Political Quotes

“the proponents of the Delahunt-Boehlert amendment are trying to draw a fine line between a direct tax and an indirect tax. The effect is the same. The elected representatives still have to raise taxes and is it not interesting, they say, well, this will protect, this will stop courts from raising taxes. In Rockford, Illinois, the judge, the unelected magistrate has ordered the school board to either raise taxes or go to jail. There is no difference between that and the judge saying, ``I am going to order raising of taxes on my own.'' The original language of section 5 allows both scenarios. However, the Delahunt-Boehlert amendment removes the second scenario and not only says that the judge cannot directly raise taxes but it still allows the judge to indirectly raise taxes. And as to all the environmental issues and everything else, what our bill says simply is this, to live within our means, to allow remedial plans to come about. Maryland already has a State law with regard to cleaning up the environment, to cleaning up the waters. All these scare tactics that this will gut environmental laws, this will gut ADA laws, that is not the case. We are simply saying that local communities and elected representatives should not be ordered to go to jail unless they raise taxes. Because the only constitutional function for the Federal raising of tax is the United States Congress and not the Federal judiciary.”