|
  ennessee,
Tennessee, there ain't no place I'd rather be." So went the
grand old song, which may need a touch of
amending if
Tennessee legislators vote today to institute a state income tax.
If pro-taxers win, Tennessee will lose its hallowed rank as one
of nine states without an income tax. If they lose, their defeat
will come at the hands of two powerful political forces: talk radio
and automobile horns.
The pro-tax
forces, led by Republican governor Don Sundquist and supported by
the usual suspects-public-employee associations, the public-education
establishment, etc. — almost won last year. Shortly before the vote,
however, a dissident legislator put in a phone call to Nashville
radio talk-show host Phil Valentine, who rushed to the legislative
square and began broadcasting a decidedly anti-tax message. He also
invited listeners who shared his views to circle the area in their
cars and trucks while blowing their horns.
Reminiscent
of Jericho (we speak as fundamentalists today), the tax came crumbling
down. Indeed, a few legislators had to be hospitalized after the
ferocity of the citizen protest sent their blood pressure to dangerous
levels. At one point, anti-taxers gathered before the capitol building
in a mob formation, then rushed the front doors. Valentine says
it was frightfully similar to the scene in the Frankenstein movie
where the townspeople stormed the castle in pursuit of the monster.
That was then.
Just over two weeks ago, Valentine got another tip from inside the
legislature (Sundquist is letting legislators carry the ball this
year, he says). The pro-taxers, who have spent the year arguing
that the state needs the tax to offset the huge cost of the state's
medical plan — and to teach children to read — had once again lined
up the votes to institute the tax. Once again, Valentine headed
for the capitol and began banging his drum. He was joined by other
talk-show hosts. The streets filled with horn-blasting vehicles.
The pro-tax forces were held at bay — but, it appears, only temporarily.
"We expect
them to try again Tuesday," Valentine said late last week.
Valentine's
anti-tax argument is based on his belief that any shortfalls can
be made up by cutting the state budget. "This year," he
says, "I went through the budget and found ways to save well
over a billion dollars," which is more than the alleged shortfall.
His budget analysis is posted on his website,
and makes for interesting reading.
For instance,
Valentine is highly critical of the state's decision to help acquire
a Memphis-based professional basketball team. "We seem to be
wallowing in debt with a hopeless future, school kids facing the
prospect of catastrophic consequences," he writes. "That
is until someone mentions professional sports. Then, all of a sudden,
we have plenty of money, enough to accommodate their every need.
The key business involved in bringing a team to Memphis, FedEx,
makes $19.4 billion per year. That's about three times what
Tennesseans pay in taxes each year! I have a lot of respect and
admiration for FedEx. They are pioneers in their field and we're
proud they call Tennessee home but they hardly need state assistance
to secure a professional basketball team. Here we have a company
worth more than the entire state of Tennessee asking the taxpayers
to fork over hard-earned tax dollars to help them make more money.
What's even more outrageous is the governor has agreed without even
blinking!"
Another target
is the tax proponents' insistence that $100 million is needed to
bolster reading programs. Hiding behind The Children, to be sure,
is a pretty effective political gambit, though Valentine isn't buying
it: "You have to ask yourself why they need an extra $100 million
for reading. I mean, what are they teaching them now?" That
question inspired him to peruse the state's learning standards,
where he found among other things, that children are required to
"name community health workers" and "identify agencies
within the community that provide health services" in order
to become "aware of and appropriately use health services,
practices and products." He also found that kids are required
to "Develop an understanding of dance as a response to experiences
and the environment" and learn the necessity of "Combating
Career Stereotyping."
Further up the education ladder, he argues the University of Tennessee
doesn't charge enough for its services. By Valentine's view, students
could easily pay their way but instead are insisting on government
help. "If the average UT student worked just 10 hours per week
at $5.50 per hour, he would make enough money to pay for his own
tuition, a concept which seems to be foreign to those students walking
the halls of the General Assembly with their hands out."
Pro-taxers
denounce all this as extremist chatter and irresponsible demagoguery.
In addition, Valentine says, the police have threatened to shut
down horn-blowing protests by enforcing a noise ordinance. "That's
not noise," says Valentine. "That's the sound of freedom."
As it happens, Valentine released a record by that name last year
that became a local bestseller. Today we may see if he was a one-hit
wonder.
|
