The Anti-Cigarette Tax Man Former Senator Tommy Robertson Selected By Barbour?!?

From The Communities for a Clean Bill of Health blog:

Governor Barbour released the names of those appointed to his Tax Study Commission yesterday- Jan 23. The list included the infamous former state Senator Tommy Robertson. Robertson, as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, blocked legislation that would have increased the cigarette tax up to a $1.00 while cutting the grocery tax by half. In August, Robertson was soundly defeated in the Republican primary largely due to his opposition of that popular piece of legislation.

The Complete List Of Tax Study Commission Members



Michael Watson who defeated him was asked about the legislation in the Mississippi Press:

Q. Sen. Robertson is responsible for the death of the grocery tax/tobacco tax swap legislation that would have lowered the tax on unprepared food items from 7 percent to 3 percent, and increased the tax on tobacco products to as high as $1 per product. Robertson refused to introduce the Senate bill in this year's session and the issue died in committee. Do you think the Senate should have been allowed to vote on the tax swap proposal and do you plan to support similar legislation in 2008?

A. The Senate definitely should have had a chance to vote on the proposal. A senator is there to represent the people who put him in office and that cannot happen if he or she isn't given the chance to vote on the issues. I think the tax swap is a great idea, but I think the numbers still need a little work. Replacing an increasing revenue with a declining revenue just doesn't make good economical sense. There are numbers that will make the swap work. It's our job to find them.

Just say "No"

Tomorrow's the first day of the legislative session, and the vote for Speaker of the House. Here's just one more reason not to vote for Jeff Smith.

Not a big fan of working families

Some folks in Mississippi did not think it was a big deal to vote for the the living wage bill last year since Congress had plans to raise the federal minimum wage. Well it was a big deal- it showed how little some of our legislators, including Jeff Smith, supported Mississippi families.

Lots of folks in Mississippi do not think we need a Department of Labor, and Jeff Smith is one of them. We do need a Department of Labor- we are the only state in the union without a government entity to protect Mississippi workers!

But one thing that would really help working families in Mississippi would be the reduction of the sales tax on groceries. For the past two years, Jeff Smith has voted against every bill to reduce the grocery tax.

Speaker McCoy will stand up for working families! Jeff Smith will stand up with Haley Barbour and big business.

Jamie Franks on Phil Bryant's Real Record

I'll add documentation if/when I get it.

Tied for 3rd; Addicted To Low Cost Cigarettes

Clarion Ledger:

As Mississippi politicians argue over whether to increase the cigarette tax, a new federal report shows the state is tied for the third-highest rate of adults who smoked in 2006.

A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that in Mississippi and Oklahoma, 25.1 percent of adults ages 18-35 said they were smokers.

The figures, based on a random sample of 6,000 people, were published in Friday's edition of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

This is really sad when you think about how we had what was considered one of the best anti-smoking programs in the nation; a program that was killed by Haley Barbour.

In 2006, Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed two bills that would've increased the cigarette tax and decreased the grocery tax. Mississippi has the nation's highest state sales tax on groceries, 7 percent.

Eaves:

"Cigarettes are cheap, and our children are getting hooked on them because the taxes are too low," Eaves said in Biloxi.

The CDC report showed smoking among adults was highest in Kentucky, 28.6 percent, and lowest in Utah, 9.8 percent. Utah had the highest rate of adults who have quit smoking, at 47.9 percent.

"Effective, comprehensive tobacco-use prevention and control programs should be continued and expanded to further reduce smoking initiation by young persons and to encourage cessation as early in life as possible," the CDC report said.

So we need something like say The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi?

We need a governor who understands the needs of Mississippians and who won't stand in the way of progress.

Republicans Fire; Franks Fires Back

Last Week Republicans attacked Jamie Franks in a statewide ad buy. Jamie Franks is clearly a fighter and I didn't expect it to take him long to respond.

Killer Haley Barbour Diary on Kos

Check It Out and if you have a DailyKos account Recommend It!

An excerpt:

Our Democratic candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor are running on trying to cut the regressive grocery tax, the highest in the country. Barbour, a former top tobacco lobbyist, still with financial ties to his former lobbying firm, has repeatedly killed the tax swap legislation that would cut the food tax and offset the revenue loss with a raise of the third lowest tobacco tax in the country. Even the current incumbent Lt. Governor, Republican Amy Tuck has championed the tax swap.

I wonder why?

Barbour had been among the tobacco industry's top lobbyists prior to returning to Mississippi. Between 1998 and 2002, such tobacco companies as Phillip Morris, RJR Nabisco, Brown and Williamson, and U.S. Tobacco paid his firm $3.8 million. The firm has collected more than $2 million in tobacco revenue since Barbour became governor.

Barbour’s grip on power here has even members of his own party scared of him:

To this day, few in the GOP have dared cross Barbour on the matter. Recently, lobbyists from the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program asked several Republicans to pledge to raise the tobacco tax. They encountered near-universal resistance. "A lot of Republicans are saying, Do you know what you're doing? If I sign this thing, then Haley will come and dump more money into my opponent's campaign,'" says Roy Mitchell, the program's director.

And he rewarded his friends with Katrina money for towing the line on the food/tobacco tax swap legislation:

This year, legislators tried again, introducing two more bills that would have halved the state's grocery tax and raised the cigarette tax by $1. Barbour didn't even lift his veto pen this time around--the bills died at the hands of Senate finance committee chairman Tommy Robertson. Oddly, Robertson had been a vocal advocate of previous tax-swap bills. Earlier this year, however, he and two other Republican legislators--who, in their day jobs, are lawyers--had received a $1.2 million contract from the Mississippi Development Authority, which is overseen by the governor, to help homeowners finalize their Katrina grants. The contract raised more than a few eyebrows. (In an interview, Robertson said the contract--which was cleared by the state ethics commission on a party-line vote--had "absolutely nothing" to do with his stance on the tax swap.)

Sure Tommy.

Again go Check It Out and if you have a DailyKos account Recommend It!

John Eaves Responds to the Mississippi Economic Policy Councils Report

John Eaves:

“Mississippi has the highest grocery tax in the nation and our hardworking, God-fearing families deserve a tax cut,” said Eaves. “It is embarrassing and wrong to charge working families the highest tax rate in the country on basic food items, while I see tobacco companies preying upon our children. Barbour vetoed a cut in the grocery tax paid for by increasing our tobacco tax to help the tobacco companies who have paid him millions of dollars as a lobbyist. As governor, I’ll make it one of my top priorities to cut our grocery tax right now and pay for it by increasing the tobacco tax.”

Jamie Franks Responds to the Mississippi Economic Policy Council

Jamie Franks issued a response to the Mississippi Economic Policy Council study saying:

"Their report provides further proof that that our current state tax system penalizes Mississippi's working families. It's appalling that Mississippi, the poorest state in the union is one of only two states that fully tax food without any offsets. Mississippi's working families need tax relief and cutting the regressive food tax is the most direct way to have a positive impact. My opponent sides with Governor Barbour and Big Tobacco and refuses to support the tax swap that will cut the food tax in half, an issue that has overwhelming statewide support."

I agree with Jamie Franks when he says on the stump and in his ad (below) that it is apalling that the poorest state in the union has the highest tax on groceries.

Dowdy - "We'll Cut the Grocery Tax"

The Democratic Response to the Mississippi Economic Policy Council study:

A study released today by the Mississippi Economic Policy Council supports Mississippi Democratic Party candidates’ and leaders’ calls for a lower state sales tax on groceries.

The study says Mississippi’s sales tax of 7 cents on the dollar is especially regressive “because it fully taxes groceries – an expenditure that low-income working families cannot avoid making.” Mississippi is one of two states to fully tax food with no offsets.

“Democratic Party leaders and our nominees have been saying this for months: Reduce the sales tax on groceries and give everybody a tax break,” said Wayne Dowdy, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.

“Something isn’t right when the nation’s poorest state charges a 7 percent sales tax on groceries. Mississippi residents have wanted something done about this for a long time. That’s why voters need to elect Democrats in November – we’ll cut the grocery tax.”

In 2006, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed two bills during the legislative session that would have eliminated or reduced the sales tax on groceries. Earlier this year, in the 2007 session, Barbour had a top GOP ally in the state Senate kill a similar proposal.

Barbour’s ally, state Sen. Tommy Robertson, lost his re-election bid last month.

Dowdy said electing Democrats to state and legislative office will change things in January. He said voters shouldn’t believe Barbour when he says he wants to study the state tax structure before proposing any possible cuts.

“Gov. Barbour is putting up a smoke screen,” Dowdy said. “He had a chance to give Mississippians immediate tax relief in 2006 and again this year, but he chose not to. It’s more than obvious where Gov. Barbour stands on reducing Mississippi’s grocery tax.

“Let’s go to the polls in November,” Dowdy said. “Let’s support Democratic nominees for state, district, legislative and county posts. And let’s open the 2008 legislative session in January by cutting the sales tax and helping everyone in Mississippi.”

Another Study Shows That Our Tax Structure Penalizes The Poor

Take a look at the nonpartisan study yourself.

John Eaves' New Ad "Ideas"

"I've got so many ideas to move Mississippi forward I've got to talk fast"

- Raise Teacher Pay
- Cut Grocery Tax
- Health Insurance for Children
- (Push Companies to) Pay Claims
- Cut (Reconstruction) Red Tape
- Get Tough With Employers (Who Hire Illegals)
- Create Jobs (By Investing In Mississippi Companies)

Barbour's New Ad "From Day One" (Haley Was Screwing Us)

"from day one Haley Barbour has worked for all of us"

That is unless you have kids who might start smoking, need healthcare, care about ethics, or even eat.

"doubled workforce training"

I wonder how much of that is specific to Katrina and then how many of those programs Barbour actually had much of a hand in.

"i want people to look at my record" (over a billion wasted dollars, thousands in FEMA trailers, communities struggling, vetoed ethics and anti-tobacco legislation, family members profiting, etc.)

Well good, I look forward to covering it in the coming months. It sure ain't sunshine and lollipops.

John Goodman offers a CPA's Perspective on the Tax Swap

John Goodman, who writes at PearlMississippiCPA, offers up his perspective on the tax swap and why it makes sense to cut taxes on food first before looking at the income tax as Bryant supposedly wants to do. In his analysis he draws from solid numbers and facts which make it an interesting and informative read.

First he tackles the math of the sales tax cut:

The median household income in Mississippi is $31330 and for a single person $15853 (This is based on a WASHINGTON POST article covering the Mississippi elections for 2006.). The average family of four spends $150 a week on groceries. A single person spends approximately $40 a week on groceries. Note this does not include head of households, which could range to two individuals in the family to four or five.

By cutting the sales tax in half on groceries, the average household will save $273 a year. If it is eliminated, the savings goes to $546 a year. A single person will save $72.80 and $145.60 respectively.

Then he covers how a similar cut in the income tax would have to be engineered to reap the same benefit:

Since Bryant hasn't spelled out his income tax proposals, let us assume we raise the standard deduction from $2300 to $3500 for singles, $4600 to $7000 for marrieds and the brackets remain the same. Let us also assume the married couple has two children and the parents work. Let us also assume the single and the married couple take only the standard deduction. With the new increase in deductions, the single person will save $48 a year and the average married household will save $89.30 a year. For the break even point to occur on income tax savings to match half the tax cut on groceries, the single standard deduction would have to go from $2300 to $4120. To match the entire tax cut on groceries, the single standard deduction would have to go from $2300 to $6302. For the break even point to occur on income tax savings to match half the tax cut on groceries, the married standard deduction would have to go from $4600 to $13123. Of course, the entire tax cut on groceries would be greater than eliminating their entire tax liability.

Goodman then details another reason why the grocery tax cut is needed:

Also, the grocery tax cut would help mitigate the increase in food prices. Maybe it doesn't hurt the rich, but the poor and the working class are feeling it. Milk has climbed to four dollars a gallon! Bread and cereal have shot up. Beef prices have gone up (Thanks to that idiotic ethanol boondoggle, which has greatly increased the price of corn.). This tax cut would give a little relief to the hard-working people of Mississippi.

The tax swap is needed to bring needed dollars to the pockets of all Mississippians and to help stop a new generation of people from getting addicted to the poison that is cigarettes. The plan is fair, sound, and popular and Barbour Republicans like Phil Bryant only oppose it because they didn't think of it first. This partisan skullduggery is unnecessary and as we wait more youth are developing what will be for many a lifelong addiction to cigarettes and many families are having trouble finding the money to feed their families. Jamie Franks will act to help all of Mississippi. Can the same be said for Phil Bryant?

Franks: Cut Taxes For Everyone VS. Bryant: Look Quickly, Brown People!

Franks may be gaining traction. Even Barbour lovers like Sid Salter recognize that Jamie Franks is the real deal and has a clear chance at becoming our next Lt. Governor.

Recently Franks invited reporters and the public to join him at the grocery store to demonstrate how under his plan the average family would save $273 dollars. He then broke down how that money could go to feeding a family which you can find HERE.

Bryant quickly responded by saying "the burden would be shifted to the wage-earners and property owners." That doesn't make a lick of sense since "the burden" is shifted to cigarettes which people don't need to live.

After coming up nearly empty when asked to differentiate between himself and Franks, Bryant plans to go on the offensive next week with a press conference on illegal immigration. Forced to act on a campaign quickly losing momentum Bryant will chose the politics of fear over the politics of progress and possibility.

I'd like to know how a candidate for Lt. Governor can make any real progress on the national issue of immigration when the leaders of both parties tried to find a solution and were unable. Does Phil have any new ideas or is he just recycling the same old, same old for votes?

Franks: Cut Taxes For Everyone VS. Bryant: Hell No

Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor Jamie Franks recently took a reporter to a grocery store to demonstrate how much folks would save if we cut the grocery tax. Here is some of the resulting article and my comment:

"A major cornerstone of my campaign is helping working people have tax relief," Franks said. "We need to cut Mississippi's sales tax on groceries, the highest in the nation."

An average family spends about $150 a week on groceries and pays $546 a year in grocery taxes, he said. His proposal to cut the tax in half would save abut $273 for a family during a year.

Yep. That's true. What family couldn't use a couple hundred dollars to make ends meet? I know of a lot of students who could use that money.

When municipal officials voiced concerns they could lose sales taxes, "we doubled the diversion in tax money going back to cities," he said. That plan had support from Democrats and Republicans.

This was the only valid complaint I saw and it was addressed before the final bill; a bill that Barbour Republicans blocked.

"I'm all about cutting taxes but believe that the numbers will not support the revenue shift," Bryant said after Franks' Tupelo event Wednesday. "The burden would be shifted to the wage-earners and property owners."

Bryant's grasp of the facts here is questionable. How swapping the tax from bread and milk to cigarettes moves "the burden ... to the wage-earners and property owners" is beyond me. Perhaps one of the many Phil Bryant apologists would like to explain that one.

The truth is that Barbour Republicans like Bryant are incapable of being independent and will bend to his will without regard to the facts. Any other explanation of his response is welcome below in the comments.

The Daily Journal Article

Where in the World Are Barbour's Coattails?

Due to polling I'd been told about several weeks ago, I knew that Robertson was in trouble, but then Barbour made his choice clear. He recorded a radio ad endorsing Robertson and I doubt many of the folks who voted for Michael Watson didn't know who the Governor favored.

Going against the will of their "popular" incumbent Governor, Jackson County Republicans overwelmingly chose newcomer Michael Watson over one of Barbour's closest allies.

Ignore what the prognasticators are telling you. I think it is clear that Mississippi voters don't share the love for Barbour that Sid Salter and many editorial boards do. The people see the truth and they want change.

The Democratic Party sent out this release:

When a powerful state Senate ally of Republican Gov. Haley Barbour lost a bid for re-election, it became more clear than ever that the governor’s political coattails aren’t as long as he thought.

Barbour endorsed state Sen. Tommy Robertson of Moss Point – the Senate Finance Committee chairman who single handedly killed a proposal in the Legislature this year to cut the state sales tax on groceries. Barbour even recorded a radio ad for Robertson.

“But Haley’s staunch support did nothing,” said Wayne Dowdy, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party. “Voters chose someone completely different. Haley couldn’t even help an incumbent state senator win another term.”

On Tuesday, Democrats made their choice for governor overwhelmingly clear by nominating John Eaves for the job.

Unofficial and incomplete returns show that Eaves received 286,557 votes, or 70 percent, in the Democratic Party primary. Eaves, in fact, received 115,635 more votes than the 170,922 Barbour received in winning the GOP nomination.

Eaves’ strong performance in the Tuesday primary shows that momentum has shifted to him and the Mississippi Democratic Party. It also sets up a distinct contrast of styles between Eaves and Barbour.

Over the next three months, voters will learn more about Eaves’ support for such issues as better health care and consistent education funding every year.

“It’s clear Haley’s coattails are worn, ragged and frayed,” Dowdy said. “It’s a new day in Mississippi. And with John Eaves, we have a candidate for governor who will offer this state the kind of dynamic leadership we have been sorely lacking.”

Remember it was Robertson who blocked the grocery tax cut so that the Governor wouldn't have to go through with his veto threat. That veto would have shown the public where the Governor stood; a place clearly out of the mainstream. If "Holy Haley" Barbour can't save a close and important ally, what does that say for where he stands with the voters?

Tommy Robertson: "Tax It"

You may have seen the stories about this ad, but Cotton Mouth is the first to bring it to you online. :)

Tommy Robertson will likely be defeated in the primary. He has an able opponent in the primary in Michael Watson who is a slightly less corporate loving Republican. Robertson already had high negatives due to a history with drunk driving and his obvious opposing the will of the people on this issue should be enough to push Watson over the top.

Republicans Ross and Bryant on Taxes

Charlie Ross and Phil Bryant both recently spoke to the Daily Journal. Here's what they had to say on taxes:

"I have always favored decreasing the grocery tax," Ross said. "I have introduced it (legislation to reduce the tax) several times. I think it is a good measure."

Oh really, is that why you voted against such measures these last two years when they actually had a chance at passing. Did you you change your mind because you didn't want to anger Big Daddy Barbour?

Byrant said he was not keen on reducing the grocery tax.

"Absolutely - I would rather see a cut in the income tax," Bryant said. "...Everybody will pay the grocery tax. Not everybody will pay the income tax."

Bryant predicted that reducing the grocery tax would lead to a "tax transfer" where other taxes would be hiked to make up for the tax cut. He did not say why a reduction in the income tax would not lead to a similar tax transfer.

I fail to see the logic here. He wants to cut our income tax which is already low instead of opting to cut the highest sales tax in the country. That defies common sense. The Journal writer makes a good point when he points out the inconsistency in Bryant's postion.

While the Republicans tie themselves up in knots trying to defend their move to block a direct cut in the price of basic necessities, Democrats like Jamie Franks continue to lead the efforts to make our tax structure more fair.

Ross Wants Stubborn Leadership; Franks Wants A Diverse Mississippi

In the Mississippi Press Association debate (like it should be and not a Barbour demanded forum) the candidates differed greatly on how they would choose committee chairman, arguably the most important thing a Lt. Governor will do in their term.

Republican Charlie Ross promised to appoint chairmen who share his views. He also made a point of saying that his views shouldn't be influenced by others' opinions when making the decisions over committee chairmen. He's either showcasing his ability to be as stubborn as a goat in not taking into consideration others' opinions or he's not being completely truthful. I hope it's the later because we don't need another in office as stubborn as our president.

Democrat Jamie Franks promised diverse leadership that represented Mississippi. He promised that both black and white senators would be represented amoung the chairs. In a great show of bi-partisanship and his desire to make government work he also indicated that if elected Republicans would not be shut out of those seats. Franks was most specific when he stated that Sen. Tommy Robertson would NOT be returning as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Roberson has been very much a lapdog of Haley Barbour and after early support for the tax swap was instrumental in killing it.

Republican Phil Bryant declared his intention to include many groups, specifically including teachers (who by his own admission have been ignored by many Republicans), in the decision making process. This is just a cop-out. He could have indicated the kind of people he would support, but instead he indicated that he'd wait till after the election to decide.

Source Material included this Hattiesburg American Article.