Tax conundrum

Well, the president says that if we don't avoid the fiscal cliff we will have $600 billion taken out of taxpayers' pockets as the Bush tax cuts expire. He also asserts this will likely drive us into recession.

Sounds right to me. Take $600 billion out of the economy and GDP is affected. Further, we all know that if the government takes in an extra $600 billion it will put it under the mattress so it never goes into the economy, right?

Of course not. In fact, government will spend the $600 billion and BORROW another $400 billion and STILL run a deficit. Welcome to government accounting.

But, since government does nothing (or very little) to increase GDP, even spending more than taxpayers will with that $600 billion in their pockets, we will slide into recession. (Reminder: recession defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP).

So, what do we see here? Simple. Leave the money in taxpayers' hands and out of government's hands. You get a $600 billion pop (70 percent of the economy is consumer spending) and the government does not borrow the extra 42 cents for every dollar it takes in.

Thank you, Mr. President, for proving conservatives precisely right. Now, sir, compromise with Boehner. You said you wanted more revenue; he offered it--just not in the package you want. What part of "yes" do you not understand?

Republican comeupance

I must say: The Republicans got exactly what they deserved. 

When the Dems put forward radicals in the 60s and 70s, they lost. Repubs have put forward witches, wrestlers, scientific rape idiots and lost. 

Duh? 

Now, maybe fiscal conservatives will begin to understand that the right wing party must move to the center on social issues and remain on the right in fiscal issues. If that happens, I must just return to the party. Until then, I'm on the sideline.

National Healthcare

Hooray. 1.7 percent raise in Social Security. Unfortunately, there's a 30 percent hike in Medicare. Effect? $30 cut in monthly SS check. THAT'S government accounting!

When will this country learn we need to pay off the deficit and have a national health care system a la Canada or France? Not, this abomination called Obamacare. 

Many of the uninformed actually believe health insurance will be free under Obamacare. It's a bone thrown to the insurance companies and people don't realize that.

Why are we 17th and Shanghai First?

Let me confess as I begin to write this: Before I went to China in 1997, I said communism in China was the only thing that saved pax Americana. Then I went to Shenyang and saw street vendors plying their trade a 1 a.m. in temperatures that would frostbitte an Eskimo. Capitalism was alive and well in Mao's heartland. Capitalism that knew how to work hard and be disciplined--two things many of us have lost. We are seeing the fruits (for the Chinese) of hard work and sacrifice.

Now, 13 years later the Tiger Mother strikes fear in the hearts of (American) mothers. Yes, I am reading the reaction to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother before I have read the book. Chau probably exaggerates some for the sake of poetic license, but I would guess not all that much. The question is: Is she on the right track. Or are the folks in California (who would have guessed it) who don't keep score at the soccer matches so the little darlings won't have their self concepts hurt?

I have always argued that U.S. schools are weak until college. Why, just look at the number of patents to U.S. interests and the number of Ph.D.'s awarded here. Students from all over the world want to study here. Besides, look how many Nobel prizes go to Americans, more than anyone. We must be on top right?

Well, China is slated to surpass us this year in the number of patents awarded (UNESCO, quoted in Time, see the UNESCO link cited here). Given our paranoia about visas, more and more students are electing Britain, Canada and Australia for higher education. And Nobel prizes? Ever noted how many of those "American" awardees are foreign born?

UNESCO recently released its Program for International Student Assessment. Guess what Ameriphiles? The U.S. now ranks 17th overall. That's right, 17th in reading, 23rd in science, 31st in math. How many books have you read this year? Can you cogently explain the human genome or black holes? Have you ever joked that you are "math illiterate"? (Would you joke that you can't read?)

We owe the Chinese $900,000,000,000. That's right--almost a trillion. Total debt is nearly $14 trillion. We don't graduate many engineers (see The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman). We are hocked to our eyeballs, our economy is number one (but for how long--re-read de Tocqueville--greatness is built on population and natural resources) and we steadfastly refuse to demand the very best of our children. We will protect their self concepts right into slavery and servitude. Worst of all is the political system we aid, abet and support. It is a political system that perpetuates itself rather than reduce expenditure and debt. Keep spending and buying votes legislatures.

The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money. 
Alexis de Tocqueville 

Workers of the World Unite

Workers of the World Unite. 

All 98 percenters take note. In order to shed the impact of the evil corporate bloodsuckers, rapacious banks, evil business people, you need to band together. 

Take you capital, your energy, your creativity and start your own business, so you no longer have to deal with evil corporations.

Do not borrow money, banks are bad. But, one small caveat: Look at the chart below. No corporations from 1884 when the DJ began tracking exists today. You will be free from corporations and free from banks.

But, you will not be free from risk, the same risk that over time kills nearly every corporation. But, hey, have at it, folks. Feel free to lose your money too. Nearly all businesses go out of business over time.

Welcome to the club of evil capitalists.

Quit Taking, Get Moving

I have finally found why I disagree with liberal thinking on fiscal issues so strongly. And the epiphany came from an epigraph to Nicholas Eberstadt's book "A Nation of Takers: America's Entitlement Epidemic." And the epigraph was written by none other than that old liberal lion Daniel Patrick Moynihan.