Scott Brown’s Tax Cut

A tax cut… proposed by Senator Scott Brown (R-MA).

Almost one month to the day of entering the U.S. Senate after a race that rocked the political world, Sen. Scott Brown, R-MA, has come out with his first piece of legislation — a tax cut.

It targets mostly working class Americans, those employees making up to about $200,000, with a temporary tax cut that would, according to data released from Brown’s office, save the average worker “about $100 a month for a total of at least $500 for individuals and $1,000 for working couples.”

Brown will win few, if any, Democratic supporters, however, as he seeks to pay for the entire amendment with “all unallocated stimulus funds,” of which Brown estimates there is “over $80 billion.”

There has not yet been a full analysis of the bill, which offers the tax cut for a six month period, which determines its price tag, by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Brown’s office, in a statement, said, “Families could immediately use their returned tax dollars to provide for their families and put back into the struggling economy to spur job creation.”

Let’s hope the new senator offers this provision real soon; and let’s also hope that Democrats were inspired by Brown’s non-partisanship and really consider this.

The Short Lived RMV Tax

That didnt’ last long at all.

Gov. Deval Patrick today announced he’s not only rescinding a controversial new $5 fee levied by the state Registry of Motor Vehicles he will even refund those who already paid it.

The move comes a day after the Herald reported the Patrick administration had quietly slipped in the new fee, surprising even members of the Legislature. Critics branded it a “back door” tax on the poor and the elderly.

Patrick said today the negative response was heard loud and clear.

“I appreciate what the registrar and secretary are trying to do, but we’re going to have to look for another way to do this because the push back has been actually quite understandable,” Patrick said.

“We want to make the government as responsive as possible but I think this is one we need to think about in a different way,” the governor added.

Patrick said earlier today the idea was to move more RMV transactions online, but he didn’t want to burden taxpayers during hard economic times. The fee will be rescinded as soon as possible.

RMV began charging the fee yesterday, for anyone who walked into a branch office to renew a license, a registration or request a duplicate license. Anyone who called and talked to an RMV employee to conduct those transactions was charged the fee, as well.

Motorists who used the RMV’s website to conduct business or their automated telephone system were not charged.

State lawmakers who were stunned by the new fee applauded the decision to rescind it.

I’ve believed for a long time that Deval Patrick is trying to tank his reelection “campaign” in order to keep his promise that he will, in fact, run for reelection–but lose. This sets him up for a cushy job in the ill-fated Obama Administration without being called a liar… he’ll be called a moron, but not a liar when it comes his promise to seek reelection. I think this back-door RMV tax that failed faster than he put new drapes on the windows is as close to proof as we’ve seen this year.

RMV Tax?

If someone can explain the sense in this, I’m all ears:

Gov. Deval Patrick is quietly whacking beleaguered Bay State motorists with a $5 fee to use Registry of Motor Vehicle branches to renew their licenses and registrations, outraging critics who say the “back-door tax” hits poor and elderly drivers the hardest.

The fee, which goes into effect today, comes on the heels of a $10 license renewal increase last year.

“In this economic climate we shouldn’t be nickel-and-diming people for mandated services,” said state Sen. Steve Baddour (D-Methuen), who co-chairs the Legislative Transportation Committee, and is planning to look into repealing the fee.

Republicans said residents ought to be able to walk in and use their RMV branches without penalty.

“This is a back-door tax that hits the poor and elderly the hardest,” said Tarah Donoghue, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Republican Party. “They can’t afford or don’t have Internet access and computers. The Patrick-Murray administration is burdening those people who can afford it the least.”

Customers will incur the new $5 fee if they speak with an RMV representative on the phone or go in to one of the 30 branches for the following services:

• Renewing your driver’s license (except for the 10-year renewal required in person);
• Getting a duplicate license or Massachusetts ID;
• Renewing your registration; or
• Requesting an attested driving record.

The fee won’t be charged for transactions completed online, by mail, or over the RMV’s automated phone system.

I just don’t get this. This is essentially a tax for interacting with state employees in lieu of utilizing automated or online services. I find this particularly odd because it’s usually the other way around, and dubbed a “convenience fee.” I’ve gotten my fair share of parking tickets around the Boston area, and wouldn’t you know it, if I wanted to pay my fine online, I was charged a fee; if I paid in person or by mail, no fee.

So which is it? Are we to be levied with fees for utilizing online services, or in-person services? Either way, it’s absurd. More transactions online mean less people to pay at the RMV, so it ends up in a cost savings and it saves people time. It’s a win-win. But charging people to waste their time in line, dealing with people who really couldn’t care less about helping you, for that you are charging a fee?

Screw that. My license expires next year, and since I renewed online 5 years ago, I have no choice but to go stand in line at the RMV, and I’ll be damned if you try to charge me an extra fee to do that.

Scott Brown: The Independent Voice

To the surprise–and dismay–of many Republicans, Scott Brown cast a vote in support of a job creation bill.

A modest job-creation bill advanced in the U.S. Senate on Monday as the chamber’s newest Republican bucked his party and sided with Democrats on a $15 billion package of tax cuts and highway spending.

Republican Scott Brown joined four other Republicans, 55 Democrats and two independents to overcome a procedural hurdle that sets up a final vote later this week.

Brown was widely hailed as a conservative hero after his surprise victory in Massachusetts last month gave Republicans enough seats to block most Democratic legislation.

His election prompted President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats to call for increased bipartisanship, and an earlier version of the bill was written with Republican input.

But key Republicans withdrew their support after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scaled it back.

Brown said the bill was not perfect but would help put people back to work.

“I hope my vote today is a strong step toward restoring bipartisanship in Washington,” he said in a statement.

Scott Brown said the following about his vote for the bill:

I came to Washington to be an independent voice, to put politics aside, and to do everything in my power to help create jobs for Massachusetts families. This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I am voting for it because it contains measures that will help put people back …to work. … I hope for improvements in that process going forward.

Based on the criteria that Scott Brown campaigned on, no one should be surprised by our new Senator’s vote. He said he was an independent thinker, and if he saw a bill he liked, it wouldn’t matter whose bill it was–if it’s good for Massachusetts, he’ll vote for it.

Now, you may disagree with whether or not this bill is “good for Massachusetts,” but for crying out loud, Scott Brown has not done anything that should be a surprise. In fact, if he specifically voted against this bill because of strict party line, I would be disappointed–and I’m equally disappointed in the people who call themselves Republicans who hoped that Brown would be just a rank-and-file Republican who would only vote for a bill if the Republican Party supported it. It wasn’t that long ago that Brown was campaigning, clearly there are more than a few people with short memories.

The problem with politics as usual is that there aren’t enough people willingly to cross party lines and vote for what they believe is a good bill. If you disagree with their judgment, fine, but when you vote for someone who spends millions of dollars telling you he’s going to be an independent voice, don’t be surprised if he “disappoints” you on occasion. Did you think that Scott Brown was an über-conservative? Sorry, if you didn’t know that before you voted for him, than you are the foolish one. If he was a hard-core conservative, he may not be in Washington right now. Think about that.

For the record, I have not read the bill in question; I know nothing about it in detail. I voted for Scott Brown because between him and Martha Coakley, I trust Scott Brown to represent my interests more than Coakley. I can guarantee that over the remainder of the term he is serving, my interests will have been served better by Scott Brown than they would have by Martha Coakley. If your support is going to waver based on singular votes, you’re gonna be in for a bumpy ride.

Do you want to jump ship? Jump ship. You won’t be missed. There may be room on the bandwagon when you change your mind, but don’t expect a warm welcome from me.

Get over it. There will be bigger battles down the road.

Democratic Brown Nosing

Senator Scott Brown will be setting the tone for his term as Senator with his votes…like his upcoming vote on an employment bill.

Sen. Scott Brown – who campaigned on jobs creation – is facing the first tough test of his independence as Republicans and Democrats court his support for a critical employment bill slated to come up for a vote Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is challenging the rising GOP star to buck his own party and support the Democratic measure.

“The issue for Sen. Brown is the Republican leadership is prepared to vote against it for purely political reasons,” Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley, told the Herald. “The question is whether Sen. Brown is going to vote with his constituents or vote the way the Republican leadership wants him to vote.”

The $15 billion proposal, pared down from $87 billion to woo Republicans, includes a payroll tax break for businesses that hire unemployed workers and a $1,000 tax credit to employers for every new worker retained for a year.

Reid called Brown earlier this week to ask for his vote, but Manley said the Bay State’s junior senator was noncommittal.

Republican leaders are watching Brown’s first votes closely. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said he understands Brown will “be an independent voice,” is still determining Brown’s committee assignments, a key to his political clout.

Brown has not ruled out supporting the jobs bill.

“If it’s good for Massachusetts and will help get our economy back on track, it’s something he’ll vote for,” said Brown spokesman Colin Reed.

That, and that alone, should be the only criteria for Brown’s vote. Senator Harry Reid trying to convince him to break from the Republican Party’s stance on the bill for the sake of breaking from the Republican Party is not what being an “independent voice” is all about.

Scott Brown was elected to serve the People as our Senator, and represent the interests of the People of Massachusetts; not the interests of Senator Harry Reid and the Democrats. Let Scott Brown do what he was sent to Washington to do. If he decides this bill is garbage, then that is his decision–please, don’t try to suggest that any vote against the will of the Democrats is out of step with Scott Brown’s mantra that he will be an “independent voice.” Scott Brown’s promise to be an “independent voice” should be judged over the course of his term as Senator, not judged by a handful of votes before he finishes his first month as our Senator.

Delahunt Bowing Out?

Could Bill Delahunt be the next Democrat from Massachusetts to be replaced by a Republican?

US Representative William Delahunt said yesterday that he is considering retiring from his congressional seat representing the South Shore and Cape Cod, although he portrayed his deliberations as routine and said they are not related to challenges from Republicans who are energized by Scott Brown’s upset victory in last month’s special Senate election.

“Every election cycle, I take my time, I think it through, and I think, not about whether I can win or lose, but: ‘Am I in a position to make a difference?’ ’’ Delahunt, a Quincy Dem ocrat, said in a telephone interview. “Can I achieve what I want to achieve outside of public life?’’

Delahunt, who has not faced a serious challenge since he was elected in 1996, has a campaign war chest of more than $600,000 but has not been aggressively raising money this year, according to federal records. He said he will announce in March whether he will seek reelection.

If he departs, it would signal a continued shift in New England’s political landscape after the Republican Brown stunned Democrats when he won the seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy. Kennedy’s son, Patrick, said yesterday that he will be quitting his US House seat in Rhode Island.

“I have held elected office for almost 40 years,’’ said Delahunt, a former prosecutor. “I understand that there is always an ebb and flow. Today you are up and tomorrow you are down. That is the rhythm of political life.’’

Delahunt has held office so long that Democratic strategists said it is not clear who in his party might seek the seat if he were to retire. Some have floated the name of Therese Murray, president of the Massachusetts State Senate, who is from Plymouth. But she has recently indicated that she believes Delahunt will run and win.

Still, several Republicans see a chance to recapture one of the state’s conservative districts, where Brown received some of his highest margins of victory on Jan. 19. And they have seized on an unlikely issue: Venezuela. Or, more specifically, Delahunt’s good relations with Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, who once called President Bush “the devil’’ in a speech at the United Nations.

One of those Republicans is State Rep. Jeff Perry, who recently announced his candidacy. Obviously, the dynamics of this years elections changed  when Scott Brown won his election. Every seat is in play now. If Delahunt does retire this offers even more hope for the Republican Party since taking an open seat is easier than defeating an incumbent. In a district handily won by Scott Brown, it is safe to say that the Democrats’ one-party stranglehold on the state is weakening.