ok72076
Jacksonville, AR
56, joined Jan. 2008
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The Arkansas General Assembly started the fiscal session in Little Rock on Monday, but good luck in getting the legislators to return a call or e-mail.
I e-mailed all the legislators for the Jacksonville-Cabot-Sherwood area on Feb. 4 plus copied 15 other legislative leaders. But only former House Speaker Shane Broadway, who always returns e-mails and would make a fine governor, and Rep. Warwick Sabin of District 33 responded. In total, 23 legislators didn't seem to care about the voters or issues.
But if you know a legislator or someone he or she listens too, then now is the time for all good patriotic bipartisan Arkansans to get involved and think about what Centralist issues concern them.
While the legislators are normally just supposed to deal with fiscal matters in even years, they are going to have to deal with the mess caused by Lt. Gov. Mark Darr's resignation and any other issues they agree to consider.
Here's some Centralist issues that Arkansans really ought to be concerned about.
** 1) Americans want a fair tax system that requires corporations and the 1 percenters to pay their fair share and not evade taxes with deductions, exemptions and off-shore subsidiaries. If the Waltons and Tysons have millions to waste on an art museum or frills at the University of Arkansas, then they have plenty of money to be paying more in taxes. Besides, you know eventually their lobbyists will win new benefits for their masters.
Most Americans won’t earn $250,000 a year. Most Arkansans won’t net $150,000, even small-business owners. In fact, the median household income in Pulaski County is only $45,299, according to page 15 of the 2014 Where We Live publication.
Remember, all that obscene profit is coming out of your pocket. Anything in excess of the usury rate of 21 percent ought to be a crime!
** 2) Arkansans need a constitutional amendment to lower the threshold for approving tax and appropriation bills. Good government and the majority should not be held hostage by the minority in the General Assembly. Nine people shouldn't be able to derail the efforts of 135 others.
An approval rate of 60 percent sounds about right instead, but the Legislature needs a system for voters to easily challenge taxes and appropriations in the next general or primary election.
** 3) Arkansans want child support to be tax deductible, like alimony. Taxing money that an absent parent pays is un-American. Plus making child support tax deductible would encourage the self employed deadbeats to get right with the law.
** 4) Arkansas' mayors and county judges need more power to raise sufficient tax dollars to fund their governmental operations. Counties and cities need to be able tax business profits, local gasoline sales and other income above $75,000. But voters need an easy way to challenge the vote in the next election.
** 5) The state needs to end special elections and instead set up a system of three or four election dates. This would be a spring election for partisan primaries for the U.S. House and Senate, constitutional offices, multi-district judicial offices, and the state General Assembly.
A summer election would be for county, city and school races and runoffs from the spring election. The November election would be the general election. Special interests shouldn't be able to rig an issue by scheduling special elections when they know people won't turn out. In non-election years, any special votes would have to be schedule on one of the regular election dates.
Voters in Central Arkansas want to hear from their legislators on these issues.
Keith
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ok72076
Jacksonville, AR
56, joined Jan. 2008
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Nothing new about politicians ignoring the people who gave them the office ,that's been going on a long time.
So true. But those people who do care have to keep up the public pressure and PR on the crooks in office.
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