Center of the American Experiment Celebrates its 25th Birthday!

The Center of the American Experiment celebrated its 25th birthday last night at its annual dinner. Gopher State Politics Institute staff was honored to attend the celebration, along with over a thousand friends of the Center.

Not only did we enjoy great food and enlightening conversation, but we also had the pleasure being entertained by P.J. O'Rourke, the great Political Satirist and Author.

Happy Birthday to the Center of the American Experiment and a special thanks to Mitch, Kim and staff. Keep up the great work.

Bob Smith, 3rd

http://www.americanexperiment.org/

Needed, One Champion...

Will the Minnesota GOP Blow the 2016 Elections?

It’s a distinct possibility...

Opinion and Viewpoint by Bob Smith 3^rd

It won’t be long before 2016 is here; especially in political times as the presidential contests are heating up.  Let’s put it this way, the real prize is not the presidency—it’s sane government for Minnesota.  That means the Republicans must take the Minnesota Senate.  I repeat, the most important goal for the Minnesota GOP is to win the Minnesota Senate while gaining a seat or two in the Minnesota House and maintaining their Congressional seats.

The problem for the Minnesota GOP in 2016 will be to handle adroitly the fanaticism of the fringe and nut elements of the party for various presidential candidates to the detriment of local elections.  Presidential enthusiasm is great but let’s takes half of that energy and re-direct it to winning Minnesota House and Senate seats.

The GopherStatePolitics Institute’s challenge to the would-be caucus and 2016 convention delegates is: Will you devote at least equal time, Funds and effort to help local candidates as you would working for a presidential candidate?

That still leaves the question of how will the state Republicans coordinate a statewide campaign to win the Minnesota Senate?

The Republican State Senatorial Campaign Committee will be in the thick of it along with the state party.  Will that do it?  Unfortunately and sadly, I believe the state party has been weakened and will not have the funds nor the timber to accomplish the task.

They also will most likely be distracted and consumed to a large degree by intra-party presidential politics.  Is there a solution?

Yes.  May I suggest that it must come in the form of a “Champion”.  Someone who can command the trust and respect of all Republicans.  Someone who will be able to devise a plan to take the Minnesota Senate and who will be capable of leading the Republicans to that victory in 2016.

The importance of the Republicans winning the Minnesota Senate in 2016 cannot be overstated—it is the single most important event for all Minnesotans to bring this state to sound government.

Yes, that “Champion” is out there and will emerge soon.

 ***

GopherStatePolitics Institute will feature later articles as the GOP strategy develops to win the State Senate.  The “Champion” will be named at the proper time when s/he steps forward.

Judge Judy is Humiliating Minnesota… Dunderhead Population at Risk.

For Immediate Release:                                                                      Contact: 

November 2014                                                                                  Bob Smith 3^rd

                                                                                                            480 St. Clair Ave.

                                                                                                            St. Paul, MN  55102

                                                                                                            (651) 222-6888

Special Feature from the Gopher State Politics Institute,   GopherStatePolitics.blogspot.com

Judge Judy is Humiliating Minnesota… Dunderhead Population at Risk.

Can government help sway the Tide?

Your Gopher State Politics Institute received a plea for assistance in halting the increasing use of Minnesota subjects on the Judge Judy small claims court, national TV show watched by millions.

This is a little bit of an unusual request, but we need to be open-minded and flexible to see if there is a proper role for government in this issue. At first blush, we could start by asking the Attorney General to write a cease and desist letter to Judy.

However, we first ought to examine and analyze this situation carefully.  Judge Judy has a recruiter here who seeks out misfortunate pairs to be on the show. To be fair, we can take out the calculator and divide the 250 shows by 50 states and say that a reasonable quota is five pairs per year. Not the three or four a week that is currently aired  on TV.

“Fargo” set the tone for using Minn-ah-soh-tah to push us off our above average ledge and Judge Judy refined it to new heights in securing Minnesota Dunderheads at an alarming and depleting pace.

So, if we think this through thoroughly, the problem really belongs in the lap of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  The recruiter is really a hunter seeking prey,  the Minnesota Dunderheads in pairs. At that rate the show is using them up, they could become an endangered species.  Hence, the need for Minnesota to legislate and regulate.

The recruiter / hunter should be licensed at a considerable fee, limit set at two pair per calendar quarter,  a five-figure per day removal fee established for each dunderhead pair taken out of the state and a DNR enforcement charge levied.

Presto! That is a creative use of political power to save the endangered species Minnesota Dunderhead from being over-harvested let alone protect Minnesota’s reputation as a State where all children and-by extension-adults are above average.

Problem solved. Take that, Judge Judy.

Visit us at:

Gopher State Politics Institute

http://GopherStatePolitics.blogspot.com

Robert L. “Bob” Smith III

bob333smith3rd@gmail.com

Economic Consequences of Tennessee’s Gift and Estate Tax by Arthur B. Laffer, PhD

Economic Consequences of Tennessee’s Gift and Estate Tax

By Arthur B. Laffer, PhD

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Tennessee is one of 19 states with a separate estate tax and one of only two states with a gift tax, which has caused the state to underperform in comparison to other right-to-work states and other states with no earned income tax, low corporate tax, and low overall tax burdens according to authors Arthur B. Laffer, PhD and Wayne Winegarden, PhD.
The cost Tennessee has paid for its gift and estate tax in lost economic growth and employment is staggering. Had Tennessee eliminated its gift and estate tax 10 years ago, Tennessee’s economy would have been over 14% larger in 2010 and there would have been 200,000 to 220,000 more jobs in the state. And, the more robust economic growth would have benefited state and local government revenues adding between $7 billion and $7.3 billion to state and local coffers. (more)
http://www.laffercenter.com/economic-consequences-tennessees-gift-estate-tax/

I was WRONG!

Letter to the Editor – I was WRONG...

In September, I wrote an article: The Great Minnesota Exodus Tax Acts of 2013 that is posted on www.gopherstatepolitics.blogspot.com. The article analyzed the adverse consequences of Minnesota’s new Edina income tax rate, gift & estate taxes, and referred to the warehouse tax on business.
Minnesota is ranked 45th in the Tax Foundation (www.TaxFoundation.org) 2013 State Business Tax Climate Index. My article suggested that with our new taxes, we might nose-dive to the bottom five in the next year’s index. The thinking being that we might be able to crack # 46...

I was wrong.

The 2014 Index has come out and we dropped to # 47. Wow! Not only did we plummet two rankings, but we were honored with special thoughts from the foundation. Minnesota suffers from complex, non-neutral taxes, with comparatively high rates. The 2013 Minnesota Legislature enacted a package of tax changes that reduce the state’s competitiveness, including a retroactive hike in the individual income tax rate.

Now, we are up against the big boys. Only New Jersey, California, and New York have worse state business tax climates and stand in our way as we claw towards the bottom.

But – take heart, Minnesotans – our legislature is known for its ability to achieve the "implosible".

Bob Smith 3rd
St. Paul, MN