The Source

An End to the Economic Border War?

Could we see an end to the constant economic showdown that exists between Kansas and Missouri?

One Missouri Rep. sees an end to the strife, at least if he has anything to do with it.

Rep. T. J. Berry, a Kearney Republican, is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit the state from issuing certain economic development tax credits to attract jobs from Kansas to Missouri.

To go into effect, however, Kansas would have to pass similar legislation within two years, and at least a couple Sunflower State lawmakers are willing to consider it. But if Kansas doesn't, Missouri would commit to spending $1.50 on economic incentives for the Kansas City area for every $1 that Kansas spends.

"If we're not going to end it, we need to win." Berry said. "But I would much prefer not to go to war."

It's a pretty ingenius plan, truth be told.

Full speed ahead.

- B.H.

Read more here: http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/economic-border-war-spurs-missouri-lawmakers-to-action/#storylink=cpy

Nickel and Diming the American Farmer

After a year of ravaging floods that took large swaths of some of America's finest farmland out of play, the last thing Missouri would do is raise taxes on our most productive remaining farmland.

You would sure as hell think...

Under a policy set by the State Tax Commission in December, Missouri's most productive farm land will face a higher tax rate. [...]

Every two years, the state tax commission reviews agricultural land productivity values. Since 1995, these values, based on land quality grades from one to eight, have remained unchanged.

Two years ago, the Tax Commission tried to increase productivity values, but that reassessment effort was blocked by the legislature. [...]

For property with a soil grade of one, productivity values would go up from $985 per acre to $1,065 per acre under the tax commission's proposal.

Now the legislature has to act, yet again, in order to stop an increase in taxes on the state's best available farmland.

Does this ever feel like a neverending battle?

- B.H.

McCaskill's Line-Item Veto Gamble

Has Claire McCaskill just signed her Senate career’s death warrant?

Quite possibly, as she is introducing a bill in the Senate that would grant Barack Obama the much maligned but nonetheless sought after power of line-item veto.

Can’t you just see the commercials about the Obama/McCaskill BFF relationship and her willingness to do anything to give him more power?

The crafty thing here is the façade McCaskill and the Democrats are shrouding this bill behind:

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced a bill on Thursday to give President Obama line-item veto power — a change she says could help reduce the budget deficit and save taxpayers millions in wasteful spending. 

Yeah, she’s actually claiming that this power-grab is in the name of her crusade against earmarks.

In fact, she’s actually named the damn thing “The Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act”.

Gag.

This bill, had it been introduced during the Bush years (that I secretly long for), would have had the Left so crazy over the centralization of executive branch powers that there might have been actual riots over it. Maybe not widespread riots, but probably in Oakland. (Although would anyone notice?)

Thankfully Obama won’t be able to touch the actual budget, though.

Not because the bill won’t grant him that power, mind you, but because our legislative branch is too busy coming up with meaningless crap (not unlike this) than to do their actual jobs and pass an actual budget… you know, that one thing they’re constitutionally required to do.

What a wonderful world.

- B.H.

More Fake Missouri IDs to Illegal Aliens

First it was in St. Joseph, now on the opposite side of the state there’s another scandal involving criminal aliens obtaining drivers illegal identifications.

An employee of a privately run Missouri drivers license office in St. Louis County is among four people charged with helping undocumented aliens improperly obtain licenses or state identifications, officials said Tuesday.

An indictment unsealed in federal court Friday in St. Louis does not specify how the worker, Yvette Roberson, 59, of St. Louis County, or others benefited. She was arrested Monday.

The others indicted are Ricardo Ortiz, 31, of Montgomery City; Jorge Fabian Pequeda Perez, 35, of St. Peters; and Elizabeth Cervantes, 27, of St. Peters. Ortiz is also known as Jose Ramos Jr.

Ortiz and Roberson are charged with conspiracy and production of false identifications; Perez with conspiracy and illegal possession of 15 or more access devices; and Cervantes with possession of false identification documents.

This is a serious problem that we continue to ignore.

Estimates put losses for Missouri alone in the billions of dollars per year to illegal aliens.

Extrapolate that out to fifty states, many far worse off than we are, plus losses to the federal government, and you start to see just how much money our country is losing in a given year simply because we stand around and choose to do nothing.

Then there’s the real, individual loss that comes from these cases, such as the helpless American citizens whose identities are stolen by thugs like these in order to facilitate the illegal trade of identities to these criminal aliens, or the victims of car accidents and murders at the hands of people the law should’ve kept out to begin with.

These are the kinds of things that have to be considered, and there are many more of them.

But so long as we stand aside and let the far left run roughshod over the laws meant to protect Americans from the very same illegals they are bending over backward to protect there will always be operations like the ones in St. Joseph and St. Louis catering to the that underbelly of society we have allowed to thrive.

Additionally, how can the liberals continue to vehemently argue against requiring photo IDs to vote by claiming regular citizens will have too difficult a time attaining that ID when we can all plainly see that even illegal aliens can acquire fake IDs with relative ease?

Outrageous.

- B.H.

The $7 Million Flush (aka Today's Primary)

Today is a special day in Missouri's history. You're living it. And in fact, you can participate in it.

Today is the day of the epic $7 million flush.

That's right! For one day and one day only Missouri is flushing millions of dollars down the drain by holding a meaningless, pointless, and crazy expensive primary that amounts to absolutely nothing.

You thought the government couldn't get any worse, any more wasteful of your tax dollars? Well, today is the day they prove you wrong.

With the limp-wristed stroke of a pen our wonderful Governor Jay Nixon authorized this one-time spectacular display of bureaucratic ineptitude and politics of the left.

So don't miss it!

Participate in this $7 million flush. Get out and vote.

Vote for anyone! Mitt Romney. Herman Cain. Mickey Mouse, or even Mickey's dog. I voted for Tim Tebow. It doesn't matter, that's the beauty of it!

They've stripped the importance, and most importantly: the ramifications, from voting altogether.

So why not?

Get out there and vote before it's too late!

- B.H.

Reading Between the Lines with the Occupy Protesters

When any news outlet writes an article about the ‘Occupy’ movement these days it’s usually to point out that they’re still around. There’s not really much news otherwise.

Maybe it’s because of a slow news day, maybe they’re meeting a quota, or maybe the writer has a soft spot for stinky hippies.

Either way, when you come across one of these articles you have to read between the lines.

In the spirit of truth, justice, and the American way we’ve provided an example, from Fox 4 yesterday:

Members of occupy KC were given a platform [though not a real one] to voice their concerns [bitch and moan] about the inequalities in our society [their hatred of The Man]. For the past 130 days [although it seems like longer] members of the Occupy KC movement [nomadic hippies] have been camping out [living in filth] in tents [a homeless camp] near Liberty Memorial.

Their goal is to call attention to [scream into speakerphones about] economic inequalities [communism], high unemployment [why big government will solve problems] and what they call corporate influence on government [their issues with their parents]. The tents represent the frustration [homes] people feel about the great disparity [homes] between the wealthy and the working poor [homes] according to Mike Chase [the tents represent homes!]. […]

If you would like to get involved [become a social pariah] members of the movement [the douchebags living in the park] encourage you to join them during their meeting [smoke out] Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights at 6 pm [and 4:20 am & pm]. For more information about the movement you can go to occupykc.net. [We swear we aren’t promoting this. We don’t have a liberal agenda! Seriously!!]

And that’s why you have to read between the lines.

- B.H.

That Was Quick: Nixon's New DED Head Resigns Before He Starts

It seems that the dream is over before it began for Gov. Nixon’s appointment to head up the Dept. of Economic Development.

Gov. Jay Nixon's embattled choice to lead the Department of Economic Development is stepping aside amid the Missouri Senate's decision not to vote on his nomination.

Jason Hall, former executive director of the Missouri Technology Corp. and a former attorney with Bryan Cave, was selected to replace outgoing director David Kerr. The agency has recently faced questions over its handling of the Mamtek controversy.

But Hall's nomination faced a rocky reception, with Republican senators questioning his experience and his tenure at the MTC. The Senate did not vote on his nomination [Wednesday], just two days before a deadline to act.

Nixon’s administration, especially this department, is in a tailspin.

Unfortunately, when he does things that are good for the Right he damages the state as a whole.

This time around he should find a decent candidate with actual credible experience who can simply pass the vetting process and get an up or down vote.

Anything less is, well… par for the course, really.

- B.H.

'Tax the Air' Claire: McCaskill's Cap-and-Trade Problem

The Missouri GOP has unleashed another scathing attack on Claire McCaskill, this time focusing on her cap-and-trade positions:

* FLIP: Earlier this year, Claire McCaskill claimed in Missouri that “We’ve got to make sure that whatever policies we have, are not going to make energy too expensive for people.” McCaskill has also claimed that she has been “very clear that [she] would never vote for cap-and-trade.”

* FLOP: McCaskill told the St Joseph News-Press that she is “supportive of a cap-and-trade,” she voted for cap-and-trade and later bragged that the Senate nearly passed it, she voted twice to allow the EPA to implement a backdoor cap-and-trade scheme, and she voted to allow the EPA’s job-destroying Cross-State Air Pollution Rule to go into effect.

Here's the video:

 

It should be noted that cap-and-trade is one of the single most dangerous proposals in the history of the United States.

It's a way for liberals to literally tax the friggin air, which sounds like a punchline or a political bit on Saturday Night Live but is actually what they've come up with in their neverending quest to screw America's economy to death.

(Liberalism: making SNL-worthy sketches a reality since 2009)

Anyone in support of a tax system invented out of thin air to tax that same thin air should be publically lambasted at every turn for it. It's disgraceful.

Finally, National Journal highlights this interesting tidbit:

...Sen. Claire McCaskill has the weakest approval ratings of the Democratic senators up for reelection.

Let the circus commence...

- B.H.