Say Anything Blog

In North Dakota:

Amid the many other election contests this fall, opposite sides are now entrenched in the battle over three ballot measures to cut taxes, place oil revenue in a constitutional trust fund, and limit the growth of government to inflation.

On one side is the newly formed Partners to Protect North Dakota’s Future, a coalition of the AARP, North Dakota Education Association, North Dakota School Board’s Association, and the Association of Federal State and Municipal Employees.

The group officially formed this month and is working on a budget and campaign strategy to oppose all three measures.

On the other side are two groups, Americans for Prosperity and the Permanent Promise Coalition. AFP, a national anti-tax and free markets advocacy group, is standing behind a measure that would cut state income taxes by 50 percent and corporate taxes by 15 percent.

Think about this for a moment.  The groups opposing tax relief and limited government in North Dakota are the AARP and government employee groups.  What is motivating them?  The AARP is the nation’s foremost advocate for the expansion of America’s already bloated entitlement system.  The group represents the sort of elderly people who want to coast into a lengthy, cushyretirement on the backs of Americans who are still working and trying to raise families.

The other groups all represent government employees who view things like tax cuts and fiscal restraint as nothing more than limits on the size of their paychecks and operating budgets.  After all, what bureaucrat that has ever walked the face of the earth hasn’t wanted to see his/her power and influence expanded through the size of the operating budget available to them?

It’s not surprising that these groups/people would oppose attempts to leave more money in the pockets of North Dakotans, and restrain the growth of state government, but I think sometimes the public in general forgets who these people are and what’s motivating them.

Believe it or not those of you who aren’t North Dakota readers, this isn’t actually a normal occurrence in my home state.

It doesn’t get more elitist than this screed from the Fargo Forum which attempts to explain away Cass County voters’ rejection of a tax hike in the name of “economic development”:

As voters were blowing away smoke, they also signaled they were in no mood for a countywide sales tax. No matter how sound the proposal for a half-cent science/tech development tax was, a combination of factors worked against it. Promoters had a tough time selling the concept of a tax that would have invested in the future. Jitters about the record-high cost of gasoline and rising food prices contributed to the tax’s defeat.

Right.  Voters didn’t reject this new tax because they don’t buy into the sort of cognitive dissonance which concludes that you can stimulate an economy by raising taxes.  They rejected it because they were too distracted by gas/food prices to realize what a good idea it was.

One wonders who the liberals and “revenue Republicans” at the Forum are trying to convince with this sort of ill-conceived logic:  The public?  Or themselves?  One gets the idea that certain people on the Forum’s editorial board need to be reminded that the guiding principle of American politics is “the consent of the governed” not “the consent of the political and media elite who think they know what’s best for everyone else.”

Regardless, the goal for Cass County citizens now is to play watchdog on their political leaders lest said leaders attempt to raises taxes and/or fund this “economic development” initiative anyway despite the clearly-expressed will of the voters.

North Dakotans went to the polls last night and voted on some measures both statewide and local.  Perhaps the most interesting results for this observer were the voting down of tax measures in Minot, Grand Forks County and Cass County (Fargo).

In Minot voters decided not to divert proceeds to a new community bowl from a 1% sales tax that was established to fund the Northwest Area Water Supply project.  In Grand Forks County voters overwhelmingly (84% vs. 16%) voted down the Home Rule Charter (which would have eventually resulted in a half-cent sales tax increase).  In Cass County voters overwhelmingly (63% vs. 37%) voted down a half-cent sales tax increase which would have sent money to a privately-run board which would then use it for “economic development.”

So what do these three results in three of the state’s most populous areas tell us?  That North Dakotans are tired of taxes.  What should our political leaders then do in response to this fact?  Get behind tax relief.

To hear many political leaders in the state - both Democrat and, sadly enough, Republicans - tell it North Dakotans are just fine with the state’s level of taxation despite a record-setting balance in the state treasury and massive surpluses in the state budget.  These political leaders feel we should keep taxes in the state high to continue to pay for things like economic development.

The truth?  North Dakotans want tax relief, and any politician refusing to address that concern could well pay the consequences at the polls.

See, it’s not that his article was inaccurate and insulting.  It’s that we North Dakotans were too dumb to understand the scribblings of this learned, urban dwelling intellectual.

Charles Bowden gave the keynote speech Monday at the a summer geography institute at Bismarck State College, and spoke to reporters.

Bowden’s article, which ran in National Geographic Magazine in January, drew editorials and strong criticism from North Dakota officials. A letter from Gov. John Hoeven said the story was “way off the mark.”

“I think most people thought, ‘the state is never mentioned in a national magazine and when it is, you picked this to talk about,’” Bowden said.

“The comic thing for me is, I really like this place,” he said. . . .

Bowden also took on critics of the article.

“I don’t know about your governor, I haven’t met him,” Bowden told KFYR TV. “But I guarantee you I can hand it to a 10-year-old in Arkansas, and they’d read it, and they’d perfectly understand it. If people in North Dakota can’t reach the level of a 10-year-old in Arkansas, I don’t know what to say.”

I guess Bowden isn’t interested in an intellectual discussion of his article about North Dakota with people who actually live in North Dakota.  Instead he’d just like to tell us how it is, and if we don’t agree with him then we’re stupid.

By the way, love the Arkansas comment.  As if 10-year-olds in Arkansas were dumber than ten-year-olds in other parts of the country.  No elitism there at all.

Today Senate Democrats are going to try and push windfall profits tax legislation though.  Senator Dick Durbin (Senator Barack Obama’s colleague from Illinois) is describing this as an effort to show oil companies “that there is a limit on how much profit they can take in this economy.”

Because “limiting profits” is what America’s all about.  Life.  Liberty.  Government-regulated profits.

As the Senate considers this there’s one thing to keep in mind: A windfall profits tax on oil companies has been tried before.  Such legislation was passed during Jimmy Carter’s term in office, and what did that legislation result in?  Less domestic production of oil and more dependence on foreign oil.

Is that really what we want as America struggles to become less dependent on foreign oil?

North Dakotans, in particular, should have an interest in this legislation.  Senator Byron Dorgan from our state has been a particularly ardent supporter of a windfall profits tax, but as oil companies pour money into North Dakota to explore and exploit the Bakken oil reserves is a punishing new tax on those oil companies - something that would confiscate vast swaths of the same money they’re investing in our state right now - really a good idea?

It isn’t.  A windfall profits tax would be bad for North Dakota in that it would slow investment in domestic production of oil and thus oil production in North Dakota.

Watch carefully how Senators Dorgan and Kent Conrad vote, North Dakotans.  Will they vote for what’s best for North Dakota or will they side with their national party?

Jeez:

Authorities have released the name of a woman killed Tuesday afternoon in a traffic accident in Minot.

Mona Doman, 98, of 1300-32nd Ave. SW, was killed when she attempted to cross the U.S. Highway 2 and 52 bypass northbound around 1:45 p.m.

Doman’s vehicle was struck by another driven by Kelycia Azure, 19, of Minot.

Doman was transported to Trinity Hospital by ambulance where she was later pronounced dead.

I suppose it’s not impossible that his woman was qualified to drive but at 98 years young I doubt it.  As far as I know North Dakota makes no provision for ensuring that older drivers are still capable of driving except for a routine eye test every three years.

Well now she’s killed herself and put other people at risk doing so.  I understand that the politicians are scared to death of bringing up the issue for fear of the AARP.  I have to ask them though is this lady any better off now that she’s killed herself?  Is the 19 year old that she pulled in front of better off? 

I realize that it’s not an easy thing to do to take away someone’s independence.  But it has to be done at some point.  When are the politicians going to get some guts?  Unfortunately the answer to that question is never. 

Yikes…

Bismarck, N.D. (AP) North Dakota Republican congressional candidate Duane Sand crashed his plane on a trip to Fargo.

A campaign spokesman says Sand walked away from the crash Wednesday morning, and he wasn’t injured.

Campaign manager Matt Dabrowski says the engine on Sand’s plane failed. He crash-landed the aircraft in a farm field near Nortonville in LaMoure County, in southeastern North Dakota.

Sand was flying to Fargo for some meetings. Dabrowski says Sand owns the plane, and he wasn’t carrying any passengers.

Glad to hear Sand is ok.

Well no wonder why we couldn’t get a state income tax or sales tax cut, let alone a refund of what we overpaid.

The following is a list of companies that got their projects funded by North Dakota taxpayers, just in 2007 and this far in 2008:

* McLean Organic Rhubarb received $5,250.

* Gardenwellers Farm received $9,000 to develop a better method to steam distill herbs.

* Standing Rock Equine Center received $12,337.50 to study the feasibility of building a horse barn.

* Duppong Vines was given $10,000 to build a vineyard.

* Hotel Rendezous got $10,000 to build a 150 person party-room.

* A hunting facility, Antelope Hill Lodge, received $5,250.

* S & E Meats was given $12,500 to market a pizza that features bison meat instead of hamburger as a topping.

* Evergreen Dairy & Energy received $31,000 to help raise capital for their “green” dairy farm.

* S F Industries Inc got $56,585 to market their sunflower seeds. GIANTS Snacks received $60,000 for the same thing.

At least we know what Governor John Hoeven’s priority is.  He’s more worried about the feasibility of studying a horse barn and having a party room than your families’ budget.  And at least Hoeven’s keeping up with the Ahnold’s and doesn’t have to feel bad that California has vineyards and we don’t.

This was put out by the North Dakota Policy Council.  I just want to point out that they missed my all-time favorite waste of North Dakota tax money when people in the state legislature wanted to spend $10,000 to commemorate a bunch of kids making snow angels. 

Why vote Republican when we get garbage like this?

Wait...what?

I think someone meant the South Dakota Primary.  Obama won the support of the North Dakota Democrat party a while ago.

Which normally I wouldn’t much care about, I thought Bowden’s rather inept piece painting North Dakota as a dying state was about all I needed to know about him, but I had to chuckle when I read this article about his return:

Charles Bowden, who wrote “The Emptied Prairie” periodical essay that appeared in the January 2008 National Geographic mAgazine, will speak June 9 at 10 a.m. in the Sidney J. Lee Auditorium on the Bismarck State College campus.

A former journalist and editor and now free-lance writer, Bowden regularly writes articles for periodicals including “GQ” and “Mother Jones.” He is the recipient of numerous honors for writing excellence, including being nominated by “Orion Magazine” for book of the year in 2007 for his latest book “Inferno.” Despite his stature, some North Dakotans took issue with Bowden’s National Geographic article which they interpreted as a dismal portrayal of abandoned towns.

Despite his stature?  Huh?  This guy writes for Mother Jones, which as near as I can tell is the political equivalent of Cat Fancy, and suddenly he’s some sort of authority on North Dakota?  One that shouldn’t be questioned by...uh...North Dakotans?

Give me a break.

...why don’t we just keep him in prison?

It boggles my mind that people who are such a danger to society that they must be the subject of public meetings and constant monitoring by law enforcement are let out of prison even as we step enforcement measures on things like drug use.

We need to review our priorities.  Speaking for myself, I’d rather have a crack addict living down the street than a rapist or pedophile.

That’s what I took from the Governor’s support of a sales tax increase to fund “economic development” in Cass County North Dakota.

The Governor calls himself a conservative, and yet the idea that we can tax our way to economic prosperity - giving the tax dollars to private economic development committees run by people who aren’t elected and thus are not beholden to citizens in any way - goes against the very bedrock principles of economic conservatism.

We cannot plan out economic development, and you cannot call yourself a conservative (or even a Republican like Ronald Reagan was a Republican) if you do think so.

As the Gipper once said so famously:  Government (in this instance government in the form of taxation) is not the solution to the problem.  Government is the problem.

And Republican incumbent John Hoeven has a heavy fund raising lead over liberal challenger Tim Mathern.  Hoeven is over $1.5 million.  Mathern is just over $100,000.

Hoeven is reporting that 87% of his money came from North Dakotans, but that’s a little misleading.  Sure 87% of his contributors are from North Dakota, but according to his last disclosure report from 2007 Hoeven raked in $1,263,891.50 with over $495,000 of it coming from out-of-state contributors.

87% of Hoeven’s contributors may come from North Dakota, but roughly 40% of his money (at least according to his last filed report for 2007) comes from out of state.

Mathern’s report doesn’t seem to be available on the Sec. of State’s website just yet, but with the paltry amount he’s raised I’m guessing he got most of his money from North Dakota.  Which is odd, because usually North Dakota Democrats are able to handily out-raise North Dakota Republicans thanks to the millions they get from out of state contributors who funnel cash down to their campaign through PAC’s and campaign funds run by Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan along with Representative Earl Pomeroy.

There’s till time yet for Mathern’s campaign to be infused with out-of-state millions laundered by Dorgan, Conrad and Pomeroy but I’m wondering if the money will even come.  Mathern doesn’t have a shot at beating Hoeven no matter how much money he has in his war chest, and really why would North Dakota’s “big three” Democrats want to replace Hoeven anyway? 

On most statewide issues, at least fiscal issues, Hoeven is about as liberal as they are so why not just let him stay in office?

Pictures from Memorial Day ceremonies at the North Dakota Veteran’s Memorial Cemetary are available via the readers’ blog.