mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

So I suppose every state and county with a carbon tax in place will suddenly declare these taxes stoopid and say, "Oops, sorry for the mistake." Any bets?

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

Fed officials warn of looming problems for economy

The FED looked into their crystal ball and told us how Obama's second term would begin. It seemed "the tanned one" John Boehnner came to Obama in the Spring, wanting to make a game plan that would dissipate the perfect storm of taxes and cuts. Obama said NO. As I recall he said NO to Simpson Bowles too. All of it.

Perhaps this is the fastest way to "transformative change"?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

the senate voted down obama's budget for the umpteenth time agian.

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

Wouldn't that be a good thing, in your opinion? The large tax increases and significant spending cuts would help reduce the deficit considerably.

Remember that, from a direct mathematical perspective as it relates to the fiscal budget deficit, $1 in spending cuts and $1 in tax increases are equivalent. Likewise, increasing spending and decreasing taxes are equivalent in their direct effect on the fiscal budget deficit.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

but tax increases ALWAYS equal additional spending. I'm pretty sure it's a scientific law.

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

I think you need to make some pretty LARGE assumptions to say that Jack. For example, Nancy Pelosi says the way to stimulate the economy is to extend unemployment payments, because in her universe when the government spends $1, $1.70 is generated.

Personally I don't subscribe to the "broken window" theory, although the government actually does "print" money, it doesn't make money.

One would think the government taking more than half our money would be good enough:

Americans Will Work for More than 6 Months to Pay for Costs of Gov't in 2012 | CNSNews.com

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

And now for some lighter fare...

1. Harry Reid
A sexual position where you climb on top and then do absolutely nothing. Named for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Under his lack of leadership, the Senate failed to pass a budget in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. He also blocked votes on numerous jobs bills passed by the House of Representatives.

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

One would need to make large assumptions for which part?

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

Let me put it another way; 100 calories of alcohol and 100 calories of a balanced diet are still 100 calories and from a mathematical perspective should be equal, right?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

good read on CA situation:

Why do some cities in California go bankrupt while others are prospering? While Stockton, San Bernardino, Mammoth Lakes, and Valleho have all gone bankrupt in recent weeks, West Sacramento, according to its mayor, Christopher Cabaldon is surviving.

Cabaldon tweeted: Cabaldon says the West Sacramento government has been cut 25 percent over the past 4 years, boasting, “We have, in West Sacramento, been making reductions, putting our fiscal house in order so we can make sure that our citizens will be protected.”

Rancho Cordova, 14 miles from West Sacramento, is not only surviving, but doing very well indeed; it has enjoyed eight straight years of surplus. Rancho Cordova City Manager Ted Gaebel said:Bankruptcy isn’t always the best way out, as the city of Vallejo discovered.

The city filed for bankruptcy because they claimed salaries and benefits for its public-safety workers were killing them. It had to close two of its fire stations and its police and firefighters are half the number of what they were. Only 10 percent of its roads have been fixed. Stuck with $10 million in legal fees, Mayor Osby Davis thinks that Vallejo would have done better to negotiate with the workers and says bankruptcy is a mistake: But, of course, that is not so easy; unions have grown increasingly confident that with their Democratic buddies in the California Legislature, they’ll be protected.

Bankruptcy experts have said that cities are being bankrupted by weak property- and sales-tax revenues as their pension obligations keep growing. Stockton couldn’t agree with its employee unions and creditors on a plan to close a $26 million gap in its general fund. San Bernardino’s obligation to its employee retirement system doubled from 2007 to 2012. Pension spending grew an average of 11.4 percent a year in California’s biggest cities between 1999 and 2010, almost twice as fast as spending on public safety, social services, recreation, health and sanitation.

Is there a long-term solution in sight? Proposition 32 is trying to break through the brick wall of Democratic legislators and their union supporters by banning direct corporate and union contributions to state and local candidates, banning contributions by government contractors to the politicians who control contracts awarded to them, and banning automatic deductions by corporations, unions, and government of employees’ wages to be used for politics.

Will the people of California finally wake up?

rleete

iTrader: (21)

No. Sheep never realize the wolves are a threat until too late.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

Its a trap!!!!!!!!

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

The 2012 Obama Version of the Little Red Hen

“Who will help me plant my wheat?” asked the little red hen.
“Not I,” said the cow.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Not I,” said the pig.
“Not I,” said the goose.
“Then I will do it by myself.” She planted her crop and the wheat grew and ripened.

“Who will help me reap my wheat?” asked the little red hen.
“I’m on disability,” said the duck.
“Out of my classification,” said the pig.
“I’d lose my seniority,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my unemployment compensation,” said the goose.
“Then I will do it by myself,” said the little red hen, and so she did.

“Who will help me bake the bread?” asked the little red hen.
“That would be overtime for me,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my welfare benefits,” said the duck.
“I’m a dropout and never learned how,” said the pig.
“If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination,” said the goose.
“Then I will do it by myself,” said the little red hen, and so she did.

The smell of fresh-baked bread attracted all her neighbors. They saw the bread and wanted some. In fact, they demanded a share.

But the little red hen said, “No, I shall eat all the loaves.”

“Excess profits!” cried the cow.
“Capitalist leech!” screamed the duck.
“I demand equal rights!” yelled the goose.
“Share with the 99 percent,” grunted the pig.
And they all painted ‘Unfair!’ picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then the farmer came He said to the little red hen, “You must not be so greedy.”

“But I earned the bread,” said the little red hen.

“Exactly,” said the farmer. “That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are idle.”

And they all lived happily ever after.


Alternative Dose-of-Reality Ending:


The little red hen never again baked bread and the farmyard suffered Greek-style chaos when the animals riding in the wagon suddenly discovered there was nobody left to pull the wagon.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

Blech. My previous post got hung up and lost in the ether.

Short version: from a direct caloric intake calculation, 100 calories from a jigger of bourbon is equal to 100 calories from a cup of vegetable soup.

I don't care about Nancy Pelosi's or Grover Norquist's math.

$100 million in spending increases and $100 million in tax cuts are equivalent in the deficit math [edit: but not necessarily in their GDP or employment impact]. I prefer tax cuts, especially in a household-oriented balance sheet recession.

It's like employment. Some people will applaud a 2 million worker reduction in the public sector but if there are only 1 million workers added in the private sector, you still have a net increase in the number of laid off workers.

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

You don't like Nancy or Grover's math, but your math seems to be 1 = 1. One job is just like another. One calorie is just like another. One wildly inefficient government worker who is not replaced when he retires is equal to the private sector employee who puts in 55-60 hours per week and actually produces something, grows a company and causes others to be hired.

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

How crazy does this sound to you? Perhaps not very, especially coming from California where most homes seem to be upside down.

Gonzalo Lira: The Coming Middle-Class Anarchy

triple88a

iTrader: (2)

Good read.

cordycord

iTrader: (2)

Here's another good read. This is what happens when the kids get the credit card, and why government needs less power.

Gonzalo Lira: A Beginner’s Guide to the European Debt Crisis