Here is a radio ad for the campaign of Desert Greens Green Party’s Kathy Dopp for Summit County Clerk.
Today’s Salt Lake Tribune has published the article $350 million: The advocates for worthy causes compete for the excess state cash: How to divvy up big surplus?
In the face of the latest record-breaking revenue surplus – the Utah Tax Commission reported a $350 million excess in collections through June – education and health care advocates hope to make up for lost ground.
But just how is this surplus going to be used?
Despite public surveys that have shown taxpayers would rather see the surplus go to education, transportation and health needs rather than get a tax cut, many lawmakers still hope to give $70 million to $115 million back. For many it’s a philosophical issue, but it doesn’t hurt that this is an election year for all House members and half the senators.
I don’t get it. The public is dictating how we want our tax dollars spend and the lawmakers aren’t listening? And who do they work for again?
“We can invest in education or we can invest in transportation, or – more importantly – we can return it to the taxpayer,” says Hughes, chairman of the Republican Conservative Caucus. Hughes and his colleagues warn that gleeful spending in times of surplus means inevitable painful cuts in times of deficit.
More importantly?
“As a legislative body, we show less discipline than our kids do at Toys R Us,” Hughes said, referring to the blessing and threat intrinsic in a large surplus. “I’m 100 percent convinced that we will be cutting those very programs to which we gave increases.”
Though Valentine does not see spending on education and transportation as growth in government, because both are meeting the needs of an expanding population, he warns, “If we grow education too fast, we’ll just have to cut in the future.”
This is absurd. While our lawmakers promote population growth and development, all which cause strains on our services and infrastructure, they are not willing to fund those things which are needed to support the growth and development?
Campbell fears lawmakers will squander the opportunity. “I find it appalling that with all the talk about tax cuts, there hasn’t been a lot of talk about investing more in public education.”
Bramble warns: “I don’t think the needs are mutually exclusive – if you don’t demand that everything goes your way. It is going to take people to step up and realize there are other priorities.”
Other priorities – like making sure the most wealthy of citizens and businesses receive tax breaks, right?
I do agree that people need to “step up” – but to demand that our money is spent on the people which is the highest priority there is. Medicaid, Education, and Transportation are all areas that need the benefit from this surplus.
This is a very funny yet informative flash video called ADDICTED TO OIL that I received from The Ruckus Society.
With Condi dancing in the background and playing some mean guitar, Georgie sings “Addicted to Oil” to the tune of Robert Palmer‘s “Addicted to Love”.
After the video, viewers can click on the image to go to Oil Change Internatonal to find out how to participate in the Separation of Oil and State campaign.
Finally, the folks from Ruckus say,
We’ll be back with updates on all our recent work, our Freedom From Oil conclusions and how to tap into our Fall camp schedule and answer our call to peaceful, creative strategic direct action once we’re done hanging from the trees and communing with the possums. Until then, keep watching the flash, learn the words, and pass it on to e’rybody!
Much love,
Team Ruckus
Last month I published two posts about senior citizens being evicted due to the development of luxury homes in place of thier mobile homes. So while many of us are planning ways to protest the current regime’s visit to SLC, are holding weekly sidewalk vigils and doing outreach to expose the government’s corruption, the effects of that corruption are right at our doorstep: Corporations’ interesets over human needs.
Today’s Desert News has published a follow-up article about Cottonwood Heights officials seeking donations to help relocate those residents. Some of the residents could move their homes for anywhere between $7,000 – $12,000. But if their homes were built prior to 1976, as many of them were, they cannot be moved. Many of the residents are not only elderly, but on fixed incomes.
The Salt Lake Community Action Program is providing services for the residents. Please consider giving a donation. The SLCAP contact info is:
764 S 200 West Salt Lake City, Ut 84101 (801)359-2444 (801)355-1798 (f)
Cathy Hoskins Executive Director, CCAP
That’s the theme of this year’s GOP election year agenda according to CNN.
Billed as the “American Values Agenda,” the measures range from legislation that would “protect the Pledge of Allegiance from attacks by activist federal judges seeking to rule it unconstitutional” to a constitutional amendment “declaring marriage to be between a man and a woman.”
Otheres are seeing this as an election year stunt. Democrats are crying that they won’t put up with it and will lead the way for a better America.
Really?
Tim Grieve, in his piece on Salon.com’s War Room, says this about the so-called values agenda progress:
The GOP set to work right away Wednesday [June June 28] on the Pledge Protection Act, a bill that would strip federal courts of jurisdiction over Pledge of Allegiance litigation. The idea is to keep federal judges from taking the words “under God” out of the pledge, at least as it’s recited in the public schools, and that’s not something with which a lot of Republicans in the House would want to quibble.
Continue reading
Yesterday was fabulous. I got to the Gallivan Center around 1:00pm with a handful of other folks and by 1:30 had staked out my spot for the first concert in the annual Twilight Concert Series of the season, featuring artist Michael Franti & Spearhead.
The highlight for me was meeting Michael.
Continue reading
Thursday evening I am going to attend the Twilight Concert Series opening concert, featuring Michael Franti & Spearhead:
Michael Franti & Spearheadcreate an ultra-infectious mix of classic soul, funk and hip-hop culminating in a unique and powerful blend. Frontman Michael Franti has been important in the world of music for years, fi rst emerging as a quick-tongued rapper fronting the groundbreaking hip-hop group the Beatnigs, followed by the highly critically acclaimed Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. Fusing superb musicality with politically-charged lyrics, Michael Franti & Spearhead use their music as a vehicle for social conscience, maintaining a positive attitude while tackling some of today’s most complicated issues. Michael Franti has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music including Nirvana and U2.
Michael Franti walks the talk. I have admired him for quite awhile. I was priveleged to hear him perform in Park City a couple of years ago. Here is what is documented in Wikipedia:
Continue reading
Jen of Jen’s Green Journal has created a new community devoted to climate change issues.
The new community is Climate Crisis Action Team.
Links to articles for July 4, 2006:
Seventh Generation has posted a Declaration of Interdependence, for this July 4, in its Non-Toxic Times Newsletter, offering “Ten Tenets: The Law of the Commons of the Natural World”
The Nation has a blog post entitled Energy Independence Day with lots of comments.
from TomPaine.com
Energy Independence Day – Jerome Ringo
Howard Zinn has a piece published in The Progressive entitled Put Away the Flags
Cindy Sheehan has written the piece for Common Dreams, Bombs Bursting in Air
Common Dreams has posted a Boston Globe Article by James Carrol entitled What We Love About America
John Nichols writes about Jefferson’s Fourth of July in The Nation
King George of America, This Letter is For You
by Beth Quinn
As I see the increasing incidences of flag displays and fireworks sales as Independence Day approaches, I cannot help but wonder of people acutally really know what the significance of July 4 is.
Ruben Navarrette has had a piece published in today’s Salt Lake Tribune from SignOn San Diego, entitled Being an American by a technicality.
Navarrette is a hispanic american. He lists the reasons why he is an American.
Here is his list – go to the article (linked above) to read his explanations:
Navarrette’s ending intrigued me the most:
an immigration restrictionist – recently took issue with something I’d written and informed me that the fact I was an American citizen was just a “technicality.”
If that’s the case, it’s a technicality for which I’m immensely grateful.
My comment: We are all, by default, then, American citizens by technicality because America was founded by immigrants to a land already inhabited.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged government, human needs, human rights, immigrant issues, immigration laws, politics, Utah
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 