Shreveport Makes The Top Ten American Cities with the WORST Credit Scores!
Shreveport made the list at #5, because of our very high rate of late payments on our debt and the very low average median income of $35,219 which is $15,000 less than the national average. Add this to the stagnant population and near non-existent business growth and the Mayor trying to saddle us with MORE debt and we will soon find ourselves at #1 on this list!
IS BOSSIER ABOUT TO VOTE AWAY THEIR LONG-STANDING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?
NEW PARISH POPULATION GROWTH / DECLINE DATA April 11, 2012 9:13am
by Elliott Stonecipher
Ten parish area data
Latest U. S. Census Bureau annual population estimates show more of the same for Northwest Louisiana parishes: Bossier Parish with largest population gains, DeSoto and Webster Parishes growing very little, and Caddo not much better.
Between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011, Census Bureau data show Bossier’s population grew by 2,189, +1.9%, and Caddo Parish added 1,438 people, +0.6%. Population growth in Webster Parish was 45 new residents, a +0.1% gain, and DeSoto Parish added 80 people, +0.3%.
“Official population estimates” from the Census Bureau are derived from a mix of data sources, key among which are actual birth and death data gathered by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and for the population migration component of the Estimates, from the Bureau’s American Community Survey data.
For those who care to know more about the methodology of Census Estimates, here is detail from the Bureau.
The Picture Back to 1980
In
my work on this and related subjects, I stress that any such data is
best viewed over much longer periods of time. For us, the meaningful
expanded view is back to the 1980 Census, the last Census before our
state and local economies were severely damaged by the so-called “drying
up of the oil patch.” a hit from which many Louisiana parishes have yet
to recover.
Between the 1980 Census and these latest, July 1, 2011 official Estimates:
Bossier Parish population grew from 80,721 to 119,732 residents, +48.3%, an average annual increase of +1.53%.
Caddo Parish grew from 252,358 to 257,051, +1.9%, an average annual increase of +0.06%.
DeSoto Parish grew from 25,727 to 26,812, +4.2%, an average annual increase of +0.13%.
Webster Parish lost from 43,631 to 41,298, a loss of -5.3%, an average annual loss of -0.17%.
Louisiana’s population grew from 4,205,900 to 4,574,836, +8.8%, an average annual gain of +0.28%.
U. S. population grew during the period from 226,545,805 to 311,591,917, +37.5%, an average annual gain of +1.19%.
Differences and Comparisons in More Descriptive Terms
Bossier Parish’s population gain in the most recent reporting year is 3.1-times the population gain of Caddo Parish. That is not, however, nearly as dramatic as the view back to 1980: over the past 31.5 years, the Bossier Parish population grew 25.4-times as much, or as fast, as Caddo Parish. In fact, Bossier is one of only 8 parishes of Louisiana’s 64 with total population growth stronger than the nation as a whole.
Louisiana’s population change over the most recent reporting year – +0.6% – is slightly below the nation’s population growth of +0.7%. Going back to 1980, however, the national population growth rate has been 4.3-times that of our state’s population growth.
Is the Bossier Parish Population Growth Advantage Over Caddo Parish About to End?
Louisiana’s population growth rate has been shown in various studies to be far less than states without a state income tax, especially given that two of those states are very near, Texas and Florida. It is my analysis and belief that the same general point can be made about Bossier Parish’s benefit over the years from notably lower property tax rates than those in across-the-Red neighbor Caddo Parish.
Later this month, however, Bossier may join Caddo and many, many other places in jumping aboard the Tax-and-Spending Express, which can speedily head into population stagnation.
With total public school property taxes in Bossier at just over 52-mills, Caddo’s highest-in-the state millage of over 78-mills is 50% higher. Even for Shreveport and Caddo’s many high-tax apologists, that, as they say, ain’t peanuts: Caddo’s half-again-as-high as Bossier property taxes have no doubt contributed greatly to its devastating population out-migration to Bossier and elsewhere … for decades.
If, in a couple of weeks, Bossier voters pass the Bossier Parish School Board’s tax package, and then follow by approving renewals of other property tax millages coming up in the next couple of years, its property tax will rise to over 70-mills.
With the possibility in the near future, therefore, of lower public school property taxes in Caddo (if Independent School Districts become fact), and with Bossier possibly jumping into the “government only knows how to grow and tax” sinkhole, all things about comparative taxes between the two neighboring parishes may well even-out, if not shift to a Caddo Parish advantage.
(The conventional wisdom – and loud claim in Bossier – that BPSB public schools are far better than CPSB’s bears closer scrutiny. Even without it, for present purposes, the BPSB’s state-issued grade of “C” and CPSB’s “D” (Report is here) means that neither system can claim to be a shining educational light for its children. Each system features a relative few very good schools, some very bad ones, and a lot somewhere in between. CPSB’s high number of failing urban schools is the difference. In any case, changes just passed by the legislature will upset all such grade measures, as will the impending state-takeover of many of Caddo’s failing urban schools.)
Thus, Well-Justified Opposition to the BPSB Plan by the Bossier Chamber of Commerce
Some of you may know that the Bossier Chamber of Commerce has announced its opposition to the BPSB tax-and-spend plan. Given data I reported to you a few months ago about how relatively little school enrollment increase there has been over time in Bossier, or anywhere else in our neck of the woods, the Chamber’s position makes very good sense. ‘Fact is, the BPSB is about to embark on a building spree that is unjustified by objective data: its strong population gains have not been proportionate among school-aged children, and cannot be expected to be in the future, either. As is often the case, this is about one taxing entity – BPSB – grabbing up any possible tax increase “slack” (?) before other taxing entities – Bossier City, Bossier Parish Police Jury, Sheriff’s office, etc. – can do so.
Congratulations to the Bossier Chamber for having the courage to do what is rarely done anywhere, and NEVER done in the Free State of Bossier: oppose the local political Bossmen and the lust among most government officials to tax-tax-tax and spend-spend-spend.
Bossier has had a very fortuitous run for a quarter-century or so, but it is not immune from the disease of relatively “rich” cities and parishes taxing and spending themselves into protracted decline.
If Bossier folk need a nearby example to study and see the future with high taxes, they need look no further than their next-door neighbor across Red River, where the population has grown a dismal 1.9% since President Jimmy Carter was voted out of office.
Elliott Stonecipher
Elliott Stonecipher’s reports, essays and commentaries are written strictly in the public interest. No compensation of any kind has been solicited, offered or accepted for this work.
EVETS MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
6658 Youree Drive
Suite 180, #367
Shreveport, LA 71105
As taken from the Forward Now! website
Tax Election THIS Saturday!
RRTP Research Group digs through SB1867
SB1867
Recently in the news there was a lot of fear-mongering going around about SB1867, now HR1540, in what the Congress was trying to sneak into a budget bill for the military. There where cries of tyranny, Gestapo like concentration camps on American soil, and our last basic liberties being stripped away with the stroke of a pen. But the President is threatening to veto this bill. If he is such a big government, no rights for the people, controlling nanny-state president, why would he threaten to veto a bill that would supposedly give him the power to throw his enemies in jail with no right to a trial or use the military against those said enemies? This was a very interesting conundrum and the RRTP Research Group went in search of why this bill was being blasted in the MSM as the Bill to Kill The Bill of Rights by many blogs and news articles, this is what they found;
SB 1867, now HR1540, is the NDAA National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 is to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.
This bill is 1227 pages in length. Our Research Group combed through every line. They found no language that would cause Americans, especially TEA Party activists, to be overly concerned.
So why the big hoopla about this bill? The problem was that people believed it was going to detain American citizens but, the reality is in subtitle D section 1032 part b 1. The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States. With clear language like that, how could anyone believe this was going to throw just anybody in jail?
Another problem with this bill was it may give the President unwarranted power to use the military against the U.S. citizenry, there by violating Posse Comitastus. In section 1031 1(D) Construction- Nothing in this section is intended to limit or expand the authority of the President or the scope of the Authorization for Use of Military Force. 1(E) Authorities- Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities, relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.
The bill does state, in specific language, who can be detained. In subtitle D section 1031 1B 1. A person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored those responsible for those attacks. 2. A person who was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.
The rest of the bill is related to the various needs for the military to work under monetary constraints. Basically, how to divide up the monetary pie. Nowhere in the bill is there a need for citizens to feel as if their rights are being torn to shreds or that the Bill of Rights has been trampled upon, that happened with the Patriot Act and the implementation of the TSA.
The shear amount of vitriol toward this bill is in and of its self suspect. Usually where there is smoke there is fire, but this bill doesn’t even come close to being an ember. The Congressional members that are for defending Americans, on American soil, where VERY specific as to what language went into this bill. They have tried to put out that knowledge, but it does not play to the MSM narrative so it is drowned out by the nay-sayers. And unfortunately, a lot of people have jumped on the MSM bandwagon about this particular bill.
What the RRTP Research Group came up with is this bill sounds scary, but in reality it is not. The RRTP Research Group will continue to dig into bills like this as they come up.
THE VOTE ON GLOVER'S SUSPECT "STREET PROGRAM" OPENS IMPORTANT DOOR TO THE CITY COUNCIL - ESPECIALLY COUNCILMAN EVERSON
If things go as planned, the Shreveport City Council will take action on Mayor Glover's "street repair" program at its regular October 25th meeting. For those who may have missed my earlier e-mailed report on this critical issue, an op-ed version of it has been published in the Shreveport Times (See op-ed here).
As I detail in the Times piece, every warning flag on this deal is now up and strongly waving. Having spent a lot of years in and around politics and government, every instinct tells me that nothing about this deal adds-up to the good of Shreveport's people. We should, however, have no doubt that it adds-up to the benefit of a handful in and around City Hall.
Strong - and Rare - Opposition from Notable Groups
As the crucial Council vote approaches, it seems certain that 3 of the 4 required "no" votes are rock-solid: Councilmen Michael Corbin, Ron Webb and Oliver Jenkins. Many other Shreveporters are working behind the scenes to stop yet another near-$100,000,000 in Shreveport municipal debt at a particularly wrong time in America's and Louisiana's history. Opposition has been, or soon will be, directly communicated to the mayor and City Council by the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, Committee of 100, Republican Party and others.
An Inflection Point in Shreveport History ... and The Cautionary Tale of New Orleans
For those who keep up with financial markets, the term "inflection point" is well known and understood. A very specific mathematical term, it more broadly refers to any moment in history at which time the subject entity dramatically and systemically changes - for good or ill. The identification of such historical moments is better left to historians than real-time analysts, but there seems little risk of error in this case:
Thank you for your time, and please feel free to circulate this e-mail, unedited, as you choose.
TWO NEW REPORTS: SHREVEPORT CREDIT SCORES 5TH-WORST IN NATION, AND LOUISIANA SALES TAXES NOW 3RD-HIGHEST IN NATION.
Cumulative Credit Scores of Shreveporters, Louisiana Neighbors and Other Americans
The first report was published last week by Gannett News Service, the owner of the Shreveport Times, in its USA Today newspaper. Using data from global credit information group Experian, the Gannett report ranks the cumulative credit scores of residents in 143 American cities. The cumulative credit score for Shreveporters is 5th-worst in the nation, a rank of 139th. New Orleans ranks 105th, Lafayette 109th, Baton Rouge 111th, and Monroe 140th. (SEE study details here and here.)
Louisiana Sales Tax Rates Near-Highest in America
The second report is from America's go-to source on levels of taxation, the non-partisan Tax Foundation. Contrary to the constant assertion of so many of our elected officials, Louisiana shows up in this new study of sales taxes with a combined state and local sales tax average which is 3rd-highest among all states. While the combined average sales tax rate for Louisiana is 8.84% in the study, Shreveport's is a bit lower at 8.60%, but not for long: various local governing bodies have plans - discussed anywhere other than in public, of course - to raise sales taxes in Shreveport / Caddo Parish and Bossier City / Bossier Parish to 9.00% or higher. (See study report and details here.)
What These and Other Studies Reveal, in Context
Each reader will judge the relationship between these new studies and what we know or are learning about existing tax and debt levels in our home areas. For Shreveporters - already paying property taxes which are by far the highest among Louisiana cities - all such facts and studies underscore the outrageousness of the city's non-stop tax and debt increases. Mayor Cedric Glover is supercharging the public debt held by Shreveport taxpayers with the $175,000,000 bond issue earlier this year and his intended near-$100,000,000 additional debt for his highly suspect "street repair" program. To add insult to very real financial injury to his constituents, Glover's latest tax increase - a 150% increase in the electricity franchise tax a few weeks ago - was passed without a vote of the people.
As an increasingly bad economy bears down on more and more of us, as well as on our family members, friends and neighbors, we certainly don't need our local politicians continuing such dramatic increases in taxes and public debt.
It is true, of course, that no one has consistently and accurately predicted where local economies will be in a year, or five years or twenty-five years. Regardless, many of us do know, perfectly well, where these tax and spending levels lead - especially in the prolonged recession likely ahead of us. One way or the other, virtually every one of us has learned, or is learning, that our personal debt and spending has to be cut.
It is inarguably the case - especially in Shreveport and Caddo - that many of our elected leaders know no such thing.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this information, and please share this, unedited, as you choose.
Elliott Stonecipher
How and Why Glover's Attempted Grab for $94 million for "Streets" Fails the Smell Test
Friends,
At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Mayor Cedric Glover's latest gambit for unwise (I'm being polite) spending of public money was sidelined for a month-long postponement. (The Shreveport Times article is here.)
As Tuesday began, there was serious doubt that four Council votes were in place to stop this irresponsible train from reaching Glover's station of hidden interests, but the key Council vote against his planned grab of $94,000,000 - the vote of Councilman Jeff Everson - held firm, albeit maybe only temporarily. As Glover's legendary speechifying for yet more Shreveport municipal debt was ramping up, the votes of Councilmen Corbin, Webb, Everson and Oliver Jenkins were still in the "No" column. Glover's point-man of the moment, Councilman Sam Jenkins, then took the action necessary to postpone the vote in order to save this stinker for another possibly bad day.
We many times hear that some intended action by a politician "fails the smell test," and it is a fitting reference. Without undue discussion of the many ways we use our sense of smell to protect us from invisible threats, suffice it to say that many things that otherwise look okay can be tested with a sniff or two and found to be foul. In that way, the whiff of something very much NOT okay with Glover's plan is growing into a powerful odor.
First, how in the Good Lord's name does a responsible city leader add $175,000,000 to a stagnant (at best) city's bonded debt in the spring of the year, then jump immediately to another near-$100,000,000 in revenue bonds only months later? With debt-per-capita in Shreveport at $4,000, when will Glover have such us deep enough into debt?
Second, how many times will Shreveport be the last place in America to learn a key and important lesson? Our previous City Council left office by granting collective bargaining rights to city employees precisely when other cities and states were proclaiming their awareness that those days simply had to be behind us in this country. Now, with $4-to-$6 trillion in spending reductions by the federal government virtually certainly heading every city's way, why would our city's top elected official be supercharging Shreveport's municipal debt?
Third, why would Glover not bother to earlier, publicly mention his plan to grab $94,000,000 - supposedly for "street repairs" - by bonding out his latest tax increase? When Glover sang lullabies to the Council and ultimately found enough votes to raise the franchise fee on our electric bills, he knew very, very well that his current plan was his real intention. Would not public pressure on the City Council on that tax increase vote have been much more strong and negative if the mayor opted - just once, please! - to tell we lowly taxpayers what shape the next shakedown would take?
Fourth, if you buy that this is about a supposed $87 million dollars in street repairs, why would we not first complete the $21,000,000 in street repairs from the brand-new $175,000,000 bond issue? After all, if we were doing that, we could add to it simultaneously with spending from the new franchise fee tax increase on a pay-as-you-go basis. (Additional rationale in that context is explained by the Shreveport Times in this editorial.)
Fifth, Shreveport city government simply does not have the wherewithal to organize and well-execute $175,000,000 in bond issue projects while making $94,000,000 in "street repairs" in anything less than many, many, many years. To be as polite as possible, our city government is not - uh, how shall I say - able to accomplish such. Good city employees would try, but they would be hamstrung by those who are anything but.
The bottom line is that this isn't really about street repairs. Oh, sure, there would be repairs made, but they would be 10% concrete and 90% class warfare and other political ca-ca, spread over those just-mentioned many, many, many years. Regardless, the point stands: this awful scheme of Glover's has - has - to be about Glover; this is about something Glover wants, not something Shreveport needs.
For now, we can only guess what the mayor is really up to, but a growing group of Shreveporters who care are increasingly meeting and talking about the short list of city hall sponsors and friends who typically get paid on the front-end of every such wholly illogical scheme.
The good thing about the smell test is that in fairly short order, the underlying rottenness attacks each and every one of our senses. For those of us who pay the bills around here, our hope is that our City Council traces this reek to its source in time.
Thank you. Please share this as you choose, unedited.
Elliott Stonecipher
FreedomWorks, Memo: Government Goes To Those Who Show Up
In the summer of 2011, who will lead like Reagan?
The answer to this question, which I hear almost every day from fellow Tea Partiers, may not make you happy. The answer is not another Reagan. The answer is not even a
politician or an elected official. The answer is you. As part of a leaderless movement of
millions of grassroots Americans committed to reigning in Washington’s proliferate ways, you will lead because the future of our country is at stake. The futures of your children and grandchildren might well be determined by what you are willing to do this August.
In 2009, the first iteration of this grassroots uprising for fiscal sanity — call it Tea Party l.0 — was as a street protest. Each of us literally got up off of the couch and started to gather in the town square. Lo and behold, we all discovered that we were not alone in our anger against an arrogant political establishment run amuck, A February 2009 gathering of a dozen protesters in Ft. Myers became hundreds protesting in Seattle in March and thousands demanding accountability in Atlanta in April. The 9/ l2/09 Taxpayer March on Washington, attended by a million plus citizen activists, put official Washington on notice: We will be ignored no more. That day was like Tea Party karaoke night where just about every group involved had their 2 minutes at the microphone. It was also the biggest mutual support group ever assembled; "I am not alone, and I’m not crazy to have spent the family vacation fund to come to Washington, D.C., to petition my government for a redress of grievances."
In 2010, Tea Party 2.0 evolved into a powerful Get Out The Vote (GOTV) machine. Doing so may have seemed like an intentional rebuke to naysayers who were predicting the demise of the Tea Party after the Democrats jammed through ObamaCare. But it was just an obvious evolution for a citizen movement that had once again been ignored by official Washington. Like entrepreneurs responding to a shift in customer demand, Tea Partiers set out to leam effective GOTV tactics and went to the task of political accountability. It worked, producing a historic shift in political power in both state capitols and in Washington, D.C.
In 2011, Tea Party 3.0 must take its power established as a protest movement and a Get Out The Vote Machine and apply it to the difficult task of legislating change. How do we repeal and replace ObamaCare‘? How do we cut spending, reform entitlements and balance the budget'? How do we reign in the power of politicians, govemment employees, corporate rent-seekers and an army of special interests that have enriched themselves at taxpayer expense? The right policies might be clear enough, but the legislative path from where we are today to where we need to be will require a continued evolution and increased sophistication in Tea Partier tactics. And that is exactly what is happening.
While it is true that Republicans only control, in Speaker John Boehner’s words, "one half of one third of the government," it is undeniable that the Tea Party agenda of cutting deficit spending and getting the burden of big government off the backs of workers and job creators is the dominant conversation in Washington, D.C. That is because the “Tea Party class"—the massive freshman class of Republican Senators and Congressman—is demanding as much, because the citizenry is demanding it of` them. This is a big deal. The debate is now how much to cut, not how much to spend. The debate is how to repeal ObamaCare, not if we dare do so. Today we argue over the best way to stop the EPA’s job cmshing assault on American energy, knowing that we must.
It is hard to overstate the real impact our Tea Party community has had on the direction and terms of the debate over fiscal policy in Washington, D.C. lt may not always feel like you are getting enough done because of the monumental challenges confronting our country posed by the continued failures of Obamanomics, 9.2 percent unemployment, a $1.6 trillion budget deficit, and a Congress that’d rather raise the debt ceiling than cut spending. But trust me, you are forcing both political parties to respond to our concerns about a federal government that is spending too much money that it does not have. None of this will be easy, and winning these very difficult policy battles will require the continued vigilance of each and every one of us. There is no short cut, no work around for the ongoing grassroots pressure and the informed advocacy of patriotic citizens willing to show up for the fi.1tures of our children and grandchildren.
How can we drive the narrative and win the upcoming policy debates this summer? We know that the left will be out in full force this summer, especially during the August Recess, to push their agenda of bigger govemment, more debt and more government control over the economy. We’ve already heard reports of Barack Obama’s shock troops from the unions and MoveOn.org planning to show up at August town hall meetings and other events this summer. We need to counter them with our message of liberty, limited government and fiscal responsibility; and we need your help to win these crucial debates. Please take a moment to review materials available at AugustAction.com.
We need to support the bold legislators we worked so hard to elect last November. While the Tea Party class is fighting hard on the inside, we need to support their hard legislative work in our local communities. At the same time, some Republicans and most Democrats are still AWOL on getting our debt under control. On the one side, defenders of the status quo and still more government intrusions include govemment employee unions and other radical "progressives." They pledge to show up in force to regain the ground they lost last November. The only thing standing between them and their goal is the good men and women of the Tea Party. And by the "Tea Party," l am referring to you. Town halls are where we hold politicians accountable and get them on the record on where they stand on key issues. We have the opportunity to support bold leaders, convert the undecided, and marginalize our opponents during the August recess. Just as in 2009, the 20ll August town halls will become the lens through which the media and the public assess the strength of our movement. We must use the August town halls to focus positive attention on our limited government agenda, asking our legislators where they stand on issues that matter to us.
During the August Recess in 2009 the Tea Party movement flexed its muscles and made a huge impact in the debate over ObamaCare. You drove the narrative all summer and kept the Left on defense. But this time we know that they are going to be paying attention to the August town halls, and we need to be prepared to win the policy debates at those meetings. We also can’t forget that we must defend those legislators that have stood strong for us, by sticking their neck out and taking heat from the left on these issues. We need to defend them and show the support for their work, while putting pressure on those wobbly legislators who have not been so bold.
Government goes to those who show up. lf you don’t show up, who will'?
It is important that we obtain the date, time and location of as many town hall meetings as
possible around the country — as quickly as possible. lt will be up to the folks on the ground to find out the information by calling, writing and making district office visits to their Congressman and Senators. Please use FreedomConnector to post the details as an “event" and then send out a notice to your group members to attend the town hall meeting. We must out—organize the Left to ensure that we get our people to these meetings first and fill the seats with people who believe in liberty. We will also do our best to share this information with you as we get it from staff here in Washington.
Don’t forget to share the details of the town hall events via Facebook, Twitter, email, phone calls, etc. And let us know at FreedomWorks how we can help and showcase your activists to our national network. We are a service center dedicated to helping you and your group. Our movement needs to tum out our community in order to ensure that we dominate the discussions at these events. You might also want to call into your local talk radio stations to announce the dates, times and locations of town hall events. Just as important as attending the town halls is bringing handouts with you for the rest of the people there. We have put together a great August Recess Action Kit that contains talking points, a legislator leave-behind, petitions, articles on key issues and other materials that you can use to make your arguments and back them up with the facts. These materials are all here, available for your volunteers to download and use. Make sure that you cover the seats with these handouts. Also, don’t forget to use the town halls as a recruiting opportunity for your local group. You will likely find a lot of folks that agree with our positions on the issues. Remember: Tea Partiers are optimistic, happy warriors fighting for what we believe in. We are always civil, and hope for a better future for our great nation!
If your elected officials are not holding town hall meetings, we should organize our own and then invite them to attend. We can have Tea Party-organized town halls and if the Congressman or Senator won’t show up, we will put out an empty chair, a microphone and a name tag in his or her place. Absentee legislators will have to answer to their constituents and the media as to why they refuse to meet with constituents. We should then flood the newspapers with letters and flood the talk radio stations with people asking why the elected official in question refused to meet with constituents.
At the town hall meetings, be sure to prepare questions ahead of time, FreedomWorks has
provided a few of these in our August Action Kit. We need to focus the discussion on our issues, and drive our narrative about what needs to happen in Washington when it comes to issues like the national debt, entitlement reform and tax refonn. Be sure to record the town halls with your flip cameras, smartphones or other video cameras. If your group needs a flip cam, please contact our grassroots staff.
Make sure that a tea partier is the first person to the microphone at the town hall meetings, Ask your questions respectfully and clearly and demand a specific answer. Be prepared for spin but always have some other people ready to ask the same question a different way, in order to get a real answer from your Congressman or Senators. Cheer good answers and boo bad answers to show where we stand on the issues.
Consider organizing Tea Partiers outside the town hall meetings to rally around our message. Have people hold signs that include themes like "Stop the Spending!" "Balance the Budget w/out Tax Hikes!" and “Support The BBA!" lf we can show enthusiasm for our message both inside the town halls and outside, we can drive the media narrative about these events. Please be sure to quickly upload your photos and videos to www.augustaction.com so that we can show the media what really happened in the town hall meetings around the country. We need to publicly display our continued dedication to the cause, and use the town halls as an opportunity to talk to the media about how we plan to push lawmakers to cut and cap spending, reform spending and entitlement programs, balance the budget and avert national bankruptcy.
First we were a protest movement, because we had to get their attention. Then we morphed into a massive Get Out The Vote machine, because we had to hold them accountable. Now, We Must Govern, "We," that is, as in "We The People,"
In his first inaugural address to a new nation conceived in liberty, President George Washington said: “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of govemment, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.
No pressure, but he’s talking to you and me.
Red River TEA Party's stance on the current version of the Debt Bill: Too much in taxes and debt; Too little in reduction and offset.
We applaud the effort to include a balanced budget amendment. However, while the package calls for a vote on a balanced budget amendment, it would not require its approval in order for the debt ceiling to be increased. We also applaud the idea of tax increases not being part of the deal right now. The problem is that tax increases may very well be part of the deal when the "committee" is created to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit savings over the next decade. The White House today admitted as much.
We must do better than this. We are not afraid of a temporary "default." We do fear bankrupting our nation.
Call Congressman Fleming now to let him know that a "NO" vote on this bill is what is best for the American people. Push for Cut, Cap and Balance!
The number to reach him in Washington is; 202-225-2777.
Red River TEA Party General Membership Meeting
We will have Elliot Stonecipher back to discuss the 3132 issue and what happened to the money to complete the project, a recap of the Louisiana State Legislature, the tentative schedule of the Constution Classes and other topics.
Mom's Brigade is collecting items to send overseas to our deployed soldiers. You can bring a donation or much needed item to this meeting.
Items include:
Crew Socks
Baby Wipes
Chapstick
Single Serve Peanut Butter
Beef Jerky
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Dental Floss
Unscented Soap
Eye Drops
Gum
Candy
Energy Shots
Snack Crackers
Individual Powdered Drink Mixes
