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Friday, December 28, 2007
A political fishing tale
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Once again, Gov. Sonny Perdue has shown why it’s so good to be governor.
Our colleague James Salzer reports that Perdue on Friday formally announced the winners in his “Go Fish” program, which will turn 10 fishing holes around the state into tournament-quality bass havens that the governor hopes will attract professional fishing competitions.
A lot of folks have mocked Perdue’s proposal to boost tourism, but he got the last laugh. Guess where the biggest, richest “Go Fish” trophy landed after state officials so artfully assessed the state’s best fishing spots?
Yep, Sonny wins! Perry in Perdue’s home county of Houston, the site of today’s announcement, is going to get a $22 million “Go Fish” visitor center and hatchery along with equipment needed to host a major tournament.
That’s out of about $30 million raised by the state, local governments and private businesses for “Go Fish.”
Nine other lakes will get the mega ramps needed to accommodate a major fishing tournament. Insider Advantage, the Atlanta-based political consulting and polling firm, was kind enough to create a map of the 10 sites.
Ahhh yes. It is good indeed to be the governor.
Fair Tax a “sham”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Libertarian Senate candidate Allen Buckley, who’s running against incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in the 2008 election, is calling the Fair Tax that Chambliss and so many other Georgia Republicans favor a “sham.”
The Fair Tax, which would replace federal income taxes with a national sales tax, is the Holy Grail of tax reform for Georgia conservatives.
The tax’s chief champion in Congress, Rep. John Linder, a Duluth Republican, has been introducing legislation to implement the Fair Tax every year since 1999 and recently co-wrote a book with radio personality Neil Boortz espousing the Fair Tax’s virtues. Chambliss, like most Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation, is a co-sponsor of Linder’s bill.
Fair Tax advocates say instituting a 23 percent national sales tax would provide the same revenue to the government as income taxes do, but give back to taxpayers more of their own income.
Buckley, a tax attorney and accountant from Smyrna who self-published his own book deriding the Fair Tax, said government studies have already shown that the tax would have to be at least double what advocates propose to deliver its promised benefits.
“Our people need to know how hard a … Fair Tax would hit retirees and the middle class,” Buckley said in a statement Friday. “While the current tax system is a complex mess, the Fair Tax proposal is not the answer.
“I hereby challenge Senator Chambliss to a thorough, evidence-oriented debate on the Fair Tax bill,” Buckley said in the statement. “If he desires, John Linder can join Mr. Chambliss.”
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