Tattered Schools Not Trickle-Down

I preach to my communications clients — “Talk about results, not process. Or at least results before process.” What the hell does that mean? “Your kids’ schools and your roads are falling apart because too many wealthy people and corporations dodge paying the taxes that support the things we all need.”

Tell me what something means in my life before you tell me how it got there.

So here’s Hillary Clinton doing it right. According to The New York Times, Clinton told a crowd in Cleveland Wednesday, “We’re going to tax the wealthy who have made all of the income gains in the last 15 years. The super wealthy, corporations, Wall Street, they’re going to have to invest in education, in skills training, in infrastructure.”

Results not process. Not “let’s change the carried-interest clause,” but “let’s tax the people who’ve made all the money while your income has been stuck or fallen.” And why are we going to tax those who are making the increases? “They’re going to have to invest…” Invest. Pay your fair share to support the things we all use. That seems clear. That seems fair. Voters can get that.

When liberals talk about how trickle-down hasn’t worked, it means something to them but not much to regular human beings. But if you say “The wealthiest aren’t paying their share to support the things all of us, including them, need, and so our schools have no arts programs and barely enough teachers and the roads you drive on are falling apart and our libraries are closed on Saturday afternoons…” people might get it.

Results not process. Hard for a policy wonk like Clinton to not get stuck in the details of what dials she wants to turn to improve things. Hard to say “Here’s what will work better if we turn this dial.”

Clinton can make this work if she talks about results most people would think are needed and fair. Don’t talk about “the common weal” as we Progressives like to do. Talk about the neighborhood school that has 35 kids in a class while Wall Street speculators are lightly taxed on their million-dollar  bonuses, each of which would fund 10 new teachers.

And then she can talk about who pays taxes and who doesn’t. Donald Trump proudly says he works very hard (and spends lotsa dough on expensive lawyers and accountants) to avoid as much tax as possible. He’s proud that he contributes nothing to your local school or police force. Proud of that.

And for those who think The New York Times is liberal and shilling for Hillary, Thursday’s story about her criticism of Trump’s plan to reduce taxes on the rich ends with her saying that Trump doesn’t need a tax cut, and “I don’t need a tax cut.” The story doesn’t mention that Bill and Hillary paid 31 percent in taxes on their income in 2015. Nor does it mention that we don’t know what — if anything, if anything — Trump paid, because he won’t release his returns.

Keep making the tax point about fairness, Hillary, about who’s paying to support the cops and the teachers and the roads we all use. And who isn’t. Don’t focus on the policies. Focus on the schools.

Years ago, when I was still with Shandwick, the global public relations firm, we helped Minnesota and national Indian tribes fight off an attempt by commercial casinos — including Trump’s — to erode the national law that gave tribes the ability to run casinos. Trump et. al. wanted what the Indians had. (Heck, we’ve taken their land, their languages, their religion, their health, their food source, their hope — why not take the economic development tool that’s working for them?) Part of our campaign was showing a picture of a school and a picture of a yacht. Which should public policy support? Another yacht for the wealthy, or a decent school on a poor reservation? Seems pretty clear. And the tribes won that fight.

— Bruce Benidt

 

November Surprise: Yes to New Taxes

Here in Pasco County, on the north side of Tampa Bay, taxpayers seem about to commit heresy — again. We may vote for more taxes.

In 2004, county residents said yes to a one-penny county sales tax. Part of the goal was to lower property taxes as housing values here started to wash into the Gulf of Mexico, and the school district agreed to lower its take from local taxes. That penny tax is up for renewal in November’s election. This time backers of the Penny for Pasco tax are saying it could help hold the line on property tax increases, but that’s just a hope — there is no agreement for any lowering or freezing of other taxes.

I haven’t seen any polling on this local issue, but there’s a lot of support for the tax. Partly that’s because people can see exactly what they’re getting — and what they wouldn’t have if taxes remain lower. The tax, since 2004, has bought ambulances, park trails, road improvements, new schools and renovation of old schools, and land for environmental preservation. The extension of the tax would buy sheriff’s cruisers, new fire trucks, buses and bus shelters, renovation of fire stations, more school improvements, a countywide public safety communications system, and economic development efforts, among many other things.

Renewing the penny tax would generate $500 million over ten years, split among the county and school district, 45% each, with the remaining 10 percent going to the cities in the county. The money is to be spent on capital purchases and improvements, not operations.

A household with the county’s median income of $44,000 would spend about $108 each year through the penny tax.

When you see what your money gets you, it’s harder to buy a simplistic statement that taxes are bad, and we should have no new taxes.

I keep wanting President Obama to say that, if the Romney Ryan tax cuts go into effect, there will have to be huge cuts not just in Medicare and Pell grants, but in every single thing that people depend on in their daily lives. There will be fewer cops, fewer schools with bigger classes, fewer firefighters with fewer and worn-out trucks, fewer people to staff libraries and the functions of government people need, like getting drivers licenses. Huge federal cuts mean less money at the state level, and that means less money at the local level. Romney’s not being honest about what the RyanRomney budget would mean. When people see what their tax money provides, they realize that they can’t get something for nothing.

The Penny for Pasco is about “making life better in Pasco County,” backers say. “No new taxes” is just a politician’s glib slogan. The truth, in our lives, is about cops and libraries and schools and roads and sewers and safety and a government that can answer your emergency call.

You can’t cut without pain, no matter what some slick hustler tells you.

We’ll see what the voters of Pasco County decide on Nov. 6. I’m voting to raise my own taxes. Cuz I want more than a fire department that comes to my house on a bike with a bucket.

— Bruce Benidt

What Abstract Tax Policy Means At Street Level

I wrote this piece for the St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report, and Dane Smith ran it in the Growth & Justice website as well. It talks about issues at stake in this election — although not much has really been said by either Romney or Obama about what tax policy will mean at street level.

A few weeks ago I stood before the New Port Richey (Florida) City Council and asked the members not to further cut a library budget that had already been eviscerated.

I held up an ancient book — “The Library Book” — which I wrote in 1984 to mark the centennial of the Minneapolis Public Library. In my research, I told the council members, I’d learned that a library is an economic engine for the community. That’s why wealthy people like T.B. Walker and James J. Hill, in the Twin Cities, and Andrew Carnegie, nationally, funded libraries. It’s enlightened self-interest: Libraries and public education help individuals grow and develop knowledge and skills, which in turn helps a community and its businesses grow.

We’ve lived two years now in Florida, a state with a historic aversion to taxes, and one of the few states without any income tax. In the time we’ve been here we’ve seen education cut, local bus service cut, libraries cut, almost all government services cut. All severely.

A state that has always been run by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful is, every day, even more so. The Reagan Revolution of the early 1980s advanced further here than most places. Federal taxes have been cut, lowering federal funding to states. State taxes have been cut, lowering state funding to local governments. And local governments with shrinking budgets have to cut services or raise property taxes.

When we left Minnesota, friends asked how we could go to a regressive, low-tax, low-service state. I said that weather was a huge factor for us, but also, sadly, that Minnesota was fast becoming a regressive anti-tax state like Florida anyway. But it is even worse here, and getting still worse.

My wife, Lisa, volunteers at the New Port Richey library. We live in Port Richey, just across the Pithlachascotee River, and New Port Richey’s library is the closest to us. With budget cuts all across Pasco County, the New Port Richey library is now the only one in the county open on Mondays. It’s packed. With all government services and staffing having been cut, many employees at city and county offices who can no longer serve their constituents tell them to go to the library for help. A library where the staff and hours have already been cut. Catch-22.

I told the council members that my wife sees, every day, people in the library going online to search for jobs. She sees, every day, people using the library to get access to better education. She sees, every day, people using library resources for essentials like filing insurance claims to repair houses damaged by recent floods. If you don’t know where you can turn when your home is damaged, you can’t keep your house up, which erodes the tax base. Maybe you lose your home, which erodes your ability to hold a job and raise your kids, which makes you less able to pay taxes and more likely to need services. It’s in the community’s interest, of course, that people have access to the information and services that can better their lives.

You think everyone has a computer and internet access these days? Come to Pasco County, where unemployment is above 12 percent and 15 percent of the people live in poverty. The library’s computers are precious to people trying to hold on and to people reaching for something better.

Libraries have always been portals to citizenship and participation in the economy. Businesses and careers are started in libraries. Responsible public servants and informed voters get their starts in libraries. As journalist Harrison Salisbury said of the Sumner branch of the Minneapolis Public Library in the neighborhood where he grew up among new immigrants in the early 20th century, “It was their university.”

That university is shrinking, closed on Mondays now, sorry. Shorter hours, less staff, sorry. A portal that’s closing. So sorry.

When the flagging Confederacy lowered its draft age to sweep teenagers into its shrinking armies, Robert E. Lee said, “We are eating the seed corn of our nation.” We’re eating that now. We’re wounding our present and killing our future. Libraries, schools, transportation, public safety, all are endangered by lack of funding. And we’re not even talking about things like ensuring the safety of food or workers or protecting the environment or stopping rapacious speculators from ruining the economy again. The Reagan revolutionaries think that stuff should be left up to local decisions too. Imagine the New Port Richey City Council taking on water and air quality protection or trying to keep mortgage lenders from bilking their citizens when council members can’t even patch the city’s roads or pay the cops.

My plea not to cut the library further was listened to politely by the council. But they face Sophie’s choice. The housing bubble crashed as hard here as anywhere in the country — one out of five houses in New Port Richey is vacant. The tax base is shattered, and middle- and low-income folks can’t afford an increase in the regressive property tax. And so there’s nowhere else to turn.

One brave resident stood up in the council chamber and said he’d be happy to pay higher taxes to keep his community healthy. That was one voice, here at the ragged edge of the Reagan Revolution, speaking truth to sagging power. But the majority, whipped up by short-sighted, self-serving politicians, apparently believes you can get something for nothing. That’s the scam in Florida, that’s the scam increasingly in Minnesota, that’s the scam in November’s election.

And if you still believe that scam — as we’ve said in Florida for a hundred years — I’ve got some swampland to sell you.

— Bruce Benidt

Harry Reid Plays The Lying Game

Like most, I doubt that Harry Reid actually has the goods on Mitt Romney’s taxes. He of course says a source at Romney’s Bain Capital told him Mittens didn’t pay a dime’s worth of taxes for a decade. While a multi-multi-millionaire like Romney avoiding all federal taxation is far from improbable — just look at General Electric — the issue is whether Reid actually knows this, or whether, as most think, he’s bluffing to force Romney to release the tax forms and prove him wrong.

Now, old Harry many not be many things, among them a silky slick media operator. The guy is more dogged than artful. But he must have decided he’ll risk the hit if Romney ever does release his tax information — for a decade, not just an estimate for the past quarter — and proves that, yes, by god, he did pay as much in total taxes as a Target check-out clerk. So take that Harry, you slimy liar!

But of course the controversy over Reid’s claim — which he has shamelessly repeated — is that it is proof of the rancid gutter politics regularly practiced by liberals (Harry Reid raging liberal … ) against righteous defenders of America’s moral core, which is to say entrepreneurial, job-creating patriots like Romney and Karl Rove and … well, you know the suspect line-up as well as I do. Even Jon Stewart ripped Reid, as has every conservative blogger who hasn’t had their electricity turned off for non-payment.

Stewart and other non-echo chamber ideologues were disappointed that so prominent a figure in the dwindling adult caucus of Congress had descended to the same level of well, lying your ass off for headlines and cash, as the … entire GOP presidential field and all their SuperPAC managers. “Liberals”, Stewart implied, are supposed to be playing a more noble game.

This dichotomy of standards is of course germane to us here at The Same Rowdy Crowd as we furiously make notes for Wednesday’s inaugural book club. (Scroll down for details). It will be a (polite and collegial) discussion of “It’s Even Worse Than It looks”, Norm Ornstein and Tom Mann’s unequivocating indictment of the reckless insurgent games today’s conservative movement regularly plays with the truth and the function of government. (Warning: Please arrive on time and with your cell phones off. The Great and Wonderful Austin will deduct full points for tardiness and texting during his lecture.)

The problem that Reid’s ploy creates for anyone who still has some respect for truth, is that it offers ideal cover for journalists — who, in tough economic times, have an aversion to over-playing “the truth thing”. With Reid most likely lying/bullshitting for tactical effect, journalists can exhale and repeat with great confidence that, “You see, both sides are doing it.”

A quick personal story. A few weeks ago an otherwise fine local TV station asked me to come out and regale their audience with my deep thoughts on a matter of grave importance. I forget now what the hook was, but the questioning went immediately to the poisonous atmosphere in politics today with both sides saying so many silly and terrible things about each other. Having been through the punditry thing a time or two I understood that my role was to play some kind of Solomonic Master of Balance, commiserating with the anchor about the squalid state of affairs, decrying the overall debasement of civil discourse and wringing hands over the unlikelihood of anything changing … at least until the asteroid strikes.

But I wasn’t into it that day, and I had just finished reading a chunk of Ornstein and Mann’s book. So, instead of the ritual commiseration, I suggested to the anchor that if journalists’ concern about the corrosive effect of so much lying on American life was as sincere as they made it seem, they held in their hands a fairly simple mitigator … which would be … the truth. Point being, instead of “reporting” the latest asinine tactical attack by one side or the other as though that was the beginning and end of the story, take on as a responsibility, and a journalistic standard, ascertaining what was true and reporting both the facts of any claim AND the name of the person or group filling the airwaves with flagrant falsehoods. I also added, for effect, that while it is true both sides engage in eye-rolling “untruth”, the fact is the modern Republican party engages in it far … far …more often and egregiously than liberals, and until an editorial decision is made to ID the worst perpetrators and make them own their deceits, nothing much is going to change.

The anchor’s response to this was to warn against a descent into “opinion journalism”. Mine to that was that it was the anti-thesis of “opinion” if it was factually accurate.

When the five-minute interview ended I told the young producer, “I’ll be interested to see how much of that makes the final cut”, and of course very little did. Post-editing, I was reduced to another concerned, commiserating hand-wringer lamenting the debased nature of America’s public dialogue. That being the narrative that fits most comfortably with commercial news.

America’s National Pity Party

It’s that time of the year again. The April tax deadline, when Americans come together as one to feel sorry for ourselves about the outrageous tax burden heaped upon us. Ooooh, the agony!

Fueled by corporate-funded anti-tax groups and a malleable news media, the news is once again awash with stories about Americans suffering under heavy and rapidly increasing taxes.

Paying taxes is no one’s joy, but the collective wailing and gnashing is embarassingly out of proportion to reality. I hate to break up the pity party, but our taxes are much lower than Germany, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, France and Ireland. Our taxes are significantly lower than the average for industrialized nations.

Sorry Tea Partiers, Wall Streeters, One Percenters, talk radio callers, and news anchor wise crackers, but relative to the rest of the developed world, you aren’t oppressed. The fact is, almost all of the planet’s citizens who are enjoying a comparable quality-of-life bear more of a tax burden than Americans do.

Take a look at reality, nicely aggregated by the Center for American Progress:

• Our tax revenue is at its lowest level since 1950.
• Today’s top tax rates are historically low.
• Taxes on investments are historically low.
• The tax on large estates has virtually disappeared.
• The wealthy and super wealthy’s tax rates have plunged.
• U.S. corporations are taxed at lower levels than their foreign rivals.

As I’ve written before, the April tax deadline is our day to pay-it-forward in patriotic thanks to past American taxpayers who kindly paid to lift our ancestors into the middle class, and paid for our education, roads, national security, Internet, police, fire, parents’ health coverage and retirement income and many other things.

But if you can’t find it in your heart to be grateful for all that past generations of Americans have done for you, your country and your loved ones, be at least be a tiny bit realistic about what is being asked of you.

President Kennedy challenged us to “ask what you can do for your country.” Right now, Americans are being asked to do damn little. So could we hold the whining down just a little?

– Loveland

Minnesota GOP To Bring Back Fiscal Mullet?

George Orwell called it “Newspeak,” the restriction of disapproved language by a powerful entity. You may also recall that in his dystopian novel 1984, “goodthink” was used to describe an officially sanctioned viewpoint, and “thoughtcrime” was used to describe an illegal type of thought.

So finally I understand why Mrs. Stolles made me read that creepy book. For now I know what is truly going on in the budget negotiations between the GOP-controlled Legislature and DFL Governor Dayton. The biggest sticking point in these negotiations is not really whether DFL legislators can participate in the negotiations, or whether supplying respirators constitutes an essential government service.

No, the show-stopping sticking point is that GOP Newspeak dictates that use of the word “taxes” is a thoughtcrime, because it is not goodthink. No can do. Dayton may as well be requesting Speaker Zellers to commit serial murders on the House floor. Just ask GOP Chair Tony Sutton.

And this presents the Mother of All Sticking Points for budget negotiators.

But have no fear, State Rep. Joe Gimse is here. This clever GOP legislator from Willmar knows that someone who raises revenue but doesn’t call it a “tax” is not technically guilty of a GOP thoughtcrime. Kind of like a robber who only points a fake finger gun through a coat is not guilty of armed robbery, at least on the TV shows I watch.

The PiPress reports today that:

…(Grimes) said he would consider voting for proposals to raise revenue as long as the money doesn’t come from taxes. He said he would consider money from gambling, surcharges or fees.”

Fiscal mullet, Pawlenty style.

Mr. Gimse may be onto something. This looks to be a nifty little thoughtcrime dodge, though far from an unprecedented one. Those of you who hold grudges will recall that then-Governor Tim Pawlenty raised “fees” by 21%, while still aggressively marketing his fidelity to the No New Taxes gods. One cheeky blogger of the day dubbed the maneuver a fiscal mullet — “cosmetic constraint in the front, unrestrained growth in the back.”

So now we have something to negotiate, though we must choose our words very, very carefully. But since I am an infidel who is not governed by GOP Newspeak, I have my own word to describe the potential consideration of, well, you know, “new contributions for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the doman of that government.”

I call it “hope.”

Loveland

Tim Pawlenty: Seeking Sweet Schadenfreude.

THIS POST HACKED.

– The Mgmt.

 

My Tax Day Prayer

THIS POST HACKED. -The Mgmt.

Happy Pay It Forward Day

THIS POST HACKED.

One Brief Shining Moment

“Don’t let it be forgot

That once there was a spot,

For one brief, shining moment

That was known as Unallot.”

Governor Pawlenty claims that he has the power to unallot billions of public dollars absent an unexpected emergency.  If that is true, Minnesota effectively has a democratic monarchy. That is, we have an elected head-of-state with no fiscal check from the other elected branch of government.

“Unallot! Unallot!

I know it gives a person pause,

But in Unallot, Unallot

Those are the legal laws.”

Conservatives don’t seem to be given pause by Pawlenty’s unprecedented, unconstitutional application of unallotment powers. But before they get too giddy, they should think ahead a bit. How would they feel about:

• … a Governor Bakk or Rybak unilaterally unalloting billions from Republican districts to save funding for DFL districts?

• … a Governor Kelliher holding unallotment threats over Republican legislators’ heads to secure swing votes to pass her legislative agenda?

• … a Governor Thiessen unalloting funding for conservative-backed projects he considers wasteful, such as abstinence education, subsidies for businesses, or freeway improvements to serve the Republican exurbs?

“In short, there’s simply not

A more congenial spot

For happily-ever-aftering than here

in Unallot!”

Indeed, during this one shining moment Unallot is a pretty glorious place for House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, GOP Chair Tony Sutton and their merry band. But if they were capable of true vision, they would cease happily-ever-aftering and join the legal challenge to Governor Pawlenty’s unallotment power grab.

Though Pawlenty is their guy for a few more months, they should remember he is a disinterested lame duck busily packing his UHaul for Iowa. He won’t have their back much longer. Moreover, Minnesota’s demographic trends make it possible that even the lame DFL Party may seat a governor one of these years.

And something tells me that a Governor Marty with unallotment powers would be every bit as bloodcurdling to Republicans as a Governor Pawlenty with unallotment powers is to the 52% of us who didn’t vote for him in 2006.

– Joe Loveland (Guest Post)

Pawlenty’s Fiscal Mullet

Is it possible for Governor Pawlenty to raise “fees” by about 21% while continuing to brag about keeping a no new “taxes” pledge?

As Minnesota 2020 notes: “While some fee increases may be necessary to pay for increased costs, it is clear that fee increases are also being used to back fill a hole in the state budget.”

Call it a fiscal mullet. Cosmetic constraint in the front, unrestrained growth in the back.

– Loveland

Al’s Rationale

Before the first Tuesday in November, Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken has three primary messaging To-Dos to accomplish: 1) Wrestle the ethics issue to neutral; 2) Prove that Norm Coleman has been a Bush loyalist; and 3) Convince swing voters that Franken is an acceptable alternative.

In terms of countering ethics charges, Franken has been very active. A recent ad framed his own tax problems as an honest mistake, and then spotlighted charges about Senator Coleman’s allegedly shady Capitol Hill housing arrangement. A sequel ad employed a talking fish — perhaps a first in political advertising history — to tie his opponent to indicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and his merry band of gift-giving lobbyists.

As I’ve said before, Franken’s ads won’t make voters completely forget about his ethics problems, but they don’t have to. Franken’s intention with these ads is to get enough voters to the point of thinking “yeah, both candidates have imperfect ethics, so I have to decide based on something else.” If Franken can accomplish that, he still has a shot, because this is one of the best election years for Democrats in recent memory. I maintain Franken should have disarmed the tax mistakes by offering a prompt and thorough explanation, and sincere apology, but these ads are helping a bit.

Enter the second To-Do: Tying Bush to Coleman. Coleman’s centerpiece reelection argument is that he is “bringing people together to solve problems.” That is a faux non-partisan appeal to non-partisan swing voters. Franken needs to disarm Coleman’s claim by proving that Coleman has been in lockstep with the most unpopular and partisan Presidents of our times, something Franken does pretty well in his most recent ad:

Unlike most of Franken’s ads, this one is both strategic and unique enough to stand out in the sea of nearly identical cookie cutter political commercials washing into our family rooms. It’s just entertaining enough that it won’t get completely tuned out, and it may actually get discussed at the water cooler.

The third to-do – proving that Franken is an acceptable alternative — began early in the campaign, but the Frankenoids will need to close with some more soft stuff to sell the acceptability of Franken.

Franken’s got a long ways to go in less than two months, but he is finally on-track.

– Loveland

tax resolution services fine

What if we held a blockbuster Senate race and no investigative reporters showed up to cover it?

Regurgitation of polls, attack news conferences and ads. That’s mostly what we have seen in the coverage of the Minnesota Senate race.

We’re continually told that this is the most intriguing senatorial campaign in the nation. But the coverage has been almost entirely focused on transcribing the predictable spin of campaign hacks. Yawn. That kind of “he said, he said” coverage is necessary, but not sufficient.

Beyond WCCO-TV’s often excellent Reality Check analyses, there have been almost no examples of enterprising journalists proactively digging deeper than the daily spin. Goodness knows, there is room to dig…

• Since experience has been a central issue, reporters could dig into the backgrounds of current and past U.S. Senators who started their careers with political resumes as thin as Franken’s. How did such political novices actually perform in the Senate?

• Since Norm Coleman has made “respect for women” a central attack on Al Franken and both Franken and Coleman have chosen to prominently feature spouses in ads, ask Norm Coleman and Al Franken whether they’ve been faithful to their wives. Ask them whether they think philanderers such as John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani are fit to be approved by the Senate to serve in a presidential Administration.

• Corner good ole Mrs. Molin, the endorsing teacher featured from Franken’s ads, and ask Alan’s most compelling endorser whether she condemns or condones Franken’s past writings and business dealings.

• Determine whether the bowlers portayed by Coleman ads as the voice of ordinary Minnesotans are a) ordinary (or actors trying to act ordindary), b) Minnesotan (or “outsiders”) and c) regular bowlers.

• At every news conference or interview, no matter the subject, ask Al Franken to thoroughly document whether he owes additional back taxes, beyond those he has disclosed. Repeatedly and prominently report the extent to which Franken is responsive to such inquiries.

• Commission an objective market analysis by an independent real estate consultant to determine whether Norm Coleman is paying a market rate to his political consultant for his Washington, DC apartment.

• Dig into the Franken and Coleman campaigns’ “opposition research.” How is the dirt used against the opponent gathered, who gathers it, and how much has each campaign invested in digging through dirty laundry?

The list goes on. So much of this story is going untold. So much of what we are fed in reactive coverage of the daily spin makes us no wiser in the voting booth. We aren’t even getting regular blurbs probing the relative veracity of political advertising, a Minnesota version of factcheck.org.

With newsrooms thinning and less space reserved for political coverage, is the age of enterprising political reporting ending?

– Loveland

small business association fine

What If Franken Shot Straight?

What if beleaguered U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken just bought a big hunk of TV time and shot it to voters straight?

Hi, I’m Al Franken, the rookie candidate in Minnesota’s campaign for U.S. Senate.

As you probably heard, I messed up my business taxes badly. A lot of political consultants told me not to admit mistakes and not to lay out all the details like I am today. But I decided to do it my way. The straight up way. I paid for this time, because you have a right to know.

So here’s the deal. My business operates in 17 states. It’s pretty complicated, so I hired an accountant. Then I stopped paying attention. Almost entirely. That’s MY fault, not the accountants’.

So, I messed up. Big time. I made a boneheaded blunder. And I’m really sorry about it all. Paying taxes correctly is critically important, and I should have paid closer attention to it all. I embarrassed myself and my family, and I failed in the civic duty that is expected of all of us. And I’m very sorry about it all.

I can’t turn back the clock, but I’m doing what I can to fix things. In the states where my business didn’t pay enough, I’ve circled back and paid the taxes, interest and penalties. In the states where I paid way too much, I will be getting back refunds.

And now I’m taking steps to make certain I won’t have problems in the future.

Let’s just say I’ve forged a closer bond with my accountant. We’re spending lots of quality time together these days. And I’ve settled in with some light summer reading (Holds up a copy of “Taxes for Dummies”).

So, I made a $53,000 mistake. And you can bet my opponent will make my mistake part of the debate. Fair enough. It should be part of the debate, and I should be accountable for it.

But for your sake, I hope the debate is about more than just that single blunder.

The debate between me and Senator Coleman should include other blunders too. Such as Seantor Coleman’s mistake of entering a war that has cost us thousands of young American patriots’ lives, and at least $535 billion. And Senator Coleman’s mistake of turning a budget surplus into a huge budget deficit, which will result in a multi-trillion dollar debt left to our children and grandchildren. On these issues and others, Senator Coleman has not admitted any mistakes, makes no apologies and offers no changes for the future.

I’m running for Senate because I believe Senator Coleman should be accountable for THOSE multi-BILLION dollar mistakes. And I believe we need to change course. So, let’s have that debate. Your job as a voter is to sort out which mistakes hurt you, your family and our country more – mine or Senator Coleman’s.

So, if you have any more questions about my boneheaded tax blunder – and trust me, I really hope you don’t – I’m providing much more detail at http://www.alfrankensboneheadedtaxblunder.com. The site also includes my entire tax form and a 10-minute video of me and my accountant explaining the situation in painful detail.

Thanks for hearing me out on this issue. Again, I just wanted to apologize, shoot it to you straight up, and trust you to sort it out yourself. I appreciate your time and consideration.

He could also make it a web video for those who miss it. The idea would be to disclose, apologize, self-degradate and reframe in one fell swoop. Leave out all excuses, even legitimate ones. Try to get closer to closure, and maybe even win points for honesty, accountability and not talking down to people.

Partially mitigate damage? Turn a net political liability into a net asset? Political suicide?

– Loveland

pro forma invoice fine

Tankin’ Franken?

Top ten signs Al Franken’s U.S. Senate campaign against Senator Norm Coleman is in trouble.

10. Matt Drudge’s nipples involuntarily harden every time he hears Franken’s name.
9. Minnesota DFLers actually start remembering The Hyphenated Dude’s name (i.e Franken’s DFL opponent Jack Nelson-Whatever).
8. Coleman replaces all of his staff cosmetologists with more private investigators.
7. Franken’s accountant displays a snazzy “Mission Accomplished” banner the day he files his amendments.
6. When Franken tells his mirror “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it…”, the mirror interrupts with a poll briefing.
5. The number of times Franken changes his Form 1040X exceeds the number of times Norm Coleman has changed his core principles.
4. Mrs. Molin gets out The Paddle.
3. Franken’s accountant gets fired by Franken, and hired by the Coleman campaign.
2. The number of IRS agents attending Franken rallies begins to outnumber voters.
1. Franken’s $53,000 tax blunder gets more coverage than Coleman’s $534,000,000,000 foreign policy blunder.

– Loveland

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Franken Questioning the Question

The embattled Franken for U.S. Senate campaign is fielding questions today about survey findings showing that Mr. Franken’s tax problems make most Minnesotans less likely to support him (59%). Half (51%) say he should withdraw from the race. Tough stuff.

In a Strib online story, the Franken campaign officials said the survey is “deeply troubling from a spin standpoint, but from a social studies standpoint, as well.” Social studies? Are we having middle school flashbacks?

The point the Frankenites were trying to make had to do with survey methodology: Did the following survey question fairly portray the situation at hand?

Al Franken the DFL candidate for U.S. Senate said he will pay about $70,000 in back income taxes to 17 states for incorrectly filing his tax returns over a five-year period. He also paid a fine to the state of New York for not paying for workers compensation insurance for workers he employed there. Knowing this, would you be more likely to vote for Al Franken for U.S. Senate? Less likely? Or would it not make a difference?

Is that fair wording? I don’t think so. To me, fair wording would have gone something like this:

Al Franken the DFL candidate for U. S. Senate said he has been paying his taxes in the wrong states over a five-year period. Franken says in 17 states he did not pay enough taxes, and in those states he will pay about $70,000 in back taxes, interest and a fine. At the same time, Franken says in two states he paid too much in taxes, and in those states he will apply for a tax refund of about $XX,XXX. On a second unrelated issue, Franken paid a fine to the state of New York for not paying for workers compensation insurance for workers he employed there. Knowing this, would you be more likely to vote for Al Franken for U.S. Senate? Less likely? Or would it not make a difference?

So, I do agree with the Franken campaign that the question used in this poll did not fairly and completely describe Franken’s situation.

BUT, I’m not convinced Franken would have faired substantially better with more complete and accurate wording. There’s a lot of complexity for citizens to process on this issue. The problem for Franken is that there will be tendency for many citizens to avoid the complexity and conclude “well, the media and the other politicians may be hyping the situation a bit, but the fact remains that Franken did get caught with some serious tax problems, and that concerns me.”

I’ve been skeptical about the Franken candidacy for other reasons, and the past month of tax disclosures aggravates an already difficult situation. Because the fundamentals are so strong for Democrats, they still have a shot at beating Norm Coleman. But increasingly it looks as if Al Franken doesn’t give them their best shot.

– Loveland

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Premature E-Accusation?

We knew taxes would be an issue in the Minnesota U.S. Senate campaign. But some of us hoped to be reading stories about the tax evasion of the wealthiest 1% of Americans who were handed Bush-Coleman tax cuts, not tax evasion of the Democratic candidate.

Yes, “evasion” is too strong of a word. “F*** up” is more apt descriptor. But the problem is, this is going to sound like evasion to the drive-by voter.

Yes, the accountant probably really did make these mistakes without Franken’s knowledge. But again, that doesn’t pass the smell test with voters whose finances aren’t complex enough to blindly turn over to a trusted accountant.

And yes, it may be true that this is a case of filing in the wrong locations, rather than failure to file, since Mr. Franken apparently overpaid in some states in an amount nearly equivalent to the amount he underpaid in other states. But again, few will bother to get this deep into the weeds.

Two things astonish me about these disclosures:

First, didn’t the Franken campaign do opposition research on itself? When people talk about campaign research, most think about digging through opponents’ dirty laundry. But the fact is, savvy campaigns usually aim the lion’s share of their research work at THEMSELVES, in an effort to identify, prevent, mitigate and/or quickly respond to issues like this.

If Franken had learned of these problems a year or two ago, he could have fixed them all preemptively and disclosed them en masse, so that it was one bad story instead of a month of bad e-accusations turned media stories at a pivotal time of the campaign. Franken had plenty of resources to do this kind of “candidate research.” Why didn’t he?

Second, why have the Republicans played their tax disclosure cards now, rather than in September? If Franken is now so crippled that he is replaced by either Jack Nelson-Whatever or Mike Ciresi, the Democrats probably have a better shot than if Franken had been crippled by these kinds of stories in September.

In fact, one or both of those alternative candidates may have a better shot at beating Coleman than Franken. Democrats could still change candidates before the May 18 DFL State Convention or the September 9 Primary Election. Could this be a case of premature e-accusation?

– Loveland

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