DEM Candidate Corinna Robinson IS running for the US Congress

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meet-corinna2

I have been noticing several reader comments on media websites (that I assume are plants by Republicant’s trying to dis-credit Robinson’s campaign). So I set the record straight tonight while attending a Minnehaha County Democratic fundraiser at the Falls Overlook Cafe. Sorry, I am a little hazy, I had a couple of glasses of Moscato at the event (and I thought they only served kool-aid at Republican events, my bad).

I asked Corinna if she was running (after telling her the rumors swirling around). She said definately, in fact she already has a West River and an East River director working for her (I met the East River fella tonight) and she plans to make the big announcement in January sometime.

So detractors, knock it off already.

While I am not sure if I am totally sold on Corinna, I will say that the BS smear campaign on her is uncalled for. We know the real reason the SD GOP is swinging low and early, because when you match Corinna’s credentials with Noem’s, Noem’s campaign is quickly distracting the electorate with Mitchell hair, barrel roping stories, hoop earrings and mail order college degrees. If Noem is dumb enough to debate Robinson, Corinna will pound her into submission, I can’t wait for this matchup.

Other highlights of the event was meeting Democratic Candidate for Governor, Joe Lowe.

WOW!

I am usually hard to impress when I first meet a political candidate, but not only is Joe intelligent, and has great economic, public safety, and leadership skills, he is very funny, incredibly funny. He shared many personal ‘war stories’ with GP and I about his employment with the state.

Rick Weiland also talked about the benefits of a buy-in to Medicare being offered to all citizens (woot-woot).

In other news, county commissioner Jeff Barth confessed to me he is NOT running for mayor.

And a chuckle for the night, I was looking for Mayor Huether to be at the event tonight. Not only Minnehaha county’s most powerful Democrat but the state’s most powerful Democrat, according to some peeps (sorry Bernie Hunhoff). But he was a no show. I didn’t ask anyone about it, but was offered the information from an attendee. I guess he didn’t attend because he believes the Jamison campaign has a ‘tracker’ on him. Luckily I wasn’t drinking my Moscato Kool-aid, because the person telling me would have been splattered with it. I do know that in Huether’s final ‘Listening and Learning’ session before the election that someone was doing an audio recording of the session, like it matters because you can listen to it here. But if that is what Paranoid Mike considers a tracker, I want to tell him there are bigger turds and tracks in the forrest to worry about.

And the final word on Jarding, get ready for this, No one knows what the heck he is running for. He is scheduled to teach classes next Spring at Harvard, so many are puzzled as to what he is up to.

The corruption & secrecy of the SD GOP continues

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Not sure when this article was written (somewhere between 2002-2009?) because there is no published date or author, but it is an intriguing interview with the last Democratic Treasurer, his take on secrecy and corruption in Pierre, and how the media contributed (ignored) the secrecy;

Since serving as Treasurer of South Dakota, Dick Butler has overhauled banking practices, overhauled primary banking contracts of colleges and universities, overhauled collateralization of public deposits and in six years returned unclaimed properties accounts that totaled more than 500% of what had been returned to citizens during the previous 20 years combined. Millions of dollars have been returned to South Dakota citizens through his efforts.

During the time Butler has been Treasurer his actions have been the impetus for the creation of a gag law intended to silence his efforts. The Commissioner of Banking in South Dakota, Richard Duncan, wrote a memo to all state banks in South Dakota advising them not to give information to Butler regarding executive accounts, and a bill was proposed that was intended to strip the State Treasurer of his banking authority for colleges and universities.

The controversial gag law, spurred by Janklow, was passed in 1996. It closed some corporate records and prohibited state officials from discussing information on investigations into the actions of corporations.

Isn’t it ironic that Butler rightfully performed his job, and what does the GOP do? Pass a law preventing him from doing so. Fast forward to 2013, where are current governor is bragging about all this money the state is receiving in unclaimed property. Why does the governor have this money? Because the state treasurers since Butler have made ZERO effort to return it.

I also find it ironic that Butler calls out Mercer for not reporting any of this while it was happening, fast forward again to 2013 where Mercer is crying to AG Jackboots for not giving him information on Benda’s death. Geez, Bob, are you surprised? Oh that’s right, when Janklow’s administration did these things, you turned the other way . . .

And here is another classic from 2009, about the secrecy of ‘The Governor’s Club’. Same cast of characters protecting the past while securing the secrecy and money of the future;

The Governor’s Club has been a discrete part of political fundraising in South Dakota for more than 30 years. For a $1,000 donation, contributors buy a place at the table – and a position of potential influence – with South Dakota’s governor at club events that are not open to the general public.

Lucas Lentsch, executive director for the South Dakota Republican Party in Pierre, said it would be wrong to presume that $1,000 club members get “perks or additional access” to the governor.

Oh Lucas Losemylunch, you are a funny one;

And there are state contract holders on the Governor’s Club list. They include former state Attorney General Roger Tellinghuisen, a Spearfish lawyer with $75,000 legal services contract; Dr. Michael Rost of Sioux Falls, whose company has about $400,000 in contracts; Tom Adam of Pierre, a partner in a Pierre law firm with a $350,000 in contract; and Sioux Falls lawyer Doug Hajek, a member of the Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith firm, which holds a $700,000 state contract.

Knudson is with Davenport, Evans, too. But he says the corporate structure is designed so that he doesn’t benefit financially from the state contracts.

Maybe so, Hauffe said, but the whole mix of money, personal connections and no-bid contracts is more proof that the public needs more details on how where the money starts, how it flows, and where it ends up.

Now we are here, 4 years later, the same corruption, secrecy, back door deals and same old characters involved. Here’s the deal folks, Janklow is dead, we don’t need to be scared of the man anymore (like we should have when he was alive), one of his appointees is dead (Benda), it’s time to blow the lid off of the SD GOP and their destruction of this state for their financial gain.

Is Mayor Huether the ‘Bizzaro’ of Mayor Kooiker of RC?

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flyaway

Don’t be fooled by Bizzaro Huether

Imagine that, a mayor that wants investor transparency when a developer receives public funding and TIF’s. It’s just not our mayor;

I’m puzzled by President’s Plaza’s reaction to simple questions. They’re basically saying ‘give us the public funding and don’t ask questions.”

Asking questions on how the New Market Tax Credit process works is doing due diligence. Let’s remember that this is a public, public, public, private partnership,” Kooiker said,

“Asking questions on how the New Market Tax Credit process works is doing due diligence. Let’s remember that this is a public, public, public, private partnership,” Kooiker said,

The project was first proposed in 2006 and includes $2.8 million in city Vision funds, a downtown lot of city-owned land where the project would sit and a tax increment financing district that the council approved for the project.

“We’re talking millions of dollars in taxpayer funding involved in this project,” the mayor said Saturday. “I’ve been on the record many times as a council member and mayor in support of this project. I believe it’s my responsibility and it’s interesting that such simple questions created such a response. They weren’t even tough questions.”

Remember when the SF city council asked that investors be revealed when developers apply for TIF’s in SF and Q-Tip Smith poo-poo’d the idea. Of course he did, because our mayor or his wife are involved in many of these projects. And while in RC they have a mayor who actually believes in transparency when it comes to publicly funded development projects, our mayor defends his investments.

And in RC the developers play the tired old game of kill the messenger;

“There are a lot of issues with this mayor, and I think in due time, they will be brought to the surface,” (Shafai) he said.

Oldest trick in the book, hope it works out for you Shafai, so far in Sioux Falls, it’s been working for Huether.

What was I telling you about the false hope of low unemployment?

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nslp

“This sure beats the heck out of the Ramen noodles and cardboard sandwich I had for dinner last night.”

While Mayor Huether likes to brag about Building Permits and Low Unemployment, our cafeterias in our schools are turning into The Banquet;

Almost half the children in elementary school in Sioux Falls signed up for free or reduced lunch last year, an alarming jump of 5 percentage points and about double the rate of suburban districts.

(In 2012 there was approximately 23,000 students in SF. You are basically looking at about 11,000 students getting free or reduced lunches).

That can’t be right!? We have low unemployment and developers building like crazy. The fact is, that while businesses in our community are enjoying climbing out of this recession, they are not passing that good fortune unto their employees;

“It does seem like we’re seeing more million dollar-plus houses, and seeing more pressure on The Banquet, St. Francis House, rental housing assistance,” Nesiba said. “They’re growing simultaneously. It’s an interesting contradiction.”

Come on Professor Nesiba, don’t you believe in ‘trickle down economics’? If all these peeps in Sioux Falls are making so much money, shouldn’t it be coming our way? And here’s the kicker, stats I have been searching for;

For school board members, the increase in poverty figures shines a light on low wages in the region. South Dakota Division of Labor statistics show that half the workforce in the four-county Sioux Falls Metropolitan Area earns less than $15 an hour — about $31,000 per year.

Now think about that. It is about what I earn in a year. I’m single, have no debt (car paid for) and after refinancing my house, I pay about half for my mortgage compared to what friends of mine pay for rent for a two bedroom apartment. I invest about $200 a month, save about $200 a month and spend about $200 a month on entertainment (vices). Now take that wage and support a family of three on it. It’s ludicrous, and virtually impossible, especially with how high rent is in Sioux Falls;

The availability of affordable housing probably contributes to the poverty gap between the city and the suburbs, Nesiba said. Young people and families just starting out are more likely to live in the city, Nesiba said. “There is still a shortage of affordable housing in Sioux Falls, but there are more lower-income families that end up living here rather than in Tea, Brandon or in Lincoln County, because the jobs are here,” Nesiba added. “We have a very low unemployment rate, but there are so many people that are working lower-wage jobs, and a higher number of people working two or more jobs.”

This is why I have said over and over again, that I only support TIF’s for affordable housing, and smaller apartment owners that want to fix up their units. When we hand out TIF’s to luxury hotels, retail giants and condos, not only are we sending a bad message, we are taking money out of the county and school district’s coffers. You know, the guys who educate and protect our community.

Sioux Falls, and South Dakota is run amuck in corporate welfare, that not only takes away from public services, it offers NO accountability to the ones receiving it (a promise of better paying jobs – NOT more jobs). But when you have a former subprime credit card huckster running the city and Pierre looking more like Watergate every day, what do you expect?

Is Sioux Falls becoming a ‘Dynasty Trust’ tax haven?

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TaxHaven

 

South Dakota has long been known as a tax haven for full-time, retired RVers. In fact this business is one of the leading mail forwarding businesses in the country. The other irony is that while ‘REAL’ residents are paying retail and property taxes to help support services in our state, these people are taking advantage of residency to skirt taxes (besides the pittance they pay in vehicle licensing).

But this article goes beyond the little tax loophole RVers are participating in;

Among the nation’s billionaires, one of the most sought-after pieces of real estate right now is a quiet storefront in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Don’t look for any heiresses in this former five-and-dime. Most days, the small offices that represent these families are shut. Even empty, they provide their owners with an important asset: a South Dakota address for their trust funds.

In the past four years, the amount of money administered by South Dakota trust companies like these has tripled to $121 billion, almost all of it from out of state. The families needn’t actually move to South Dakota, or deposit their money at a local bank, or even touch down in the private jet. Little more than renting an address in Sioux Falls is required to take advantage of South Dakota’s tax-friendly trust laws.

Can you believe that? On the corner of 1oth & Phillips, where billions in dynasty trusts are sheltered from taxes you only have to walk a few blocks to the SAM bus station to see some of the poorest people of our community.

South Dakota’s sudden popularity illustrates how, at a time of rising U.S. economic inequality, the wealthiest Americans are embracing ever more creative ways to reduce taxes legally. Executives at South Dakota Trust Co., one of the biggest in the state, estimate that one-quarter of their business comes from special vehicles known as “dynasty trusts,” which are designed to avoid the federal estate tax. Creation of such trusts has surged in recent years as changes in federal law enabled more money to be placed in them.

Still others are drawn to South Dakota’s iron-clad secrecy, and protections of trust assets from creditors and ex-wives. Many of these features emulate those available in Bermuda and other island havens.

You ain’t kidding, secrecy. You can’t even get developers to release names of investors when they are asking for millions in TIF’s.

In South Dakota, a farm state that’s home to two of the 10 poorest counties in the U.S., lawmakers say they’re bolstering the trust industry to generate work for local law firms and bankers, and forge ties with prosperous families that may one day decide to build a factory or a warehouse here.

LMAO! How did that packing plant in Aberdeen work out? Or the cool million wasted in recruiting a couple of welders to SD for Trail King?

And our, conflict of interests, non-ethical legislature has no problem with robbing the federal government of tax dollars while holding out their hands for EB-5 programs;

The bill was sponsored by the House’s Committee on State Affairs, whose chairman, David Lust, is also House majority leader and head of the trust task force. When the part-time legislature isn’t in session, Lust works at a Rapid City law firm where one of his partners is a leading trust lawyer.

Lust receives no “direct benefit” from the legislation, he said.

Bernie Hunhoff, a Democrat and the House minority leader, said some in his caucus roll their eyes when the task force’s annual proposals come up for a vote. They’re aware that the trust industry drains revenue from the U.S. Treasury, which supplies almost half the state’s budget each year, he said.

“There’s a bit of an irony there, if not hypocrisy,” said Hunhoff, editor and publisher of South Dakota Magazine. “Anything we can do to poke the federal government in the eye, or to help anybody, even wealthy strangers from 1,000 miles away, avoid taxes, that seems to be a popular thing out here.”

Still, Hunhoff said the proposals have bipartisan — and virtually unanimous — support.

“If we don’t provide for these kinds of trusts here, this will happen in some other state, so we might as well try to get the activity here,” he said. “If we can find opportunity for a few dozen young lawyers, I guess I’ll set my philosophical concerns aside.”

Bernie? Hypocrisy in the South Dakota Legislature? Get the F’ck outta here!