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End Corporate Welfare PAC

End Corporate Welfare PAC. Strategic Plan. Mission Statement. Our goal is to achieve passage of the End Corporate Welfare ballot initiative in 2008. This amendment will eliminate direct cash payments of tax revenue and selective tax breaks. The Team. Sean Concannon, Chair

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End Corporate Welfare PAC

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  1. End Corporate Welfare PAC Strategic Plan

  2. Mission Statement • Our goal is to achieve passage of the End Corporate Welfare ballot initiative in 2008. This amendment will eliminate direct cash payments of tax revenue and selective tax breaks. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  3. The Team • Sean Concannon, Chair • Larry Lawver, Treasurer • Board of Directors • 20 County and Congressional District Coordinators • 100 to 150 Volunteer petition gatherers statewide www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  4. What is Corporate Welfare? • It is any government spending program that provides unique benefits or advantages to specific companies or industries, to the detriment of competing companies. Governments often tout corporate welfare as “economic development” or “increased employment.” www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  5. What is Wrong with Corporate Welfare? • Corporate welfare is a big drain on the taxpayer. • In 2005 Florida collected $1,736,860,605 in corporate tax. • $735,200,000 million budget recommendation for Fiscal Year 2006-07. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  6. What is Wrong with Corporate Welfare? • Corporate welfare creates an uneven playing field. • By giving selected businesses and industries special advantages, corporate subsidies put businesses that are less politically connected at an unfair disadvantage. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  7. What is Wrong with Corporate Welfare? • Corporate welfare programs are anti-consumer. • By helping particular businesses, the government often damages consumers. For example, the protectionist federal sugar program costs consumers several billion dollars per year in higher product prices. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  8. What is Wrong with Corporate Welfare? • The government does a poor job of picking winners. • Federal loan programs and their local counterparts, such as those operated by the SBA, have high delinquency rates, indicating that the difficult job of analyzing business risks should be left to the private sector. • Government should not use taxpayer money on risky schemes. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  9. What is Wrong with Corporate Welfare? • Corporate welfare fosters corruption. • Corporate welfare generates an unhealthy—sometimes corrupt—relationship between business and the government. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  10. What is Wrong with Corporate Welfare? • Corporate welfare wastes government resources. • A great deal of time both of staff and elected officials is consumed by negotiations and debates concerning various types of corporate welfare. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  11. What is Wrong with Corporate Welfare? • Corporate welfare depletes private sector strength. • While ‘‘market entrepreneurs’’ work hard to create new businesses, corporate welfare helps create ‘‘political entrepreneurs’’ who spend their energies seeking government handouts. • Corporate welfare draws talented people and firms into wasteful subsidy-seeking activities and away from more productive pursuits. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  12. Corporate Welfare Reform Possibilities • Our Legislature could enact measures to curtail all types of corporate welfare in the State. • Legislate directly through the constitutional amendment process. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  13. Legislative Action • Our Legislature currently prides itself on its incentive programs for economic development. • Grass roots demand for change could potentially bring about some reform. • More sophisticated lobbying efforts could also changeopinions in Tallahassee. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  14. Constitutional Amendment • A ballot initiative to amend the Constitution bypasses the Legislature and lets we the people decide the best policy. • A successful campaign to End Corporate Welfare will make our Legislature more receptive to future reform proposals. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  15. Amendment Process • A proposed amendment must be petitioned onto the ballot with 611,009 verified petitions. • A proposed amendment must pass review by the Supreme Court of Florida. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  16. Action Plan • Break the petitioning process into two phases. • Phase I – collect 10% or 61,114 petitions to trigger Supreme Court Review by middle of 2007. • Phase II – collect remaining petitions for ballot placement by February 2008 deadline. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  17. Phase I • For this phase of the process, we will use volunteer petition gatherers. • There will be 20 county or congressional district coordinators responsible for obtaining 3000 to 5000 petitions. • The coordinators will work with the PAC officers to validate the petitions collected through the local elections supervisors. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  18. Phase II • After Supreme Court approval, the coordinators will begin working with paid petition gatherers. • Paid petitioners will be necessary to obtain sufficient numbers for placement on the ballot. • Volunteer petitioners are expected to continue in Phase II • Phase II will require substantial fundraising efforts. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  19. End Corporate Welfare Amendment • The summary of the proposed amendment is as follows: • Prohibits the State and its political subdivisions from transferring tax revenue or granting tax reductions of any type to private businesses of any description, with exceptions of purchases of property, goods or services, and the payment of damages and costs. Allows individuals to bring enforcement actions in court. Eliminates the selective tax treatment of particular businesses or classes of businesses. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  20. Are Tax Breaks Corporate Welfare? • Some people would not consider a tax reduction corporate welfare. However, a tax reduction is the same as a cash payment to the recipient of the tax break. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  21. How will Florida attract businesses without corporate welfare? • Selective incentives are only one way governments currently seek to attract “new jobs.” The overall tax structure, regulatory environment, education and transportation systems are other ways to create a business friendly environment without selective benefits to the politically savvy business. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  22. What will happen to the millions previously devoted to corporate welfare? • There are many uses for the revenue previously expended on corporate welfare. • $700,000,000 could employ many teachers. • $700,000,000 could build needed infrastructure. • $700,000,000 could be returned to the taxpayers by reduced taxation. www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

  23. What can you do to help? • First, go to: www.EndCorporateWelfare.com and sign the petition. • Second, print petitions and obtain signatures from your friends and neighbors. • Third, make monetary contributions to help with all of the expenses of this process. • Fourth, volunteer to be a coordinator or fill other positions with End Corporate Welfare, PAC www.EndCorporateWelfare.com

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