TPA Celebrates Festivus!

It’s the holiday season and while folks will be celebrating different holidays nationwide there is one holiday that unites all of us: FESTIVUS! Many are familiar with the Seinfeld-inspired holiday that took aim at conventional traditions of gift giving and was basically an alternative to the days of joy in December with the focus being much more critical of those you’re closest with in life. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) wants to mark Festivus with a holiday message for the President and Congress, so please enjoy!

Airing of Grievances 

The first tradition of Festivus is what is known as “the airing of grievances” and this is marked by expressing all the ways that you (taxpayers) have been disappointed over the past year (this is only a partial list since our grievances are too many to put in one blog). TPA would like to submit the following for our list of grievances to the President and Congress:

Earmarks

No matter how many times the President and Congress decry wasteful spending practices, it looks as if they just keep letting billions of dollars in earmarks make way into spending and authorization bills. The Cromnibus spending bill contained $13 billion in defense earmarks alone.  The legislation passed Congress and was signed by the President in one week. Throughout 2014 there were multiple instances where Congress worked around the earmark ban.  This is something that really needs to end.

Transparency

TPA has a lot of problems with the continued lack of transparency from both the executive and legislative branches of government. In Congress, as 1,600 page bills are being fast-tracked it seems nobody can bother to allow the public any time to take a look at just what exactly is being made into law. Federal agencies under the Obama administration have a nasty habit of poor transparency efforts whenever putting together major regulatory measures. Taxpayers deserve better.

United States Postal Service (USPS)

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is last on the list of grievances and they made the list for reasons that should upset everyone at the kitchen table. As the agency continues to lose billions each quarter, they are expanding into services that intrude on the private sector capable of delivering a more efficient result at a cheaper price. Their hasty expansion of grocery delivery fast tracked by the Postal Regulatory Commission gave TPA an opportunity to comment publicly and although the comment was ignored, it has not quelled the need to keep the focus on what is a likely going to be another financial blunder for the USPS.

Feats of Strength

The second tradition during Festivus celebrations is the “feats of strength” where challenging acts are performed by those lucky enough to make it past the “airing of grievances.” This year Congress and the President failed some major challenges before them so take a look as TPA showcases a few:

Ex-Im Bank

The Export-Import Bank was such a simple call for Congress because all they had to do was something they usually do best: nothing. Instead, a last minute reauthorization through mid-2015 in September’s Continuing Resolution (CR) ended up proving just how challenging it is to get rid of this free-market distorting taxpayer subsidized pit of corporate welfare. Congress will have another opportunity to shut it down, but it’s been a feat they can’t accomplish just yet.

Internet Taxes

Next up on the “feats of strength” is something that really is leaving taxpayers with a great deal of uncertainty and potential economic harm: internet taxes. Congress has yet to permanently extend the moratorium on internet access taxes, which will expire on October 1^st, 2015; and they refuse to completely table the costly and ill-titled Marketplace Fairness taxes. Next year TPA will be working to ensure that stopping internet taxes for good is a feat that is successfully challenged.

Government Broadband

Finally, a major challenge that impacts taxpayers in different cities all across the country is government broadband. Terrible examples like Chattanooga EPB and Utah’s Utopia show just how wrong it is for the public sector to intrude on what the private sector does best: innovate and deliver. President Obama’s Federal Communication Commission Chief Tom Wheeler is adamant on growing government broadband and even wants to undercut the power of states and localities to stop expansion, regardless of the studies and reports that continue to show it costs more and delivers less to consumers in areas where broadband is already available through local providers.

There’s the Festivus holiday roundup from TPA.  With Christmas and New Years arriving just days from now, the last thing taxpayers need are more problems courtesy of both parties in Washington, D.C.