Thoughts about the MN Independence Party

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Rob Hahn forming Reform Family Law Now group to seek change in child custody
laws
By Jay Weiner Published Thu, Jan 6 2011 6:24 am

Former Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Rob Hahn is expected to announce today that he has formed Reform Family Law Now, an organization that will seek to change child custody laws in Minnesota and other states.

A website — rflnow.com — has been established.

Hahn wants the "legal presumption" in a divorce situation to be joint "50-50" custody arrangements. Hahn believes that fathers are often discriminated against in post-divorce custody battles.

Fox 9 News posed 9 questions to all major candidates and posted their responses this morning.

Tom Horner and Rob Hahn

1. http://robbobforgov.com/Bold_Budget_Solutions.html
   
   REFORM
   
   Income Tax Reform
   
   New bracket for the über-rich
   Create a new 9 percent bracket for taxable income over $250,000 for a married couple filing jointly. This would raise approximately $468 million in the next biennium. This is merely one-half a percent more than the highest bracket was paying in 1998.1
   
   Capital gains tax reduction
   Reduce this tax to half its current level, when the gains result from long-term investments in Minnesota-based companies. This will encourage more people to consider investing in both existing, but more importantly in start-up companies, at a time when banks are not lending money freely like they once did.
   
   Corporate Tax Reform
   
   Cut and eliminate corporate income tax
   Make Minnesota really business-friendly. Cut the corporate income tax, currently 9.8%, in half and eliminate it entirely for businesses who invest 2.5% of their profits in PIE2 (Partners In Education – details of program to be announced later in July) and agree to certain parameters (i.e. purchase equipment from Minnesota dealers, make some investment in training and hiring unemployed, penalty for outsourcing or moving business out-of-state). This will encourage existing businesses to expand in Minnesota and allow them to pay better wages. Additionally, it will offer incentives for start-up companies to base themselves in Minnesota and help lure existing companies to Minnesota. More jobs mean more income tax. By investing in PIE, Minnesota businesses will help train and employ Minnesota students and recent graduates while simultaneously defraying their tuition costs.
   
   Get rid of loopholes and other needless protections
   · Close the loophole that allows companies to assign profits to a subsidiary in “tax haven” countries, essentially shielding it from taxation.
   · Discontinue the current Foreign Royalty exclusion, which exempts from taxation any income from when a multinational receives royalty payments from its foreign subsidiaries.
   · Repealing the special tax treatment of Foreign Operating Corporations (FOCs) and treat income earned from foreign sources the same as income produced domestically.
   It’s projected the savings from these reforms would raise $283 million.3
   
   
   
   REDESIGN
   
   Health Care - Switch to total cost of care model
   The focus of health care needs to be switched to health outcomes and not fees for services, according to the Bush Foundation. Under this plan, providers would decide on the cost of a year’s worth of services, and while teaming up with other sectors, essentially create a state portfolio of publicly paid health care. This is real health care reform, not just health coverage reform. The savings to the state would be $2.6 billion per biennium.5
   
   Provide health insurance subsidies, not health care services and payments
   Combine the four medical assistance programs for efficiency and provide an annual subsidy to a Health Savings Account (HSA). This has the potential to cover all currently uninsured Minnesotans, allowing them to purchase health insurance on the open market. The Legislature might need to remove the restriction for purchasing health insurance only within Minnesota. Projected savings is $2.85 billion per biennium.6
   
   Opt-in to Medicaid
   Capture federal dollars by “opting-in” to early expansion of Medicaid. Net benefit to the state over next biennium could be $1.2 billion.7
   
   Reform the Social Security Title IV-D program
   This would ensure that child support services are paid only to parents who qualify for public assistance. This is a component of Rob Hahn’s family law reform proposal. Estimated savings are $258.3 million per biennium.8
   
   Switch from county-delivered to region-delivered services
   Instead of 87 counties, there would be six regions to deliver services. By “combining funding streams, reducing administration costs and eliminating unnecessary rules, regulations, reports and advisory groups,” this reform will save an estimated $355 million per biennium.9
   
   Redefine state-county relationships
   Counties would be given more leeway by lifting levy limits and other property tax restrictions. Such changes would also make the counties more accountable to their citizens for money spent and services rendered. The state would provide a framework for as well as results expected from the property tax system and also work with counties to identify outcomes and associated dollars for services administered by the state but delivered by the counties. Approximately $267 million would be saved by redefining these relationships.10
   
   REVENUE
   (All figures, unless otherwise noted, are the total for a biennium)
   
   New Forms of Revenue
   
   Riverboat Gambling
   Legalizing state-sponsored riverboat gambling on waterways throughout the state would generate between $800 million to $1.2 billion per biennium with six boats in operation and create 3,000 jobs. Under the Hahn proposal, 50% would go to the General Fund, 20% to K-12, 20% to LGA and 10% to promoting tourism. There will also be a financial benefit (pre-tax formula) for host cities and counties not to mention the boon to their local hospitality businesses.11
   
   New tax bracket for über-rich
   By creating an additional tax bracket for families making $250,000 or more, it is projected the state would earn an additional $468 million per biennium in income tax collections.
   
   Fat Tax
   Place a tax on fast food restaurants (possibly 3-5%) and on soda pop (possibly a one-cent tax on every four ounces). Conservative estimates suggest this would take in approximately $100 million or more every two years, some of which will be used to offset the additional $1billion we Minnesotans pay in health care costs related to problems that result from obesity. 12
   
   Cut corporate loopholes
   By repealing three basic loopholes, which currently benefit some companies, the state would add $283 million to its coffers.
   
   New Revenue from Redesigns
   
   Health Care - Switch to total cost of care model
   The savings to the state would be $2.6 billion per biennium.
   
   Provide health insurance subsidies, not health care services and payments
   $2.85 billion
   
   Reform the Social Security Title IV-D program
   $258 million
   
   Switch from county-delivered to region-delivered services
   $355 million
   
   Redefine state-county Relationships
   $267 million would be save by redefining these relationships.
   
   
   Total Revenues from new sources and reform
   More than $6 Billion
   
   
   About The Proposal
   
   As sourcing indicates, we culled information from studies conducted by different groups from both the left, right and middle of the political spectrum. In addition, we also did our own in-depth analysis of various figures and proposals. Current revenue streams and other economic adjustments might affect some of the projected figures slightly. We provided these figures to third parties, who agreed most, if not all, figures provided in these proposals, though approximate, could theoretically be accurate. While the total amount of revenue generated from new sources and redesign of the system exceeds $8 billion, we’ve accounted for some loss of revenue that would result from the reforms to capital gains and corporate income tax reductions. However, the cut in corporate income tax will generate the creation of new jobs, which will increase the income tax base.
   
   The proposals are not absolute and most likely need some refining. But they represent a strong and innovative starting point to balance our budget and plan for the future. There are no short-term fixes in these proposals but rather long-term solutions.
   
   
   
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   
   
   1 Minnesota Budget Project based on House Research.
   
   2 Rob Hahn For Governor PIE Initiative. Details to be unveiled separately.
   
   3 Ibid.
   
   5 The Bush Foundation, “Minnesota’s Bottom Line”
   
   6 The Minnesota Budget Solutions Coalition
   
   7 Minnesota Budget Project and others
   
   8 The Minnesota Budget Solutions Coalition
   
   9 The Bush Foundation, “Minnesota’s Bottom Line”
   
   10 The Bush Foundation, “Minnesota’s Bottom Line”
   
   11 Rob Hahn For Governor study and analysis
   
   12 Ibid.; Minnesota Health Department Study

Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Rob Hahn proposes a 3- to 5-percent tax on foods with high fat and high calories, and a 1-cent tax on four ounce soft drinks. (File)

It's not always healthy to eat, but is fast food bad enough to tax? That's what one Minnesota governor candidate wants to do.

This is one issue almost every Minnesotan will understand. Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Rob Hahn is proposing what he calls a "fat tax" on fast foods, soft drinks and even high calorie coffee drinks.

Read More

People on their way to the office last Thursday couldn't help but notice Rob Hahn jogging through downtown Minneapolis in a black suit.

When you're an Independence Party gubernatorial candidate with no endorsement, no money and no name recognition, it's best not to be late when a law firm wants to learn more about your candidacy.

Read More

MANKATO — Rob Hahn, an Independence Party candidate for governor, admits that divorce law is personal for him.

A father of two young boys, his divorce was finalized last year.

"It was probably at that time that I first gave serious consideration to running for governor," Hahn said during a stop in Mankato to promote his proposal to reform family law.

He describes his custody arrangement as not ideal but "pretty good." And since his divorce decree has been finalized, the proposed changes wouldn't affect him personally.

Read More

http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x1671040440/Hahn-looks-for-divorce-law-makeover

KSTP

Independence Party Candidate for Governor, Rob Hahn, is asking his party to take back their endorsement of Tom Horner for Governor.

Hahn claims a recent poll conducted by Decision Resources Limited broke campaign ethics because the company is owned by Horner's deputy manager.

Hahn also claims the results were shared with Horner before they were released.

Those results gave Horner a stronger showing than previous polls.

READ MORE

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1635339.shtml?cat=1

Grand Forks Herald

"Tenure a joke'"

Independence Party governor candidate Rob Hahn may not have won many friends when he said teacher "tenure is a joke" in an education forum mostly populated by a pretty liberal crowd.

"It is a license to be lazy and unproductive," he said at a forum whose main sponsor was the liberal think tank Growth and Justice.

Some quiet gasps were heard in the audience when Hahn said that.

The candidate said people may not agree with everything he says, but they will understand where he stands.

Read More

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/167605/group/homepage/

Star Tribune

A judge dismissed a Republican Party complaint Thursday that alleged endorsed Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner illegally profited from a poll he didn't pay for.

Despite the ruling, Independence Party gubernatorial challenger Rob Hahn called on Horner to withdraw from the race, saying Horner's involvement with the polling firm showed a lapse in judgment.

Read More

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/97637464.html