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Thursday, April 09, 2009
Let's Make It An Indy Tax Increase Only
Sen. Luke Kenley tells reporters today that he plans to amend his CIB bailout plan to limit the alcohol tax increase to a Marion County-only option, subject to the approval of our City-County Council. The alcohol tax is paid at the distributor level, thereby increasing the product price for retailers. When you add the sales tax and food and beverage tax to those higher prices, the problem for restaurant and bar owners is compounded. Area distributors are already handing out anti-tax signs which local bar owners are happily posting in their establishments. I'm also picking up indications that there is little or no support for these higher taxes among Republican City-County Councilors, some of whom may begin openly rebelling against Mayor Greg Ballard if something doesn't give real soon. Mayor Ballard needs to have a Plan B. Hopefully, it will be a plan that reflects the sentiments of the people who elected him to office unlike this bone-headed plan put forward in the Senate by Sen. Luke Kenley. Remember, Mr. Mayor, the Republican Party is supposed to be against taxing and spending our way out of these sorts of problems. If we wanted this type of solution to the problem, we would have re-elected Bart Peterson.
I don't know if Republican council members are ready to take on a mayor of their own party. They should though because if they don't oppose Ballard's tax increase, then their jobs are on the line.
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans recently voted to the CCC are the same people who sit by and tell their friends that hard working people that have tried to honest business in Indiana and call out the crap that goes on are trouble makers.
ReplyDeleteAsk around the Friday afternoon glee clubs of two olives and gin. Hypocrisy is their mantra. All the way to the State Capital. Them have a plan? Good luck!
ik, Patrick Henry was labeled a trouble maker when he stirred up the rebellion. Ronald Reagan was labeled a troublemaker when he said, "Tear down this wall!" Jesus Christ was branded a troublemaker by the politicians of his day. Sounds like good company to me.
ReplyDeleteThere's at least one vote that you can count on, one councilor who isn't a Democrat won't mind to vote against the Mayor.
ReplyDeleteWhat part of no taxes doesn't Kenley understand? To proceed with business as usual is beyond belief. The taxpayers of Indianapolis have suffered enough at the hands of the CIB, clearly their concern is for the sports owners as they apparently have no compassion for the common man.
ReplyDeleteGary, believe it or not I think the idiots are just now beginning to hear the faint sound of The People screaming BK 4 CIB!
ReplyDeleteThat's the only way you boys are gonna get to see the real books and numbers they've been running on us.
I asked Councilman-At-Large, Ed Coleman, to take over the editorship of HFFT for me for a while.
Of course you recall, Coleman defected the Marion County GOP because of the hardship and punishment given to him when he repeatedly asked to dig into CIB records. The punishment by the GOP grew the longer he kept his teeth sunk into the problem.
I pray Councilman Coleman will take the HFFT platform and transform it into easily a 75% increase in web traffic in relative quick order.
I suspect our mayor and governor feel that the CIB problem is a hot potato. No one wants to raise taxes in this economy and critizing the Colt's and the Simon's is never a good game. I agree someone needs to audit the CIB, Colts and Pacers finances. Losing the Pacers would not be that big of a loss. I still can't believe with the TV contract money the teams are getting that they are losing that much money. If they are then it's time for the owners to force the players into a salary cap. If all but two teams in the NBA are losing money then the players striking would save them a bundle. Sort of makes you believe there is a lot of creative accounting being used by these teams. Is there anyway the CIB can be dismantled? Or is bankruptcy the only option?
ReplyDeleteDiana, Amen! I guess we can walk in tall cotton with the decision to stay on the high road and as they say keep causing trouble.
ReplyDeleteAnd incredibly, Bill Crawford is now wanting to 'fix' the problem with a casino - again.
ReplyDeleteFixing the problem means fixing the complete giveaway that was engineered under Peterson's and Glass's watch.
You can bet one day in the near future, even THAT arrangement will not suit Irsay and he'll 'need' to renegotiate it.
It's time to stop letting the tail wag the dog. Time to break that contract and put together one that works for the majority stockholder - namely the taxpayer.
I'll drive to the Greenwood Kroger to get my beer and wine, Senator Kenley. How do you like that!
ReplyDelete