Comments on: SOME WILL WIN, SOME WILL LOSE, SOME ARE BORN TO SING THE BLUES

By: HoosierAccess » Blog Archive » Winners

HoosierAccess » Blog Archive » Winners — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:29:44 +0000

[...] been perceived as coming out of the General Assembly session as winners by pundits ranging from Abdul to Jim [...]

By: Really

Really — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:01:39 +0000

Abbie, You stated that Abdul-Hakim
March 17th, 2008 at 11:13 am
IB,

“That $65 million is a combined levy savings (police pensions, child welfare, juvey incarceration, health care for the poor)”.

And they SHOULD pick up this funding. These are state mandated programs/functions (or at the very least created/devised by the state. Each one. So why shouldn’t the State pay it? The GA did not do themselves a favor (or the taxpayers for that matter) by “agreeing” to pay this. They should have to begin with. What part of this is difficult to understand. Ballard did not save us anything. Wait, just wait till you get your tax bill in 4-6 yrs or better yet when the GA has to pass a new budget and there is no money. Funny thing about the sales tax, if your in a recession, you curtail your spending habits which directly impacts your sales tax revenue. Thank you NOT. I will go to Ohio or adjoining state to make my large purchases with a lower tax rate. Oh boy this is going to get good.

Now this is what I would like to see from you Almighty Abbie. Track the tax spending and taxes generated per capita by county by township. That would be interesting. I dare ya.

By: Bob Miller

Bob Miller — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:17:01 +0000

Now, the media can concentrate on crime and potholes, both highly important.

By: Abdul-Hakim

Abdul-Hakim — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:13:14 +0000

IB,

That $65 million is a combined levy savings (police pensions, child welfare, juvey incarceration, health care for the poor).

By: Indy Bruiser

Indy Bruiser — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:23:22 +0000

Ballard doesn’t get off that easy. There was no fluff in the pension funds. He needs to still cut $60 - $70 million, on top of the pension relief.

And by the way, it will provide $35 - $40 million relief, not $60 - $65 million like you stated. The state was already picking up half the pension cost.

By: Melyssa

Melyssa — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:19:56 +0000

The bills should start arriving in a month or so. Many will see their mortgage escrow payments go up which means less money circulating in the economy, less money for home maintenance, and less money for necessities like food and medicine for Hoosiers, many of whom are already stretched thin to the breaking point.

By: Uncommon Sense

Uncommon Sense — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:29:19 +0000

Additionally, this process took far too long to occur. If the GA would have been practicing government and not politics, this could have been completed in 3-4 weeks, and the GA would have had time to consider other legislation and actually be seen as productive (gasp!). Instead, Bauer tried to change the whole format to an income tax with just a couple weeks left in the session, and Bosma just had to try and tack on the gay marriage amendment. I consider both of them to be losers in this, as they both needlessly delayed the process, and looked amateurish in doing so.

By: Uncommon Sense

Uncommon Sense — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:22:34 +0000

Abdul, I would say that the perfect counter strategy is found in your “Losers” category.

While this is a start, I, for one, can not bring myself to vote for any of our legislators who did not support the Kernan recommendations *in full*. Long-term significant property tax reform is tied to the size of government as well as the schools’ overspending.

And if I understand this correctly (please correct where needed), if the Kernan recommendations had been passed *in full*, there would be no need for the sales tax increase (which takes full effect long before my property tax relief does). If the politicians were as smart as you feel they are, they would have gotten property tax relief completely in place prior to the November elections. While I disagree with you here, thank you for all the great work you do, both here and on the air.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:05:08 +0000

Careful…the Cubs are going to win it all this year.

By: Red Headed Step-Child

Red Headed Step-Child — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:02:11 +0000

I do, ever so hope, that you mean “winners” in the ironic sense?