Weekly Opinion/Editorial

CUT THE STATE INCOME TAX RATE!

by Steve Fair

The Oklahoma state income tax rates will drop on January 1, 2012 from 5.5% to 5.25% unless the state legislature intervenes. The automatic triggering of the reduction is due to state revenue being up at least four (4) percent over last year.

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Some have questioned the timing of reducing the state income tax rate since Oklahoma state government is in a serious budget crunch. The tax cuts are expected to let Oklahoma taxpayers keep $61 million dollars in their pockets the first year, thereby depriving government of the same amount.

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The money the tax cuts would generate could be a help in plugging some budgetary holes according to David Blatt, director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a policy think tank. Blatt believes the tax cuts should be delayed. “These projections are showing that there is modest revenue growth as the economy recovers,” Blatt said. “We continue to remain well below pre-downturn levels and the recovery is being hampered by policy decisions made several years ago, both regarding tax cuts and spending obligations.”

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Scott Moody, an economist at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs said the timing for enacting the income tax rate “couldn't be more fortunate.” “The great thing about the way the trigger was designed is that you only get the tax rate reduction when revenue is growing fairly robustly,” he said. “So it's not like that (lost state) revenue will cause a decrease in government spending; it only reduces the increase.”

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The automatic income tax reductions got a shot in the arm last week when incoming Governor Mary Fallin, Speaker of the House designate Kris Steele, (R-Shawnee), and Speaker Pro-Tempore designate Brian Bingman, (R-Sapulpa) said they supported them. Fallin will be a member of the newly organized Board of Equalization.

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"Letting Oklahoma families and small businesses keep more of their hard-earned money is the right thing to do and a good way to get our economy moving in the right direction," Fallin said. "Cutting the income tax rate will make Oklahoma more competitive on a national stage and is a step in the right direction as we work to make our state a better place to do business."
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"Broad-based tax relief is the most efficient and fair way to spur economic growth because it helps all Oklahomans," said Steele. "Cutting our income tax rate will make Oklahoma a more attractive place to do business and a positive, national role model on economic policy."
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"The tax cuts are designed to stimulate economic growth and create private sector jobs, both of which are a priority," stated Bingman. "It is important that we remain committed to tax relief and allow the additional dollars in the private sector to create wealth in Oklahoma."

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Almost every Oklahoman would be impacted by the reduction. Oklahoma’s income tax rate kicks in at a low level- $8,700 for single filers, $15,000 for married couples-so virtually everyone pays the state 5.5% of their income.

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Nine States- Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have no state income tax. Seven of the nine states grew faster than the national average in the past decade. The other two, South Dakota and New Hampshire, had the fastest growth in their regions, the Midwest and New England. The fastest growing state in the country is Texas. Its population grew twenty one (21) percent in the past decade, from nearly 21 million to more than 25 million.

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Steve Beebe, a Duncan CPA, and a member of the board of OCPA, wrote in 2001: “There are two concepts about taxation I have found to be true (1) You can’t take a lot of tax money from someone that doesn’t have any money, and (2) You can’t try to squeeze too much from the wealthy, high-income earners, or businesses because they will move to a more tax-desirable state.”

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Three things about this issue: First, allowing Oklahomans to keep more of their income and reducing the size of state government in the process is a positive move in the right direction. Cutting government’s “allowance” forces them to make some hard decisions. Second, if Oklahoma ever expects to be competitive in attracting business and industry, we have to reduce the personal income tax rate. Third, Oklahoma government needs to be right sized and modernized. The best opportunity to do it is in a down budget year.

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Fallin has said, “The best way to address the budget shortfall is to get very serious about government modernization and making government smaller, smarter and more efficient. “It's very important we do everything we can to look at eliminating waste or duplication in state government and continue to right-size government to make it more efficient and effective.”

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Fallin and the incoming legislature leaders are saying the right things. Let’s hope they have the courage to follow up and make the tough decisions that will move the state forward.

Weekly Opinion/Editorial

PROMISES…PROMISES!
by Steve Fair

Last week, Oklahoma State Senate President Pro Tempore designate Brian Bingman, (R-Sapulpa) appointed ten (10) Senators to work on Oklahoma’s under funded pension systems. The committee will be chaired by Senator Mike Mazzei, (R-Bixby) and the Vice Chair is Senator Don Barrington, (R-Lawton). Barrington has some ‘skin in the game’ because his firefighter pension is one of those the legislature is under funding.
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In a February 2010 report by the Pew Center on States, entitled, “The Trillion Dollar Gap,”(http://downloads.pewcenteronthestates.org/The_Trillion_Dollar_Gap_final.pdf) Oklahoma was one of eight states singled out as headed for disaster on the seven state-administered pension systems if they didn’t start adequately funding the plans.
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The seven plans cited in the Pew study as under funded were the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension Retirement System, Oklahoma Public Employees’ Retirement System, Uniform Retirement System for Judges and Justices, Police Pension and Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, Wildlife Conservation Retirement Plan.
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The study had this to say about Oklahoma: “The seven state-administered pension systems had a combined funding level of 60.7 percent in fiscal year 2008, a total liability of $33.5 billion and an unfunded liability that was 219 percent of total payroll. During the 1980s and 1990s Oklahoma increased benefits, but did not boost contributions enough to offset those increased liabilities. By pushing the costs into the future, the state’s actuarially required contribution has risen to almost 21 percent of payroll, annually. In addition, the state has lagged in making the required contributions, so funding levels would likely have continued on a downward path even without investment losses.”

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How did Oklahoma get in this mess? It all started back in the late 1980s and early 90s, when the Democrat controlled state legislature increased future retirement benefits for state workers and teachers without including a funding mechanism. According to Tom Spencer, executive director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System. “Frankly, I don't think the legislature was paying attention to the actuarial statistics when passing legislation. It is obvious that in some local plans and some state plans, the benefits have just gone way too high,” Spencer said. “'Every government needs to be able to afford the pensions they've promised. In Oklahoma, there's been a gigantic disconnect between what's been promised and what they're willing to pay."

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Spencer is right about the retirement plans for some state bureaucrats, college professors and others being too sweet, and while Republicans can accurately point fingers at the Democrats in control when the deal was made, they now have to find a way to make good on the deal.

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“We have promises to uphold to retired teachers and workers in Oklahoma and we also have a duty to ensure sound fiscal security for our states future. We can do both, but it will take a team effort and I am confident that these committee members will work together in a way that makes Oklahoma’s future more secure,” Bingman said in the press release concerning the establishment of the committee.

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Oklahoma is not the only state with pension funding issues. Economist Arnold Kling said the states unfunded pension issue was like, “Fifty Bernie Madoffs.” Government, at all levels, over committing and not using money where it is supposed to be used is not a new concept. Take for example Social Security:

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Six years ago, then Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan bluntly told Congress that Social Security cannot afford to pay baby boomers their promised retirement pensions, and the benefits should be reduced. He warned that the nation's debt is already high and the expected tsunami in Social Security payments when the boomers start retiring in 2008 could send interest rates soaring. "I am just basically saying that we are overcommitted at this stage," Greenspan said.

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U.S. Senator Tom Coburn says about Social Security: “As Congress discusses various Social Security reform proposals, it is critical for Oklahomans to understand the most risky option is to do nothing, thereby allowing the system to collapse. The unfortunate reality is that under the current system, Social Security is broke with millions of baby boomers now eligible to receive benefits. In fact, due to the onslaught of early retirements caused by the down economy, Social Security is expected to run deficits in 2010 and 2011, only to return to surpluses for a few short years before permanently running to deficits in 2015. The “trust fund” of Social Security, which many politicians claim will keep Social Security solvent, actually contains no real dollars and simply does not exist.”

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Two important lessons these ‘unfunded’ pension issues should teach us. First, government has no money that taxpayers don’t give them and government does terrible job managing money. Second, no one should bet their future (retirement, medical coverage) exclusively on a government operated program. Government is notorious for overcomiting and under delivering.

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The late actress Mae West was known for her double entendres. Perhaps she was talking about government when she said, “An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.”

RICK GREEN RETURNING TO DUNCAN!

After missing last year because he was a candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Rick Green will return to Duncan on January 7th and 8th. Green narrowly lost the top court race in the Lone Star state in the primary run-off after finishing first in the primary.
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Green, a constitutional attorney and former Texas State Representative is also a speaker for Wallbuilders, an organization that takes their name from the book of Nehemiah in the bible. The founder of Wallbuilders, David Barton, is a frequent guest on the Glenn Beck program. For more information on Wallbuilders, go to http://wallbuilders.com/
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This year’s trip will be Rick’s sixth to Stephens County. Green normally brings his family and in fact his oldest son, Trey, got his presentation start in Duncan several years back. “Two years ago, all of my kids were on stage reciting the pre-amble to the Constitution together for the first time,” Green said. “Duncan and Stephens County hold a special place in the Green family memories.”
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“Our goal is to educate citizens on the faith and conviction of our founding fathers,” Green said. The event is sponsored by the Stephens County Republican Party, but this is not a Party rally or fundraiser. “This is an educational event and not partisan,” Steve Fair, Chairman, said. “We want every concerned citizen to attend, no matter their Party affiliation. I believe every American Christian should see this presentation,” Fair said
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This year’s event will be somewhat different from those in the past because it will focus on the U.S. Constitution. “There has been a lot of discussion, particularly within the Tea Party movement that America as a nation has strayed from the Constitution and the intent of the founding fathers who authored it. I have put together a program entitled, ‘A Citizens Guide to the Constitution’ and that is what we will be presenting this year,” Green said.
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The event on Friday the 7th is free, but a six hour Seminar on Saturday the 8th costs $40. Both events will be at the Stephens County Fairgrounds, which is located at 1618 S. 13th Street in Duncan. “The Saturday event runs from 9am until 3pm and includes a text that costs $20. We will have lunch available on site so attendees don’t have to leave the facility,” Fair said.
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“This is a unique opportunity for concerned citizens to educate themselves on our country’s founding document for a very nominal fee. Rick Green is a high energy, interesting speaker and I hope folks take advantage of this unique opportunity,” Fair concluded.
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Rick will also be speaking in Cleveland County(Norman/Moore area) on Thursday night January 6th- for more information on that event, contact Bobby Cleveland at bobcleveland@coxinet.net.

For information on the event in Stephens County, please contact Steve Fair at 405.990.7449 or by email at okgop@aol.com.

Weekly Opinion Editorial

MORAL AND ECONOMIC ARE RELATED!
by Steve Fair

Governor elect Mary Fallin, and Speaker of the House designate Kris Steele, (R-Shawnee) spoke to about 300 at an Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs Forum last week in Oklahoma City.

“We have a historic opportunity to put Oklahoma on the map,” Fallin told the business leaders. “Getting Oklahoma’s economy back on track, I think that is the most critical issue of the day. I will be focusing on jobs and the economy and creating the very best business atmosphere.”

“A strong, vibrant, healthy economy with plenty of job opportunities actually helps to strengthen our families,” said Steele, R-Shawnee. “We need to take advantage of the national attention we are receiving right now and move the ball forward when it comes to job opportunities for Oklahomans.”

Former GOP State Representative and current State Chamber President Fred Morgan said, “In spite of challenging fiscal conditions, we have made great strides in recent years to create and maintain a pro-growth business climate in Oklahoma, and we cannot let the momentum fade. We are poised to attract jobs and wealth to our state like never before. Our limited regulation, reduced taxes, low cost of living, high quality of life and abundance of natural resources and space has put us on the map, but it is more important than ever that we seek opportunities to grow our economy and create jobs.”

Morgan and some other state business leaders in the state are urging the legislature to focus on getting jobs to the state and de-emphasize social issues like abortion, traditional marriage, the second amendment, and immigration. Morgan says those issues negatively impacts existing Oklahoma business and recruiting business to the state. “Where it negatively impacts business, we will speak up,” said Morgan. “We'll try to educate legislators on how something that while well intended might have some negative consequences to the business climate.”

In an interview published in the Thanksgiving Day edition of The Oklahoman, Steele’s comments made it appear he had brought into Morgan’s strategy of de-emphasising social issues. “The things that I heard time and again were jobs, jobs, jobs,” Steele said. “We want to make sure that Oklahomans ... have adequate and good and healthy, productive job opportunities.” Steele’s comments set off a firestorm with several conservative member of the GOP caucus.

Representative Randy Terrill, (R-Moore), who authored House Bill 1804, Oklahoma's anti-immigration law asked Steele “to clearly, publicly and unequivocally repudiate the comments attributed to him in The Oklahoman and affirm that illegal immigration, Second Amendment rights, and pro-family social legislation will not only be a priority, but will be a central focus of the next Legislature's agenda.”

The truth is this whole brouhaha has been blown out of proportion. Here are my observations:

First, Steele hasn’t done anything wrong- yet. He simply applied the basic principle of public speaking- know your audience- when he addressed the State Chamber. Steele and Fallin both have long records of social conservatism and pro-business views. There is no indication they are planning to abandon those positions.

Second, fostering an attractive business climate in Oklahoma should be at the top of the list for the newly elected Governor and legislative leaders. Oklahoma ranks near in the bottom in virtually every major economical indicator. We have a low per capita income coupled with a high tax burden for business. The GOP campaigned on ‘right sizing’ government and creating a business climate that will help existing businesses and attract new businesses. The best thing state government can do is lower the cost to operate a business in Oklahoma and then get out of the way.

Third, ignoring immigration, the right to bear arms, the threat of Sharia law to our court systems, pro-life issues, and traditional marriage in order to attract business is not the right approach to creating jobs. Practicing situational ethics to gain economically will have dire consequences. Creating jobs is important, but to ignore the Creator of heaven and earth in legislation is to guarantee economic ruin. The aforementioned issues “define” Oklahoma and our ‘lifestyle.’ Taking a stand on those issues is one reason businesses are moving to Oklahoma.

Finally, economics and moral issues are not enemies. Henry Hazlitt, an American economist and Wall Street Journal writer, said “Economics and ethics are, in fact, intimately related. Both are concerned with human action, human conduct, human decision, human choice… There is hardly an ethical problem, in fact, without its economic aspect. Our daily ethical decisions are in the main economic decisions, and nearly all our daily economic decisions have, in turn, an ethical aspect.”

Austrian economist, Hans Sennholz said, “In God’s world, causes and consequences are connected logically. To offend against an economic principle, or to disobey an ethical commandment is to suffer the inexorable consequences of our action… His eternal laws and principles invariably exact a price for all offenses.”

'NO LABELS' is a front for Bloomberg!

In a well written op/ed in USA Today, Jonah Goldberg discloses the real motive of NO LABELS. No Labels is the political group taunted by The Oklahoman as the 'gold standard' of non-partisanship in a recent editorial. The paper called conservatives in the Oklahoma legislature 'jingos,' whose convictions and values embarrassed the state and hurt business recruitment. As I mentioned in my post, 'Steele & Jingos,' No Labels is headed up by a former Texas GOP ad man, Mark McKinnon. According to Goldberg, the groups goal is to provide a platform for Michael Boomberg to run for President. Goldberg's column deserves wide distribution in Oklahoma, particularly since The Oklahoman was so adamant about promoting No Labels and their 'pure' motives. You can read Goldberg's op/ed in its entirety at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-12-07-column07_ST_N.htm

Weekly Opinion/Editorial

VOTE YES ON E-911!

by Steve Fair

E-911 is a telecommunications system that automatically associates a physical address with the calling party’s phone number and routes the call to the most appropriate first responders. For example, if you have a car wreck or become incapacitated and call 911 from your cell phone, the E-911 operator can determine your location’s transmission point and dispatch help. When E-911 works perfectly, dispatchers can find the location of a cell phone with pinpoint accuracy.
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Back in 2005, Stephens County voters rejected E-911 as being too expensive. On Tuesday December 14th, Stephens County voters will get another chance to vote on E-911 again. This time, there are two proposals on the ballot. The first would raise the current 911 fee on landline telephones from the current rate of five (5) percent to as much as fifteen (15) percent. In most cases the fee assessed on landlines would be around $1.50 per month. The second proposal on the ballot would add $.50 per month to every cell phone. The cell phone fee would go to purchasing equipment to help first responders find a cell phone caller’s exact location.

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More and more people are giving up landlines and using a cell phone exclusively, which presents a problem for law enforcement in locating them when they make a 911 call. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, one out of five( about 65 million) households have abandoned their land line phones for cell phones. And those ‘smart cell phones’ are smarter than you think- they can tell law enforcement/emergency responders your location.

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Over two thirds of the cell phones in use today have the capability of providing your exact location to law enforcement. The reason is because in 2007, the FCC mandated cell phones have the capability of providing Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) the location of the phone within 300 meters 95% of the time.

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According to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, "We all know that people are relying on cell phones for more and more of their calls, including calls to 911. The advances in wireless technology allow people to call for help more quickly and from more remote places than ever before. We need to make sure that our location accuracy requirements keep pace with those changes."

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James Barbour, the president of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), a non-profit group dedicated to emergency communications issues praises the FCC’s mandate to cell phone manufacturers. "We live in a world of rapidly changing communications in which consumers increasingly rely on their wireless device," Barbour said. "However, when a caller is unable to describe their location during an emergency, the ability of a 9-1-1 call taker to provide help is often only as good as the location information provided with the call.”

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But not everyone thinks E-911 is a good thing. Some believe it is an invasion of our privacy. James Dempsey from the Center for Democracy and Technology says, "Your cell phone has become an ankle bracelet. Therefore we are urging the standard for government access be increased to a full probable cause standard. Law enforcement agencies have to have suspicion to believe that the person they are targeting is engaged in criminal activity."
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Currently, Dempsey says, to get a court order allowing the surveillance of cell phone use, law enforcement only has to prove that the information sought - not the individual - is relevant to an ongoing investigation. Dempsey believes E-911 has violated our individual right to privacy.

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Stephens County is the largest county in Oklahoma without Enhanced 911 service. It’s time that was corrected. Here are the reasons E-911 should be approved this time around:
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First, E-911 would some of the cheapest insurance you will ever buy. It will cost a mere .50 per cell phone per month. The fee for E-911 service for landline phones will be $1.50 per month/per phone, so the cost is minimal. That’s a small investment for peace of mind for your family’s safety. As Representative Dennis Johnson, (R-Duncan) said, “If I had a car wreck and were in a ditch, I would want law enforcement and first responders to be able to find me.”

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Second, E-911 has been mandated by the Oklahoma State legislature. Every county in the state must have it in place by 2012 or the state will implement it for them. Stephens County doesn’t need state government bureaucrats telling us how to run our business, so county commissioners and county elected officials should have this on the front burner and get it accomplished before the state comes in.

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Third, while I understand the ‘privacy’ argument, there is little or no evidence that law enforcement has misused E-911 to ‘monitor’ citizen activity.

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A great deal has changed since the 2005 vote, including an increasing need for first responders to find and locate people who call 911 by cell phone. Technology advances and changing consumer habits have made E-911 a definite need in the county. I urge you to vote Yes on December 14th for Enhanced-911 service for Stephens County.

WHY IS THE OKLAHOMAN PICKING THIS FIGHT?

Mike McCarville has an excellent analysis op/ed on The Oklahoman's repeated attacks on conservatives. EVERY concerned Oklahoman should read it. Assess it at: http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/

WATTS EDITORIAL

Former Congressman J.C. Watts Jr. has an op/ed on Ripon Forum entitled, "What do we do now?" You can read it at:http://www.riponsociety.org/forum410g.htm

“Hi, I'm Average Voter. Does anyone want to represent me?”

by Steve Fair

The Oklahoman had another op/ed this morning attacking conservatives. This time they took a swipe at newly elected Insurance Commissioner John Doak and State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones for being what they described as 'partisans.' They fail to mention that Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland, Doak's opponent, was an OBAMA delegate to the Democrat National Convention. You can't get more 'partisan' than that.

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Jones' opponent, State Auditor Steve Burrage, maxed out in contributions to John Edwards for President and contributed heavily to Democrats. That's pretty 'partisan.' The op/ed praises some organization called 'No Labels' http://nolabels.org/ that advocates governing from the center. You can read the entire editorial at http://newsok.com/no-labels-movement-an-effort-to-restore-center-in-u.s.-politics/article/3519447

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The head of No Labels is Mark McKinnon, a GOP political ad consultant from Texas who is also a country songwriter. McKinnon is nothing less than a political 'hired gun,' who has little or no convictions. He quit the McCain campaign because he thought the election of OBAMA would be good for the country. Now that's not PARTISAN? McKinnon is just trying to create a business environment for his ad consulting business with Democrats because he knows he has burned a bridge with Republicans.

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The Oklahoman's op/ed writer's ultimate conclusion is the 'average' voter in Oklahoma will not be represented by all these GOP PARTISANS that were elected to statewide office and the legislature on November 2nd.

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What is a Partisan? A Partisan is defined as 'someone who is devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause.' Partisans are people of conviction who are devoted to a cause. When did having strong character and firm convictions become a political liability?

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As I have stated repeatedly on this blog(See WHY FAIR &BIASED to your right), EVERYONE IS BIASED-EVERYONE IS PARTISAN. The person who doesn't recognize that fact is woefully ignorant or intelligently dishonest. Our views, values, and opinions are all filtered through the prism of our life experiences, education, culture, and theological views. The key is to know what is right and more importantly to know the ONE who knows what is right.

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Back to the editorial- just who is this average voter The Oklahoman is talking about? Here are seven(7) characteristics of the AVERAGE Oklahoma voter who voted so PARTISAN on November 2nd and what those voters expect from their newly elected Oklahoma government:

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First, they are decidedly against government intrusion in their lives. They want a government that is small and efficient. They recognize that taxes and regulation on business gets passed down to the consumer and that fosters a hostile environment for business.

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Second, they want government to be transparent. They want an honest government. They are sick of backroom deals, corruption and cover ups in both Parties.

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Third, they want government to provide a safe environment to raise a family. That means funding law enforcement and keeping lawbreakers behind bars.

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Fourth, they want a government that provides infrastructure (roads, bridges) so they can travel safe and so business can transport goods to market.

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Fifth, they want a government that will uphold the tenets of the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions equally for all people. That means taking a stand on the 2nd amendment, illegal immigration and other issues that create an 'environment and culture of integrity.'

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Sixth, they want elected officials to be risk takers and think outside the box. They don't want some 'center of the road/go along to get along' joker whose only concern is reelection. That's why Tom Coburn is so popular in Oklahoma- he's a Partisan and he is a risk taker.

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Seventh, they want a government that listens to everyone, not to just a few select 'big donors,' or elitist whose only goal is to control the agenda of government to benefit their financial interests. They are sick of elected officials who come to their town and talk ONLY to their donor base to the exclusion of the average citizen.

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You will note I did not mention the average voter wants the government to help them get a job. Most of them recognize the government does a terrible job 'recruiting' industry. If government will just get out of the way and let the free market system work, business will do just fine in our state.

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On another note, what the AVERAGE OKLAHOMA NEWSPAPER READER should expect from their paper is honest reporting without a 'sour grapes' op/ed everyday because their hand picked candidates didn't win an election.