Capitol Foolishness Abounds: Lasee Trumps Nass, Scooby Doo

In the never-ending struggle to attract attention, reporters, and voters, Wisconsin state representative Frank Lasee (Rep-Green Bay) put out a press release on Tuesday making his Republican colleague Steve Nass look sound like Albert Einstein wandering among the cast of Scooby Doo.

Lasee wants Wisconsin to drill for oil. Then we can be Alaska. Or Wyoming.

To make his case, Lasee first must dismiss the experts who correctly understand the role of taxes and fees:

According to the Wisconsin Taxpayer’s Alliance and liberal professor Andrew Reschovsky, three states...

While it was easy calling Reschovsky a liberal, the Taxpayer's Alliance was never known as a bastion of left-wing thinking. Drats.

Anyway, with the heretics summarily dismissed, Lasee shores up his own leaky fiscal boat:

There are studies from reliable sources and well-educated economists* that show that states and countries that tax less (after a reasonable level of government services have been reached), enjoy greater prosperity over those that tax more...

The undocumented, unnamed Lasee experts are probably the disgraced Tax Foundation and the academically challenged Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. In any case no definition is given to 'a reasonable level of government services,' which Lasee believes means no public education. At any level.

The left discredited, the foundation for his economic theories in place,  Lasee presents his thesis:

Taxes paid by everyone who is using oil, natural gas, copper and other minerals are providing more government tax money to spend without causing people in these states to pay more. The governments in Wyoming, New Mexico and Alaska get to spend the taxes paid by out-of-staters and the people of these states don’t have to pay as much for their government. This is a good reason to lift the federal and state prohibition on drilling for oil in Wisconsin.

Taxes are taxes. Somehow Lasee thinks that the taxes that Alaska gets from the oil do not count in assessing the per capita tax burden. Sorry.

Which proves that this is not about reducing Wisconsin tax collections, but about drilling for oil in Baraboo or Richland Center.

But Lasee really misses the opportunity. If his thinking is sound it should apply to all natural resources. 

Lasee, let's follow your advice starting with lumber. I am sure that the folks in Wausau and Green Bay look forward to paying a 15% royalty on lumber.

Water.  Now there is a precious natural resource that may one day be as valuable as oil.

The state of Wisconsin should impose a 15% tax on every barrel of fresh water pumped in the state. Like Alaska, a portion of the revenue will be used to operate government today and a portion will be set aside in a trust fund for future generations when water is truly scarce.

You know, this is a damn good idea.

I am serious. Thank you Mr. Lasee.

We don't need no stinkin' oil.

And another thing. If you want to get taxes from out-of staters, increase the sales tax and reduce residential property taxes. A state like Wisconsin, with a high level of tourists and conventioneers, will see a disproportionate tax revenue come from the foreigners and flatlanders.

*When the hell did 'well educated people' carry any weight in the Republican Assembly caucus? Nass is going to have a field day with this one.

Reschovsky is well educated.

I am well educated.

Comments

[antpoppa]

Water.
That's what is used to cool nuclear reactors, and produce steam (a green house gas) and absorb toxic waste.
I'll bet the clown act of L'ase & more N'ass can see unlimited potential in destroying that resource.

wooohooo!

[Jon]

As long as we're taxing out-of-staters, why not put a toll at every highway entering the state? Any car without Wisconsin license plates has to pay $100 to get into the state. The majority of the revenue could go for property tax relief, with some set aside for promoting tourism in the state.

[Dan Sebald]

"If you want to get taxes from out-of staters, increase the sales tax...[Wisconsin] will see a disproportionate tax revenue come from the foreigners and flatlanders."

Until you reach 10%, it's a net gain for Cook County residents.

[Marquette 2L]

Lassee is a real piece of work. He has also proposed shutting down UW's law school and allowing teachers to carry guns.

[Shaggy]

Zoinks...Scoob when did steam become a green house gas?

[Dan Sebald]

"when did steam become a green house gas"

Many eons ago, during the formation of an atmosphere. Water vapor (steam) is in fact the major greenhouse gas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas

It's naturally occurring and has feedback mechanism associated with it that tend to keep things fairly stable.

Your statement could be restated as "anthropogenic greenhouse gas?" The C0_2 and CH_4 gases are (probably) the ones for which natural negative feedback mechanism aren't as prominent (I'm not a climatologist).

Contrary to what antpoppa implies, water vapor isn't thought of as anthropogenic other than on a small scale. But my feeling is that with a complex mechanism like the atmosphere one should keep an open mind; enough of anything usually has an effect in some way.