MIA LOVE

Despite claiming conservative credentials, Love voted to increase property taxes by 116%, the second-highest of any city in Utah. In addition, Love supports the Cut, Cap and Balance plan and supports raising the Social Security retirement age. Although she has promised to oppose tax hikes, she has proposed cutting the Earned Income Tax Credit and ensuring that the poor pay income tax. She also supports massive cuts to education and student loan assistance, despite having benefitted from student loan programs herself. Finally, Love has been outspoken in her criticism of African-American leaders and the Congressional Black Caucus. She has promised to join the Caucus if elected, but said she plans to destroy it from the inside. She accused Caucus members of wanting to keep their constituents on the government plantation.

Voted To Increase Taxes

As A Member Of The Saratoga Springs City Council, Love Voted To More Than Double The Property Tax Rate. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, On tax policy, Love defended her record as a council member and, currently, mayor of Saratoga Springs. She said that when she came into office, the citys budget was balanced on building fees, which proved unsustainable, and when the housing market collapsed, it left the city with a shortfall. She said the first option was to cut government. But she also more than doubled the property tax rate in an effort to balance the budget -- voting for an increase of 116 percent in the property tax rate. [Salt Lake Tribune, 5/24/12] August 2008: The Saratoga Springs City Council Voted Unanimously To Increase Property Taxes By 116%. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, The Saratoga Springs City Council has approved its 2008-09 city operating budget of $6.2 million that includes a 116 percent property-tax increase. In a unanimous vote, the council decided Wednesday in favor of the tax increase and budget during its meeting at the city's offices. [Salt Lake Tribune, 8/23/08] The Saratoga Springs Tax Increase Was The Second Highest By Dollar Amount Among All Cities In Utah. According to the Deseret Morning News, Utahns may have lost a bundle in the stock market meltdown. Higher gasoline prices drained wallets for months. Now adding to such challenges is that 81 local governments in Utah have imposed property tax increasesThe second-highest property tax by dollar amount is a $165 hike by Saratoga Springs in Utah County. [Deseret Morning News, 11/10/08] The Tax Increase Was Expected To Generate $1 Million In Revenue. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, The tax-increase proposal was later dropped to 78 percent to raise roughly

$800,000. But then increased to the new rate of 116 percent to generate $1 million, Leetham said. [Salt Lake Tribune, 8/23/08] About 60 Residents Attended A Hearing To Protest The Tax Hike. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Earlier this month, some 60 residents attended a hearing, where city leaders heard residents frustrations with the tax hike. Many residents had said the city should resolve its money problems and not put the burden on folks who are dealing with their own tight budgets. Others were unhappy to hear that no new city services or amenities would come with the tax increase. [Salt Lake Tribune, 8/23/08]

Love Voted To Raise Property Taxes 21% In 2009 And Another 13% In 2010. According to The Daily Caller, In 2007, 2008 and 2009, as a member of the city council, Love voted for budgets that increased property taxes. From 2007 to 2008, property tax rates increased by 116 percent. From 2008 to 2009, they went up another 21 percent, and another 13 percent in 2010. [The Daily Caller, 3/20/12] Love Claimed Property Taxes Only Rose 24% Since 1997 And The Property Tax Increase Only Paid For Public Safety. According to a YouTube video of a Mia Love town hall, Love said, The housing market crashed, our property taxescouldnt pay for a third of public safety. So what we did is we assessed it for the first time. Every city has to do it once when they incorporate. OnceSo we made sure at that point that property taxes paid for nothing but public safety. So if you think about 116, yes, it was from that point, the rates started dropping because the housing values went up, the rates started dropping. So if you think about it from the time it started in 1997, it was only 24%. [YouTube, Love 2.8.12, Lehi Town Hall Part 2, 2/8/12] Saratoga Springs City Manager Ken Leetham Said The Tax Increase Was Mostly To Catch Up After Having Not Raised Taxes Since The City Was Incorporated In 1997. According to the Deseret Morning News, Saratoga Springs city manager Ken Leetham said earlier, We've been a city for about 10 years, and we've never raised taxes. ... This is mostly to catch up. The city has increased in size from a few hundred residents initially to about 15,500 now. In addition to costs going up for fuel and expanding services, we really need to make that tax adjustment for not raising taxes for so many years, Leetham said. [Deseret Morning News, 11/10/08]

Love Said Property Taxes Rose By An Average Of $13-Per-Month. According to a YouTube video of a Mia Love town hall, Love was asked, What was the average household expenditure approximately? Love said, So we went from, it was a $13-a-month on the average household, $13a-month increase on average. [YouTube, Love 2.8.12, Lehi Town Hall Part 2, 2/8/12] Love Said That Raising Taxes Was Probably The Most Difficult Thing To Do, But Was Done Because Our Taxes Were So Low To Begin With. According to a YouTube video, Love said, Two years ago, actually, we did raise taxes and it was probably the most difficult thing to do. However, the reason why we did it is because our taxes were so low to begin with. And Ive found that sometimes raising it just a little bit, year-by-year, is probably best than doing that big jump, you know, you always have to balance when its justified to raise taxes and when its not. And Im extremely conservative, and so, you know, I think its absolutely the last resort, and that was a difficult thing. [YouTube, Mia Love Runs for Mayor to Raise Taxes? 4/16/12] 2012: Love Signed The Americans For Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge. According to an Americans for Tax Reform press release obtained via States News Service, Love signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. [States News Service, 4/20/12]

Far-Right Views
Love Called Herself Extremely Conservative. According to a YouTube video, Love said, Two years ago, actually, we did raise taxes and it was probably the most difficult thing to do. However, the reason why we did it is because our taxes were so low to begin with. And Ive found that sometimes raising it just a little bit, year-by-year, is probably best than doing that big jump, you know, you always have to balance when its justified to raise taxes and when its not. And Im extremely conservative, and so, you know, I think its absolutely the last resort, and that was a difficult thing. [YouTube, Mia Love Runs for Mayor to Raise Taxes? 4/16/12] Love Wanted A United Congressional Delegation That Was In Favor Of Cut, Cap And Balance. According to a YouTube video of a Sutherland Institute congressional forum, Love said, We dont have to go back and reinvent the wheel. Cut, Cap and Balance was actually passed in the House by Congressman Chaffetz. He was able to do that and it went on to fail in the SenateYou know, there are things that weve got to do. Weve got to have a united congressional delegation, weve got to do everything we can to make sure that our federal office in Washington is held to the same standards and not overspending. [YouTube, Utah 4th Congressional District Candidate Forum, 3/22/12] Love Supported Raising The Social Security Retirement Age And Reindex The Program For Younger Americans. According to the Washington Post, She favors giving states control of Medicare through block grants, privatizing more of the student loan market, and revamping Social Security to increase the retirement age and reindex the program for younger Americans, said spokesman Brian Somers. [Washington Post, 6/26/12] Love Said The Federal Government Incentivized The Proliferation Of Single-Parent Homes By Giving Them Food Stamps. According to a YouTube video of a Sutherland Institute congressional forum, Love said, Realistically, in this country, what we do, we incentivize and reward bad behavior and punish good behavior. If you think about the poverty programs that we have right now: 80% of the people who are eligible for food stamps are families with children. 85% of those are single families with children. So in that case what weve done is weve incentivized people who are not together, and we give more to single family homes. I think that in those cases, you know, again, weve got a federal government thats involved, and the unintended consequences is we have more families that are separate through our policies. [YouTube, Utah 4th Congressional District Candidate Forum, 3/22/12] Love Said She Would Vote To Reinstate Dont Ask, Dont Tell. According to a YouTube video of a Sutherland Institute congressional forum, Love was asked, Would you vote to reinstate Dont Ask, Dont Tell. She responded, Yes. [YouTube, Utah 4th Congressional District Candidate Forum, 3/22/12] Love Wanted To Eliminate Higher Education Subsidies Despite Having Benefitted From Them As A Student. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Loves list also takes aim at eliminating higher-education subsidies, including subsidized college loans and grants. The federal Pell Grant program alone provided $471 million in tuition aid to Utah students last year. Congress struck a deal last week to extend the subsidized loans, a program that Love benefited from as a student. She continues to list between $15,000 and $50,000 in college loan debt on her financial disclosure. Love said that, at the time, government had crowded out private lenders and the subsidized loans were all that was available. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12]

Love Said Americans Dont Have A Right To Health Care And Wanted To Move To A FreeMarket System. According to a YouTube video of a Sutherland Institute congressional forum, Love was asked, Do Americans have a right to health care? She responded, No. I think that we have a right to own, earn, work for and pay for ourselves, and I think that we need to move health care to more of a free-market system. And the closer we move to a free-market system, the further we move from a one-size-fit-all solution to government health care. [YouTube, Utah 4th Congressional District Candidate Forum, 3/22/12] Love Wanted To Broaden The [Tax] Base. According to a YouTube video of a Mia Love town hall, Love said, Were going to lower taxes, and were going to broaden the base. Lower taxes, broaden the base. [YouTube, Love, 1.12.12, Town Hall Riverton Part 2, 1/12/12] Love: Everyone Enjoys The Benefits Of Government Providing Public Safety And Providing National Defense, And Everyone Should Contribute To That. According to a Restoration of America YouTube video, Love said, When it comes to taxes, government shouldbroaden the base. Everyone enjoys the benefits of government providing public safety and providing national defense, and everyone should contribute to that. [YouTube, Restoration of America - Candidate Interview - Mia Love - U.S. Congress 4th District, 4/24/12] Loves Budget Would Cut The Earned Income Tax Credit In Half. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Loves budget would Cut Earned Income Tax Credit in half $22.5 billion nationally; $207 million in Utah. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12] Eric Cantor Wanted To Broaden The [Tax] Base To Ensure That The Poor Paid Income Taxes. According to the New York Times, Contrary to the conventional wisdom, Republicans are not against all tax increases. Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Majority Leader, thinks poor people might need a tax hike. At a Politico-sponsored breakfast last week, Mr. Cantor said: We also know that over 45 percent of the people in this country dont pay income taxes at all, and we have to question whether thats fair. And should we broaden the base in a way that we can lower rates for everybody that pays taxes. [New York Times, 4/23/12]

Love Detailed $750 Billion In Federal Budget Cuts. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, To do that, she has offered a detailed blueprint of deep cuts to federal programs totaling more than $750 billion. It would mean whacking more than $2 billion of federal spending in Utah, slashing food assistance for the poor, eliminating school lunch subsidies and wiping out special-education aid. She would end subsidized college loans like those she used herself when she earned her degree, and eliminate funds like those that were spent in the city she oversees as mayor, aimed at preventing homelessness. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12] Loves Budget Would Cut $60 Billion In National Grants By The Department Of Housing And Urban Development. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, In one of the biggest cuts proposed, Love would wipe out $60 billion in national grants by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last year those grants poured more than $70 million into Utah to do such things as build homeless shelters and affordable housing and to subsidize rents. You have to ask if all the housing-assistance programs are working, she said. We want to make sure that were not making people more poor, were not putting more people into poverty. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12] Loves Budget Would Cut $100 Million In Federal Funds For Public Education In Utah. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Loves proposed cuts would also sap more than $100

million in federal funds to public education in Utah, including more than $38 million in specialeducation grants; nearly $21 million in grants to low-income, Title I schools; and millions more for other programs. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12] Love Called For Eliminating The Federal School Lunch Program. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, In addition, Loves proposal would eliminate the federal school lunch program, a role that Cato said should be handled by local governments. The state received $144 million last year from the Department of Agriculture to serve school lunches, according to federal spending data compiled by the group OMB Watch. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12] Love Wanted To Cut Food Stamp Assistance In Half. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, One of Loves biggest cost savings comes from cutting food subsidies in the state by half. That includes chopping more than $200 million from Utahs food stamp payments. Each month the state distributes about $34 million in food stamps, enough to help feed 112,000 people twice as many as five years ago. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12] Loves Budget Cut $212 Billion From Medicaid. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Loves plan would trim $758.6 billion from the federal budget, although that includes $212 billion in long-term savings from capping Medicaid growth and $87 billion from repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. [Salt Lake Tribune, 7/5/12]

Love Scoffed At The Idea Of The War On Women. According to Fox News, Mia said, this socalled war on women where they -- where you're - - you're trying to get a church to provide a certain and specific insurance package for women. And we should be talking about whether government should be forcing any private entity to be involved in that. [Fox News, 06/01/12] Love On Entitlements: Lets Get Rid Of Those. Lets Start Getting Rid Of Some Of Those. According to a YouTube video, Love was asked, So is it safe to say that you would have voted against the bill that just recently came out, Congress Bill 3567, that said you could not spend entitlements in strip clubs, casinos and on liquor? Love responded, Oh gosh, I would have gone further. I wouldve said Lets get rid of those. Lets start getting rid of some of those. [YouTube, Mia Love (R) Utah CPAC 2012 Interview with Kevin Jackson, 2/15/12]

Controversial Statements About Race

Love Said She Would Join The Congressional Black Caucus And Destroy It From The Inside. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Love said that, if she is elected, she would gladly join the Congressional Black Caucus -- a group of black Democratic lawmakers and Republican Rep. Allen West, of Florida -- because she would want to destroy it from inside. It's demagoguery. They sit there and ignite emotions, they ignite racism where there isn't any, she said. They use their positions to instill fear. 'Hope and change' has turned into fear and blame. [Salt Lake Tribune, 1/5/12] Love Said She Would Take [The Congressional Black Caucus] Apart From The Inside Out. According to the Deseret Morning News, "One of Loves goals, should she make it to the House of Representatives, is to join the Congressional Black Caucus in order to take that thing apart from the inside out, she said." [Deseret Morning News, 5/2/12]

Love On The Congressional Black Caucus: Constituents Need to Know Their

Representatives Want To Keep Them On The Government Plantation. According to Right Wing News, Love said, It is my intention to join the CBC if elected to Congress. I would join Rep. Alan West in promoting conservative principles from within the Caucus. I believe fiscal discipline, limited government and personal responsibility are vital to a stronger America. Nowhere is this message more important than among the lawmakers who profit from promoting an unsustainable entitlement system rife with failed poverty programs that perpetuates the culture of government dependency and discourages self-reliance among black Americans. This is the antithesis of Dr. Martin Luther King's dream, and their constituents need to know their representatives want to keep them on the government plantation. [Right Wing News, 01/10/12] Love Accused Congressional Black Caucus Members Of Demagoguery And Using Their Positions To Instill Fear. According to The Hinterland Gazette, If elected, Mia Love would become the first black female Republican member of Congress, and she plans to join the Congressional Black Caucus: Yes, yes. I would join the Congressional Black Caucus and try to take that thing apart from the inside out, she said.... Its demagoguery. They sit there and ignite emotions and ignite racism when there isnt, Love said. They use their positions to instill fear. Hope and change is turned into fear and blame. Fear that everybody is going lose everything and blaming Congress for everything instead of taking responsibility. [The Hinterland Gazette, 1/10/12] Love On The Congressional Black Caucus: Dependence On Government Is Not The Answer. According to Right Wing News, Love said, I respect the desire of the CBC to provide for the needs of the poor communities they serve. However, I reject the notion that dependency on government is the answer. We spend nearly $1 trillion a year on means-tested poverty programs in this country. But those programs have done little to stem the tide of poverty in America. We can no longer afford to keep spending money on programs that aren't working. Trimming government and getting it out of the way of economic recovery is the best way to create jobs and wealth that enable people to pull themselves out of poverty. [Right Wing News, 01/09/12] Love Said The Congressional Black Caucus Needs A Change In Membership. In an op-ed piece, Love wrote that the CBCs members needed to be replaced by those, who will better reflect the diversity of the views held by black Americans [] The principles reflected in the tea party are not at odds with the values of black Americans. [Deseret Morning News, 05/02/12]