Constant Conservative

Herseth Sandlin, Noem (and Marking) on financial “reform.” (Yankton Press & Dakotan) Of course financial issues are hot right now–nearly everyone is feeling the pressure.

Southeastern South Dakota got a lot of rain last night. (KOTA) I saw several places where the water was over the roads, or just short of it.

Folks have been heading out to Sturgis for the motorcycle rally for 70 years. (KELO) It seems improbable that anyone from the inaugural year would still be around for this one, but who knows?

197 miles in an Allis-Chalmers tractor caravan. (Madison Daily Leader) 20 hours in the saddle sounds like a really long day making hay.

I was a bit disappointed to read the following:

[T]he perk has also cost states as much as $23 billion in lost revenue by some estimates, and they want it back. Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) this morning enlisted Republican South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) and other state lawmakers to rally support for his proposed Main Street Fairness Act, which would make it easier for states to go after the money [from internet sales].

“We can’t get a hold of it,” Rounds said in an interview this morning. He said that Internet retailers “have a competitive advantage” over in-state businesses, which are required to collect the tax.

[...]

Rounds said in South Dakota, the proposal could net an additional $35 million per year in tax revenue, about 3 percent of the state’s $1.2 billion budget. South Dakota has also worked with about 1,200 out-of-state retailers to voluntarily collect sales tax, Rounds said.

One is hoping that Daugaard would not follow Round’s lead in this regard, were he to become governor of South Dakota.

While one can see any number of arguments for and against the this scheme of taxation, there is no question that the net-based retailers would not be where they are today in terms of sales if they had to follow the same complex and expensive tax-reporting rules as have been implemented for the brick and mortar retailers. Implementing this tax at this time would do little to help the overall economy and much to discourage it.

Amish establish beachhead in South Dakota. (Aberdeen News) Sounds good to me. Just keep a sharp eye on the road for old-fashioned slow moving vehicles.

7 years for an eye. (Argus Leader) Don’t really see how this is justice. He should be paying (dollars and cents) for lost ability.

Johnson wants your thoughts on the farm bill. (KELO) Keep it polite, but be honest (and unselfish).

Word has come from GM that the new Volt will cost $41k before your check from Uncle Sam for being a good citizen drops that price by several thousand. Some people are quite excited about the car. They are welcome to that excitement. Since this is the first year of production, and there are a number of excited people, it is entirely possible that there may be more people who want to own a Volt than there are Volts available for purchase.

In the following article in Wired, we see how GM plans to handle such a problem:

Many will no doubt howl at the price, but GM expects demand to exceed supply in the first year. That raises the specter of price gouging. Although GM cannot require dealers to sell the Volt at the suggested retail price, Ewanick said it will “strongly suggest” they do so. Gouging is something the company is very much determined to prevent.

Ewanick also said there are so many dealerships lining up to sell the car in each market that “we feel they will maintain integrity.”

So, GM will nudge the dealers into not gouging their customers. According to the article, gouging is defined as selling the car for more than suggested retail price. What? I thought that price gouging was charging crazy amounts for plywood after the hurricane (and people needed the plywood). That is, taking advantage of a crisis to bleed people when they must purchase necessary things. Pardon me if I don’t see a Volt as a necessary thing. If a dealer wishes to charge $50k for it, and someone wants to spend that on it, let it happen. If the person can find a dealer to sell it for less, then let that happen, too.

It rubs me wrong that GM believes many dealerships in a given market will “maintain integrity,” that is, keep everyone at the suggested retail price. No, many dealers in one market means competition. That’s what keeps the prices down–until, of course, every dealer but one in a given market is out of Volts. Then, the equation changes.

“But, but, but,” you say “if the price goes too high, then poor people can’t buy it and they’ll be prevented from driving an environmentally friendly vehicle.”

Oh well, I can’t even afford to fly the family somewhere on an eco-friendly jet, but I think we’ll get over it.

Nebraska town saving money, or just getting cold feet? (Aberdeen News) It would seem a bit late to be concerned about the money.

You find an accounting error. Give the budget another $500,000. (Argus Leader) Surely with all the regulations we have this is no longer possible.

National standards for South Dakota schools? (Capital Journal) Maybe good, maybe not.

Seems as though it may be a Thune news day:

Matt Zabel, longtime chief of staff to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), is leaving his post to take a job as vice president of government affairs for Target.

“Matt has helped me build a great Senate operation from the ground up,” said Thune. “I’m grateful for his hard work and knowledge and love of South Dakota, and I wish him all the best.”

Zabel’s move comes amid speculation that Thune is considering a run for president but, according to sources briefed on the move, there is no large meaning to be drawn from the departure.

One does not need to draw a “large meaning” from something to understand that changes may be afoot.

Forget nine-inch nails, how about some 8-inch hail? (Aberdeen News) My car’s alarm system went off just thinking about it.

Long distance varmint shootin’–without any varmints. (Capital Journal) Oh well, it’s excellent practice for the real thing.

Cutting back on salt in Sioux Falls. (KELO) It is uncertain whether this will be better or worse from a health standpoint.

From the folks over at Politico:

With speculation growing that he’ll join the wide-open 2012 Republican presidential field, South Dakota Sen. John Thune plans to roll out a sweeping proposal Tuesday to remake the congressional budget process.

Thune’s budget plan would create a joint House-Senate panel on cutting government spending, call for a line-item veto and mandate that 10 percent of the deficit be cut each year until it is eliminated.

As he tries to build up his policy credentials, Thune is also stepping up his political travel, headlining a Republican Party of Virginia event on Wednesday, to be followed by trips to Arkansas, California and Ohio on behalf of GOP Senate candidates. With Thune in heavy demand on the campaign circuit, more such trips are expected soon.

Then there is this little bit from near the end of the article:

Thune would be in a strong position if he wants to make a White House run. Handsome, articulate and very popular among conservatives and evangelical Christians, Thune is unopposed in his bid for a second Senate term, an unprecedented position for any Senate candidate in South Dakota history.

I know the man whose name appears above is a pretty good shot with a bow, a rifle or pistol, but he doesn’t do poorly with his pen either:

Anyone with a lick of common sense will tell you that when you are in a hole, you need to quit digging. Continuing to dig will only create a larger problem. Do schools teach this?

Recently, even President Obama’s national debt commission told him that his continuing spending orgy is digging America into a gigantic fiscal hole.

Next year, America’s total debt is expected to exceed $14 trillion. Each American’s share of that debt totals just short of $50,000. If Fedzilla would be honest and put all the figures on the table, we would see that we are in debt more than $100 trillion because of the financial obligations for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

That’s $100 trillion. One hundred percent predictable, 100 percent preventable.

Go read it all.

Andrew adds: “Quit digging”.  I like it.  I think I’ve heard something like this before.  Hmmm…

Don’t park your property next to your property. (Argus Leader) Residents simply need to understand that they don’t really own the sidewalks or the streets they paid for.

Destroy a legitimate business and call it a success. (Yankton Press & Dakotan) What a mess.

Fish need oxygen, too. (KELO) I’m surprised someone is not simply plowing them into the fields. They make pretty good fertilizer.

Here’s a very short video with Morgan Freeman and Mike Wallace discussing a little history:

We categorize people for many reasons. We differentiate children from adults, for purposes of knowing who should be taking care of whom. We different criminals from non-criminals for purposes of knowing who must be penalized for crimes committed. With these and other examples, we can see that categorization is needful and useful at times.

However, when we categorize people according to the amount of melanin in their skin, we are not usually performing a useful task. Instead, we are focusing on an entirely superficial characteristic to either elevate or denigrate the group vis a vis some other group of people.

Stop calling attention to something, and it will go away. On the other hand, if you keep talking about something, it is hard to not pay attention. Now, I’d like you all to stop thinking about pink elephants–July is just not their month.

HT: The Other McCain

Headline seems to imply the South Dakota is uniformly in favor of climate change bill. (Argus Leader) No surprise where the Argus comes down on this issue.

South Dakota funding crisis for roads and related things. (Yankton Press & Dakotan) Is it really so radical to let the state cover its own road costs? How about privatizing a number of the rural roads? Do we really need maintained roads every mile on the mile for a substantial chunk of East River?

2% of SD drivers have had DUIs. (KELO) Hmm. Explains in part why I got pulled over for a sobriety checkpoint last night. No, I wasn’t under the influence.