A recent episode detailed “yacht [...]]]> “Donnybrook” is a television show, run on local public station KETC channel 9.  Panelists focus on local issues typically engaging in a spirited back and forth among local media figures.  Anyone who loves St. Louis will become an instant fan (one of the legendary panelists Martin Duggan has endorsed my candidacy).

A recent episode detailed “yacht gate”, a controversy involving Russ Carnahan and his decision to berth his luxury yacht across the river in Alton (follow the link below – the segment starts at about 22 minutes).  While Alton may provide the preferred amenities for caring for his yacht, it has the added benefit of allowing our Congressman to avoid personal property taxes.

Having St. Louis’s favorite media curmudgeon Bill McClellan acknowledge that my objections to Carnahan’s decision have a point is something of a rush. I would like to expand on the theme Mr. McClellan and others began.  I would also like to rebut the charge that this is “absurd” and “meaningless” or that this is just a political story.

It is both a political story and a big deal.  Russ Carnahan has voted for every major tax increase to cross his desk.  Cap and trade, and increase in estate taxes, the taxes and fees contained in Obamacare are just a few.  Does anyone think Russ Carnahan will vote to block a value added tax?

Therefore, one can logically conclude that Carnahan thinks Americans are just not paying enough in taxes.  It follows then that since Russ Carnahan is an American, he would think he is not taxed enough either.

That’s not how he lives.

Russ Carnahan has structured his boat ownership in such a way as to avoid paying taxes.  I certainly don’t begrudge a man a tax break, but from a congressman who clearly thinks Americans need to pay more taxes it demonstrates an stunning myopia.  Not only does it look bad (imagine the fun his campaign would have if I had my Ford truck registered in Belleville to avoid taxes) it shows that Carnahan has at best addled thinking when it comes taxation.  He either thinks he owes too little and ought to pony up, or he thinks we are taxed enough and ought to resist new taxes.

The more likely explanation is that Russ Carnahan simply does what speaker Pelosi asks of him, without thinking too much about it.  His own health care benefits – and that of his staff – are threatened by Obamacare.  Does this sound like a man who is carefully considering the impact of legislation?  Like all of us, he wants to minimize his tax bill because he thinks he pays enough already.  Unfortunately for us, the perks and power that come from being Nancy Pelosi’s “low maintenance” congressman matter more than protecting his constituents from job-killing tax burdens.  In all due respect to Ray Hartman, the care and thoughtfulness Russ Carnahan puts into his decision making about issues like taxation are at the very core of governance.

Russ Carnahan lives as if we are taxed enough, but votes as if he is not.  I think the way he lives is the correct position, I just wish he’d vote that way.

That’s how I will vote as your congressman.  I will not raise your taxes.

April 22 Donnybrook

“It’s moored in Alton, the aides add, because that’s the closest harbor to the city of St. Louis, where both officials’ families reside. The closest one in Missouri for a pleasure boat is in St. Charles County, too far away for two urban families [...]]]> Missouri Congressman Carnahan gave the following excuse for docking his yacht in Illinois.

“It’s moored in Alton, the aides add, because that’s the closest harbor to the city of St. Louis, where both officials’ families reside. The closest one in Missouri for a pleasure boat is in St. Charles County, too far away for two urban families who both live in the city close to the Mississippi River, the congressman’s staff says.” (St. Louis Beacon, Jo Mannies, April 20, 2010)

It appears that Congressman Carnahan reads maps as thoroughly as he read the health care bill.  Check out the distances noted in the map below.

I call baloney.  I don’t believe that berthing his yacht in Illinois is just a convenience issue.  If the Missouri Department of Revenue has been paid its due, then a simple slip of paper showing taxes paid – like the one you and I have to show to get license plates – would put that part of the controversy to rest.

This issue matters because Congressman Carnahan votes for laws that we are obliged to follow. Too many politicians conduct themselves as if these minor laws are for the little people. Maybe if those among us with means – especially those who vote for increased taxes – were less creative about avoiding taxes those tax hikes would not be needed.

Ed,

This is my major gripe..Republicans who claim fiscal conservatism. voted against the stimulus,..but still earmark funds, and lobby for constituents to get stimulus funds.

Hey, I will vote and donate $$$ to a candidate, incumbent who, votes for reduced spending, AND [...]]]> The following comment was posted in another blog page. I thought it deserved a full-throated response.

Ed,

This is my major gripe..Republicans who claim fiscal conservatism. voted against the stimulus,..but still earmark funds, and lobby for constituents to get stimulus funds.

Hey, I will vote and donate $$$ to a candidate, incumbent who, votes for reduced spending, AND does not earmark, doe not lobby for government spending for his district!!

I worked as a contractor at two Federal Agencies..IT IS MY DEEPLY HELD BELIEF: you can eliminate 40.0% of the Federal Civilian Work Force…and the work would get done.  The feather bedding is that pervasive!!!!

So where are you on this????

Believe me, when I write the check for my taxes I fume about the pork-barrel spending in which both parties indulge. It’s common for pols to invoke “the children” for this policy or that, but my children right this minute will owe at least $40,000 – and this is just the debt that the Federal government has on the books.  Unfunded liabilities are a looming concern that dwarfs even this figure.

I will not support the earmark system that Congress has been engaged in.  It is secretive, not transparent and too often wasteful.   I do not believe in robbing Peter’s kids and grandkids to pay for Congressman Paul’s memorial rock garden and recycling center. This is is a terrible crime.

A caveat – the private sector does not have the capacity to fund certain types of projects, like dams, levies and bridges.  I would much rather these infrastructure projects be managed and funded by the states and I think we need to move in that direction.  However I will be less hostile to projects that have an effect on a broad swath of America’s citizens, not a payoff to a local group of supporters.

As to public sector employees – I don’t know about the percentage you cite, but I know that there are many good, entrepreneurial people working in the public sector who would be far more productive in the public sector.  The private sector has to trim labor costs but during this recession the only industry reliably gaining jobs and raising pay is State and Federal government.  Many of my friends and colleagues are starting businesses or finding new career paths after being laid off in across-the-board layoffs.  They will survive and thrive because they are Americans and that’s what we do.  I see no reason why public servants should be exempt from this economic reality.

I am going to need the vigorous support of fiscally responsible men in women like you in the days ahead.  I will not be buying the support of politically active groups with earmarks nor am I promising to.   My opponent does and will, an egregious example being the $90 million in subsidies his brother is slated to get for his wind farm.

That’s a lot of scratch.  Politically connected folks need only peel a few layers of bills off that fat, taxpayer-funded wad of cash to bankroll a politician.  Those who are used to the free-flowing milk and honey from the taxpayer are going to scream and whine like the world is ending.  The moment I lay my hand on that spigot the press will stick a camera in their face and they will lament that I am against sunshine and rainbows.  We’ll have to gut-check ourselves daily and not waver from the task of saving our financial future.  I’m up for the challenge, but I’ll need your continued support.

Thank you for the excellent question.

P.S. For the record, I am for sunshine and rainbows.

Ed Martin with small business owners discussing the current business climate

Tuesday afternoon (Feb 23, 2010) I had the opportunity to have a round table discussion at Imo’s Pizza in South County.  The owner Brian was kind enough to host this discussion with fellow business owners.  After a few minutes of conversation and enjoying good [...]]]>

Ed Martin with small business owners discussing the current business climate

Tuesday afternoon (Feb 23, 2010) I had the opportunity to have a round table discussion at Imo’s Pizza in South County.  The owner Brian was kind enough to host this discussion with fellow business owners.  After a few minutes of conversation and enjoying good St. Louis style pizza and toasted ravioli, we began to go over concerns they have about the current business environment.

“I don’t need a loan, I need customers” was one of Brian’s poignant statements.  He was addressing the obsession this President has with getting banks to lend.  Certainly there are businesses who depend on access to lines of credit, but Brian’s concern was the fact that no amount of loans would make up for the fact that his customer base is seeing their disposable income eroded.  Some are out of work but more are feeling the crunch of other issues such as increased consumer prices.  Brian believed these factors were forcing his customers to tighten their belts.

The owner of an insurance agency noted that his business was seeing a lot of business owners calling him to see if they can economize on the costs of their policies.  Health insurance costs became a topic of discussion.  Premiums are on the rise.  The owner of a local nursery indicated that she has to carefully balance her staffing to prevent health insurance costs from destroying her bottom line.

We talked about the creation of association pools for health insurance.  Small businesses, among other groups, could band together to create larger risk pools just as large corporations can and negotiate better rates.  For instance, a pool could be made for all Imo’s pizza franchisees making a pool of hundreds.  This measure would cost almost nothing while doing a much better job of solving a significant portion of the uninsured issue.  I’d like to end the restrictions that keep these associations from flourishing and plan to do my part at the Federal level.  This is one of many inexpensive health insurance reforms that can do a lot of good and do not require the heavy hand of the Federal government.

An attendee working in real estate noted that after years of “if you have a job and a pulse, you get a loan”, banks are tightening up their standards.  Easy homeowner credit was fueled by a long series of misguided efforts by the Federal government to distort the mortgage lending market. Now, the credit crunch was hurting otherwise viable businesses.  The nursery owner noted that her business depends on a line of credit to operate.  If the bank, driven to restrict lending by losses in real estate, trims her access to this credit line she will face very difficult days ahead.  These responsible business men and women felt that they are paying the price for the folly of others.

The consensus was that government has become an obstacle, not just through taxation and regulation, but by creating great uncertainty.  What will energy costs be next year?  It depends upon the success of Cap and Trade legislation.  What will health care costs be next year?  It depends upon what version of the health care legislation passes.  I don’t think anybody believed it would relieve their burden.  All assembled believed that the course government was on would make the business environment harder.  The question was to what degree.

This input and that of many other meetings I have had will inform my policy decisions.  My opponent has a track record of avoiding talking with small businesses, preferring to cavort with representatives of well-connected corporations in photo-op summits.  No surprise that Russ Carnahan’s latest rubber stamp will be to borrow more money and watch it get funneled to the politically connected interests in Washington.  I will represent the interests of all businesses, and that includes the beleaguered entrepreneurs who cannot afford to pay a lobbyist to bend Russ Carnahan’s ear with a fat contribution.

“Without restoring fiscal responsibility, our economy can’t fully recover. The large deficits we inherited as a result of reckless borrow-and-spend policies of the last administration have put pressure on funding for important priorities such as job creation. We are long [...]]]> My opponent Russ Carnahan recently released a statement on fiscal discipline.  Here is a quote:

“Without restoring fiscal responsibility, our economy can’t fully recover. The large deficits we inherited as a result of reckless borrow-and-spend policies of the last administration have put pressure on funding for important priorities such as job creation. We are long overdue to reestablish tough common-sense action to restore fiscal responsibility.”

This is strong talk for a congressman who was nominated by Citizens Against Government Waste as “Porker of the Year.”  Fiscal discipline is a philosophy, not a catchphrase.  People who believe in fiscal discipline pay their bills, balance their checkbooks and don’t go into debt for frivolous expenditures.

I believe in fiscal discipline as a way of life, not as a slogan.  While working in Governor Matt Blunt’s administration we opened ourselves up to intense criticism by proposing cuts to wasteful spending.  Rent-seeking bureaucrats were vexed by the Missouri Accountability Portal where they must post their expenditures for all the world to see.

What has Russ Carnahan done in the cause of fiscal discipline? Has he ever refused to support a budget bill as too “porky?”  Has he ever voted “no” on fat-laden legislation? Russ Carnahan voted with his party to raise the debt ceiling enabling the Federal government to further plunge our nation into hock.  How is that fiscal responsibility?

President Obama has spent the last 18 months saying one thing and doing another.  Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have looked Americans straight in the eye and told us that health care legislation would not raises taxes and ration care despite the plain language of the text.  Russ Carnahan has been right there alongside them, voting “yea” to mortgaging Missourian’s future.

This state’s motto is “Show Me” and Russ Carnahan has nothing to show for his newfound belief in “fiscal responsibility.”  His voting record makes his recent conversion to the church of fiscal discipline laughable.  Congressman Carnahan has rubber-stamped every spending initiative Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked him to.  Russ Carnahan may be contemptuous of our intelligence, but we in the Missouri 3^rd are not buying it.

Dec. 16, 2009 – Statement of Ed Martin on Carnahan’s Vote to Lift the Debt Ceiling to Unprecedented Levels (Acrobat)

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The Boston Tea Party, from which the Tea Party movement [...]]]>

Benjamin Franklin noted that the smart thing for Britain to do was to make doing business in the colonies cheaper for East India Company but his wise counsel was ignored and revolt followed.

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The Boston Tea Party, from which the Tea Party movement draws its inspiration, is at its heart a story of excessive taxation, government and private sector “cooperation” and a people fed up with political leaders who hewed to their own counsel and ignored the people they governed.

Sound familiar?

The East India Company had struck a deal with the Crown to have an effective monopoly in the tea trade.  This monopoly made East India wealthy and powerful, and enriched the monarchy – for a while.  Over time the company found itself unable to profit in difficult times under the terms of the monopoly.  The Tea Act was passed to offer relief to the East India Company – not by reducing the duties it had to pay to the crown, but by raising taxes on those who consumed it elsewhere.

By the time the tea in question had arrived in Boston harbor, many Americans were frustrated by the burdens placed on them by the British, the tea taxes being a very symbolic one.  Typically, tea bound to America subject to the taxes was simply sent back without being offloaded.  The Royal Governor of Boston Thomas Hutchinson refused to turn the tea back, and let the cargo sit in the harbor.

The Americans who snuck aboard the ship and heaved the tea into Boston Harbor struck a chord both here in America and in Britain.  Americans began to rally to revolt, the British aristocracy running parliament became bellicose.  Assuring themselves they were dealing with uncivilized rabble British leadership dug in and did as they saw fit.

Sound familiar?

A lesson I take from all this is that a small number of connected interests can partner with the government and prosper – for a while. Market forces always give such dubious partnerships a rough run eventually, and the failures always make their way onto the backs of the people.  In the case of the East India Company, the regulations and taxes it agreed to became burdensome as European appetites shifted and famine struck India.  Further, smuggled tea to the colonies eroded the market for their product, and the Crown was unwilling to change their end of the deal even though the conditions for trade had changed for East India Company.
Big business does not like competition, but history proves that anti-competitive regulation deals struck to favor big business inevitably doom them, but in the process serve to harm the economic outlook of the people.  Congress like to inveigh against “fat cats” but these same fat cats shovel money into their campaign war chests, hire their families and provide juicy travel opportunities.  Inevitably, confidence in the leader’s dedication to the people is questioned, if not clearly and obviously compromised.

Benjamin Franklin noted that the smart thing for Britain to do was to make doing business in the colonies cheaper for East India Company but his wise counsel was ignored and revolt followed.  Today, hundreds of companies can take the symbolic place of the East India Company as they accept bailouts to recover from market catastrophes whose genesis is from government regulation.
I am running because I believe American business will do best when unshackled from choking regulations and burdensome taxation.  Unleashed, the best workforce on earth will get back to doing what it does best, providing the world with leadership to prosperity.

Dec. 10, 2009 – Statement of Ed Martin Regarding More Spending Votes by Russ Carnahan (Acrobat)

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This has been a tough year for Americans looking for stability [...]]]>

Congress may realize that deficit spending is no way to run the country, but their solution will not be to cut spending, it will be to raise taxes.

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This has been a tough year for Americans looking for stability in their economic life. Congress passed massive bailout and stimulus bills, promising us that despite the piles of debt heaped upon us and our kids, it would soften the jobless rate.

Reality was that with the stimulus, our unemployment rates exceeded the worst case scenario we were supposed to be spending billions to prevent. Missouri’s third district was hit hard by the recession, and all of know men and women who are out of work. Now they are out of work, and every member of their family has $40,000 in federal debt hanging over their heads.

I am encouraged to hear that November’s unemployment numbers are finally moving in the right direction, ironically just a day or so after the President derided business owners for not hiring. I very much hope for the sake of Missouri’s families that this means the worst is over. Even if joblessness bottoms out, there is a great deal of work to be done.

The debt Congress is incurring is utterly unsustainable. Probably within my lifetime, certainly within those of my children, interest payments will exceed the costs of our most expensive entitlement programs. Put another way, we may spend as much in interest as we do on Medicare.

Congress may realize that deficit spending is no way to run the country, but their solution will not be to cut spending, it will be to raise taxes. Just this week, the house voted to make estate taxes permanent. Representatives in Congress like Russ Carnahan and Speaker Nancy Pelosi look upon hardworking Americans as an endless source of cash to fund their personal crusades.

If the recovery has begun, and the good news in November is not the result of people dropping out of the hunt for work, then we need to make sure that the next Congress does not smother it in its infancy. If they pass the wildly mislabeled health care reform and fraud-based cap and trade legislation, or simply fail to get our deficits under control, businesses will hunker back down and we’ll not only see new jobs sputter out, but current jobs cut as well.

Unfortunately, Congress no longer concerns itself with the principles upon which America was founded. A [...]]]> The United States was conceived in liberty and, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, dedicated to the extraordinary proposition that Almighty God has created all men and women equal. He has endowed each of us with rights that no government can take away.

Unfortunately, Congress no longer concerns itself with the principles upon which America was founded. A long decay in leadership has culminated in a big government that exists to feed its own lust for power and control at the expense of the very people it was intended to serve and protect.

Flowery rhetoric failed to bring about change we could believe in. Big government “solutions” have had no more success in restoring the integrity of our economy than a coat of whitewash would have in restoring the integrity of a rotting piece of wood.

Thomas Jefferson wrote that government was to be the servant of the people, not their master. Our founders built for us a nation based on individual initiative and unlimited opportunity.

I believe in the America Jefferson envisioned and Lincoln fought to sustain. I believe, as Ronald Reagan famously insisted, that our nation’s best days lie ahead. I am running for Congress to ensure that the future my children will inherit is one filled with opportunity. But it will take all of us, working together, creating and applying real solutions to our nation’s troubles.

“Together, with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us. And, after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans.”

Ronald Reagan said that in his first inaugural address, and I believe it is still true today.