Political Gimmicks and Agency Reports

Political Gimmicks and Agency Reports

Anatomy of the Democrats’ Broken Promise on Property Tax Cuts
Fact:  
Gov. Dayton and the Democrats sent local governments $292 million in new state aids and promised property taxes would go down statewide as a result.  
Fact: 
The statewide property tax levy went up $125 million to the highest level in state history to support local government spending increases.

Democrat solution: 

Conjure up a simulated reporting scenario that shows property taxes going down!  

First, the Facts


The official Department of Revenue report (Click here for Full Report) shows property taxes in Minnesota are INCREASING …

+ 1.2% for counties
+ 1.6% for cities
+ 2.0% for towns
+ 1.7% for counties
+ 1.2% for special districts

In fact, 2014 is poised to report the highest property tax levy in Minnesota history, rising $125 million or 1.5% in total statewide.  (Click here for the 2013 vs 2014 comparison report from the non-partisan Senate Research staff)
 

Look at Property Taxes Where You Live!


Only 1 out of 7 cities, counties and townships lowered property taxes, and almost half of all school districts raised property taxes. 

  • 74 out of 87 counties either raised property taxes or kept them flat (85%).
  • 731 out of 853 cities either raised property taxes or kept them flat (86%).
  • 1646 out of 1911 townships either raised property taxes or kept them flat (86%).
  • 151 out of 331 school districts either raised property taxes or kept them flat (46%).

(Click here to see what happened where you live) 

 

But Democrats Still Claim Property Taxes Declined.  What Gives?


Democrats created some slick messaging and reporting to convince the public of their property tax “reduction”.

1.  They refer to property tax reductions for certain types of properties only, while forgetting to mention that 8 out of 12 property types increased. (Click here for  the 2013 vs 2014 comparison report from the non-partisan Senate Research staff)
 

2.  They advertise only certain cherry-picked jurisdictions where taxes went down, but forget to mention any of the 86% of jurisdictions statewide where property taxes did not go down.  (Click here for Full Report by taxing jurisdiction)
 
3.  They requested a “Simulation Report” from the Department of Revenue to show property taxes collected by local governments minus the estimated state credits that are projected to be claimed.  In the arcane world of state agency reporting, the distinction of a “Simulation Report” is important. Rather than relying on the actual reported property tax levies from local governments in the traditional state agency report formats included above, Democrats needed a one-off simulated scenario relying on projections of state credits to create a scenario they could present to the public to show a “reduction” in property taxes. And they included in the state credits an offset of the estimated renters credit, which does not go the actual property tax payer.

So Why Not Just Say What Actually Happened?


Gov. Dayton and the Democrats made a promise they could not keep.

They passed significant funding increases to local governments in their budget last year, promising it would lower taxes.  Then they doubled down in a July 30, 2013 press conference where they promised property taxes would go down $121 million.  And even using their own “new” math by simulating projected estimates of state credits, they were $113 million off of their July promise.  And all that after spending $292 million on local governments to achieve it.

With an election coming up, it is no surprise that Democrats would try to find some way to spin it.
Ideas That Work!

 
In contrast, the Republican budget produced a better result for property taxpayers in 2013.  Despite DFL attempts to buy down property taxes in 2014, the statewide property tax levy actually increased $4 million more than under the Republican’s budget in 2013.
 
Republicans know that property taxes are controlled at the local level by city councils, county commissioners and school boards. Controlling local government spending and making sure that those local spending decisions are transparent to taxpayers is the solution.

Miscellany………

What the Obama run DHS wants Border Guards to do…

Run away!!!

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How can the rich DemocRATS make more money?

Create crisis, spread outlandish claims..

Claim they are saving the world…From us!!

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300,000 gun owners facing ‘jail’ time?

If only 3% say hell no..

Still outnumbers the politicians and LEOs coming for their gun..

Think about that!

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Hey Joe..

How are you going to lie your way out of this one?

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Which is it?

‘Patrol’ rifle or ‘Assault’ rifle?

Depends on who is holding it!!

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Elected politicians want war?

Looks that way..

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Gun violence…

LIEberal propaganda…

They have no facts….Just lies..

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Just in case….

Some handy items..

And if you like your .22′s….

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Media BiASS: Propaganda….

NBC and ABC Skip News That Prisons Will Now Be Enrolling Inmates Under ObamaCare

In a front page story for Monday’s New York Times, writer Erica Goode revealed that prisons all across the country are enrolling inmates to ObamaCare. Despite the fact that many media outlets consider the Times to be the "paper of record," NBC and ABC ignored the news that taxpayer-funded money would be going to the health care of convicted criminals. Only CBS This Morning covered it, allowing 20 seconds. Guest co-host Anthony Mason summarized the details and insisted, "States can save millions by letting Medicaid pay for prisoners’ hospital stays lasting more than 24 hours. Up to 35 percent of those now eligible for Medicaid under ObamaCare have had run-ins with the law." Although CBS covered the latest revelation, Mason failed to mention conservative criticism.

CBS’s Norah O’Donnell to Al Franken: ‘It’s Great to See You in the United States Senate’

CBS This Morning co-host Norah O’Donnell on Monday gushed over comedian turned Democratic Senator Al Franken. With no pretense, she told the liberal politician, "…It’s great to see you in the United States Senate. But, you know, we all remember you from Saturday Night Live." "We grew up" watching you, the journalist added. Franken was given five and a half minutes of air time to talk about his thoughts on a potential merger between cable giants Comcast and Time Warner. Yet, O’Donnell still found time for breezy questions such as asking, "Do you go back at all to watch SNL?… Don’t we need more humor in the United States Congress?"

NBC’s Gregory: ‘Thank God the Media’s Still Here’ for CPAC to ‘Kick Around’

On Sunday’s NBC Meet the Press, host David Gregory wondered if New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential chances were "done" following the bridgegate scandal. In response, National Journal’s Ron Fournier cited Christie’s Friday CPAC address: "Ironically, he might have done himself some good with the Republican primary audience because he now can beat up on the media." Gregory joked: "Thank God the media’s still here because what else would they talk about CPAC if we weren’t here to kick around?" Fournier replied: "It’s all we’re good for sometimes."

ABC’s Jonathan Karl Mocks Ted Cruz, Calls Repealing ObamaCare a ‘Bizarre Proposition’

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) sat down for an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl following his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and from the beginning was met with a barrage of questions over his outspoken criticism of President Obama. The interview, which aired on Sunday’s This Week w/ George Stephanopoulos, featured a myriad of topics including repealing ObamaCare. During the segment, Senator Cruz mocked how the “media treats that as a bizarre proposition” to which Karl laughed and asserted “it is because he’s not going to sign it. It is a bizarre proposition.”

Sharyl Attkisson Resigns from CBS; Kept Spotlight on Benghazi, Fast and Furious

Sharyl Attkisson, whose coverage of the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal won CBS Evening News an Edward R. Morrow Award in 2012, and also provided hard-hitting reporting on the September 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, announced her sudden departure from CBS on Monday afternoon in a post on Twitter: "I have resigned from CBS."

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great
For reading & meditation: Isaiah 40:12-17
"Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket ‘" (v.15)

Now we come to look at a section of the psalm which suggests that the reason why the ungodly continue to prosper as they do is because God is asleep. Listen to the psalmist’s exact words: "As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies" (Psa. 73:20). The truth is, of course, that God does not sleep, but the psalmist has used a figure of speech which pictures our limited human perception of God’s actions. God does not sleep, but at times He appears to do so. But what happens when God stirs from His apparent sleep? The ungodly man, who has seemed so eminent and prosperous, vanishes as a dream. It is as if he had been a phantom or an illusion. The passage before us today puts this whole matter in context when it tells us that the nations are but "a drop in a bucket" to the Creator. Now they may look powerful and mighty, with their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, but when God arises they are as "grasshoppers". Do you remember being told in your history class at school about Alexander the Great? He was one of the greatest generals of all time and conquered almost the entire known world. Did you know that he is referred to in the Bible? You will not see his name written in the Scriptures, but reference to him can be found in Daniel. Look at what the Bible calls him – a "goat" (Dan. 8:5-8). Walter Luthi puts it like this: "He who to the world is Alexander the Great, is to God nothing more than a he-goat." When God arises, the great become nothing.

Prayer: Father, thank You for reminding me over these past few days of Your greatness and eternal power. I so easily forget that I am linked to a God who is not just powerful but all-powerful. Let the wonder of that fact sink deep into my soul today. Amen.

For further study:
Psalms 121; 2 Chronicles 6:20
1. What does the psalmist assure us?
2. How does God show Himself strong?

Gun Owners Prepare to Seize Senate from Harry Reid

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Gun Owners Prepare to Seize Senate from Harry Reid

Not a GOA member yet?  Click here to join Gun Owners of America!  And Click here to Take Action on today’s alert.

At GOA’s request, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has bypassed Harry Reid’s stranglehold on the Senate by bringing a pro-gun bill directly onto the Senate calendar.

The bill is H.R. 4118, and it was approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday by a 250-160 vote.  (See the vote here, with “Yea” being the pro-gun vote.)  The bill would suspend the individual mandate of the anti-gun ObamaCare program for one year, thus protecting the privacy of gun owners.

Normally, bills that pass out of one chamber are referred to a committee in the other chamber.  But Senator Paul intervened by using a parliamentary technique to bring H.R. 4118 onto the calendar, rather than letting it be referred to a Senate committee.

Now that H.R. 4118 is “on the calendar,” this means that ANY SENATOR can now “move to proceed” to the bill, thereby CIRCUMVENTING HARRY REID’S STRANGLEHOLD over the Senate agenda.

This is huge.

It is important to gun owners because ObamaCare lays the groundwork for taking millions of Americans — those taking anxiety medications or who have PTSD or ADHD — and feeding their names into NICS’s gun-ban database.

It is important because, already, Obama, by executive fiat, has waived federal privacy laws to clear the way for these gun bans.

It is important because it forces weak-kneed senators running for reelection — senators who claim they want to “fix” ObamaCare — to vote, up or down, on whether to let 30,000,000 Americans facing hundreds of dollars of penalties off the hook.

It is important because it opens the door for “motions to proceed” to other pro-gun bills, including legislation restoring veterans’ rights and creating national reciprocity for concealed carry rights (both of which have close to 60 votes).

It is important because it allows us to compile a target list of vulnerable senators who claim they want to “fix” ObamaCare — just as Nancy Pelosi is trying to use a “discharge petition” in the House on the anti-gun amnesty bill to create a target list of GOP members.

Now, we are asking Rand Paul and other senators to begin circulating a letter of support in the Senate for a “motion to proceed” to the ObamaCare suspension, H.R. 4118.

There are procedural niceties to forcing consideration of the motion to proceed, but our parliamentary experts are working with senators to show them how to accomplish this — and to get this bill sent to the President.

Well, you might ask, isn’t Obama just going to veto H.R. 4118?  GOA’s Legislative Counsel Michael Hammond discusses the answer to this question in a recent Red State piece.

But the answer is that sending H.R. 4118 to Obama would put him in a real bind.  We believe that Obama will eventually be forced to delay the mandate, and that H.R. 4118 will create an inextricable conundrum for him — as it will give credit to Rand Paul (and other pro-gunners) in the Congress for having forced the issue.

ACTION:  Call or  Click here to write your senators.  Ask them to support the motion to proceed to H.R. 4118, which will suspend ObamaCare’s individual mandate for one year.

Failing Forward

Failing Forward

March 11

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

Back in the 1970′s, Tom Watson was the up and coming golfer on the PGA Tour. But time after time, when Tom led a tournament coming into the last round, he would choke, bogey a few holes, and finish in the middle of the pack. Soon, the media began calling him a "choker." That kind of criticism only increases the pressure and the tendency to choke.

In an interview with Guy Yocom for Golf Digest, Watson said, "Everybody has choked. In the 1974 U.S. Open, I kept hitting the ball right to right. My nerves wouldn’t allow me to adjust. That’s what choking is—being so nervous you can’t find a swing or a putting stroke you can trust."

How did Watson overcome his tendency to choke? "Byron gave me the best cure for it," Watson recalled, referring to Byron Nelson, the legendary golf pro of the 1930s and ’40s. "[Byron said], ‘Walk slowly, talk slowly, deliberately do everything more slowly than you normally do. It has a way of settling you down."* That advice helped Tom Watson overcome his nervousness. He went on to win many tournaments, including five British Opens.

Everybody fails. It’s part of the process that leads us to maturity and success. Most successful entrepreneurs have been through a number of failures in life, but they usually don’t think of their failures as defeats. They think of them as lessons.

My failures have served to help many people who are also experiencing failure in their lives. God will always have a redeeming value in our failures if we let Him reveal His life through them.

If you hope to succeed, learn everything you can from your failures