PA Tax Free KOZ Hypocrisy

Yet again, the state-wide tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zones have come up for an extension in Pennsylvania.

Local elected officials who comprise three taxing bodies, county, school district, and municipality must weigh agreeing to granting the status to undeveloped properties for this time around some seven (7) years.

Each separate entity must vote on approving the KOZ extension request by voting and a majority of the board can accept or deny.

The important feature of the process is any one of the boards' denial of the extension would effectively gut the extension for the one jurisdiction. Further, if one board - the county commissioners - would deny the extension - even though the school board/s and municipalities approved, the extension would not happen.

Fayette's board of commissioners voted in the majority but not unanimously to enable the application process for the extension to go forward. This week, it's been reported the board will consider a motion to re-consider some of the properties which have KOZ status currently to either expire in 2010 or 2013 and may pull some of the properties from the extension.

South Union Township supervisors have reportedly denied the extension for their own property, some 60 acres, but agreed to grant the extensions so far to property the local economic development organization sought for inclusion in the extension due to its undeveloped status.

But it isn't clear whether developed properties that want to continue to receive the KOZ status after its expiration, such as Duke Energy, a Fortune 500 Company, can obtain the extension, it's interesting that in material distributed by Fay Penn Economic Development Council, the company is listed among requests for the extension.

The question arises then, what is the purpose of continuing the KOZ on already developed and habitable land another 7 years?

The extension is supposed to be for undeveloped properties, but as we've seen how the KOZ has been promoted in the past for industrial development, that goal didn't quite pan out in the county as planned.

Further, if the Fayette commissioners pull some property (qualified and undeveloped at this time) from the extension for whatever reason - don't like it or think KOZ status is appropriate for housing developments, individual single family homes, or apartment complexes, or a private individual or private corporation has obtained the status through diligent application, and members of the board by majority or unanimously deny the extension - what does that say about continuing to permit an extension for other property in the county solely because it is handled by the county's lead economic development agency?

Across the border, in Greene County, supervisors display a bit of common sense in comments made about KOZ and what the state gave them to deal with, yet the members still voted to continue the program they've raised objections to. Give a look.

An upcoming post will highlight the same arguments and some variation used by Fayette commissioners Chairman Vincent Zapotosky and Vincent Vicites who don't like some aspects of KOZ yet still voted for approval of the extension.

Net the Truth Online

In other business, supervisors voted unanimously to support the seven-year Keystone Opportunity Zone extension for the Evergreene Technology Park. The extension would continue the current KOZ tax incentive for an additional seven years, until Dec. 31, 2017. The current KOZ incentive ends Dec. 31, 2010.

The two existing buildings in the technology park are not eligible for the KOZ extension.

The township projects an estimated total of $6,050 of tax revenue in 2011 from the two buildings.

Currently, the technology park has about 220 acres of undeveloped land, which is eligible for the KOZ extension if developed.

Although supervisors John H. Higgens and Corbly Orndorff disagree with the concept of the KOZ and believe the state is overstepping its boundaries by offering this type of incentive, they agree that if surrounding counties are offering a KOZ tax incentive extension to perspective businesses, then Franklin Township and Greene County must do the same to remain competitive.

Supervisors' Chairman T. Reed Kiger told Don Chappel, executive director of Greene County Industrial Development Inc., that he hopes to see collaboration between Evergreene Technology Park officials, the Franklin Township supervisors and other county officials not just for the township's benefit but for the benefit of the entire county.

Kiger also suggested that the park consider businesses in the oil and gas industry, which he believes to be up and coming in Greene County.

Kiger added that the board of supervisors would really like to see the park make changes.

Herald-Standard June 22, 2009

Ron Paul and Judge Napolitano on WAR Program

Discussion at Ron Paul Forums and link to audio of the Wayne Allyn Root program featuring guests Ron Paul and Judge Andrew Napolitano. We're tracking Judge Napolitano and his proposal Freedom Watchers start the alteration of our Constitution ball rolling via pressing the legislatures of the required necessary 34 states to petition or submit a call for a second federal Constitutional Convention.

Napolitano outlines his proposal in a piece we've highlighted here at Net the Truth Online. We have noted dangers of such and have highlighted notables who have done so as well.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=2155452#post2155452

Link

http://www.rootforamerica.com/home/war.php

Ron Paul: Uprising, Revolt, Nobody Will Pay Taxes Anymore

Interesting discussion on Freedom Watch Program, still, beware Judge Napolitano's call for a second federal Constitutional Convention. Odd the Judge didn't bring up the issue during his discussion with Ron Paul...

clip

Judge Napolitano: I think Shelly has a question for you from one of the good folks that has been watching and listening.

Shelly Roche: Yes. Congressman Paul. This is from Betsy Ross and she would like to know…

Judge Napolitano: Is that really her name?

Shelly Roche: That’s her screen name.

Judge Napolitano: Great name.

Ron Paul: Hi, Betsy.

Shelly Roche: I know. It’s appropriate for today. She would like to know about the questionable constitutionality of the 16th and 17th Amendments.

Judge Napolitano: Oh, you want to weigh in on that, Ron.

Ron Paul: Well, I can rather quickly because I discuss it a lot. I think it was improperly ratified, the 16th. But it really doesn’t matter. I think it’s good to debate it and expose it. But we’ll get rid of the IRS and the 16th Amendment by repeal or [maybe] people are finally going to get fed up, and there will be a tax revolt and so much chaos and violence in our streets, so nobody [will pay taxes anyway].

But on the 17th, I never think of the 17th as being illegally ratified. There may be an argument there that I’m not aware of, but the whole thing is I don’t like the 17th, and that’s the one that allows the senators to be elected by popular vote rather than representing the states. That was the symbol or the essence of the states being independent and sovereign, that the legislatures elected the senators and sent them to us. If we did it that way, we would certainly eliminate all these buying and selling of senators like they have in the Illinois.

Judge Napolitano: In Illinois.



http://www.ronpaul.com/2009-04-15/ron-paul-peter-schiff-on-freedom-watch-4/

Warning Post at Philly Blog

Thank you Philly Blog for your post about Glenn Beck and Judge Napolitano pushing for a second federal Constitutional Convention. We're steaming over here after following Judge Napolitano's misguided proposition, and we're tracking the Wayne Allyn Root radio program upcoming June 6th wherein Napolitano is going to be a guest.

We don't know yet how Root feels about a second Con-Con, but we're tracking.

Years back we researched the issue of the dangers of a second federal Constitutional Convention and posted info on our site Dare Inquire Representatives Truth.

http://members.tripod.com/~DIRTLINE/actrights.html

also see our sidebar and conduct a search of our site for posts about a federal Con-Con...

As we're hot on highlighting what Napolitano is saying as a sit-in for the absent Glenn Beck Friday - tonight - June 5 - and what he might say on Wayne Allyn Root's upcoming radio program, we've little time to formulate more of our thoughts, and you've said it all so well, why duplicate...

Thanks.

Net the Truth Online

Note the part about Madison's warnings of a second federal Constitutional Convention... Guess Glenn Beck didn't read that either.

Net the Truth Online

OK 6 PM Napolitano didn't repeat his proposal for states to submit the same Constitutional Amendment/s and call for a second Constitutional Convention when he had an entire hour on the Glenn Beck program to do so. Why not?

And we had time to ponder over Beck's denial Napolitano even wants a Con-Con. Maybe he'll actually read what Napolitano wrote and after his tour is over he'll find our site and come out and address his oversight and negligence.

Net the Truth Online

Philly Blog

http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/showthread.php?t=84535

Phyllis Schlafly is tops don't miss her May article on the dangers of a Con-Con

http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2009/may09/psrmay09.html

Judge Napolitano interviewing a couple of experts on the Tenth Amendment.

Glenn Beck Denies Push for Constitutional Convention

OK then why the Judge's push for 34 states legislatures (by a mere majority vote, maybe a mere quorum, too) to forward the same exact amendment/s to the Constitution for whatever, Glenn.

The man simply doesn't realize the call is automatic upon the submission of the call for formal submission of the same amendment/s proposal/s from the required 34 states.

Judge Napolitano is wholly negligent in his proposal for 34 states to submit the same exact amendments and initiate a call for a convention for that purpose.

The call is automatic once the 34 number is reached. Automatic. No do-overs. No, oops we (34 states) really just want to scare Congress-critters to act on these matters...

The convention will be called and state legislatures will forthwith select delegates to the convention somehow someway. Once convened there is no way to limit what the delegates could do.

If I were able to ask you a question on your tour, Glenn, I'd ask if you read Judge Napolitano's writing on the matter to which you made a post denying the Judge wanted a Con-Con.

He wants one, no doubt. Just read where he says he does in What Should Freedom Lovers Do?

Excellent suggestion at Ohio Freedom to have John McManus make a guest appearance on Napolitano's program!

http://www.ohiofreedom.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3241

Vote for guest on Napolitano's Freedom Watch


http://freedomwatch.uservoice.com/pages/16626-freedom-watch-guest-suggestions/suggestions/206370-john-f-mcmanus

Net the Truth Online

Don't miss

Constitutional Convention Backers Want to Hijack the Tea Party Movement

http://www.jbs.org/index.php/freedom-campaign/4820

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=18760

May 15, 2009 - 11:17 ET

By Judge Andrew Napolitano

1.) The Scope of the Problem.

The Constitution gives the Congress only 17 discrete powers. One of them is the power to regulate interstate commerce and another is the power to tax incomes. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, almost from the time the first Congress sat, it used its Commerce Clause power to tax goods, to control private behavior, and even to prohibit items in interstate commerce. Subsequent Congresses used that power to control the conditions for production and sale of goods that eventually made their way into interstate commerce. And modern Congresses have used that power to regulate any human behavior they wish, so long as the behavior, when combined with other similar behavior, might conceivably affect the movement of goods or persons in interstate commerce. Thus, today, the water you drink, the air you breathe, the size of the toilet bowl in your bathroom, the number of legs on your desk chair, the strength of the water pressure in your shower in your home, the amount of wheat you can grow in your yard, the amount of sugar manufacturers can put into ketchup, the words you can utter in public or private, are all regulated by the Congress, claiming power under the Commerce Clause. And the feds, as well, use their enormous horde of cash from our income taxes to bribe the states by paying them to regulate in areas that the Constitution prohibits Congress from regulating.

2.) How to address this?

We need an amendment to the Constitution that expressly limits Congress to exercising only the 17 specific powers that are delegated to it in the Constitution and defines and limits the regulation of interstate commerce to its original meaning of keeping commerce regular by preventing all governments, state and federal, from interfering with it. We also need to rescind the 16th Amendment and affirmatively prohibit any federal tax on persons, as individuals or as groups. These two measures will starve the federal government back down to the footprint established for it by the Constitution. The Constitution can only be amended by enactment of an amendment by three-quarters of the legislatures of the states. In order to get to the state legislatures, an amendment can only come from an affirmative vote of two-thirds of both houses of Congress, or from a constitutional convention which Congress must call if asked to do so by two-thirds of the state legislatures.

3.) What should freedom lovers do?

Here are a few simple steps. First, agree on the wording of two amendments addressing commerce and income taxes. Next persuade the state legislatures of 34 states to enact a resolution by a simple majority vote of each house of the states’ legislatures instructing Congress to convene a constitutional convention for the express and sole purpose of considering these two amendments. I don’t know if 34 states will agree to this; but I firmly believe that as the number of agreeing states approaches 34, Congress will become terrified, and will begin to curtail its regulation of our behavior and lower our taxes. If the convention does come to pass and sends the two proposed amendments to the states, the goal is then to get 38 states to adopt the amendments. Note, the state legislative process of demanding a convention and the state legislative process of approving an amendment only requires a simple majority in each house of a state legislature, and neither is subject to a governor’s veto.

Judge Napolitano

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/25372/

Note from Glenn


Let’s be clear that no one is calling for a Constitutional Convention. The Judge has outlined what would need to be done, legally, in order for the 10th Amendment to have some real teeth put back into it. No one really wants a Constitutional Convention. Nobody on the left or the right really pushes for one for two reasons. First, no matter how limited the scope of the proposed constitutional convention if one actually takes place it’ll be almost impossible to restrict the changes that could be made to the Constitution. Remember that when the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia for their constitutional convention their orders were to do nothing more than “amend the Articles of Confederation.” By day three they had unofficially agreed to abolish the Articles and create a new form of government. If a constitutional convention were held today there would be no limits on what they could do and it’s very possible we end up with the Constitution shredded and in tatters. I don’t want to take that risk.

Second, I don’t trust our current crop of politicians to do the right thing. I don’t see a modern-day George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, or James Madison. All I see are selfish politicians willing to do anything to get re-elected. I don’t want to put the future of my children and grandchildren in their fat money-stained fingers.

So let’s hold off on the constitutional convention but move forward with the gun legislation in Montana, Utah, Texas and other states in an effort to have the Supreme Court re-consider the 10th Amendment. Good people doing great things is all it takes to return America to what our Founding Fathers intended Her to be—a bastion of freedom and liberty!

-glenn

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/25372/

Watchdogging Judge Napolitano on second federal Con-Con

Judge Napolitano is sitting in as host of the Glenn Beck Program tonight. He started out saying in his introduction the Tenth Amendment is under attack.

We're tracking to see how far the Judge goes to push for a second federal Constitutional Convention... We've posted about this previously...


http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2009/05/glenn-beck-ignores-dangers-napolitano.html

See our sidebar for more info about the dangers of a second federal Constitutional Convention...

including our former website Dare Inquire Representatives Truth

http://members.tripod.com/~DIRTLINE/actrights.html

Net the Truth Online

Excellent article from Phyllis Schlafly

http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2009/may09/psrmay09.html


http://www.google.com/search?q=judge+napolitano+constitutional+convention&btnG=Search&hl=en&sa=2

Libertarian Wayne Allyn Root in Syndication

Root has recently been appearing on many Fox News Network programs, including interviews with the dynamic Neil Cavuto...

Cavuto interviewed VP Biden's economic policy analyst, yadayada, who could not answer what the Great Lakes Czar was responsible for accomplishing... he gave a sketchy answer about the goals of the "Stimulus Czar," appointed by President Barack Obama.

Cavuto interviewed South Carolina Governor on the recent state Supreme Court case wherein the Court ordered the state to accept the stimulus money from the federal government. Unbelievable. The Gov. said he wasn't going to appeal the decision.

As if those interviews weren't enough to make your stomach turn, Cavuto's next guest was Wayne Allyn Root who raised further concerns about government largesse, debt, and control of our individual lives and livlihoods.

A search produced the info about Root's syndicated radio program to air in select cities June 6. Following...

Ah yes, we also had to find controversy...

Independent Politcal Report Comments

http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2009/06/wayne-root-launching-libertarian-radio-show-in-ny-la-chicago/

OK Just a note to beware one of Root's first guests on his radio program will be Judge Napolitano. Recently, the Judge encouraged consideration of a states' initiated federal Constitutional Convention while appearing on the Glenn Beck program. We made a post and provided a link to discussion of this wholly bad idea and danger to our country at the time.

so we're just saying... beware... the Libertarian plank has at one time included just such a second Constitutional Convention...

Net the Truth Online

Independent Political Report Comments

Scott Lieberman // Jun 5, 2009 at 1:25 pm

To listen to the Wayne Allyn Root Radio show on a streaming feed on the Internet:

Saturdays

Noon-1pm Eastern Time

Go to…

http://am970theapple.townhall.com/

and then click on “Listen Live”, which is in a red oval in the upper left part of the page.

http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2009/06/wayne-root-launching-libertarian-radio-show-in-ny-la-chicago/

"The Wayne Allyn Root Show" to debut nationally Sat., June 6
Root's First Two Guests Are 2008 Presidential Candidate Dr. Ron Paul and Judge Andrew Napolitano of FOX News


LAS VEGAS -- Wayne Allyn Root, the 2008 Libertarian Party Vice Presidential nominee and a regular guest personality on FOX News and FOX Business networks, is declaring “W.A.R.” on big government beginning June 6, 2009 when “W.A.R.: The Wayne Allyn Root Show” debuts in Los Angeles and New York (with Chicago joining the lineup in two weeks).

Root's guests on his first show will be 2008 presidential candidate and 1988 Libertarian presidential nominee Dr. Ron Paul, and libertarian Judge Andrew Napolitano of the FOX News Channel.

The weekly, one-hour syndicated talk show will be broadcast on political talk format radio stations on Saturdays in the three biggest markets in the country, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The program will be aired at noon on AM 970 The Apple WNYM in New Jersey/New York; 8 a.m. on Talk Radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles; and 9 a.m. on AM 560 WIND in Chicago (starting on June 20th). Additional markets are expected to be added in the coming weeks.

Root joins a star-studded lineup on these stations with the biggest names in talk radio: Sean Hannity (KABC), Mark Levin (KABC), Michael Savage (WIND), Bill Bennett (WNYM), Dennis Prager (WNYM), Michael Medved (WIND), Mike Gallagher (WNYM) and Joe Scarborough (KABC).

“The show will focus on politics, business and personal finance issues with a Libertarian point of view,” said Root who advocates a free market economy, dramatically smaller government, lower spending, lower taxes, reduced government regulation, and more freedom and individual rights.

Root described his unique persona: “I'm 'the ANTI-Obama.' I'm an S.O.B. - son of a butcher - small businessman, home-school father and citizen politician. My life experiences have made me a passionate, committed Libertarian and Capitalist Evangelist. I am proud to be adding my Libertarian flair to conservative talk radio. My hero was Barry Goldwater. I'd describe him as a Libertarian conservative. I look forward to returning conservative talk radio to its Goldwater roots.”

Root is regular guest on three of the biggest talk shows in America: “Savage Nation” hosted by Michael Savage, “The Jerry Doyle Show” and “The Mancow Show” with host Mancow Muller. He's appeared many times on FOX News Channel with hosts Neil Cavuto, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Greta Van Susteren and Judge Andrew Napolitano as well as appearances on CNBC. A tireless freedom crusader, he conducted hundreds of radio, TV and print interviews around the country during his campaign for Vice President. Now he's turning the tables and will be interviewing nationally-known personalities and pundits weekly on his new show.
Root is the author of seven books. His latest is The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns Gambling & Tax Cuts!, to be published on July 20 by John Wiley & Sons and available at www.Amazon.com.

http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/the-wayne-allyn-root-show-to-debut-nationally-sat-june-6