“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
–The late actor Peter Finch as newscaster Howard Beale in the 1976 movie Network.
Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Governor's Office, Notable Quotables, Transparency | 18 Comments »
The furtive presence of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) staff members in Louisiana prior to the opening of the 2012 legislative session taints every action of the legislature and every bill endorsed by the administration to this point.
More than that, it calls into question the values of every legislator who is either a member of ALEC or took money from ALEC corporate members, or both.
Heretofore, we have harrumphed and ranted at the direct influence on the agenda of the administration and certain legislators acting as proxy for Gov. Bobby Jindal and ALEC. The aura of ALEC was there but we could not prove it.
We knew, of course, that it had to be more than coincidence that key committees were stacked with members who had taken large contributions—some for the maximum amounts allowable under law—from ALEC or Jindal himself—or both.
We also knew it was more than coincidence that the spate of “reform” bills tracked similar bills filed in virtually every other Republican-controlled statehouse—from Wisconsin to Florida to New Mexico to Arizona to Ohio.
But we could never point to a particular bill or group of bills and say definitively that ALEC was the author or sponsor.
Yes, we knew that ALEC holds regular conclaves, conferences, seminars and annual meetings all over the country to draft legislation to spoon-feed legislators for them to dutifully take back home and regurgitate to their constituents in the name of “reform” and “good government.”
But we could only speculate openly and though such speculation was done with the confidence we were right, it was still speculation.
Until now.
Until Rep. Greg Cromer, the ALEC State Chairman for Louisiana since 2010, resigned from the organization in a huff on Tuesday.
His reason? “It has been brought to my attention that there have been meetings and/or activities with ALEC staff members within the state of Louisiana I have not been privy to,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “As a courtesy I believe I should have been notified as to any activities that ALEC staff were expected to participate in within the state of Louisiana.”
That’s it. ALEC reps met secretly with legislators to go over proposed legislation for the upcoming legislative session. And Cromer was left out.
A freelance writer reported that the meeting was between ALEC staffers, representatives of the conservative State Budget Solutions and the chairmen of the House and Senate retirement committees, Rep. Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) and Sen. Elbert Guillory (D-Opelousas), respectively.
Not so, says Cromer through an intermediary; it was another meeting. But through that same spokesperson he refused, when asked, to identify which meeting it was that piqued him so—not because the meeting was held, mind you, but because he was not informed of the meeting…or invited.
Apparently a clandestine meeting is okay so long as the state ALEC chairman is included and not left out of the loop.
And therein lies the cotton-pickin’ rub, as ol’ Billy Wayne Shakespeare would say if he were around today.
But thanks to Rep. Cromer’s apparent inadvertent outing of ALEC when he alluded to that pre-session meeting of the minds, we now have conclusive evidence of the heavy hand of ALEC in the affairs of the State of Louisiana. The smoking gun, if you will. The ultimate consultant, working for corporate America to better the lives of all the Joe Sixpacks out there in the hinterlands of working class Louisiana.
Now that we know with certainty that ALEC staffers did indeed meet with legislators before the session, whoever those legislators may have been, we can now jump up onto the soap box and cry foul at the top of our collective lungs.
Every living, breathing soul in Louisiana should emulate the late actor Peter Finch in the movie Network and call his or her legislators and repeat that classic line: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
Every living, breathing soul in Louisiana should then pose this question to their respective legislators, especially to those have accepted bribes…er, campaign money from ALEC and Jindal: “Why are you not putting the interests of your constituents ahead of those of Piyush ‘ATM’ Jindal and the corporatocracy of the American Legislative Exchange Council?”
And ask your legislators if they are so weak-willed that they cannot ask tough, intelligent questions or challenge the governor? Are they so inept and so disconnected with the people of this state that it has somehow become necessary to allow the corporate members of ALEC, many of whom do not even pay taxes (see Wednesday’s LouisianaVoice post), to determine which laws and policies are best for the State of Louisiana?
Ask them if things are really so muddled up in Baton Rouge that decisions affecting millions of lives in this state must now be made by a series of consultants at contract costs that are draining the state of dollars faster than any of the state pension unfunded accrued liabilities?
And finally, while you’re at it, demand that the legislature go back and undo everything it has done in the name of Piyush and ALEC. All ALEC/Jindal-sponsored bills that have been approved by committees, the House and the Senate should be proclaimed null and void by acclamation. Tell the legislators that everything they have done to this point is tainted by the stain and smell of ALEC.
Send emails, make phone calls and if they don’t respond, you go back, Jack…, and do it again. And again. Keep asking until you get an answer.
As things stand right now, every voter in this state should feel insulted, incensed and infuriated.
And every legislator who accepted ALEC or Piyush “ATM” Jindal money should be ashamed and humiliated and feel more than a little soiled.
Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators | 9 Comments »
“We are not and will not be defined by ideological special interests who would like to eliminate discourse that leads to economic vitality, jobs and fiscal stability for the states.”
–Ron Scheberle, Executive Director of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), in a press release lamenting what he described as a “coordinated and well-funded intimidation campaign against corporate members of ALEC.
“It has been brought to my attention that there have been meetings and/or activities with ALEC staff members within the state of Louisiana that I have not been privy to. As a courtesy I believe I should have been notified as to any activities that ALEC staff were expected to participate in within the state of Louisiana.”
–State Rep. Greg Cromer (R-Slidell), State ALEC Chairman since 2010, in his letter informing legislative colleagues of his resignation from ALEC in protest of his being left out of the loop in secret discussions between ALEC representatives and House and Senate Retirement Committee Chairmen Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) and Elbert Guillory (D-Opelousas), respectively.
Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Notable Quotables | 10 Comments »
At least one member of the Louisiana Legislature has seen enough of the inner workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Even as ALEC Executive Director Ron Scheberle bemoans what he calls a “coordinated and well-funded intimidation campaign against corporate members of the organization,” State Rep. Greg Cromer (R-Slidell) has announced that he is resigning from the organization after serving as its State Chairman since 2010.
Cromer emailed his resignation on Tuesday to Laura Elliott, ALEC’s director of state programs
ALEC, by the way, has now officially abandoned social issues in favor of stressing economic programs as a result of national criticism of the “Stand Your Ground” law following national backlash over the shooting death of Travon Martin by a community watch volunteer.
ALEC, that crowning citadel of corporatocracy, extends its tentacles much further into the bowels of state legislatures than just the “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida that led to Martin’s shooting death.
More recently, it marshaled its forces behind the chairmen of the House and Senate retirement committees to plan an all-out assault on state employees’ retirement plans that opponents insist are unconstitutional.
A secret meeting with the two chairmen prompted Cromer to resign from ALEC in protest to being left out of the discussions.
The organization, comprised of some 300 major corporations and about a third of all state legislators in the U.S., writes legislation covering a multitude of issues. Those bills are then spoon-fed to the legislators to take back home and to push through their respective legislatures and state assemblies.
State Sen. Neil Riser (R-Columbia) for example, is pushing his bill to make it legal to carry firearms to school, to churches and on college campuses. That could be one of the last ALEC-sponsored social issues to be considered anywhere in the U.S.
As we have said here on numerous occasions, ALEC writes legislation to promote privatization of state programs such as health care, prisons, schools and other agencies. It also pushes the approval of school charters, school vouchers and a general reduction in the size of government.
ALEC also bestowed its coveted Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award for “outstanding public service” upon Gov. Bobby Jindal at last August’s annual meeting in New Orleans.
But one of its premier programs is its concerted effort to offer generous tax breaks to its corporate members which in turn creates budget crises like that being faced by the State of Louisiana today.
Tax breaks in Louisiana over the past five years have combined to cost the state $18.7 billion, according to figures provided by the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
That’s $400 million more than the $18.3 unfunded accrued liability (UAL) of the state’s four retirement systems.
The primary complaint of ALEC members is the high tax rate to which businesses are subjected—a tax rate that ALEC says drives many U.S. corporations overseas in search of friendlier business climates (read: cheap, sweatshop labor).
But just how severe is the tax burden to corporate America? Really?
To answer that, let’s restrict the results to ALEC members as we take a look at three things: profits and taxes from 2008-2010, and political contributions from 1989-2012. A minus sign under the column headed taxes signifies a tax return as opposed to taxes paid.
And just for fun, we’ll also throw in total tax subsidies enjoyed by a few cureent or immediate past members of ALEC
To borrow a phrase from a beer commercial, here we go:
• General Electric—$44 billion income, $4.7 billion tax refund (-11%), $8.4 billion in tax breaks, $21.2 million in campaign contributions;
• Eli Lilly—$10.6 billion income, $214 million paid in taxes (2%), $10 million in campaign contributions;
• Verizon—$27.8billion income, $951 million tax refund (-3%), $12.3 billion in tax breaks, $21 million in campaign contributions;
• AT&T—$32.2 billion income, $4.3 billion in taxes (13%), $14.5 billion in tax breaks, $48.2 million in campaign contributions;
• Boeing—$10.2 billion income, $75 million tax refund (-1%), $3.6 billion in tax breaks, $17.2 million in campaign contributions;
• Coca-Cola—$30.7 billion income, $1.7 billion in taxes (5%), $2.5 billion in tax breaks;
• Merck—$26.9 billion income, $1.4 billion in taxes (5%), $2.9 billion in tax breaks;
• Wal-Mart—$63.1 billion income, $15.7 billion in taxes (25%), $2.5 billion in tax breaks, $11 million in campaign contributions;
• Chevron—$93.6 billion income, $4.5 billion in taxes (5%), $12.2 million in campaign contributions;
• IBM—$54.6 billion income, $1 billion in taxes (3%), $8.3 billion in tax breaks;
• Altria Group—$15.4 billion income, $4.4 billion in taxes (29%), $25.8 million in campaign contributions;
• Dow Chemical—$4.5 billion income, $508 million tax refund (-11%).
Of the 12 corporations listed here, nine had tax rates of 5 percent or less. Only two, Altria and Wal-Mart had tax rates comparable to individual wage earners in America.
Even in the face of these figures, Scheberle insists on wringing his hands over the “coordinated and well-funded intimidation campaign” against corporate members of the organization.
“ALEC is an organization that supports pro-growth, pro-jobs policies and the vigorous exchange of ideas between the public and private sector to develop state-based solutions,” he said. “Today, we find ourselves the focus of a well-funded, expertly-coordinated intimidation campaign.
“Our members join ALEC because we connect state legislators with other state legislators and with job creators in their states,” he said. “They join because we support pro-business policies that promote innovation and spur local and national competitiveness. They’re ALEC members because they’re more interested in solutions than rhetoric.”
Apparently, they resign from ALEC for that same reason.
Cromer announced on Tuesday that he is resigning from the organization after learning that he was left out of the loop in a pre-session meeting between ALEC staff members and House Retirement Chairman Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) and Senate Retirement Chairman Elbert Guillory (D-Opelousas).
“It has been brought to my attention that there have been meetings and/or activities with ALEC staff members within the state of Louisiana that I have not been privy to,” Cromer wrote in his resignation letter that went out as an email to key lawmakers and staffers.
Jeremy Alford, a Baton Rouge writer, said in New Orleans’ Gambit and The Independent of Lafayette:
“Representatives from ALEC and State Budget Solutions, a conservative-leaning non-profit, urged them (Pearson and Guillory) to model their attack plan after the successful (retirement) reform efforts launched in Utah in 2010. Legislators there moved the Utah system closer to defined contribution and hybrid plans. They also passed laws that changed how retirees can return to work.”
Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Taxes | 13 Comments »
“We have big challenges and need to have a substantive debate about the issues. It’s unfortunate and surprising that someone would stoop this low to try and win.”
–Gov. Jindal’s Communications Director Kyle Plotkin, commenting on the Facebook identity theft of Jindal’s Deputy Chief of Staff Kristy Nichols, though he may well have applied those words to tactics employed by the administration regarding SB51, the retirement bill that requires employees to work to age 67.
Posted in Politics | 6 Comments »
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