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Halsam’s “TEAM” Act Would Eliminate Veterans’ Preference for State Workers

Governor Bill Haslam’s stealthy effort to eliminate veterans’ preference for state hires looks poised to hit a very public stumbling block — Tennessee veterans.

Haslam’s TEAM Act would eliminate civil service rules, such as veterans’ preference, that protect taxpayers from political patronage, a corrupted [...]

Our own Gary Moore has created a video about the impending censorship of the Internet, sponsored by District 7′s “queen of mean”, Marsha Blackburn.  Kudos to Gary for keeping up the good fight!

For more information on why WCDP is opposed to Marsha Blackburn’s proposed H.J. Res.37, click HERE to visit our special focus page.

We Are The Many — Manaka, 2011

Ye come here, gather ’round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage

From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw

Chorus:

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight

They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free

Chorus:

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none

So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed

You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide

Chorus:

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy

Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail

Chorus (x2):

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

We are the many
You are the few

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was invited as the keynote speaker for the Williamson County Republican Party’s annual Reagan Day fundraising dinner Oct 25th, 2011. Walker, despised in his own state for trampling upon democracy, gutting labor rights for public employees including teachers, and being a puppet of moneyed interests like the Koch Brothers, is on a national fundraising tour to raise money to defend against a recall campaign which he is widely predicted to lose.

Williamson County Democrats, members of the Redneck Party, and even travelers from Wisconsin staged a protest to emphasize that they will stand against the radical attempts to subvert democratic process and institute laws formulated by corporations through the American Legislative Exchange Council in states across America. Hard working Tennesseans deserve better than to be marginalized by high rollers and corporate big wigs, and Williamson County Democrats are ready to fight for them!

Eliminating the Grocery Tax Should Come First

NASHVILLE – Chip Forrester, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, urged the General Assembly Thursday to give working and middle class families top priority on tax cuts and move all tax relief efforts toward eliminating the sales tax on groceries.

“Tennessee has one of the highest grocery taxes in the nation, and hits our working families the hardest,” Forrester said. “If we’re going to cut taxes in this economy, we should start by cutting taxes to help our working and middle class families.”

In the proposal released by the governor’s office, there is $32 million budgeted for tax expenditures, including $14 million worth of tax giveaways for roughly 900 of Tennessee’s wealthiest estate owners.

Tax breaks for millionaires should not be a priority when there are so many Tennessee families struggling to put healthy food on the table, Forrester said, citing recent figures that show 360,000 — about one out of four — of Tennessee’s school-age children live in poverty.

“In times like these millionaires should be giving to charity, not getting it from the government. Our kids are our future, and they need help now,” Forrester said. “The wealthy have plenty of lawyers, lobbyists and politicians who will look out for them, they can afford to wait.

“Tennesseans are tired of seeing special interests get everything they want,” Forrester said. “Our working and middle class families deserve results, too, and this is a great opportunity to do something meaningful for all families.”

Under the governor’s proposal, about 900 of the state’s wealthiest estate owners would share a collective $14 million tax break by moving the estate exemption from $1 million to $1.25 million. Gov. Bill Haslam said his future plans include a $5 million estate exemption — a move that could result in an additional tax giveaway of $48 million for Tennessee’s millionaires and billionaires.

BACKGROUND

Everybody Eats, Everybody Benefits From a Tax Cut On Groceries. And Tennessee has one of the highest taxes on groceries in the nation. [PolitiFact, 1/24/12]

Only 900 of Tennessee’s Wealthiest Families Would Benefit From New Estate Tax Exemption. The Tennessean reports that 845 estates paid the tax in 2011. Under the governor’s proposed tax break, the roughly 900 annual estate taxpayers would share a $14 million break. Haslam says the $14 million tax giveaway for wealthy estate this year is just the beginning. He intends to increase the exemption to $5 million, which based on last year’s figures, could be a $48 million tax break for the wealthiest Tennesseans.  [The Tennessean, 1/24/12]

Haslam Proposes $7 Tax Cut for Working & Middle Class Tennesseans. Mr. Haslam’s .2% cut on the grocery tax would save working and middle class families an average of $6.57 a year — or $.20 on $100 worth of groceries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the bottom 80 percent of households spend between $2,500 – $4,300 a year on groceries before taxes. [BLS.gov, accessed 1/30/12; The Commercial Appeal, 1/11/12]

About One of Four School-Age Children in Tennessee Live in Poverty.  The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are 1.5 million children in Tennessee. ["Poverty Surges Among Tennessee Kids," WBIR.com, 11/30/11; Census.gov, accessed 2/2/12]

Who pays the estate tax?
The state of Tennessee collected $83.5 million in taxes on 845 estates during the 2011 budget year.

A breakdown by size:
Estate size———————No. of estates——Tax collections
Less than $1.5 million———454—————$6.3 million
$1.5 – $2.0 million—————153—————$8.6 million
$2.0 – $2.5 million—————81—————$8.6 million
$2.5 – $3.0 million—————47—————$7.2 million
$3.0 – $3.5 million—————29—————$5.9 million
$3.5 – $4.0 million—————19—————$4.7 million
$4.0 – $4.5 million—————12—————$3.6 million
$4.5 – $5.0 million—————9——————$3.1 million
Greater than $5 million———41—————$35.6 million
Total——————————845—————$83.5 million

Source: The Tennessean, 1/24/12

Millionaire Nick Hanauer explains how capitalism works and who the real job creators are in a TED talk that the Republicans have tried mightily to discredit and keep out of circulation. Clear enough for ya?

Actress Ashley Judd will be part of Tennessee’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention this fall. Tennessee Democrats finalized the members of its delegation Saturday at a meeting of the state party’s Executive Committee.

Tennessee will send 91 Delegates and seven Alternates to the nominating convention to confirm President Barack Obama’s candidacy on the Democratic [...]

Tennessee Democrats kicked off the 2012 campaign season by celebrating Jackson Day on the Bicentennial Mall in Nashville this past weekend.  Our big tent party went into the night as 700 folks from across the state celebrated our past and looked forward to the future.

We honored Speaker Emeritus Jimmy Naifeh with the Gov. Ned [...]

Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester today released the following statement on the two year anniversary of President Obama’s signing of the Affordable Care Act – which to date has helped millions of middle class families, seniors, and young people receive quality affordable health care:

“Two years ago with the stroke of a pen, [...]

The state election office made a historic mess of Tennessee’s Presidential Primary — with mistakes that robbed a former U.S. Congressman and his wife of their right to vote and denied voters access to the polls.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett and State Election Coordinator Mark Goins are in charge of the government office [...]

NASHVILLE – Speaker Emeritus Jimmy Naifeh announced today on the House floor that he will not seek re-election to his district 81 seat this fall. Naifeh has served in the House of Representatives for 38-years, 18 of which he spent as Speaker of the House.

“Governor McWherter always told me when it was time to [...]

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester released the following statement tonight on the results of the GOP Primary in Tennessee:

“Mitt Romney’s loss tonight shows that he is out-of-touch with Tennesseans and it raises serious concerns about his chances in November — if he can make it to the general election. Not [...]

Halsam’s “TEAM” Act Would Eliminate Veterans’ Preference for State Workers

Governor Bill Haslam’s stealthy effort to eliminate veterans’ preference for state hires looks poised to hit a very public stumbling block — Tennessee veterans.

Haslam’s TEAM Act would eliminate civil service rules, such as veterans’ preference, that protect taxpayers from political patronage, a corrupted [...]