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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Says the Speaker: Maybe we just break off a piece of this tax shift
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
According to the Macon Telegraph, House Speaker Glenn Richardson today acknowledged that his plan to end all property taxes in Georgia could be scaled back — perhaps to eliminate only those property taxes used to fund schools.
Says the newspaper:
During lunchtime remarks to the Downtown Macon Rotary Club, Richardson noted that far less money would be needed in new sales tax revenue if the revenue was used only to replace the property taxes that pay for local schools.
If county and city governments were left out of the mix, the amount needed statewide would be about $2.2 billion, as opposed to the roughly $4.5 billion he says would be needed if property taxes were no longer used to fund city and county governments.
This would be an interesting fall-back position, essentially weeding out two major lobbying forces in the state Capitol — the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, and the Georgia Municipal Association.
The GMA in particular has been a vociferous critic of the speaker’s plan.
The Price of goodwill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rep. Tom Price, a Roswell Republican, is in a receiving mood as the holiday season opens.
Price wants everyone in his district to send him cards for the holidays, Christmas or Hanukkah. But don’t make them out to “Dear Tom.” Price intends to take the cards to wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center Dec. 11.
Send or bring the cards in unsealed envelops to Price’s offices by Dec. 5 if you want in. Price’s staff will address each card to an individual soldier at Walter Reed and sign each “On behalf of the people of sixth district of Georgia.”
Price’s offices are at 3730 Roswell Road, #50, Marietta, Ga., 30062 and 100 North St., #150, Canton, Ga., 30114.
With the goodwill this kind of event generates, are we going to see card-drops for vets in congressional offices across the state? Stay tuned.
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The ‘up’ side of Sonny Perdue’s prayer service
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Many of you secular humanists have had a good chuckle at Gov. Sonny Perdue’s pray-for-rain service on the steps of the state Capitol on Tuesday.
But allow us to point out that, regardless of any future precipitation, the public has already benefited from the experience. It was allowed to eavesdrop on some honest admissions of failure, which by themselves — given the location — should be viewed as minor miracles.
In his prayer, the Rev. Gil Watson, pastor of Northside United Methodist Church, said this:
“We have not been good stewards of our land. We have not been good stewards of our water,” he said.
And Gov. Sonny Perdue said this:
“We acknowledge our wastefulness. We acknowledge that we haven’t done the things we need to do. Father, forgive us and lead us to honor you as you honor us with the showers of blessing.”
You can spin some of the people all of the time, and you can spin all of the people some of the time. But you don’t dare spin God.
Perhaps we should think about turning the next legislative session into a giant, 40-day prayer service.
DuBose Porter on running for governor and running water
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In today’s Macon Telegraph, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter of Dublin says:
— He’s looking at a 2010 run for governor, but is wary of competition from fellow Democrats. He doesn’t want a Mark Taylor-Cathy Cox suicide pact that would doom a nominee’s chances;
— He doesn’t much like House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s tax plan in its current form. Porter is more interested in a simpler, Florida-style increase in the homestead exemption;
— That, in his first year as governor, Sonny Perdue ought not to have laughed off a $30 million plan for reservoirs fashioned by Democrats.
The governor’s office labled Porter’s comments a “mischaracterization.”
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