Building Not Losing 2017 and Staving Off Attacks on Electricity Rates and Tires
Steve Dittmer | AFF Sentinel
Colorado Springs, CO
Originally sent to subscribers 02/07/24
Edi. Note: The impeachment vote on HHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed by one vote. It may be brought up again. If so, the three Republicans who voted against impeachment were Reps. Tom McClintock of California, Ken Buck of Colorado and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin.
One major point of emphasis multiple times at convention was NCBA’s efforts to educate members of Congress and their staff on tax issues. All the progress made on the 2017 tax cuts, especially preserving the death tax exemption levels will be lost if they are allowed to expire in 2025. Knowing that the current administration and the Democrat Party is anxious to get rid of the “Trump” tax cuts, increase taxes and invent new ones, NCBA is working ahead to lay groundwork for defending those tax provisions and permanently removing the death tax.
So, they are asking cattlemen to take their tax survey in order to gather more data to use in explaining to members and staff who weren’t around in 2017, how good tax policy grows the economy and preserves family farms and ranches and how bad tax policy forces farms and ranches out of business. Bad death tax policy destroys family legacies, prevents farm and ranch families from passing on a viable operation to the next generation.
We’ve recently covered all the important benefits of the tax cuts to the general economy, to increasing government tax revenue, to wage growth and corporate growth and investment from the 2017 tax cuts. It is critical to counter the Democrats’ inaccurate contentions that tax cuts reduce government revenue, that corporate tax cuts don’t benefit workers and that only rich people benefit from lower taxes. The majority of American citizens own stocks and bonds either directly or through pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s or other channels. Those investments have never been more important or more available for a wider swath of Americans than today.
So accurate understanding of tax policy and how it affects the economy and voters’ economic situation is very important.
To help NCBA gather anonymous but real-world data on how death taxes affect ranch operations, follow the link below to pass on your family’s experiences with death taxes and estate tax planning:
Speaking of tax policy, sometimes there is even good news about taxes, especially when they are described as an “epiphany” for California’s legislators.
Residential electric rates in California have risen from 72 to 127 percent over the last decade. One reason has been the shifting of overall grid costs away from homes with solar panels, who get paid well by the utilities for electricity they generate but don’t use, to everyone else in the system without solar panels.
Then there is the pincer movement of shifting government costs for fire mitigation and climate subsidies over to utilities and then requiring utilities to give discounts to lower income customers.
As if that wasn’t enough, in 2022 the legislature -- at Gov. Gavin Newsome’s urging -- decided to start the country’s first graduated income-based electricity rates. Lower income customers (under $28,000/year) would pay an extra $15/month on up to $92/month for high earners (“A Progressive California Epiphany,” Wall Street Journal, 02/07/2024).
Now, the high earners are raising cane and ten senators have introduced a bill to repeal the income-based rate structure.
Perhaps most tellingly reflective of the typical collision of headlong progressive “solutions” with economic reality is the reaction from one San Francisco senator. He opined that rate payers should not have to pay for a “private utility’s poor business decisions.”
Wonder where this assemblyman was dozing when his legislative body was destroying the electric rate structure, imposing new income taxes and wrecking the government of California.
By the way, for future reference, file away the info that the income-based electric concept was hurriedly foisted on the Assembly by the wizard some folks have suggested should be the replacement for President Biden, should he not run for re-election.
As long as our theme is stupid government tricks and interference in our lives, we could go on forever with this Congress and administration and progressives in blue states upset that people want to make their own decisions.
Washington state legislators are trying to outlaw some of our tires. Deeper treads add “rolling resistance” running down the road, therefore, subtracting some tiny fraction of mileage, therefore, using slightly more of the hated fossil fuels. The solution? Ban them. Never mind that those treads are what keep you from hydroplaning or skidding off the road. Your safety is of no import to the climate department. The safety department might differ but they will have to get their own legislation. The legislators seem dimly aware of the purpose of tread, as they do exempt snow tires (“Now the Climateers Want Your Tires,” Wall Street Journal, 02/07/24).
We like the way the Journal summarizes the bill as a triple whammy: it “would limit consumer options, make tires more expensive and make drivers less safe.”
The far left goes after us again.
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