August 12, 2026

Jim Dabakis is taking his lessons from Harry Reid

August 10, 2012 by

Utah Democratic Chair Jim Dabakis is on the hunt. Or perhaps more accurate, a fishing expedition.

He’s trying to force the Utah Legislature to let him play by different rules than other tax payers by giving him documents for free just because he claims to smell a rat, never mind that he lacks any proof.

Like Harry Reid claiming Mitt Romney hasn’t paid taxes, an assertion that can only be disproved by exposing Romney to undue scrutiny, Dabakis is claiming a foul against the Utah Legislature that can be disproved only by granting Dabakis special privileges not given to other mere humans (i.e. tax payers).

The Legislature should uphold its duty to the people of Utah and requiring Dabakis and the Democratic Party to pay for the documents Dabakis has requested, just like everyone else. Allowing Dabakis a special priviledge and to have them without paying would set a bad precedent of the Utah Legislature bowing to pressure from political party leaders.

It’s ironic, really. That’s a complaint that Dabakis is usually leveling against the Legislature about Republicans, not the other way around. Funny how things change when the shoe is on the other foot. [cont…]

Filed Under: Democratic Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hitting the Limit: A Financial Argument for Limiting Government [Contributor]

August 9, 2012 by

Tyler Lees is a conservative engineer and train nerd from Midvale, Utah.You can follow him on Twitter as @ThePacificSlope. After he and I discussed on Twitter the necessity of establishing priorities for government in order to cut spending, I invited Tyler to share his view on the topic in a format longer than Twitter’s 140 characters. The following are his thoughts.

I believe that there is a practical limit to how big government can get, irrespective of ideological points of view. Let me explain. [cont…]

Filed Under: Entitlement Reform, Fiscal Reform Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

What does Econ 101 teach us about UTOPIA?

August 7, 2012 by

The original 11 cities include Tremonton, Perry, Brigham City, Layton, Centerville, West Valley City, Murray, Midvale, Lindon, Orem and Payson. Together, they will pay nearly $13 million next year to service the agency’s bonds. With the reduction in sales-tax revenues due to the slow economy, some cities have begun to raise property taxes to keep their municipal services whole while making UTOPIA payments.

There’s still no light at the end of UTOPIA’s tunnel. Maybe it’s time to quit digging. [cont…]

Filed Under: Laws and Lawmakers Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Should the rich pay more taxes (than they already do)?

August 6, 2012 by

If where the “fair share” line is up to private opinion, what does it say about President Obama’s opinion that, when the economy is struggling and unemployment is high, he wants to take wealth out of our country to balance the debt? Wouldn’t it be better to grow the economy and lower the cost of government? Why would we soak the rich–most of them owners of businesses and investors in businesses–at the very time capital is most needed to grow business and expand? [cont…]

Filed Under: Tax Policy, The Economy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Public roads to nowhere [Contributor]

July 30, 2012 by

Democrats love talking about roads when they are actually talking about something else. Listen to Massachusetts senate candidate (and progressive heart-throb) Elizabeth Warren: “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there—good for you! But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for.” Hear this echo from President Obama: “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.… Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” [cont…]

Filed Under: Entitlement Reform Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Attacks on ALEC: Transparency or policy?

July 27, 2012 by

Is it transparency? Or is it policy? The American Legislative Exchange Council was under attack this week, mostly for not being transparent, from organizations led by the Alliance for a Better Utah. What is behind the attack? [cont…]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Alliance for a Better Utah or Alliance for a Democratic Utah? Follow the money.

July 25, 2012 by

When an organization purports to have the public’s interests at the heart of their actions, it’s prudent to look into their motives. And when you want to know motives, look at where their money is coming from and to whom they are giving to.

In other words, head on over to OpenSecrets.org and start typing in names. [cont…]

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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