Editorial

Legislative report

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Hello again. We don't yet have a good handle on the stimulus package. State agencies have until the 4th of March to report to the governor and then the information is going to a specially assigned committee to coordinate the information.

That report is due March 19.

We did get some very good advice from our two U.S. senators, Crapo and Risch. They were very sincere in advising not to add to our base in the budget. An example is increasing wages of state employees as that will increase our obligation on future budgets. Any increases in the base would have detrimental effects if we are not out of the recession by the time the stimulus aid ends at the close of 2010.

The best forecasts are now saying the recession won't bottom until the last quarter of 2010. I believe that not adding to the base is sound advice.

I've been getting objections to any form of increased taxation, whether it be registration fees, fuel taxes, beer and wine tax, cigarette tax or sales tax. There seems to be more pronounced objections to increased taxes than I've seen before.

None of the bills increasing taxes in any form have come out of committee to the full House for consideration. When they do, my approach will be to tread carefully because, generally speaking, now is not a good time to raise taxes. There will have to be compelling reasons to raise the tax in question before I vote for the tax.

Now, to the overriding problem of the value of our money.

President James Garfield said, "Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is master of all its legislation and commerce."

Thomas Jefferson said, "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a moneyed aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."

President Andrew Jackson said, "If Congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given them to be used by themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or to corporations."

Now, the problem of issuing money to be spent into existence lies in controlling the amount of money thus spent.

I believe that could be controlled by having strict laws that would set inflation at zero. This would control the amount of money spent and retain the value thereof. Also, we would use taxation to tax money out of existence as an aid to the amount of money to goods and services to insure a zero inflation rate.

Without some type of control as mentioned above, I don't feel we could leave Congress to the task. We would eventually end up where we are now.

As always, please let me know your ideas and concerns. I can be reached by e-mail at pnielsen@house.idaho.gov.