Yesterday, Missouri lawmakers began a special session during which Republicans will try to pay for a business tax cut by eliminating a tax credit that benefits more than 100,000 senior citizens and disabled people.
Missouri Republicans are just the latest in a long list of state legislatures that are funding more corporate tax breaks on the backs of low- and middle-income residents. In this case, Republicans are targeting a property tax credit that helps offset higher rent for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens:
At stake is a tax credit that provides up to $750 for lower-income elderly and disabled people. Called the “Circuit Breaker,” it is designed to be an offset for the property taxes included in the rent paid by people with incomes of $27,500 or less. The tax credit costs $53 million annually. Repeal is part of a package that also would impose limits and sunset dates on credits targeted to developers. The Circuit Breaker tax credit is the only credit slated for repeal.
“The real issue is that many people with disabilities simply can’t own their own homes because they live on a subsistence income,” said Edward Duff of Joplin, a member of the Governor’s Council on Disability. “It really is a sort of parity to offer these renters this shelter.”
Once again, Republicans have shown they are not averse to raising taxes, as long as they are on the poor. The “circuit-breaker” tax credit is such an important aid for low-income residents that 29other states offer property tax circuit-breakers or similar programs, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Killing the credit would raise taxes on groups including disabed vetsand senior citizens by up to $750 a year.
The proposal has drawn criticism from a diverse range of groups, from conservative anti-tax crusaders to liberal groups. Opponents include the AARP, the Association of Retired Missouri State Employees, the liberal-leaning Missouri Budget Project and the conservative United for Missouri, as well as agencies that work with the disabled on the local level.
The Post-Dispatch reports that Republicans have faced such a backlash for trying to repeal the tax credit that the tax-credit package they crafted may be unraveling.
MORE: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/09/07/313244/missouri-gop-wants-to-raise-taxes-on-100000-seniors-and-disabled-citizens-to-pay-for-corporate-tax-break/
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Rick Perry Got His Conspiracies Backwards
The other day, Rick Perry accused climate scientists of participating in a grand conspiracy to force an ‘unproven’ theory of global warming on the public simply to gain grant money.
Said the nicely-coiffed Governor, "I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized. I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects.”
Oh, no doubt that the issue of global warming has been politicized. This issue has been politicized by R/W politicians who are funded by the oil industry. An industry that stands to lose money if they were to be held accountable for their role in climate change.
As Thomas Friedmann pointed out tonight on Piers Morgan, Rick Perry’s comment is silly because the typical climate scientist must spend weeks typing out a proposal in order to win maybe $25,000 over 10 years from the federal government to study climate. Meanwhile, Big Oil has contributed over $11,000,000 to Rick Perry during his career in politics. You be the judge as to is manipulating what to keep the dollars rolling in.
It is of more than a passing note that Rick Perry’s Texas is burning. The state is bone dry, hot, and on fire. This is exactly the type of condition predicted by the global warming model.
I believe in the ole adage, “money talks and bullshit walks”. In Rick Perry’s case, it’s obviously Big Oil money doing the talking whenever he opens his mouth about climate change.
The true conspiracy about global warming emanates from the mouths of well-funded global warming deniers who are simply doing the bullshit walk of their corporate sponsors.
I am nowitall, and I approved this message…
Said the nicely-coiffed Governor, "I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized. I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects.”
Oh, no doubt that the issue of global warming has been politicized. This issue has been politicized by R/W politicians who are funded by the oil industry. An industry that stands to lose money if they were to be held accountable for their role in climate change.
As Thomas Friedmann pointed out tonight on Piers Morgan, Rick Perry’s comment is silly because the typical climate scientist must spend weeks typing out a proposal in order to win maybe $25,000 over 10 years from the federal government to study climate. Meanwhile, Big Oil has contributed over $11,000,000 to Rick Perry during his career in politics. You be the judge as to is manipulating what to keep the dollars rolling in.
It is of more than a passing note that Rick Perry’s Texas is burning. The state is bone dry, hot, and on fire. This is exactly the type of condition predicted by the global warming model.
I believe in the ole adage, “money talks and bullshit walks”. In Rick Perry’s case, it’s obviously Big Oil money doing the talking whenever he opens his mouth about climate change.
The true conspiracy about global warming emanates from the mouths of well-funded global warming deniers who are simply doing the bullshit walk of their corporate sponsors.
I am nowitall, and I approved this message…
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