Read more about the article TPA Investigates: Missile Program Needs More Scrutiny and Less Money

TPA Investigates: Missile Program Needs More Scrutiny and Less Money

The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) has been a hot topic of conversation at the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. MEADS, which was originally conceived as the replacement to the Patriot missile system, is being jointly built by the United States, Italy, and Germany with the Americans shouldering more than 50 percent of the cost. Even though the Army doesn’t want the project, there was an additional $800 million allocated for the project through 2013. Taxpayer groups have expressed their opposition to funding the program over the past years. On October 3, 2011, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) held a briefing where MEADS was discussed as a primary program to be cut as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the Super Committee) looks for cuts. Now, it appears that there will be “test” of MEADS on November 17, a day before the federal government runs out of money and less than a week before the Super Committee presents its deficit reduction plan. TPA is concerned that this test (which is really more of a demonstration than a test) is nothing more than a dog and pony show to boost the funding of the program and keep it off the chopping block.

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Read more about the article Senate Set to Vote on Killing Net Neutrality

Senate Set to Vote on Killing Net Neutrality

UPDATE: Today (November 10, 2011) the Senate voted along party lines (46-52) to allow the FCC to proceed with net neutrality regulations which will kill jobs and innovation. With all of the issues currently on the table regarding the economy- jobs, taxes, the debate on spending cuts- the last thing our country needs is for the federal government to be distracted. It is ridiculous that Congress and the Senate have to spend time dealing with matters that aren’t really problems. But that is what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is forcing our officials to do. The FCC’s rules on net neutrality are due to take effect on November 20, despite opposition from both sides of the aisle and dissent from throughout the administration. Having already been rebuked by the House, the Senate has a little less than two weeks to overturn the regulations. Policymakers should realize that, right now, time is of the essence. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is trying to stop net neutrality in its tracks with legislation that would prevent the FCC from implementing the new rules. With a vote expected on Thursday November 10, 2011, on “S. J. RES. 6: Disapproving the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to regulating the Internet and broadband industry practices,” the Taxpayers Protection Alliance sent a TPAPB to all Senate offices urging the Senate to vote for Sen. Hutchison’s legislation. The House has already passed the bill overturning the FCC’s net neutrality rules. The need for this vote to come soon is critical, as the regulations which the FCC is trying to institute are due to come into effect on November 20th. TPA urges all taxpayers to contact their Senators and urge them to vote for "S.J RES. 6: Disapproving the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to regulating the Internet and broadband industry practices." (click here to find your Senator).

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Read more about the article Effort to Cut Congressional Pay Gains Momentum

Effort to Cut Congressional Pay Gains Momentum

In July, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance and Our Generation released a report titled “Are Taxpayers Getting Their Money’s Worth? An Analysis of Congressional Compensation.” The report detailed the fact that members of Congress make $174,000 per year or $285,000 when benefits are included. Considering that the country is on the verge of bankruptcy with a $14.9 trillion debt and Congress continues to bicker instead of passing spending bills, taxpayers deserve more from their elected officials. Luckily, a bi-partisan group of members of Congress who think that a pay cut is in order and are encouraging other members to support their efforts. Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) Mike Coffman (R-Col.), Jason Altmire (D-Penn.), and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter urging members of Congress to sign onto a letter that encourages the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the Super Committee) “to reduce the deficit include savings from reductions in Member compensation.” TPA urges you to contact your member of Congress and tell them to support this effort to cut congressional compensation. You can find out who your member of Congress is and their phone number here.

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Read more about the article Cutting Corporate Taxes Will Spur Economic Growth

Cutting Corporate Taxes Will Spur Economic Growth

America was built on the ability to out-compete and out-innovate the rest of the world. Both of these advantages are under threat with excessive taxation and tax compliance that fills volumes of books and billions of hours of tax preparation. As a result, job creation has suffered and any economic recovery is threatened. The corporate tax rate of 35 percent (the second highest in the world) is an example of an outdated tax system and a burden this country can no longer bear. This rate is higher than every one of America’s major European trading partners and is higher than China or Canada. In fact, since 1992, the average OECD combined statutory rate has been lower than America’s and it has continued to fall. Today, it is nearly 10 percent lower (25.1 percent) than America’s 35 percent. Add in the state and local taxes that U.S.-based companies pay and the gap widens even further.

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Read more about the article The Wireless Tax Fairness Act – Taxpayers and Consumers Win!

The Wireless Tax Fairness Act – Taxpayers and Consumers Win!

It’s not very frequently that the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) reports on a victory, but this evening (November 1) was a banner moment for everyone that owns a cell phone. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1002, the Wireless Tax Fairness Act. This bi-partisan bill, with 236 co-sponsors, freezes all new state and local taxes and fees on wireless for 5 years. The official scoring entity of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), scored it as no additional cost to any level of government. A true win! Mobile devices are becoming a popular way to purchase books, music, or just download any content via the Internet. The Wireless Tax Fairness Act stops states and local governments from imposing multiple or discriminatory taxes on these items.

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Read more about the article HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Taxpayer-Funded Halloween Handouts

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Taxpayer-Funded Halloween Handouts

Halloween is a fun occasion for kids to dress up and go door-to-door looking for handouts of candy and other goodies. What taxpayers don’t realize is that all levels of government celebrate Trick or Treat all year long by handing out tax dollars to unnecessary programs and projects. The scary part is that taxpayers almost always end up tricked. As the Taxpayers Protection Alliance wraps up a week-long celebration of Halloween (read previous blog postings here, here, and here), today’s offering of Trick or Treats features five frightening examples of Halloween-themed tricks on taxpayers, featuring a jack-o’-lantern carve out, subsidies for scary movies, a high-priced Halloween party, a punkin’ chuckin’ pork project and a government-subsidized corn maze. WARNING!! We repeat, we advise strong parental guidance because some material may not be suitable for children since they are the ones that will ultimately be paying for these tricks.

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Read more about the article Trick or Treat! Healthcare and the Food and Drug Administration

Trick or Treat! Healthcare and the Food and Drug Administration

This Trick or Treat highlights Healthcare and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Without a doubt, the biggest trick played on taxpayers was the passage of Obamacare. As part of Obamacare, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a panel of 15 “experts” to slow the growth of Medicare, was passed. IPAB will be a board of 15 unelected members who, according to the American Medical Association, would “extend Medicare solvency and reduce spending growth through the use of a spending target system and fast-track legislative approval process.” In reality, IPAB will be nothing more than a way to ration health care for seniors. Even though the FDA is “responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation,’ the FDA is quickly becoming the silent killer of the economy and the free market. WARNING!! We repeat, we advise strong parental guidance because some material may not be suitable for children since they are the ones that will ultimately be paying for these tricks.

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Read more about the article Trick or Treat! Defense Spending

Trick or Treat! Defense Spending

As the second installment of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance's Trick or Treat extravaganza, this one highlights defense spending but in essence is brought to you by the Department of Defense and the Super Committee. As part of the August 2, 2011 deal to raise the debt ceiling, the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the “Super Committee”) was created to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction. If the Super Committee doesn’t come up with recommendations for deficit reduction there will be across-the-board spending cuts and that won’t bode well for the Pentagon. Any cuts in Defense spending must be done wisely to ensure the safety and protection of our troops. Today’s Tricks or Treats should be a guide for the Super Committee as they finalize their plans to find spending cuts. WARNING!! As always, we advise strong parental guidance because some material may not be suitable for children since they are the ones that will ultimately be paying for these tricks.

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Read more about the article Trick or Treat! Telecommunications Policy

Trick or Treat! Telecommunications Policy

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance is celebrating Halloween all week long as we present the Tricks or Treats of the federal government over the last year. Taxpayers should be frightened as Washington, D.C. continues to waste money and pass onerous regulations that will prolong the economic downturn. The first creepy installment are the Tricks or Treats of telecommunications policy. Net neutrality and retransmission continue to be the tricks and there is some treat (that may easily turn into a trick) with the Universal Service Fund. Be sure to check back on Wednesday and Friday for two more sets of Tricks or Treats. WARNING!! We advise strong parental guidance because some material may not be suitable for children since they are the ones that will ultimately be paying for these tricks.

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Read more about the article Taxpayers Want Honesty in Budgeting

Taxpayers Want Honesty in Budgeting

With a threatened government shutdown in April averted with a deal to cut spending and an agreement to cut spending as a requirement to raise the debt ceiling in August, budget hawks thought that there would be a decrease in government spending. A recent article in Investor’s Business Daily threw cold water on that notion when it reported on October 17 that “In fact, in the first nine months of this year, federal spending was $120 billion higher than in the same period in 2010, the data show. That's an increase of almost 5%. And deficits during this time were $23.5 billion higher.” Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute warned of fake spending cuts in the deal to raise the debt ceiling in an August 1, 2011 blog posting, “The ‘cuts’ in the deal are only cuts from the CBO ‘baseline,’ which is a Washington construct of ever-rising spending. And even these ‘cuts’ from the baseline include $156 billion of interest savings, which are imaginary because the underlying cuts are imaginary. No program or agency terminations are identified in the deal. None of the vast armada of federal subsidies are targeted for elimination.” This makes taxpayers even more frustrated as politicians try to take credit for non-existent victories and continue to use one budget gimmick after another to try and confuse taxpayers and increase spending. Above and beyond real spending cuts, taxpayers ultimately want honesty in budgeting (and all government). It’s easy to find a member of Congress who supports this but the tough task is finding somebody who will put legislation where their mouth is. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has taken the first step in taking real action in trying to bring honesty in budgeting with his aptly named “Honest Budget Act.” This legislation will get rid of budget tricks and lay the foundation for real budget reform to take hold.

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