Tearful goodbyes as Gabrielle Giffords resigns from Congress
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
There were tears all around as Rep. Gabrielle Giffords resigned from Congress this morning.
See the video after the click…
Romney’s 2010 tax return raises more questions than it answers
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
What the … When John McCain was vetting Mitt Romney for vice president, Romney turned over 23 years of tax returns. This year the American people are vetting Romney for president, and Romney has turned over one full year of his taxes. Ezra Klein writes, If Romney is nominated, 2012 will be about taxes – Wonkblog:
So let’s be clear: Romney hasn’t released his “taxes.” He has released a single tax return from a year in which he was already running for president for a second time. As Gov. George Romney — Mitt Romney’s father— said when he released 12 years of his taxes in 1968, “One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show.” We don’t know all that much more about the taxes Romney has paid today than we did yesterday.
But even if this one year is a fluke, even if it was done just for show, the outline of the story is clear enough: Romney is a very rich man who pays a very low marginal tax rate. In the past, it’s possible that more agressive tax engineering drove his rate even lower. It’s possible that more use was made of loopholes, and offshore accounts, and tax shelters. But even without all that, we know that Romney paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010.
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His taxes also contextualize what he would do as president. Romney’s tax return shows that the effective rates paid by the richest Americans are often pretty low. Romney’s tax proposals would reduce those rates further. And the cost of those proposals — more than $6 trillion when all is said and done — would be offset through cuts to domestic programs. Romney is saying, in effect, that people like him should pay less to finance the government, and low-income Americans and seniors — the two groups that depend on government programs — should be asked to cut back instead. Many Americans are likely to see that as unfair.
Steve Benen points out that Romney's 2010 tax return raises more questions than it answers. Political Animal – What we’ve learned from Romney’s returns:
Mitt Romney’s campaign, as promised, released the former governor’s 2010 tax returns, as well as an estimate for his 2011 returns, and we’re starting to get a sense of why the Republican candidate wasn’t eager to share these details.
Mitt Romney offered a partial snapshot of his vast personal fortune late Monday, disclosing income of $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million last year — virtually all of it profits, dividends or interest from investments.
None came from wages, the primary source of income for most Americans. Instead, Romney and his wife, Ann, collected millions in capital gains from a profusion of investments, as well as stock dividends and interest payments.
By any fair estimate, over $42 million in income over two years isn’t bad for a guy who jokes about being “unemployed.” Indeed, Romney would be in the top 1% based solely on the income he makes in one week. [He makes in one day what the average wage earner makes in one year.]
Romney said last week that his rate was “closer to 15%,” but as it turns out, despite his vast wealth, he actually only paid a 13.9% rate last year — lower than his political rivals who aren’t nearly as wealthy, and lower than most middle-class American workers.
And what about those overseas investments?
Unbelievable: Give money to for-profit U of Phoenix. Limit scholarships to public universities
Antenori vs. Kelly. This could be interesting
I’ll be on the Bill Buckmaster show today, 12:30
The Farley Report – January 24, 2012
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Time once again for The Farley Report from Rep. Steve Farley (D-Tucson):
Things don't always happen the way you want them to. We in Tucson know that all too well.
But as we move forward — even from terrible events — in a spirit of love and hope and empathy, and join together in our community as we have especially since January 8, 2011, we have shown we can rise above anything and be a beacon unto the nation.
As my family and I watched the video on Sunday of Gabby telling us that she would resign her seat, we cried. We feel like she is a member of our family. My daughters have joined me at Giffords events — and asked pertinent policy questions — for years and years, and Gabby has always been our hero.
I know, as we all do, that Gabby is capable of doing anything she wants. Even though we so powerfully wanted her to keep representing us in Congress and take up her office once more, she has made the obvious right decision: to focus on her recovery.
We want her in office, but above all, we want her well. And once she is well, I know that she will lead us once again, in a bigger and better capacity, and even the sky will no longer be the limit for where she can go.
Many of you have emailed me since Sunday to urge me to consider a run for her seat to carry forward Gabby's legacy, and I will tell you that if Gabby asks me, I will run, and I will ask for your help so that we can win together. If she asks another person to run, I will support that person and I will ask for your help so that we can win together.
Meanwhile, there is a lot of work to be done at the Capitol, and I remain committed to help change the Arizona Legislature this November as the new State Senator for the new District 9. If that changes, you will be among the first to know.
Today at the Capitol I hosted Arizona's first Distracted Driving Summit, organized by Shelly Camp and her students from Payson High School, and attended by 150 teenagers from high schools around the state. It gave me a huge infusion of hope for our future.
One of my favorite things to do is to share with high school students an inside view on how our government works, and how they can play a part. As I told them this morning, the future of our democracy depends upon their active engagement in public policy as involved citizens.
They made appointments with legislators of all parties to advocate for bans on driving while texting (HB2512 from Steve Urie (R-Gilbert)), cellphone use by teen drivers (SB1056 from John McComish (R-Ahwatukee) and HB2311 from me), and distracted driving in general (HB2312 from me).
Some of the best moments came as I stood with some of the students, pointed out legislators on the plaza as they walked by, and watched as they tried out their best elevator speeches about the bills. The students were really pumped up for this chance to make their case to the Senators and Representatives, and I definitely get the sense that their feeling of empowerment will not leave them as they seek to improve our state in the years to come.
Yesterday, I introduced a bill to further empower citizen lobbyists like these students by reducing the power of large corporate lobbyists to influence legislation — HB2665, the ALEC Accountability Act of 2012, which I first described to you in the December Farley Report.
Right now at the capitol, a back-door system of lobbyist-funded scholarships, not regulated or usually disclosed to the public, fund lawmaker participation in American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conferences that promote an ideological agenda. This system also actively provides fancy accommodations, upscale dining and entertainment "networking" opportunities in cities around the country.
Crandall: How dare you say that about me and my school-lunch-optional bill?
