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February 8th, 2019
Quote of the Week: "No issue better illustrates the divide between America's WORKING CLASS and America's POLITICAL CLASS than illegal immigration. Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards."
Quote of the Week: “A great deal of America’s economic progress has resulted from people’s aspiration to make more and live better. Take that away and what do we have? The people at the bottom won’t have as many at the top to resent.”
Quote of the Week: “Does the left understand the long-term consequences of the majority imposing confiscatory taxes on the rich, and do they really want them? Will reducing the incentive to earn more (or incentivizing successful Americans to transfer their citizenship to other nations) really result in the betterment of most people? Americans generally accept the concept of progressive tax rates. But they must not be punitive and de-motivating.”
In This Issue:
RARICK! A political earthquake rocked Minnesota Tuesday night when state Rep. Jason Rarick (R – Pine City) decisively topped DFLer Stu Lourey to win the state Senate seat vacated by DFLer Tony Lourey, Stu’s daddy. Despite massive DFL spending, Rarick won by six points, and flipped a blue seat to red. One cannot overestimate the value of this victory, both in the near and long term. In the near term, the win gives the Senate GOP a critical 35-32 majority, which is important because the Senate will need to act as a check and balance against the DFL governor and the crazy DFL rabble now running the House (think DC. Same style). The win also gives the GOP a morale boost after a tough 2018 election. Moreover, it gives the Red Team some momentum moving forward, especially as the House mow prepares for a special election to fill Rarick’s soon-to-be-vacant House seat. In the longer term, the win provides further confirmation of a political re-alignment that flipping rural Minnesota into the GOP camp, and isn’t simply a temporary phenomenon. The Senate seat had been in DFL hands for many decades before Rarick’s win. This win continues a GOP win streak in long-held DFL seats in rural Minnesota. While Donald Trump and Pete Stauber won the district, Tina Smith and Tim Walz also won it. Obama won it twice as well. The loss of this clearly represents a long-term trend on rural Minnesotans not only voting GOP, but identifying with the GOP platform. The victory was also an unmitigated disaster for the DFL and frankly, uncharacteristic of their normally squared away campaign operation. First, why did the governor create an open seat (and special election) in a swing district that has been trending Republican? It was an unnecessary risk, especially given that the Senate was so closely divided at 34-33. Second, candidate quality matters and the GOP won that battle big time. Stu Lourey is a twenty-something kid with no work history other than working out in DC for politicians. No worldly experience, not married, no kids, no understanding of life issues like paying the mortgage, worrying about sick kids, or retirement. In fact, if he would have had any other last name, he wouldn’t have had a second look by the DFL. Instead, he flew home from DC to run like a prince would come home to claim a vacant crown. On the other hand, the GOP ran a card-carrying union electrician who owned his own business, loves to hunt, ride snowmobiles, and knows what it’s like to work with your hands. In fact, sources tell the Watchdog that senior DFLers didn’t even know Rarick was a union electrician, when any B-grade operative could have told you Rarick was going to be the GOP candidate if the seat became vacant. Some of these same people then lost their minds when many trade unions do what they often do, they endorsed a union brother, party affiliation being irrelevant to the brotherhood. Third, Rarick was attacked by Lourey supporters for supporting a gas tax increase, which was a total misrepresentation of his position on the issue. In the end, it didn’t matter to the election but will have big ramifications at the Capitol. The DFL has been touting a gas tax increase as an essential part of the transportation plan. By attacking a Republican for supporting a gas tax increase (while untrue), every single moderate Republican who may have been open to a gas tax has now been put on notice that the Left may attack them for it. The gas tax is now dead as a door nail, which is just fine. It was truly a horrible, nasty, really bad week for the DFL. BIG MONEY This is your regular reminder that despite all their claims of “getting money out of politics,” the Democrats are the biggest practitioners of election buying in the history of the universe. Here are the latest numbers regarding the influence of money in politics. Third party groups spent nearly $12 million to support Tim Walz or oppose Jeff Johnson for governor. Johnson was the beneficiary of only $2.6 million of similar spending. All told, over $33 million in independent expenditures on behalf of candidates happened in 2018. Of the amount, $17.4 million was spent by three groups, the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, the Minnesota DFL, and the Minnesota Victory PAC. Guess the political affiliation of all three groups. And despite holding a sizable majority, the House GOP was outraised by the House DFL by a 2 to 1 margin. In the attorney general’s race, outside groups favored Keith Ellison in spending by a whopping 12 to 1 margin. The only bright spot last year? In the sole state Senate race, a special election, Republican Jeff Howe won despite outside groups helping his opponent by a 2 to 1 margin. Outside groups spent a remarkable $1.6 million trying to elect Howe’s opponent. For a state Senate seat! NEW YORK BLUES In the same way that Venezuela has served as a canary in the coal mine regarding socialism, Ne York is now acting as that canary regarding high taxes. In short, hard evidence is mounting that wealthy people are fleeing New York to lower tax jurisdictions. Of course, New York democrats are stunned by the idea that capital would flee high tax jurisdictions to lower. The first wake up call came when the state realized income tax collections would fall short by $2.8 billion, scotching plans to jack up spending on a host of programs demanded mostly by those who don’t pay income taxes. The next wake up came in the form of greatly increased home purchases in Florida by people from Illinois, New Jersey and New York. Real estate data show that Florida buying has spiked, with many buyers coming from New York and the other two states mentioned above. New York governor Andrew Cuomo correctly “blamed” changes in the federal tax code for the spoiling of his schemes. The new federal tax code, in a stroke of genius, limited the deductibility of state and local taxes to a maximum of $10,000. Since states like New York impose taxes in an amount much higher than this, taxpayers are now feeling the pain of these taxes now that other federal payers aren’t there to subsidize New York’s tax policies. Under the tax changes, a wealth taxpayer in New York City would pay a combined tax rate of 50.4% of income. No wonder the productive are fleeing to states like Florida, with no income tax. We guess the rich aren’t happy to pay for a better New York. The New York situation should serve as a reminder for Tim Walz and the DFL here in Minnesota. Capital is highly mobile and will move when taxes become punitive and confiscatory. Moreover, Minnesota isn’t New York. We don’t have Wall Street, Broadway, and the cosmopolitan draw of Gotham. Tim Walz has made all sorts of expensive promises to make it to the governor’s mansion. He would be well served to look to New York as he fashions his proposed budget. |
 Harold Hamilton
Welcome to my web site!
I created this website in response to governmental waste and abuse in Anoka County. Many taxpayers don’t know that our local governments spend millions of tax dollars every year on things like public relations teams, lobbyists, and junkets to places like Hawaii. Since there seemed to be no place to turn for the “other side” of these issues, I created the Anoka County Watchdog. My intent is to create a one-stop-shop where concerned taxpayers can find fact-supported information and other resources to counter the governmental machine. Many people want to confront their elected officials regarding waste and abuse but feel they don’t have the information they need to make an effective argument. This web site offers that information. Some of our elected officials in Anoka County have become arrogant and unresponsive, forgetting that they work for the very people who put them in office. It’s high time to hold them accountable for their decisions. Sincerely, Harold E. Hamilton (harold@anokacountywatchdog.com) Email: harold@anokacountywatchdog.com
US Mail: Anoka County Watchdog 7956 Main Street NE Minneapolis, MN 55432 (Anonymous submissions accepted!) |
