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Would billionaires spend millions to influence your vote if it had no value
By Sharon Ward, Third and States
Three national organizations offered a scathing criticism of policies endorsed by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, in a conference call with reporters last week. Their findings strike a stake in the heart of ALEC claims that its view of the world — lower taxes, fewer workplace protections, and diminished public investments — is good for the public.
Pennsylvania state lawmakers who look to ALEC for guidance on economic policy should stand up and take notice.
Iowa Policy Project research director Peter Fisher discussed a recent report he co-authored with researchers from Good Jobs First, concluding that the tax, budget, and economic prescriptions put forth by ALEC simply don’t work.
Selling Snake Oil to the States took a look at ALEC’s annual Rich States, Poor States report, which ranks states based on their “economic outlooks” as defined by ALEC. The factors should come as no surprise: states with low taxes and right-to-work laws rank high by ALEC; those with progressive taxes, corporate income taxes, and worker protections rank far behind.
Fisher compared the ALEC rankings with actual state performance on real economic indicators over a four-year period. Do ALEC’s policy prescriptions improve state economies? The answer is no.
Between 2007 and 2011, researchers found no relationship between a high ALEC ranking and employment. They did find a correlation on personal incomes and poverty rates among states ranked high by ALEC, but it was a negative one — the better a state fared on the ALEC scale, the worse it did in real life. As Fisher said during the conference call:
It should be hardly surprising that policies to keep wages low have the effect of lowering the state’s income. … The ALEC policy prescriptions for states will not lead to growth and prosperity but to further inequality and lower incomes.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities examined sweeping tax and budget policies that ALEC is currently lobbying for in the states. The policies largely encompass deep tax cuts for wealthy individuals, investors, and corporations that will leave middle- and lower-income families paying more.
Both reports note that the ALEC agenda promotes low wage growth for families, fewer workplace protections, and strategies to starve public investments in education, health care, and other priorities — all of which reputable economists agree are critical to job creation and economic growth.
It is an article of faith among Pennsylvania lawmakers that ALEC policies are good for the economy. These reports provide clear and convincing evidence to the contrary: the arguments that the ALEC agenda are good for real people are nothing but snake oil. The policies are good for the businesses that pour millions into ALEC to promote this agenda.
Governor Tom Corbett has hidden large expensive new tax cuts to profitable corporations in his budget proposal released this month. This and other ALEC agenda items won’t create jobs, but they will lead to greater inequality, slower income growth, and continued starvation of our public schools, transit systems, and other priorities.
From DonkeyHotey licensed under Creative Commons
9 Comments
Of course not. Which is why they love it when people get so cynical that they give up — it makes the billionaires’ task that much easier and cheaper.
At a meeting with our state senator and reps the other day, we were talking about ALEC. One thing that is kind of striking since a ruckus at the ALEC dinner last year is that the number of elected officials who are willing to publicly ID with ALEC has shrunk to almost zero. There seems to have been a decline of bills from the ALEC boiler plate as well.
OTOH, there have been some really crazy pieces of legislation cooked up by some of the TPers elected in November. Most of their stuff is going nowhere fast. But that has not stopped the embarrassing crap they want to put out for legislative consideration.
In answer to the question posed by the cartoon: Billionaires spend millions on propaganda to fool the populace. The politicians are their salesmen. The game is rigged. Voting creates the illusion of influence so that you don’t revolt.
Louisiana, Kansas and I think a few more states are suddenly pushing the idea that state income and corporate taxes should be eliminated and replaced with much higher sales taxes. I strongly suspect that this is an ALEC coordinated effort.
That would have the following effects:
–Overall taxes on the wealthy would go down, and those on the poor and middle class would go up. The lower your income, the larger the percentage you spend on things subject to sales taxes. The higher your income, the more your park in foreign tax havens.
–The state’s tax base would be more subject to fluctuations in the economy.
–Local retail businesses would be badly hurt as more sales are lost to out-of-state, online retailers. Thus, unemployment would increase and tax collections would decrease.
–Upward mobility would be stifled. Higher sales taxes mean that the those with modest incomes have less money for college tuition, for a downpayment on a house, and less capital reserves to start a business.
It’s a big scam to shift the tax burden from the rich to the poor and from corporations onto small businesses in retail. The politicians don’t care. They are the bought-off lapdogs of the miscreants represented by ALEC.
Sales tax. Hmmm… In Oregon there is none. So, a person buying a $2000 car pays the same state fees as a 1%er buying a Ferrari. Which costs $300K or more. A 1%er buys a $4000 big screen and pays the same as someone buying a used $100 TeeVee. And it goes on and on…. Exempting most food SS income and prescription drugs and giving people under 30K in income a state tax credit and changing the structure to 4% income tax and 8% sales tax captures a lot of bucks in my state. And the pot growers will have to pay, too. Just saying.
People making under $30,000 don’t need the credit unless it is going to result in a rebate. That’s still isn’t a good idea. Sales taxes are the very definition of regressive taxation and they are bad for local businesses. You are also still punishing the middle class. Why should it matter how much a rich person pays for a car as long as he is paying a higher marginal rate on his income?
A credit is a rebate, of sorts. And, you’re the one who brought up income never brought into the state, to begin with.( parkin in tax havens ) And, screw the local business theory when it’s Typhoon ( and other local foodie places. ). Fuck you James Beard liberals. Try to find your fresh, local and seasonal ingredients in Montana, right about now. The sales tax catches the drug sellers, rich foodies and tourists in the state of Oregon. And, whose defenders ” talk a good game ” but are not supporting sales taxes because they’re considered an illegal enterprise; when we know they aren’t ( excludin’ tourists ). Quit bullshittin’ the professional bullshitters in this state ( pot resellers and high end restuaranters ). You’re not stickin’ your neck out for paying taxes, on your income, when it comes to paying sales taxes. You’re simply payin’ freighting taxes. You know, the carry part of cash and carry. And, who in fuck died and appointed you the king of ” don’t need the credit “, baloney. And, screw the middle class, too, for that matter. Their willful ignorance has led to just how many wars, lately? You can have the middle class in Oregon and America, especially stuck where they are. I have lots of friends in low places in Oregon, thank you very much. And, they see the ripoffs with the food lords and the tourists not payin’ the freight, in many instances. There’s lots of b.s. in this idea that sales taxes necessarily hurt the poor. Let’s talk about expensive cars with no sales tax, OK.
ALEC isn’t interested in functional economies, they aren’t part of its agenda. Nor are they interested in anyone’s opinion of them. ALEC is interested in funneling public money to to private profit, ALEC is interested in keeping the ignorant ignorant, and ALEC is interested in power.
It should be abundantly clear by now that the missions of ALEC, Crossroads GPS, CPAC, the Heritage Foundation, and the Tea/Republican party, the whole right-wing consPIRACY are not meant to invigorate the USA, but rather to bring it down and replace it with an iron-fisted right-wing oligarchy. Their infiltrated minions are not governor and legislators, but saboteurs. And the thugs in SCOTUS have perpetuated into the Constitution the gangland proverb that money talks, while placing a high bar for a quid pro quo that it must be explicit, specific, and with malice aforethought. Graft and corruption have been engraved in our charter. The well is poisoned, and only a thorough flushing will save it.