by Jasmine Taylor | Feb 13, 2023 | Abortions Rights
The world is full of good and brave people. If we’re lucky, we get to call these people friends. So I was delighted to see my friend and former Great Falls resident, Laura Wight, featured in The Washington Post this week.
Wight and her family lived in Great Falls for 11 years. In her time here, Laura was a steadfast figure in the volunteer world. She served as Vice President of the Great Falls LGBTQ+ Center, was an avid supporter of Planned Parenthood, and worked as the head librarian at Great Falls College MSU. Then life happened, as it is always wont to do, and a new career opportunity brought the Wights to New Mexico. But moving to a Blue state was not the end of Laura’s activism work. Rather, the undoing of Roe and an ultra conservative city commission has Wight treading that well-known protest line, this time in a much warmer clime.
Despite abortion being legal in New Mexico, the city of Clovis has been besieged by extremist right-wing pastors who have pushed an illegal abortion ban. One such extremist, Mark Lee Dickson has been making the rounds in Montana as well. Dickson (emphasis on DICK) has popped up in rural Montana towns, including Manhattan, Sheridan, and Whitehall , attempting to create “sanctuary cities for the unborn.” It’s not lost on us that these same idealogues are adamantly opposed to providing sanctuary for the already born.
When Hurricane Dickson arrived in Clovis, Laura Wight was ready. Calling on her decades of organizing experience, Wight responded quickly, creating Eastern New Mexico Rising. Now Wight is leading legal efforts to sue the city, and gathering signatures to bring the issue to the voters. Laura’s story highlights what organizers know all too well- The fight is not just here in Montana. The fight is everywhere. Lucky for New Mexico, they’ve gained one hell of a fighter.
You can read about Wight’s continued work here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/06/new-mexico-abortion-fight/
Learn about Dicksons’ trip to Manhattan here:
https://news.yahoo.com/manhattan-council-member-wants-town-004054723.html
by WTF 406 Staff | Feb 13, 2023 | Taxes
Billings Republican Representative Sherry Essman is proposing a “fee” to be collected by city and county governments on a variety of non-profit organizations, including churches. Essman’s bill, HB 391, was heard in the House Taxation Committee on February 8th. Sixteen opponents testified against the bill. There were no supporters.
If enacted into law, the bill would provide that tax-exempt non-profits, ranging from educational institutions to health care providers to churches, would be required to pay a fee to local governments. The fee would be based on square footage of their building, which is exempt from property tax because of its non-profit status. The revenue would be spent on public safety and road maintenance.
During the hearing, Republican Representative Scot Kerns of Great Falls questioned the bill, saying that it was inconsistent with “local control.” It seems Kerns and other Republicans pick and choose what kind of local control they care about when it comes to other bills. (WTF406 has already written a story on Kerns’ connections to religious institutions https://wtf406.com/2022/10/separation-of-church-and-state-not-for-kerns/) A thorough analysis of the impact of the bill (called a fiscal note) has been requested but was not yet available.
This bill won’t go very far. It faces opposition from some big players in politics, like non-profit hospitals (Benefis and Great Falls Clinic) and churches. Still, it shines a light on how much tax exempt property affects local government.
by WTF 406 Staff | Feb 10, 2023 | Uncategorized
Those who followed President Biden’s State of the Union were treated to Biden delivering a classic political sucker punch. The Republicans stepped right into it. The topic was Social Security and Medicare, and the sucker punch he delivered was revealing Republican’s long history of trying to reduce, eliminate, and privatize these popular retirement programs. Only the most recent of which is Republican Senator Rick Scott’s proposal to place a five-year “Sunset” provision on these programs along with others.
Despite the boos and hisses from the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Biden remained cool and in control of the exchange. Really not too tough since even those who are not paying close attention know the Republican Party has opposed Social Security and Medicare since the beginning. Though they have been largely unsuccessful, they keep plugging away, trying to undermine the most successful anti-poverty programs in American history. And Biden responded, tongue in cheek, that he was glad we had reached “consensus” on supporting Social Security and Medicare.
Republican proclamations that these programs are failing have been with us since the 1930s. Time and time again they have proven to be false. Time and time again the Republicans have gone back to the drawing board seeking new ways to undermine and eliminate Social Security. Time and time again they have sought ways to privatize Medicare– without success.
Make no mistake about it. The Republicans will continue their attack on senior citizens. Daines, Zinke and Rosendale would like nothing better than getting at the money in these programs to sprinkle around among their rich donor friends. Just ask them. But listen carefully because, just like Republicans everywhere, their answer will begin with, “Of course we support Social Security and Medicare but. . . .” Yeah right guys.
by WTF 406 Staff | Feb 7, 2023 | Elections
Why are we Paying Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant $70,000 per Year?
After winning the election for Cascade County Clerk and Recorder by just 31 votes, Sandra Merchant doesn’t have as much to do as her predecessor, Rina Moore. But, she receives the same salary Moore did (around $70,000). We should be paying her less.
First, there is the matter of the surveyor duties of the office. The full title of the office is County Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Surveyor. Rina Moore is a licensed surveyor and, therefore, performed the surveyor duties of the office. Sandra Merchant is not a licensed surveyor. So likely the County will have to pay a licensed surveyor to perform those duties. We don’t know what that cost is yet. But what we do know is that Merchant is receiving the same salary as Rina Moore but cannot perform the same duties.
Then there is the matter of the auditing duties which Moore was performing. Without getting too complicated, Moore basically oversaw the accounting functions of the County. At a January 10th meeting, the County Commissioners voted to take the auditing functions out of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office and place them in a new County FInancial Office. Merchant will have no role in overseeing the accounting of the county like Moore did.
Finally, there has been discussion among the County Commissioners of moving the elections function out of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office. According to the Great Falls Electric, on November 14th, Commissioner Joe Briggs said that he plans to propose an ordinance to move county elections from the Clerk and Recorder’s Office to the County Commission. Probably a good move since Merchant appears to be an election denier who likely thinks all ballots should be voted with a quill pen, counted by hand, and tallied with an abacus.
Bottom line, Sandra Merchant is doing a much less complex and difficult job than what was done by Rina Moore . . .but the pay remains the same. The County Commission should review how the duties of the Clerk and Recorder have changed and adjust the pay accordingly.
by Guest Writer | Feb 6, 2023 | Taxes
By Ken Toole
The great thing about human beings is that we learn from past mistakes. Unless you are Governor Greg Gianforte and his Republican allies in the legislature. As the Governor rolls out his package of tax cuts, and legislators clamor to get on board, it seems that no one remembers the 2003 Montana Legislature and Senate Bill 407, Judy Martz’s big tax cut plan that failed to deliver on its promises.
But before getting into the lessons from Senate Bill 407, let’s refresh ourselves on the economic theory that is driving Republicans to promote big tax cuts for the wealthy. It’s called “trickle down” economics. The idea is to give tax cuts to wealthy people who will then hire more people and pay more taxes which will lead to a better world. It turns out that cutting taxes on the wealthy just allows them to put more dollars into things like stock buybacks, offshore accounts, and other financial mechanisms that simply make them richer and do little for community investment. Even though most economists have debunked “trickle down economics,” Republican politicians cling to it as an article of faith and continue to promote it.
Now, back to 2003 and Senate Bill 407. Judy Martz was the Governor, and Republicans held majorities in both houses of the legislature. Then as now, Republicans were supremely confident that tax cuts result in increased revenue by stimulating growth. So they passed significant reductions to capital gains taxes and the income tax rates paid by wealthy individuals.
Specifically, SB 407 reduced the tax rate on top income earners (that’s tax speak for rich people) from 11% to 6.5%. It also created a 1% tax credit for capital gains income (that’s tax speak for money people make selling things like stock and real estate). Sounding familiar? Gianforte is proposing to reduce the top income tax rate along with giving a tax credit to people paying capital gains taxes.
But the real story about SB 407 is just how wrong the projections of the effect on public services and state revenue turned out to be. It ended up costing more than its promoters promised. . .lots more. In 2011 the Department of Revenue conducted an analysis of the fiscal impact of SB 407. Among other things the analysis concluded that the cut in income tax turned out to cost more than three times the projections during the 2003 legislature. The cost of the capital gains tax cut was double the projections. That meant much less money available for schools, local governments, and basic public services. Not surprisingly, the analysis also showed that the beneficiaries of these tax cuts largely turned out to be rich people.
So, here we sit in 2023, just like 2003. Republicans control both houses of the legislature and the Governor’s Office. And just like 2003, these politicians seek to cut taxes mostly on rich people. But there is a big difference as well. In 2003 the state was facing a budget crisis. Thanks to Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, in 2023 we have a big budget surplus and, along with that, we have the opportunity to invest in our institutions and infrastructure. While rural nursing homes are closing across the state, while the State Hospital is crumbling before our eyes, while cities and counties are struggling to make ends meet, while schools are hard pressed to find qualified staff, why would we make it a priority to give tax breaks to the wealthiest among us before those problems are addressed? The answer from the Republicans is, “Just be patient. It will all trickle down.”
Ken Toole was a member of the Senate Tax Committee in 2001, 2003, and 2005. He served as the vice chair in 2005. He served on the Public Service Commission from 2007 to 2011. He was also the President of The Policy Institute, a private group which conducted research on economic issues including taxation.
