News That Matters - August 14, 2008

News That Matters Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org Good Thursday Morning, My mechanic's daughter needs new braces so I have to bring my car into the shop. NtM will be very brief this morning. Vic Tiship and I attended a meeting held by State Assembly Republicans, hosted by Joel Miller and Marc Molinaro in Wappinger's Falls last evening. The point was to "listen" to taxpayers seeking property tax relief. There was a lot of chatter from both sides but it was our call for a full state takeover of education funding, a return to a graduated income tax and the elimination of property tax to pay for school funding that received the greatest applause from the audience. Vic even made it into a brief article in the Poughkeepsie Journal. Mr. Molinaro and Mr. Miller were slightly less than pleased. So too is State Assembly member Sandy Galef who is pushing her circuit breaker bill which, while based on income, requires that you pay the full bill before the state makes adjustments to your return. She'll be in Garrison today at noon claiming her bill is the be-all-and-end-all of property tax relief. One significant problem with the circuit breaker is that it has no provisions for renters. So, while your landlord may see a reduction in their property taxes the odds of them passing them on to their tenants in the form of equally reduced rents is about as probable as Congress impeaching George Bush. While it's clearly the right thing to do, it ain't gonna happen. In the end, the landlord receives a reduction in their property tax bill *AND* a de facto increase in their income at the same time. And, if they have a smart accountant they will benefit greatly while renters labor. Neither Mr. Miller, Mr. Molinaro nor Ms. Galef have much to say about that other than, "tough noogies!". One positive thing that came from the meeting last night was that I met 3 people who read News That Matters - all from Dutchess county. Word is getting out. In other news, reports say that foreign news reporters have been roughed up, arrested and detained in China. In some cases images were "removed" from their cameras by Chinese authorities. I'm still waiting for an apology from Adam Kramer, spokesman for the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, for using one of my pictures in a press release without my permission. And for today, that's the News That Matters. J

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