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Elections Turned on Taxesby
Peter J. Sepp Nov 7, 2002 Pundits who portrayed last Tuesday’s election results
as a referendum on George W. Bush’s popularity are ignoring an equally
powerful trend: pocketbook issues weighed heavily on Americans when they entered
voting booths.
On the federal and state levels, candidates who had a clear
vision of reducing taxes, restraining spending, and making existing tax cuts
permanent tended to succeed, while those who muddled their messages often
paid the price at the polls.
The elections not only altered the political balance in
the Senate, but the fiscal balance too. According to National Taxpayers Union’s
2001 Rating of Congress, which graded lawmakers on 155 House and 194 Senate
votes, defeated Senators Jean Carnahan (MO) and Max Cleland (GA) received
“F” and “D” grades from NTU for their performance.
They will be replaced, respectively, by Jim Talent and Saxby Chambliss, both
of whom received “Bs” for their most recent year of service in
the House. Minnesota Senator-elect Norm Coleman will occupy a seat once held
by Paul Wellstone, who last earned an “F”.
On the House side, fiscally conservative candidates once
thought to face tough fights – including Chris Chocola (IN), Scott Garrett
(NJ), and Pat Toomey (PA) – easily captured or defended their seats.
However, sitting Republicans (like Maryland Rep. Connie Morella) who were
defeated or who trailed their opponents often scored below their party’s
NTU average.
Taxes also dominated debates in at least five
gubernatorial contests. Maryland candidate Bob Ehrlich made the $1.7 billion
state deficit the single biggest indictment against the administration in
which his opponent, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, served. South Carolina
maverick Mark Sanford made his plan to eliminate the state income tax a key
element in his successful bid to upset
incumbent Governor Jim Hodges.
Tennessee Republican hopeful Van Hilleary could not overcome
lingering voter resentment of outgoing GOP Governor Don Sundquist, who repeatedly
attempted to ram a new income tax down residents’ throats. Ironically,
the opposition leader to Sundquist’s tax plan within his own party,
Marsha Blackburn, handily won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, voters trounced many ballot measures to increase
taxes, and even put limits on them.
Residents of several northern Virginia communities overwhelmingly
nixed a proposed half-cent sales tax increase that proponents claimed would
have been earmarked for transportation improvements (the southern community
of Hampton Roads rejected a one-cent increase).
The ten-point margin of defeat is remarkable, considering
that (1) northern Virginia is one of the worst-gridlocked regions in the nation;
(2) opponents of the measure were outspent by over ten to one; and (3) an
alliance led by the Democrat Governor and a Republican U.S. Senator spent
considerable political capital in order to pass the referendum.
Washington State voters decisively enacted a law that will
limit vehicle license fees to $30 per year and will require future voter consent
for increased transportation-related taxes. For good measure, they also rejected
a sales and gasoline tax hike. Georgians voted on a variety of tax issues,
overwhelmingly supporting one that will increase the personal property tax
exemption.
Although a proposal to repeal Massachusetts’ state
income tax fell short, 55-45 percent, political observers say the relatively
close margin on behalf of such a sweeping tax reduction in a liberal state
sent a clear message to lawmakers who may be pondering tax hikes to close
budget deficits first.
Oregonians, thought to be extremely receptive to a ballot
measure that would have created a state-funded “single payer” health care system, proved hostile to the new income and payroll taxes that
administrators could have levied in order to fund the scheme. They soundly
thrashed the plan, 79 percent-21 percent. Missourians likewise beat back a
tobacco tax increase.
Some claim that the 2002 election was devoid of defining
issues, but in contest after contest taxes often made the difference. The
writing is on the wall, not to mention the ballots of states across America:
most voters want politicians to solve budget problems without raising taxes,
and they want elected officials to keep their promises to reduce the burden
on taxpayers.
Pete Sepp is Vice President of Communications with the 335,000-member
National Taxpayers Union, a non-partisan citizen group founded in
1969 to work for lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and accountable
government. |
