More idiots in our legislature…
Posted on | August 31, 2010 | 2 Comments
Yesterday Representative Paul Ray (R-Clearfield) held a press conference to announce his intention to sponsor a resolution calling for a modification of the 14th Amendment. Ray, and others of his bigoted ilk, want to modify the 14th Amendment in order to prohibit the children of illegal aliens born in the US from receiving citizenship and/or any social welfare benefits.
Ray’s justification for his bigotry is focused on the financial aspect of illegal immigration. He claims that some $65 million is spent annually on benefits provided to the children of illegal aliens. If the financial aspect is such an issue for the state (even though 80-90% of that money comes directly from the federal government), then why is it that we allow non-profits to own property for which they don’t pay taxes?
The Utah Community Credit Union just purchased naming rights to the UVU stadium for $2.5 million. Credit unions are non-profit and don’t pay property taxes. Intermountain Health Care owns an enormous amount of property in Utah, but as a non-profit, pays no property tax. Do we even need to mention the amount and value of the land owned by LDS, Inc.? If the lands of IHC, LDS, and credit unions was taxed, we’d be talking about a hell of a lot more than $65 million annually. Of course, it’s more fun to get your Patrick Henry Caucus buddies together and rile up the ignorant natives to talk about federal land ownership.
Yes, our immigration system is busted. There is no question about it, but that is a federal issue. Our state elected leaders need to knock off their ridiculous race-baiting, bigoted grandstanding and start addressing the problems that face our society. There are a number of solutions to our state’s budgetary problems, if our leaders have the courage and foresight to address them. The problem, however, is that our politicians are more interested in grandstanding and pandering to the fringe elements than they are in addressing the real issues.
Tags: 14th Amendment > Immigration > Paul Ray
Take back Utah!
Posted on | August 27, 2010 | No Comments
Utah’s resident crazy brigade is out in force again, still arguing that Utah should take control of federal land within the state and sell it off to private enterprise. The justification for this, they tell us, is that by having these lands in private hands the state would generate more revenue from property tax. While that is a nice theory, it’s also a very nice load of bullshit. What this will certainly generate is a free-for-all for oil, gas, toxic disposal, coal mining, and any other kind of environmental rape that can be envisioned by man. Additionally, it will probably include all kinds of long-term property tax breaks for anyone that wants to build a business by raping Utah’s natural heritage.
If these idiots were serious about dealing with the revenue discrepancies created by untaxed land in Utah they’d be taking a serious look at the revocation of property tax exemptions for churches and non-profits. How much land is owned by the LDS Church, Intermountain Health Care, Mountain America Credit Union, and other such entities that pay no property tax? What is the value of that property and how much revenue would flow into the state coffers if that revenue was collected?
I’ve heard all the arguments, that these non-profits can’t afford to pay those taxes, that imposing them will impact what they are able to do in the community. Sorry, I don’t buy it. If you can afford to buy the property you can afford to pay the damn taxes. These corporations pretending to be non-profits sure as hell have more ability to pay these taxes than an elderly couple that bought a nice lot 50 years ago and have steadily seen its assessed value increase, along with their tax burden.
End of rant for now.
Tags: non-profits > property tax > Utah
Retraction of a previous thought….
Posted on | August 25, 2010 | No Comments
Over a month ago I posted a piece about this “mosque” that is being proposed near ground zero in New York City and had thought that I would leave the discussion at that. However, the other day I ended up engaged in a discussion (for the most part, civil) on a friend’s Facebook page on this very same topic. My friend started the conversation with by challenging those opposed to the mosque (which is in reality a community center) to just admit that their opposition is based upon fear and bigotry. Of course, that’s when the opposition tried to explain that it wasn’t about bigotry, but about decency and propriety.
I argued that while I don’t necessarily believe that all of the opposition is coming from bigots, the opposition is still wrong and that not only do the people who own the property have every right to build their center, they should be allowed to do so without interference and protest. I was wrong. After further consideration of this topic I have come to one very clear conclusion: this is all about bigotry.
What’s even worse about this than the “run of the mill” bigotry from the fanatic right is that this is public bigotry coming from not just the wingnuts, but even moderates and some considered liberal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) echoed the sentiment of the opposition:
“Just because they have the right to build it doesn’t mean that it’s right to build it.”
Never in my life have I heard a more ridiculous bit of bullshit.
The fact that the property owners do have the right to build their community center (and even a mosque if they so desire) means exactly that: that if they want to they should build it.
I expect such stupidity from mindless drones like Orrin Hatch, Jason Chaffetz, Mitch McConnell and the Tea Party wannabes hoping to cling to their pathetic existences. I didn’t expect it from Harry Reid, although as far as politicians go I rate him barely half a step above his cohort Nancy “Ambulance Chaser” Pelosi. What I also didn’t expect was that our president, a man elected by exhibiting an amazing amount of liberty and personal character, turned into such a spineless pandering simp. One day he made a bold statement that the property owners have every right to build what they want. The next day the spin control came out: “Just because they have the right to build it doesn’t mean that I think they should build it. I’m not going to comment on that.”
Let me put it to you like this: how would you feel if someone (government or private) decided to tell you what you can build on your property? The proposed project fits well within the established zoning requirements for that area and is being designed to meet all building codes. If you have property and you meet those requirements, nobody has the right to tell you what to do with your land. What makes you think you have the right to tell someone else what they should do with theirs?
At the end of the day this isn’t about sensitivity to those that died on September 11, 2001. What this is about is the continued perpetuation of fear among the sheep. Keep the population stirred up and afraid of those “Mooslims” in order to justify the ridiculous amount of money and lives that have been wasted chasing Osama bin Laden around the world.
How much money have we spent in the past decade fighting the wars of Bush/Cheney, Inc.? How many lives have been lost, and to what avail? How many personal liberties have we surrendered to the government in the pursuit of “security?” Fear perpetuates that state, and the bigotry we, as a society, feel toward Islam perpetuates that fear.
I was wrong, everything about the opposition to this center smacks of fear and bigotry. The only question is whether or not our society will ever come to that realization and learn to rise above it.
Tags: bigotry > community center > Ground Zero > Islam > Mosque
Making tough budgetary choices…
Posted on | August 24, 2010 | 3 Comments
This morning Senator Liljenquist was awarded Radio From Hell’s “Boner of the Day” for his comments about eliminating “elective” medical treatments like epidurals and C-sections for patients on Medicaid. While he’s going entirely in the wrong direction, he did say one thing that all of Utah’s legislators (and voters) should note:
“If you have a limited amount of dollars, how do you spend them? Do we fund Medicaid growth, or do we fund schools? Those are the trade-offs we’re making.”
My question for Senator Liljenquist and the rest of the legislature is this: why are we forced to make trade-offs between Medicaid and education when the state wastes millions of dollars annually on unnecessary nonsense? Three glaring examples of overblown government waste are the Departments of Transportation, Health, and Public Safety.
How much time and money is wasted by UDOT every year on unnecessary road and highway projects? Case in point: a new on and off ramp at 11400 South on I-15. On what planet is this multi-million dollar project necessary? How many schools could be funded by diverting that money? How many people could be provided with decent health care?
The Department of Health is next on my list of government waste. How much money is spent every year for the State of Utah to tell us that alcohol and tobacco are bad for us? Really, smoking can cause cancer? Holy shit! I never would have guessed that. People smoke and drink because they choose to smoke and drink, it’s not because they don’t know the risks. Yet every day we’re inundated by advertisements about the evils of alcohol and tobacco. The Department of Health wastes millions of dollars annually on anti-smoking and anti-alcohol programs that quite frankly don’t belong in the purview of government. These are dollars that could be used to address real issues within our state.
And on to the Department of Public Safety. We all know that drinking and driving, texting and driving, and driving without a seat belt are illegal. We don’t need advertisements on billboards, TV, radio, and the sides of a damn bus to let us know that police are “stepping up enforcement” of the law. Courts have ruled since the founding of this nation that ignorance of the law is not an excuse to violate it. How many additional law enforcement officers can be put on the job if we’re not paying for these stupid ads? If we don’t need additional law enforcement, perhaps we could use those advertising dollars to buy a few books for schoolchildren.
Liljenquist was right about one thing: we do need to make some tough choices and there will be trade-offs. The government can’t afford to fund everything for everybody, nor should it. Government has a role to protect the public and ensure that basic needs are met. Health care and education, in my opinion, fit into those basic needs, but a great deal of what Utah spends, especially on things like advertising, do not.
The line-item budgets of every state department need to be closely analyzed. Anything that isn’t absolutely necessary, like advertising, needs to be eliminated and then those funds allocated to more critical areas, like education and health care. We shouldn’t be looking at saving a few bucks by not allowing women to have epidurals, we should be looking to save a few million by eliminating stupid ads and unnecessary highway projects.
Tags: budget > Liljenquist > Utah Legislature
Utah’s ridiculously stupid conservatives
Posted on | August 18, 2010 | Comments Off
Apparently there is roughly $140 million in federal funds available for education in Utah. Our elected idiots, in conjunction with the religo-nazis at the Sutherland Institute, are now arguing that Utah should reject those funds in order to “keep the feds out” of Utah’s education system.
We live in a state with one of the lowest rates of per-pupil spending on education. We have schools that can’t afford books, are laying off staff right and left, and failing miserably at providing quality education to our children. Part of this can be solved with additional funding, but not all. The real solution is to adapt standards for both students and teachers, and to create performance plans that reward the capable educators and get rid of the dead weight.
I’ve downloaded Sutherland’s papers on why Utah should reject these federal funds, and started reading them. Over the course of the next few days I’ll be posting my responses to their obvious lies and religious hysteria. Stay tuned, this will get interesting.
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