KSL is running an interesting story on the radio today: Josh Romney may consider running for Congress in Utah’s Congressional District 2. Yes, that is Josh Romney as in Mitt Romney’s son. Considering the popularity Jim Matheson (due to his father, Governor of Utah) and Josh Romney (due to his father, Governor of Massachusetts), it would certainly prove to be an intriguing race, especially considering they are both Mormons. Hmmmm.

OK, after I spilled out my sentiments against Ethan’s opinion last night I have to agree with one comment he made tonight. There is at least one part of SB81 that I believe goes too far. Quoting one of the highlighted provisions, SB81

“makes it a class A misdemeanor for a person to: transport in this state an alien for commercial advantage or private financial gain, knowing that the alien is in the United States in violation of federal law, in furtherance of the illegal presence in the United States…”

This portion of the bill places too much of the burden on the ordinaray citizen and actually creates an environment where citizens will feel compelled to “police” others. The Legislature should remember that they should be creating an environment that discourages illegal immigration, but remember to not create a police-state in the process.

On a lighter, non-political topic, I thought I would share a photo from a day trip last Sunday to Antelope Island in Davis County. Although it was hazy, sunset brought on some beautiful colors on the island. We enjoyed viewing wildlife including bison, antelope, coyotes, a badger, and hawks. What a fortunate atmosphere we have at our disposal here in Utah!

I came across an interesting read about Who Really Wont the Republican Primary today at A Chicago Blog. The author had an interesting point about the take-all-delegates states versus thoses that did not. What was even more interesting is to read the response from Deputy Doofy. Please take some time to read his/her assessment of Clinton, Obama, McCain, and Romney.

What is happening to Ethan Millard on KSL? Tonight he went on and on and on some more about how immigration reform’s hot topic is whether we hear Spanish in public. Huh? No, he wasn’t defending that point of view, rather he went on and on as if this is what anti-illegals think. Then he went on some more about how the states should be waiting for Congress. Did he really suggest we wait? Illegal immigration has been THE hot topic for the last two terms of Congress and nothing has been done at that level. Let me lay it out for you… Utah has no other choice. These are some examples why I need illegal immigration legislation in Utah NOW:

• My hospital bills are more expensive due to illegal immigrants
• My property taxes are more expensive to pay for the schooling of illegal immigrants
• My insurances rates (health and auto) are higher because of illegal immigrants
• My income taxes pay for the roads that illegal immigrants freely drive on
• My income taxes are paying for illegal immigrants who fill the state prisons and city/county jails

Do you see a common theme? The problem with illegal immigration is the burden placed upon the American tax payer. This is an economic problem, not a language problem. And while Congress sits on their butts (especially you Mr. Cannon) Utah economics are being affected, resulting in our State Legislature being forced to do something to address the problem. I for one called my representative and told him that I expected him to pass legislation to encourage illegal immigrants to leave Utah. In the end I agree with Ethan that it is Congress’ responsibility to take care of the border and immigration as a whole, but it is our State Legislature’s responsibilty to take care of us in the meantime.

The FairTax petition to Congress is being prepared with a deadline of April 15th. If you are at all interested in serious tax and economic reform, sign it now by visiting this link:

http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=changedc

I read an article today that began with the words “We all hate to pay taxes.” I disagree and so I closed the browser window and chalked it up as another example where reporters do not know everything. Believe it or not I am proud to pay taxes to support our national interests (i.e. national security, immigration, roads, airports, etc.). But my pride ends there. I am tired of paying more than my fair share. My wife and I finished our tax preparation a few nights ago and our taxes for 2007 have been finalized. What a mess. Here are my finalized tax rates based on “wages, salaries, tipes, etc.”:

• Federal Income Tax = 5.51%
• Federal Insurance Contributions (FICA) = 6.21% (social security + 1.45% medicare)
• Employer FICA = 6.21% (Yes, I’m including this because whether you believe it or not employers consider this part of your wages and account for it that way)
• Utah State Income Tax = 3.70%
• Utah State Sales Tax = 3.32% (based on our 2007 expenditures)
• Salt Lake County Property Tax = 1.17%

So there you have it. I paid 26.1% of my gross income in taxes last year (17.9% to the feds, 7.0% to Utah, and 1.2% to the city/county). Some may argue that my formula is tainted (mainly that I included employer FICA payments). Regardless, this is the true representation of what I contributed to local, state, and federal government as a direct result of my employment. Keep in mind there are other incidental taxes  (aka “hidden” taxes) that are NOT included in my formula: energy taxes, fuel taxes, lodging taxes, rental car taxes, communciations taxes, etc. This breakdown reminds me of one simple fact… our federal government is way too big! It is also a reminder to me why I joined the Republican party in the first place. As part of the Republican platform are these statements:

• I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.
• I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which governs least.
• I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

Huh? You mean Republicans stand for these principles? Well, at least I know I do and I thought Republicans did. I believe the Bush administration lost sight of these principles during its tenure.  I also know Congress has lost its vision, too. During Bush’s presidency and Congress’ last six sessions the federal government has grown by astronomical figures. Just look at Homeland Security and TSA and you’ll get an idea. Speaking of this, where did Homeland Security come from anyway? And what about the FBI, NSA, CIA, ATF, DEA, NRO, NIC, and DIA? Aren’t these all security/intelligence services? Why can’t all these agencies become one and take care of us as a single entity? If we keep running along this track of dumping more money into government to fix our problems we are in a fast track to nowhere. It is time for us to take a stand and say NO to big government. It is time for Republicans to return to basic principles. It is time for us to ALL pay our fair share for government services. Even better, it is time for our federal government to get out of the business of socialism. It is time for our federal government to get out of the business of education. Meanwhile, we will all sit around listening to Clinton and Obama go on and on about change… a change for even grander government services. Oh brother. I can not believe anyone in their right mind would even consider nationalized healthcare. Folks, we need to remember a basic principle… a dollar in the hands of an individual will always go further than a dollar in the hands of government — That’s economics 101. When are we going to return to the intentions of our forefathers? Doesn’t anyone remember the Boston Tea Party? This is all becoming a really bad nightmare.

[This is an opportune time to insert a plug for the Fair Tax movement. If you haven’t visited them yet, please check it out! It’s a fair system that helps both the wealthy and poor in our country]

I had the opportunity this evening to gather with fellow constituents, mainly federal government employees in the FAA (and members of NATCA), from Utah’s Congressional District 3 to hear Jason Chaffetz’s point of view with respect to the current state of affairs. First and foremost he does not agree with Representative Chris Cannon’s way of handling our interests in governmental affairs. He instantly earned my attention. Let me share a short experience why — Over the last year two years I sent two sets of letters to Representatives Chris Cannon and Jim Matheson. I never received a response from Cannon’s office, but received a letter and even a phone call from Jim Matheson’s office (Keep in mind I admitted to Mr. Matheson that I was not in his district in both letters and yet his office still took time to respond) — I also felt a theme throughout the discussion tonight… fiscal responsibility and limited government. An interesting twist to Mr. Chafetz’s argument is that he made a campaign budget and pledges to stick to it, regardless of how close the race is. It is about time we see someone who respects hard-earned money that is placed in his care! At the end of the discussion I felt that Mr. Chaffetz is a geniune individual who would truly represent our district’s point of view. Although I will refrain from providing Mr. Chaffetz an endorsement at this time (as I still have yet to meet with David Leavitt), he has earned my respect and I feel he deserves District 3’s full attention. Visit Jason Chaffetz’s campaign website to learn more. [photographed (L to R): Doug Pincock, NATCA Local President; Jennifer Scott, Jason Chaffetz Campain Manager; Me; Jason Chaffetz; Scott Querry, NATCA Local Vice President]

Whoa! I was surprised by the news of Fidel Castro stepping aside to let his brother, Raul Castro, rule Cuba. Outside of monarchies Castro was the world’s longest sitting leader. Raul has been known to hint towards reform, but I find it guesswork at best to what lies ahead. What an interesting twist to the day.

I enjoyed a rare opportunity this morning of having a round-table discussion between Lt. Governor Gary Herbert and Utah bloggers, kindly hosted by Lyall Swim at The Sutherland Institute. The Lt. Governor spoke for about an hour about the accomplishments of Utah under the tenure of the current Governor and Legislature. For example Utah experienced 4.5% job growth in 2007, which is unprecedented across the nation. He stressed the importance of “partnership in government” and programs like “Be Ready Utah.” Probably most important is that he and Governor Huntsman agree that among Utah’s priorities is raising public teacher salary to promote new entrants into this important field and healthcare reform in order to put healthcare rising prices in check. I must admit that I left the meeting with a feeling that the Governor’s office tended to think merely throwing money at a problem will solve it, but I imagine that was due to the short time we had to get into deep conversation about issues. Regardless, it was a great opportunity and I am glad I took time to attend the briefing.

As a personal sidenote, it was a thrill to personally meet some of my fellow bloggers out there, like Frank, Mike, and Jesse. See you next time.