me an email at bob@smith.mn and I'll try to assist (with some help from my friends).
posted by Robert Ronald Smith at 12:01 AM
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