The answer? Economic growth
City leaders are looking at ways to trim the city budget as the revenue shortfall continues to climb.
New Mayor Dewey Bartlett inherited an incredible mess from Kathy Taylor, who overspent in her efforts to expand government and do favors for her buddies.
Now Bartlett has to clean up the mess.
That may mean laying off policemen and firefighters. That’s what being considered.
Taylor, who ran on a promise of adding policemen, tried to lay off 18 officers. She got a costly bailout from President Obama and the officers got a reprieve.
Now Taylor is traveling the state to try to do for education what she did for Tulsa’s municipal government. Lord help our school children.
The short-term answer to Taylor’s budget crisis may be layoffs. Tulsa needs to re-evaluate every expense, especially the millions it pays to the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce. A recent sale of 200 surplus autos netted almost $500,000.
More creative plans are needed.
For the long term, Tulsa needs more retail activity. When Wal-Marts, Lowe’s and other big retailers jump to the suburbs, it cuts into Tulsa’s sale tax – the lifeblood of municipal finance.
What attracts retailers? Shoppers. What attracts shoppers? Low taxes.
Tulsa should cut taxes and cut regulations on small business. That would spur the local economy.
Bartlett pledged in the campaign that he would not raise taxes. He didn’t say specifically that he would stand in the way of someone proposing a tax hike to be voted on by the people.
The new year will be a challenge. Thank goodness Taylor is no longer calling the shots.
Deceit about ‘global warming’
Is the Earth warming? Is this warming caused by mankind? What impact would warming have on life? Can we, more specifically Americans, do anything to stop it?
The answers are yes and no; not primarily, good and not really.
In the wake of last month’s United Nations summit on “climate change” in Copenhagen, America needs to base its climate decisions on honest, scientific data – not on a documentary by environmental extremist Al Gore.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed to raise $100 billion from rich countries (mostly the United States) to give to poor countries (almost everyone else) to solve the “problem” of climate change.
Until a few years ago, climate change was “global warming.” Even though the plantet may have warmed as much as one degree in the last century, credible scientists now agree that CO2 levels are not responsible and, in fact, there is little that man can do to change the temperature. The Sun has a lot more impact.
President Obama and his liberal pals want to keep climate change at a crisis level to fund their plans for a world government run by the United Nations. This is a direct threat to the sovereignty and autonomy of the United States.
Fortunately, even the Democrats in the U.S. Senate know that Americans will not swallow higher energy bills and taxes to placate some international thugs who think we have too much wealth and use too much energy.
Let’s hope that the politicians and dishonest scientists who have lied to the American people about global warming pay a political price in the elections of 2010.
Three cheers for Dr. Coburn!
Three cheers for U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn!
In December, Coburn eliminated an onerous 767-page amendment to the government health care bill by invoking a Senate rule forcing the bill to be read aloud.
The author of the amendment dropped it in frustration.
Good.
The Obama Administration and Majority Leader Harry Reid have been trying to ram through socialistic legislation for more than a year. Their strategy is to get a majority vote before the implications of the bills are pondered.
It didn’t work this time.
Most Americans oppose the government takeover of the health care system. Polls show they don’t want the Reid Bill.
“If Senator Reid won’t slow down this debate,” Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., told The New York Times, “we will do it for him.”
Reid and Obama has purchased enough Democrat votes to end closure with 60 votes.
That doesn’t guarantee passage in the Senate and it doesn’t mean a compromise bill will get through the House.
The Hyde Amendment bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion through the Health and Human Services appropriations bill. The Stupak amendment prevents the government from paying directly for abortions or subsidizing private plans that cover abortions. Individuals could still purchase plans that cover abortion with their own money.
One of the hidden landmines of “health care reform” is government funding for abortions on demand, for any reason.
It’s coming. If not in this Senate bill, then one down the road.
In the meantime, it’s good to know that Coburn has read the rule book.
It’s too bad the rest of the Oklahoma delegation don’t share that level of courage or conviction about saving America’s freedoms.