Suspending Gas Tax a Good Idea

House Democrat Minority Leader Patrick's Bauer call to suspend Indiana's sales tax on gas is a good idea, but why does it take the Governor to declare an energy emergency?  Yes, fuel prices are higher than what we've been used to, but that hasn't slowed our consumption down.  We're far from a state of emergency. 

There are many other good reasons to suspend the tax.  If there were no 6% surcharge on fuel, not only would individual pocketbooks benefit, making it easier to provide for family needs, savings and consumer purchases, but small businesses would retain much needed funds that could be put to use in better ways, perhaps by hiring another employee or funding research and development or purchasing another building or vehicle to help the business grow.  All facets of the economy would benefit.

The General Assembly should not stop there, however.  A temporary suspension is not the complete answer.  The state should permanently cut the sales tax rate in half to 3% for all goods and services.  This would benefit the state, individuals and small business much more than a temporary suspension of the sales tax on gas.

Indiana Election Law -- The Inside Joke They Don't Want You to Hear

Democrats and Republicans have done it again. They've colluded to keep twelve Libertarian candidates around the state off the ballot. How? Simple. They've passed yet another law designed to trip up Indiana's Libertarian Party. As if minimum vote percentages for ballot access and for major party status weren't enough, the General Assembly just this year passed a law that went into effect upon passage that is clearly aimed at the state's third largest party.

Mike Kole, the Libertarian's Secretary of State candidate, reports that the party filed their post-convention vacancy candidates' paperwork with the Indiana Election Division just like they always have. Not good enough, according to the IED, though. The candidates were required to file a "10-day notice of intent" to fill the vacancies with the IED. The law gives no reason for the notice, and it provides no form for doing so. It seems to serve no function other than to frustrate Libertarian candidacies.

This is reminiscent of the attempt by the Kernan and Daniels' campaigns to keep Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kenn Gividen from the debates in 2004. It harms the voters by taking away their choices, and it violates the spirit of free and open elections. In some of the races where the Libs were scratched, there was either no Republican or Democrat candidate. In other words, in those races, the General Assembly has ensured victory for their party mates.

Like the public outcry over the Gividen snub resulted in Gividen being allowed in the debates, Indiana voters should scream for election law reform. This is a prime example of why Indiana's election law needs gutted and replaced with common sense.

Observation on the Middle East

The story I see today is that Secretary of State Rice's trip to the Middle East to broker a peace deal was a failure.  That's a curious premise, because it has appeared from the beginning of the latest conflict that the Bush administration has not been actively pursuing peace.  The statements out of Washington were that there should be no cease fire until a lasting solution was found.  

Seriously?  It seems that a cease fire would be the first step to brokering a deal.  Stop the shooting.  Stop the bombing.  Stop the killing.  Stop it all so leaders can talk.  Who is going to want negotiate while their citizens are being slaughtered?  who is going to take time out from defending themselves, whichever side, to talk across a table to the enemy?  With the elevated tension in the region, it seems making those involved step back and take a breath would more likely result in a lasting peace accord rather than piling on.

While the United States should probably not be involved in this conflict at all, if it is going to participate, it should at least be a productive force for both immediate and lasting peace.