Aetna’s withdrawal is the latest in a series of insurers leaving Obamacare. The exodus began last year, when several carriers announced they were exiting or downsizing in 2017 after suffering large losses. Humana (HUM) already announced it is completely abandoning the individual market in 2018. UnitedHealthcare (UNH) pulled out of Virginia, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield said it would stop selling individual policies in Iowa in 2018.
Several insurers remaining in Obamacare are requesting big rate hikes for next year. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is looking for an average rate increase of 52% for its individual market plans in Maryland. It also requested hikes of 35% in Virginia and 29% in Washington D.C.
In Virginia, Cigna wants to raise rates by an average of 45%, while HealthKeepers, an affiliate of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is looking for an 38% increase.
A Madison School District review of financial practices at Black Hawk Middle School found widespread disregard for proper accounting and money handling practices under then-principal Kenya Walker, who admitted using district credit cards for personal needs and oversaw school office operations so lax they allowed the theft of at least $1,000 from a school fundraiser and more than $10,500 in credit card charges for which the district has no receipt.
Walker, 45, who was paid $106,466 annually, effectively resigned on April 28 after spending months on a medical leave that began in late January and caused increasing concern among parents at the school. Also in January, the district hired external reviewer Shana Lewis to begin reviewing Black Hawk’s financial practices after concerns were noted by central office staff about spending there.
“We’re disappointed to learn of these actions by a former principal,” Superintendent Jen Cheatham said, calling what happened at the school a “rare but serious incident.”
Many of the problems noted in the review revolved around the use of some 15 district-issued credit and procurement cards that are to be used by school staff members for the purchase of low-cost goods, usually under $500. They are designed to eliminate the use of petty cash and personal funds that have to be reimbursed to staff later.
There is no good reason for a school district to issue credit cards to staff members. And if they do, there are ways to do it in which the school district is protected. For example, in many companies that have company credit cards, the cards are the responsibility of the employee and the company only pays for expenses after the employee submits the receipts and the expense is approved. That way, if an employee spends $10,500 and doesn’t have receipts, the employee is on the hook for paying that bill.
The utter lack of sensible financial controls is criminal.
President Trump lashed out on Twitter Tuesday, hours after his firing of FBI Director James Comey, and accused Democrats of hypocritical criticism of the abrupt ouster.
The stunning dismissal led to Democrats and even some Republicans to boost the case for an independent prosecutor to oversee the FBI’s investigation into whether any Trump associates colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Many critics connected the unprecedented firing to Richard Nixon’s administration.
It’s pretty safe to say that Director Comey had lost the confidence of pretty much everyone with his bungling of multiple investigations. The only mistake Trump made here was waiting so long to pull the trigger, but I think he was waiting for Sessions to get his feet under him first.
“Let our love of liberty, gentlemen, be our guide. That word says it all: love of order, respect for law and for morality; with liberty, all property is inviolate; the lives of the innocent are sacred, man is innocent until proved guilty under the law; with liberty, there are universal guarantees and all prosper. But let us not forget, gentlemen, that liberty is based on strict principles that fear license as much as tyranny.”
– Monseigneur Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette in a speech to members of the French National Guard on July 20, 1790.
Being a communist would no longer be a fireable offense for California government employees under a bill passed Monday by the state Assembly.
Lawmakers narrowly approved the bill to repeal part of a law enacted during the Red Scare of the 1940s and ’50s when fear that communists were trying to infiltrate and overthrow the US government was rampant.
The bill, which was authored by Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, now goes to the Senate.
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:
After weeks of speculation and trial balloons, the Wisconsin Assembly leadership released a plan called “Road to a Flat Tax.” The plan was primarily authored by State Rep. Dale Kooyenga and cobbles together some 30 ideas with the promise of fixing the state’s long-term transportation funding issues and cutting taxes.
It has become fashionable in Washington, and now in Madison, to tackle every issue with these massive omnibus bills that are just complicated and opaque enough to provide politicians cover from contentious political issues. The Road to a Flat Tax plan is no different. It packages some truly terrific and transformative proposals with a few policy and political duds with the hope of convincing legislators to pass the package with the excuse that most of it is good.
Let us start with the great parts of this proposal. The Road to a Flat Tax does just that. It would eliminate the state property tax, as Gov. Walker has proposed, and gradually move Wisconsin to a flat 3.95 percent income tax over the next decade. It does so by eliminating and changing several major tax credits and phasing out four of the five tax brackets. Wisconsin would end up with a fair and flat income tax. Wisconsin’s Republicans are not ambitious enough to eliminate the state income tax like seven other states, but a flat income tax is the next best thing.
The Assembly Republicans’ plan also repeals Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law for state projects, which would save taxpayers at least $300 million per biennium, according to a 2015 study by Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. The plan eliminates 180 positions from the Department of Transportation, which does not save any money yet, but gives the department more flexibility to reduce spending in the future. It reduces the state’s minimum markup law as it applies to gasoline (more on that later), lowers the gas tax, imposes a moratorium on roundabouts, imposes a fee on electric and hybrid vehicles and eliminates the ability of local governments to enact new wheel taxes.
Then there is the bad part of the proposal. The Road to a Flat Tax includes an intricate change to the way the state taxes gasoline that results in an overall tax increase. For the first time, the state would impose the state sales tax on gasoline. This is estimated to generate about $600 million in revenue over the biennium. In order to offset some
of that increase, the state would reduce the gas tax by 4.8 cents, thus shaving off $278 million of the increase. It would also change the minimum markup law to a mandatory 3 percent markup instead of the combined 9.18 percent. This would save consumers another roughly $50 million at the pump while cutting into the profits of gasoline retailers and wholesalers.
The end result after all of those changes is that Wisconsinites would see a tax increase of about $330 million per biennium. The increase in funding would be directed to paying down Wisconsin’s debt. Bear in mind, however, that funds that go into the Transportation Fund are fungible. Although the tax increase is allocated to debt reduction, that means that the money that would have been spent on debt service without the tax increase will now be spent on current transportation projects.
The tax increase to be spent on transportation has long been the ambition of Assembly Republican leadership and it at the heart of this proposal. Packaging it with a bevy of other tremendously positive initiatives appears designed to pull the tax increase through a reluctant Republican caucus. Rep. Kooyenga should be commended for advancing so many great ideas. Repealing the state’s prevailing wage law, implementing a flat income tax, eliminating the state property tax, and many other parts of the Road to a Flat Tax would be tremendously beneficial for Wisconsinites. But there is no rational reason, other than for political brinkmanship, to amalgamate all of these ideas into a single “take it or leave it” proposal. The legislature should take up each piece of the Road to a Flat Tax as separate bills and then vote on them based on their merits. Good legislation that would benefit Wisconsinites should not be weighed down by legislation that would not pass on its own.
Good. The JFC needs to take this proposal seriously.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is asking members of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee to back his proposal to move state employees’ health plans to a self-insurance model.
Walker on Monday said his administration has negotiated self-insurance contracts that would save the state $60 million during the 2017-19 budget period. The contracts, negotiated by the state Group Insurance Board and Division of Personnel Management, were submitted to the Joint Finance Committee for review.
The budget-writing committee has 21 days to review the agreements. If the committee takes no action by June 7, the state may go forward with the contracts, which are set to take effect in 2018.
I’m not sure why both Republican and Democrat legislators are so hell bent on making sure health insurance companies profit off of the taxpayers when the state is more than capable of self-insuring like so many other large public and private organizations do.
State Assembly Republicans late this week unveiled their biennial state roads budget proposal. One part of that proposal, according to legislative memos, includes a plan to ask the federal government to ease restrictions that prevent the state from implementing toll roads on major Interstate highways.
In the same proposal, Assembly Republicans call for the state to apply for enrollment in two federal pilot programs to study the costs and benefits of tolling and determine whether any major highways in Wisconsin would be suited for toll roads.
State lawmakers involved in the proposal say they’re far from writing any hard plans into the state’s 2017-19 budget to pursue toll roads in Wisconsin, and it’s not clear if the toll roads proposal will gain enough support among state lawmakers to remain part of the roads budget as talks roll out this spring.
Toll roads seem to get floated every time politicians want more money for roads. It’s kind of a “give us more money or we’ll have to create toll roads!” kind of threat. Although many states have moved to install toll roads to help pay for them, Wisconsinites are culturally opposed to them.
Personally, I don’t mind toll roads. The technology has gotten to the point of making the experience virtually painless and I generally support the notion of shifting the majority of the cost for roads to the people who use them. The gas tax is an indirect way of doing that. Toll roads are a direct way of doing the same thing. Obviously, the government still needs to have a general transportation budget to pay for necessary, but lightly traveled roads. But there are some places where toll roads are quite sensible.
What I oppose is implementing toll roads just to increase transportation spending. If the state want to make I94 between Milwaukee and Madison a toll road and lower transportation taxes accordingly, then fine. If they want to make it a toll road and just increase spending, then no thanks.
Here’s an interesting comparison that Karl Liebknecht wrote to Eduard Bernstein at the dawn of the 20th century:
Islam was invincible as long as it believed in itself… But the moment it began to compromise… it ceased to be a conquering force… Socialism can neither conquer nor save the world if it ceases to believe in itself.
Bernstein was an advocate of evolutionary socialism and believed that capitalism could evolve into socialism without the need of violent revolution. Liebknecht disagreed.
A Madison-based atheist group has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to strike down President Donald Trump’s order easing enforcement of an IRS rule limiting religious organizations’ political activity.
A 1954 federal law prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations such as churches from participating in political campaigns. Violators could lose their tax-exempt status, but the law — known as the Johnson Amendment — has rarely been enforced.
The IRS doesn’t make its investigations of such cases public, but only one church is known to have lost its tax-exempt status as a result of the law. Still, Trump has long promised conservative Christians who supported his White House bid that he would block the regulation.
by Owen | 0914, 6 May 1717 | Off-Duty | 0 Comments
Four branches of Guaranty Bank closing in Washington County
The Feds have shut down Guaranty Bank in Milwaukee and the fallout will affect four branches located in stores across Washington County. According to the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency – Guaranty Bank branches inside retail outlets that will not reopen in Washington County include the Walmart locations in West Bend and Hartford, the Pick ‘n Save in Germantown and the Piggly Wiggly in Slinger. Branches in Washington County that will re-open during normal business hours include the West Bend branch at 876 S. Main Street.
New Honda car dealership coming to West Bend.
There’s a Honda car dealership coming to West Bend. Morrie’s Automotive Group of Minneapolis was officially awarded “the point” in April.
“We’re excited to open a Honda store in West Bend,” said Karl Schmidt, CEO with Morrie’s since 2009.
“They are specific in their naming structure so it would be Honda of West Bend or Morrie’s Honda –something like that.”
Schmidt was in West Bend on Friday, April 31 scouting properties. “We met with Ben Weiland from CBRE and we flew over and looked at real estate and made a few calls,” Schmidt said.
An exact location for the new dealership is expected to be determined within the next week; the new store should be operational in 12 months.
“In order for that to happen we have to start construction in 4 to 5 months from now,” Schmidt said. “The manufacturer has an expectation to function on five acres and the store will probably have $60 to $70 million in total revenue selling 1,500 to 2,000 new and used cars a year.”
Mayor Kraig Sadownikow said the Morrie’s group sounds a bit like “the Twin Cities version of Russ Darow.”
“It’s absolutely exciting for West Bend,” said Sadownikow. “Honda is a big name and not only from a development standpoint but bringing visitors from outside the area; we’re looking for that.”
In terms of another car dealership coming to West Bend, Sadownikow said overall the city’s business base is pretty well rounded.
“It’s a positive we’re an attractant for a national automobile dealer franchise,” he said. “It’s a positive our community is being recognized as being viable not just for Ford, Chevy, GMC and Chevy which we’ve had for a long, long time but now Nissan and Honda taking a look at West Bend is important.”
Craig Sorbo, general manager of Russ Darrow Chrysler, said West Bend will be a good fit for Honda. “The more the merrier; it’s just going to drive more people to this community,” he said.
Sorbo talked about a strong bond with other area auto dealers like Heiser and Boucher. “Right now everybody’s on the same page and we want to do what’s best for the community, what’s best for the customers and I think this is great.”
The new Honda dealership will be full service; carrying new and used vehicles, parts and service.
“We’ll bring 60 to 70 new jobs, which is exciting for the area and for us,” said Schmidt. “We love the Wisconsin market and hope to be a good partner in the area and do well.”
On a side note:
-Morrie’s has a Mazda store between Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire.
– The closest Honda dealership is 91st and Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee. There’s also a dealership in Appleton and Sheboygan.
-Morrie’s Automotive Group started as a family business by Morrie Wagener in the early 1960s. Wagener worked with imports in the Twin Cities area and over the years acquired different franchises and built the business.
Mary Hafeman featured on the Golf Channel this week
PGA Professional Mary Hafeman of West Bend was on the Golf Channel Tuesday morning and she sure did put West Bend and the West Bend Country Club in the spotlight.
Hafeman, owner of Mary Hafeman Golf Experience and a 1975 graduate of West Bend East High School, was live in the TMJ 4 studio on Capital Drive in Milwaukee and spoke with the Golf Channel’s Cara Robinson about her success with player development.
Hafeman credited her roots in West Bend and her family for her success. “I grew up in West Bend, Wisconsin. My dad had to learn how to play golf and he got my whole family, my six brothers and sisters out on the course. We joined a club and my PGA Professional Don Hill at the West Bend Country Club made the most fun experience on the course and we just couldn’t wait to go to junior golf and play.”
Watch for more golf updates from Mary Hafeman as she reports for the WashingtonCountyInsider.com during the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, June 12 – 18.
Meredith Vande Zande awarded Rick Riehl Scholarship
West Bend East High School basketball player Meredith Vande Zande was presented the Rick Riehl Memorial Scholarship during Monday’s Class of 2017 Scholarship & Awards Program.
Vande Zande, 17, said she returned home from a school trip to Peru and received the letter of notification about the award. “I am so excited,” said Vande Zande.
A scholar athlete, Vande Zande carries a 4.0 G.P.A. and will be named class valedictorian. She plans on attending the University of Minnesota and will study nursing.
“I went to one of Rick Riehl’s basketball camps at Concordia when I was in middle school and they’re really such a great family and I feel very honored to get this scholarship,” she said.
Details of the scholarship read: Rick Riehl was an educator and coach in the West Bend Schools for 32 years, teaching high school English and coaching more than 60 sports seasons. Rick was a tireless advocate about the importance of sports. He dedicated much of his life to strengthening the quality of athletics in both the youth and high school programs. Type: Technical or Academic School:East or West Amount:$10,000 ($1,250 per semester)
“This scholarship will help me tremendously,” said Vande Zande. “Just thinking about the number of hours I’d have to work to earn $10,000 is insane and this will just be so helpful.”
Funds for the award were donated by friends, family, and those that knew Riehl since his battle with what was likely Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Royce Quilting sign
The Royce Quilting sign leaning up against the side of the building on S. Main Street in the West Bend Plaza has been a bit of a conversation starter. Many wonder about the future of the store but the simple answer is – during the last snow storm a semi was unloading in front of the store, hit the sign and ripped it off the side of the building. While the ladies inside Royce Quilting are skilled at mending, this is going to take more of an industrial fix…. and a hydraulic lift. The repair should be underway shortly.
Mayor Sadownikow speaks in Madison
West Bend Mayor Kraig Sadownikow joined lawmakers in Madison on Wednesday at a joint news conference to talk about several bills regarding the “dark store theory” which is a question on whether operating stores should be taxed the same as a closed retail business location.
The mayor’s comments are below.
“In West Bend we have a pretty smart, intelligent community and we understand the issue and that is there’s a loophole in the law. Some smart folks identified that loophole and businesses such as Walgreens are choosing to exploit that loophole to the detriment of our home owners, agricultural and small business and we’re simply asking for that loophole to be closed.
A real-world example is that West Bend has two Walgreens stores and combined they sold most recently for $14 million. Through court action they are now being assessed at less than $5 million. Approximately a third of the sales price and what that means to us is about $175,000 in revenue split up between the city, the county, tech college and the school district. Checks had to be cut back to Walgreens and in fact our West Bend School District cut an $80,000 check back to Walgreens – of course, more than a full-time equivalent of an educator.
We’re simply asking for the loophole to be closed.”
Vote for Green Tree Elementary teacher Kelly Louk
There’s an effort underway in West Bend to push Kelly Louk, the 2nd grade teacher at Green Tree Elementary, to the top of the charts at b933fm.com
Nicole Manriquez reached out and asked for help. I nominated my daughter’s teacher for teacher of the month at b933fm.com. She won back in March and I recently found out she is now a finalist for Teacher of the Year. I nominated her because my daughter can be extremely challenging and I feel Kelly plays a huge part in her success. Kelly is kind, loving, patient and just has a way of communicating with her. It takes a special person to be a teacher, but some teachers go above and beyond. I am hoping she wins teacher of the year. It’s a great way for her to know she is appreciated. Voting can be done daily and runs through noon on May 22.
West Bend firefighters receive Heroism Award
Badger Firefighters Association President Ron Naab presented Heroism Awards this week to Lt. Alan Hefter and Motor Pump Operator Kyle Demler for their lifesaving efforts on September 16, 2016 when they saved an 18-year-old woman from the basement of her burning house.
Owner of Chapman’s Market dies
Raymond (Chappy) Chapman, 96 from West Bend died this week. Chappy’s career included working in a factory, painting, working as an apprentice electrician and meat cutting. In 1959, Ray opened Chapman’s Market on the north side of town. His meat market was famous for its summer sausage, brats, and minute steaks. He serviced customers across the country and forwarded summer sausage to soldiers in Vietnam. His business success was attributed to a strong work ethic and a jovial personality which he whole-heartedly shared with his customers, friends, and family. A Mass of Christian Burial is Friday, May 12 at 11 a.m. at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church.
Updates & tidbits
– The 5th annual Banner ArtWalk is May 13 at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. Fifty hand-painted banners will hang from the second-floor railing in the atrium entrance of museum. Those attending can explore the Museum of Wisconsin Art free of charge.
-Wednesday, July 26 is Senior Citizens Day and Military Day at the Washington County Fair. Special discounted admission for ages 60 and older is $5 for the day as well as Sunday, July 30. Also, any card-carrying military person and a guest are admitted FREE on Wednesday, July 26. This year the Washington County Fair Military Committee will be recognizing all Women Veterans and Gold Star Families.
– Thursday, May 18 at 7 p.m. at the Washington County Fair Park Pavilion, Washington County Law Enforcement Agencies will host a Law Enforcement Memorial.
– The annual Ride of Silence is Wednesday, May 17 in the parking lot just south of the Museum of Wisconsin Art. The ride starts at 7 p.m.
– There’s music and food and a live auction at the 11th annual Samba Chicken Dinner on Saturday, May 13. Tickets are available at Romie’s BP in Allenton, Landmark Credit Union-Hartford, Bergmann’s Appliance in Slinger or from any music director at Slinger High School.
Remembering the Outlet Mall
The process started Tuesday and wrapped up Friday afternoon as the locally-known ‘bridge-to-nowhere’ was removed from downtown West Bend.
That landmark brought back memories about the Outlet Mall. Below is an article I wrote in February 2006. Remembering the Outlet Mall.
Last week we gave an update on what was happening around the old Outlet Mall in West Bend. City Engineer Judy Neu said Veterans Avenue will be narrowed this summer and the road will be raised about four feet to bring it above the flood plain.
Discussing the Outlet Mall, led to questions about ‘what stores used to be IN the mall?’
“Maus Jewelers started out in there,” said Judy Neu. “I think the Shoe Rack was in there, along with a little restaurant and there was also a place to buy kitchen utensils,” said Neu recalling a West Bend Company Outlet which she thought was also in the mall.
Prior to the Outlet Mall Neu said there was an old bar and a bunch of little buildings tucked up along the river. “There used to be an old milk house in there and I’m finding it as I dig,” Neu said about all the old foundations from the buildings and the water mains and storm sewers from days gone by.
Local historian Joe Huber also remembered the Outlet Mall. “Going down the east side of the hall there was a Quality Candy, and a restaurant, and then Regal Ware had an outlet, and then Minnesota Woolens, and then there was a pot and pan and kitchen gadget store that had everything,” said Huber. “On the north end of the west side was The Paper Tree, the West Bend Company had an outlet, and then for a while there was an outfit that sold grandfather clocks.”
Former mall owner Steve Picus also recalled a house wares outlet and a party store and a couple of other things.
“There was a Manhattan clothing store which was more of a men’s store and there was a restaurant on the north end and the cookie lady was in there too for a while,” said Picus who believed The Cookie Lady was the name of the shop.
“When Field’s Furniture took over the mall the sausage place was there, the house wares outlet was there and the Paper Factory were the only three left in the building, almost until the bitter end.”
In its heyday, Picus said there were about 20 stores in that building and you could walk from one shop to the other. “The whole center of the furniture store was the center isle of the Outlet Mall and there were stores on both sides,” said Picus painting a picture of the interior of the mall.
Former Alderman Tom O’Meara remembered the Outlet Mall as a HUGE attraction that pulled in people from across the state.
“It was busier then hell, there were buses all the time,” said O’Meara about the shoppers that came in from Green Bay, Minneapolis, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Dubuque, and Chicago.
“It was really major, major stores. There was no big anchor tenant, just a series of small shops,” said O’Meara remembering an old ice cream parlor. “What finally killed the Outlet Mall in West Bend is when an even bigger mall opened in Racine.”
Checking with the Washington County Historical Society we came up with this list of stores that once made up the West Bend Outlet Mall: The Cookie Jar, Dinner ware Incorporated Factory Outlet, House ware Outlet Store, Maus Jewelry Imports, Newport Sportswear, Paper Factory, The Sock Market, General Shoe Factory, Knit Pikker Factory Outlet, Little Red Shoehouse, Uncle Wonderful’s Ice Cream Parlor, The Card Shop Inc., Cheese Outlet and Sandwich Shop, Decor Drapery Outlet, Mitchell Handbags and Active Sportswear, Mountain Camper, Svoboda Industries Inc, Oshkosh B’gosh, Bass Shoe Outlet, Van Heusen Factory Outlet, Genuine Article, Regal Outlet, and Rainbow Fashions,
Michelle Marie I remember this little kiosk!
Shirley McDaniel Schwartz I can see your Mom behind the counter at Maus Jewelry.
Marty Angell My kids n I and my friends wld go shopping there all the time. Walk the bridge n then walk down town. SPEND Hrs THERE! N money! !! Was fun back in the day! ♡:)
Kathleen Sell Use to shop there all the time! My mom bought one of the grandmother’s clock from Svaboda & my husband & I put it together & stained it. I inherited it & it stands in my front hall today!
Three in four Venezuelans said they had lost weight last year, an average of 19 pounds, according to the National Poll of Living Conditions, an annual study by social scientists. People here, in a mix of rage and humor, call it the Maduro diet after President Nicolás Maduro.
For more than a month, Venezuelans have protested against the increasingly authoritarian government of Mr. Maduro; by Friday, more than 35 people had been reported killed in the unrest. The country’s Food Ministry, the president’s office, the Communications Ministry and the Foreign Ministry didn’t return calls or emails requesting comment for this article.
(CNN)Leading French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has been the victim of a “massive and coordinated hacking operation,” after files purporting to be from the campaign were posted online via social media, his campaign said Friday.
Campaign officials said the perpetrators of the hack — revealed just two days before the election — had mixed fake documents with authentic ones “in order to create confusion and misinformation.”
About 14.5 gigabytes of emails, personal and business documents were posted, a CNN look at the data shows. Links to the 70,000-plus files were posted on pastebin, a text-sharing site, just before 2 p.m. ET Friday.
This does seem to be an ongoing tactic by anarchists and malcontents. Campaigns are going to have to go back to doing everything in person in smoky back rooms.
“Somehow, her emails were being forwarded to Anthony Weiner, including classified information by her assistant, Huma Abedin,” he said.
In separate exchange with Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Comey said Abedin appeared to have had a regular practice of forwarding emails to Weiner for him “to print out for her so she could then deliver them to the secretary of state.”
But there was no indication that Abedin “had a sense that what she was doing was in violation of the law” Comey added, and investigators couldn’t prove any sort of criminal intent.
The fact that Clinton and Abedin previously exchanged classified emails gave federal prosecutors probable cause to justify their review of Weiner’s laptop, according to a search warrant application.
The statute does not require that Abedin knew this was against the law for it to be a crime. Also, given her high position in the administration, there is an expectation that she would know the rules around handling classified information. Comey should have recommended charges against her. In failing to do so, Comey has failed to execute his duties.
The Executive Order on Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty directs the IRS to provide “regulatory relief” to faith-based organisations that are tax-exempt, a White House spokesman said on Wednesday night.
A current provision in the US federal tax code, known as the Johnson Amendment, says that churches can be investigated and lose their tax-exempt status if they directly support or oppose any political candidate.
Since he cannot repeal the law without congressional legislation, Mr Trump is directing the IRS to “exercise maximum enforcement discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment”.
Few religious groups are known to have lost their tax status for violating the law, despite many churches openly advocating for political causes and hosting candidates during their campaigns.
“A crippling financial punishment,” Mr Trump said ahead of his signing, adding “very, very unfair. But no longer”.
The order also directs federal agencies to exempt some religious groups from providing birth control to employees and staff, as required under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
I like both parts of this order. For the first part, I have always thought that it was unconstitutional to make a tax break for religious organizations contingent on them saying (or not saying) what the government wants them to say (or not say). Our nation has generally decided to make religious organizations tax exempt because their existence and activities helping society is a positive that we want to encourage. If we no longer think that and want to tax them, then that is a decision our nation can make. But that decision should be based on the merits and not on whether or not some politician approves of the political activities of the religions organization.
Furthermore, as the story indicates, many churches have openly flaunted the Johnson Amendment for years with no consequences. Bill Clinton practically lived at the pulpit of black churches in the south when he was campaigning. So if we’re not going to enforce it for everyone, why have the law at all?
On the second part, this Obamacare rule violates the rights of these organizations to exercise their faith. Good riddance.
It’s good to see some progress this week on pulling back the coercive force of government.
Communities around Wisconsin have expressed frustration to state lawmakers over the 2008 Wisconsin Supreme Court property assessment decision that includes the “dark store” theory. Some large retail chains have been fighting and winning tax reassessment cases that deal with the level of property taxes they pay on properties that formerly housed their businesses which are now “dark” or vacant.
In a news conference Wednesday in Madison, Rep. Rob Brooks (RSaukville), Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) and Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Cedarburg) unveiled legislation regarding the “dark store theory.” The theory is a tax argument being used by a variety of big-box store chains to argue their stores are over-assessed for tax purposes. Under their argument, the operating business within a building should not factor into assessment; the assessment that decides a store’s property taxes should be determined by recent sales of comparable, vacant properties.
In 2008, a Wisconsin Supreme Court case, Walgreens vs. city of Madison, sided with Walgreens, saying the store’s taxes should be based not on the store’s lease agreement, but on what the landlord could get if the drugstore moved out of the buildings, which are generally developed and built to the store’s particular specifications.
“The court overstepped its bounds and we need to bring it back to where it always was prior to 2008,” Stroebel said. “Our taxation system is based on fair-market value. The Constitution has a uniformity clause which says all property has to be assessed the same and that is by fair-market value. In 2008, the courts hijacked the valuation process or real estate as it pertains to a certain — generally what they call the Walgreens or other similar kinds of stores.
I admit that I waffle with this a bit. On the one hand, I agree with Walgreens and the big box stores to an extent. We base our property taxes on the fair market value of the property. That value is generally what the owner could reasonably sell the property for in the open market and would fluctuate with market conditions. That is how we do it for residential properties. The tax assessors look at a residential property, its neighborhood, its general condition and specifications, and then make an educated guess on what the home would sell for in the current market. We could argue over how accurate those assessments are, but the intent is certainly to peg the value of the home at, or near, what the owner could sell it for. Why should we do it any different for businesses?
On the other hand, businesses are different than residential homes. The buildings are often purpose-built and have a drastically reduced value for any other businesses. This is why we see so many big box locations sit empty for years when the business closes. The value of the business is irreparably conjoined with the value of the property in which it resides. This is not true with all businesses – or even most. But with some, like Walgreens, it is undeniably true. So why shouldn’t those businesses pay taxes based more on what the property is worth to them instead of what it might be worth to somebody else?
In the end, I support the proposed law because wherever one falls in this argument, I don’t think it is a matter for the courts. It is a matter for the local taxing authority. If West Bend wants to assess property taxes based on the “dark store” theory to attract businesses and the residents are willing to pick up the slack in the property tax levy, then so be it. If they don’t, then that’s fine too. The point is that it should be up to the local taxing authority to make that determination. As long as it is fair and uniform, then the courts should not be involved.
The REINS bill is similar to legislation moving through congress, but with lower thresholds. It provides greater legislative oversight of the regulations adopted by state agencies. Any rule or regulation with an economic impact of more than $10 million would require legislative approval.
And it gives the legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules more muscle. The committee would be empowered to request a public hearing earlier in the rule-making process and call for an independent review of the proposed regulation’s economic impact.
“Right now, regular citizens and businesses don’t have a proper voice in the rule-making process,” LeMahieu said. “This bill adds additional oversight by allowing the legislature to require a preliminary public hearing earlier in the rule-making process and request independent Economic Impact Analyses on agency cost estimates.”
The REINS Act, co-authored by Sen. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, passed the Assembly last session. It is expected to do so this session. Gov. Scott Walker included the reform in his budget, but REINS was one of 83 “non-fiscal” policy items stripped from the Joint Finance Committee’s starting budget document.
If nothing else, it forces state officials to actually think about and measure the impact of their decisions before rendering them. It is easy to sit in Madison and pass regulations when you don’t have to be accountable for the impact.