Flap’s Links and Comments for April 8th on 16:42
These are my links for April 8th from 16:42 to 16:48:
- San Jose Democrats Dress Up Corporate Tax Dodges – But It is Crony Capitalism – San Jose's John Vasconcellos presided over the Assembly's budget committee for many years in the 1970s and 1980s and, liberal Democrat that he was, frequently railed about a lack of money for what he considered to be vital public services.
Peculiarly, however, Vasconcellos also carried into law one of the most outrageously unfair and illogical corporate tax breaks ever enacted in California. It exempts custom computer software programs from sales taxes, but leaves in place taxes on consumers' off-the-shelf software.
The exemption costs state and local treasuries an estimated $120 million a year.
Perhaps there's a chemical in San Jose's water that compels liberal Democratic politicians to carry water for corporate interests because one of Vasconcellos' successors is doing the same kind of favor for airlines.
Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, is carrying Assembly Bill 81, which would protect airlines from paying higher sales taxes on their fuel purchases in California when prices spike upward. It would levy taxes on the average of spot fuel prices for the preceding five years, rather than on the current price.
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Crony capitalism by California Democrats in the Legislature at their worst.
- Maryland House OK’s Illegal Immigrant In-State College Tuition – As many southern states pass news laws to crack down on illegal immigrants, the Maryland General Assembly is moving to allow them to pay in-state college tuition, if they meet certain conditions.
The Maryland House voted 74-66 on Friday for the measure. The Senate already has approved similar legislation.
Illegal immigrants would have to complete two years at a community college and show that their parents paid state income taxes for the three years before they enrolled to qualify for in-state tuition.
Democrats say it creates opportunity for people who have lived in Maryland for years, but Republicans contend it rewards illegal behavior at taxpayers' expense
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Maryland is a deep blue state and they are rewarding their Latino constituency despite the fact that it is unfair to native born taxpayers.
10 Comments
Anonymous
Could you kindly explain how the vote is unfair to native-born taxpayers? People regardless of legal status pay taxes and then their children get in-state tuition. To me is sounds like “equal justice under law”. Remember that?
Gregory Flap Cole
How about this: I am an American citizen and have paid taxes all of my life as had my parents and the rest of my family for over one hundred years. I have a college aged child who is also an American citizen and who has paid taxes all of their life.
The child is accepted to the University of Maryland and now gets to pay non-resident tuition because they are residents of California. The tuition is more than the child of an illegal immigrant who has not paid taxes all of their life here and should not be in this country anyway.
Equal justice?
Hardly.
Anonymous
Thank God that unlike you, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were unselfish real Americans. (Lincoln: “Free the slaves? Why bother, I’m doing well”) Your analogy is silly. I’ve been paying Maryland taxes for 30 years and I have NEVER had a child go to a public college in the state. I am not complaining, I contribute so other kids can go to college and improve the society for all of us.
And Mr. “My family had been here over 100 years” let me ask you: Which native American tribe gave them a Green Card?
Gregory Flap Cole
So, I am selfish because I respect the rule of law.
These folks are in the country ILLEGALLY.
My family immigrated legally from Europe. Legally = get it. They applied and earned their citizenship.
And, by the way, I have been paying taxes in California for over 40 years and None of my children went to public California universities.
So, what?
Maryland should not be subsidizing and encouraging illegal behavior.
Anonymous
The so-called “illegal” argument is unconvincing. Society and government determine what is illegal by the application of laws, and the US government and tens of thousands of businesses have encouraged unauthorized immigration because large segments of the society, in fact most of us, benefitted from it. You benefit from it, the fruit you had for breakfast was probably “illegal” but I bet you enjoyed it just the same.
I don’t have a problem with stopping all immigration, but for those who have been here for years, they earned the right to citizenship through their hard work. And their children deserve the rights of all other children in the country, that’s what “equal justice under law” is all about. You want to halt all FUTURE immigration, no problem. But to use the old “illegal” argument against people who for years have built our road and worked in our stores is just hypocrisy and un-American.
And this kid from the Midwest won’t stand for it.
Gregory Flap Cole
And, I say B.S.
Either you enforce the laws or you don’t. The immigration laws apply to all and that is equal justice.
Hypocrisy and unAmerican? What have you been smoking?
If people are here illegally, they should be deported and many are every day.
No subsidizes for them or their children. Period.
Anonymous
B.S. is not much of an argument. The point I made in the above post is that the the laws don’t and haven’t applied to all…it doesn’t and hasn’t applied to the employers, which is where the hypocrisy comes in.
Do you feel like responding to that or you just want to ignore it because it undermines your argument?
Plus, your ignorance is showing….the immigrants are subsidizing you, not the other way around. That’s where the unAmericanism comes in.
Gregory Flap Cole
Your arguments are BS because they are strawmen and I do not accept your premises.
By the way, employers are cited, fined and raided every day for immigration violations. Illegal immigrants are deported every day as per the law.
Answer me why you think that entitles the ones that are here and not caught deserve more of a government subsiidy, whereas American citizens or permanent residents do not?
Anonymous
George, you’ve got to be kidding. There are probably 8 or so MILLION undocumented workers in the US, and you want me to take the handful of employers being given slaps on the hand for enforcement?
In 2004 the US only fined 3…not 3 million, not 300,000, just 3 businesses for hiring undocumented workers. I know what they means, and you do to…it supports my claim that these immigrants are here because the government, businesses, and the society at large benefit from their hard work and profits.
Reread my previous posting before responding, because these statistics point to the real stawman in this argument.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/18/AR2006061800613.html
When you finish understanding why there is a lack of enforcement, I can explain why it is silly to talk about a government subsidy, but it is clear that we will have to take this one step at a time.
Gregory Flap Cole
First, you have my name wrong. I am not George.
Second, thanks for making my point about enforcing the law. The federal government has not and states have chosen instead to pass illegal immigration magnet type laws – like the one in Maryland. What better incentive than to come here illegally if your kids (who are not born here and are also here illegally) get a free K-12 education and a subsidized Community College or University education with a subsidized in state tuition.
You still have not answered my question: “Answer me why you think that entitles the ones that are here and not caught deserve more of a government subsidy, whereas American citizens or permanent residents do not?”
By the way, your linked piece is about 5 years old and not really current. Here is a more current piece that also bemoans poor workplace enforcement of the law and the message it sends to illegal immigrants.
Link: http://www.cis.org/node/2548
Sort of like the message that Maryland is sending.