Prosperity for the 1%, Austerity for the 99%: Your ALEC Politicians will be Getting their Marching Orders on July 25th to July 28th in Salt Lake City
All of the Corporate funded media, “right wing think tanks”, and purchased politicians are handed the same buzz words and talking points. The one you will continue to see this election cycle is “prosperity”. The Koch funded “Americans for Prosperity” have continued to promote austerity for the 99% to assure prosperity for corporations and their billionaire friends, whether it is regarding public employees, health care, pensions, or Social Security. AFP's message is one of austerity not prosperity. Paul Ryan's Heritage Foundation budget is called a “Pathway to Prosperity.” Prosperity for who? Tax breaks for the “prosperous” spending to support the military-industrial complex, and austerity for the poor and middle class.
With that in mind, here is what to look for from our ALEC Purchased representatives this year; They will be flown to Salt lake City later this month to attend a four day meeting at the Grand American Hotel to get their 2012-2013 marching orders. To get and idea of the homework assignment the ALEC purchased legislators would be well to review before the meeting, go to www.alec.org and download “ Rich State Poor State, Paving the Path to Prosperity.” There it is again; “Prosperity”. This is the meeting where the 300 corporate members tell the legislative members what they must do so that the corporate members can “prosper”. This document was written by Professor Laffer who is responsible for the Laffer Curve and the trickle down Reaganomics that has failed the middle class and poor but has enabled the 1% to “Prosper.” The ALEC legislators will be indoctrinated and return to their State ready to cut taxes and get rid of public employees. Because they are teachable and obedient and will know that free-market policies are the key to success. And what is success? Success in being on the top of the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index.
Of course, all of these ALEC legislators want their states to rank high on the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitive Index and will enact legislation that will improve their state's ranking. To get a head start on these ALEC purchased legislators let's look at the components of the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index:
One important ALEC-Laffer State Econmic Competitive Index measure is the Economic Outlook Rank, which is based on 15 equally weighted policy variables which clearly put business before people;
Highest Marginal Personal Income Tax Rate
Highest marginal Corporate Income Tax Rate
Personal Income Tax Progressivity
Property Tax Burden
Sales Tax Burden
Tax Burden from All Remaining Taxes
Estate Tax/inheritance Tax (Yes or no)
Recently legislated Tax Policy Changes
Tax or Expenditure Limits
(nine of the 15 variables are related to taxes. Notice that the “top' marginal tax rates are in question, not the middle and bottom rates. It is clear who the prosperity is for)
The next three variables for economic competitiveness are as follows;
Workers' Compensation Costs
State Minimum Wage
Right -to-Work State (Yes or No)
(These three variables are to assure that the prosperity doesn't trickle down to those pesky workers)
The next variable is;
Public Employees per 1,000 Residents.
(Yes, this actually assumes that if you have fewer police, firefighters, teachers and university professors, your state will be more competitive and you, if you are a rich guy, will be more prosperous.)
The next variable is;
Quality of State Legal System
(This is the variable that brings about tort reform that doesn't allow us access to nursing home reports and limits the lawyer fees that can be charged when college students sue landlords like Robin Vos)
The next variable is one that we can all agree upon;
Debt Service as a Share of Tax Revenue
(This is the variable that Scott Walker violated when he refinanced the debt that was due in 2011 so that he could give tax brakes to his owners.)
So there you have it folks; lower taxes on the rich, keep workers wages down, limit the amount of public services, and limit consumers rights; and Wala! Prosperity!
Question Austerity!