Courier Reports Charlevoix to Consider $1.00 Flight Tax

[Frank Solle]

60+ hrs/wk: been there, done that

countless nights away from family: been there, done that too

government spending: thatâ??s why we give them the money

those who donâ??t contribute: liberals actually believe in helping those unable to help themselves; compassion without conservatism.

higher taxes: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy had upper tax rates between 88-92%, yet during those years our country experienced its strongest growth. Johnsonâ??s tax cuts were followed by low growth. Reaganâ??s big cuts lead to boom then bust. High taxes make for a sound economy.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/11904 ... her_taxes/

liberals outspending our next 3 generations: Iraq, Iraq, Iraq

W lost his way: he followed his way to a â??Tâ?? donâ??t ever doubt that

heat in the kitchen: hand me an apron, I can cook all day

[gavin.west]

Frank,

I have refrained from getting drug down into the mirky world of your economic and political philosophy. However, after you latest post and utter lack of understanding of basic economics I feel I must respond.

The fact of the matter is that ALL economists agree that putting more money in the hands of the people (i.e. - cutting taxes) spurs growth. If people have more, they spend more. It does not take an ecomics degree to understand that principle. Some of the liberal view also believe that government can fulfill that function as well, i.e....take the money from the individual or go into debit in order to spend and thus spur the economy. Neither could be further from the truth....wouldnt you rather have the money to spend the way you chose, than to have to government spend it? If Bush was still in office and choose to spend the money on the Defense industry you would be up in arms.....Obama spending it on the Salt Marsh Mouse is equally offensive to me.

So, isnt the best solution to leave the money in the hands of the individual? I am fairly certain that I would make better decisions with my money that President Obama. But, like Brent, I work for my money....I dont sit back and collect money from the government or let my spouse support me. I guess when you earn it, your a litter more attached to it.

[Brentpike]

60+ hrs/wk: been there, done that

countless nights away from family: been there, done that too

government spending: thatâ??s why we give them the money

those who donâ??t contribute: liberals actually believe in helping those unable to help themselves; compassion without conservatism.

higher taxes: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy had upper tax rates between 88-92%, yet during those years our country experienced its strongest growth. Johnsonâ??s tax cuts were followed by low growth. Reaganâ??s big cuts lead to boom then bust. High taxes make for a sound economy.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/11904 ... her_taxes/

liberals outspending our next 3 generations: Iraq, Iraq, Iraq

W lost his way: he followed his way to a â??Tâ?? donâ??t ever doubt that

heat in the kitchen: hand me an apron, I can cook all day

Frank,

I asked when was the last time? You and I both know that's not true right now, right? I can honestly say that I have never taken a dime from the government. It's easy for you to say higher taxes when you don't pay any/much.
During those years with Eisenhower and Truman you could deduct almost anything you wanted. I will take those days over todays tax codes.

And you are wrong about those being the strongest years of growth. The Reagan Tax cuts gave us the longest peace time economic growth for 25 years. It's liberals like Jimmy Carter, BIll Clinton, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and the Obama who gave us this current problem. Ever heard of the Community Reinvestment Act? That is what started this whole problem we are in.

Being compassionate with other peoples money is not being kind. Giving people hand outs only keeps them poor and down trodden longer.

P.S. JFK cut taxes too. Get your facts straight you are not dealing with an amateur here. I am well read and informed on all these topics. I don't just listen NPR and the Mainstream Media.

[Gillespie]

OK You guys, enough, we have strayed from the specific topic a little too far. Get back on track or the whole thread goes away. If you want to start a topic relating to your political preferences deliberately, go ahead. The rest of us were concerned with a specific local problem! Moderator

[Weathervane Terrace]

I just left the meeting here in Charlevoix. The City Council will seek ideas for solution before they enact the $1 passenger fee for Islanders and others. Hooray!

The residents from the island that were at the meeting represented Beaver Island in a positive and thoughtful way.

Tom Pfeifle
Gen. Manager/ Weathervane Terrace Inn & Suites

[Frank Solle]

Ignoring both the poor spelling and atrocious grammar of the previous personal attack posts, I will close my involvement in this issue my congratulating the Charlevoix city council for coming to its senses, if at least only temporarily, and by thanking those who attended on behalf of the full-time, year-round citizens of Beaver Island. And, not one to let well enough alone, I include the follow two snippets. Thanks to all for their participation.

from Herbert Stein, Wall Street Journal, May 30, 1996:

To say that President Kennedy cut taxes is something of a stretch. He formally proposed the tax cut in December 1962, he was assassinated in November 1963, and Congress passed the tax cut, to be signed by President Johnson, in February 1964 â?¦ When Kennedy came into office in 1961, the top marginal rate of individual income tax was 91%, compared with 39.6% today. The top corporate rate was 52%; today it is 35%, with much ampler depreciation allowances â?¦The Kennedy administration's estimates of the nation's long-run economic and fiscal position turned out to be seriously in error. The economy did not grow by 4% per annum. It grew from 1963 to 1995 by an average of 3% per annum - which is an error of 25%, not 1% â?¦ We did not face the problem of mounting full-employment surpluses that would be a drag upon the economy because they would depress demand. Instead we faced the problem of large, persistent deficits that depressed the economy by depriving it of savings for investment.

from Paul Krugman, NYT Jan. 13, 2009:

Consider an increase in government spending; assume that the interest rate is fixed (a good assumption right now, because interest rates are up against the zero lower bound). Then textbook analysis says that if the stimulus is dG, the increase in GDP is 1/(1 - c(1-t)) where c is the marginal propensity to consume out of income and t is the marginal tax rate. Suppose c is 0.5 and t is 1/3; then the multiplier is 1.5, which is more or less the conventional wisdom right now.

But if $100 billion in spending raises GDP by $150 billion, and the marginal tax rate is 1/3, $50 billion of the spending comes back in additional revenue. So bang for the buck â?? increase in GDP per dollar of added debt â?? is 3, not 1.5. Since the main concern about stimulus is that it will add to government debt, itâ??s this bang for the buck measure, rather than the multiplier, thatâ??s relevant. And 3 sounds a lot better than 1.5.

Bang for the buck also heightens the contrast between effective and ineffective stimulus policies. Stay with c = 0.5, t = 1/3, and look at the effects of a tax cut; the multiplier is 0.75, half that for public investment, but bang for the buck is 1, only 1/3 that for investment.

So thinking about how stimulus comes back via revenues is important.

[Donegaljim]

Last nite the Charlevoix Council voted to approve their proposed budget which includes the changes in airport fees that we have been discussing for the past week. The mayor explained that they had a legal deadline for this approval. In his opening comments the mayor appologized for not bringing Islanders into the process and concedes that was a mistake. The council has agreed that since budget approval was just the first step there is still time to find alternate answers to the airport funding problems. It would appear that there may be some solutions based on some comments from Keith and Rachel Teague(who attened) and comments from the Welkes (transmitted by Ed Wojan) that there are some possibilites that the city administration has not yet considered. It appears that we will have to rely on our Air Carriers because they know how the airport works and where the bodies are buried. The council seemed receptive and sympathetic to our requests and tried to make it clear that the proposed fees do not go into the general revenues but will all be used in the Airport fund which currently requires city subsidies. In my view, our problems are much larger than this proposed fee change. It appears that the city has a grand view of new terminals, extended runways and other "enhancements". Our island flights and our tourists have no need of the proposed enhancements and we to make sure that we are not paying for things we do not need to satisfy a municipal ego trip. You can see their airport master plan on their web site. We need to come up with an ongoing Island strategy regarding the airport and have a pro-active plan. In the meantime, I think we will need to rely on the good offices of the Welkes and the Teagues to minimize the current mess and to give us all some advice on how we should proceed in the next year. I think all of us should take a deep breath and wait for developments over the next few weeks. Know that the council and the Mayor were very charming, welcoming and considerate. Some of their ideas may be a bit misguided in our view but they all appeard to be nice folks trying to do the best they can. It will do absolutely no good to send insulting or critical messages---in fact those are completely counterproductive. It is our job to to forge friendly, cooperative relations with the council. If we do, we have every chance to at least have our point of view expressed when and where it will do the most good.

[DDvoracek]

I just left the meeting here in Charlevoix. The City Council will seek ideas for solution before they enact the $1 passenger fee for Islanders and others. Hooray!

The residents from the island that were at the meeting represented Beaver Island in a positive and thoughtful way.

Tom Pfeifle
Gen. Manager/ Weathervane Terrace Inn & Suites

Tom, I also attended the meeting and while I agree with your general summary I respectfully have a slightly different summary.

I came away from the meeting with the understanding that the council PASSED the $1.00 per ticket fee, as well as the airport parking fee's. In their defence, they were forced to do so due to State required time constraints on presenting a budget.

However before these fee's are actually imposed, they have to be presented to the F.A.A. to be reviewed, approved, or denied. The time line for this approval or denial is approximately 6 month's according to the airport manager.

The mayor and city manager expressed a willingness to meet with any and all parties interested in finding an alternative to the proposed fee. If an alternative can be found before the F.A.A. approves the fee, then the alternative will be used. If no alternative is found then the fee's will be enacted.

As I mentioned the mayor has invited anyone who is interested in offering constructive alternative idea's to contact him. So let's keep things positive and do some creative thinking.

DonegalJim, I didn't read your post until posting. Sorry for any redundancy.

[Chamber of Commerce]

I just left the meeting here in Charlevoix. The City Council will seek ideas for solution before they enact the $1 passenger fee for Islanders and others. Hooray!

The residents from the island that were at the meeting represented Beaver Island in a positive and thoughtful way.

Tom Pfeifle
Gen. Manager/ Weathervane Terrace Inn & Suites

Yes indeed Tom and the Mayor and Council also responded in a thoughful way. Thanks for your support with respect to this issue. You and your business the Weathervane Inn & Suites are true friends of Beaver Island. Best wishes from Beaver.

[Keith Szczepanski]

Great letter Jim!!!

That's the problem with those liberals. That can't ever see the trees amongst the forest. Why how could we make government smaller? That's that's like speaking some ancient dialect to those people.
To me it's total lack of respect for a minority group that they are showing. They just feel that the "Islanders" are just a few hundred people who cares if they are pissed off.

Haha.You're assuming Jim Stambaugh is "conservative".Ha.

[Chamber of Commerce]

The Charlevoix Courier story by Ben Gohs

http://www.charlevoixcourier.com/articl ... 633394.txt

It says in part ...................................

However, because of overwhelming opposition to the measure and pleas from Beaver Island residents, Charlevoix business owners and owners and representatives of both Fresh Air Aviation and Island Airways, Carlson said he intends to meet with anyone interested in order to devise an alternate means to generate the projected $15,000 the enplanement fee would bring the city.

â??We remain committed to furthering discussions with the residents of Beaver Island and looking at any alternatives to help us pay for those matching funds,â?￾ said Charlevoix city manager Rob Straebel in an interview following the meeting. â??To that end, I think youâ??ll see myself and the mayor and the airport manager going to the island and convening with residents to see if we can come up with any creative solutions.â?￾

But, Straebel added, â??Weâ??re going to proceed with the FAA in processing the enplanement fee.â?￾

[Jim]

Thanks, Keith, for seeing the satire. You must have had a good English teacher in high school.

Jim

[Keith Szczepanski]

Thanks, Keith, for seeing the satire. You must have had a good English teacher in high school.

Jim

Yeah he was alright.He gets a bad rap,but he knows what he's doing.

[Dan Wardlow]

[Chamber of Commerce]

Via email to Mayor on 2-17. We shall see.

Dear Mr. Mayor,

My I suggest that it would be a good gesture toward Beaver Island if this ........ 'But, Straebel added, â??Weâ??re going to proceed with the FAA in processing the enplanement fee.â?￾ ....... was put on hold for a month or so. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Best wishes from Beaver Island.

Steve West