Month: December 2010

Well, Islam offends me. Can I extort 800 Euros from Muslims?

Austria: Judge Rules That Yodeling Offends Muslims – Politics & Gov’t – Israel News – Israel National News.

Democrats’ budget bill: $1.1 trillion; 1,900 pages – David Rogers – POLITICO.com.

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Of course, delay now is better than an immediate tax hike. But because the extension is only temporary, a large portion of the investment and job growth that characteristically accompanies low taxes will be lost. When entrepreneurs and employers make decisions to start or expand an enterprise, uncertainty about tax rates translates directly into a reduced propensity to invest and to hire. With only a two-year extension, investors know that before their returns are realized, tax rates may be jacked up to the levels favored by President Obama. So while the tax deal will succeed in temporarily putting more money in the hands of consumers, it will fail to deliver its full potential for creating lasting growth.

It will also add to the deficit. In many cases, lowering taxes can actually increase government revenues. If new businesses, new investments and new hiring are spurred by the prospects of better after-tax returns, the taxes paid by these new or growing businesses and employees can more than make up for the lower rates of taxation. But once again, because the tax deal is temporary, a large portion of this beneficent effect is missing. What some are calling a grand compromise is not grand at all, except in its price tag. The total package will cost nearly $1 trillion, resulting in substantial new borrowing at a time when we are already drowning in red ink.

Part of the tax deal is a temporary reduction in payroll taxes. The president was insistent, however, that only the employee’s payroll taxes be reduced — the portion paid by the employer is to remain the same. Again, the president is looking to get more money into the hands of the consumer to boost near-term spending. But by refusing to lower the cost of hiring a new employee, he fails to encourage what the American people want even more than lower taxes — more good jobs. Like the income tax deal, the payroll tax deal will add to the deficit.

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via Romney: Tax deal, bad deal – USATODAY.com.

New Low in Support for Health Care Reform – The Numbers.

Tax-Cut Bill Draws Wide Support in Senate – WSJ.com.

Judge Sides With Virginia on Health Law – WSJ.com.

Remember when Rachel Maddow got all tough and bipartisan when asking NBFA head John Boyd to explain his letter to President Obama saying, in short: “We got you elected so pay up [with Pigford]?”

Do you recall that bit New York Times exposé wherein the murders associated with the Pigford case were discussed?

What about the White House Press Corps asking President Obama if he knew how racked with fraud Pigford had become? Remember when the media grilled Shirley Sherrod and asked her what her involvement was with Pigford and if this was the reason Tom Vilsack fired her so quickly, to keep this story from getting out and upsetting the apple cart that was to be its passage?

Remember Lawerence O’Donnell’s segment asking who exactly is getting paid and who lobbied for whom?

No, you can’t remember because it never happened.

via Pigford’s Original Black Farmers Unhappy Over Massive Fraud – Media Ignores – Big Journalism.

Who is richer — the architect in Monterey, Calif., who makes $250,000 a year and pays $700,000 for a modest house while picking up the full tab of $40,000 a year for his daughter at a private liberal arts college, or the engineer in Utah making $100,000 a year with a house twice as large at half the cost, with a son on a need-based scholarship at the university?

via Soak The Rich (And Leave Us All Poorer) – Investors.com.