Dennis Cauchon from USAToday reports,

In a historic first, Uncle Sam has supplanted sales, property and income taxes as the biggest source of revenue for state and local governments.

The shift shows how deeply the recession is cutting. Federal stimulus money aimed at reviving the economy and a sharp drop in tax collections have altered, at least temporarily, the traditional balance of how states, cities, counties and schools pay for their operations.

The sales tax had been the No. 1 source of state and local revenue since the mid-1970s, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Before that, property taxes were the primary source. That changed in the first three months of 2009.

Federal grants — early stimulus money plus conventional federal aid — soared 15% in the first quarter to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $437 billion, eclipsing sales taxes, which fell 2%.

The dominance of federal money is set to expand dramatically this year because tax collections are sinking while the bulk of federal stimulus aid is just starting to arrive. “This money isn’t manna from heaven. It comes with a price,” says Indiana state Sen. Jim Buck, a Republican. He worries that the federal money will leave states under greater federal control and burden future generations with debt.

Nick Johnson, a state finance expert at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, says the federal aid is well-timed. “This has more to say about the severity of the recession than anything else,” he says. “Congress stepped in on a temporary basis to help states.”

May 9, 2008

Dear Sir/Madam:

A U.S. Census Bureau Field Representative tried contacting you recently to obtain some information for the American Community Survey (ACS). However, our Representative, Edward Marcus (201) 927-4763 has been unable to reach you. Because of the importance of this survey, we would appreciate you telling us how you can be contacted. You may do so by completing the information below and returning it in the enclosed postage paid envelope, or by calling the Program Supervisors, Ms. Nina Heggs or Arkadiy Khaimov at 212-584-3479 or 1-800-991-2520 ext. 43470.

This survey is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau to provide current information on subjects like income, education, commuting and housing. Your efforts help provide current information needed by your community, county and state, as well as the Nation, to plan programs at all levels. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts this survey under authority of Title 13, United States Code, Section 141 and 193. Section 221 of the Title 13 requires that sample households participate in the survey.

Please be advised that Census staff are available to conduct an interview when it is most convenient for your household, including weekends. If the best time to contact your household is after 9:00 p.m. or before 9:00 a.m., our staff is always available!

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. All information you provide is confidential and will be seen only by sworn U.S. Census Bureau employees. Your participation will make a valuable contribution in providing timely and useful data for generating public policies.

Sincerely,

Lester A. Farthing

Regional Director

Sworn U.S. Census Bureau employees? Why should I trust them anymore then the politicians who swore to uphold the Constitution and fail? Seems obvious to me government employees don’t have a great track record of upholding their sworn duties. Along with the above letter I received some exerpts from Title 13 of the United States code.

• Chapter 5 > Subchapter II > Section. 141. – Population and other Census information
  • (a) The Secretary shall, in the year 1980 and every 10 years
    thereafter, take a decennial census of population as of the first day of
    April of such year, which date shall be known as the “decennial census
    date”, in such form and content as he may determine, including the use
    of sampling procedures and special surveys. In connection with any such
    census, the Secretary is authorized to obtain such other census
    information as necessary.
• Chapter 5 > Subchapter V> Section 193. – Preliminary and supplemental statistics
  • In advance of, in conjunction with, or after the taking of each
    census provided for by this chapter, the Secretary may make surveys and
    collect such preliminary and supplementary statistics related to the
    main topic of the census as are necessary to the initiation, taking, or
    completion thereof.
• Chapter 7 > Subchapter I > Section 214. – Wrongful disclosure of information
  • Whoever, being or having been an employee or staff member referred
    to in subchapter II of chapter 1 of this title, having taken and
    subscribed the oath of office, or having sworn to observe the
    limitations imposed by section 9 of this title, or whoever, being or
    having been a census liaison within the meaning of section 16 of this
    title, publishes or communicates any information, the disclosure of
    which is prohibited under the provisions of section 9 of this title, and
    which comes into his possession by reason of his being employed (or
    otherwise providing services) under the provisions of this title, shall
    be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or
    both.
• Chapter 7 > Subchapter II > Section 221. – Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers
  • (a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.
  • (b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.

Other then the prepaid envelope there was another copy of the Census 2010 brochure.

These guys are persistent.

http://www.salon.com/…

It’s far worse than you think — worse than hanging chads, faulty Diebold machines, and billionaires who bankroll last-minute attack ads. The American system for nominating a presidential candidate has about as much in common with actual democracy as Donald Duck has with a lake mallard. It’s not just that this year’s primaries have been further front-loaded, or that the early primary states aren’t representative of the nation at large. There is only passing fairness. There is only the semblance of order. There is nothing like equal representation under the law.

The Electoral College is confusing enough… then the states and the parties make it so much worse. I think the time when the possibility of doing a popular vote was impractical and potentially risky (read the notes from the Constitutional Convention) has passed. I think I’d rather see a instant-runoff system or similar.

http://arstechnica.com/…

State bureaucrats have converged in Washington DC for a two-day conference on REAL ID compliance. Panels cover such topics as how to get the required funding, how to meet the Act’s deadlines, and how to share data across states.

One session in particular caught the eye of Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute (Full disclosure: I’m an adjunct scholar at Cato). It’s a panel discussion called “Bringing your public onboard for smoothing legislative changes.” The summary states that “every State DMV needs to find a way to educate their public so that they can ensure the legislature changes necessary to become Real ID compliant.” The panel will also “examine how much of your (i.e., the DMV’s) budget a public relations exercise is worth.” Such a “public relations exercise” would presumably be conducted at taxpayer expense.

Fascist police state. It’s going to be really interesting the next few years. I really hope the several states stick to their guns and refuse to implement REAL ID. It could be a very important showdown. Knowing that it’s unconstitutional I wonder if the federal government has the guts to bring it before the Supreme Court.

I’ve thrown together a script which using state population data from Infoplease.com and donation numbers from The WashingtonPost. While I’m not sure how often the donation stats are updated but it will be updated nightly automatically in any case. The table has been sorted by per capita spending, descending. If anything is found to be incorrect please let me know. I can compute other candidates if anyone is interested.

Find the table here.

Update: Digg the story here

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/…

 I Got Hooked on the White Stuff Back in the ’70s
No, not that white stuff. And not the white stuff that Disco Stu bought from Garth Motherloving. The white stuff I got hooked on (growing up on the family dairy farm) is raw milk — milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized. Today’s NYT has an article on the growing black and gray markets in raw milk, which the Food and Drug Administration and 15 state legislatures want to shut down.

Yes, that’s right — Uncle Sam and 15 state governments prohibit consumers from buying milk fresh from the cow. And in the nannies’ defense, milk was responsible for much food-borne illness in the era before universal pasteurization. Most consumers likely prefer protection from nasty bugs like E. coli and salmonella.

But others are willing to risk exposure to those illnesses. Some raw milk enthusiasts claim the white stuff is more healthful than processed milk. Others (I count myself among these) say simply that it tastes better that the milk you buy at the store — people who try raw milk for the first time often comment that it tastes more like melted ice cream than the stuff that comes in cartons.

So why should raw milk fans be prohibited from buying the product they want?

How much of this nanny statism can people handle. A black market for cow milk?! It’s absolutely appalling that a situation like this has arisen.  People are more than capable of taking care of themselves and their families. Instead of wasting time worrying about next weeks episode of Lost they could pay attention to the who, what, where and whens of their food supply. Personal responsibility will only make our country stronger.