jay nixon – Moe Lane

Missouri legislature passes tax cut over Jay Nixon’s (D) veto.

Jay Nixon’s petulant veto.

The new law is designed to gradually reduce Missouri’s top individual income tax rate — currently charged on all income over $9,000 — from 6 percent to 5.5 percent. It also phases in a new 25 percent deduction for business income reported on personal tax returns. Each incremental cut would occur only if state revenues grow by at least $150 million over their high mark from the previous three years.

Jay Nixon’s hysterical, screaming veto.

Economists at the University of Missouri-Columbia have estimated that the tax cut will eventually reduce state revenues by $620 million annually. But Nixon asserted it could punch a $4.8 billion annual hole in the state budget. He contends the bill’s wording could be interpreted to eliminate taxes on all income over $9,000, though Republican legislative leaders have called that “absurd.”

If you’ve ever wondered what a politician looks like when the legislative equivalent of a heroin withdrawal program is implemented, take a good gander at Governor Nixon over there. He’s been chasing that particular dragon for quite a while, it looks like – and it looks like ol’ Jay thinks that Daddy still needs his fiscal medicine. [sigh] Don’t do taxes, kids. Sure, it’s a great high, but you end up needing more and more to get the same effect, and it’s never as good as the first time…

Moe Lane

How much longer can Claire McCaskill last in Missouri?

If you’re a Democrat, then the latest poll from Mason-Dixon should not be combined with alcohol and/or used in conjunction with heavy machinery: she’s not just losing. John Brunner beats her 52/41; Sarah Steelman, 49/42; and Todd Akin 49/44. And that’s registered voters. These are the kinds of numbers that you’d expect to see from a challenger; an incumbent that far underwater needs an exit strategy, quick. Guess the Democrats guessed wrong on how quickly McCaskill was going to fade.

Mind you, the person who should really be worried right now is Missouri governor Jay Nixon. The Democrats have written off the state in the Presidential election; Claire McCaskill is starting to swirl the drain; and the DCCC seems to have decided not to really push at the three first-term Republican incumbents this cycle. Nixon’s looking very, very alone right now. Such a shame…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

(Via @TookieW)

PS: Primary’s August 7th. McCaskill is, by the way, running unopposed in the primary. …Oops?

Missourians about to get charged for energy reduction programs.

Hey, these things cost money.

And, contrary to our current ruling party’s (Democrats) operating fiscal paradigm, there are no money trees out there. If you want a thing, you have to find a way to pay for it. The trouble is, of course, that if you don’t particularly want a thing you may have to pay for it anyway, particularly when the people who do want it (Democrats) happen to have one of their own as Governor of Missouri.

These three paragraphs come to the heart of the matter, I think. Bear in mind that Governor Nixon’s (D) overall goal is that there be less power usage, which sounds marvelous until you contemplate the implications of a population that’s increasing faster than power production. If you don’t want to increase power supply, and you can’t control the population, the only way to manage the situation is to set up conditions where individual expectations of fair-share power are lowered to a level that equals the supply. We have an adjective to describe that condition.

It’s ‘poor.’

Usually, regulators allow utilities to recoup the cost of building power plants or buying more power to meet customer demand. Recently, the Missouri Public Service Commission began allowing some utilities to pass along to customers the cost of programs that reduce demand for electricity.

For example, the commission last week approved a program in which St. Louis-based AmerenUE can offer credits to businesses that voluntarily shut down or scale back their electricity use during peak demand. AmerenUE will be able to recoup the cost for the program that starts Thursday by increasing the rates it charges business customers.

[snip]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that energy-saving programs offered by utilities will add about 3 percent to the average electricity rates. But it says customers who participate in the programs could save 10 percent to 20 percent on their energy bills, and even those who don’t participate might save if utilities don’t have to buy more energy or build new power plants.

(Bolding mine) Continue reading Missourians about to get charged for energy reduction programs.