June 1, 2007

Democrats Raise Taxes Amid Record Revenue Surplus

Faced with a $1.3 billion revenue surplus, Tennessee's Gov. Phil Bredesen did what comes naturally to a Democrat: He called for a tax increase. And, faced with a $1.3 billion surplus, the Democrats in the state Senate, with the help of one Democratic-leaning Independent, did what comes naturally to Democrats: they voted for an even larger tax increase. Because, when you have $1.3 billion in surplus revenue, raising taxes by another quarter of a billion dollars just makes sense. To Democrats. High praise for the entire Senate Republican Caucus for voting against this fiscal stupidity, though not too high for the GOP senators who would've voted for a smaller tax increase.

Update: House Republicans are doing their best to stop the tax increase, though they are outnumbered. Kleinheider has the news and blog links and commentary.