Crispus Attucks

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Budget & Tax News
September 2006
California Union Gives Up Pension 'Spiking'
A contract recently negotiated between the California Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local ... (read more)

Cape Wind Has Powerful Critics, Supporters
The Cape Wind project has powerful opposition, including Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and the Bay State's senior Democrat senator, Edward M. Kennedy. ... (read more)

Chicago Mayor May Veto 'Big Box' Measure
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley apparently plans to exercise his first veto in 17 years as mayor to overrule a "living wage" mandate passed by the City Council ... (read more)

Commentary: Twinkies, Smokes, and Fries: The Fallacies of Sin Taxes
The search for government revenue in fiscally tight times tempts legislators to raise revenue by imposing unusually high excise taxes on cigarettes, liquor, ... (read more)

Connecticut Residents Must Work Longer
Connecticut residents are saddled with the burden of working 18 days longer than the average American taxpayer just to pay for government spending and regulations. ... (read more)

Federal Regulation Costs More than $1 Trillion
In a 2004 report for the U.S. Small Business Administration, W. Mark Crain of Lafayette College estimated annual costs related to federal environmental, ... (read more)

Few in Congress Want Spending to Be Reduced, NTUF Study Shows
Fewer than 1 in 10 members of Congress sponsored legislation last year that would have reduced federal spending, according to a new BillTally report issued ... (read more)

Florida Repeals Beverage Alcohol Tax
Florida lawmakers have repealed the state's beverage alcohol tax, a move that could generate new jobs and millions of dollars in new economic activity. Gov. ... (read more)

General Taxes Out, 'Sin' Taxes Are In
With state coffers flush with cash, general tax increases have been off the table in most states. However, proponents of higher taxes are being aided by ... (read more)

High Taxes Spur Michigan Migration
Ohio University Prof. Richard K. Vedder has written more than 100 migration studies during more than 40 years of work as an economist. Recently, he said ... (read more)

Higher Ed Spending Is No Panacea
One policy being championed by prominent state officials to help spur Michigan's economy is to spend more on higher education. Over the spring and summer ... (read more)

Illinois County Will Borrow $200M
For the first time in a decade, America's second largest county--Cook County, Illinois--has been forced to authorize a multimillion-dollar line of credit ... (read more)

Many Dam Removals Unnecessary, Pressed by Activists
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has identified dams as one of the biggest threats to Wisconsin's biodiversity, according to the River ... (read more)

NLRB Decision on Supervisors Could Limit Unions' Power
Labor unions are conducting rallies in cities across the country in anticipation of a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dealing with ... (read more)

Ohio Goes on Five-Year Tax Hike Spree
The Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) Cost of Government Day analysis also examines state spending relative to the states' economies. Said ATR President ... (read more)

Ohio, Other States Do Big Business in Booze
Statenet.com's Capitol Journal on July 31 summarized a Cleveland Plain Dealer article on Ohio's liquor operations as follows: "Ohio, like 17 other states ... (read more)

Private Judgments + Public Policy = Sin Taxes
There's no question many government officials like "sin" taxes as a revenue source. Other lawmakers, and many of their constituents, like sin taxes because ... (read more)

Proposed Mass. Wind Farm Generates Intense Criticism
The developer of a proposed "wind farm" off the Massachusetts coast dodged a bullet recently when Congressional leaders removed a provision from a Coast ... (read more)

Providence Wants to Close Pension System
Providence, Rhode Island Mayor David N. Cicilline announced a plan to close the city's pension system to new workers and move them into a defined contribution ... (read more)

Residents Leave Mich. in Droves
"Last one to leave, turn out the lights." In Michigan during the 1980s this was a frequent one-line joke. If recent trends continue, it will be no joke. Data ... (read more)

September 2006 Budget & Tax News (PDF)
The September 2006 issue of Budget & Tax News features several articles on so-called "sin" taxes--excise taxes on such product as beer, wine, distilled ... (read more)

Snapshot of Burdensome Regulation
The Competitive Enterprise Institute's "Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Regulatory State," issued in June, found: Regulatory costs ... (read more)

State and Local Government Debt Soars
It is well known that the federal government is amassing large amounts of debt, but state and local governments are piling up debt as well. Total state ... (read more)

State of the Unions
Paycheck Protection in the Balance Lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of "paycheck protection" are gaining national attention. Following a ... (read more)

The 'Sin' in California is Overspending, Tax Critics Say
Californians this November will have the opportunity to vote on two new "sin" tax proposals devised by various interests who say the state needs more money. ... (read more)

Top Kansas Candidates Sign Taxpayer Protection Pledge
Five candidates for governor, two other candidates seeking statewide offices, and 31 candidates running for the Kansas House of Representatives have signed ... (read more)

Tourists Are Tax-Hike Targets
Tourists have become victims of new tax-hiking schemes. Several states, for example, have been looking at rental car tax increases. An effort to allow ... (read more)

We Worked Until July 12 to Pay for Gov't
The typical American this year worked until July 12 to earn enough gross income to pay his or her share of spending and regulatory burdens imposed by federal, ... (read more)