DES MOINES — Continuing the effort to help put more money into the pockets of the middle class, the Obama-Biden campaign has released a new online calculator that computes what an extension and expansion of the payroll tax cut would mean for American families.

View the calculator at: http://www.barackobama.com/tax-calculator

“While President Obama and congressional Democrats are working to put more money in the pockets of working families, Republicans continue to play politics with our economic security,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky.

Under President Obama’s plan, most families would save $1,500 a year in taxes. The plan also provides incentives for nearly six million small businesses to grow and hire new workers.

This is in stark contrast to a plan from Mitt Romney, which overwhelmingly favors the richest Americans. Almost half of the money he’d give away each year would go to the wealthiest 1%.

“By opposing the payroll tax cut, Romney and congressional Republicans are sending a clear signal to the American people: they’re willing to raise taxes on middle-class Americans just to pay for more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.

“At a time when we need to continue to rebuild the economy and restore security for the middle class, Republicans’ opposition to the payroll tax cut would mean Iowa families have less money in their pockets – that’s bad for families and it’s bad for the economy. The Republican strategy of opposing President Obama every step of the way continues to be a dangerous one for the country. It’s time for the GOP to put aside their partisan games and stand with working families,” said Dvorsky.

So I threw together a video this weekend highlighting just a couple of the Governor’s “results”. Enjoy:

Feel free to share the link with friends.

DES MOINES – Governor Branstad says toll roads may be coming to Iowa. Answering a question about transportation in today’s “Ask the Gov” video segment, Branstad said “We’re gonna be looking at user fees, paid for by people who use the highways, whether they’re residents of Iowa or not…on a pay as you go basis.”

“Governor Branstad is proposing another unnecessary burden on middle class families,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky. “With increasing state revenues and a budget surplus, it’s unconscionable that Governor Branstad is looking for ways to increase the burden on Iowans by proposing a toll road”

Since taking office, Governor Branstad has already increased the burden on middle class families by dismantling a successful preschool program and demanding zero percent allowable growth, triggering a $70 million property tax hikes. Branstad also vetoed a tax break that would have benefited 240,000 hard working Iowans.

“Calling this a ‘user fee’ isn’t going to fool the people of Iowa,” added Dvorsky. “We need real leadership, not another way to burden the middle class.”

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UPDATE, 1:41 PM: Governor Branstad’s spokesperson has said that “user fees, paid for by people who use highways…on a pay as you go basis” was a reference to increasing the gas tax, rather than toll roads. Either way, Governor Branstad is looking for ways to increase the burden and anxiety on everyday Iowans. During his tenure as governor, Branstad has increased the gas tax five times, by more than 33 percent.

Des Moines – Tim Pawlenty is back in Iowa today courting conservative voters in his run for president and attempting to rewrite his failed fiscal record as the Governor of Minnesota.

During his tenure Governor Pawlenty raised taxes on 90% of Minnesotans and left the state with a $6.2 billion budget deficit, but candidate Pawlenty is touring Iowa telling a very different tale.

“Candidate Pawlenty has a lot of explaining to do if he’s going to reconcile his rhetoric on the campaign trail with his record of raising taxes on 90% of Minnesotans and leaving the state with the biggest deficit on record,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky.

REALITY: UNDER PAWLENTY, MINNESOTA SAW MILLIONS IN STATE AND LOCAL TAX INCREASES

“During Pawlenty’s Tenure… State And Local Tax Rates Have Increased For 90 Percent Of Minnesotans, While Tax Rates For The State’s Wealthiest, Those Earning More Than $130,000, Have Decreased.” [MinnPost.com, 2/15/10]

Cato Institute: Despite Pawlenty’s Campaign Pledge Not To Raise Taxes, Pawlenty “Backed A $200 Million Tax Increase On Cigarette Consumers In 2005 And A $109 Million Corporate Tax Increase In 2008.” [Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, The Cato Institute, 10/20/08]

… ESPECIALLY PROPERTY TAXES

“During Pawlenty’s Tenure, Property Taxes Have Increased By $3 Billion, Or 65 Percent.” [MinnPost.com, 2/15/10]

2002: Pawlenty Said, “You Know, You Can’t Run Around The State And Say ‘I’m Not Going To Increase Taxes’ And Then Cut LGA In A Way That Drives Up Local Property Taxes. I Know That.” [Mankato Free Press, 8/8/09]

2002 – 2009: Property Taxes Were Up By Nearly $2.7 Billion. Under Pawlenty, total statewide property taxes have increased by nearly $2.7 billion from 2003 to 2009 or 53.8 percent. [Minnesota House Research Department, Property Tax Simulations – 9A6, 1/7/10; 8A4, 1/8/10; 7A5, 9/27/07; 6A5, 8/18/06; 5A4, 9/19/05; 4C6, 12/29/04; 3G1, 8/26/03]

2002 – 2008:  Property Taxes “Have Increased Rapidly” Due To “Reductions In State Aid To Local Governments” Which “Declined By $2.4 Billion In 2008 Dollars.” [“Minnesota Property Taxes by the Numbers: 2009 Edition,” Minnesota 2020, 4/09]

2002 to 2008: “The Average Minnesota Homestead Property Tax Has Increased By Over 25 Percent.” [“Minnesota Property Taxes by the Numbers: 2009 Edition,” Minnesota 2020, 4/09]

… AND FEES WENT UP BY OVER $1 BILLION

“During Pawlenty’s Tenure… Fees Have Doubled, Reaching A Total Of $1.25 Billion.” [MinnPost.com, 2/15/10]

WCCO’s Reality Check: “You Are Paying Billions Of Dollars More In Fees On A Long List Of Items, Including Cigarettes, Parking Tickets, Marriage Licenses, Building Permits, Court Cases, College Tuition And Hundreds Of Other Higher Fees On Pawlenty’s Watch.” [WCCO, 5/18/10]

REALITY: PAWLENTY LEFT MINNESOTA WITH A PROJECTED $6.2 BILLION DEFICIT

When Pawlenty Left Office, Minnesota Faced A $6.2 Billion Deficit For The 2012-2013 Biennium.  [Minnesota Public Radio, 12/2/10]

“Minnesota’s Projected Budget Deficit Shrank By A Fifth To $5 Billion … State Economist Tom Stinson Attributed The Improvement To Federal Action That Helped The Economy, Including A Payroll Tax Cut And Delay In A Capital Gains Tax Hike.” [Associated Press, 2/28/11]

Star Tribune’s Lori Sturdevant: “No Other Governor In Minnesota’s 152-Year History” Besides Pawlenty “Has Handed His Successor A $6.2 Billion Deficit Forecast.”  [Lori Sturdevant op-ed, Star Tribune, 12/4/10]

DES MOINES, IA – Candidate Terry Branstad says he wants Iowa’s tax climate to be more family friendly and business friendly. Wait until he meets his main opponent on the issue – Taxin’ Terry Branstad.

“Branstad’s record of raising the sales tax, gas tax and business taxes is not a record that Iowa fiscal conservatives including those who are active in the Republican Party are prepared to endorse,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan said Tuesday.

No Governor in the last 40 years has made steeper tax increases on Iowans than Taxin’ Terry, who served four terms as Governor beginning in the early 1980s. The obvious response would be the Branstads are actually the same person. But candidate Branstad’s future depends on his ability to convince an increasingly restless GOP primary electorate that he is not the same man who repeatedly hiked taxes on hardworking Iowans to fund his mismanagement of the state budget.

This week, Kiernan launched a three-day tour to remind Iowans of the Branstad record. “It all begins with the multiple tax increases,” Kiernan said. “Iowa has a Governor now in Chet Culver who’s made tough choices, acted swiftly and decisively in meeting our challenges and led Iowa through a deep recession and the worst Iowa natural disaster ever – all without raising taxes.”

Kiernan said the Branstad tax record is among the most important issues in the 2010 campaign.
Here are just a few of the facts you can find at TerryLovesTaxes.com:

• Branstad raised the sales tax – twice! In his first year in office, Branstad raised the sales tax by 25%.[1] It would not be the last time. He went back to the tax well over and over, increasing the sales tax 67%[2] as Governor.
• Branstad raised the gas tax on Iowa drivers. Branstad wasn’t afraid to add to the pain at the pump for Iowans. During his tenure, he raised the gasoline tax by a total of five cents per gallon.[3]

TerryLovesTaxes.com links to a clearing house of information on the Governor’s race. The site will have new content posted on a regular basis with breaking news and important updates.

Sources:
[1] — http://www.iowa.gov/tax/taxlaw/TaxHistory.html#Sales
[2] — http://www.iowa.gov/tax/taxlaw/TaxHistory.html#Sales
[3] — http://www.iowa.gov/tax/taxlaw/TaxHistory.html#Motor

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“We’re posting the ad today after getting confirmation of what we have been saying for weeks, that Terry Branstad is forming an organization to run for Governor,” Kiernan said. According to published reports Wednesday, Branstad’s law partner and confidant Richard Schwarm today will file paperwork with the state allowing Branstad to officially start raising money.

In addition to pointing out Terry Branstad’s record on taxes as Governor, the spot highlights a simple point: There are many things from the 1980’s of which we may have a sort of fuzzy, fond recollection, but that we would never want to bring back today.

“We are going to continue to remind people of that in the election for Governor,” he said. “We need to keep Iowa moving forward, not return to the failed policies of the past,” Kiernan said. “This ad is very lighthearted — sometimes a sense of humor is the best way to get a message across, and humor is very much called for in this case.”

Iowa Democratic Party officials have not made a decision whether to air the spot on broadcast television at this time.

Here’s the ad: