South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

January 2014

Michelle Erpenbach

SF City Councilor Erpenbach’s hypocritical priorities

l3wis 13Comments

As you watch the Public Services Committee meeting yesterday, you would think that councilor Erpenbach would want to do everything in the city’s power to stick it to small cab companies (well they are all small in SF, even the biggest one is small) Her suggestion of 24/7 operation did get voted down, As Karsky said to her, “Our public transit doesn’t run 24/7 so how can we require private businesses to do it?” She did however push for more regulations, permanent markings, inspections and higher license fees, of course in the interest of public safety, that is. Remember, these are private businesses being subjected to more regulations then most, these are also tax generators (one cab company owner figures he collects around $2,300 a month in sales taxes for the city.) While I do agree with SOME of the Committee’s proposals, I find it a bit odd that she really wants to hammer it to cab companies.

Why?!

Let’s go back to the SF City council informational meeting a couple weeks back, during open discussion (towards end of meeting). Councilor Jamison suggested more transparency in the TIF application process and suggested it needed to be discussed during a work session or committee meeting. Erpenbach, didn’t feel like they needed to ‘dig’ into this matter anymore, and went into a gentle tirade about how her and her colleagues really didn’t need to revisit the topic. She got trumped of course, and Karsky scheduled it for a committee meeting.

What makes this interesting is Erpenbach’s hypocrisy on the issue. While she is okay with large private developers who are receiving public assistance keep their investors a secret, she feels we need to stick it to the small private business owner and regulate them to death, as they collect tax revenue for the city while we refund property taxes back to gigantic developers.

Of course, this hypocrisy stems from Michelle’s campaign donor list, that has about every big wheel developer in SF on it, but seems to have no names of cab company owners on it.

DONORS: erp-finance

So I guess it is safe to say, if you want Michelle to do your bidding, you best get your checkbook out, otherwise, you are screwed.

State Funding State Legislature

No Medicaid for You! Work Harder!

l3wis 30Comments

Good News, Right?

The poll, conducted by Virginia-based political and public affairs research firm Public Opinion Strategies, asked 400 South Dakota residents a series of questions related to the state’s Medicaid program and found 63 percent of them favored the expansion.

The poll was good news to supporters of Medicaid expansion. Megan Myers, the Cancer Action Network’s grassroots manager, said expanding Medicaid would help some of the 48,000 South Dakotans who don’t have health insurance receive preventive care.

And what is our governor’s response on his resistance;

Gov. Dennis Daugaard has been unwilling to expand Medicaid since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision in the Affordable Care Act that would have forced states to expand their programs, and despite the federal government’s promise to cover the vast majority of the costs, especially in the initial years.

Daugaard’s office declined to comment on the poll.

Denny has said in the past the able-bodied working folk should be able to afford their own healthcare. What Denny fails to tell us is that many ‘working folk’ in our state can’t afford food let alone healthcare, and the Republican lawmakers in DC are not helping matters by blocking single-payer initially in the ACA and recently cutting SNAP programs.

So what is Denny telling the working poor that can’t afford private insurance or even to feed their families? WORK HARDER or I’ll be forced again to blow a cool million at one staffing agency to recruit a handful of welders for a single trailer building company in Mitchell.

ALEC Drugs Meth State Legislature

What is really behind AG Jackboots Electronic Record keeping legislation

l3wis 34Comments

ku-xlarge

Hey, sounds great, right? Anything to curb people from making meth is a good thing right?

Methamphetamine. South Dakota is experiencing a significant increase in the number of meth lab incidences as well as meth arrests.

“As Attorney General, I do not support requiring a doctor’s prescription for basic cold medicine.  The more reasonable approach is to utilize electronic record keeping of information already being provided in order to address inappropriate use of cold medicine for methamphetamine manufacturing,” said Attorney General Jackley.  Cold medicines containing Pseudoephedrine are often utilized in the manufacturing of
methamphetamine.  South Dakota law currently provides for a written record keeping system for the
sale of Pseudoephedrine products that cannot be efficiently checked by either retailers or law enforcement.  The proposed legislation addresses the problem through electronic record keeping and further allows for a waiver if a retailer does not have these electronic capabilities.  There will be no additional cost to the retailers, consumers or taxpayers for the electronic record keeping system being funded by the industry.

Interesting stuff, especially when you connect the dots.

What are the key components of adding up these dots? Let’s see, they want to implement electronic record keeping, retailers will have access to the information and lastly it will all be paid for by the ‘industry’.

What industry you ask? Big Pharma. See, this legislation is model legislation through ALEC. Who gives ALEC and ALEC members (state legislators) lots of campaign donations? Big Pharma. Who has received a lot of big Pharma money in the past? AG Jackboots. Can you imagine the usefulness of this kind of information to Big Pharma? Being able to track the sales of their over the counter drugs (being sold mostly to innocent consumers not interested in making meth) right down to the actual person purchasing the product, all the while requiring retailers to train their employees to do this extra work, ultimately costing them more in labor costs.

Once again, ALEC is well on it’s way to hoodwink our State Legislators and voters on this legislation.

GP will be posting an extended/closer look at this issue in the near future.

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