Hamilton County Convention This Saturday

The Libertarian Party of Hamilton County will convene this Saturday to vote on important business. New officers will be selected, as will delegates to the state party's convention.

Come to the Delaware Township Government Center, 9191 E. 131st Street, in Fishers. Meeting starts at 11am.

The Noblesville Daily Times has most recently reported in anticipation of our convention, in today's edition. Story by Rebecca Sandlin.

I am stepping down from the Chair, so that I can concentrate on the Secretary of State race. Campaign website is www.mikekole.com.

The Nature of Temporary Taxes

There is nothing quite so permanent as a temporary tax. Kudos to the Indy Star's Matthew Tully for showing it to be so in today's paper. Article.

The new stadium-financing proposal has residents such as Frances Eggert scratching their heads. The Southside retiree loves the Colts and isn't too worried about a new tax. But she has a question:

"Can someone tell me what has happened to the food tax we've been paying all these years?"

Eggert remembers the early 1980s debate and the promise that the tax would fall off the books after the stadium debt was paid off. Phil Borst, who was on the City-County Council then and is now its Republican leader, said the promise of "sunsetting" the tax "was a real selling point." According to law, the tax would expire about two years after the stadium debt was eliminated.

So what happened?

According to city controller Bob Clifford, the dome debt has been refinanced, setting back its payoff date, and more bonds were issued to cover major dome renovations. Today, the tax is "co-mingled" with others that helped finance Conseco Fieldhouse, convention center expansions and Victory Field.

The tax is helping pay off about $496 million in debt.

Originally expected to go away by 2013, the restaurant tax is now on the books until at least 2030.

I guess that means that it still a temporary tax, in the sense that it could end one day before the end of human civilization. I love this factoid:

Even if the RCA Dome is demolished in 2008, as planned, the tax created to fund the facility will stay on the books. In all, the tax has generated more than $250 million over the years -- far beyond the original $77 million cost of the dome.

Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. Is there any reason not to expect that the new tax will be defined by overruns, "co-mingling", and decades-long extentions?

Of course not. It's kind of like continuing to vote Republican in the hopes of less taxes and smaller budgets. Insanity.

Immigration and the Minutemen

Libertarians favor LEGAL immigration. We do not favor borders that look like swiss cheese, which is pretty much what we have along Mexico. If people from other countries want to emigrate to this country- no problemo! Follow the rules and come on over. If you sneak in, or are smuggled in, you are a criminal and you should be sent back.

Some people are beginning to see the presense of the Minutemen as a problem. From an AP story:

"We do not have the time nor the patience for anyone attempting to turn this situation into a three ring circus," Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said in a statement.

The Minutemen wouldn't even be there if the border was effectively being patrolled. Problem managed, no circus. Comprende?

Campaign Site Fully Functional

There were a couple of glitches with my campaign website, but everything has been ironed out. Tell me what you think of the site!

www.mikekole.com

Commentary on Daniels' "Temporary" Tax

Whether or not the "temporary" 1% tax on those earning $100,000/year or more proposed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels will come to pass remains to be seen. If it does pass, the Tax Foundation issued a report that makes the following claim:

"...this tax increase would make Indiana’s business tax climate more hostile to business investment, less competitive in attracting more jobs, and harm Indiana’s ability to keep the jobs currently located there. If the proposed tax increase had been in effect when the last Index rankings were calculated, Indiana, which ranks 12th best in the Index, would have dropped to 19th."

Ouch. Well, all policy has cause and effect, and there it is. The Tax Foundation has done their homework on Daniels, invoking the governor's words from the campaign trail.

"Governor Daniels should withdrawal his proposed income tax surcharge. Daniels himself vowed, as a candidate for Governor, to do a better job competing with neighboring states for jobs and investment. This makes his proposal all the more surprising considering that it would make Indiana less competitive."

Couldn't agree more. I am eager to see where Tax Freedom Day lands this year. This is the Tax Foundation's hallmark annual report. Last year, they pegged Tax Freedom Day- the day the average American is finally done paying for the year's taxes, and earning for himself and family- at April 11. The original 2005 projection is for April 14.