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LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of October 14, 2007

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CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS

Updated on a regular basis

The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at Democratic Headquarters,            640 Barret Avenue .

 

Notice to our Readers &  2007 General Election Candidates:

This newsletter will carry in this space any Democratic candidates' notice of events or communications (250 words or less) to our readers that the candidate provides to the editor at rcrider@louisvilledem.com

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  Nothing this week

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 DAILY GRILL       

"In all these vital measures for fighting the war on terror, the Democrats in Washington follow a simple philosophy: Just say no." -- President Bush, 10/28/06

VERSUS  

 "My engagement with the new leadership in Congress...indicates that they are even more committed to pursue the war in the original front of the war against terrorism and to help out Afghanistan." -- Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States Said Tayeb Jawad, 10/3/07 

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Since British forces "handed over our base in Basra City in early September, the present security situation has been calmer."
-- British PM Gordon Brown, 10/8/07, after announcing a withdrawal of British troops from Iraq

VERSUS

"A contagion of violence would likely spread beyond Iraq's borders, and much of the effort that's gone into fighting the global war on terror would be dissipated."  -- President Bush, 9/14/07, on what would happen if the United States were to withdraw from Iraq

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"We advance the name of General Petraeus this year because he has come to personify the GI Joes and GI Janes of whom he is in command." -- New York Sun, 10/10/07, nominating Petraeus for the Nobel Peace Prize

VERSUS

"Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it." -- MSNBC, 10/12/07

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"I don't think they've gotten anything done." -- House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), 3/21/07, on the 110th Congress

VERSUS

"The House last week held its 943rd roll call vote of the year, breaking the previous record of 942 votes, a mark set in 1978. ... Last year, the Republican controlled House held 543 votes." -- The Politico, 10/9/07

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Quotes of the Day      

None this week

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Recent Senate Votes 

National Defense Authorization Act for FY2008 - Vote Passed (92-3, 5 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this legislation authorizing $648 billion in defense spending, including military construction and Department of Energy defense-related programs, for the 2008 fiscal year.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted YES
Sen. Jim Bunning voted YES

 

Recent House Votes 

 

Improving Government Accountability Act - Vote Passed (404-11, 17 Not Voting)

The House overwhelmingly passed this bill to enhance the independence and accountability of the Inspectors General.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

 

MEJA Expansion and Enforcement Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (389-30, 13 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill to hold private security contractors accountable for criminal behavior.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

 

Regional Economic and Infrastructure Development Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (264-154, 14 Not Voting)

This bill would extend the authorization for two regional commissions and create three new commissions to help the most severely economically distressed areas of the U.S.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted NO

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (386-27, 19 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill that is intended to provide tax relief to the increasing amount of people who have lost their homes due to foreclosure.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted YES

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

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HUMOR    

After the debate they go into these spin rooms and tell you how their candidates won. Like Fred Thompson's people said he won because he didn't fall asleep. Mitt Romney's campaign said he won because he had two positions on every issue. And Rudy Giuliani's campaign said he won because he lasted the entire time without one cell phone call from his wife." --Jay Leno

"Here's what I don't understand: Rudolph Giuliani had three wives and he's not the Mormon candidate?" --David Letterman

"Radar magazine is causing a big controversy because the cover of their November issue features a doctored photo of a partially dressed Rudy Giuliani and a totally nude Hillary Clinton. Radar says it's all part of their plan to sell zero magazines" --Conan O'Brien

"According to the latest poll, New Hampshire voters -- kind of prickly voters -- are unexpectedly warming to Hillary Clinton. So, this could be the proof of global warming -- Hillary thawing." --Jay Leno

"Senator Larry Craig ... has been selected for the Idaho Hall of Fame. Well, what a well thought out choice that was. ... Actually, he's not being inducted into the entire hall, just the men's room" --Jay Leno

"Former 'Law & Order' star Fred Thompson appeared in his first presidential debate last night. Political experts called him uneven, flat and dull. In other words, Thompson was the highlight of the debate." --Conan O'Brien

"There were times when Thompson looked like a bystander when Romney and Giuliani were going at each other. See, I don't think Fred understands how these debates work. Like he went backstage and asked the producers, 'I need more lines.'" --Jay Leno

"Hillary Clinton is now saying she is having second thoughts about the NAFTA agreement ... which her husband supported and signed into law when he was president. ... The last time Bill and Hillary had completely different interpretations of a legal document was their marriage license." --Jay Leno

"Tonight's Republican debate will be the first one that former Senator Fred Thompson will attend. Thompson says he wanted to attend the previous debates, but he got stuck driving his wife to cheerleading practice." --Conan O'Brien

"Yesterday on the campaign trail .enator Hillary Clinton was extremely critical of NAFTA, even though the program was implemented by Bill Clinton. When asked about it, Hillary said, 'It's not just NAFTA. I'm also opposed to my husband's views on MILFs." --Conan O'Brien

"During a recent speech, President Bush said, 'My job is a decision-making job. As a result, I have made a lot of decisions.' Apparently, Bush's decision that day was to write his own speech." --Conan O'Brien

"Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson is being criticized for being out of touch, because in a recent interview, he talked about strengthening our relationship with the Soviet Union. Which, of course, no longer exists. Thompson says he feels bad about the mistake and he plans to personally apologize to Stalin." --Conan O'Brien

"In a recent interview, journalist Robert Novak says that in order to get rid of Senator Larry Craig, the Republican leadership is going to have to 'get him in a room and slap him around.' When he heard this, Craig said, 'Don't say it unless you really mean it'" --Conan O'Brien

"According to a poll, Bill Clinton has emerged as an asset in his wife's campaign, with 60% of Americans saying they would be comfortable with him as first husband. While 71% of women say they'd be extremely comfortable with him as a second husband." --Amy Poehler

"If Dennis Kucinich is elected president, his wife would be the first first lady ever with a pierced tongue. And he would be the first president ever to sit in the Oval Office on a booster seat." --Jay Leno 

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 IRAQ -- ARMY DENIES BENEFITS TO NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS WHO SERVED 22 MONTHS IN IRAQ: Approximately 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard recently returned home after serving serving 22 months tours -- "longer than any other ground combat unit." Members of the group suffered nine fatalities and were awarded dozens of Purple Hearts. But the Army wrote the orders for 1,162 of these soldiers for 729 days, making them ineligible for full educational benefits under the GI Bill, which requires written orders saying they were deployed for 730 days or more. These soldiers were shorted more than $200 per month for college. First Lt. Jon Anderson believes that the military deliberately cut short their orders to avoid paying the soldiers' education benefits. "I think it was a scheme to save money, personally," he said. "I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership." Six members of Minnesotaâ??s congressional delegation, as well as Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Norm Coleman (R), have asked Secretary of the Army Pete Geren to investigate the matter. Coleman said that it's "simply irresponsible to deny education benefits to those soldiers who just completed the longest tour of duty of any unit in Iraq." Geren has reportedly assured the lawmakers that the cases "will be reviewed on an expedited basis, so that those who qualify can attend school next semester."

ADMINISTRATION -- HUD SECRETARY UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR KATRINA KICKBACKS: The Justice Department is investigating "ties between Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso R. Jackson and a friend of Mr. Jackson's who was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by [Jackson] for rebuilding work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina." Jackson was the subject of an investigation by the inspector general for HUD in 2006, which found that he had "advised senior staff...that when considering discretionary contracts, they should be considering supporters of the President." The current investigation centers around the $485,000 that Jackson's "golfing buddy" William Hairston was paid for Katrina work on a no-bid contract. Investigators are exploring whether Jackson testified truthfully last May when he said that he never intervened in awarding HUD contracts, telling the Senate panel, "I don't touch contracts." 

ETHICS -- RIGHT WING LAUNCHES BASELESS SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST 12-YEAR OLD SCHIP RECIPIENT: Two weeks ago, the Democratic radio address was delivered by a 12-year old Graeme Frost, who was involved in a severe car accident three years ago and received access to medical care because of the Children's Health Insurance Program. Following the speech, conservatives began launching baseless attacks on Graeme and his family. A poster at Free Republic asserted that Graeme and his sister Gemma attend wealthy schools that cost "nearly $40,000 per year for tuition" and live in a well-off home. The smear attack against Graeme has also taken firm hold in the right-wing blogosphere. The National Review, Michelle Malkin, Wizbang, Powerline, and the Weekly Standard blog have all launched assaults on the Frost family. The story is slowly working its way into traditional media outlets as well. Here are the facts the right wing distorted in order to attack Graeme:  First, Graeme has a scholarship to a private school. The school costs $15K a year, but the family only pays $500 a year. Second, the Frosts bought their "lavish house" 16 years ago for $55,000 at a time when the neighborhood was less safe. And finally, the Frosts make $45,000 combined and over the past few years they have made no more than $50,000 combined. Since the address, right wing bloggers have been harassing the Frosts, repeatedly calling their home to get information about their private lives.

MEDIA -- JOE WILSON CALLS OUT ROBERT NOVAK FOR 'LYING' ABOUT CIA LEAK: Over the weekend, conservative columnist Robert Novak, who infamously outed undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame in a July 2003 column, spoke at "a seminar on the CIA leak case at the 2007 Society of Professional Journalists Convention." Novak claimed that Plame's husband, Amb. Joe Wilson, "was not terribly exercised about" the column when he spoke to him prior to publication. "Instead," claims Novak, "Wilson focused on not being portrayed as simply an opponent of the Iraq war." In an interview with Talking Points Memo's Greg Sargent yesterday, Wilson disputed Novak's claims, calling him a "chronic liar." "When I talked to him it was not about what he was writing," Wilson told Sargent. "The purpose of my phone call to him was to tell him that it was not appropriate for him to be telling strangers in Washington that my wife works for the CIA." Additionally, Wilson said "that Novak's claim that he hadn't forcefully objected to the naming of his wife was a severe distortion, based on the fact that Wilson couldn't say anything direct about it to Novak without confirming it." According to Sargent, The Hill, which reported Novak's remarks, never contacted Wilson for comment.

ETHICS -- REP. JEFF FLAKE PREDICTS 'ANOTHER INDICTMENT OR TWO' FOR EARMARK ABUSE IS 'COMING': Over the years, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has garnered a reputation as "the House's No. 1 earmark-hater" due to his willingness "to kill projects" favored by his colleagues. Though he has gained increased support for his anti-earmark mission since the 2006 elections, Flake says it will probably take "another" earmark-centered "indictment or two" before his fellow lawmakers seriously tackle earmark reform. Flake believes that day is right around the corner, telling the Politico that he thinks more indictments "are coming." Though he did not name names to the Politico, a number of Flake's colleagues, including Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA), Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), are currently under scrutiny for their handling of earmarks. Flake could also be referring to the " fresh wave of campaign-related theft and corruption investigations" reported recently by Roll Call. According to the Capitol Hill paper, "indictments may be on the horizon."

ETHICS -- ALABAMA GOV. ALLEGEDLY PROSECUTED 'AS A RESULT OF ROVE TALKING TO' DOJ: Last month, House leaders began an investigation into improper communications between former White House adviser Karl Rove and the Justice Department regarding the prosecution of former Democratic Alabama governor Don Siegelman, who was jailed in June on federal corruption charges. Yesterday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) released the full 143- page testimony of Alabama lawyer Jill Simpson, who said that Rove directly intervened in the prosecution. "They were pursuing Don Siegelman as a result of Rove talking to the Justice Department," she said. Simpson testified that Rove had assured Republicans involved in the prosecution that Siegelman would face Mark Fuller, an Alabama federal judge who reportedly "hated" Siegelman. Simpson said that Rove told these operatives that "Fuller would hang Don Siegelman." The Committee is expected to investigate the Bush administration's alleged interference in the activities of the Department of Justice next week. As Time noted, if Simpson's testimony is accurate, "it would show direct political involvement by the White House in federal prosecutions -- a charge leveled by Administration critics in connection with the U.S. attorney scandal."

CONGRESS -- LIEBERMAN SHOWS 'LITTLE INTEREST' IN OVERSIGHT OF CONTRACTORS: House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has held eight separate oversight hearings on Iraq and war contracts, but according to Roll Call, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has had "relatively little interest" in "potential waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct among government contractors." He has held only one hearing on both the Iraq and Afghanistan reconstruction efforts. In 2003, Lieberman called for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs to hold hearings on all post-war Iraq contracts, saying he was "concerned about the secretive and non-competitive procedures." But now as chair of the committee, he has left such oversight to Waxman. "You've got to set your own priorities, and it was clear to me that other committees were going to pick up on this," Lieberman said. "He supports the war. So why does he not investigate the things that undermine the mission?" asked Charlie Cray, director of the nonpartisan watchdog Center for Corporate Policy.

ADMINISTRATION -- CHARLIE SAVAGE: CHENEY PLOTTED BUSH'S IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY 'THIRTY YEARS AGO': The Bush administration has long held that President Bush's expanded executive power is justified because of 9/11. "I believe in a strong, robust executive authority and I think that the world we live in demands it," claimed Vice President Cheney in 2005. But in his new book, Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy, Boston Globe reporter Charlie Savage reveals that Cheney has been on a 30-year quest to implement his views of unfettered executive power. For example, in a report authored in 1987, Cheney and aide David Addington defended President Reagan in the Iran-Contra affair by claiming it was "unconstitutional for Congress to pass laws intruding" on the "commander in chief." Decades later, Bush's legal team used their first meeting in Jan. 2001 to map out a plan to expand presidential authority. According to Savage, who appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal yesterday, Cheney was looking for a moment to "seize" power in the weeks before 9/11. "We are going to expand presidential power in any way we can. This was discussed in January 2001 at the first meeting of the White House legal team after the inauguration, long before 9/11," observed Savage. Previously, Savage won a Pulitzer Prize for his seminal work exposing President Bush's abuse of signing statements.

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NEED COMPUTER ASSISTANCE?? 

Democrat Activist Mike Bailey is now providing “Professional Computer Support.”  He can be contacted at 502-558-4026, or mikebailey2000@usa.net. 

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Think Fast        

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has launched an online petition asking conservatives to "band together" and "stand with Rush Limbaugh against liberal attacks."

Alternet reports, "The truth of the matter is that only the presence of U.S. forces allows the group called 'al Qaeda in Iraq' (AQI) to survive and function, and setting a timetable for the occupation to end is the best way to beat them. You won't hear that perspective in Washington, but according to Iraqis with whom we spoke, it is the conventional wisdom in much of the country."

"Over and over, President Bush confidently promised to 'solve problems, not pass them on to future presidents and future generations.' As the clock runs out on his eight-year presidency, a tall stack of troubles remain and Bush's words ring hollow."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has "closed the door to negotiations with President Bush on a vetoed children's health bill." "We're not going to compromise," Reid said. "If he's hoping for that, he better hope for something else, like getting our troops home from Iraq."

"A record number of floods, droughts and storms around the world this year amount to a climate change 'mega disaster', the United Nation's emergency relief coordinator, Sir John Holmes, has warned." He said "dire predictions about the impact of global warming on humanity were already coming true. "

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) recycles jokes like it's 1999. Yesterday, he said that "as president he would appoint Alan Greenspan to lead a review of the nation's tax code." "If he's alive or dead it doesn't matter. If he's dead, just prop him up and put some dark glasses on him like, like 'Weekend at Bernie's,'" McCain joked. Funny joke...except that he's been telling it since 1999.

The "richest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record," with the "wealthiest 1% of Americans earn[ing] 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to new data from the Internal Revenue Service. ... The bottom 50% earned 12.8% of all income, down from 13.4% in 2004."

The New York Times's Paul Krugman covers the right-wing smear of Graeme Frost and his family, calling it "a perfect illustration of the modern right-wing political machine at work, and in particular its routine reliance on character assassination in place of honest debate."

"A comprehensive global study of abortion has concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it." Additionally, abortion was found to be more dangerous where it is outlawed.

The ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked a federal judge yesterday to order the White House to preserve tapes used to back up its e-mail system. "The White House is refusing to confirm that they have maintained e-mail going back to the beginning of the administration as they are required by law to do," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW.

In an "unusual" and "unprecedented" move, CIA director Michael Hayden has ordered an "internal inquiry into the work of the agency's inspector general," who has been responsible for "aggressive investigations" of the CIA's detention and interrogation programs.

Time magazine asks, "Who will be punished for Haditha?" While few dispute the fact that "women and children were killed in their homes alongside adult males by U.S. Marines" in Hadith on Nov. 19, 2005, "the likelihood is" that none of the soldiers involved will be charged for murder.

The Sept. 16 shootout in Baghdad by Blackwater guards was a "criminal event," according to a report by the first U.S. soldiers to arrive on the scene. "It had every indication of an excessive shooting," said Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa, who led the troops who responded to the incident.

 Even the White House has noticed Radiohead's new album. Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto is reportedly a "big fan" of the group and plans to download "In Rainbows." National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said that he is "90 percent sure" he has a few Radiohead songs on his iPod, but none from their 2003 album, "Hail to the Thief," which is considered a reference to President Bush.

"Federal investigators are hinting that a fresh wave of campaign-related theft and corruption investigations of Members of Congress are moving through the pipeline, signaling that indictments may be on the horizon."

During last night's CNBC Republican debate, moderator Chris Matthews asked Mitt Romney whether he would get congressional approval "to take military action against Iran." Romney replied that he would let his lawyers figure it out: "You sit down with your attorneys and tell you what you have to do."

Responding to smears and intrusions into her family's private life by conservatives, Bonnie Frost, whose 12-year old son Graeme recently delivered a radio address supporting SCHIP expansion, said, "We stood up in the first place because S-chip really helped our family and we wanted to help other families." 

At least 12 racial incidents have been reported across the country since the case of the "Jena Six." Echoing the nooses hung on a tree by white students that raised tensions in Jena, "most of the dozen occurrences in the past two months involved a noose left anonymously at a school or workplace." Yesterday, a noose was found on a professor's door at Columbia University.

21: Number of countries, including the United States, who still belong to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Forty-nine nations were originally part of the coalition.

"The opening of the mammoth new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has been delayed indefinitely while its Kuwaiti contractor fixes a punch list of problems." The embassy "was set to open last month but U.S. lawmakers say shoddy work by the contractor and poor oversight by the State Department have delayed it."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has some new neighbors. Anti-Bush protesters have "engaged in decidedly non-neighborly behavior like hanging their clothes from the trees; moving in sofas, chairs and other 'permanent living facilities'; and, oddly, building a large Buddha on the sidewalk in front of her home." "You can just imagine my neighbors' reactions to all of this," she said.

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INTERESTING        

U.S. Unemployment Worsens, by Tula Connell

What does it mean when the number of jobs in September goes up, but the nation’s unemployment rate worsens?  

One thing for sure is that the major media will emphasize the increase in jobs, even though that increase was not sufficient to staunch the souring unemployment numbers. 

The U.S. Department of Labor today released the September jobs report that shows 110,000 workers were added to payrolls last month, but unemployment went from 4.6 percent to 4.7 percent, the worst unemployment rate since the summer of 2006.  

As Bonddad notes: 

The devil’s in the details, so let’s see what the inside story of this number is.

Construction: -14,000
Manufacturing: -18,000

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. The housing sector has been dropping like a stone for the last year. While commercial construction has helped to absorb the displaced workers, that will eventually only go so far. It looks like we are at the point.

71.81 percent of the jobs created (44,000 + 35,000) were lower paying. In addition, when we take government out of the equation (which gives us 73,000 total), pretty much the majority of jobs created is lower paying. 

Bonddad’s point about the type of jobs being created is key. Jobs can be plentiful, but if you need three of them to pay your bills, something is seriously wrong.  Although today’s jobs figures revised to 89,000 the number of jobs added in August, after initially reporting a net loss of 4,000, not even mainstream economists believe the economy is strong. Yesterday, the Labor Department said jobless claims rose 16,000 to 317,000 in the week ended Sept. 29, a bigger jump than analysts anticipated. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that orders to U.S. factories fell in August by 3.3 percent, slightly worse than expected and the largest amount in seven months.

And we all know the housing sector is tanking. Even The Wall Street Journal is forced to report:

Demand for previously owned homes tumbled in August to the lowest level in five years as mortgage-market troubles hurt sales. Home resales fell to a 5.5 million annual rate, a 4.3 percent decline from July, the National Association of Realtors said. In a separate report, the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed the decline in U.S. home prices accelerated nationwide in July, posting the steepest drop in 16 years.

This week, The Wall Street Journal also ran two front-page articles on polls showing growing unhappiness among Republicans over the GOP’s fiscal policies, with Republicans even questioning the party’s unqualified support for so-called free trade.

Bush’s record is so bad, it’s a good time to burst the myth that Republicans are better at running the nation’s economy.

Robert Weiner and John Larmett do just that in a searing post whose head sums up their findings: “A Simple Fact: Republicans Can’t Manage the Economy.” They take a look at the economic records of Democratic and Republican presidents back to Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. Here are a couple of their findings:

The economy added 10 million jobs under Jimmy Carter despite high inflation; Carter ranks first in job creation next to Clinton during just four years in office. Carter also reduced government spending as a percentage of GDP [Gross Domestic Product].

In George H. W. Bush had the poorest record for both GDP and income growth. During his single term, the deficit ballooned (from $152 billion to $255 billion) more than under every president but his son and Ford.

But if Bush Jr. was looking to outdo dad, his economic record is resoundingly worse than his father’s—and every other recent U.S. president.

Bush transformed the surpluses into a $1.1 trillion annual deficit in just three years because of the Iraq war and his relentless push for permanent tax cuts for wealthy Americans, a new iteration of Herbert Hoover’s equally catastrophic “trickle-down” theory. Bragging about a $239 billion deficit sets such a low standard that Bush can claim horrific failure as a good thing for the country. The Bush administration’s annual loss of three-quarters of a trillion dollars is unprecedented. Bush presided over the loss of 2 million American jobs in his first 2-1/2 years and has net gained 5.6 million in six years, the worst since Hoover. Clinton created 23 million jobs.

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Elizabeth questions Limbaugh's draft deferment

My classmates went to Vietnam, he did not. He was 4F. He had a medical disability, the same medical disability that probably should have stopped him from spending a lifetime in a radio announcer’s chair; but it is true, isn’t it? If he has an inoperable position that allows him not to serve, presumably it should not allow him to sit for long periods of time the way he does. I think this is a serious enough offense for the people who fund him, who buy ads and allow him to be on the air, need to be asked if this is what they really stand for, do they think it is all right for someone who has never served to denigrate the men and women who have simply because they are expressing an opinion. Frankly, I thought that is what we are fighting for. MORE

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Wal-Mart Fights Paying Fair Share of Property Taxes, by James Parks

A new report shows Wal-Mart—the world’s largest retailer, which made nearly $12 billion in profits last year—is squeezing money out of local communities by trying to reduce its property taxes, the main source of revenue for schools, roads, police and fire protection.  

The giant retailer has sought to reduce the property taxes it pays on 35 percent of its stores and 40 percent of its distribution centers, according to a report by the nonprofit research group Good Jobs First. In fact, Rolling Back Property Tax Payments, estimates the company has filed more than 2,100 property tax challenges nationwide. Click here for the full text of the report. 

Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy says: 

Wal-Mart’s frequent poor-mouthing of its properties makes the company appear hypocritical. When it meets opposition to a new store, the company claims it will bring economic benefits to the community, which would normally be reflected in higher property values. Yet, in these assessment appeals, the company routinely argues that the value of its properties has declined. Unwittingly, Wal-Mart appears to be confirming the argument often raised by neighborhood groups that the construction of one of the company’s giant stores will reduce property values. 

These systematic property tax challenges are part of a larger pattern of state and local tax avoidance by Wal-Mart. We have shared many of the ways Wal-Mart drains money and resources from local communities, including taking 39 state and local government economic development subsidy deals worth more than $200 million in just the past three years.  

Studies also have detailed how a large number of Wal-Mart workers are paid poverty-level wages and how the retail giant’s lack of affordable health care coverage forces many of its workers to apply for public health care assistance, which adds considerably to the tax burdens of communities in which stores are located. 

Says Philip Mattera, research director of Good Jobs First and principal author of the report: 

[The property tax appeals] are consistent with the company’s reported use of a real estate investment trust gimmick to dodge income taxes in many states. And they are consistent with the widespread property tax abatements, income tax credits and sales tax diversions that make up a large part of the more than $1.2 billion in economic development subsidies that Good Jobs First has documented in previous research on Wal-Mart.  

Local officials are not happy with Wal-Mart’s efforts to reduce their property taxes. Says Mattera: 

We were amazed at how outspoken some local assessors were when we phoned them for information about Wal-Mart.  

For example, Don Hurst,  the assessor in Johnson County, Ark., Wal-Mart’s home state, told The New York Times Wal-Mart sought to reduce the assessment on a distribution center in Clarksville, Ark., to $23 million from $33 million, starting in 2003. 

Times reporter David Cay Johnston quotes Hurst as saying: 

“Wal-Mart showed up with their property-tax executive, three lawyers and a couple of accountants,” Mr. Hurst said. He added that he had been acquainted with Sam Walton, the legendary founder of Wal-Mart, and “I am sure he would not approve” of trying to reduce the money “that goes for our kids’ schools.” 

Wal-Mart sued Hurst for a lower assessment and lost.

Although Wal-Mart’s overall campaign to downsize its property tax payments has been blunted in some states, the company has won big tax cuts in certain individual communities. In numerous locations, Wal-Mart has won total tax savings of more than $100,000.  

Even when local governments defeat a Wal-Mart appeal entirely, there still may be substantial costs for the community, Mattera says.

Assessors told us of major cases in which they had to spend tens of thousands of dollars on outside lawyers, appraisers and other consultants to prepare their defense. 

Wal-Mart assailed the report as coming from an organization funded by unions. In fact, as the organization points out, Good Jobs First receives much of its funding from Ford Foundation and Rockefeller grants, with less than 3 percent coming from unions, none of which went to the creation of this report. 

The Good Jobs First report concludes with the following statement: 

To Wal-Mart, we say: Cease your assault on property taxes. If you are serious about being a responsible corporate “citizen” and you really care about the communities in which you operate, you should forget about assessment challenges and pay your tax bills in full without complaint. You can easily afford to do so, and the amounts involved mean a lot more to those communities than to your enormous bottom line.    

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VIDEOS  

None This week

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