Friday, September 5, 2008

Taxpayers must protect themselves.

Taxpayers must protect themselves. The antics by the Manchester Democrats highlighted in the two articles below show exactly why taxpayers must protect themselves. Special interests groups have highjacked schools and government jobs as their own entitlement programs. They spend without regard to fiscal responsibility and their quality of work and output are poor. We in Croydon must protect ourselves as well, we saw similar antics take place with our school budget this past spring.

Cathy

The following editorial appeared in the Union Leader.


Protecting taxpayers: Elections are not enough




We are told -- always by proponents of big government -- that government can restrain its own spending; all voters need to do is elect the right people.

History shows otherwise.

Exhibit A: The Republican Revolution of 1994.


Click for Editorials & Op-Eds
In New Hampshire, the past six years provide another great example. In August of 2002, Craig Benson proposed a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. It would have held the growth of state spending to no more than the rate of inflation plus population growth (just like the proposed Manchester spending cap would).

Members of the House rejected Benson's cap (just as eight Democratic Manchester aldermen are trying to kill the city spending cap).

Look what happened just a few years later. Gov. John Lynch and Democratic state legislators increased state general fund spending by 17.5 percent -- the largest increase in two decades. To help pay for the spending, they raised numerous taxes and fees.

Derry, Franklin, Laconia and Nashua all have tax or spending caps. Their governments have not collapsed. In fact, they have been forced to spend more frugally. What in the world is wrong with that?

Government spending will never be controlled unless elected officials are forced by the people to control it. Elections are insufficient safeguards. Tax and spending caps have been shown to do the trick. Which is why the powers that be at city hall are fighting so vigorously to prevent the people of Manchester from implementing one.

To view another article on the same subject visit the Union Leader.

Quote of the Day - "The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy." ~Woodrow Wilson


Thursday, September 4, 2008

Who are the Presidential Candidates?

I asked my four year old "Who are the Presidential Candidates?" She responded, "Obama and McCain."

Everyone thinks their kids are smart...but mine really are very smart.

My children just turned one and four in July they bring me such pride and joy. Yes it is hard but watching them make their way around the world and watching them learn new things is just so much fun. Neither are school age but we believe any time is learning time. When the formal education process is to begin we will most likely homeschool unless school choice is an option when they reach the age required by law to begin schooling.

There are things my daughters knows which make me swear she is not four years old and than there are things that she says that reminds me that she is only four. Than there are some things that she says that are just so darned cute.

A lot of people responded "Sarah who?" when I mentioned Sarah Palin's name. I have been following her for months and was hoping John McCain would pick her. I wasn't excited about either candidate and would have preferred Sarah Palin to be at the top of the ticket. I voted for John Cox in the primary...but I digress. When Sarah Palin was announced as McCain's VP pick I was jumping around for joy and so excited. Anastasia said "What are you so excited about Mom? I told her that I was excited about Sarah Palin being announced as the vice presidential candidate. She said, "I thought Dick Cheney was the Vice-president. " I told her that we elect a new president and vice-president every four years. I explained that Sarah Palin may be the first girl vice-president. Anastasia started crying "But Mom I am suppose to be the first girl president."

Earlier this spring at the playground a little girl said to my daughter "I am in preschool." Anastasia responded back very proudly "I am in homeschool."

As I said we believe any time is learning time grocery stores are great for learning time. Anastasia has been able to read since she was three, she also knows her numbers, can add, understands fractions and can do simply math. People will comment how smart Anastasia is or asked where she learned something she proudly responds, "I learned that in homeschool."

Cathy


Funny of the Day -






Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Teacher Speak




Unions No Longer Needed

Corrected for errors on 9/8/2008. I am often interrupted by my children so I lose my place where I am typing or one of my children may hit the keys.

The following article appeared in the Union Leader. In my humble opinion unions are no longer needed. It is not an opinion only I hold. With today's labor laws we do not need unions. Unions raise the costs of goods and services, slow productivity, punish good workers and serve bad workers and union bosses. Unions have destroyed industries in the United States including the textile industry and steel industry. Unions drove the cost of employment so high and decreased productivity to such a low point that these industries were overtaken by foreign competition. The teachers unions have hijacked the public education system. The unions in both the automobile industry and airline industry are destroying those industries. I do not want my rights to be trampled by a group who puts the rights of a group ahead of the rights of individuals. We need the right to work in New Hampshire we don't have it because unions don't want people to have that right.



Cathy


Union by vote: Not by intimidation

Monday, Sep. 1, 2008

There is a reason that private sector employees in the United States have overwhelmingly rejected unionization in the last few decades. It's because most employees think that the slow, steady pace of progress demanded by collectively bargained contracts is a bad deal. They think they will be better sailing under their own steam.

That is not to say that unions don't have a place in the American economy. They very clearly do. It is just that their role is shrinking as opportunities expand and more Americans consider themselves better off without the constraints that come with union membership.


The percentage of American workers who are unionized fell from 20 percent in 1980 to 12.1 percent last year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. (It rose a 10th of a percent from 2006 to 2007.) That drop explains the push by unions and the Democratic politicians they control for the Employee Free Choice Act.

This Orwellian-named proposal would actually remove free choice from the unionization decision. Under current federal law, employees have the right to vote by secret ballot to decide whether they want to unionize. The Employee Free Choice Act would remove that right.

The act would allow shops to unionize by "card check." That is, it would allow organizers to form unions by collecting signatures of employees face-to-face. Gone would be the protection of secrecy. Employees' choices would suddenly be public, not private, and therefore subject to retaliation and intimidation.

This is anti-democratic and un-American. And yet, if Democrats gain stronger majorities in Congress, it might become law very soon. The party is pushing this bill at the behest of unions that have funneled money and votes to Democrats precisely for the purpose of getting this kind of anti-employee legislation passed.

There is no justification for returning to the days when labor bosses could pressure employees into joining. If labor leaders cannot convince Americans to join unions, then they need to come up with a better product to sell. Getting the government to tilt the playing field in their favor is not the answer.



Sunday, August 31, 2008

Presidential Candidates Comparisons.

We are not endorsing either candidate. We at CRAFT want to make sure that voters make informed decisions regarding the impact their vote will have on their taxes.

Thank you,

Cathy











Quote of the Day - "America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation." ~Laurence J. Peter


This post has been corrected. Please note some people are questioning the accuracy of this chart. Please go to the sources listed in the post and make the comparisons your self. Some people disagree but it appears to be a question of semantics not accuracy.