Saturday’s Conway / Mathias Meeting

Much has already been written about Saturday morning’s Salisbury town hall meeting held by Del. Norm Conway (D-38B) and Del. Jim Mathias (D-38B).  Michael Swartz of Monoblogue provides a very factual, blow-by-blow account.  Julie Brewington of Right Coast Girl weighs in with a little more opinion.  My friend Joe Albero, uncharacteristically, is taking a “can’t we all get along” approach.

There are two things that almost everyone seems to agree on.  One is that we appreciate Conway and Mathias taking time to meet with constituents.  Yes, I know it’s an election year AND that it’s part of their job.  Yet, not every member of the legislature takes the time.  The second thing is that both Conway and Mathias are “good guys”.  I concur.  Wicomico County Exec Rick Pollitt is a “good guy”; so is Councilmen John Cannon and Dave MacLeod.  Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes is a “good person”.  Hell, I’m sure there are even a few people who like Salisbury Councilwoman Louise Smith and Wicomico Councilman Bill McCain.  Regardless, taxpayers need to ask themselves if they can afford to continue supporting these “good guys”.

BIG GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVES?

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Are Budgets “Moral Documents”?

As an Anabaptist I’ve been a fan of Jim Wallis and his Sojourners movement for some time.  I believe in peace.  I believe in justice.  However, I do not always agree with Wallis’s beliefs as to how we reach these goals.  I believe that peace is best obtained through a strong national defense.  I believe that there is no such animal as “economic” or “social justice”, which my Sojourner brethren seem to place so much emphasis on.  These are simply nominal substitutes for seizing the property of your fellow for your personal benefit.  Doing so in the name of “the greater good of society” is simply a means of making yourself feel better at the expense of someone else.

One of Wallis’s great sound bites is the claim that “Budgets are moral documents”.  Ray Nothstine has argued that Wallis is correct, but not in the same way as Wallis would hope:

Currently this country is facing no greater crisis than out of control spending and a mounting federal debt—a moral problem of prodigious proportions.

Nothstine is correct.  As our national government continues to spend far more than it receives in taxes we face a genuinely moral crisis.  As the government grows and grows, it continues to find more areas of lives to control.  We have a word for this – TYRANNY.  The continuous battle between liberty and tyranny is a moral issue as surely as it is a political one.

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Why Big Government Hurts …

… And Some Potential Solutions

Check out this video:

Now look at a few things that might actually stimulate the economy.  A REAL Stimulus Package

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Are Charities Losing Because of “Cash for Clunkers”

One of the problems with “progressive” ideas is that liberals believe that they are smart enough to predict every economic impact of a piece of legislation.  The latest case is the Obama administration’s “Cash for Clunkers” program.

I’m sure you’ve seen or heard ads from various charities asking you to donate your junk car.  The IRS only allows you to take a deduction for the fair market value of the vehicle.  So, if your car is worth $1,000, you get to deduct that off of your ordinary income.  You could save a maximum of $350 (in theory).  Your savings would really be less, because if you’re paying the top marginal rate, you are almost certainly in AMT territory.

With “Cash for Clunkers” you get $4,500 off of the price of a new car.  Let’s see … $350 or $4,500.  Which is more?  Are you more likely to donate the car to a charity or use it to buy a new car?

Besides the impact on charities, there has been another unintended consequence of the program – the used auto parts market.  Because the engine has to be made inoperable (and the car shredded) as part of the program, used parts dealers (we used to call them “junk yards”) are facing a shortage of parts for their inventory.  We can also expect to see an impact on the steel market because of an increased supply of mild steel (due to shredding these cars).  Used car dealers will be impacted.  Auto auctions will be impacted.

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How Can You Grow An Economy By Cutting Energy Consumption?

I’m a conservative.  Therefore I’m in favor of conservation.  Unfortunately, the left isn’t in favor of conserving energy.  They are in favor of cutting our consumption of energy.

What’s the difference?  Adopting policies that will encourage each individual, family or business to reduce their total energy consumption is conserving.  Passing laws mandating that we will cut our TOTAL energy consumption is just crazy.

Case in point – Delaware’s SB106.  This masterpiece of liberal “group think” requires Delaware utilities to cut their consumption by 15% by 2015.  I know, it sounds great.  Wind… Solar … No Nukes and rolling blackouts.

How does Gov. Jack Markell expect to attract new industry to the First State when Delawareans will be forced to pay more for electrical power than their neighbors?  Don’t bank on “Cap and Tax” delivering a more even playing field Jack.  Before people’s rates double, the Dems will be out of power and that farce will be repealed.

Delaware will be stuck with a stagnant economy and you’ll be wondering why.

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Jobs Keep Leaving the First State

While over 11,000 real, private sector jobs have left Delaware in the last year, even government employee is shrinking.  Unlike the rest of America, where jobs paid for by the rest of us continue to rise, Delaware government employment is down.

I don’t know whether we should applaud Delaware Gov. Jack Markell or simply feel remorse for our brethren across the Mason-Dixon line.

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Why Looters Would Rather Steal From You

Yesterday we ran a post highlighting a proposal by the unholy troika of local / regional enviros, the socialist majority of the Wicomico County Council (led by John Cannon and Bill McCain) and County Executive Rick Pollitt (who is attempting to PUBLICLY straddle the fence as usual).  This legislation would legalize the theft of land from Wicomico County farmers.

In our post we discussed why enviro groups such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) need to participate in socialist schemes rather than actually solve problems as they claim.  Today I noticed further evidence of this from the Commonwealth.

Oyster packers and waterman wish to expand the planting of Asian oysters.  The CBF and other lefty enviros vehemently oppose this.  Their claim is that there could be “unforseen consequences” of introducing a non-native species into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  I would agree, except that these oysters are STERILE.  They can’t reproduce.  Of course, there may be “unforseen consequences” of the sun rising tomorrow.
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Looters Loose in Wicomico County …

… County Council Proposes Plunder in the “Name of the People”

If you have ever read Frederic Bastiat’s The Law you are familiar with concept of legalized plunder.  If you have ever read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged you are familiar with the looting class.  If not, I heartily suggest you read them FAST.  THEFT in the name of “public good” has come to our little corner of the world.

Last Tuesday, the Democrat majority of the Wicomico County Council (sorry John Cannon, you no longer qualify as even a “Republican in Name Only”) voted to move forward with legislation that will strip farmers of their property rights.  The council’s proposal would reduce the number of lots which a parcel may be subdivided into.  It also ends the dreaded “cluster provision” which allowed farmers to sell parcels of land for development at greater density by requiring that more open space would be preserved.  The net effect of this proposal is to drastically reduce the value of a given parcel relative to its value if still developable.

Translation – the farmers pay so that certain developers and special interest groups may prosper and the lefty fringe can feel good about themselves.

Council members Gail Bartkovich, Joe Holloway and Stevie Prettyman stood their ground.  If Ag District landowners are to lose value in their greatest asset, they need to be compensated.  Additionally, the legislation itself appears to be seriously flawed.  This doesn’t seem to bother the socialist majority of the Wicomico County Council.

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County Council Moves Forward With Land Theft Bill

The Democrat majority of the Wicomico County Council moved forward today with legislation to strip Wicomico farmers of their property rights.  Council members Gail Bartkovich, Joe Holloway and Stevie Prettyman demanded that their names be removed from the legislation after noting that there was no mechanism to compensate farmers for the proposed land grab.

Moving the legislation to public hearing was approved by council members Bill McCain, Dave MacLeod, Sheree Sample-Hughes, and the council’s newest Dem John Cannon.  Sample-Hughes was at least honest enough to admit that there would NOT be any compensation mechanism in the legislation.

We’ll have a more detailed report tomorrow.  We are also waiting for a response from County Executive Rick Pollitt.  Pollitt has stated on at least two occasions that he would not support a bill that failed to compensate land owners for the loss of development rights.  I’m hoping that he sticks to his guns.

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You Though Maryland Was the “Free State”

Not according to a new study by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.  This is their snapshot of the the not so free state:

Maryland is the fifth least free state in the country. The state is 34th in economic freedom but a distant 50th in personal freedom. Maryland’s impositions on personal freedom include the second-strictest gun laws in the country, and marijuana laws are fairly harsh (except that the first offense of high-level possession is a misdemeanor, and there is a weak medical marijuana law), motorists’ freedoms are highly restricted, gambling laws are tight, home schooling laws are burdensome (curricula must be approved by the government), centralized land-use planning is very advanced, eminent domain abuse is totally unreformed, victimless crimes arrest rates are high, and civil unions are not recognized. On the plus side, taxes on beer, wine, and spirits are fairly low, and overall Maryland has one of the least restrictive alcohol control systems in the country. Surprisingly, the state has not enacted complete smoking bans yet. On economic regulation, the state has the usual left-of-center failings on labor law, but more strikingly it has the second-most health insurance mandates in the country (they add 67 percent to the cost). (my emphasis)

This study is well worth reading.

If Maryland is such an enemy of liberty why does it rank so high in personal income?  The answer is real simple.  Federal installations, overpaid government workers, federal contractors and no shame when it comes to suckling on the federal sow.  There is no doubt that BHO will continue to enjoy widespread popularity in this neck of the woods.

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