The non-partisan Tax Foundation released their 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index earlier this week, and Minnesota was in the spotlight. Minnesota made the list of the ten WORST states for businesses, coming in at 41 - not exactly the place we want to be in today’s already sluggish economy.

The foundation notes, “The modern market is characterized by mobile capital and labor. Therefore, companies will locate where they have the greatest competitive advantage. States with the best tax systems will be the most competitive in attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth.”
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Leading up to Election Day, The Progressive Policy Institute is publishing a series of “memos to the next president” offering the winner, regardless of his name, some specific, bold initiatives aimed at solving big national problems. My own submission, published earlier this week, argues for a two-pronged assault on the political climate in Washington through voluntary public financing of congressional campaigns and redistricting reform.

I wrote the piece before the recent financial crisis, which may tempt the winner on November 4 to demand a recount. But I’m more convinced than ever that a direct attack on the money/influence nexus based on campaign contributions, and on the self-perpetuation of the status quo in Washington through political gerrymandering, is an essential stage-setter if the next administration is going to accomplish the radical change the times call for. Read the rest of this entry »

Two years ago when I ran for Congress I stated that I believed Washington was broken and in need of real reform. For the last two years, I’ve learned just how broken Washington really is. Sadly, when Americans think of Congress today, they think of divisive partisanship, big-spending bills filled with waste and fraud, and little accountability to the American people. Well I am one Congressman working to end this status quo and enact real change in Washington. I am running again because I want to continue to be an independent voice for south central Michigan and serve my constituents. Over the past two years I have stood up for my district whenever appropriate, and at different times bucked my own party, our President, and Democratic leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I’ve also held around 170 town hall meetings, coffee hours, and open office hours in an effort to be accessible and accountable to the residents of south-central Michigan. I want to be the most accessible representative in my district’s history. Read the rest of this entry »

The Hill’s Jim Mills interviews retiring Congressman Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) about his time in the House, why he’s retiring, and how he sees House Republicans shaping out this election.

At Planned Parenthood, we work every day to reflect and fulfill our patient’s needs.  This is what we need from our elected officials.

Congressman Allen will stand up for Planned Parenthood — an organization that has consistently stood up for what is right and spoken out on behalf of women and families.  He will continue to lead the fight to provide quality, affordable health care and health information for women, men, and teens.  He will affirm dignity, privacy, and full and factual sexual health information.

Congressman Allen has said—and will continue to say –yes to each individual’s right, strength, and wisdom to make personal decisions about their health and future.  And finally, he will say NO to Supreme Court justices that seek to move us back to a dark time in history for American women. That’s why Planned Parenthood supports Tom Allen to be the next Senator from Maine. Read the rest of this entry »

Each state has unique rules governing public activity surrounding ballot measures. Some are more demanding than others, but it’s the Sunshine State that takes the cake for having the most stringent regulations.

Florida campaign finance laws obligate any individual or group to register as an electioneering communication organization if they merely refer to a measure in any publication that goes to the general public. Read the rest of this entry »

McCain and Obama debated for the second time, in Nashville. We noted some misleading statements and mangled facts:

• McCain proposed to write down the amount owed by over-mortgaged homeowners and claimed the idea as his own: “It’s my proposal, it’s not Sen. Obama’s proposal, it’s not President Bush’s proposal.” But the idea isn’t new. Obama had endorsed something similar two weeks earlier, and authority for the treasury secretary to grant such relief was included in the recently passed $700 billion financial rescue package. Read the rest of this entry »

Policy proposals that involve numbers seem to be the ones most prone to outrageous assertions made by candidates in ads, speeches and debates. One only needs to observe the second Presidential debate two nights ago between Barack Obama and John McCain, and the “truth-stretching” statements they made about each other’s tax proposals. Read the rest of this entry »

The pending home sales index made a surprisingly strong leap in August. The biggest sales contract gains were in markets that had overheated and are now undergoing a sharp reduction in home prices. The upswing in activity occurred prior to the Treasury takeover of Fannie and Freddie in early September, which had lowered mortgage rates by about 50 basis points. So buyers were evidently entering the market to take advantage of sharply lower home prices.

The latest pending home sales index of 93.4 is a jump of 7.4 percent from the previous month and the highest reading since June of 2007. Compared to a year ago the index is up 8.8 percent. All four regions notched up gains. The West region was the strongest with a surge of 18 percent - with California, Arizona, and Nevada all showing solid gains. These states are also the ones with marked price declines and rising foreclosures. Florida also has been showing consistent gains over the past several months for the exact same reasons of buyers snatching bargain-priced homes. Southwest Florida regions (Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Naples) had been early gainers, but the Miami area, Space Coast, Tampa, and Orlando are showing year-over-year gains and may have turned the corner as well. Rising momentum is occurring in the Washington D.C. suburbs. Rhode Island and Minneapolis are also showing early life signs. Read the rest of this entry »

Two new reports by public policy expert Jon Gettman, a senior fellow at George Mason University, highlight the ineptitude of U.S. marijuana policy during the Bush Administration.

The reports – one analyzing marijuana use rate statistics and the other examining the explosion in court-ordered marijuana treatment admissions – directly contradict the White House drug czar’s office’s frequent claims of success in reducing marijuana use rates.

There’s little question that this administration’s Office of National Drug Control Policy has spent its tenure consumed with a singular obsession with marijuana and marijuana users, but the breadth of their failure to make any meaningful impact in this area is stunning. Read the rest of this entry »