Uh-oh.

Just when one-party domination looked safe again in Minnesota, the St. Paul scandal that dare not speak its name has reared its ugly head. And it involves a veritable who’s who of Democratic icons apparently accustomed to manipulating the legal system for political gain.

The nomination of civil-rights attorney Thomas Perez for labor secretary has raised more than a few eyebrows in the nation’s capital. Perez, who perfected the art of filing lawsuits using “disparate impact” analysis in his post as assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, has been busy explaining a particularly unctuous quid pro quo with the city of St. Paul.

Just this week, U.S. Senate Democrats were forced to postpone a confirmation vote in the Health, Education and Labor Committee. Continue reading →

“There are going to be some drastic changes for me, because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state and, you know, it doesn’t work for me right now.”
-Pro golfer Phil Mickelson on why California’s tax increases may prompt him to leave the state

And you thought the rich didn’t pay taxes.

Then again, as the “revenue raisers” were quick to remind Mr. Mickelson, the fortunate few still have plenty left even after the taxman takes half their income. So quit complaining and just lie back and enjoy it, right?

Alas — no matter how much our covetous culture demonizes them, the working wealthy are apt to do just the opposite. And if you think that won’t make a difference to your state’s economy, consider this: According to economist Art Laffer, 62 percent of the 3 million net new jobs in the last decade came from just nine states without an income tax. Continue reading →

Citizens for Tax Justice has outdone themselves with their latest spin on the ‘fiscal cliff’ tax hike–suggesting it’s much ado about nothing and the “rich” are still getting off relatively easy. Well, given the CBO data below from last year, how did they come up with the idea that our tax code isn’t progressive enough? Wow…where to start? In order to hike the wealthy’s income they had to include corporate profits, unrealized capital gains, and employer FICA payments as personal earnings! Moreover, they include state and local taxes in the calculations when the ‘fiscal cliff’ grab is all about FEDERAL policy and tax burden. I guess the premise is it’s OK to hike the federal rates because state and local goverments aren’t taxing enough! What a hoot, but keep it mind whenever you see anything from CTJ!

How is it that a cabinet nominee who once renounced his country, threw away his war medals and has been a reliably liberal vote in the U.S. Senate gets broad Republican support and thus breezes to confirmation as secretary of state — while a former GOP senator from Nebraska with two purple hearts from Vietnam and endorsements from an array of national-security officials gets sidetracked by his own party?

Yes, one might think that John Kerry, the Democrat from Massachusetts, would run into more trouble from Lindsey Graham, John McCain and James Inhofe than Chuck Hagel would. Then again, one might think that in the midst of fiscal insolvency, Senate Republicans would not be so fixated on another military adventure in the Middle East. Continue reading →