Category Archives: Fiscal Freedom

The following column is an opinion piece and reflects the views of only the author and not those of AllOnGeorgia.

By: State Senator William Ligon

Sen. William Ligon serves as Chairman of the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee. He represents the 3rdSenate District which includes Brantley, Camden, Glynn, and McIntosh counties and portions of Charlton County. He can be reached by phone at 404.463.1383 or by email atwilliam@senatorligon.com.

This Monday, legislators met back at the State Capitol to begin the start of the second session of the 155thGeorgia General Assembly. We were able to accomplish a lot of substantial work during the last session, and I believe this momentum has translated into our first four legislative days. In fact, during the first day of session, House Bill 276 was transmitted to the House where a conference committee was appointed. HB 276 will be pivotal in generating a greater revenue source for the state by addressing the collection of taxes from marketplace facilitators. Rather than creating an additional tax, this bill will ensure that Georgia brick-and-mortar businesses do not have an unfair disadvantage compared to e-retailers and other larger providers. As Chairman of the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, one of my top priorities is to ensure that Georgia maintains a fair business climate.

This session, I also continue to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Ethics Committee and of the Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee. I am also a member of the Appropriations, Health and Human Services, and Judiciary committees, and Ex-Officio of the Science and Technology Committee.

In addition to HB 276 and its emphasis on marketplace fairness, the Majority Caucus will work to advance rural broadband infrastructure, to reform price transparency in our healthcare industry, and to increase public safety through additional opportunities for our retired law enforcement officers.

Governor Kemp outlined his own initiatives during his State of the State Address onThursday. In his address, the Governor brought up his plans to advance legislation that will combat human trafficking, provide more resources to our law enforcement to reduce gang activity, fund our education systems, and create better adoption laws. The Governor also recognized our states incredible success in job creation, thus reducing unemployment. Georgia is a strong and prosperous state run by a Governor who has vocally supported pro-life legislation. I appreciate the fact that Gov. Kemp highlighted last years huge legislative win for our state, the Heartbeat Bill. The Governor demonstrated his conservative beliefs last session, and I am interested to see how these values continue to be showcased in this years legislation.

We must not forget that the budget will be one of the key topics we look at as the Senate approaches a week of committee hearings. Georgia has a constitutional obligation to keep our budget balanced, and it is important that we remain fiscally responsible, while securing a substantial percentage of growth and allocation of resources for this Fiscal Year.

This week served as a reminder that while there are a number of new legislative initiatives to take place during the next 36 days, there are still important discussions that have not yet been finished from last session. We must continue to fight for the conservative ideals that best serve our citizens. Furthermore, we must be vigilant to protect our constitutional freedoms. The First Amendment, particularly the free exercise of religion and the freedom of speech, and the preservation of our Second Amendment right to bear arms are under increasing pressure from left-wing socialists. We cannot allow American freedoms to wither and die by a thousand cuts. We must be pro-active in order to pass a heritage of liberty to the next generation.

I would like to end by asking for your prayers for Sen. Greg Kirk and his family. Sen. Kirks death has been difficult on many of us, but far more so for his family. He will be greatly missed. He was a man of enormous faith who put his commitment to God, his family, and his constituents.

Thank you for the privilege I have of serving you in public office. I want to make sure that the issues important to our Third District are well represented in the legislative process. If you have any questions or would like to talk about issues under the Gold Dome, please dont hesitate to contact my office.

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LIGON: 2020 Legislative Session Begins - All On Georgia

Opposition grows to Nepal governments move to curtail social media By Rohantha De Silva 17 January 2020

Resistance is increasing in Nepal to the proposed Information Technology Bill (ITB), which curbs freedom of expression and social media. Senior journalists, prominent intellectuals and law professionals have voiced their opposition to the draconian nature of the bill, which is part of the ruling Stalinist Nepal Communist Partys (NCP) turn toward autocratic rule.

The Federation of Nepali Journalists, Nepal Bar Association, NGO Federation of Nepal and other organisations have condemned the attack on free speech. Addressing a meeting last week in Kathmandu, Nepals capital, constitutional expert Bhimarjun Acharya said the bill must be scrapped entirely.

The parliamentary Development and Technology Committee passed the bill on December 29. It will be presented to parliament for passage to replace the current Electronic Transactions Act, which the NCP government has used already to arrest people for making improper social media posts.

The ITB sets heavy fines of up to 1.5 million rupees ($US13,145), or jail terms of up to ten years, or both, for harassing, bullying or defaming others via social media. Though the government claims this would not stifle freedom of expression, the bills vague language would put social media users at high risk for criticising business leaders, politicians and bureaucrats.

Under the bill, the government would be able to block social media platforms if they are not registered in Nepal, including Facebook, Viber, and WhatsApp. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would also come under scrutiny. The bill authorises the federal, state and local governments in Nepal to direct ISPs to withdraw improper online content, without any court ruling. Equipment and software can be deemed illegal.

Cases will be heard by an Information Technology Court, chaired by a legal expert and with IT and commerce experts as members. Acharya said this would be a kangaroo court designed to bypass the judiciary, violating the Nepal constitution.

Expressing the concern of sections of the Nepali elite, the Himalayan Times wrote on December 31: Democracy will die in the absence of freedom of expression or opinion. A Kathmandu Post opinion piece noted that authorities could block social media, threatening to curtail freedom of speech online as well as increase surveillance of personal data.

Responding to widespread public hostility, the countrys main opposition party, the Nepali Congress (NC), was forced to demand that the government revise the bills regressive provisions. However, the last NC government also attacked basic democratic rights and was widely discredited before it was voted out in the December 2017 general elections.

A day before the parliamentary committee approved the bill, NCP chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal branded the press as the bourgeois media. This is a cynical attempt to justify the attack on basic democratic rights by a government that serves the interests of the capitalist class.

Since its election, the NCP government has sought to gag free expression. The police have filled 106 cases in Kathmandu Valley, where the majority of Nepalis live, for improper posts on social media in the last three years.

The ICB is not the only measure proposed by the Nepal government to attack media freedom. Under the Media Council Bill (MCB), the Nepal Press Council can fine editors, publishers and journalists up to one million rupees if found guilty of damaging someones reputation. Under the current legislation, the council can ask for clarifications and apologies, and blacklist press organisations, but must go to court for compensation orders.

On December 30, the government tabled the Special Service Bill, which authorises Nepals intelligence agencies to intercept telephone and digital conversations under the basis of countering threats to national security, sovereignty and integrity.

With more than half the planets population now using the internet, governments everywhere are increasingly taking measures to gag social media platforms, fearing their use to organise the struggles of workers and youth. At least 29 countries carried out deliberate internet shutdowns last year.

As part of the Nepal governments increasing surveillance against the masses, 165 more CCTV cameras were installed by police in the capital Kathmandu during October. This takes the total number of CCTV cameras in Kathmandu Valley to 1,414, and to more than 3,000 throughout Nepal. A number of schools and colleges in Kathmandu are under CCTV surveillance also.

These developments underscore the NCPs fear of the development of a mass movement against the government. In by-elections held in November for the parliament and provincial assemblies, the NCP lost most of the seats it had held. In an attempt to shield itself from the discontent, the Rastriya Janata Party withdrew its support from the government last March.

Nepal is a social tinderbox. On average, the richest 10 percent of people now own property worth an astounding 26 times more than the poorest 40 percent, and the top 10 percent earn three times more than the poorest 40 percent.

Nepali migrant workers in the Middle East and elsewhere sent home over $7 billion to their families in the last fiscal year, but they endure significant hardships, including 12-hour work-days in desert heat and gruelling hours in factories with no days off. Many are virtual slaves trapped in private homes as domestic helpers. Around 1,000 Nepali migrant workers die every year, mainly in the Gulf region, because of these appalling conditions.

Mass opposition to the ongoing poverty and social problems under the previous Nepali Congress government resulted in the victory of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Olis administration in the 2017 election. But the NCP government has carried forward the same pro-market program of international finance capital, which is intensifying social devastation and political opposition.

2019 has been a year of mass social upheaval. We need you to help the WSWS and ICFI make 2020 the year of international socialist revival. We must expand our work and our influence in the international working class. If you agree, donate today. Thank you.

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Opposition grows to Nepal government's move to curtail social media - World Socialist Web Site

University Relations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. University of Arkansas projects designed to combat "fake news," bolster Holocaust studies, address Spanish language education, and create a student-led record label are among nine inaugural initiatives selected to receive more than $500,000 in seed funding from the Chancellor's Fund for Humanities and Performing Arts.

Chancellor Joe Steinmetzannounced the formation of the new $1 million seed fund in the fallas a wayto encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and spark creative activity in faculty-led initiatives in the humanities and performing arts.

"Providing seed funding to this incredible first batch of humanities and performing arts grant recipients will increase collaboration and innovation, help tackle pressing issues in creative ways, and enhance our research and discovery mission while providing support to our students, surrounding community, and beyond," Steinmetz said. "These projects are our guiding priorities in action."

The total combined award amounts to $532,245, with $500,000 being funded from the Chancellor's grant, and an additional $32,245 being funded by theJ. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. An additional $500,000 from the fund will be distributed in fiscal year 2021.

A total of 39 projects were submitted for consideration 20 in humanities and 19 in performing arts.

Projects were evaluated by two committees made up of leading faculty in the humanities and performing arts. Fulbright College associate dean Calvin White Jr. led the Humanities Committee and associate dean Jeannie Hulen led the Performing Arts Committee.

White and Hulen said the proposals in this first year were very competitive, and that many of the proposals that were not funded this year could be expanded to re-apply in the future.

"I want to thank Calvin and Jeannie for leading us through this process and making sure each committee represented multiple departments and perspectives from across the university," said Todd Shields, dean of Fulbright College. "We were especially pleased by the collaborative approach and big thinking represented in the proposals. Deciding on these nine initiatives was a tough call as there were so many amazing projects, but we are confident this first group of grantees will fulfill our goal of enhancing our university's discovery, innovation, creativity and scholarly work."

Proposals were evaluated on:

The nine projects that were awarded grants beginning spring 2020 include:

Arkansas Participation in a 500 Million Person Community:Building Capacity for Innovation in Spanish Teaching StatewideLuis Restrepo, principal investigator; Brenda Magnetti, Rebecca Foote, Raquel Castro Salas and Betina Arellano (Fulbright College)

Through pioneering research and public programming, this project aims to putthe U of A at the lead in addressingprofound growth of Spanish-speaking populations in ourcommunity, state and nation.

In Arkansas alone, there are now more than 60,000 Hispanic students in public schools and more than 9,000 at higher education institutions. This project has the potentialtomake Arkansas amodel in Spanish language teaching through a research programthat will harness widely dispersed datain hopes of shapingpolicyandsymposiawith public school teachers, university faculty and community leaders.

By building a more multilingual citizenry and workforce through improved language training, colleges and universitiescanbind communitiestogether and better prepare native English speakers for vigorous participation in a globalized economy and energetic engagement in an increasingly diverse world culture.

Holocaust Education Studies CollaborativeJay Greene, principal investigator; Jennifer Hoyer, Matthew Lee and Molly Beck (College of Education and Health Professions and Fulbright College)

Currently, only 10 states include the Holocaust in their education curricula, but scholars have hypothesized that students exposed to it have a stronger commitment to civil liberties and are more likely to speak out in defense of them.

This project will draw on the work of an interdisciplinary group at the U of A and the University of Illinois at Chicago to evaluate and improve Holocaust education in American schools. They will conduct research into Holocaust education in the classroom and in museums to fully discern how Holocaust education benefits students' civic values, tolerance, empathy and sense of justice, and regularly present their findings through papers, conferences and policy briefs.

Armed with this research, they will also collaborate with local schools to increase access to quality Holocaust education. This initiative will establish the U of A as a nationally recognized center for Holocaust education.

ICORN-Fayetteville:Welcoming At-Risk International Writers and Artists to NWAPadma Viswanathan, principal investigator (Fulbright College)

The plan to have Fayetteville designated as an International City of Refuge would bring global recognition to both the U of A and to the city of Fayetteville, which would become one of only 70 such cities around the globe and only two in the United States.

This ambitious project powerfully speaks to the intrinsic value of the humanities to work in the service of human life and to attend to larger issues of health and academic freedom.

The outcomes will be multiple: ICORN status would illuminate the work of a nationally ranked M.F.A. program in creative writing and translation (and, in the future, offer collaborations with the School of Art and Department of Music), enable scholarly work to be produced with global circulation, and create diverse teaching and learning opportunities while also opening up a myriad of possibilities for interagency partnerships, community collaborations and future grants.

NWA Film Cycle: Seeding a Filmmaking Community in Northwest ArkansasRussell Sharman, principal investigator; and John Walch (Fulbright College)

This interdisciplinary collaboration between the Departments of Communication and Theatre proposes to create three short-form narrative films on the theme of "difficult conversations." Each film could stand alone, but also could operate in the context of a series.

These films would engage with difficult and timely conversations such as those involving sexual violence. The potential scope of this project not only involves students in media production processes, but also produces valuable and culturally relevant media content that could reach far beyond the classroom into the community, region and across the nation.

This collaboration is well conceptualized, feasible, timely, cost-efficient and at the forefront of the humanities field, and is likely to achieve future funding successes with the potential to significantly increase the profileof the U of A.

Reasoning in the Digital Age: Challenges and Implications of an Epistemic CrisisEric Funkhouser, principal investigator; Barry Ward, David Barrett, Xintao Wu, William McComas and Scott Eidelman (Fulbright College, College of Engineering and College of Education and Health Professions)

This wide-ranging, interdisciplinary projectseeks to describe and combat obstacles to critical reasoning in an age in which consumers of information are bombarded with information overload, subjected to manipulation, isolated in "silos" and potentially bewildered by accusations of "fake news."

This project will emphasize the identification of rational, ethical and political norms for processing information under these crisis conditions and the development of realistic and practical strategies for implementing them. Immediate results will include a conference and a volume of conference proceedings; papers and at least one book from the investigators; and the development of new courses in vital areas including critical reasoning and data ethics.

Black Prometheus Bound in the 21st CenturyDaniel Levine, principal investigator, and Michael Riha (Fulbright College)

This interdisciplinary project will feature a reinterpretation of classic literature through a diverse lens and manifest in a performance to be viewed by students across the state and potentially to be showcased nationally.

The theatrical adaptation of the ancient tragedy by Aeschylus,Prometheus Bound, will be developed, rehearsed and presented by a troupe of diverse professional actors and Department of Theatre students as the keystone of a two-day festival of classical literature adaptations. The festival will be presented by the Department of Theatre, the Classical Studies Program and the Department of English.

As part of the event, high school students from across the state will visit the U of A to attend the fully staged adaptation, participate in hands-on workshops, engage in discussions about literature and theatre performance and present their own 10-minute adaptations within the theme of the festival. Participating teachers will also be offered professional development credit.

The Experimental Performance Research EnsembleAdam Hogan, principal investigator;Jacob Hertzog, Chris MacRae and Stefani Byrd (Fulbright College)

The Experimental Performance Research Ensemble is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of Music and the experimental media arts faculty in the School of Art intended to bring together practitioners from a wide array of backgrounds to foster pioneering research and development of experimental forms of performance with particular interest in the intersections between science, technology and perception.

Guided by a core team of researchers, the ensemble will develop a series of new creative works exploring digitally mediated performance methodologies, culminating in three public performances over the course of the two-year project. Each of the performances will be the result of a collection of improvisational research sessions, instrument development/exploration and compositional residencies featuring the core investigative team and guests.

RefleXions: Latin-America Propagating Sound, Expressing,Reversing Dynamics, Carefully Considering, RepresentingLia Uribe, Erika Almenara, Rogelio Garcia-Contreras, Ronda Mains, Catalina Ortega, Eric Troiano and Leigh Wood (Fulbright College and Sam M. Walton College of Business)

This project aims to support the RefleXions music series, a festival of Latinx music that will promote greater understanding and embracing of Latin art and popular music and culture by using music as a bridge and a tool to connect and represent.

The RefleXions music series is a carefully considered program that is the U of A's next step to expanding its performing field to be more inclusive. This project's main goal is to embrace diverse repertoires and music from Latin-America and promote them by providing opportunities at the university and in our community to learn, grow, disseminate, change and teach.

This project will bring Latin-American music to the forefront of activities, while fostering collaborations between different departments, acting as a bridge to our local communities and promoting access and dialogue with our region's LatinX community.

The 21st Century Music Industry: Imagining a New Role for Higher EducationRonda Mains, Jacob Hertzog, Bree McMahon, Mark Lanoue and Frank Liu (Fulbright College, College of Engineering and the Office of Economic Development)

This entrepreneurial, collaborative project will create a new internal unit, Razorback Music, that functions as a student-led 21st century record label, production and entertainment company, and digital music industry platform to bridge the gap between higher education and the music and entertainment industry.

Services will include recording projects, artist management, booking, music placement, merchandising, media campaigns and networking. These projects and services will be united digitally via a new virtual music industry portal that will be a revenue-generating technology and a music industry research unit. Through this enterprise, students will participate in every aspect of the music business.

Participating artists will include U of A students, faculty and alumni, as well as talented Arkansas artists from every genre. The label will also include experienced advisors in the music industry who will utilize their contacts and expertise to create industry connections for the label and attract outside investors.

About the University of Arkansas:The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity.U.S. News & World Reportranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.

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First Recipients of U of A Chancellor's Humanities and Arts Grant Named - University of Arkansas Newswire

DUANESBURG New York State has put into place tax exemptions to encourage development of renewable energy, which played out last week in Duanesburg, a rural Schenectady County town, that granted payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, for two solar farms.

New Yorks Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040 and economy-wide, net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Eden Renewables plans to install Oak Hill Solar 1 and Oak Hill Solar 2 on about 65 acres on Duanesburg Road. Last Thursday night, at its regular January meeting, in a unanimous vote, the Duanesburg Town Board approved PILOTs for both projects.

The solar projects were approved in September, and the PILOT applications for tax breaks had first been introduced to the public just two weeks before they were approved, at the last town board meeting, on Dec. 26.

The town had received the documents requesting a tax break for Eden Renewables about four weeks prior to the Dec. 26 meeting, Supervisor Roger Tidball told The Enterprise after the Jan. 9 meeting. The PILOTs were listed on the agenda for the Dec. 26 meeting, he said, and he had held an impromptu public hearing that night, which was held over to Jan. 9.

Copies of the PILOT applications, attached to the Jan. 9 agenda, said that the owner will make annual payments to the taxing jurisdiction for 15 consecutive fiscal tax years, in lieu of real-property taxes. On each of the two solar farms, the first payment will be $8,125; the annual payments will increase by 2 percent every year.

Eden has a separate PILOT agreement with the Duanesburg Central School District for the same amounts on each of its two projects. Schenectady County has opted not to enter into a PILOT agreement on the Eden projects.

[Related:Duanesburg adopts solar moratorium after already approving big projects]

If Eden Renewables were to pay the real-property taxes, once the solar farms are established, the tax money for Oak Hill 1 and Oak Hill 2 would total more than that, said Duanesburg Assessor Michael McGuire.

However, Duanesburg has not opted out of the tax exemption, under the states Real Property Tax Law, for alternative energy systems such as solar.

From the time that a developer contacts a municipality to say it wants to build a solar farm, a municipality has 60 days to tell that developer that it plans to require a PILOT agreement, McGuire said; the developer can then decide whether to accept that and begin to negotiate, or bring the project elsewhere.

If no PILOT is put into place, a solar farm in Duanesburg would be exempt from property taxes for the first 15 years. The developer must apply to the town for the exemption.

Duanesburg has one existing solar farm, built by Onyx Solar. Onyx was started in 2014 by the investment firm Blackstone Group, whose chief executive officer is Steve Schwarzman, former chairman of Donald Trumps Strategic and Policy Forum. With a net worth of $17.7 billion, Schwarzman is ranked number 29 on Forbes 400, a list of Americas wealthiest.

The Onyx solar farm in Duanesburg does not have a PILOT, McGuire said, and is exempt, for 15 years, from all real-property taxes except for special-district taxes, generally for fire and ambulance. Once the 15 years is up, it would become liable for full taxes.

A developer could try at that point to negotiate a PILOT, McGuire said.

This is all relatively new, and nobody has hit that 15 years, the Duanesburg assessor added.

The town of Guilderland in neighboring Albany County passed a local law in 2017 opting out of the solar exemption, so a solar developer in Guilderland would need to pay property taxes, if it did not have a PILOT agreement.

McGuire does not yet have any numbers for what the assessed value of the Oak Hill solar farm will be; Eden hasnt even broken ground yet, and McGuire hasnt yet received the subdivision paperwork from the county. The tentative assessment roll is released in May based on whatever is there as of March 1, he said. The solar farms at Oak Hill will probably not have a full assessed value, based upon a completed project, until 2021, he said.

McGuire noted that Duanesburgs equalization rate is just 32.8 percent.

An equalization rate is the percentage of full-market value used as the assessment rate. It is set by the state. The rate is meant to equalize taxes among municipalities so that, for example, with county taxes, if someone owns a house worth $100,000 in the city of Albany, that person will pay the same amount of Albany County taxes as a person who owns a $100,000 house in Guilderland.

Guilderlands rate was lowered in 2017 by the state from 88 percent to 75.58, leading residents on the edges of town, in other school districts, to see their property taxes rise precipitously. Last year, the town undertook a town-wide revaluation, bringing its assessed value up to 100 percent, to resolve the problem.

If you looked at a property in Duanesburg with a full-market value of $1,000,000, McGuire said, its assessed value would be $328,000 and taxes due on it would be roughly $28,700. Of that, $19,500 would be due to the school district; $7,750 would go to the town and county combined; and $1,250 would be due to special districts such as fire and ambulance.

On the parent parcel 143 acres owned by Murray taxes last year were $4,400, McGuire said.

Even with a PILOT, Eden Renewables will still need to pay the special-districts tax for fire and ambulance, as well as the property taxes on the land only but not on the solar farm, McGuire said.

The PILOT applications could have been requested prior to the meeting under the Freedom of Information Law by residents who wished to see them, said a woman who answered the phone in the town clerks office late Thursday afternoon. Residents would not be able to stop by the town hall and look through a particular projects file just by asking, the woman said; they would need to fill out a FOIL request.

Under New Yorks Freedom of Information Law, an agency has five days to respond to a request; the agency can take up to 20 business days to produce the documents.

Duanesburg resident Lynne Bruning told The Enterprise that many local towns, including Schoharie, put all of the documentation about proposed projects on their website. Bruning and her mother, who live next to the property where Eden Renewables plans to build a solar farm, have filed an Article 78 proceeding, challenging the towns approval of the project (see related story).

Who has time to come to town hall, then come back again and pay the money for copies? Bruning said to The Enterprise after the meeting about the FOIL-request system. She pointed to a sign the town halls front window, listing the offices hours. You can only come between 8 a.m. and 12 noon, or 1 and 4 p.m., she noted.

Its important that our towns comply with current technology, Bruning said.

Tidball told The Enterprise that people who make FOIL requests might be able to get the material on the spot and might not need to make a second trip if its ready and available.

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Towns can choose the effect solar farms will have on property taxes - The Altamont Enterprise

By Tom Joyce | January 18, 2020, 0:38 EST

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2020/01/18/carbon-emissions-fee-on-gasoline-might-tank-regional-economy-conservative-think-tanks-say/

Members of several New England think tanks gathered Friday for a summit focused on one common goal: their opposition to the Transportation Climate Initiative.

The proposed 12-state pact of New England and Mid-Atlantic states would impose fees on fuel providers based on their carbon emissions. This money would then go to expanding public transportation. For drivers, it would increase the price of gasoline by up to 17 cents per gallon.

The event, hosted by the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, featured representatives from fiscally conservative organizations from all six New England states. The group met at the Hampshire House in Boston in the morning and afternoon, holding a press conference midday.

Chris Carlozzi, of the National Federation of Independent Business Massachusetts, said that the increased tax on gas and diesel would have an adverse impact on Massachusetts businesses.

This will increase costs for small businesses and consumers, Carlozzi said. When youre a small business owner oftentimes operating on razor-thin margins whether youre providing goods or a service it increases costs at the end of the day and prices for consumers. If youre transporting goods, that increases prices. That will leave businesses in Massachusetts at a serious disadvantage and that impacts jobs at the end of the day.

Representatives at the event from the northern New England states Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine said the proposal would especially affect those who live in the rural parts of their states and typically drive longer distances.

Posik called the Transportation Climate Initiative a regressive tax. Other members of the summit agreed and explained further when asked by New Boston Post.

Gasoline is an inelastic good, Stenhouse explained. If you raise the price, people still have to drive to work, sometimes long distances. It comes directly out of their budget and for low-income citizens, thats a higher percentage of their income. Because of that, theyll be forced to cut something else out of their budget because they cant buy less.

Rob Roper of the Ethan Allen Institute in Vermont agreed, noting that with the high cost of real estate in many high-population areas, middle class and working-class Americans may have longer commutes.

Additionally, he noted that the Vermont AFL-CIO, which represents organized labor, opposes the proposed carbon-emissions feem, as VT Digger confirms.

Theyre not ideologically opposed to taxes that would fund greenhouse gas emission. Theyre on board with a Green New Deal for Vermont, Roper said, distinguishing one anti-climate-change proposal from the gasoline fee, but even they see it as a very unfair regressive tax that hurts workers.

When asked if MassFiscal would support an alternative to the Transportation Climate Initiative with similar goals, spokesman Paul Craney said his organization would not.

Rather, Craney stated that Massachusetts ranks 48th among the 50 states in spending efficiency on roads, as the Reason Foundation confirms. He said cutting administrative costs and maximizing efficiency there would provide the state with additional funding for public transit without increasing taxes.

Other attendees at the event Friday, January 17 included Greg Moore of Americans for Prosperity New Hampshire; Jacob Posik of the Maine Heritage Policy Center; Mike Stenhouse of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity; and Elisabeth Kines and Louise DiCocco of the Yankee Institute in Connecticut.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, are the only two governors in New England who are in favor of the carbon-emissions fee on gasoline. Bakers aides say the governor has the authority to implement a carbon-emissions fee in Massachusetts without further approval by the state Legislature, thanks to a law enacted in 2007.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, in December came against the proposal in clear terms, shortly after the cost estimate of up to 17 cents a gallon was released. Among those expressing opposition recently have been Vermont Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, a Democrat.

In Maine, Democratic Governor Janet Mills has sounded unenthusiastic about the proposal.

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Carbon-Emissions Fee on Gasoline Might Tank Regional Economy, Conservative Think Tanks Say | NewBostonPost - NewBostonPost

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday that hell sign into law a measure that would assure continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies even if they exclude LGBT families and others based on religious beliefs.

The GOP-controlled Senate gave the bill final passage on the first day of the 2020 legislative session after it was initially approved by the House last April. The bill was sent to the Republican governor amid warnings by critics of possible negative consequences for Tennessees reputation.

Lees communication director, Chris Walker, confirmed in a statement Tuesday evening that the governor would sign the bill. Earlier, before the Senate vote, Lee declined to weigh in after saying he had not read the two-page bill.

We are off to a fine start this session, state Sen. Steve Dickerson joked while debating against the bill earlier as the lone Republican opposed.

A handful of states to date have enacted similar legislation i ncluding Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, South Dakota, North Dakota, Virginia, Mississippi and Michigan. But Michigan agreed in settling a lawsuit to no longer turn away LGBT couples or individuals because of religious objections.

Nationally, supporters argue such measures are needed to protect against potential lawsuits hostile to the groups religious beliefs. However, critics counter that the proposals attack LGBT rights and limit the number of qualified families seeking t o adopt or foster needy children.

This bill is solely about freedom, said Sen. Paul Rose, the Republican sponsor of the bill.

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Rose conceded he thought the bill wasnt necessary, pointing out that President Donald Trumps administration is currently proposing a rule that would impose the same protections. Yet he said he advanced the bill this year because there was no guarantee Trump would be reelected later this year.

Trumps proposal would rescind an Obama-era rule that prevented foster care agencies from receiving federal funds if they discriminated against families based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Ultimately, 20 Republicans approved the bill while five other Republican members simply voted present even after some questioned the bills benefits.

Dickerson was the only Republican to join the Senates five Democrats in opposition. He said the bill would allow certain groups to limit the families where children could be sent, adding I expect that waiting list to increase somewhat.

He added, This will have a direct fiscal impact on the state, not to mention the humanitarian impact and emotional impact on those children who ... will now be in a foster setting for a longer time.

In 2011, Illinois declined to renew its state contract with Catholic Charities adoption services due to its policy of refusing child placement to same-sex couples. Catholic Charities has also stopped handling adoptions in Washington D.C., Massachusetts and San Francisco over concerns they would be required to act against their religious beliefs.

If the proposal becomes law as the governor has signaled, current adoption practices in Tennessee arent expected to change. Some faith-based agencies already do not allow gay couples to adopt. But this measure would provide legal protections to agencies that do.

For example, denied applicants couldnt sue an agency for damages if the religious belief or moral conviction was cited as a reason.

The legislation sparked opposition from civil rights and foster advocates.

The foster care system is at a critical juncture where it is required by new federal law to reduce the number of children placed in harmful group homes and to expand family home options for children who cannot safely return to their family of origin, said Currey Cook, counsel and director of Lambda Legal. Children who need more homes, not fewer, should not suffer as part of efforts to chip away at equality for LGBTQ families.

Over in the House, lawmakers had less on tap on opening day though an unrelated political development unfolded.

Republican Rep. David Byrd confirmed he doesnt plan to seek reelection this year. Byrd had been accused of sexual misconduct by three women when he was their high school basketball coach and a teacher decades ago, before being elected. He was reelected in 2018 despite the accusations.

Byrd said he told GOP colleagues in an August closed door gathering that he wouldnt run again, as The Tennessean had reported.

I told my caucus I wouldnt go run, and I hate to go back on my word, even though Im getting a lot of pressure put on me in my district to run, Byrd told The Associated Press.

Byrd had apologized to one of the women in a phone call she recorded in early 2018, but didnt detail his action and denied anything happened with other students.

He said he might change his mind and seek reelection if protests continue over the allegations. Another Republican has filed for his seat.

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Tennessee governor says he will sign anti-gay adoption bill - NBC News

Theres no doubt that its President Trumps party now. Wednesdays impeachment vote was just the latest indication that Republicans have lined up squarely behind the president, but this week offered another dramatic sign as well. As The Washington Posts Robert Costa reports, Congress approved a nearly $1.4 trillion spending package that will push deficits well beyond $1 trillion a year but there was hardly a peep from manyRepublicans who have shut down the government over spending in the past.

Costa continues:

The mammoth spending deal provides another stark indication of the Republican Partys near-total capitulation to Trump, who pays little mind to the goals of fiscal austerity that animated the GOP establishment and its tea party wing during years of dramatic fiscal standoffs with President Barack Obama.

But as Trump has rallied the GOP to defend him from Wednesdays House impeachment vote, the Republican drumbeat on the looming threats of debt and deficits has faded replaced with an increasing emphasis on grievance politics, tax cuts and revamping the judiciary.

Democrats and some conservative Republicans see rampant hypocrisy in this turn of events, particularly after Republicans made shrinking the size of government a central pillar of their agenda during the Obama years.

Some critics of the GOP argue that the partys Obama-era alarmism was always more about bludgeoning Democrats and blocking progressive policies than about fiscal responsibility. And they say that conservatives care more about slashing taxes than they do about deficits, pointing to the 2017 Republican tax law and President George W. Bushs two terms as evidence.

To be sure, some Republicans have pushed back on the latest spending deal, and the conservative House Freedom Caucus officially opposed it, citing debt and deficit concerns. Other Republicans called it a flawed but necessary compromise to fund the military and keep the government from shutting down. Either way, as Costa notes, GOP lawmakers have consistently shied away from pointing any fingers at Trump, focusing instead on the lack of interest among Capitol Hill lawmakers of both parties in addressing the long-term challenges facing Social Security and Medicare.

For now, Republicans who do try to press debt and deficit concerns find little traction around the issue. Costa points to the short-lived presidential campaign of Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor who recently dropped his primary challenge to Trump. I thought there was still a market for conservatism that would go after the debt and deficits, Sanford tells Costa. I thought my conversations with Republicans years ago about those issues were real. Im not sure anymore if they were.

Read the full piece at The Washington Post.

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How the GOP Gave In to Trump on Government Spending - The Fiscal Times

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North Carolina leads ForbesBest States for Business list for the third year running, but Texas is giving the Tar Heels some competition.

Our 14th annual ranking is based on measures of six categories relevant to businesses: costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. We factor in 40 metricsfrom 17 sources to determine the ranks across the six main areas. The overall scores are based on a combination of ranks in the six main categories. Below is a breakdown of each category with the best and worst performer, along with the data sources.

Read: The Best States For Business 2019: North Carolina And Texas On Top

Business costs incorporatethe Moodys AnalyticsCost of Doing Business index, which includes labor, energy and taxes. Moodys weighs labor costs the most heavily in its index. We also included a state tax index from theTax Foundation.

Labor supply measures college and high school attainment based on figures from theCensus Bureau. We also consider net migration over the past five years and the projected population growth over the next five years. Other factors include the percentage of the workforce that is represented by a union, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the percentage of the population between the ages of 25 and 34.

Regulatory environment includes metrics influenced by the government. We incorporate the regulatory component of the Freedom in the 50 States report from theCato Institute. It considers the liability system, property rights, health insurance and the labor market. Other data points include Moodys bond rating on the states general obligation debt and the transportation infrastructure including air, highway and rail.

Another factor in the regulatory component is a measure of the best and worst legal climates for businesses compiled by theU.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. Seventy percent of general counsels who participate in the survey say a states lawsuit environment impacts decisions such as where to locate or expand. One other factor was a measure of astates fiscal healthbased on a study from the Mercatus Center that examines short- and long-term debt and other key fiscal obligations.

Finally, we measured laws that protect people from employment discrimination based on sexual and/or gender identity, using ratings by theMovement Advancement Project.

The economic climate category gauges job, income and gross state product growth as well as average unemployment during the past five years. Other metrics include the average 2019 unemployment rate and the number of the 1,000 biggest public and private companies by revenue headquartered in the state.

Growth prospects measures job, income and gross state product growth forecasts over the next five years from Moodys Analytics. We also factor inEmsis bottom-up job forecasting approach, which complements Moodys top-down forecasts. Another metric was venture capital investments, per the PricewaterhouseCoopersMoneyTreesurvey. The final data point in the category isentrepreneurial activityas tracked by the Kauffman Foundation.

Quality of life takes into account cost of living via Emsi, school test performance via theDepartment of Educationand crime rates from theFBI. We factored in the mean temperature in the state as a proxy for the weather and the number of top-ranked four-year colleges in the state fromForbes annual college rankings. We considered the culture and recreational opportunities in the state based on an index created byBert Sperling as part of our annualBest Places for Business and Careers list. Other factors include commute times from the U.S. Census and theUnited Health Foundations Americas Health Rankings.

Full List:The Best States For Business

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How We Ranked The Best States For Business 2019 - Forbes

IMPEACHMENT PURGATORY -- The House impeached President Donald Trump last night but what happens next is totally up in the air. After a mostly party-line vote to oust Trump from office, Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to commit to immediately sending the impeachment articles to the Senate, upending the timeline for an impeachment trial and teeing up a potential clash with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Senior Democratic aides later confirmed that the House likely wouldnt transmit the articles until at least early January. While Pelosi cant hold on to the articles forever, the trial wont start until they are submitted.

The backstory: Anger has been steadily building on the left after McConnell promised to coordinate closely with the White House on an impeachment trial. So some House Democrats started pushing leadership to hold off on sending the articles until McConnell agrees to fair ground rules for the trial. The thinking is that it would give Democrats some leverage, since Trump is eager to be publicly acquitted ASAP. So far we havent seen anything that looks fair to us, Pelosi told reporters. And the delay could also allow time for some court cases to play out, supporters of the idea say.

But, but, but the unorthodox procedural gambit drew some eyerolls and head-scratching off Capitol Hill, where political observers wondered why McConnell would be bothered by a delay. He might even welcome it, they argued, since it would forestall a potentially messy clash in the upper chamber that would put a handful of senators facing reelection in uncomfortable spots. The move could also infuriate moderate Democrats in the House, who reluctantly embraced impeachment and likely would not be thrilled by a prolonged process that could have unpredictable political effects. Kyle, Sarah and Bres with the story: https://politi.co/2sLhSqj.

For your radar: Pelosi will sit down with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) at 11:30 a.m. this morning to discuss their strategy and figure out their next move, per The Hills Alexander Bolton. More on that here: http://bit.ly/2Z1bDL8.

Related read: Senate Republicans pray Trump won't tweet during trial, by Marianne and Burgess: https://politi.co/2Z4zzgD.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 18: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) presides over the House of Representatives as they vote on the second article of impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump at in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol December 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to successfully pass two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | Getty Images

WHIP IT GOOD -- As expected, zero Republicans voted for impeachment the first time in history that impeachment has not garnered bipartisan support. But Democrats were pretty solidly united as well: Reps. Collin Peterson and Jeff Van Drew (who is soon switching parties) voted against the abuse of power charge, with Rep. Jared Golden joining them in opposing the obstruction of Congress charge. And Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a 2020 presidential candidate, voted present for both. Kyle and Andrew have the full rundown: https://politi.co/36GZuxA.

ROLLIES, THAT DONT TICK TOCK Inside the decision to impeach Trump: How both parties wrestled with a constitutional crisis, via WaPos Rachael Bade, Mike DeBonis and Josh Dawsey: https://wapo.st/2MqbQCP; and Inside the 85-day march to impeach Donald Trump, from Jeremy Herb, Alex Rogers and Phil Mattingly: https://cnn.it/2PYGkMY.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS -- Santa Claus protesters, Michael Moore cameos and Trump Christmas cards oh my. Yesterday's historic impeachment vote was accompanied by a mix of colorful and somber moments in and around the Capitol, as lawmakers prepared to make Trump the third president in history to be impeached. Here are some of the highlights (with links to pictures):

When the gavel came down after the first impeachment vote, a smattering of Dems started clapping prompting Pelosi to motion to them to knock it off. Republicans, who noticed the exchange, sniggered and then later started chanting: Four more years! Four more years!

Republicans held a moment of silence for an unusual suspect: the results of the 2016 election. In other floor speeches, GOP lawmakers compared impeachment to everything from Pearl Harbor to the crucifixion. And Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas, a fierce Trump defender, scribbled in hell no on his red voting card.

There were some interesting visitors who watched the debate from the gallery, including a pair of women draped in red cloaks who were "grieving the death of Democracy and filmmaker Michael Moore.

Across the Capitol, White House staffers made a special delivery to Senate offices: they dropped off Christmas cards and copies of Trumps scathing anti-impeachment letter to Pelosi.

More scenes from the historic day, from Heather, your Huddle host and Sarah: https://politi.co/2S8i5OZ.

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Government price-control not the answer for the beer industrys woes. The beer industry is trying to game the system through government price-controls instead of seeking out new revenue streams and developing products consumers want to drink. Find out how and oppose the APEX Act.

OFF TO GREENER MEADOWS -- Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, one of Trumps closest confidants on Capitol Hill, will not seek another term in Congress, our friends at Playbook scooped. His decision which comes a day after the Houses impeachment vote isnt entirely surprising for congressional observers. Meadows stepped down as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus this fall, and has shown no interest in jumping into a Senate race in his home state. The filing deadline in North Carolina is Friday.

But his exit is still seismic for conservatives on Capitol Hill. He was a founding member of the hard-line Freedom Caucus and has been one of the most visible Trump defenders throughout the impeachment fight. Its unclear whether he will land a job in the Trump administration or the campaign, but hes leaving the door open (he has been floated for chief of staff or a strategist role in the past.) And he may get one last chance to battle impeachment: the White House is considering giving him some type of role in the Senate trial. Check out his interview with Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman: https://politi.co/34zuWws.

Related: GOP embraces Trump as never before with anti-impeachment, from the APs Alan Fram: http://bit.ly/2Z52j93.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, December 19, where your host is ready for a serious post-impeachment diet (and vacation.) Please send along the newest craze.

WEDNESDAYS MOST CLICKED: Darren Samuelsohns story on the impeachment tourists was the big winner.

SPLIT SCREEN -- Trump took the stage last night at his Michigan rally which featured a Christmas tree decorated with a MAGA hat on top just as the House started the first vote to impeach him. Trump punched back against the impeachment effort in a lengthy speech, but one of the most controversial moments was when he attacked Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and her late husband, the former Rep. John Dingell, suggesting he was looking up from hell. The move prompted a mix of groans and cheers in the audience.

The comment sparked instant backlash in Congress. Dingell, who had been watching snippets of the rally on her iPad during the floor votes, said in a tweet directed to Trump: you brought me down in a way you can never imagine, noting that this will be her first Christmas without her beloved husband. And Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) called on Trump to apologize in a tweet. Gabby Orr, who was at the rally, has much more : https://politi.co/2sHdM2z.

Related: Impeachment day for Trump: A bruised ego, a Twitter eruption and a winding rally, per Nancy Cook, Burgess and Gabby: https://politi.co/35CRqxZ.

IMPEACHMENT IS A BATTLEFIELD -- Twenty-nine Democrats just voted to impeach Trump while representing districts that helped elect him in 2016. Wednesdays vote puts an even bigger target on endangered Democrats back, who have soberly acknowledged the political risks while attempting to quickly pivot quickly to their policy agenda. Republicans, meanwhile, are eager to use impeachment to take them head-on in 2020, with even more pro-Trump protests and even more GOP-funded attack ads.

That includes a $2.5 million ad blitz by the American Action Network, bringing its total impeachment-related spending to $11 million. Still, Republicans face long odds to win back the House next year and Democrats are heading home for Christmas with a Santas sleigh full of local wins. More from Ally Mutnick and Sarah: https://politi.co/2PZHF6m.

Related: 'If I lose my seat over it, so be it': Moderate Democrats confront consequences of impeaching Trump, from CNNs Lauren Fox and Clare Foran: https://cnn.it/34CKvDF.

THE OTHER STUFF -- So what else is happening on Capitol Hill besides impeachment? Well, today the House will vote on Trumps trade pact with Mexico and Canada, which is expected to pass with support from both parties. The vote was strategically scheduled to be the last vote that Democrats take before heading home for the holidays. But some moderate Democrats are upset that McConnell wont even be taking it up right away, after railing on Democrats for holding up the deal for so long. Sabrina Rodriguez with more: https://politi.co/35yt889.

And across the Capitol the Senate is expected to pass a massive $1.37 trillion spending deal, sending it to Trump's desk for signature. There has certainly been some grumbling on the right over the price tag Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) even dramatically showed his opposition to the bill by lighting up a cigar and stubbing it out on top of a printed copy of the bill. But for the most part, the GOP once known as the party of fiscal restraint has all but surrendered to Trump on spending. Its depressing, isnt it? said Sen. Ron Johnson, one of the few Republicans who opposes the deal. WaPos Robert Costa with the story: https://wapo.st/34BnWPu.

Nothing today.

The House gavels in at 9 a.m., with first votes expected between 9:15 and 10:15 a.m. Todays agenda: http://bit.ly/38TjfUG.

The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. to resume consideration of the two House-passed packages to fund the government for fiscal 2020, H.R. 1865 (116) and H.R. 1158 (116) . At 11 a.m., they will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on H.R. 1865.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Michael Doyle (D-Pa.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) hold a news conference on the committee's "2019 accomplishments and to discuss some of the key priorities for 2020 at 10:30 a.m. in Rayburn 2123.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) holds his weekly press conference at 11:30 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

WEDNESDAYS WINNER: Steve Finley was the first person to correctly guess that New York Knicks star-turned-NJ Senator Bill Bradley began his career in Washington as an intern for Donald Rumsfeld.

TODAYS QUESTION: From Steve: Who was the future congressman who played in the 1961 Rose Bowl? First person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: mzanona@politico.com

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Government price-controls could cost beer drinkers. The beer industry is trying to game the system through government price-controls and it could cost you. Find out how and oppose the APEX Act.

CORRECTION: This version of Huddle has been corrected to reflect that Fred Upton is not retiring.

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So the House impeached Trump. Now what? - POLITICO

THE contempt shown toSNP MPs, in particular Ian Blackford, does not show the mother of Parliaments (their terminology, not mine) in a credible light. So much for this union of nations, this family of countries, this blending of cultures!

What it has demonstrated beyond any shadow of doubt is that no matter who sits on the government benches, Scotland, its peoples, its concerns and its representatives are but a side show in the Etonian establishments grand game.

We are at the stage of being ignored by the elite. That is to say, unless our views are of undying (wars excepted) loyalty to the unelected head of state and the establishment then they are, these products of public schools, justified in arrogantly ignoring these troublesome plebs from the northern colony.

READ MORE:Boris Johnson blasted for playing with phone during SNP speech

They are led by PM Johnson and to be clear about him, his every act is measured and with purpose. He is no buffoon, quite the opposite really. He is a product of one of the most corrupt training regimes in the world. Forget Sparta of old, because the graduates of Eaton have more blood on their hands than those of any other schooling establishment throughout the measured time of history.

They are a desperate, despotic regime of loathsome self-serving ingrates. They preach democracy and practice totalitarian ideals. They are also and more importantly reaching their end. The whole world has watched and laughed at their EU extraction technique. How, they wonder, can a country that was at the top of the heap a little more than 100 years ago have fallen so quickly and so completely? With this collapse comes the exposure of the fragile nature of their existence. Those that would rule with an iron fist are, when challenged, about as true of strength as saturated paper. This is why they try to shout down our MPs, this is why they in petulance ignore our MPs and why the stand and walk out like the over-privileged poisoners of democracy that they are.

I am convinced that the SNP would have anticipated these actions and have planned for them. Like many others I feel frustrated at this time, but as has been said by others we must stay our hand and see how this plays out.

We are in the wonderful position of having the world watching, and those countries that practice true democratic principles will side with us. The false headlines of the Etonians have been shown to be that. They and their supporters can curse and moan about the SNP all they wish, but truth be known the SNP have been the only effective party in Scotland for many years a fact reflected in the amount of MPs and MSPs returned.

Ah, but what about 2014? people will shout! Yes it was lost, we accepted that and have moved on. As someone with a lot more education under their belt than me once wrote: Indyref1s binary was Union, economic devil you know vs independence, economic devil you dont know.

I think that we can all agree that those binary options have now changed. Interesting days ahead.

Cliff PurvisVeterans for ScottishIndependence 2.0

IN the wake of the utter humiliation of the Scottish Tories and the solid consolidation of the position of the SNP after the General Election, it is perfectly valid for Nicola Sturgeon MSP to remind people of the broad coalition of political parties, trade unions, and civic Scotland which delivered devolution, and to use that as a template to build an equally diverse pro-independence coalition.

The First Minister should be aware, and if not let me remind her, that the 1995/98 coalition in which the SNP was an equal partner only took place after key assurances to the party that it would not be confined, or locked into, campaigning for only a devolved settlement. The key issue for the SNP leadership at that time was that, in the famous words of the Irish political leader, Michael Collins, devolution allowed the freedom to achieve freedom, and they had the freedom to continue to argue for independence.

READ MORE:Carlaw forced to apologise for suggesting Leonard abstained in vote

Great tectonic political plates have began to move over the last week, and it is particularly satisfying to see a revival of the Labour for Independence organisation. In the light of the pertinent comments by the First Minister to Alex Rowley MSP about the positive role which an independent Scottish Labour party can play in a post-independence Scotland, it is to be hoped that the SNP leadership will hold true to its stated objective of building a strong pro-independence coalition based on unity in diversity. United in aiming for the restoration of national sovereignty, but with the freedom to allow diverse visions which do not tie Scotland to the dubious benefits of retaining a class-based English monarchy, having our fiscal policy controlled by Westminster, our economic policy controlled by Brussels, and our defence policy controlled by Washington.

Cllr Andy Doig (Independent)Renfrewshire Council

CONSERVATIVE governments love taking public cash and funnelling it to their chums. This is called privatisation.

When Boris promises more money for the NHS in England, where does he get it from? Will he be increasing corporation tax? Will he be increasing the higher personal tax rates? Probably not. More likely he will increase the pension age to 75! Wherever he finds the money you can be sure it will be Joe Public that pays, not the billionaires.

Many people would suggest that this is exactly what should happen. The public through taxation should fund the NHS.

However, the devious Boris has only promised (for all that is worth) to send more money to the NHS. The cynical among us may suspect that if you wish to privatise an industry and funnel huge funds to your chums, you would want to increase the pot you intend to plunder.

Andrew DarbyPerth

Continued here:

The world is watching as our SNP MPs are being shouted down - The National