Taxation | Finding Gems and Sharing Them

Special Session Platform Index – Way too many R’s voting like D’s!

March 5, 2018 — SCrosnoe

Several bloggers are collaborating on this analysis and shocking information regarding voting records during the recent special session. Here are the votes reviewed:

HB1035x OCT Fallin Tax
HB1054x Tobacco/Fuel Tax
HB1085x NOV Oil Tax
HB1033xx FEB Step Up Tax
HB1020xx FEB Cuts to Balance

You can see the whole spreadsheet here:

Google Docs Spreadsheet on Special Session Votes Oklahoma House 2018‘

Just look at all those R’s below 50% — not a pretty picture at all!

Me thinks we have some HOUSEcleaning todo…

Special thanks to the hero’s listed at the top and featured in the graphic!

Finding Gems & Sharing Them – Special Session Platform Index – Way too many R’s voting like D’s!

Posted in Conservatives, Politics, Taxation. Tags: google docs, RINOs, special session, spending, Taxation, voting records. 1 Comment »

We Are Seriously Not Having the Right Conversation! It is the Spending Stupid…

February 20, 2017 — SCrosnoe

Color me livid. We have lost before we even get started if we don’t correct this matter.

Let me see if I can show you how this game actually works.

Case 1: I say lets cut taxes 20% and you come back with how about 10% and we settle on 15%. You think you won because we cut taxes a little. Spending wasn’t reduced one iota in this scenario! The revenue will have to be raised somehow by this generation or the next.

Amount saved 0%

Case 2: What if the opening gambit had been let’s cut spending 20% and you come back with how about 10% and we settle on 15%. In this scenario we both won and spending was actually reduced a little right here and now.

Amount saved 15%

Do you see the difference? Please think about it. Shift the conversation. Talking about taxes is a trap and you loose no matter what the compromise position is. Here’s a sample letter if it helps you get started:

Dear Representative,

I don’t want to hear another word about taxes.

Not one single solitary word.

Don’t even think about raising them – not on me and not on my neighbors either!

Don’t come to any of us asking for more money. We are united on this matter.

You already have plenty.

You simply have not learned to prioritize correctly.

It is really pretty easy.

Do not spend more money than you have. Do not ask me for more.

Let’s see how much government we can cut before anyone (not on the payroll actually misses any of it).

Thank you for getting our spending priorities in order and balancing our budget. It is after all what we elected you to do.

Sincerely,

A Taxpayer

For Reference:

By the numbers: Winners and losers of Oklahoma’s proposed budget

Finding Gems & Sharing Them – We Are Seriously Not Having the Right Conversation! It is the Spending Stupid

Posted in Activism, Conservatives, Grassroots, Politics, Prayer, Taxation, Teaparty, We the People. Tags: balancing the budget, conversation, less government, priorities, spending, Taxation, taxation is theft, Teaparty. 9 Comments »

City of Bartlesville Wants a Little More Money; Just Say No on Tuesday Oct 13th

October 12, 2015 — SCrosnoe

Yes there is an election on October 13th. First my usual rant about there should not be special elections like this. It should always be on a ballot with other matters for two reasons:

So it would get more attention and more scrutiny and more people voting about raising taxes,
So that we could reduce the cost of having these ‘special’ elections.

I wish Bartlesville city leaders would learn to prioritize spending so that tax increases in a down economy would not be even requested. It seems wrong to require more money even a little bit for more jobs for the city when so many are doing without so much among us. As long as the majority of the people voting will say yes, these things will keep coming up for a vote. We must learn to say no, and force our leaders to cut costs and deliver only the most essential services with funds on hand.

There is plenty out there about why you should vote for this because it isn’t much and it will do so much for us – according to the ‘yes’ folks. I say if it isn’t much, then let’s cut costs somewhere else to do these things if they really are our top priority items. Please keep in mind with jobs leaving the oil sector, there may be fewer and fewer people here to cover the costs of your expenditures today – tomorrow. That will make this all even more expensive than anticipated to those still here and paying the bills.

Proposition One: 1/4-cent economic development sales tax

Proposition Two: 4/10 of a cent operational sales tax

Here’s a sample ballot. You decide for yourself. I will be voting NO on both:

Here is what the City of Bartlesville says about why you should give them more money and how they say it will be spent, but much of that is not on the ballot and only time will tell if that is where it really goes if passed. Some have asked for a report card on the money spent and success rate on economic development over time.

Update 10/14/15: Both propositions passed. Here are the vote totals.