I don’t often link or comment on national politics as there’s no shortage of such words online. Steve Inskeep talks with Senator Feingold on Bush’s recent speech. Defense and the National Interest has two useful articles on this subject:
Jason Joyce takes a humorous look at Mayor Dave’s weekly schedule.
A looming accounting change is forcing state and local governments to fess up to something that’s been lurking on their books for years: Many have made costly retirement health-care promises without planning how to pay for them.
Under a new accounting rule, governments soon must start recognizing their long-term obligations to pay for retirees’ health benefits — and, for the first time, publicly disclose what it would cost each year to fund that liability.
For many governments, the promised amount is likely to be sizeable enough to prompt big changes such as cutting retiree benefits, borrowing money and diverting tax dollars from other spending priorities — or risk a credit-rating downgrade that could significantly boost borrowing costs. Estimates of obligations for some states range from $500 million to as much as $40 billion.
There are many positive aspects to the EFF’s work.
However and unfortunately, they have been silent (or apparently supportive) on Google’s land grab as Dave Winer points out this morning. More from Dave on the Google Toolbar
Google’s toolbar places their links on top of the original author’s hyperlinks (“Autolink”).
I’ve not been a financial supporter since the EFF remained silent on the AutoLink “feature”. Ironically, as Google Watch points out, the guy behind Microsoft’s similar scheme “Smart Tags” now works for Google.
I wonder how far Google will push the envelope when they have to support their sky high 117B market valuation (P/E of 88.6!)?
Two interesting perspectives on Wednesday night’s Madison City Council Budget votes:
Coming from another perspective, Brandon urges a no vote against this budget since it has a 4.35% increase, stating that no cuts were made “This isn’t the mayor’s budget. The mayor set a clear challenge to us, 4.1,” Brandon states. “We are playing into the state government’s perception, what they portray about us, is that we are big spenders,” he continues. “All we are doing is inviting more levy limits, and at worst, TABOR.”
Konkel says “we could have done this if we really wanted to,” referring to the failure of the hotel room tax hike, which she states would have brought the levy down to 4.03, also lamenting the failure of several amendments to provide services to the indigent. “I know how I’m going to vote,” Webber says, while Bruer commends the council for the tenor of this year’s budget process. “This administration unlike others in the past did more truth in budgeting,” he says of the mayors role, continuing by pointing out cost-cutting measures undertaken by city departments in his defense of the budget and its process. “To go through all those hours and all that energy,” Bruer says, “I have no problem going out to my constituency and defending this increase” due to its “balance” of attention.
Knutsen also live-blogged the meetings (which is fabulous)
The tax hike, Cieslewicz said, is the third lowest in the past two decades.
It’s now time for the state to back away from tax caps, let cities make budget decisions based on their own values, and for the state to try to fix how it funds municipalities, the mayor said.
Ald. Zach Brandon, 7th District, who led the group that made the 4.1 percent tax cap pledge, offered the lone harsh words about the budget.
“Do you know what this is saying to the rest of the state?” he said, adding that Madison will become a “poster child” for its inability to contain spending and taxes.”
The subjects covered here are no less enormous than the Net and its future. Even optimists agree that the Net’s future as a free and open environment for business and culture is facing many threats. We can’t begin to cover them all or cover all the ways we can fight them. I believe, however, that there is one sure way to fight all of these threats at once, and without doing it the bad guys will win. That’s what this essay is about.
Here’s a brief outline of the article. If you want to go straight to the solution, skip to the third section:
- Scenario I: The Carriers Win
- Scenario II: The Public Workaround
- Scenario III: Fight with Words and Not Just Deeds
More here.
CIVITAS will host 10 monthly luncheon forums focused on local finance, public education services and finances, and an analysis of local government services. (See Forum Calender for schedule of topics). Each luncheon will include presentations by past and current local officials, academic experts and representatives from community, business, professional and civic organizations. Presentations will be followed by questions from a panel of civitas members who have studied the monthly topic and audience questions.
All presentations will be recorded and posted on a civitas web site and media coverage of the information presented in the forums will be encouraged.
Civitas graduates will receive a certificate of attendance and a complete set of the presentations. Appointing authorities will receive an annual list of civitas graduates and will be encouraged to consider these individuals for appointments to boards, commissions and committees.
In addition, any civitas graduate who decides to become a candidate for local public office will be eligible to attend an annual civitas Candidate Training Program and an annual civitas Seminar on the Public Agenda which will examine the results of a county-wide public opinion survey of local issues.
Civitas is a joint undertaking of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and Wood Communications, according to a letter sent to chamber members by chairman Gary Wolter.
Bill Lueders on the Falk / Lautenschlager race:
I only asked because no one else did. When Kathleen Falk announced her candidacy for attorney general against fellow Democrat Peg Lautenschlager at the City-County Building on Monday, I thought it would be one of first things that came up. But while several reporters quizzed Falk about Lautenschlager’s 2004 arrest for drunk driving (Falk deftly evaded the question, saying voters would have to reach their own conclusions), none asked her directly about her own record in this area. And so I raised my hand, waited until Falk called on me, and popped the question.
Kristian Knutsen continues to impress with his City Council commentary and live blogging.
The citizens of other nations where Microsoft sells its products are less fortunate. Round Island One provides a structure for Microsoft to radically reduce its corporate taxes in much of Europe, and similarly shields billions of dollars from U.S. taxation.
Giant U.S. companies whose products are heavily based on their innovations, such as technology and pharmaceutical firms, increasingly are setting up units in Ireland that route intellectual property and its financial fruits to the low-tax haven — at the expense of the U.S. Treasury.
Much of Round Island’s income is licensing fees from copyrighted software code that originates in the U.S. Some of the rights to these lucrative assets end up in Ireland via complex accounting rules on intellectual property that the Treasury is now seeking to overhaul. The Internal Revenue Service said it is also looking closely at how companies account for such transactions.
In a statement, Microsoft said its European units “report and pay significant amounts of taxes” and that Microsoft “is fully compliant with the tax laws of the United States and all other countries.”
Through a key holding, dubbed Flat Island Co., Round Island licenses rights to Microsoft software throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Thus, Microsoft routes the license sales through Ireland and Round Island pays a total of just under $17 million in taxes to about 20 other governments that represent more than 300 million people.
Microosft is not unique. Many firms route their IP through tax havens such as Ireland, Puerto Rico, Cyprus and others.
This tax saving process occurs in everyday products (for some) as well, such as Pepsi & Coke. Both beverage giants locate their flavor facilities in tax havens.