Tax Cuts: Though it sounds good to be against taxes, fiscal responsibility may require that taxes be raised, particularly after they have been cut beyond what is prudent. Because of the reduced revenue in Oklahoma caused by the 2004 state tax cuts, it has become very difficult for the state to meet its financial obligations. In spite of that, another tax cut that was set to be triggered when state revenues improved by 4%, will go into effect in 2012. Astoundingly, that tax cut was triggered only because the state revenue had fallen far below the amount needed to fund the state's needs adequately. Oklahoma is not able to adequately fund K-12 education, higher education, infrastructure, transportation, public health services, public safety, and other services. Oklahoma ranks near the bottom of all the states in poverty, public health, education, crime, and infrastructure repair, yet the legislature has engineered another tax cut . While the tax cuts were touted as a way to lure businesses to the state, it is difficult to see why a business would want to move to a state where its management and employees would have to live in substandard conditions.
Oklahoma Taxes: Although it is easy to cut taxes in Oklahoma, it is very difficult to raise them. 提高稅收需要一個立法機關或由全民投票批准兩院四分之三多數。 It is very difficult to convince voters that they should vote to increase taxes upon themselves. Tax decisions are best decided by the legislatures, who are charged by the Constitution with budgeting adequately for the needs of the state. However, it is unlikely that Oklahoma would ever get a three fourths majority to raise taxes as Oklahoma's Governor, Lt. Governor, 7 Senators( of 48), and 26 House members( of 101) have pledged away their responsibility to raise needed revenue by signing Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform Pledge.
Norquist's Pledge is not as much about reform as one might expect. 反稅組織的真實本質被揭露時諾奎斯特聲稱它是違反承諾關閉美國工作外包海外的公司的稅收漏洞。 Apparently, Norquist has set himself up as the sole interpreter of what the Pledge means, and he uses it to intimidate those who have signed the pledge into following his wishes. He first said that allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire was not really a tax increase, then reversed his position, claimed he misspoke earlier, then claimed anyone voting to let the cuts expire would be violating the Pledge. He also claimed that Sen. Tom Coburn violated the Pledge when he supported ending the subsidies for ethanol, which have raised food prices and been disadvantageous to Oklahoma farmers. Grover Norquist, who was not elected, and whose name many would not even not recognize, has become a power broker in our national and state governments.
俄克拉何馬州的“憲法”:儘管如此,責任在於選出的代表。 In Oklahoma, there is a prohibition against our elected Representatives signing such a pledge. The Oklahoma Constitution, says in Article X, Section 5: under Surrender of Power of Taxation :
“答:除本條另有規定外,稅收的權力應永遠不會投降,暫停,或承包了。 “
There are no provisions in the section exempting Oklahoma's elected representatives from abiding by the restriction stated in “A.” Clearly, signing the Pledge is a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, which the legislators have sworn to uphold.
Your Representatives: US Senators and Congressmen are important at the state level as they are considered to be leaders in our respective states. Norquist claims 235 US Representatives and 41 US Senators have signed his Pledge. In doing so, they have clearly given up their responsibility as our elected representatives. If your state is unable to meet its financial obligations, those at the state level who have taken the anti-tax pledge are listed in this article . Also, those in the US Legislature who have signed the pledge are listed here . 你不妨檢查看到從您的狀態已簽署的承諾,並與他們聯繫。 Since Norquist claims that signing the pledge is binding into perpetuity, I would suggest that we make sure none of the signers are re-elected.
The Oklahoma Lists: Below is a list of those who have signed the pledge in Oklahoma. If anyone is listed who has not signed the pledge or has had their name removed, please notify the author in a comment on this article.
Oklahoma:
Gov. Mary Fallin
Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb
7 Senators (of 48)
Cliff Aldridge (S-42)
,喬希Brecheen(S - 6)
Bill Brown (S-36)
Sean Burrage (S-2)
Kim David (S-18)
David Holt (S-30)
Jonathan Nichols (S-15)
26 House members (of 101)
Gus Blackwell (H-61)
Mike Christian (H-93)
Josh Cockroft (H-27)
David Dank (H-85)
Lee R. Denny (H-33)
David Derby (H-74)
喬治Faught(H 14)
Corey Holland (H-51)
Charlie Joyner (H-95)
薩莉克恩(H 84)
Charles Key (H-90)
Randy McDaniel (H-83)
Jason W. Murphey (H-31)
Charles Ortega (H-52)
Leslie Osborn (H-47)
Mike Reynolds (H-91)
Mike Ritze (H-80)
Dustin Roberts (H-21)
肖恩·羅伯茨(H 36)
Mike Sanders (H-59)
伯爵西爾斯(H 11)
Colby Schwartz (H-43)
Randy Terrill (H-53)
Sue Tibbs (H-23)
John Trebilcock (H-98)
Paul Wesselhoft (H-54)
Six of Oklahoma's seven US Legislators have signed Norquist's Pledge. Those are:
Senators : Sen. Tom Coburn* (R), Sen Jim Inhofe (R)
代表:弗蘭克·盧卡斯(R)湯姆·科爾(R)的約翰·沙利文(R),詹姆斯·蘭克福德(R)的。
* In all fairness, Senator Coburn has worked on a bi-partisan budget solution and recently drew Grover Norquist's ire by suggesting we might have to raise revenue.
(C)2011賽馬摩爾
研究信用:芭芭拉·摩爾