A day after President Obama held an “urgent” meeting with AFL-CIO bosses in the White House, the Democrat National Committee is hosting a huge birthday bash for Obama’s 50th birthday tonight in Chicago. The only problem is, DNC organizers apparently chose not to use union labor for the event.
Let Them Eat Cake! DNC Blows Off Unions For Obama’s 50th Birthday Bash! | RedState.
…
The population loss is “the ultimate barometer of New York’s attractiveness as a place to work, live and do business,” the report’s co-author, E.J. McMahon, said. “It’s the ultimate indication that we’ve been doing things wrong.”
Most analysts blamed New York’s high taxes and skyrocketing cost of living for the mass exodus.
The Tax Foundation ranked New York highest in the nation in the combined state and local tax burden in 2008. And as small-business lobbyist Mike Durant noted, New York has also “consistently ranked worst or in the top three worst in business climate. You can’t suck every penny out of people and expect them to remain in New York.”
…
“We have negotiated with terrorists,” an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.”
Biden, driven by his Democratic allies’ misgivings about the debt-limit deal, responded: “They have acted like terrorists,” according to several sources in the room.
Biden’s office declined to comment about what the vice president said inside the closed-door session.
via Biden: Tea partiers like terrorists – Jonathan Allen and John Bresnahan – POLITICO.com.
But we should really reserve judgement when you have so many instances of Biden acting purely and regally presidential. For example…
Don’t take your guilt out on us Mr. Buffett, just pay the real oracle of omaha (Charlie Munger) more and you’ll feel better.
…
Mr. Buffett may have been referring to all federal taxes, not just income taxes, when he said the rich pay less than others. His secretary and most workers in America do pay a lot in Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, but even accounting for them the federal system is highly progressive.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), middle-class families in 2007 (earning between $34,000 and $50,000) paid an effective 14.3% of their income in all federal taxes. The top 5% of income earners paid 27.9% and the top 1% paid 29.5%. And what about the highest earners? Americans with annual incomes above $2 million paid an average 32% of their income in federal taxes in 2005 (the most recent year for which data are available).
…
via Stephen Moore: Warren Buffett Is Wrong on Taxes – WSJ.com.
…
This is worth recalling during the debt-ceiling debate. This latest chapter of Obama-era high drama comes amid high unemployment, anemic growth, exploding deficits and collapsing public confidence. Americans deeply want a change. Theyve given the president time for his experiment in spending the countrys way to prosperity, and they have concluded that his course has failed.
In the debt-ceiling debate, Mr. Obama had his best and last moment to restrain federal spending and thereby change the trajectory of his profligate presidency. But he let it pass.
He will come to regret his decision. Those who argue that the debt-ceiling controversy will resuscitate Mr. Obamas political fortunes are wrong, at least so far. According to Gallup, Mr. Obama averaged a 43% job-approval rating for the week of July 18-24, matching his lowest weekly average.
…
…
So POTUS doesn’t have a plan, as such. The Republicans, for their part, have several. But the president’s senior advisers are recommending that he veto the latest.
Carney Gets Hit for Ten Minutes on the Obama Plan – National Review Online.