Texas Governor Jolts Maryland’s Anti-Business Politicians

Texas has been airing radio and TV adds in CA, IL, etc...on Wednesday, on the way back from installing some millwork in Charlottesville, VA, I heard the radio advertisement.  I thought it was great!  Now I get this from a friend:

For immediate release:

David Craig Campaign releases business climate data showing dismal contrast

Contact: Jim Pettit

301.704.1363

@jamesmpettit

Maryland Lt. Governor candidate and state delegate Jeannie Haddaway said Texas Governor Rick Perry’s media onslaught of the state’s business climate and job growth potential is well-deserved as the David Craig campaign for Governor released today a comparison of the two states’ business climates according to third-party sources.

Maryland’s average ranking is 32 compared to Texas’s 4 when compared to other states. Preventing Maryland’s free fall to the bottom quintile overall in the national business climate comparisons are factors including quality of life, education attainment levels and proximity to research and development facilities such as universities and federal government installations.

“Texas Governor Rick Perry understands something that the O'Malley-Brown Administration is in denial about -states compete with one another for jobs and economic development,” said Haddaway. “Raising taxes, fees and tolls 40 times that will remove an additional $9.5 billion out of the private sector economy by 2014 sends a loud message to other governors who are concerned about job growth that Maryland is easy pickings.”

The O’Malley – Brown Administration frequently cite narrow metrics in categories other than tax burdens in order to avoid responsibility for the damage they have caused in driving away small businesses at rates that are among the highest in the region and have left the state with just three Fortune 500 companies. These other metrics are largely based on benefits derived from world-class universities and a high concentration of research and development activity stemming from the post-World War II expansion of the federal government.

“Martin O’Malley and Anthony Brown have absolutely nothing to do with the number of PHD’s living in Maryland nor the federal government and university-sector involvement in medical research, cyber-security and information technology that has been going on for years. Yet they take credit for it every day as if they created Johns Hopkins, the National Institutes of Health and Fort Meade,” said Haddaway. “I am very concerned that as the federal government downsizes due to record debt, that ever-increasing numbers of working Marylanders are going to be left behind.”

Financial service firms, business media outlets, think tanks and site selection consultants routinely rank states’ economic development potential according to a variety of factors. The Craig campaign released the most recent annual business climate studies from Chief Executive Magazine, CNBC, Forbes, Moody’s and the Tax Foundation. Averaged together, Maryland falls 28 notches below Texas.

In some cases a comparison is not even possible, since Maryland is not included in top-performing states in two reports issued this summer. According to corporate relocation industry media outlets Area Development Online and Site Selection magazine, Texas ranks number one in the country.

Harford County Executive David Craig said the Lt. Governor will have a meaningful role in his Administration with economic development being a much-needed focus.

“Governor Perry’s visit to Maryland is a wake-up call to every anti-business politician in the state,” said Craig. “The rain tax alone has become a national embarrassment and one of the most blatant anti-business policies Marylanders have ever seen. My Administration will review, reduce or repeal any tax, fee and toll that impede job growth."

Chief Executive Magazine “Best and Worst States for Business”
1 Texas
41 Maryland
http://chiefexecutive.net/best-worst-states-for-business-2013

CNBC “America’s Top States for Business”
2 Texas
40 Maryland
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100824779

Forbes Best States for Business
7 Texas
16 Maryland
http://www.forbes.com/best-states-for-business/list/

Moody’s Analytics State Economic Outlook
2 Texas
21 Maryland
http://www.economy.com/state/precis-snapshot.aspx?g=TX&src=medc-ppstatehttp://www.economy.com/state/precis-snapshot.aspx?g=MD&src=medc-ppstate

Tax Foundation State Business Tax Climate Index
9 Texas
41 Maryland
http://taxfoundation.org/article/2013-state-business-tax-climate-index

There Comes A Point...

I think there's a point at which even a dyed in the wool hard left Liberal pays enough.  Case in point.  Bill Maher is on the point of jumping ship.  He's paying 60% of his income in taxes living in California.

Consider that in California, millionaires on top of the 39.6 percent they'll pay to the federal government in 2013, there's an additional 14.63 percent that now goes to the state.

Add in payroll taxes, local taxes, and property taxes, and I've seen estimates that the total tax bite could exceed 60 percent here.

But the rich aren't paying their "fair share."

Regardless, it sure was nice to see a liberal - especially one that contributed to Obama's reelection campaign! - complaining about his taxes.

GOP Tax Proposals...

As a "grass roots" type (blogger w/a very small readership)  I think that it's time for us Tea Party types to propose some new taxes...as well as support an end to ALL loopholes and subsidies.  Here are a few ideas:

1. End the Hollywood Tax Exemptions
2. End all subsidies (ethanol, agricultural, "green", whatever).  The federal government shouldn't be supporting any business sector for any reason.  If they can't make a business plan that works, then they should fail.
3. Place severe limits on tax-exempt organizations to hoard funds. Congress should require them to spend at least 10 percent of their endowment each year, or better yet, eliminate NGO's tax exempt status that aren't religious based groups.
4. Place sharp limits on the charitable deductions. Allow no more than a $50 million lifetime limit; better yet, place a $1 million to $5 million annual limit.
5. Limiting the pay of nonprofit leaders (including university presidents and foundation heads) to no more than the pay of a member of Congress or a Supreme Court justice.
6. Cap the mortgage interest deduction so houses worth more than $250,000 are ineligible.  OR limit the deduction amount to $250,000, and anything above that would be taxed.
7. End deductibility of state and local property and income taxes.
8. Eliminate all loopholes in the current income tas structure by passing a flat income tax...with the only exemption being poverty...
9. AND, and a 50% surtax on all former federal employees (no matter what agency/government branch they worked for). [ht instapundit]

By passing these tax proposals, it would literally put a stick in the eye of Democrats everywhere. Those hardest hit would be in those high spending blue states.  They would no longer get the benefit of being refunded by the Federal Gov't their state and local taxes.  That would have the added benefit of giving the Fed Gov't a "bonus" in the form of about $40-50 billion per anum in "extra" taxes.

Furthermore, most of these taxes would end many of the subsidies upon which the Democratic party depends.  By forcing people in blus states to pay more in taxes (by eliminating that deduction for state/local taxes) it would in effect, put  a large crush on those states to spend less...as thier taxes bases wouldn't have less money to spend...

As a conservative leanding individual, I have opposed subsidies to any business.  Basically, I'm fundamentally opposed to government supports of business.  Either a company can survive on it's own merits...or it will fail, leaving room for others to step in with better plans.  I  also oppose subisdies for agriculture.  Why in G-d's name are we paying/forcing farmers to either NOT grow food, or to turn food into fuel.  That makes no sense at all.

By passing a "flat income tax", and eliminating all the current loopholes of the warped, cracking system, the GOP can show just how hypocritical Democrats and the Democratic party is.

In closing, with the "fiscal cliff" looming, the GOP leadership, if they don't sell out the country by submitting stupidly, has the opportunity to literally turn the entire equation around and place the Democrats in the position of trying to cover their asses...

78k New Jobless Claims SInce Election

It's been a bumper crops of layoff since the re-election of  Obama.  Here's a partial list of companies who have announced  significant layoffs through the beginning of the year.

Bombay - closing remaining stores
Brake Parts – laid off 75 workers
Bristol-Meyers – laid off 480 employees
Cache - will close all stores
Center for Hospice New York – temporarily laid off as many as 40 employees
CVPH Medical Center - handed pink slips to 17 employees
Darden Restaurants – will reduce workers to 28 hours per week to avoid paying for Obamacare
Dillard's - to close some stores
Disney - closing 98 stores and will close more after January
Eddie Bauer - to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Energizer - expects to shed about 1,500 employees

Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Exide Technologies - laying off 150 workers, effective no later than March 31
GAP - closing 85 stores
Hawker Beechcraft – Laid off 240 employees
Home Depot- closing 15 stores 1 in NJ
Hostess - closes 3 bakeries
Husqvarna – laid off 600 employees
JC Penney - closing a number of stores after January
J. Jill - closing all stores
K B Toys - closing 356 stores
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's - to close 150 stores nationwide
Levitz - closing down remaining stores
Lightyear Network Solutions – Laid off more than one dozen employees
Linens and Things - closing all stores
Lowes - to close down 30 stores
Macy's - to close 9 stores after January
Momentive Performance Materials – laid off about 150 workers
Movie Galley Closing all stores
OCE North America – laid off 135 workers
Piercing Pagoda - closing all stores
Providence Journal - Laid off 23 full-time workers
Research in Motion Limited - laid off about 200 people at its U.S. headquarters
Rocketdyne – laid off about 100 employees
Sharper Image- closing down all stores
Sprint/Nextel - closing 133 stores
Talbots & Pacific Sunwear - closing down specialty stores
Texas Instruments - will lay off 1,700 employees (H/T to @Repub9989)United Blood Services Gulf – will lay off 10% of it’s workforce
US Cellular – laid off 980 employees
Vestas Wind Systems – laid off 3,000 staff
Whitehall - closing all stores
West Ridge Mine - Will close down “204 American coal-fired power plants by 2014″
Westinghouse – laid off another 50 employees
Wickes Furniture - closing down all stores
Wilson Leather - closing down all stores
Zales - closing down 82 stores and 105 after January

 I suspect that we can expect this list to grow significantly of the next 45 days.  Stocks are way down, and capital is fleeing  the country in near record amounts as investers seek to sock their few profits into accounts outside the country.  The real tip off will be when the MSM starts to sound the drumbeat of stories on evil rich people hiding their dollars...away from the "great and wise Oz Obama" who only wants them to "pay a little more."

Obama/Biden To Raise Taxes $1 Trillion

Video speaks for itself...



Via The Weekly Standard

All You Need to Know About Taxes...

Here's a graph that explains all anyone ever needs to know about taxes...

Instapundit has a host of links on this...and suggests that this should be widely distributed.

and then there's this:


Glenn Reynolds Keynote - Conference on the Constitutional Convention from Rootstrikers on Vimeo.

Democratic Congressman Admits Death Tax Designed To Take Wealth From Familes

Here is video of a Democratic Congressman admits that the very high estate tax rates are designed to keep families from keeping money that they earn.



HT:  Newsalert

$1,000,000,000

I received this one from a reader too.  It's about perspective:

This is too true to be funny. The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the politicians spending YOUR tax money.

 

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.

• a billion seconds ago it was 1959.
• a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
• A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
• A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
• A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...let's take a look at New Orleans ...It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (Dem) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number... What does it mean? Well ..

• If you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) You each get $516,528.
• If you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets$1,329,787..
• Or... If you are a family of four....Your family gets$2,066,012.

 Washington , D. C ...Are all your calculators broken??

 

Here's a list of taxes that didn't exist 100 years ago:

• Building Permit Tax
• CDL License Tax
• Cigarette Tax
• Corporate Income Tax
• Dog License Tax
• Federal Income Tax (Fed)
• Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA)
• Fishing License Tax
• Food License Tax
• Fuel Permit Tax
• Gasoline Tax
• Hunting License Tax
• Inheritance Tax
• Inventory Tax
• IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
• IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
• Liquor Tax
• Luxury Tax
• Marriage License Tax
• Medicare Tax
• Property Tax
• Real Estate Tax
• Service charge taxes
• Social Security Tax
• Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
• Sales Taxes
• Recreational Vehicle Tax
• School Tax
• State Income Tax
• State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
• Telephone Federal Excise Tax
• Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
• Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
• Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
• Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
• Telephone State and Local Tax
• Telephone Usage Charge Tax
• Utility Tax
• Vehicle License Registration Tax
• Vehicle Sales Tax
• Watercraft Registration Tax
• Well Permit Tax
• Workers Compensation Tax

 (And to think, we left British  Rule to avoid so many taxes)

 

Honestly, do you really think this is funny? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago.....

• And our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
• We had absolutely no national debt....
• We had the largest middle class in the world.....
• And Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

 

What happened? Can you spell: 'POLITICIANS!'  And I still have to Press '1' For English.

Yet, the Democratic Party would have you believe that merely returning spending levels to pre-2007 (when they took control of Congress) would be the biggest spending reduction in history.  What they're not saying is that they set in motion the largest, non-war related, spending increase in history.  One that only excellerated when Mr. Obama was elected president in 2008.  They have managed to double our national debt in FIVE YEARS!!!!

It's time for a change, and the GOP leadership in Washington DC isn't listening.  We The People need to actually do something about this.  Find candidates who will give ALL the sitting GOP members a primary challenge.  Men and women who have never been contaminated by the "political process" who will actually DO something about the quagmire that has become Washington, DC.

Taxation-Spending Proposal

Here's an interesting suggestion in how to amend the current taxation structure along with real solutions to reigning spending by Congress.  It's put forward by James MacDonald a commenter in the WSJ.  Here's the article link

Change the motivations that drive congressional spending.


The current tax and budget system rewards high spending members of the legislature that vote for more spending than low spenders. The high spending members “bring home the bacon”, seek positive press by supporting new spending, and approval of their political contributors. This increase in spending is paid for with increased taxes by all citizens, not just the local district that put the representative in office. This lack of linkage between spending by a representative and the district tax rate rewards high spending representative’s districts, and other representative’s districts unfairly suffer the high tax rate with out the high spending benefits.

A tax system in which the personal and corporate tax rates have a district specific multiplier would adjust the tax rate such that districts of high spender representatives would pay a higher rate than an average district.

The legislative record of votes on spending bills would provide the required spending information. This would require that all spending bills be passed by recorded vote, not with a voice vote. It would also require that the all of the government spending be subjected to an annual vote, or at least every two years so as to match the election cycle. The sum of each representatives voting would provide their total spending, and the total of all the members numbers would provide an average spend per representative.

If a member’s vote record matched the average, the tax rate for the district would remain unchanged at 100% of the stated tax rate. If a member voted for 50% more spending than average, the district tax rate would be changed from 100% of the stated rate to 150% of the stated rate. With the US Congress, the district rate would need to reflect the House representative and both senators. Districts that value high government spending would be willing to pay a higher tax rate and send high spending members to Congress. Districts that value lower tax rates over higher government spending could send members that reflect their wishes.

The district representative adjustments would reset each tax year, and the adjustment for each House and Senate member would be clear and separate line in the tax form. The rate for multiple years of service from the most recent election would be based on the average for the representative for the years from the last election cycle. The tax rates would be computed on the votes for spending from October to the next years September, and announced on the second week of October, so as to be known to the voters prior to the elections.

This proposal if adopted should change the motivations of our representatives, making them more sensitive to high levels of spending.

 You could pretty much guarantee that high spending Congressmen wouldn't stay in Congress too damn long...as their constiuents would get very tired, very quickly on paying the higher level of taxation to support all that spending.

H/T to the blogfather:  Instapundit

7 Cities Losing Population

Here's a list of 7 cities from Yahoo News that are losing population.  For many of these cities it's pretty self evident as to why they're losing population. But other it's not so obvious.  Flint can thank the United Auto Workers Union for strangling jobs...

1. New Orleans

Population: 354,850
Population Change 2000-2009: -128,813
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -26.63%
Home Vacancy: 21.5%
New Orleans is unique in that its presence on this list is not due to industrial decline, but from natural disaster. Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of the city, caused by some estimates more than $80 billion in damage, and displaced tens of thousands of residents. The period of widespread homelessness, severe crime, and slow recovery has left the city as a shadow of its former self. While people are trickling back into the city, many will likely never return, and the city has lost more than a quarter of its population in just 10 years.
2. Flint, Mich.
Population: 111,475
Population Change 2000-2009: -13,266
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -10.63%
Home Vacancy: 18%
While most of the cities on this list are here as the result of a general decline in industry, Flint's woes have come almost entirely from one sector -- the auto industry. Flint became a boomtown at the turn of the century as it became a divisional headquarters to the major American auto manufacturers, including Chevrolet, Buick, and General Motors. Between 1910 and 1930, the population had more than quadrupled due to the success of the American car business. Since the American auto industry began its decline in the 1980s, Flint has consistently lost at least 10% of its population each decade. Massive layoffs and plant closings have devastated the city, and unemployment rates remain well into the double digits.

3. Cleveland
Population: 431,369
Population Change 2000-2009: -45,205
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -9.49%
Home Vacancy: 17.5%
Cleveland, the largest city on our list, was once a thriving manufacturing center, as well as an important point of trade because of its connection to several key routes, particularly Lake Erie. The city was once home to a sizable auto industry. Most of the largest companies that were once based in Cleveland no longer exist. These include Peerless, People's and Winton. Cleveland also served as headquarters for John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, as well as a key import location for coal and iron shipped from the South and Midwest. The decline of industrial American has hit the city particularly hard, and poverty, a default on municipal debt in the '70s, and pollution have earned the city the nickname "the mistake on the lake." In 1948, the city had over 910,000 people; it now has less than half of that.

4. Buffalo, N.Y.
Population: 270,240
Population Change 2000-2009: -21,970
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -7.52%
Home Vacancy: 17.2%
Another victim of the Erie Canal boom and bust, Buffalo was the 13th largest city in the country just before WW II. It is now the 70th. Like Rochester, the city was once a premier mill town due to its location to the canal. Massive electricity generation from Niagara Falls improved Buffalo's industrial capacity, and the city referred to itself as the "City of Lights" for a time because of its power production. The collapse of the canal and improvements in the energy industry that made Niagara Falls less important led to the mass migration from the city which continues to this day. In the 1970s alone, Buffalo lost more than 100,000 residents, roughly a third of its current population.

5. Dayton, Ohio
Population: 153,843
Population Change 2000-2009: -11,961
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -7.21%
Home Vacancy: 18.9%
For its size, Dayton, Ohio, was once one of the most productive and creative cities in the U.S. It produced more patents per capita at the turn of the century than any other. The city was home to several former great Fortune 500 companies, including National Cash Register, Mead Paper and Phillips Manufacturing. Through the first half of the 20th century, Dayton had one of the healthiest manufacturing industries. It had more GM autoworkers than any city outside of Michigan during World War II. In the past 50 years, Mead has merged with West Virginia Paper and moved to Richmond, and GM has closed one plant after another in the city.
6. Pittsburgh
Population: 311,647
Population Change 2000-2009: -22,056
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -6.61%
Home Vacancy: 14.1%
Known as the "Steel City," Pittsburgh was once the forge for the American industrial engine from the late1800s through the late 1970s. At its peak, the city was home to more than 1,000 factories, including the mills owned by Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, which by itself employed over 340,000 workers during World War II. As the American steel industry collapsed in the 1980s, Pittsburgh suffered severe unemployment problems. In the past few decades, the city changed to a technology-based economy, but the population is still on the decline. Since 1950, Pittsburgh's population has declined by more than 50%.

7. Rochester, N.Y.
Population: 207,294
Population Change 2000-2009: -12,180
Population Percent Change 2000-2009: -5.55%
Home Vacancy: 15.3%
Rochester was once a booming trade center largely due to its location at the midpoint between Albany and Buffalo on the Erie Canal. At its peak, the city was the major flour processor in the country, and was home to several key corporations including Xerox and Eastman Kodak. Rochester declined as the usefulness of the canal went out with the advent of railroads and its flagship companies began to lose their relevancy in the larger global economy. Rochester has yet to produce an important replacement industry to drive up the population, and even the success in the 1990's of Xerox has faded. Between 1950 and 2000, Rochester lost 34% of its population.

For others...it's just poor planning by the cities and states they are located in.  Many have raised taxes to the point that it's vastly cheaper for businesses to move elsewhere or outside the country.  They key is taxes...and lack of foresight...

Balancing The Budget...

Here's a video on how to balance the budget without increasing taxes...

Where White Man Went Wrong

The New Stamp Act

Congresswoman Chaka Fattah [D-PA2], has introduced the modern Stamp Act for America.  This Act, called the H.R. 4646: Debt Free America Act would,

Debt Free America Act - States as purposes of this Act the raising of sufficient revenue from a fee on transactions to eliminate the national debt within seven years and the phasing out of the individual income tax. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 1% fee, offset by a corresponding nonrefundable income tax credit, on transactions that use a payment instrument, including any check, cash, credit card, transfer of stock, bonds, or other financial instrument. Defines "transaction" to include retail and wholesale sales, purchases of intermediate goods, and financial and intangible transactions. Establishes in the legislative branch the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action to review the fiscal imbalance of the federal government and make recommendations to improve such imbalance. Provides for expedited consideration by Congress of Task Force recommendations. Repeals after 2017 the individual income tax, refundable and nonrefundable personal tax credits, and the alternative minimum tax (AMT) on individuals. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) prioritize the repayment of the national debt to protect the fiscal stability of the United States; and (2) study and report to Congress on the implementation of this Act.

A fee is merely a tax by another name.  The original Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament to pay off the debt incured in the series of wars known in America as the "French & Indian Wars."  It was a tax on every transaction and would have required a stamp...here is the modern Stamp Act.  The Tea Party was held in Boston Harbour to destroy tea...now we have a new Tea Party...perhaps it's time for us to act once more.   Vote in Congressmen, Legislators, Delegates, etc, who will act responsibly and not spend money we don't have. 

Remember November!

Why California Is A Failed State

Here's an excellent article on why the State of California is failing...

Deficit Commission to Call for Massive Tax Hikes

It looks like Obama's Deficit Commission (officially National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform) will recommend dramatically huge hikes in taxes to cover the tremendous increase in spending since the Democrats took control of the budget process in 2007.  A token member of the "bipartisan comission," Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, on ABC News,, has hinted that the debt commission will recommend an unprecedented $26.7 trillion tax increase.   He said,

"Everything has to be on the table - there's no question about that... Erskine Bowles, one of the co-chairmen of the commission, has suggested a 75-25 split -- 75 percent of the savings being in spending, and 25 percent in revenues... I think it's likely that there will have to be a revenue component, but it should be significantly, dramatically -- and a 3-1 ratio is pretty dramatic -- dramatically less than the initiatives in the spending side of the ledger."

 I suspect that this is so much bull shit, my self.  What I think will occur is while cuts in spending will be suggested, no such cuts will occur.  Neither the Democrats or the Republicans have ever really cut spending in the past.  Nor have they ever actually cut programs.  The GOP has a history of continuing spending while cutting taxes (Reagans tax cuts of the 1980's)...which has hurt the country nearly as much as the gigantic increases under the Democrats in the past 3 years. 

In addition to a whole raft of new taxes that stem from ObamaCare and the proposed new "fees" and "penalties" in Cap & Trade, we'll see steep increases in capital gains (which will strangle business investment) as well as a sharp increase in income tax rates across the board.  That won't touch the unfunded liabilities that are inherent in Social Security or Medicare. 

Bowles and Gregg can only be talking about cutting $3 in promised Social Security and Medicare benefits in exchange for $1 in tax increases. In other words, 1/4 of the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare would be paid for with tax hikes. So how big is that? According to the 2009 Social Security and Medicare Actuaries' Report, the long-run insolvency of the Social Security and Medicare systems is $106.8 trillion (with a "t") over the infinite horizon. To close this gap with one-quarter tax hikes is, therefore, to raise taxes by $26.7 trillion.

All of this will give the Democrats cover (as well as  the GOP for that matter) to enact a Value Added Tax, which the Dem's have been covetting since the 1960's...so the Mad Duck session of Congress in December should be wildly entertaining at the least.

Lower Our Taxes

Joe Biden was in rural Wisconsin yesterday...he went to a custard stand and here's the result:



Now, here's the part they don't want you to see, much less hear:



Biden responded: "Why don't you say something nice instead of being a smart-a** all the time?"


Ladies and gentlemen, this is what our political elite actually think about us...the "little people"...

via Gateway Pundit

Uninformed Protester Says Obama Is Not Raising Taxes

You can't cure stupid...

But you CAN vote it out...come November, let's do so...

Krauthammer Mocks Obama's 17 Minutes Answer

via Gatewaypundit, Charles Krauthammer on Obama's 17 minute  answer to a question on raising taxes...

“I don’t know why your surprised. It’s only nine times longer than the Gettysburg Address. And, after all Lincoln was answering an easier question on the higher purpose of the union and soldiers that fall in battle. Look the president had an easy answer. He could have said, “Hey I wanted to make history with health care and to do it and to make the CBO numbers look OK I had to raise your taxes. Sure it’s not a good time economically in the middle of a recession but politically I had to because I have a window a majority in Congress and I’m going to lose in November.” End of answer.”

How We'll Get The VAT

Here's an as good a prediction on how we'll get a Value Added Tax in the very near future.  After all, this will be just about the only way to pay for the hugely expensive takeover of our health care system by the government.  I found this in the comments in the Newsweek column by Howard Fineman...

Posted By: Ghostmaker (March 30, 2010 at 8:21 PM)

 

Basically the Democrats wish for the press to continue trying to sell this dog. While the Republicans can't wait for November. A poll is a poll and this reform was not supported by a simple majority of the American people for 6 months or longer. I was under the impression that elected representatives were supposed to represent voters. So what happens in November will reflect the majority of Americans that feel there elected officials did not reflect there wishes.

 

My Swedish friend told me there National Tax rate is 48.3% this pays for there great health care and they also receive 2 months if needed payed sick time at 100% of pay. If they need more time off it falls to 80%. What a fantastic health program. He also mentioned that he carries private health insurance because his family is not willing to wait for treatment.

 

From a pay of "100", the Employer first pays "32" in Income tax (direct - 32%), on top of that the Employer also pays an additional "31.42" in Employers social fees (indirect - 31.42%).

 

Thus, from a pay check of "100", 63.42/131.42 (i.e. 48.3%) is paid as income taxes. This effective rate may be lowered by for example earned income tax credits and private retirement savings contributions.

 

Now I realize that what was passed in the USA so far is not nationalized health care but I feel that the long range goal of this current presidency is to set up the medical system we do have for a big fail. Premiums are expected to rise and this will cause a huge hatred toward the private sector. It may take 10 years, Obama's words by the way. But the Democrats will be clambering to nationalize health care at that time. By then the average American sheep will be begging for it.

 

The one thing most Democrats seem to forget is all these wonderful social programs cost big dollars. So they scream tax corporations tax the rich. In reality any tax on any business is directly passed down to the end consumer in the form of higher prices. For example My business now charges 100 dollars a billable hour and pays no tax. Lets say we decide to tax my business at 50% to pay for social programs. Some would think I would need 200 dollars a billable hour to make up for that. But in all honesty I will probably need to charge 250 dollars a billable hour to make the same amount of money I made prior to the tax because of some potential lost business.So in the end the consumer will see a 150% increase in what they pay.

 

Now as for tax the rich depending on ones view a truly poor person might feel that a persons who is making 30 grand a year is rich. A person making 80 grand a year surely feels that 200 grand is rich so it really depends on your income level But what the heck lets go and tax anyone over 200 grand a year at 75% of there income sounds great huh. If I was a rich person I sure as all get out can afford one of those real slick willy tax lawyers. So my income now falls to 50 grand a year.... So in the end that will not pay for the social programs. Now we just can't keep printing new money to pay now what does the government do?

 

They will raise everyones tax because the lower income cannot afford them high priced attorneys and they will have to pay it or else. It might not be an income tax but there will be some form of tax coming maybe VAT.

 

An Example With a 10% VAT:

• The manufacturer pays $1.10 ($1 + $1x10%) for the raw materials, and the seller of the raw materials pays the government $0.10.
• The manufacturer charges the retailer $1.32 ($1.20 + $1.20x10%) and pays the government $0.02 ($0.12 minus $0.10), leaving the same gross margin of $0.20.
• The retailer charges the consumer $1.65 ($1.50 + $1.50x10%) and pays the government $0.03 ($0.15 minus $0.12), leaving the gross margin of $0.30 (1.65-1.32-.03).

 With VAT, the consumer has paid, and the government received, the same as with sales tax. The businesses have not incurred any tax themselves. Their obligation is limited to assuming the necessary paperwork in order to pass on to the government the difference between what they collect in VAT (output tax, an 11th of their sales) and what they spend in VAT (input VAT, an 11th of their expenditure on goods and services subject to VAT). However the are freed from any obligation to to request certifications from purchasers who are not end users, and of providing such certifications to their suppliers.

 

Note that in each case the VAT paid is equal to 10% of the gross margin, or 'value added'.

 

The advantage of the VAT system over the sales tax system is that under sales tax, the seller has no incentive to disbelieve a purchaser who says it is not a final user. That is to say the payer of the tax has no incentive to collect the tax. Under VAT, all sellers collect tax and pay it to the government. A purchaser has an incentive to deduct input VAT, but must prove it has the right to do so, which is usually achieved by holding an invoice quoting the VAT paid on the purchase, and indicating the VAT registration number of the supplier.

 

This is what I expect to happen by next year.

 

So all income levels will lose but heck the politicians can honestly say they didn't raise your income tax, they just invented a new one.

Is Congress to Nationalize Your 401k's?

Is Congress going to nationalize your 401k retirement fund? It sure looks that way if a report in Investor's Business Daily is correct. Democrats in Congress last fall held hearing on just that proposal . House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., of the Ways and Means Committee are the Congressional authors of a proposed bill that will do just that.


What they are proposing is to redirect IRA and 401k holdings into US Treasury bonds...since those bonds are no longer selling as rapidly as they once did on the international bond market. This new market will be a new system to which ALL workers will be obligated to contribute 5% of their earnings into accounts that will then purchase Treasury bonds...In other words, Congress will mandate that you buy bonds from the government to fund the present deficit.

In those hearings, that weren't publicized at the time, a proposal by Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor of the New School for Social Research in New York would be to give all workers "a $600 annual inflation-adjusted subsidy from the U.S. government". Then, the benevolent government would in return for require those same workers "to invest 5% of their pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Administration."

The model for this concept is taken from the economic power house, Argentina, who in 2008, nationalized all priviate retirement investment accounts. The socialist government did this after the country's bond rating had been reduced again, just as the US bond rating is now under review by the World Bank. That extra-governmental organization is proposing to reduce the US bond rating from AAA to AA, which would greatly increase the cost of floating bond issues for the United States.

This is yet another reason why the US Congress's popularity rating is so low...much of what is considered "business as usual" is conducted behind closed doors. That business as usual attitude will end up bankrupting this country