Oh, Hob Bryan

"Every economist thinks we need more government spending to get out of this recession!"

Um, no. Not even close. I realize you were engaging in hyperbole designed to make the Governor look bad on education, but come on. Even some of John Maynard Keynes' biggest disciples can't get behind this mess we call "Stimulus." It's not even a real stimulus package. It's a handout every special interest in the country, with a few road projects thrown in. Oh, yeah...and we HAD to have it to keep unemployment below 9 percent.

Today, it's inching toward 10.

The fact is, we cannot spend money that we don't have. The cuts are painful but necessary. If we didn't have so much useless bureaucracy in our education system (Bolivar County, I'm looking at you with your six school districts serving 40,000 people...DeSoto manages just fine with one, serving over 100,000) this might not be happening. There are also antiquated positions within the state (the Public Service Commission, which has steadily become less important over the past 60 years, comes to mind).

There is no horrible motive behind this, Senator Bryan. There is reality. And the reality is, with a bad economy, we can't afford to do things the way they've always been done. Come to think of it, we haven't been doing things well in education anyway. If there ever was a time to clean house, this is it.

Hob Bryan speaks Truth to Power

"These characterizations of the assessment as a 'patient tax' are nothing more than propaganda designed to induce fear."

Once again, Partisan Liberal Democrat Hob Bryan gets it, and basically sums up the House Dems' position and only hope in this debate-and frankly, the absurdity of the taxation party opposing a tax.

My bone to pick with Hob is that "Barbour tried to get them beat" in last year's elections. Um, yeah, Hob, that whole election thing? The whole point is to try to win and help your party win. And interfering in elections? Lest we forget in 2003 the challenge in the Republican Primary by Lee Tyner, he of plantiff's attorney fame, ran against Barbour. And we know how those trial lawyers feel about the GOP.

When It's So Obvious

Yeah, when very partisan Dem Hob Bryan agrees with a Republican (I once heard him blame every economic problem in this country on Ronald Reagan and tax cuts. Seriously) you know the issue is pretty simple. Agree with his politics or not, Hob Bryan knows tax code. And when he and the governor agree on something, it's news worthy (even if that newsworthy item is buried halfway down the page on the Daily Journal's website).

The reality is this: Hob Bryan is not stupid. He knows that a cigarette tax is a self-defeating one, and while it's an early short-term fix, sin taxes wear themselves out by financially discouraging the continuation of the habit. Meanwhile, there are still people on Medicaid who won't be going anywhere, cigarettes or not. While taxing hospitals isn't my favorite thing-I'm generally opposed to taxation at all-it is a stable source of funding. Senator Bryan surely knows this.

And let me interject this idea-since when did Democrats think taxes on a large business were a bad thing? Is this the first tax increase on a business that any Democrat in the state House has ever opposed?

The fact of the matter is that we have enough tax revenue in this state to cover $90 million in a given year. The problem is we've blown so much of that on $17,000 worth of mileage and sidewalks for Bogue Chitto (that the town never asked for!). It's easier for a legislator to ask for more money than it is to spend the money that is already there. Were that my employer would simply hand me more money at the end of the month if I didn't have enough.