Dirty money

My wife in reply to this news said ‘No wonder we get high.’ Speak for herself…..

In the course of its average 20 months in circulation, U.S. currency gets whisked into ATMs, clutched, touched and traded perhaps thousands of times at coffee shops, convenience stores and newsstands. And every touch to every bill brings specks of dirt, food, germs or even drug residue.

Research presented this weekend reinforced previous findings that 90 percent of paper money circulating in U.S. cities contains traces of cocaine.

“When I was a young kid, my mom told me the dirtiest thing in the world is money,” said the researcher, Yuegang Zuo, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. “Mom is always right.”

She is but I don’t think most mothers had narcotic contaminated money in mind when they said that.

Scientists say the amount of cocaine found on bills is not enough to cause health risks.

Has anyone studied it? Studies on marijuana for medical purposes are very difficult to conduct and I would be surprised if the rules aren’t stricter when it comes to cocaine.

Money can be contaminated with cocaine during drug deals or if a user snorts with a bill. But not all bills are involved in drug use; they can get contaminated inside currency-counting machines at the bank.

“When the machine gets contaminated, it transfers the cocaine to the other bank notes,” Zuo said. These bills have fewer remnants of cocaine. Some of the dollars in his experiment had .006 micrograms, which is several thousands of times smaller than a single grain of sand.

That is tiny but I’ll go wash my hands in case.

Hat tip- Dr. Taylor at Poliblog

Put down that Mars bar

One physician in the United Kingdom is proposing a tax on chocolates.

Chocolate should be taxed like alcohol and tobacco, to help rein in a growing obesity problem, a British medical conference was told Thursday.

People generally understimate the health dangers of chocolate, family doctor David Walker told the British Medical Association conference, leading a debate on the issue.

"I believe that chocolate is a major player in obesity and obesity-related conditions. What I'm trying to get across is that chocolate is sneaking under the radar of unhealthy foods," he said.

"I would say the government taxing chocolate would not solve the obesity crisis but it might slow the rate of increase of the obesity graph."

Critics say the idea of taxing chocolate would simply not work.

"Introducing regressive taxes on the foods that consumers love would result only in lighter wallets, not smaller waists," Julian Hunt of the Food and Drink Federation told the BBC.

Taxing sweets is liable to cause a revolution in Great Britain. Half the population would storm parliament.

Did you ever hear the joke. A man finds a Genie in the bottle. The Genie grants 3 wishes, after the first two are done, the man asks to made irresistible to all women. What does the Genie do?

Turn him into a giant box of chocolates.

In all seriousness, would this new tax proposal gain traction? Perhaps, because Prince Charles voiced his displeasure with McDonald's not all that long ago. Save us from the food police.

Everyone has a hand out

In Canada it is charities that are doing it.

Canada's charities, facing falling donations and rising demand from the poor due to the economic crisis, are asking cash-strapped Ottawa to look elsewhere for ways to balance the government budget.

The nation's charity lobby group, Imagine Canada, said Thursday it has drafted a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper ahead of next week's economic statement asking the government not to slash charitable funding.

"We urge the Government of Canada to maintain existing levels of funding to Canada's charities and nonprofits through its grants and contributions programs," Imagine Canada said in the letter. "Now is not the time to reduce support to communities through federal funding cuts."

Imagine Canada said it was also seeking additional tax benefits for charities.

Is it too much to ask people to be self sufficient? If you can't thrive with the present tax laws and subsidies, maybe it is time to re-evaluate what your organization is trying to do than ask for more.

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is South Attleboro City Collector Debora Marcoccio. She gets the award for the following-

ATTLEBORO - A 74-year-old blind woman has been told a lien will be put on her South Attleboro home if she doesn't come up with a penny she owes on an outstanding utility bill.

Eileen Wilbur, of Glenn Street, said she discovered the notice of the potential lien after her daughter, Rose Brederson, came over to read her mail.

"It's so upsetting," Wilbur said. "It sent my blood pressure up so high."

The city sent Wilbur a letter dated Nov. 10 stating that if the 1 cent balance is not paid by Dec. 10, the city will assess a lien of up to $48 on Wilbur's next property tax bill.

"They wasted taxpayer money on the letter," Wilbur said, noting the 42-cent charge for a stamp. South Attleboro resident Eileen Wilbur's bill from the city is for one penny.

City Collector Debora Marcoccio said the bill was sent out along with more than 2,000 others as the city tries to recoup outstanding balances before resorting to putting liens on property.

A computer automatically printed the letters for any account with a balance remaining, and they were not reviewed by staff before being sent out, Marcoccio said.

"It would be fiscally irresponsible for me to have staff weed through the bills and pull out any below a certain amount," Marcoccio said. " And what would that amount be?"

According to the letter, the outstanding balance stems from a water and sewer bill from fiscal year 2008, which ran from July 2007 to July 2008.

I make a bet there's a feature in whatever software that is used by Ms. Marcoccio's office that allows sorting by amounts. Hell Microsoft Money does it. Either the office people don't know it or are too lazy to use it. Asking for government efficiency is too much. Therefore you get someone spending 42 times the amount of a particular bill to try to collecting it or a state lottery spending a million dollars contesting a $5 winning lotto ticket.

Marcoccio said that before lien notices are sent out, the city sends out bills for the outstanding balance.

"My question is, how come it wasn't paid when the bills went out?" she said.

In the meantime, the city is holding firm on the amount due.

Marcoccio, who called the whole situation "ridiculous," said the city will not waive the balance.

"If there's a bill, it must be paid," she said

Take the penny out of your desk drawer South Attleboro City Collector Debora Marcoccio. It is worth about as much as your brain and your managerial skills put together and why I name you today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Giving up on giving

Another story about how we're in lean economic times.

NEW YORK - Workers shouldn't count on lavish gift baskets or monogrammed cuff links from their employers this holiday season.

As companies face tighter budgets and layoffs in a tough U.S. economy, analysts and industry data suggest a slowdown in employee gift-giving. While financial worries have many consumers curtailing their spending, companies are scaling back their budgets as well.

Sherry-Lehmann, a 74-year-old wine and spirits shop in Manhattan, has seen some corporate customers — mostly law firms, real estate companies, and Wall Street firms — trade down to cheaper items.

"We're seeing more interest in less expensive items as the economy struggles," said Chris Adams, Sherry-Lehmann's executive vice president.

Adams expects this to continue as the holiday season approaches and more companies start ordering gifts for their employees. He says sales of pricey Champagne have declined, while sales of sparkling wine and wines priced between $15 and $30 are rising.

David A. Schick, managing director of equity research for Stifel Nicolaus, says he expects many companies will cut back on ordering gifts for their employees, "based on where budgets are right now."

I've never worked for an employer that gives a Christmas or end of year bonus. My sister-in-law a registered nurse, works for a public run hospital that give turkeys to its employees just before Thanksgiving. That practice was discontinued a few years ago.(The less said about the time I tried to carve a turkey the better. Jack the Ripper was neater) My wife has gotten a Christmas bonus, but we never count on it at the end of the year.

Just keep the printing presses running till I say stop

The quote of the day, 700 billion dollar bailout edition.

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

Thank you for being so forthright who ever you are. Now my opinion on the bailout is cemented 100%. No way.

Hat tip- Doug at Below the Beltway

Dude, where's your home?

That would be a good question for Democratic Florida Congressman Robert Wexler. It was a segment on the O'Reilly factor last night.



Bob Norman at the Daily Pulp describes the scene where A Fox reporter speaks to Wexler in the driveway of his Maryland home.

A Fox News producer named Griff Jenkins caught up with Wexler in the front yard of his home in Potomac. When Jenkins walked up on his driveway, Wexler -- looking 100 percent the goofy suburban dad in a green hat, green t-shirt, and shorts -- didn't even wait for a question.

"No, I'm not doing this," Wexler said. "If you want to call my office, that's fine, I gotta drive my daughter to work."

Jenkins, like any good reporter, kept charging, asking Wexler by the congressman's silver Volvo SUV if his residency was in Delray.

"That's correct, that's my residence," he said.

Jenkins noted that it belonged to Wexler's in-laws.

"Is that true? You live with your mother-in-law?" Jenkins asked with a straight face.

That's when the fire-breathing liberal got what football coach Bill Curry likes to call the "brook trout stare." His eyes went blank and you could practically hear his brain leaking out of his head.

"Uh, the, mm ..."

The stammering only lasted a second or two, but it seemed like an hour in at the DMV.

"My in-laws own that house, that's correct," he finally said.

"So you live with your mother-in-law?"

"My in-laws own that house, yes, that's my official residence."

To summarize, Wexler's Republican opponent in November is accusing Wexler of not living in the Florida Congressional district he is elected to represent. His residence is actually the home of his in-laws, who live in a senior community which doesn't allow children. Wexler has three children, at least two of whom I have read attend a school in Maryland.

Bob at the Daily Pulp, hardly a conservative, sums up the Wexler situation very nicely.

You might think this seems a small matter and you might not like the vigor that O'Reilly goes after Wexler (fresh liberal meat, you know). But it's about more than partisan politics or even the fact that Wexler hasn't lived in his district for ten years and lists a sham residence in official papers. Put bluntly, this is a sleazy and unethical move by Wexler. For one, he gets a housing deduction from Congress to help him maintain two residences. Unless, he's paying Mrs. Cohen rent when he sleeps on the pull-out, he's just pocketing that little federal benefit.

Another thing is that he might be using the sham Delray house for tax purposes -- as in, to not pay them. Florida doesn't have a state income tax, Maryland does. That means his little deceit might be bringing him more than a little coin. It's not proven, but his cars are, weirdly, registered in Florida and it deserves to be looked into.

Basically, this could be tantamount to fraud and it could actually have some legs, though I seriously doubt we'll see any criminal charges and I'm quite certain his loyal voters will quickly forgive him. He's good ol' Bobby Wexler, after all.

I doubt this story will cause more than a slight stir politically for Wexler. The Florida 19th is strongly Democratic, and Wexler has never had any serious opposition with the exception of the 1996 Democratic primary.(Which basically determined who would win the seat, after former Congressman Harry Johnston's retirement.)

As for the fraud, there may be a case there. Though unless a federal prosecutor gets involved, nothing will happen. Barry Krischer is the State Attorney in Palm Beach County, and he has done almost nothing when it comes to local corruption. Two former County Commissioners and two former West Palm Beach Councilmen pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the last two years, but in each case the charges were brought by a federal prosecutor.

As for the local media hammering Wexler, it isn't likely to happen either. As Bob pointed out also, the Palm Beach Post is notoriously cozy with the local congress people. They knowing about Mark Foley's true sexual orientation for years, but never reporting it among other matters.

I've repeatedly stated how I don't like Wexler. For the first 17 years I was a voter, I supported two moderate Democratic Congressmen who held the seat Wexler now holds. Wexler's far left politics has always turned me off, and has resulted in me giving him three of my Knucklehead award. I think he is a hypocrite and a showman. That all said, Wexler is likely to be re-elected to Congress for many years to come unless he gets the bug to run for statewide office. He's had several chances already, so Wexler is here to stay. Unfortunately.

A big tip of the hat to Bob Norman at The Daily Pulp, who I quoted heavily for this post. Good work Bob.

War, Democrats, Taxes

Pretty much the standard spiel heard from the democrats for a generation or more.

JOHNSTON, Iowa - Democratic presidential hopefuls called for higher taxes on the highest-paid Americans and on big corporations Thursday and agreed in an unusually cordial debate that any thought of balancing the federal budget would have to wait.


"We're not going to be able to dig ourselves out" of Bush-era deficits in the next year or two, said Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, one of six Democratic rivals sharing a stage for the final time before Iowa's leadoff Jan. 3 caucuses.

Asked about the importance of eliminating deficits, Democrats responded by criticizing President Bush's economic policies, including some of his tax cuts.

"I want to keep the middle class tax cuts" that Congress passed during President Bush's tenure, said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. But she said she favors raising taxes for the wealthiest.

Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina readily agreed. "The truth of the matter is the tax policy has been established by the big corporations and the wealthiest Americans," he said. "What we ought to be doing instead is getting rid of those tax breaks."

This is an unpopular view, but I've believed the War on Terror has never been approached right from a fiscal standpoint. Whether it is not properly funding it, causing further requests to Congress by the President, or the fact little or no sacrifice has been asked from the American public. If we're fighting a war to preserve our way of life, it should be funded adequately. Namely raising taxes in order to do it. Wasn't there a income tax imposed during the civil war? Were not taxes raised to fund World War II? I think they were, if I'm mistaken feel free to correct me.

Linked to- Pirate's Cove, Populist, Right Voices, Right Wing Nation,

Ten dollars

This will certainly break people's wallets. NOT!

Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday imposed a $10 monthly medical premium on unionized workers, putting an end to free health-care policies for government workers in a fight that could signal turbulent times for labor groups.

Commissioners blamed state-ordered property tax cuts for the shift in health-care policy. And while not mentioning expiring labor deals with firefighters and sheriff's deputies, commissioners sent a broader message that they are adjusting their thinking when it comes to employee costs that totaled $924 million this year.

Labor leaders say they're already cutting back their expectations, agreeing to smaller raises, higher health-care costs and fewer perks.

"A lot of things we have been doing for the last 20 or 30 years, we simply are not going to be able to afford," said Commissioner Mary McCarty. "We're making a philosophical decision that all county employees are going to need to pay something for their health care."

The $10 premiums are the first time single workers have to pay in the county's health maintenance organization (HMO) plan, save for co-pays. Employees with a dependent or a family plan also were hit with 15 percent premium increases.

In a time of rising cost of both health insurance, and healthcare, a $10 charge sounds quite reasonable to me.

Dear wife gets her insurance through her work. Our premiums are over $110 a week. In addition my wife hasn't gotten a pay raise in nearly five years. If county workers are looking for sympathy over $10, they won't get it from me.

Linked to- Adam, Bright & Early, Pirate's Cove, Populist,

Broward County Tax Break

From the Sun-Sentinel-

Broward County officials are considering waiving any tax bill of less than $30 and will discuss it at today's County Commission meeting. They collect less money than they spend assessing the property and mailing the bills.

The main beneficiaries would be small businesses, mobile home owners and landlords who must pay property taxes on their furnishings and fixtures. That's the computer and desk of a real estate agent who works from home, and the carport and shed of a mobile home owner.

About 21,000 tax bills in all would be wiped off the books under the plan.

*****

Local governments will lose $380,000 in taxes, but will save $569,000 in expenses to collect that money.

No homeowners would benefit from the change even if the tax value of their home is negligible, as is the case with some low-income seniors who have long lived in inexpensive condos. Their bill still would include fees for services such as fire protection and garbage that would push it over the $30 limit.

If it costs more money to collect, waving these bills makes sense to me. So lets get it over with Commissioners before more money is spent debating this bit of common sense. Then this is Florida, who said our elected officials use their their heads?

Linked to- Bright & Early, Bullwinkle, The World According to Carl,

West of I-95

From the Sun-Sentinel-

Thousands of Florida homeowners insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will soon receive notices that private insurance companies want to take their home policies away from the state-backed company.

The state Office of Insurance Regulation on Monday gave four Florida-based companies approval to take 173,000 home insurance policies out of Citizens, the state's insurer of last resort and Florida's largest home insurer with nearly 1.4 million policies.

Homeowners will start receiving notices Nov. 7, and policies will start coming out of Citizens Dec. 17. The offers will be at prices comparable or lower than what Citizens charges, though homeowners have the option of staying with Citizens.

*****

The companies approved to take over Citizens policies starting in December are American Integrity Insurance Co. of Florida, Argus Fire & Casualty Co., First Home Insurance Co. and Landmark One Insurance Co.

All the Citizens policies tagged for takeover are west of Interstate 95, outside what is considered Citizens' high-risk coastal zone, said company spokesman Rocky Scott.

This could be good news for Florida homeowners, but stance is wait and see. My homeowners' insurance is through Citizens and I live west of I-95. Yesterday the bill for our renewal arrived, it was over $4300. It will be interesting to see what any of these companies offer me.

Linked to- Bright & Early, The World According to Carl,

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart. He gets the award for the following.

A cigar-store Indian and a pungent aroma greet customers at Miami's Sosa Cigars, next to the famed Versailles restaurant.

Boxes of cigars labeled Partagás, Cohiba and Padrón rise from floor to ceiling. A table for dominoes invites smokers with time to spare. Buy a humidor, bottle of wine or guayabera to complete the look of old Havana.

''Take a picture,'' quipped U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, one of three Miami Republicans who oppose legislation expanding a popular children's health-insurance program, partly because it relies on higher cigar taxes. ``They're not going to be around much longer.''

Under a plan to pump $35 billion into the so-called SCHIP program, federal taxes on cigars would soar from 5 cents to an average of $3 per cigar, an increase of about 6,000 percent. Cigarette taxes would rise 61 cents, to $1 per pack.

''Why are they picking on us?'' demanded Sergio Pereira, who owns the Don Sergio Ramar Cigars factory in Miami. ``Cuba is rum, sugar and cigars.''

In a flame-fanning tirade on Spanish-language radio last week, Díaz-Balart called the tax hike an ''attack on the Cuban-American community.'' He added: ``It would hurt an industry specifically in Miami-Dade, in South Florida, an industry that is almost entirely Hispanic: those who make cigars by hand, which is a cultural tradition. That industry will not survive.''

The column goes on to call this a chicken little warning. Robert at 26th parallel writes-

I like Mario Diaz-Balart, but his sound byte calling the tax an attack on the Cuban-American community is nothing short of ridiculous. I realize politicians like to indulge in hyperbole, but that one takes the pastelito de guayaba, Mario.

Calling the tax an attack on the Cuban-American community is just plain idiotic. In reality, I think the Republicans are going to take serious payback over the S-chip vote at the 2008 elections. The Democrats are going to get a compromise bill, no one argues about that. A compromise will allow the Democrats to get what they want, and hammer the Republicans as not wanting to support children or families when election time comes.

The 2008 election is going to be ugly for the Republicans and congressman like Diaz-Balart are why. You won the battle, but congressman you'll lose the war(Hillary in the White House, plus larger democratic majorities in both the House and Senate). Here is one other thing you win Mario Diaz-Balart, you are today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- DragonLady, High Desert Wanderer, Leaning Straight Up, Morewhat, Perri Nelson, Rosemary, Third World County, The World According to Carl,

Windfall

From the Palm Beach Post-

WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County's tax collector might have to dig into five years' worth of records on the sales of handicapped parking permits and offer refunds to those who purchased them.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal, based in Miami-Dade County, ruled this year that the permit fees violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and were unconstitutional.

Within the past week, Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon and her counterparts in the state's other 66 counties received a letter from Tallahassee-based attorney Karen Gievers asking them to promptly refund the $1.50 fee charged to buyers of the parking signs from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2007.

Pulling records as far back as five years ago, verifying the information is current and issuing checks will cost far more than the $1.50 refund, Gannon said.

I'm sure it will be an expensive. Maybe then if Florida Tax Collectors had weighed the cost of the $1.50 versus litigation not to mention the expense of refunding the money if the court battle was lost. Governments rarely does cost benefit analysis, till it is too late. Remember the story of the Hoosier lottery.

Oh I love this little tidbit from Anne Gannon.

Gannon said the $1.50 fee helped cover administrative costs to process the handicapped parking signs.

"We're not in the business to provide free services to the public," she said.

That's why I pay taxes. Property, sales, gas etc etc. Plus indirect taxes. So stop the whining Anne and do your job.

Full disclosure- My seventy-two-year-old mother-in-law will be one of the people getting a refund. Any suggestions on how to spend it?

Linked to- Bright & Early, Bullwinkle, Right Wing Nation, Stuck on Stupid,

This isn't satire

I haven't been paying much attention to the S-Chip expansion controversy. Firstly because the wife and I have no children, secondly the reactions politically are to be expected. On honest truth, this is a losing issue for the GOP. The Democrats will use the Presidential veto to hammer GOP candidates in 2008. As is, the GOP is looking at a rough time in that election. Don't let these people fool you.

TFM doesn't advocate national healthcare, but he's also a political realist, who knows such a plan getting through Congress(remember that little thing called a fillibuster in the Senate) is not likely to happen. Republicans, and their conservative blogger allies are really usually scare tactics.

Ed at Captain's Quarters is live blogging the Congressional debate(Is it a debate when politicians with their minds made up make one minute speeches? Pardon the satire)

10:10 - Frank Pallone (D-NJ) says the tobacco tax is a "good way" to pay for the expansion. He also says that "most" of the children are in working families. "Most"? Even families making $83,000 are working families -- no one doubts that.

Let's see where $83,000 goes for a family of three in Florida. Call this reality check time.

$5,000 a year for homeowner's insurance check
$3,000 a year for property taxes check
$11,000 a year for a mortgage check
$2,000 a year for Auto insurance check
Water and Electric- 2,500-3,000 check

SS tax runs lets call it 6,000
Federal withholding runs another 20,000.

That's almost 50,000 dollars for a family of three before health insurance even figures in(That's another 6,000) Then we're talking food on the table,

Aren't I rich?

There's more

2,000 for homeowners association dues
2,000-2,500 a year for gas
How about auto maintenance. Oil changes and tire rotations yearly run $250
BTW we're still driving the same one car we've had since Nov. 1999. No car payment. Alot of people have those things, that runs another 3,000 a year and I'm being generous.
House maintenace(A brand new refrigerator and dishwasher plus maintenance agreements ran me 2,000 in the last year)
My internet connection so I can make sarcastic comments and give out Knucklehead awards. $500
Sattellite television so I can keep up with what's going on in the world. And watch my Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup next Spring. $1,800 a year

Now that's satire!(I do get NHL Center Ice)

Maintaining two computers, especially when FPL fries one of them on a every other year basis via power surges.

Major hospitalizations for the three of us here every year going back to 2002. Cancer, Pregnancy bedrest, pulmonary embolism. Even with insurance, co-pays, prescriptions, hospital bills have to be 3,000 a year at least.

Total all that up that's over 70,000. Then there's food, clothing, other taxes, etc. Anyone have an idea how much it costs to keep two Filipinas dressed and happy? Don't ask!

Aren't I rich?

No I'm not. That's the reality.

Another reality- The veto of S-Chip is a losing issue for Republicans. If you think otherwise, you're ostriches with your heads firmly planted in the ground. People with kids who could use help, and even those without need, will see how the GOP voted and vote their wallets.

Reality checks will be coming due soon to Republican Congress members near you. Call that Satire if you want, but remember all the people including Captain Ed who thought John Murtha could be beat in 2006. See where Ed and I stood on that and who was right.

Linked to- Big Dog, Blue Star, Bullwinkle, Right Voices, High Desert Wanderer, Perri Nelson, Right Voices, Right Wing Nation, The World According to Carl,

Don't put down the pitchforks yet

Those special tax assessments in Tamarac are now history.

TAMARAC - City officials made a quick U-turn on their ambitious Main Street project Tuesday, backing off a plan to make some property owners pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to help pave the way for a swanky development.

In doing so, the city dodged a tough court challenge as well as the wrath of a public outraged over what it saw as an unfair tax on 14 property owners.

*****

The city wanted property owners along Northwest 57th Street to foot the bill for improvements needed for its Main Street development there. The $8.8 million project will feature villas, high-end retail shops, fountains, towers and street scaping intended to revitalize the area. The property owners, who the city said would benefit from the development, were to be taxed anywhere from $1,707 to almost $1.5 million.

But on Tuesday, the City Commission voted unanimously — with Commissioner Ed Porter absent and out of town — to drop the tax plan. In its resolution abandoning the tax, the commission said "public comments and concerns of affected property owners" factored into the decision.

From the pictures on television and newspapers, it looked like a bunch of angry seniors had something to do with it. Haven't seen the walker and cane crowd so worked up since the restaurants in Boca Raton stopped putting out packets of sugar.

The battle isn't over yet.

City spokesman Andy Berns said the Main Street project remains a priority. "City staff will now explore all options for the funding of infrastructure necessary for this future project, while maintaining sensitivity toward the needs of our entire community," he said in a statement.

The City Commission will look for another avenue to raise the money for redevelopment. If the people in Tamarac are smart, they'll give the entire City Commission the boot at the next election. With the exception of Commissioner Ed Porter, they're nothing more than a bunch of goniffs.

Linked to- Adam, Bright & Early, Bullwinkle, Webloggin,

Eminent Domain by other means

Politicians in Tamarac Florida are using tax assesments to move property owners who stand the way of redevelopment in the city.

TAMARAC - The 67 elderly residents of an assisted-living facility may soon be without a home as the city seeks to transform their property into housing for young people, jazz cafes and chic shops.

The problem is their center and 13 other properties, including a Jewish synagogue, a Buddhist temple, a Wendy's restaurant, and a Chevron gas station, are facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax assessments.

*****

The affected properties are on or near Northwest 57th Street, in the heart of the city's planned Main Street district, envisioned as a destination that will create new vitality and a bigger tax base for Tamarac.

The cost to upgrade and expand water and sewer lines, bury electrical, cable and telephone lines, and make other improvements could cost as much as $8.8 million. But the city set aside $1.5 million for the work.

Commissioners decided in July that since the businesses in the area would benefit, they should pay. They considered spreading the burden among all taxpayers but decided against it after hearing from angry residents.

A side or back door eminent domain seizure was the first thing that popped into my mind on reading this news. Michael Mayo at the Sun-Sentinel agrees-

So here goes: Shame on you, Tamarac.

Not only does the city have the gall to try something like this, they then try to pawn it off as the fault of forced budget cuts from Tallahassee.

What this disturbing ploy really amounts to is eminent domain by sleazier means.

At least with eminent domain, the government gives property owners fair market value for the land it forcibly takes.

But now that Tallahassee has put tough new eminent domain restrictions on the books, prohibiting government seizures of private land for ritzier private redevelopment projects, it appears Tamarac is trying a not-so-subtle end run around the new laws.

The new tactic: tax the hell out of a few property owners, and when they can’t come up with the excessive amounts, slap tax liens on the property and squeeze them off the land.

The Sun-Sentinel editorialized today.

But not any more than the crackpot plan the city came up with, to assess 14 nearby properties — in particular the senior center — hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for the infrastructure of the proposed Main Street district. Not only that — the assessed property owners were given about a month to pony up the big bucks. The 67 residents of the assisted living facility are particularly worried, wondering if the assessments will be passed down to them — or if the center will even be able to stay open after the air clears.

If Tamarac indeed believes that this downtown area will revitalize the city and create a bigger tax base, it would be fairer, although tougher politically, to tax everybody in Tamarac, rather than sticking it to 14 businesses — some of which, like the assisted living center, may not gain much in value from having cafes and shops nearby.

State Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Parkland, who represents Tamarac, is outraged by the assessment plan and thinks the city could have created a Community Development District or a Community Redevelopment Agency to fund the development.

As for the 14 property owners, they have filed two separate lawsuits trying to stop the huge assessments. Hopefully, a judge does just that — stop the assessments, until the city comes up with a more equitable, fair way to pay for this Main Street district.

Two of the properties are churches. Churches don't pay property taxes, but are subject to ad valorum taxes and such. The assessments look pretty clear to me. They are an attempted property grab by the Tamarac City Commission.


Michael Mayo sums this whole story up well and its implications-

What’s to stop any city from doing this to any property owner, commercial or residential, if City Hall decides it wants some fancy new project to keep up with the Joneses?

Only the Florida legal system stands in the way of these tax assessments, and that's not a level fight either. Most property owners can't afford the legal expenses involved with any legal fight, whereas a City, Town, or County have plenty of money. Just think of it, if more funds are needed for lawyers, all Tamarac has to do is slap another assessment. Right?

The more news I read, the more I come into agreement with an old saying. You can't fight City Hall.

Linked to- Populist, Right Voices, Right Wing Nation, Webloggin,

Property Tax Reform IV

Save Our Homes appears safe for now.

Bowing to widespread and intense voter backlash, Florida's Republican legislative leaders said Friday that they will abandon their attempts to phase out the popular property tax break granted to all permanent state residents.

"It's clear Save Our Homes is a very popular protection that homeowners enjoy," said House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami.

"At a time when taxes keep going up, it's very difficult to go to voters and convince them they should let go of a security blanket like Save Our Homes."

Approved by voters as part of Florida's constitution in 1992, Save Our Homes limits the increase in assessments of homesteaded property to a maximum of 3 percent a year.

Longtime Floridians who have enjoyed its protections have not seen their taxes grow as rapidly as business owners or second homeowners, including snowbirds, who aren't entitled to the assessment cap.

In June, the Legislature crafted a proposed constitutional amendment designed to gradually replace Save Our Homes with a "super size" homestead exemption. But a Tallahassee-based judge yanked the amendment off the Jan. 29 ballot.

Because of the judge's decision, and citizen uproar over the plan to phase out Save Our Homes, legislative leaders plan to go into their fifth session of the year later this month to devise an alternative.

I'd vote no for any property tax reform if it meant eliminating SOH. The original tax ammendment was so convoluted, I didn't know the future of Save Our Homes was at stake. I think State legislators need to take their time on this measure in order to get it right. If that means no amendment on next January's ballot, that's fine with me. Property tax reform needs to be done right if its to be done at all.

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Drive Safely

Some Florida insurance news-

For Florida drivers, a new era is here.

After 36 years with a no-fault auto insurance system -- where most medical expenses for accident victims are paid up front without deciding which driver caused the accident -- the law expired at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

That means all accidents -- even a small fender bender -- could end up in court to determine who caused it.

But how long no-fault law will be gone is an open question. Monday afternoon, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that no-fault would be added to this week's 10-day special session that begins Wednesday.

For now, drivers will no longer be required to buy $10,000 of personal injury protection, or PIP. Property damage coverage will still be needed to register a vehicle in Florida. But the mechanism to enforce this requirement will die with the no-fault law.

Several major insurers, including Allstate and State Farm, contend PIP isn't needed if drivers already have health insurance. That way consumers could save some $200 on auto insurance costs.

Don't you appreciate how insurance companies want to save us money. Now if Allstate would stop asking for hikes in homeowner's insurance rates.

BTW if automobile injuries will now be covered through health insurance, wouldn't those premiums be expected to increase? The money has to come from somewhere.

Rick at SOTP is also commenting
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The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are the Tennessee Department of Revenue and its Commissioner Reagan Farr. They get the award for the following.

Starting [Thursday], state Department of Revenue agents will begin stopping Tennessee motorists spotted buying large quantities of cigarettes in border states, then charging them with a crime and, in some cases, seizing their cars.

Critics say the new “cigarette surveillance program” amounts to the use of “police state” tactics and wrongfully interferes with interstate commerce. But state Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr says his department is simply doing its job, enforcing a valid state law while protecting Tennessee retailers who properly pay state taxes.

Agents have already been watching out-of-state stores that sell cigarettes near the Tennessee border to “get a feel where problem areas are,” Farr said. While declining to be specific, the commissioner said “problem areas” are generally along interstate highways with exits near the Tennessee border.

The idea is for the monitoring agent to spot a person buying cigarettes in volume at an out-of-state market, then departing in a vehicle with Tennessee license tags. Starting today, monitoring agents spotting such a suspect will call an arresting agent who will stop the car when it enters Tennessee, he said.

*****

Tennessee’s cigarette tax went from 20 cents per pack to 62 cents per pack effective July 1. All eight states that border Tennessee have lower tax rates, meaning smokers can save up to 45 cents per pack — $4.50 for a 10-pack carton — by purchasing out of state. The border states with the lowest cigarette taxes are Missouri with 17 cents and Mississippi at 18 cents. The highest is Arkansas with 59 cents. Kentucky and Virginia both tax cigarettes at 30 cents a pack, North Carolina at 35 cents, Georgia at 37 cents and Alabama at 42.5 cents.

Under state law, bringing more than two cartons of cigarettes into the state without paying Tennessee taxes is a “Class B” misdemeanor, carrying punishment of up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine. Bringing 25 or more cartons is a “Class E” felony, with minimum penalty of one year in prison and a maximum of six years plus a fine of up to $3,000. In addition, the specific state statute dealing with untaxed cigarettes provides that vehicles used to transport more than two cartons “are considered contraband and are subject to seizure,” says a Department of Revenue statement.

Farr said that agents have been instructed to seize any vehicle carrying more than 25 cartons of cigarettes without Tennessee tax stamps. In cases where three to 24 cartons are involved, he said vehicle seizure is “at the officer’s discretion.”

A person losing their car over purchasing cigarettes is an outrageous abuse of government. James Joyner at OTB writes-

How this can possibly be constitutional is beyond me. First, what gives Tennessee police officers the authority to operate across state lines? Second, surely seizing a vehicle potentially worth upwards of $40,000 for the “crime” of possessing more than two cartons of cigarettes amounts to excessive punishment under the 8th and 14th Amendments?

Donald Sensing also notes a little something called the Commerce Clause.

Ed at Captain's Quarters writes-

I can't wait for the first legal challenge to this enforcement. As far as I can see, it violates federal sovereignty in interstate commerce, the 4th amendment, and the spirit of the entire Constitution. Let's try to tackle this one issue at a time.

First, Tennessee has no jurisdiction over what stores in other states sell, even if the material was illegal, which tobacco is not. They can't conduct surveillance in Missouri, for instance. The fact that they are "watching out-of-state stores that sell cigarettes" should be enough to demand some resignations, starting with the commissioner himself.

Second, people do have the right to cross state lines to purchase legal commodities. If Tennessee wants to hike its cigarette taxes far beyond its neighbors, then it's the state's fault that its shop owners can't compete. It's not the fault of the consumer who makes a smart choice to cross the border and buy in bulk. Unless the product itself is illegal, the state of Tennessee has no right to interfere in that transaction.

What trips the wires of Tennessee's enforcement? As few as three cartons, according to the commissioner and Tennessee state law, which makes that a misdemeanor. Twenty-five cartons will result in auto forfeiture, between one and six years in prison for a felony conviction, and a $3,000 fine. None of this has to be predicated on an explicit act to bootleg the cigarettes, either, but merely possession of a legal product.

I think James, Ed and Donald said it better than I could have. Reagan Farr and the Tennessee Department of Revenue are today's Knuckleheads of the Day.

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Mandatory Donation

What we call a tax here in the United States, South Korea 's Foreign Ministry uses another term.

Starting late next month, passengers on international flights taking off in Korea will be required to donate W1,000 for the global fight against poverty (US$1=W938). The donation will be automatically added to the ticket price. The Foreign Ministry said international flight passengers will have to make the contribution as the Korea International Cooperation Agency Act goes into effect on Sept. 30. But Korean children adopted in foreign countries and their patrons, children under two, flight crew and diplomats will be exempt from the mandatory donation.

Sounds like a tax to me. Actually exit or travel taxes aren't uncommon in Asia. The Philippines requires one to be paid by those exiting the country on airplanes. It is paid at the airport.

I wouldn't be surprised if the United States enacted a similar practice one day. What will we name it? The get lost tax?(Sarcastic laughter time)

Hat tip- Marmot's Hole
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