Montana Articles

A Quick Peek at Montana’s Libtard Blogs

8/31/2018

Montana Cowgirl is dead.

The site’s last post was on August 9, and before that they had posts on:

Aug 1
Jul 10
Jun 27
Jun 25
Jun 19
Jun 13
Jun 12
Jun 4

That takes us to the primary…just about 3 months ago.

I’m not sure what Erin Kelly is doing on that site, but it’s pretty clear she’s lost the motivation to keep going.

We know that Eric Stern lost the motivation…pretty much when he lost his governor’s office job this past spring.

So that site is done. Their inability to delete the racist comments from their latest post attests to that.

The other major liberal site in Montana is the Montana Post.

Today the site actually tried to disparage Matt Rosendale in a post called “Matt Rosendale Slanders the Memory of John McCain.”

I find this post’s title humorous, as 10 years ago the site had a post up called “Why Does John McCain Hate America?”

Perhaps McCain’s politics changed over the past decade...or maybe it's just that the writers of the Montana Post will grasp at whatever straws they can in their attempt to get Tester the win.

Tester ain’t gonna win.

While there was a public poll out this week showing Rosendale up by 2 points, it’s the polls that weren’t made public that I’m more interested in.

For instance, on July 5 the Montana Democratic Party spent $15,000 on a poll.

Then on July 21 they spent another $18,000 to do more polling.

Perhaps I missed it, but I don’t think the results of either of those polls were ever made public.

Why is that?

Simple – the polls didn’t bode well for Dems.

I can’t think of anyone that Dems would be spending $30,000+ on for polling other than Tester.

And since those polls were kept hush-hush, we know the results were bad…or at least in line with the 2-point-up poll we saw earlier this week.

And that’s one of the main reasons for my post today: what the hell are Dems doing to ensure Tester can win?

I don’t see much.

For instance, on Montana Post we see the following posts this month:

Anti-Rosendale posts: 13
Pro-Three-Forks-Union posts: 7
Anti-Zinke posts: 5
Anti-Gianforte posts: 5
Anti-GOP Legislator posts: 3
Media posts: 2
Anti-GOP ‘Racism’ posts: 2
Anti-Daines posts: 2
Begging for Money posts: 2
Anti-Trump posts: 2
Dark Money posts: 1
Support Statewides posts: 1
Guilt-You-Into-Voting posts: 1
Pro Democrat posts: 1

Yeah...I shit you not - the site hasn't had a single post up over the past month that talks about Williams and/or Tester.

WTF!?!

For August, the Montana Post put up 47 posts.

32 of those posts were decrying what Republicans are doing, while 5 talked-up the union protests in Three Forks.

Sadly for Dems, 5 posts were actually against a guy that's not running (Zinke), and 2 were against a guy that's not up until 2020 (Daines).

That leaves just 10 posts, and just one of them highlighted what a Dem stands for and what they can do for you.

That post was about Andy Shirtliff for PSC, and it came out on August 2.

Now, personally I don’t think the Montana Post has that much of an impact.

Sure, they get a ton of Facebook likes on many of their posts…but this is just preaching to the choir.

The people that read that site, and the people that like it and share it on Facebook…all of them vote already, and they vote Dem.

And we see what their voting accomplishes – continual losses for Democrats.

Hillary knows this scenario well – just because you have the most money, or maybe even the most votes…it doesn’t mean you’re gonna win.

If I was interested in seeing Democrats win in Montana, I might suggest to the Montana Post that they spend less time attacking what they don’t like, and spend more time highlighting what they do like.

Highlighting the positive is just that…more positive, and it makes people feel good.

When you talk about the negative all the time, it puts people in a bad mood. Perhaps this mood makes people want to change things, but we know from turnout – and Dem results in MT – that this doesn’t translate into winning votes for Democrats.

I hope the Montana Post continues just as they are, with around 50 posts a month, three-quarters of them bitching and moaning.

This is great for the GOP.

It’s not that GOP voters read the site and are turned off and decide to get out and vote.

And it’s not that Dem voters read the site and are inspired to get out and vote.

The truth of the matter is that hardly anyone in Montana reads that site – or mine – and they vote how they’ve been voting for years, if not decades.

The state is red.

Sometimes people say it’s purple, but I’m not seeing it.

Remember the primary?

U.S Senate: 57% to 42%, GOP turnout vs. Dem turnout
U.S. House: 56% to 44%

Dems have 2 months to turn those numbers around. Currently, Jon Tester’s PAC money isn’t getting the job done.

I suspect he’ll try to raise more money, thinking that’s the problem.

Talk about clueless.

Meanwhile, Matt Rosendale is way behind in fundraising…but he’s either up a couple points or the two are neck-and-neck.

How do you explain that?

It sure ain’t because of what Montana Post is writing or not writing.

Like I said earlier…the state is red.

I don’t think Cowgirl will be putting up many posts between now and November, but should they, I know they’ll only appeal to the die-hard Dems that’ll be voting Dem anyway.

Montana Post will put up around 150 posts between now and November. It won’t make much of a difference – all of the candidates they support will be losing, all the people that read the site are Dems anyway.

I hope MT Post continues just as they are.

What I don’t hope is that the Montana Post begins talking about why I should vote for Tester..or Williams…or any of the legislative candidates on the ballot.

Judging from the site’s past posts, I don’t think we have to worry about this at all.

Hell, talk like that might inform voters, perhaps earning a vote for the desired candidates.

But like I said…no one reading that site is still on the fence. Dems read that site…and in this state, Dems lose.

Nothing’s gonna change that.

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August FEC Filings for Montana Democrats, GOP

8/27/2018

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On August 20, both the Montana Democratic Party and the Montana Republican State Central Committee filed their monthly finance reports with the FEC.

You can find the Democrats’ 285-page report here and the GOP’s 56-page report here.

I’ve dug into these reports about 7 or 8 times now, beginning in March 2017.

At the time I was wondering how much the Democratic Party was helping out Rob Quist in his special election bid.

I found out they weren’t helping him so much as they were helping themselves.

It’s been the same story every time we’ve look at these reports since then: the Democrats bring in a lot of money each month, but typically eat up most, if not all of it, on their own salaries, benefits packages, payroll taxes, travel and eating out.

The Montana Democratic Party has a serious self-aggrandizement disorder.

The Montana Republicans, on the other hand, take in a lot less each month than the Democrats do, but they in turn spend a lot less. They have a fraction of the staffers as well.

And the Republicans are winning…

At the statewide level (5/6 offices are theirs)
At the regional level (all 5 PSC members are Republicans)
At the county level (most county commissioners are Republicans)
And at the local level (most city councils are Republican, and Republicans hold the legislature)

Money isn’t everything.

For Democrats, all the money they bring in each month isn’t translating into electoral success.

We’ve seen this over the past 18 months that we’ve been looking into these reports.

Despite that, nothing changes.

The current, high-level members of the Montana Democratic Party would rather pamper themselves than win.

For if they did indeed cut back on spending, reduce their staff, and roll back salaries, they’d have more money to put into competitive races.

But they don’t do this.

It baffles me why that’s the case, and why so many Democratic voters in the state put up with it.

Well…most have no idea how bad the situation has become.

Few read this site, and fewer share what they’ve read here with friends and neighbors.

So nothing changes.

For Democrats that know there’s a serious problem with how the Party is functioning in this state, this must be incredibly frustrating.

For Republicans that have been in the majority for years, this must be extremely satisfying.

And with that said, let’s get into the reports.

Montana GOP August Finances

The Republicans took in about $61,000 for the month of July, spent $77,000 and had $119,000 cash on hand as the month ended.

The Party also has around $12,000 in debt, mostly from Minnesota’s Strategic Fundraising.

We know that individuals gave the Party around $8,000 while PACs gave $6,500.

In addition to that, another $5,000 are labeled as “unitemized” contributions, while another $29,000 was transferred from other Party committees.

Some of the PAC/committee money includes:

$15,500 from the RNC
$13,000 from the Rosendale Victory Fund
$2,500 from GForce
$2,500 from Steve Daines for Montana
$1,500 from BNSF Railway PAC

When it comes to spending, here are some things that stood out to me:

$5,200 to Minnesota’s FLS Connect for telemarketing fundraising

$4,200 to Virginia’s Campaign Solutions for email marketing and website work

$1,800 reimbursed to Debra Lamm

$1,400 to Virginia’s Advantage Direct Communications for data consulting

$760 to fly on Delta

$600 for a trip to Austin, Texas

Alright…let’s discuss Debra Lamm, who was elected Chairwoman of the Montana GOP last summer.

Now, I’m not sure if she’s the problem, but she is the one listed as being reimbursed for all of the eating out, travel, hotel stays and taxi rides that the GOP took part in last month.

For instance, nearly $1,400 was spent staying in 4 different hotels, one of them a Trump hotel in Florida.

Another $300 was spent eating out for the month.

Compared to what the Democrats spend, that’s not too much…but I do feel someone should keep their eye on it.

Personally, I feel most of that money was simply wasted. If it’s not being used on the ground to elect Republicans then it’s not being used properly.

Currently the GOP is getting more feet on the ground, with several new hires.

Here’s what the staff looks like:

$2,591 for Caleb Hinkle
$2,420 for John Durnal
$2,386 for John Branham
$2,386 for Kelsey Cooley
$2,136 for Drew Zinecker
$923 for Barry Mykaila
$909 for Susan Smith
$909 for Tori Koch
$866 for Nate Wordal
$866 for Drew Iverson
$848 for David Zellmer
$734 for Ian Sibbert
$212 for Tyson Madison

Those 13 staffers make over $18,000 a month in salary, with another $6,200 going for payroll taxes. I didn’t see any expenditures for healthcare.

The main problem for the GOP is that they spent $16,000 more than they took in for the month.

Some of those highly-paid staffers should sit down and discuss this, and figure out how to do better next month.

Personally, I view it as a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

Montana Democrats’ August Finances

The Democrats took in a whopping $576,000 in July, spent $400,000 and had $653,000 cash on hand as the month ended.

We know that $16,000 came from individuals and that $17,000 was “unitemized” contributions.

Another $13,000 from PACs and $504,000 was transferred from other party committees, with another $25,000 transferred from non-federal accounts.

Most of the transfers come from the DSCC, which moved $375,000 over to the Party on July 2.

Here are some things that stood out to me on the spending side:

$18,000 to San Francisco’s Tulchin Research for polling

$15,000 to D.C.’s MSCR for polling

$4,500 to D.C.’s New Blue Interactive for donor development

$3,700 to rent Great Falls’ Mansfield Center for the Performing Arts

$3,000 to D.C.’s Chraca Friedman Group for fundraising consulting

$1,500 to Helena’s K&J Convention Services for decorations

$700 flying on Delta

But those items aren’t what troubles me.

What I’m mystified by is how much the Montana Democrats spend on just 4 things:

$243,000 for Payroll Taxes and Related Expenses
$161,000 on Salaries
$3,700 on Hotels
$1,300 on Eating Out

Those four things come to $409,000.

That effectively means the Dems only have $166,000 left of the $576,000 they raised for the month.

I’m not going to list the 85 people that the Democrats have on staff, but I will mention those making the most money:

$6,175 for Nancy Keenan
$6,126 for Megan Simpson
$4,530 for Austin Lyle
$4,491 for Trent Bolger
$4,387 for Ted Dick
$3,811 for Julie Laliberte
$3,658 for Brooke Bainum
$3,650 for Roy Lowenstein
$3,602 for Chris Collins
$3,100 for Nick Lockridge

It’s also interesting to note that the Montana Democrats paid Thai Nguyen $1,110 in July, the same month that James Conner said “if Blue Bench Nguyen and witness Nguyen are the same man, that raises some interesting questions regarding the conduct of the MDP.”

Conclusion

I can understand that both Parties are hiring more people so those people can get out and knock on doors.

That’s fine.

Democrats now have 85 people on staff compared to the 13 people that the Republicans have.

And Democrats pay a lot more too – the highest paid Dem is making over $6,000 a month while the highest paid GOPer is making just $2,600.

Democrats are also worried about which way the winds are blowing. They spent over $30,000 on polling in July, while the GOP spent nothing.

Can’t wait to see how it all plays out come November.

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10 Montana Democrats That Want a Sales Tax

8/26/2018

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I’m going to give you the names of 10 Democrats that support a sales tax in Montana, as well as 3 large, Democratic organizations that support it.

I’d like to do this because there’s this idea in Montana right now – falsely put forth by partisans – that only Republicans support a sales tax.

While it’s true that prominent GOPers like Scott Sales recently made headlines by floating the idea of a sales tax to reduce the burden on property taxpayers, the idea that Republicans are pushing a sales tax simply isn’t true.

Most Republicans vote against tax increases, especially sales taxes. It’s only when we dig deeper that we find it’s actually Democrats that want a sales tax more than anyone.

And while it’s true that most major cities are clamoring for a sales tax, Missoula leads the pack.

A big problem here in Missoula is that 65% of residents would support a 3% sales tax if it “resulted in a decrease in property taxes.”

That’s what a poll told us, though we were never told what the sample size of that poll was.

I guess it’s buried somewhere in the 195-page report that the city paid a Georgia firm to produce.

Your tax dollars at work.

Currently tourists bring in $275 million to the Missoula economy each year.

There’s a total of $2.3 billion in sales in the city each year, and if a one-cent sales tax were instituted, the city would bring in $23.6 million in taxes.

That’s a lot of money to apply to the city’s ‘wants list,’ and you know they’ll do everything in their power (which means spending your money) to get that tax.

Here are some more people that will do everything possible to tax you more.

#1 Steve Bullock

Last year, when Montana had a $227 million budget deficit, Governor Steve Bullock proposed increasing the sales taxes on motel beds and car rentals.

He wanted a 3% increase for beds and a 6% increase for cars.

Sure, these sales taxes might affect tourists the most, but Montanans do actually rent cars and sleep in motels from time to time.

Those around Glacier National Park said this idea would “hurt the state’s ability to compete” with other states for tourists.

I think Bullock is too busy chasing the skirt of a presidential run to care.

#2 John Engen

“We’re looking for new revenue,” Missoula’s mayor said this spring. “The place where other communities are finding it is in these local option taxes.”

“It’s really a success story in the communities where the tool is used,” he reiterated.

While that tool might hurt some of the poorer members of the community, Engen isn’t concerned.

And why should he be? The guy just gave himself a pay raise, bringing his yearly total up to $91,800…not counting the benefits package.

#3 Cyndy Andrus

Bozeman’s mayor recently “hired a consultant to work on getting sales tax bills through the 2019 legislative session.”

She’s effectively using the argument that she doesn’t have enough tax money, and then uses tax money to figure out how to get more tax money.

“I will continue to try and work with the legislature to pass something that helps us again put another tool in the toolbox,” she said.

The previous city manager was Chris Kukulski (the city council there ousted him last year). He supported Bozeman’s latest attempt to get a local option sales tax. He also wanted that extra tool in the toolbox.

That tool is typically poor people’s money.

While the mayor of Bozeman only makes $21,600 a year, their city manager is making $148,500.

#4 Bill Cole

The mayor of Billings also wants a local option sales tax, specifically on “alcohol, prepared meals, hotel rooms, and luxury goods.”

Cole only makes $9,600 a year in his figurehead position, though the city’s city manager makes $155,000 a year.

#5 Jean Curtiss

“I’m challenging people to start thinking about the other tools we don’t have in Montana,” lame duck Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss said last Thursday.

She’s talking about “a local options tax and a sales tax,” which is “something city leaders have also suggested.”

While it’s true that such a tax might hurt the poorer members of her county, Curtiss isn’t concerned.

At over $66,000 a year in salary, she knows she’ll do just fine.

#6 Dave Strohmaier

This Missoula County Commissioner says “the state must look at other taxing options beyond property owners,” and by that he means a local option sales tax.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Montana Legislature gives in to his demand.

#7 Heather Harp

“This is what this type of local option sales tax would allow us to do,” the Missoula City Councilor said this spring, which is to keep “all these social safety-net programs we’ve relied on to take care of the most vulnerable in our communities.”

Yes, taking care of the vulnerable members of our community is important. And we have the money to do that…usually.

It’s important to remember that this woman voted for all the ‘want-list’ items on the current Missoula city budget, such as art parks, art galleries, and developing an island in the river.

Yeah…the ‘vulnerable.’

Please remember that while many of Missoula’s residents struggle to pay their bills each month, Harp just voted to give herself a $1.40 an hour raise.

#8 Dick Barrett

Not all Democrats agree with the statewide sales tax approach.

“A statewide sales tax would unfairly tax people with lower income,” Missoula Senator Dick Barrett said last year when he put forth a constitutional amendment to ban a statewide sale tax.

His amendment did not call for banning local option or resort taxes, however.

In my book, that means he supports those options, and ‘people with lower income’ be damned.

#9 Dave Fern

This Whitefish democrat put forth House Bill 577 last session, which would have allowed local residents to vote on whether to have a sales tax “on nonessential luxury items.”

The trick here is that it takes the authority to allow a local option sales tax away from the legislature and gives it to voters.

Democrats think this tactic will get them the revenue they so badly crave, but I’m not so sure.

#10 Mike Phillips

This Bozeman democrat put forth Senate Bill 331 last session, which was a “local option infrastructure investment and property tax relief act.”

Call it what you will, but it amounts to a sales tax so we can do something we should already be doing with our tax money – fix roads.

Democrats can never understand that it’s not a revenue problem, it’s a spending problem.

#11 The Missoula Economic Partnership

This drain-on-the-taxpayers-pocket organization found that “a quarter-cent sales tax in Missoula County would generated $5.6 million in 2016,” so they support such a sales tax.

Such a tax might even increase their $640,000 annual budget, 33% of which taxpayers fund.

#12 The Missoula Redevelopment Agency

“Montana is heavily reliant on tourism, and yet we choose not to have any of those folks who enjoy our state and the recreation it provides participate in our tax base through a sales tax,” Tasha Jones of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency recently said.

With such a sales tax, the MRA would be able to get a lot more taxpayer money.

Remember, last year they’d budgeted $26 million for just 16 items on their want list.

These items typically involve giving your money to rich, out-of-state developers so they can identify areas in town that might be able to have the label ‘blight’ applied to them.

If they’re able to accomplish that they can then use your money to redevelop that ‘blight.’ This typically results in immense profits for said developers.

#13 The Montana Infrastructure Coalition

This group has over 70 members, such as the Montana Chamber of Commerce. Their executive director is Darryl James, and he wants local voters to decide whether they want a local option sales tax, not the legislature.

Conclusion

I’m sure there are a lot more Democrats in Montana that want a sales tax.

If we counted all the members of the Missoula City Council, for instance, we could add 9 more names to the list.

Same for Billings and Bozeman and Whitefish.

If we added in all the legislators that would vote for it, we’d get dozens more.

The irony is that Democrats claim to be the ‘party of the people,’ yet we know that sales taxes are regressive taxes that will hit the poorest of the people the hardest.

I’m deeply ashamed that Democrats feel this way. I’m also frustrated they think this is the only new tool they can add to their toolbox.

The Democrats sure are bereft of ideas.

You can call it ‘local option’ if you want, but either way, I’ve got to pay more for the same thing.

Democrats feel this is necessary to shore up the shaky, two-legged stool of property and income taxes.

Most cite infrastructure as the reason they support a sales tax. Some dodge the issue by supporting the idea of letting voters decide, not the legislature. Yep, true leaders.

I feel most voters would vote the idea down. I could be wrong though – more property owners vote than poor people do.

And property owners are set to benefit from a sales tax, while poor people won’t benefit in any way, shape or form.

Democrats will be quick to cite many ways they do benefit – such as better roads for the cars they don’t own – but these arguments fall flat.

Democrats also love to trot out the ‘luxury goods’ argument, saying that taxing such items as beer and fast food would benefit the community.

Yeah, it’ll benefit the rich guy living on the hill, but it ain’t gonna do shit for us living down in the trenches.

All I can say is thank God the Republicans currently hold the Montana Legislature, and thank God the Democrats have no idea how to win it back.

If this wasn’t the case, we’d all be paying more for everyday items…something that saves the rich man money on his tax bill while saddling the rest of us with an increased cost of living in a state that’s already hard-as-hell to get by in.

Notes

Babb, Mederios. “City officials seek to implement sales tax in Bozeman.” KPAX. 25 July 2018. http://www.kpax.com/story/38733659/city-officials-seek-to-implement-sales-tax-in-bozeman

Grant, Cole. “Barrett proposes constitutional amendment removing sales tax option.” Missoula Current. 24 March 2017. https://www.missoulacurrent.com/government/2017/03/montana-legislature-sales-tax/

Johnson, Chuck. “Legislature hears first of local-option sales tax bills.” Bozeman Daily Chronicle. 14 March 2017. https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/mtleg/legislature-hears-first-of-local-option-sales-tax-bills/article_c7cacb5e-43c3-5b19-b08a-a974e8a46998.html

Kidston, Martin. “Destination Missoula, tourism industry oppose tax increases as budget fix.” Missoula Current. 13 November 2017. https://www.missoulacurrent.com/government/2017/11/tourism-tax-increase/

Kidston, Martin. “Missoula city leaders eye tourism tax as municipal needs grow; relief for property owners.” Missoula Current. 13 April 2018. https://www.missoulacurrent.com/government/2018/04/missoula-tourism-tax/

Kidston, Martin. “MRA remits $2.7M, leaving public funding sparse in key redevelopment districts.” Missoula Current. 21 August 2018. https://missoulacurrent.com/business/2018/08/mra-redevelopment-districts/

Kidston, Martin. “Missoula County adopts FY 19 budget, urges state to explore other revenue streams.” Missoula Current. 23 August 2018. https://missoulacurrent.com/government/2018/08/missoula-county-budget-3/

King, Jon. “Missoula Mayor Engen’s Budget Includes Tax Hike for Public, Pay Raise for Self.” News Talk KGVO. 24 August 2018. http://newstalkkgvo.com/missoula-mayor-engens-budget-includes-tax-hike-for-public-pay-raise-for-self/

Monte, Briana. “Local sales tax a possibility for Billings.” KULR8. 25 January 2018. http://www.kulr8.com/story/37355662/local-sales-tax-a-possibility-for-billings

“Raising the Bar: A Competitive Realities Report and Target Industry Strategy for Missoula, Montana.” Garner Economics, LLC. 1 June 2018. http://www.missoulapartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Missoula_Final-Report__v7.pdf

Retana, Judith. “Proposed Bozeman city manager’s salary $148,500.” NBC Montana. 6 October 2017. https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/proposed-bozeman-city-managers-salary-148500

Tabish, Dillon. “Montana Infrastructure Coalition Supports Local-Option Sales Tax.” Flathead Beacon. 29 November 2016. https://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/11/29/montana-infrastructure-coalition-supports-local-option-sales-tax/

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Airbnb Decimates Montana Housing, Taxes

8/25/2018

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“I dedicated a whole house this summer to Airbnb,” a Helena Airbnb host said in May. “I think it is very good for all of us.”

I’m not so sure.

For instance, that house that’s now being rented out to travelers and businesspeople won’t be rented out to Helena residents.

These are residents that work in the city, pay taxes there, and contribute a lot to the local economy.

But they’re not as important as the itinerant crowd that the Airbnb hosts cater to.

This means there are fewer houses, apartments, or even single rooms to rent for those that actually live in the city.

And when it comes to taxes…we’re not quite sure each of the 687,000+ rooms being rented out by Airbnb hosts in Montana are in fact paying their fair share of the lodging taxes.

Lodging taxes are currently 4% for facility use (which goes to the state’s general fund) with another 3% for sales tax (which goes to special revenue funds, the largest being the Department of Commerce’s tourism promotion unit).

So this is a 7% tax that each Airbnb host is supposed to collect from the guest.

Is that happening?

The Montana Lodging and Housing Association isn’t so sure.

“There’s a lot of question marks,” the association’s director says. “A lot of us would like to see verification.”

Considering that Airbnb saw a 91% increase in their Montana business just last year, this is a valid concern.

Last year Montana Airbnb hosts earned $20 million, according to the company.

However, the Montana Lodging and Housing Association hired an outside research firm named CBRE to review those numbers.

The firm reported to an interim legislative committee that the actual earnings were closer to $69 million, with the number of available Airbnb rentals growing 83% from 2016 to 2017.

Airbnb executives dispute those figures.

The issue is quite important.

In Montana last year, we had over 12 million people stay in hotels or campgrounds or BnB’s. The average stay was over 4 nights.

That’s a lot of money, and it’s a lot of money for the state. The 7% tax that guests are charged added up to $54 million last year, with $31 million going to the tourism promotion program and $23 million to the state’s general fund.

Remember, this time last year we had a budget shortfall of $227 million, so every little bit counts. And if Airbnb hosts aren’t paying their fair share of taxes, the Department of Revenue needs to look into this.

So are Airbnb hosts collecting this tax as they should…or are they not sure of their exact duties?

Airbnb doesn’t really clear it up.

On their site, the company says that hosts need to “familiarize themselves with the Occupancy Tax provisions which allow us to collect and remit taxes on their behalf.”

Continuing on, the company says that hosts can “instruct and authorize Airbnb to collect and remit Occupancy Taxes on their behalf in jurisdictions where Airbnb decides to facilitate such collection.”

Still, the company has “confirmed that it does not have a voluntary tax agreement with the state of Montana,” and the Department of Revenue isn’t able “to track whether Airbnb proprietors are paying the tax.”

Four months ago, the Department of Revenue made it clear that they want the state law to change so that Airbnb is required to pay the 4% accommodations tax.

I hope the members of the 2019 Legislature look into this more.

I decided to do a search of the available Airbnb rentals in Missoua for a week in mid-September.

A total of 159 homes came up, some charging as low as $20 a night for a South Hills bedroom to $199 a night for a whole house.

When I remove the date-range filter, I see that over 300 Airbnb homes are available in the Missoula area.

I decided to click on that $199-a-night house.

Turns out when I put in a 2-day stay for mid-September, the price drops to $167 per night.

That’s not the whole story, however. Here’s how it adds up:

$167 for Night 1
$167 for Night 2
$125 for a Cleaning Fee
$59 for a Service Fee
$33 for Occupancy Taxes and Fees

That means it’ll cost me $550 to stay at that house for two nights.

Hey, that’s fine – if people want to pay that much to stay here for a couple days, go ahead.

What we’re concerned about as residents of the state, however, is whether the taxes are being paid and what affect all these new Airbnb’s have on our desperate Missoula housing market.

For instance, the average yearly tax rate for a $250,000 Missoula home is 0.92%, which comes out to $2,480 a year.

Now let’s imagine that $199-a-night rental is being rented out once a week.

That comes to $132 a month, or $1,584 a year.

That’s $896 less in taxes that the property owner is paying, but since they are required by law to pay taxes on their property plus the rental taxes, that should actually come to $4,064 a year…or nearly $1,600 a year more than most property owners pay.

In that regard, Airbnb is good for the state coffers…if hosts and the company are in fact paying those taxes to the state.

We do know that Airbnb and the state reached an agreement last year to cement the tax situation between the two entities. But as we saw, the state still isn’t sure it’s collecting all that it should.

When it comes to the housing issue, it’s not so easy…and there’s not a whole lot government can do.

And when you look at it from the host’s perspective, you can see their viewpoint.

I mean, why rent out your house to a bunch of unruly college kids that’ll spill beer everywhere, only to eventually move out without cleaning much up?

Wouldn’t they rather have a nice, older businessperson that’ll keep things tidy…and if they don’t, the national company will come in and charge them for it?

Plus, you can’t exactly charge long-time renters a bunch of cleaning and service fees. Sure, there’s the deposit that all renters pay, but that’s chump change compared to what a host can make in fees.

A $600 deposit that might run a year or more vs. hundreds of dollars in fees each and every month? You do the math.

Missoula landlords already have, and that’s why we’ve seen such an explosion in Airbnb rentals in the city over the past year or two.

Conversely, we’ve also seen our housing crisis get worse during that time, with fewer rental units available to families, students, low-income folks and seniors.

Airbnb is pricing most of them out of the market, and landlords are laughing all the way to the bank.

It’s good business, but terrible civicmindedness.

Notes

Dennison, Mike. “MT lodging industry says Airbnb rentals may be shirking tax payments.” KPAX. 3 May 2018. http://www.kpax.com/story/38105384/mt-lodging-industry-says-airbnb-rentals-may-be-shirking-tax-payments

Drake, Phil. “Airbnb says it has put Montana tax issue to bed.” Great Falls Tribune. 11 May 2018. https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2018/05/11/airbnb-reaches-tax-agreement-state-montana/598946002/

“Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax.” Montana Department of Revenue. Retrieved 25 August 2018. https://mtrevenue.gov/taxes/miscellaneous-taxes-and-fees/lodging-facility/

“Montana Property Tax Calculator.” Smart Asset. Retrieved 25 August 2018. https://smartasset.com/taxes/montana-property-tax-calculator

“Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Montana.” Airbnb. Retrieved 25 August 2018. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2314/occupancy-tax-collection-and-remittance-by-airbnb-in-montana

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$150 Million in Missoula Spending

8/16/2018

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You probably heard that the City of Missoula will increase your taxes by 3.8% next year.

Well…where’s that money going?

It’s easy to find out – the city gives you all the information on their website.

Digging through it all can be a pain, however.

Still, if common citizens didn’t do that…

How’d we ever know about the $118 million that 20 different departments want?

How’d we know about the $3 million discrepancy between what one department is listing in their budget, and what they’re asking the City Council for?

How’d we know about the 109 new employees the city’s added over the past decade?

And how would we know about the $34 million in new spending that the MRA wants to dole out to its developer friends?

We wouldn’t.

Don’t expect to read any of this in the news.

What we’ll do today is run down some common growth stats and try to analyze them. Next we’ll get into the departments and what they want before ending with a list of MRA expenses.

Time to follow the money.

It’s interesting to look at the City of Missoula’s growth stats.

Here are some things that stood out to me:

We have 296 mills, compared with the 316 in Kalispell and the 213 in Billings.

Missoula’s mill value per capita is $1.66…the lowest in the state.

Missoula makes $491 revenue per capita…the second lowest in the state.

Missoula is currently 29.5 square miles in size, up from the 16.7 square miles we had in 1993.

Here are some numbers comparing the last 10 years:

Missoula’s population went from 66,962 in 2010 to 73,340 in 2017

Roads went from 331 miles to 355 miles

Street Division employees went from 29 to 32

Gas tax revenue went from $1.07 million to $1.08 million

Building permits for new projects went from 434 to 400

Building permits for new renovations went from 1,096 to 1,034

City employees went from 512 to 621

City computers went from 352 to 634

So what does this all mean?

Well, something I find troubling is that we’ve seen a decade of stagnation in our building industry when it comes to the permitting process.

Even if developer’s find a spot to build on, they’ll probably have trouble getting the city to allow them to.

This creates problems in both affordable housing and the level of taxes that people have to pay when demand drives supply down.

People often complain about our roads, but they don’t seem to be a priority for the city.

Despite the city increasing in size by over 10 square miles during the past 25 years, we’ve added just 24 miles of roads in the past decade, and hired just 3 new workers to see to their deterioration.

With the gas tax flat both at the national and state level, there’s no money to pay for this…aside from the taxpayer’s pocket, or shuffling current budget money around.

And let’s also get into our open space, as voters will soon put taxpayers on the hook for $15 million to fund another open space bond.

We know that over the past 7 years we’ve seen a:

754% increase in the number of city trees serviced
79% increase in recreation program participation
42% increase in developed parks in Missoula
40% increase in the number of park shelter reservations
20% increase in open space lands

The City of Missoula’s developed park acreage has gone from 308 acres in 2010 to 439 today.

In addition, we’ve seen the number of urban forestry sites go from 75 to 104.

This is accessible, open space right here within the city limits. And people are taking advantage of it: recreation program participants went from around 11,000 to over 19,000 in the span of eight years.

If you build it, they will come.

They came alright, and now the city needs a perpetual mill levy to fund all these parks and trails, trees and shelters.

It costs a lot of money, and that’s why taxpayers have to pony-up another 3.8% of their money this year.

So…where exactly does that money go?

Currently, the City of Missoula has 20 departments, agencies, or budget items that will get that money.

We get most of our information from a 5-page City of Missoula budget summary document for the upcoming budget year, 2019.

Let’s go through that document, looking at the various departments and agencies, how much money they want for next year, and how big of a difference this is from the previous year.

$53.5 million for the Total General Fund, a 6.6% increase

$16.5 million for the Police Department, a 2% increase

$14.7 million for the Fire Department, a 3% increase

$8.6 million for Non-Departmental expenses, a 54% increase

$5.8 million for Road District 1, a 17.2% increase

$5.7 million for Park District 1, a 16.5% increase

$2.4 million for Development Services, a 1.4% increase

$1.6 million for Municipal Court, a 0.5% increase

$1.6 million for the City Attorney’s Office, a 0.5% decrease

$1.3 million for the IT Department, a 2.6% increase

$1.2 million for the Finance Department, a 3.1% decrease

$1 million for Fleet Maintenance, a 1.1% decrease

$766,000 for the Housing Department, a 0.3% increase

$743,000 for Facility Maintenance, an 8.1% increase

$681,000 for the Cemetery, a 1.1% decrease

$574,000 for the Mayor’s Office, a 0.5% increase

$490,000 for the Clerk’s Office, a 3.8% increase

$425,000 for Human Resources, a 3.7% increase

$386,000 for the City Council, a decrease of 3.6%

$280,000 for Central Services, about the same as last year

Those 20 budget items come to $118.2 million.

The lion’s share is of course the general fund, where the city gets a lot of its play money.

As you can see, it’s a lot. Sadly, they rarely dip into this when they can instead raise your taxes or issue a bond or mill levy.

Most of those departments have around 95% of their budgets eaten up by something called “personal services.”

I decided to look into some of the department budget proposals to see how this breaks down.

Let’s begin with the Mayor’s Office, with has a 2019 budget of $573,000

$406,000 for salaries and wages
$125,000 for employer contributions
$10,000 for publicity and subscription dues
$7,800 for other contributions
$6,000 for the phones
$3,300 for professional services
$3,000 for printing
$2,700 for supplies
$2,500 for travel
$2,300 for training

There’s a bit more, but that’s the gist of it. As you can see, what the workers are paid is typically the largest expense for our city government.

Remember, the city has added 109 new employees over the past 10 years.

Now, I’m not going to get into each department’s budget. Don’t expect anyone in the news media to even tell you as much as I have.

Nope, if you want to know this stuff you have to exercise your civic duty and go out and find it.

I’ve given you all the links below, in the notes.

That said, I do want to point out a few things from the departmental budgets that alarmed me.

For instance, what is the $8.6 million in non-departmental expenses?

Let’s examine them:

$2 million in miscellaneous grants and contributions
$2 million in miscellaneous transfers to other funds
$1 million in miscellaneous, fixed charges
$228,000 to service the department’s debt
$132,000 in miscellaneous contingency funds
$84,000 for salaries and wages
$50,000 for repairs
$22,000 for storm water

Those eight items come to $5.5 million.

There are 10 pages to the Non-Department Department’s budget request, and each and every page is exactly the same.

What’s also peculiar is that the department has just $5.6 million in line-item budget requests listed, but is asking the city for $8.6 million.

What’s the other $3 million…and why’s it not being accounted for?

Please tell me I’m not the only one that’s going to ask that question.

And finally, no look at the City of Missoula’s budget would be complete if we didn’t turn our attention to the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, or MRA.

They have a 28-page budget request up this year, and they want around $40 million.

Here’s how that breaks down:

$11.4 million for miscellaneous grants and contributions
$7.2 million in miscellaneous transfers to other funds
$6.6 million in miscellaneous contingency funds
$3.2 million for land and buildings
$2.6 million to service the MRA’s debt
$2.3 million in capital improvements
$640,000 in professional services
$450,000 in salaries and wages
$142,000 for employer payroll contributions
$11,000 in supplies
$7,000 on repairs
$4,500 on training
$3,500 on travel

Those 12 items come to $34 million, and I didn’t even add everything up that was in their budget request.

Please also remember that this $34 million wasn't listed in the main, 5-page budget summary.

If we add it in, we'd get up to $152 million in city spending for next year.

What’s also troubling is that the MRA's budget request only lists things for the Riverfront Triangle Urban Renewal District Department.

More than likely, these MRA numbers will double over the coming year, through a series of general fund transfers, TIF money, and other spurious sources.

Another troubling aspect is how much stuff is bunched-up under "miscellaneous."

Why not just list those things out and tell us what they are? It's our money, after all.

Finally, it’s hard to read those reports as they list about 20 instances of grants and contributions, but just on separate pages, and there's never a grand total listed at the end of it all.

It’s almost like they don’t want anyone to know the true total.

And that should be concerning to us all.

Notes

“220 Mayor’s Office Department Budget.” City of Missoula. Retrieved 16 August 2018. https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/44143/Mayors-Office-Budget

“390 Non-Departmental Department Budget.” City of Missoula. Retrieved 16 August 2018. https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/44186/Non-Departmental-Budget

“City of Missoula Baseline Changes.” City of Missoula Budget Summary. Retrieved 16 August 2018. https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/45845/Budget-Summary---FY2019

“MRA Riverfront Triangle URD Department Budget.” City of Missoula. Retrieved 16 August 2018. https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/45223/MRA-Budget

“FY19 Budget Statistics.” Budget Committee of the Whole. 15 August 2018. https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/45848/Presentation----FY19-Growth-Stats

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A Big Political Weekend in Missoula

8/11/2018

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As you know, I follow the news very closely.

Today I thought we could go over a few of those news stories, with the main focus being on Missoula and the big events coming up.

Missoula will be hosting Pearl Jam on Monday night.

Around 25,000 people are expected to pour into Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the event.

This will be the sixth time that the band plays in Missoula. Their first appearance was in 1993.

The band formed in 1990, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, and has sold about 60 million albums worldwide.

The lead singer of the band, Eddie Vedder, is estimated to have a net worth of $100 million.

The Montana connection comes through bassist Jeff Ament, who grew up knowing Jon Tester.

Hence the political aspect of the concert, and the Missoula show (the band is only playing three other shows this year, two in Chicago and one in Boston).

Missoula has a jam-packed schedule of events to coincide with the concert.

Take this one:

Yeah…an ice cream social.

I can’t imagine Daines or Gianforte doing an event like this, something that’s open to the public.

Yep, you can actually go downtown for an hour on Monday and chat up Tester about anything.

When you compare that to the optics of the disastrous Gianforte Hamilton event last week, you can see that Tester is more politically savvy.

On top of that, Tester will be doing a public forum with Jeff Ament on Sunday night in Missoula, with Mayor Engen moderating.

This is a big weekend for Tester, and people will get pumped-up for him.

I’m not sure how that will translate into votes come November. Missoula has a very poor turnout record, especially amongst the young.

By November, few will be talking about this concert weekend.

One thing I’ve noticed today is this comment on MT Cowgirl:

This person hits the nail on the head.

Why in the hell is this site talking about silly stuff when they could be talking-up Tester and Williams each and every day?

I mean…hello – Pearl Jam in Missoula…talk about that in relation to Tester!

I just don’t get it.

Matt Rosendale gets it.

He’s been doing a stellar job of getting images of his outings up on social media.

I’ve seen most of his images on Twitter, but I thought I’d head over to his Facebook page today and see what he has there.

Here are a few that stood out to me:

A wonderful image that supporters will love, detractors will hate

Matt in Libby

Matt in Polson

Matt in Missoula

Matt at the Western Montana Fair in Missoula

As you can see, Rosendale is getting out there. I think this is resonating, despite the nasty comments he gets on those Facebook posts.

As you saw, Rosendale was at the Western Montana Fair here in Missoula.

You might have heard that we had an accident at the fair on Thursday, with a young girl flying off one of the rides.

There are no regulations in Montana law concerning carnival rides.

I’ll add that issue to my list of bills needed in the 2019 Montana Legislature.

You probably haven’t heard, but there are currently 152 draft bills up for the 2019 Legislature already.

This is up from the 80 or so that I saw a week ago.

The legislature will start up again in 146 days.

The legislature will end its session about 250 days from now.

We already know how it will go:

Democrats will have a lackluster showing in the legislative races.

Republicans will once again control both chambers of the legislature.

Bullock will constantly play defense, his veto pen being his only real power.

Everyone will be fighting about the money we have, and the revenue estimates for the coming two years.

Republicans will go home happy, getting most of what they wanted, mainly through smaller spending bills, not large ones.

Democrats will go home licking their wounds, doing their best to talk-up their modest successes while assuring each other that next session will be different.

It’s the same old story year after year.

The legislature has a much bigger impact on your daily life than what Tester does in Washington, but you wouldn’t know it the way Democrats act.

It’s one of the main reasons Democrats typically lose in this state – they’re out of touch.

And with that, I’ll let you get back to your weekend.

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Absenteeism and the Montana Campaign Trail

8/8/2018

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First we have the statewides.

Currently Bullock is heading to Iowa for his third time, hoping the Hawkeye State will spark the flame of his presidential aspirations.

He’s been there in April, was there at the end of July and is heading there again next week.

We know that “Bullock’s itinerary has not yet been set,” meaning we’re not sure if he’s going during working hours.

We do know for certain that he’ll be speaking to an Iowa newspaper on August 16, which will be a Thursday.

On top of this, Bullock will be in New Hampshire on August 24, a Friday.

And how would all this work, anyways?

Will he be paid his usual 40-hours-a-week salary…or will he use up vacation time…or just opt to not get paid for that time?

Because, really…I don’t think state law allows you to campaign for office while you’re supposed to be working in that office…or any other state-level job.

When Bullock was in Iowa on July 27, it was a Friday.

So we have a Thursday and a Friday – both work days – and I’m sure there was some travel prep a day before.

Doesn’t leave a lot of time to do the usual gubernatorial tasks, and I’m sure his head’s not in the governor’s office, either.

Looking at the GOP side, I’d say that Matt Rosendale’s head isn’t really in the State Auditor’s office, either.

If we’re going to complain about Bullock being in Iowa on a Thursday, then we should probably complain about Rosendale being in Billings on a Wednesday.

That’s the day that Vice President Pence had his Rosendale campaign rally, though he also did a private dinner event on Tuesday night.

Did Rosendale take that time off from work…or was he paid?

They’re honest questions, and I feel voters have a right to know.

Next come the regional candidates.

Mostly we’re talking about the PSC this year…larger swaths of Montana that are made up of numerous legislative districts.

It’s hard to keep track of all these races, or what the candidates are doing in them.

One thing that I have heard is that PSC #5’s Democratic candidate, Andy Shirtliff, has been skipping out on work to campaign.

This seems likely as he was in Polson for the evening opening of the Montana Democratic Party’s field office there last Wednesday.

It takes a while to drive from Helena to Polson, so I’m thinking that Shirtliff must have taken off work early that day.

As some might know, Shirtliff had been laid-off from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development a while ago due to the budget cuts.

(Two notes for the political die-hards: Eric Stern was another that saw his governor’s office job cut during that time, and it’s interesting to note that Thai Nguyen is working the Polson Dem office for county commissioner Caroline McDonald.)

After Shirtliff lost his job, he moved over to the Montana Department of Commerce to work as a public relations specialist.

This has been described to me as “a cushy job.”

So for the Wednesday night campaign event…was he paid…did he use vacation time…or simply opt to take unpaid leave?

I have no problem with the latter two, but if you’re getting paid you’re 40-hour-a-week salary when you’re driving to a political event, then that’s not alright in my book.

From what I’m hearing, Shirtliff is getting paid for a full 40-hour-week…even though he’s been absent a lot from work due to campaigning.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed amongst the staff that’s been at Commerce for years or decades, but when some people made it known they wanted to go public with the information, the department squashed the effort to save Shirtliff any embarrassment.

And then there are the judges.

The worst example comes to us from Havre, where Judge Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson “did not appear for a total of 10 hearings.”

One county attorney’s office employee said she’d “barely been in the office since taking over” in 2016, and added that the judge had “spent much of her time on the Hill County taxpayer’s dime in Missoula, supposedly closing her private practice.”

Havre wasn’t able to get rid of Cole-Hodgkinson until last month, and just yesterday the former judge began a series of three hearings to figure out what in the hell she was doing for her $95,000-a-year salary.

Sheesh!

Here in Missoula, Judge Marie Andersen has problems as well. She was “frequently late for work or absent.”

In this instance, there was little the county could do but issue a statement saying they were troubled.

Andersen will be up for election in November, however, and we’ll see how Missoula’s news-reading public takes the recent stories…which garnered national attention.

Aside from those two, I’d like to mention Missoula County Clerk and Treasurer Tyler Gernant, who I hear is also chronically absent from work.

Some view mismanagement and waste as the two hallmarks of his nearly 4-year-tenure.

Conclusion

I think it’s clear we have candidates campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime.

They’re off doing functions when they should be in the office, and some of them might even be getting paid for it.

I think a common response to this news is that, ‘If you’re a Democrat, this is ok…but if you’re a Republican it’s a no-no.’

That’s about what I’d expect from the social media crowd.

But what do the laws say, and what would the media report…if they ever felt like digging into this?

I doubt the media will look at anything.

What’s most troubling to me aren’t the lost hours that taxpayers are paying for, however.

What I worry about is the sense of entitlement that directs these decisions.

These politicians feel that they’re important enough, or good enough or – gosh darn it! – just deserving enough to do this.

They’re better than you and I.

And when you’re better than everyone else, you can do things that everyone else cannot.

Like not show up to work, and then get paid for it.

Who the hell’s gonna complain…some silly blog that no one reads?

Sheesh!

Notes

“Andy Shirtliff.” LinkedIn. Retrieved 7 August 2018. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyshirtliff

“Bullock adds New Hampshire trip as he probes national run.” AP. Retrieved 8 August 2018. https://apnews.com/bba68e5ddfbb45379d9e675f758a8a54

Dragu, Paul. “New Hill County attorney takes office; questions remain about past attorney’s conduct.” Missoula Current. 30 July 2018. https://www.missoulacurrent.com/government/2018/07/hill-county-attorney-alley/

“Governor Bullock plans third Iowa trip as he eyes presidential run.” KULR. 7 August 2018. http://www.kulr8.com/story/38826348/governor-bullock-plans-third-iowa-trip-as-he-eyes-presidential-run

“Investigation Criticizes Missoula County Justice of Peace.” U.S. News & World Report. 17 July 2018. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/montana/articles/2018-07-17/investigation-criticizes-missoula-county-justice-of-peace

Scavelli, Melissa. “Vice President Pence visits Billings during overnight trip.” 23 July 2018. http://www.kulr8.com/story/38711790/vice-president-pence-visits-billings-during-overnight-trip

“Tyler Gernant.” LinkedIn. Retrieved 7 August 2018. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-gernant-70592a4

Zolman, Rob. “Democrats open campaign office in Polson.” Valley Journal. 1 August 2018. http://www.valleyjournal.net/Article/20164/Democrats-open-campaign-office-in-Polson

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Which Montana Party Will Jump on the Legalization Bandwagon First?

8/4/2018

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More and more Americans are realizing that 80 years of marijuana prohibition has not worked.

64% of Americans now favor legalizing marijuana.

We see this in several states now – nine have gone for full-out legalization (ten if you count D.C.) while another thirty have legalized medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana has been available for 22 years now, starting with California in 1996.

All but one of those states – Vermont – had to use the ballot initiative to get pot legalized. Vermont was the only one to uses its legislature to get the job done, with the governor signing the legalization bill.

At this point, 20% of Americans live in a legal marijuana state.

Montana ain’t one of ‘em.

Why is that…and how long can it last?

Typically, Democrats have been seen as the Party of legalization.

What’s interesting is that 51% of Republicans now favor legalization, which is actually 9% higher than in 2016.

I think a lot of them are realizing the economic impact of legal marijuana.

In 2017, legal marijuana sales totaled $9.7 billion in the US, which is a 33% increase from the previous year.

By 2021 the legal marijuana market will have reached $24.5 billion, which represents an annual growth rate of 28%.

And the states are reaping an economic windfall.

Colorado was one of the first. They expected to make $70 million in tax revenue a year, but by 2016 they were up to $140 million.

Last year Colorado made $223 million in tax revenue from legal marijuana, or “ten times the amount it generated in the first year of legal sales.”

Washington State averages $2 million a day in legal marijuana sales. Last year they brought in $314 million in tax revenue from pot.

California is on track to have $3.7 billion in legal and medical marijuana sales this year, and that should go up to $5 billion next year. The state expects to make $350 million in tax revenue this year.

Nevada – which began selling legal pot last July – actually made $30 million in tax revenue in just six months.

$195 million in sales made that possible.

The state charges a 15% tax on wholesale marijuana sales, and 10% on retail sales.

It’s expected that Nevada will have $622 million in sales by 2020.

Overall, it’s expected that legal marijuana sales will eventually generate $28 billion in tax revenues.

Breaking it down further, we find that $7 billion will be federal revenue, $5.5 billion will come from business taxes, and $1.5 billion will come from income and payroll taxes.

Currently there are 121,000 people employed in the marijuana industry.

If all the states legalized, it’s expected that annual tax collections will be in the neighborhood of $5 billion to $18 billion a year.

782,000 jobs would be added to the economy if marijuana were legalized nationally, and that would grow to 1.1 million by 2025.

The current marijuana market is valued at $45 billion per year, which is .28% of our GDP. That comes out to 26 million pounds of pot annually.

So what about Montana?

Montana has over 25,000 medical marijuana patients right now, it’s expected that number will get up to 40,000 in a couple years.

Earlier this spring we had around 150 medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, and by the end of the year those businesses will have made $70 million.

55 out of our 56 counties supported medical marijuana via the ballot in 2016.

It’s expected that another legalization initiative will come about in 2020.

I sure hope we don’t have to wait that long. I’d like the Montana GOP to take this issue and make it their own.

And I think that will happen.

Currently, 65% of Americans feel that smoking marijuana is morally acceptable (78% think drinking alcohol is).

That number falls to 41% when you ask regular churchgoers.

“With roughly two-thirds of the public saying marijuana use is morally acceptable,” Gallup concludes, “it seems there will not be sufficient opposition to thwart attempts to make it legal.”

So here in Montana…which political party will reap the spoils of legalization?

After all, we know that legalization states are making serious tax dollars…something that Montana is in desperate need of.

Just last week we saw the state take $30 million from a private prison, something Democrats did not like.

Wouldn’t it be better to just tax a plant that at least 10% of the state is smoking once a month?

With talk going around Democratic circles about a sales tax being implemented, I think now is the time to start talking about this again.

The last major attempt to legalize marijuana in Montana came about in 2016, with the ballot initiative process.

Neither of the two parties supported this effort, nor did any outside, moneyed groups. That’s a big reason that one ballot initiative only got 40% of the signatures needed, while the constitutional amendment got just 15%.

We know that Yellowstone, Gallatin, Flathead, Missoula and Cascade Counties support legalizing marijuana the most, and in that order.

Yellowstone County is a typically Republican area, but they sure have a lot of pot smokers.

Republicans in Montana need to have a serious talk about marijuana.

The state needs money, and with our shaky, two-legged tax stool…we’re not going to see any new revenue options.

But legalizing marijuana will bring in much-needed revenue.

We can use this for schools, roads, jails, and all manner of other things.

Montana Republicans: Now’s the time to take the lead on marijuana legalization.

Notes

Berke, Jeremy. “Marijuana legalization could inject over $130 billion into US tax coffers by 2025 – if the Trump administration stays hands-off.” Business Insider. 13 January 2018. https://www.businessinsider.com/cannabis-to-add-a-million-jobs-132-billion-tax-revenue-to-us-by-2025-2018-1

Ekins, Gavin and Bishop-Henchman, Joseph. “Marijuana Legalization and Taxes: Federal Revenue Impact.” Tax Foundation. 12 May 2016. https://taxfoundation.org/marijuana-tax-legalization-federal-revenue/

Fimrite, Peter. “Marijuana Tax Revenue Falls Short in California.” Governing. 11 May 2018. http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/tns-california-marijuana-taxes-fall-far-short-of-projections.html

King, Jon. “Recreational Marijuana Expected On Montana Ballots In 2020.” NewsTalk KGVO. 7 February 2018. http://newstalkkgvo.com/recreational-marijuana-expected-on-montana-ballots-in-2020/

McCarthy, Justin. “Record-High Support for Legalizing Marijuana Use in U.S.” Gallup. 25 October 2017. https://news.gallup.com/poll/221018/record-high-support-legalizing-marijuana.aspx

McVey, Eli and Sacirbey, Omar. “Chart: Montana medical marijuana patient counts skyrocket in revived program.” Marijuana Business Daily. 30 April 2018. https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-montana-medical-marijuana-patient-counts-skyrocket-in-revived-program/

Robinson, Melia; Berke, Jeremy; Gould, Skye. “This map shows every state that has legalized marijuana.” Business Insider. 28 June 2018. https://www.businessinsider.com/legal-marijuana-states-2018-1

Strandberg, Greg. “What’s Next for the Montana Marijuana Movement?” Big Sky Words. 4 August 2016. http://www.bigskywords.com/montana-blog/whats-next-for-the-montana-marijuana-movement

Wilson, Reid. “Marijuana taxes grow but only small part of state revenue.” The Hill. 10 May 2018. http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/387015-marijuana-taxes-grow-but-only-small-part-of-state-revenue

Zhang, Mona. “Nevada Makes $30 Million In Marijuana Taxes During First Six Months of Sales.” Forbes. 26 February 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/monazhang/2018/02/26/nevada-makes-30-million-in-marijuana-taxes-during-first-six-months-of-sales/#589035273a7f

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5 Reasons to Vote for Rosendale and Gianforte

8/2/2018

1 Comment

Personally, I don’t feel like voting in either the House or the Senate race this year.

I think all of the candidates are bad.

I don’t think a single one of them will help my life.

In fact, in 2 years or 6 years…I don’t think my life will have changed in the slightest because of what these people have or have not done.

Tester or Rosendale…Gianforte or Williams – ain’t gonna make one difference in my life.

That said, what are some of the reasons for you to vote for the Republicans this year?

I haven’t seen a whole lot of those. On the Democratic attack sites, I see lots of reasons not to vote for them…but little else.

So I thought it’d be fun to go to the GOP candidates’ own websites today and figure out if they list any reasons to vote for them.

Let’s begin.

#1 Fiscal Discipline

Matt Rosendale cut the operating costs of the Montana State Auditor’s Office by 23%.

He did this during a time of budget crisis…a crisis orchestrated and instigated by Governor Bullock.

And while Bullock was taking his biennial pay increase of 3.5% last July (pushing him to over $115,000 a year), Matt Rosendale actually turned it down (Elsie Arntzen was the only other elected official to do so).

Top state officials like that typically get a raise of 1% to 11%, while the average state workers doing the real work in the trenches can only look forward to 1%...maybe, if they’re lucky.

Rosendale was supposed to get a 3.7% raise, which would have bumped him up to over $95,000 a year.

Tim Fox took the largest pay raise during the budget crisis, a whopping 11%, which put him up to $137,000 a year.

That’s Tim Fox, a man that claims to be conservative unless there’s a chance to pad his own pockets.

#2 Honest Wages

Greg Gianforte doesn’t waste a lot of money on staff.

In fact, he pays his congressional staffers just $35,925 a year…or the lowest amount of any of the 535 clowns we have in the District of Criminals.

The highest paid staffers make over $81,000.

Now, Gianforte gets the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA)…just like every other member of Congress.

They’re given this to cover the costs of personal expenses, office expenses, and mailing expenses.

The average MRA is $1.26 million a year (in the Senate it’s $3.3 million).

In the House we know that $944,671 of that MRA is eaten up by the office personnel allowance.

This allows congressmen to hire up to 18 full-time, permanent staffers.

Personally, I don’t think that Gianforte has 18 staffers. I’d be surprised if he had more than five, as when he was running for both governor and House, he kept his staff levels quite low.

And he pays them about the same level of wages that they’d make in Montana.

Some argue that this makes it nearly impossible to live in the District of Criminals, and I can believe it – that’s a town for the rich and entitled, not regular workers.

Here in Montana, I’d love to make nearly $36,000 a year, like Gianforte is paying.

In fact, Gianforte is paying his staffers nearly $500 more than the average annual wage in Great Falls, which is $36,572.

#3 Rosendale Might Help Veterans

“The VA is in abysmal shape,” Rosendale says on his website.

This is in contrast to Tester, who’s the ranking member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

In case you’ve forgotten, in 2015 we had 6,115 veterans kill themselves in this country.

That comes out to roughly 16 suicides a day.

Here in Montana, we had 46 veterans kill themselves in 2015, or nearly 4 a month.

And we know that “after accounting for differences in age, the Veteran suicide rate in Montana was significantly higher than the national suicide rate.”

For Tester, this is good. He’s doing a good job, really making a difference.

For Rosendale, this is bad. He feels the VA could do better, and he aims to make that happen.

What’s his plan? I have no idea, but I’m sure it’d follow the lines of privatization of the VA, something the GOP seems to like the idea of.

Personally, I can’t imagine things being any worse for veterans than they are now, and Tester’s the main guy that has their back.

Lot of help he’s been.

#4 They’re Pro-Natural Resource

I was up camping in the Seeley-Swan Range earlier this week with my son.

We had a lot of fun, and enjoyed the forest and lake. We actually hiked up to a waterfall, going through the forest all the while.

And my…that forest was packed. Oh, not with people…but with trees. Lots of the trees were fallen down, while others were really packed together.

And that’s why we often do logging operations, to thin those forests out. It also gives us wood to build stuff, and creates jobs.

In fact, when I was going through Seeley Lake I saw the Pyramid Lumber sign that said they were starting workers off at $16 an hour.

Damn…that’s almost twice what I’d get for a job here in Missoula!

In fact, the median wage for loggers is over $20 an hour nationally.

I wish we had more of those jobs, but we don’t. A big reason are groups like Alliance for the Wild Rockies, which has had a lawsuit for 3 years now to stop logging on 8,800 acres in the Seeley-Swan Range.

Mostly the issue comes down to roads, and specifically 2.2 miles of those roads. Remember, these are roads that no one is ever going to see because they’re out in the wilderness.

And let’s also remember that that wilderness is probably going to burn up at some point.

What the hell’s 8,800 acres compared to the 156,000 acres that burned up in the Rice Ridge fire last year?

Well, it means a lot to the liberal paper pushers working in the nonprofits (and by 'working' I mean sending out tweets all day).

If they couldn’t sue to stop stuff, they’d have no reason to exist. Then they’d be out looking for those $8.30 an hour jobs like the rest of us shmucks.

I’d rather make $16 working out in nature.

#5 They’re Not Democrats

I think the biggest reason to vote for both Rosendale and Gianforte this year is the simple fact that they’re not Democrats.

Remember, Democrats are the Party that actually rigged their own primary election so a certain candidate could ‘win.’

Here in Montana, Democrats actually started a budget crisis that cut off the health care and social services for thousands of needy people…all so they could blame Republicans.

Nationally, Democrats are so focused on campaigns of identity politics that they don’t even focus on bread and butter issues anymore.

If you’re gay or transgender or black or here illegally, Democrats would love to help you. If you hate the police or want ICE gone or think Trump is the worst thing that has ever happened to your life, then Democrats want to hear it.

If you want to make more money or get a better job or figure out how in the hell you’re going to save for retirement, then Democrats don’t have much for you, however.

The nice thing about the Republicans these days is that they’ll take anybody.

When it comes to Democrats, they won’t. To them, half the ‘anybody’ that the GOP takes is nothing more than a basket of deplorables.

Those are the high and mighty Democrats for you.

Conclusion

I wouldn’t vote for Jon Tester if you paid me.

I could possibly vote for Kathleen Williams, though I see absolutely no reason to at this point, and I doubt anyone will give me one. Reading her campaign website is like reading stereo instructions.

I’ve voted for Greg Gianforte before, and could see myself voting for him again. I know that whoever wins, my life won’t have changed two years from now.

When it comes to Rosendale…gosh, I dunno.

At this point I think I’ll just skip the Senate race, though that could change.

I sure hope Rosendale wins, though.

I’m sick of Tester and his corporate bullshit.

Notes

Drake, Phil. “2 state officials decline state pay increase.” Great Falls Tribune. 14 July 2017. https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2017/07/14/2-state-officials-decline-state-pay-increase/479727001/

Icsman, Marilyn. “Here are the congressional offices that pay staffs the highest and lowest salaries.” USA Today. 23 March 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/03/23/here-congressional-offices-pay-staffs-highest-and-lowest-salaries/450064002/

Locsin, Aurelio. “How Much Money Do Loggers Make?” Chron. Retrieved 2 August 2018. https://work.chron.com/much-money-loggers-make-6803.html

Longley, Robert. “Allowances Available to Members of US Congress.” Thought Co. 3 May 2018. https://www.thoughtco.com/allowances-to-members-of-congress-3322261

Lundquist, Laura. “Environmental groups say Lindbergh Lake logging would harm grizzly bears.” Missoula Current. 1 August 2018. https://www.missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2018/08/logging-lindbergh-lake/

“Montana Veteran Suicide Data Sheet, 2015.” VA.gov. Retrieved 2 August 2018. https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2015/Montana_2015.pdf

“Rosendale, U.S. Senate.” Matt for Montana. Retrieved 2 August 2018. https://www.mattformontana.com/

“US Representative Greg Gianforte.” Gianforte.house.gov. Retrieved 2 August 2018. https://gianforte.house.gov/

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Trade Disputes, Currency Wars, Oil Markets and the Global Media

8/1/2018

0 Comments

“You should never again talk about economics, you are an absolute moron and have no idea what you are saying.”

That’s what a commenter said the last time I put up a big post on economics, way back in April.

After that the anonymous person told me to “stop licking Trump’s balls,” mentioned that I was “more than happy to lick Essman’s dick,” and ended by calling me “the biggest tool in the box.”

I guess it must have been something I said.

While some resort to name-calling to make their point and win friends, I always felt citing facts was more effective.

So why don’t we do it again today?

If you like hard numbers, you’ll like this post.

If you feel that our media isn’t quite telling us the whole story, you’ll like this post.

If you feel the American economy isn’t quite as strong as it’s made out to be, you’ll like this post.

If you’re a partisan or a politician or someone that likes living in their little bubble, you won’t like this post.

As usual with the Montana blogs, though…you’ll get more information here than anywhere else. This article contains 19 different sources.

Let’s begin with the media, then get into stock buybacks, followed by China and the petrodollar before we end with a brief conclusion.

The State of Our Media

Let’s begin with the sad state of our media.

The US media never really mentions things like currency and oil much anymore, and for good reason – they don’t want you to know.

Remember, 90% of the American media is owned by just 6 companies: GE, NewsCorp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS.

Back in 1983, 90% of the American media was owned by 50 companies.

Despite Americans now watching 166 minutes of TV a day – compared with the 10 minutes a day they spend reading – they don’t know anything about what’s really going on in the world.

And that’s one of the main goals of the American media.

How’s that working for ‘em?

Not too good.

The three major cable news channels – CNN, Fox, and MSNBC – saw their audiences decline by 12% last year, or 1.2 million people.

Despite that loss in audience, those three networks saw a 10% increase in revenues, bringing them to $5 billion in total 2017 revenues.

Most of that money is coming from advertisers. Here are the largest advertisers on those networks:

Nutrisystem: $1.9 million
Otezla: $1.07 million
T-Mobile: $938,000
GEICO: $917,000
Jenny Craig: $806,000
Progressive: $712,000
Humira: $690,000
Sleep Number: $655,000

We know that in 2017, around 2,900 worked in the cable TV news industry.

What about the network news?

ABC, CBS and NBC saw their nightly news audience drop by 7% last year, to 5.2 million people.

The networks’ morning news audience fell 10% in 2017, to around 3 million people.

Additionally, the networks’ Sunday news shows fell 1%, to 2 million people while their news magazine shows (think 60 Minutes) fell 12%.

The ad revenues for the three networks’ nightly news shows was $552 million last year, about the same as they were the year before.

The morning news shows brought in a staggering $1.1 billion in revenue last year, however.

And how’s our local TV news doing?

For the morning, local TV news have seen a 15% decrease in viewership while for the evening and late-night they’ve seen a 7% drop. Midday saw the smallest drop, with 4%.

Across America last year, local TV news brought in $17.4 billion in advertising revenue. Sounds like a lot, but it’s a 13% drop from 2016…an election year.

The local TV stations’ digital ad revenue was at $1 billion, or a 3% increase from the previous year.

We know that about 29,000 people work in local TV news.

Finally, the newspapers.

Last year there was a daily newspaper circulation in America of 31 million, with 34 million on Sunday. That’s an 11% and 10% drop from 2016, respectively.

When it comes to reading the newspaper online, the 50 largest daily newspapers reported an average of 11.5 million unique visitors a month…or about the same number as the year before.

Most people spend 2.5 minutes reading their local newspaper online.

In addition, alt-weekly papers have seen a 10% decline from the previous year, with an average circulation of 55,000.

We know that just over 39,000 people work in the newspaper business, which is 15% lower than it was in 2014, and 45% lower than it was in 2004.

The American newspaper industry made $16.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2017, a 10% drop from the year before. Circulation revenue brought in an additional $11 billion, which is actually up 3% from the previous year.

The Stock Buy Back Scheme

Let's get into something the corporate media won't: our house-of-cards stock market.

Currently we have a proposal by the Trump Administration to bypass Congress so that the rich 1% can pay less in capital gains taxes.

George H.W. Bush had the same idea in the 90s, but figured he couldn’t use the Treasury to bypass Congress so let the issue go.

Now it’s back, and it sounds like it’ll reduce federal revenues by $10 billion a year.

This is great for the 1%, as they can now save a lot of money on the sale of their stock.

It’s interesting when we get into the issue of stock sales and stock buybacks these days.

For instance, did you know that after the 1929 Crash, stock buybacks were made illegal?

Yep, happened in 1934 and lasted until 1982 when the SEC allowed them again.

Much of our nation's dilemmas can be traced back to the 1980s, when we switched from an industrial capitalist model to the financialization of the American economy.

This was done with the export of US manufacturing to China at the same time we shifted the nation’s focus and talent to financial markets and institutions and the elites who run them.

We stopped making things so we could move numbers around on a spreadsheet…and we called this progress.

So what does this stock buy back thing mean, exactly?

Well, how it works is that a corporation’s CEO has their pay tied to stock share performance…so if the stock price goes up, so does their pay/bonus.

So what these CEOs do is direct their corporation to purchase their own stock, or what’s called a buyback.

This causes the share price to go up, simply because there are fewer available shares to buy. Supply and demand.

Sometimes the corporations even use debt to buyback their stock. Whether it’s profits or debt, though, either way those corporations aren’t really making anything!

No research & development…no plant expansions…no jobs created.

But boy…that CEO and his management team got their high pay and bonuses, didn’t they?

Sadly for most Americans, they get pulled into this pump-and-dump operation. Seeing the stock price go up – and figuring the company must be doing something right – they buy that stock.

There’s really no value behind that stock, however…just manipulation.

Trump’s latest idea to cut stock sale taxes for the rich will only make the problem worse.

The Trade War with China

In addition to those shady financial dealings, we know we’re in the midst of a trade war and have been for months.

The main enemy here is China…or at least that’s what the media wants you to think. We never hear much about the other twenty-or-so countries that have been hit by Trump tariffs, just China.

And this makes sense, because like I said…China needs to be the enemy.

The country actually had the audacity to start its own crude oil futures market, the Shanghai International Energy Exchange.

China is already importing more oil than any other nation.

This is a direct challenge to the global currency, the US petrodollar. Now it’s not just the dollar that’s backed-up by oil, but the Chinese yuan.

How’d it come to this?

Mostly because Muslims were pissed at Israelis, which sparked the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

This caused OPEC to raise crude oil prices by 400%.

Knowing this could spell doom for America, the financial elites met at the 1973 Bilderberg meeting and made a deal with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority to put all the Saudi oil profits back into the US stock and bond markets, with the express promise that the US military would come to the aid of the Saudi Royal family should they ever face trouble.

One of the most recent examples of the kind of trouble the Saudis needed the US government for was when Saddam Hussein began to sell his oil for euros, and wasn’t recycling them back into the US markets…as everyone in the world was doing.

This brought about the 2003 Iraq War, and since then we’ve seen Iraq continue to exchange its oil in the petrodollar exchange system.

The key here is the currency and what’s backing it up.

Now, China has wanted to start a crude oil futures market since 1993…and they did so before volatility closed it down in 1994.

They got serious about it again in 2001, but it took them seventeen long years before they were able to get the next iteration of the exchange open.

Now it’s doing an incredible amount of business. In just the first hour of operation, the exchange traded 23,000 oil contracts worth $10 billion.

What’s so wonderful for investors is that they can turn around and convert that petro-yuan into gold at the Shanghai Gold Exchange, something that’s all the easier since China bought the London Metals Exchange in 2012.

This allowed China to issue yuan-backed gold futures. Together with the oil-backing it up, the Chinese yuan has become quite the strong currency.

With no gold backing it up, the US dollar is in a much weaker position. The only thing backing up the US currency is the US military...and we know they can't win wars anymore (mostly because it's not as profitable as continual fighting).

The London Metals Exchange accounted for 80% of the world’s base-metal options, and in the $1.4 billion pound deal, we know financial elites like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan made out like bandits.

And China backs up its currency with gold. The country currently takes in 42% of all the metals traded in the world.

Since 2009, when the country allowed citizens in other nations to buy its currency, the yuan has become much more popular.

But…but…but…what about this massive level of economic growth in the US right now?

Um…what growth?

Have you seen a hike in wages at all? I haven’t.

Sure, GDP growth might have gone to 4.1% in the second quarter, and the S&P is up 14% since last year…but how is that helping 99% of the American population?

Don’t be fooled by the 4.1% unemployment number, either. We both know that record-levels of senior citizens are rejoining the workforce because they just don’t have enough money.

We know that 225,000 Americans aged 85 or older are currently working, which is 4.4% of the workforce…up from the 2.6% it was in 2006. Those in their 30s are hardly working at all.

Some also point to the Shanghai Composite index being down nearly 13% this year, or the fact that Chinese GDP has slowed to 6.7% in the second quarter, or even that the yuan has fallen 8% in value in the past few months.

The thing is…China can weather those fluctuations. Currency drops will actually stem-off inflation for the country, which will help them in the trade war. Their imports might become more expensive, but their exports will become more competitive.

Could America weather the same?

I don’t think so.

Conclusion

There is no sun on the horizon for America.

We were $20 trillion in debt when Trump took office, and budget deficits were already 16% higher than they had been the year before.

Now for 2019, the projection for the annual budget deficit has already soared from $530 billion to $1.1 trillion.

With America, the country is doing everything backwards:

No interest in gold whatsoever
Using crude oil to force the world to use our currency
Whoring our military out to the Saudis
Record levels of debt each year

With China, we have a country that’s doing everything right:

Saving up a ton of gold
Using a crude oil exchange to get away from the dollar
Keeping debt low

Both countries stifle the free flow of information with firm controls on the media.

In China the government cracks down on what can be said and who can say it.

In America, 6 corporations control our information and they’re driven by the profit-motive more than any civic sense of duty to you or this country.

But unlike China, America’s stock market is nothing more than a sham, with many major companies focusing on driving up the price of their shares.

They’re not so interested in making products or building this country or helping you or your family.

Another financial crash is a certainty, as financial markets move in cycles.

While it could be this year, I think the house of cards might stay upright for a while longer.

Either way, the crash will come in autumn…as they always do.

Notes

“American Time Use Survey Summary.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. 28 June 2018. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm

Ariens, Chris. “Here Are the Biggest Advertisers on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.” TVNewser. 9 March 2018. https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/here-are-the-biggest-advertisers-on-fox-news-cnn-and-msnbc/359057

“Cable News Fact Sheet.” Pew Research Center. 25 July 2018. http://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/cable-news/

“Chinese buy London Metal Exchange in £1.4bn takeover.” Independent. 16 June 2012. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/chinese-buy-london-metal-exchange-in-14bn-takeover-7855200.html

Coppes, Chuck. “Economic Deceptions, Petrodollar Dynamics & Metals Charts.” Chuck Coppes. 29 July 2018. http://chuckcoppes.com/current-newsletter/4592066389

Daye, Chu. “China becomes world’s largest oil importer.” Global Times. 6 February 2018. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1088490.shtml

Islam, Faisal. “Iraq nets handsome profit by dumping dollar for euro.” The Guardian. 15 February 2003. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/feb/16/iraq.theeuro

Jiang, Yuxuan. “Will China’s renminbi oil futures end the petrodollar monopoly?” South China Morning Post. 1 April 2018. https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2139676/will-chinas-renminbi-oil-futures-end-petrodollar-monopoly

“Local TV News Fact Sheet.” Pew Research Center. 12 July 2018. http://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/local-tv-news/

Lutz, Ashley. “These 6 Corporations Control 90% Of The Media In America.” Business Insider. 14 June 2012. https://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6

Marshall, Andrew Gavin. “Controlling the Global Economy: Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission and the Federal Reserve.” Global Research. 3 August 2009. https://www.globalresearch.ca/controlling-the-global-economy-bilderberg-the-trilateral-commission-and-the-federal-reserve/14614

“Newspapers Fact Sheet.” Pew Research Center. 13 June 2018. http://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/newspapers/

“Network News Fact Sheet.” Pew Research Center. 25 July 2018. http://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/network-news/

Park, Sungwoo. “How China Is About to Shake Up the Oil Futures Market.” Bloomberg. 9 February 2018. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-09/how-china-will-shake-up-the-oil-futures-market-quicktake-q-a

“Petrodollar.” Wikispooks. 6 February 2018. https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Petrodollar

Taylor, Andrew. “The US government’s budget deficit is about to explode – and the Trump tax law and spending surge is to blame.” Business Insider. 9 April 2018. https://www.businessinsider.com/us-budget-deficit-1-trillion-2019-cbo-report-2018-4

Van Dam, Andrew. “Record number of folks age 85 and older are working.” The Durango Herald. 6 July 2018. https://durangoherald.com/articles/230620

Wallace, Charles. “Trade War Hurts China While U.S. Economy Booms.” Forbes. 31 July 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/charleswallace1/2018/07/31/trade-war-hurts-china-while-u-s-economy-booms/#14dbb0ba5b64

Yiu, Enoch. “London Metal Exchange to launch yuan-denominated futures in sign of Chinese currency’s growing cachet.” South China Morning Post. 21 May 2018. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2146956/london-metal-exchange-launch-yuan-denominated-futures-sign

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A Quick Peek at Montana’s Libtard Blogs

August FEC Filings for Montana Democrats, GOP

Montana GOP August Finances

Montana Democrats’ August Finances

Conclusion

10 Montana Democrats That Want a Sales Tax

Airbnb Decimates Montana Housing, Taxes

$150 Million in Missoula Spending

A Big Political Weekend in Missoula

Absenteeism and the Montana Campaign Trail

Which Montana Party Will Jump on the Legalization Bandwagon First?

5 Reasons to Vote for Rosendale and Gianforte

Trade Disputes, Currency Wars, Oil Markets and the Global Media

The State of Our Media

The Stock Buy Back Scheme

The Trade War with China

Conclusion

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​Conclusion

MT Book 7

​Montana Blog

​Popular Posts

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Conclusion

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