Montana Coal Development Needs “Loser Pay”

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

Montana has more coal than any other state, according to the MT Dept. of Commerce – the kind of clean-burning, high BTU coal that is much sought-after by energy-hungry, fast-growing Asian nations.

This is great news for a state that has languished for years near the bottom of the list in GDP (49th), per capita income (43rd), and economic growth (bottom quartile). Montana needs jobs and additional tax base. Our nation needs cheap energy, not to mention a positive pop to our balance of trade. New technology has mostly eliminated environmental concerns about coal use. What could be wrong with mining and shipping this efficient natural resource to an eager world-wide market?

Well don’t worry, the usual suspects who are opposed to any kind of economic progress will think of something.

This morning’s headline screams “Environmentalists Threaten to Sue PSE Over Montana Coal Mine“, featuring our old friends at the Sierra Club. “Coal Foes Warn of Northwest Rail Traffic Spike” wails another, courtesy of the anti-everything Western Organization of Resource Councils.

The littany of complaints runs from “coal dust on my windows” to “coal trains make noise” to “residents from the ‘poor’ side of Billings will not be able to get to medical facilities on the other side of the tracks.”

It seems that any time there is an opportunity for economic progress, the radical left immediately starts throwing up roadblocks. The formula seems to be “if it looks like it will improve standards of living, stop it.” This is especially vexing in Montana, where we are practically an economic third-world state in spite of a tremendous wealth of natural resources.

One way to deal with the anti-progress groups (who ironically call themselves “progressives”) is to make them pay for their incessant legal attacks. Our court system allows attorneys for these obstructionist groups to file frivolous suits which hold up projects for years – sometimes longer than investors or developers can wait. A “loser pays” legal structure would prevent the stalling and obfuscation that takes food from the mouths of Montanans and damages our nation’s economic outlook.

“Loser Pays” is a common legal structure in other countries, but in the US only Alaska has a well-developed and tested application of the concept. Other states are interested, though, and are beginning to implement the loser pay process in stages.

With all the nonsense Montanans have been through, and all that is at stake here, our state legislature should be taking a long, hard look at “Loser Pays”.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Down around the corner,
Half a mile from here
See them long trains run,
And you watch them disappear

Long Train Running – Doobie Brothers

Montana has too much money, let’s party!

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 13

Today there is a big headline in our small-town newspaper: “$200,000 Available in Special Event Grants”. It was “submitted” by the Montana Department of Commerce. I guess that would be an advertisement, right? Our government is so desperate to give money away, they have to advertise in small town newspapers.

Anyway, they want us to have parties. “Any Montana event is eligible to apply and the funds must be used to advertise and promote the event to target markets outside a 100-mile radius of the event site.”

I think I’ll have a beer kegger and invite the motorcycle dudes from Butte. Those guys know how to party!

“Since its inception in 2002, the Special Event grant program has been able to provide $757,500 in grant money to 89 events across the state”, the article continues. Gee, that is so generous of the program to give us all that money! Oh wait, where did that money come from?

This “grant” thing has become an epidemic. Taxpayers in Fargo pay for a party in Milwaukee, and Little Rock pays for a party in Phoenix, and Kansas City pays for a party in Missoula, and everybody thinks their parties are free. Now multiply this by thousands and thousands of grants awarded in every city of the United States every day. Grants for trails. Grants for home improvements. Grants for trees. Grants for seminars on how to write grants.

There are people in Montana state offices (paid by your tax dollars) who think having community parties is a good thing. Maybe it is, but then why shouldn’t the community pony up the money to advertise its own party?

Unfortunately, our dumbed-down citizenry thinks that grants really are free money. They repeatedly hear mayors and city councils say, “No local money is being spent on this project – we received a grant.” In my small hometown we have a lady who makes a nice living doing nothing but writing grant requests. Local officials love them because it gives voters the impression that they are “doing something” without spending our hard-earned money. How can anybody turn down free money?

It’s embarrassing how easy it has become to fleece the average American.

Well, I guess if the keepers-of-Montana-cash decide it should be spent on parties, so be it. But I don’t want to hear any whining about how we “can’t afford teachers or firemen.”

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Money ! It’s a gas!
Grab that cash with both hands
and make a stash!

Money – Pink Floyd

Transparency In Montana – It’s About Time!

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

In recent years many states have developed transparency websites so citizens can get accurate financial information about their state budgets. Indiana’s “Transparency Portal” is a great example.

Transparency in Montana? Not so much. The US Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) recently ranked Montana 49th out of 50 states in providing online access to spending data. The Big Sky State scored a whopping 7 points out of a possible 100.

Carl Graham – Montana Policy Institute

Enter Carl Graham, of the Montana Policy Institute. Graham believes that good decisions can only be made with good and complete information. First he got data from the Montana Dept. of Public Instruction and developed a website to disseminate school district budget data, which allows users to compare expenditures from districts all over the state. But he didn’t stop there.

Next Graham set out to obtain salary data on all Montana state employees. It took two years, a battle with a recalcitrant Democrat administration, and a lawsuit against the state, but MPI prevailed. The result is their Montana Transparency in Government website. The online database is so popular than on the day of its announcement, it was slammed with so many inquiries a server upgrade was required.

Perhaps the state of Montana will be shamed into opening its books online before Graham and the MPI are forced to take the next step toward complete transparency for the taxpayers and citizens of the Big Sky State.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Oh, I want the truth to be said!
Truth – Spandeau Ballet

Sen. Max Baucus Payback to Big Tobacco Donors – Kill Small Businesses

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

The “pay for play” culture of corrupt cronyism is alive and well in Washington, DC.

Sen. Max Baucus, (D) Montana

Senator Max Baucus, (D) Montana, has just taken out an entire industry, its small business owners, and their employees with the stroke of a pen. By hiding a small amendment in the transportation bill that passed last week, Baucus ensured that every small “roll your own” tobacco company in the US will go “up in smoke”.

The roll-your-own cigarette companies sell papers and loose tobacco through retail outlets and vending machines. The market advantage of roll-your-own cigarettes is lower price and the pureness of the tobacco – the RYO companies do not add chemicals to the product like the big guys do.

Before Baucus’ amendment, the loose tobacco companies were exempt from the big sin taxes which afflict the finished cigarette manufacturers. His amendment eliminates this exemption, and the crushing cost of these taxes will snuff out the small companies, according to Robert Weissen, owner of nine Sin City Cigarette Factory outlets in Las Vegas.

These entrepreneurs are just trying to make an honest buck and are barely a blip on the big tobacco radar. The additional tax revenue will certainly not make a dent in the $16 trillion debt Baucus has helped create. Montana does not have any roll-your-own companies. So why does Baucus care about this tiny band of entrepreneurs? Well, among Baucus’ campaign contributors is Altria, aka Phillip Morris. Connect the dots.

Baucus has become the prototypical corrupt, sold-out, big-money, big-government, purely partisan, inside-the-beltway, showing-off-his-new-girlfriend cartoon character at its worst. He embodies everything a thinking citizen should abhor. Max does NOT represent Montana and seldom even SEES our beautiful state or its people. He has become an embarrassment to the citizens of the Big Sky state.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I got one hand in my pocket –
And the other one is flickin’ a cigarette

Alanis Morissette – Hand In My Pocket