Someone Can’t Face Reality
Dec 2, 2011 Political
I received a message via my contact page from someone using the name L-Dog. The message came from an Alaska.gov server. More specifically, it came from the Department of Administration (or through their server, anyway). This is the message I received:
So if tax cuts create jobs, where are they. We have 7 or so years of the bush [sic] tax cuts and no job growth. So stop lying.
A lie, by definition, is a deliberate attempt to deceive. Since I did no such thing, then it is not a lie. But let us explore.
The Bush tax cuts took place in 2003 and went into full force in 2004 so yes, it has been about 7 years though there were earlier tax cuts. After the Bush tax cuts, 5 million jobs were created and the revenue to the Treasury increased. This is not to say things were great because Bush was a big spender. He and Congress spent far more than we took in though now those numbers pale in comparison to Obama.
The linked chart shows that from about 2000 to 2003 revenue decreased. There are a number of reasons including 9/11 and a recession. The Clinton tech bubble was bursting as well and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates 6 times from 1999-2000. From 2003 to 2007 revenues increased as a result of the tax cuts. In 2007 Democrats took control of Congress and revenues again began to decrease. We were also heading into another recession. It is also important to note that the first tax cuts of 2001 were to be phased in over several years and the economy and job production lagged in the early years.
Heritage published a report about the tax cuts and this, in part, is what that organization had to say:
In 2003, capital gains tax rates were reduced. Rather than expand by 36% as the Congressional Budget Office projected before the tax cut, capital gains revenues more than doubled to $103 billion.
The CBO incorrectly calculated that the post-March 2003 tax cuts would lower 2006 revenues by $75 billion. Revenues for 2006 came in $47 billion above the pre-tax cut baseline.
Here’s what else happened after the 2003 tax cuts lowered the rates on income, capital gains and dividend taxes:
- GDP grew at an annual rate of just 1.7% in the six quarters before the 2003 tax cuts. In the six quarters following the tax cuts, the growth rate was 4.1%.
- The S&P 500 dropped 18% in the six quarters before the 2003 tax cuts but increased by 32% over the next six quarters.
- The economy lost 267,000 jobs in the six quarters before the 2003 tax cuts. In the next six quarters, it added 307,000 jobs, followed by 5 million jobs in the next seven quarters.
The timing of the lower tax rates coincides almost exactly with the stark acceleration in the economy. Nor was this experience unique. The famous Clinton economic boom began when Congress passed legislation cutting spending and cutting the capital gains tax rate.
In late 2007 the economy began to cool. By 2008, it entered a recession. The housing bubble burst, precipitating a financial crisis. But after 50 months of unimpeded growth, it is ludicrous to insist that the tax cuts caused the recession, let alone the global financial meltdown. Even after the Fannie and Freddie Mac-induced bust, there were still one million net jobs created during the Bush years.
So L-Dog of Alaska, the Bush tax cuts did indeed create jobs. The net gain was 1 million after a 5 million increase that was mostly wiped out by the government (read Democrat) induced trauma known as Fannie and Freddie.
Revenue increased, jobs were produced and the unemployment rate was in the 4-6 range. This happened despite a massive blow we took on 9/11.
Tax cuts, long term ones, create jobs because the private sector employers (government DOES NOT create jobs) know what to expect and are able to run their businesses accordingly. They can hire because they know what their tax burden will be. Uncertainty leads them to stop hiring and take a wait and see approach. Ronald Reagan cut taxes and he had tremendous job growth as well as increased revenue to the government.
If we could get government to stop spending what they take and then some we could get our house in order.
So, if tax cuts do not produce jobs why is Barack Obama running around claiming to be a tax cutter (he has raised them, not cut them)? Why did Democrats fight to keep the Bush tax cuts last year? They cited the problems with increasing taxes in a bad economy and how it would harm job growth so if tax cuts do not equal jobs why would they fight for the tax cuts enacted by a man they absolutely hated? Additionally, why did the Congress cut payroll taxes last year (the Social Security tax) if they thought it would not help.
A lot of things are working against any tax cuts and a major part is the out of control spending and the Keynesian economic policies that Obama embraces. You can’t keep spending money we don’t have to cure a spending problem. Tax cuts with discipline in DC will solve the problems.
When producers are taxed more it leaves them less capital to run their businesses and that means they can’t hire. When the tax situation is uncertain they are afraid to act.
So L-Dog, I hope this clears it up for you. I won’t call you a liar, just misinformed.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: alaska, Bush, department of administration, jobs, l-dog, reagan, revenue, tax cuts
Obama Invokes Reagan And Claims Support From God
Nov 3, 2011 Political
Barack Hussein Obama (mmm, mmm, mmm) is out campaigning for reelection and is talking up Stimulus II. That is his new jobs bill which is as bad as the old one. Stimulus I was supposed to keep unemployment below 8% and provide all these shovel ready jobs, jobs Obama admitted were not there. His first plan spent nearly a trillion dollars and provided very few jobs. We have lost more jobs than gained since he took office and if he had not expanded the size of government there would be an even greater job loss.
The public is not in favor of Stimulus II. Most were not in favor of Stimulus I but Obama had control of both chambers of Congress so he was able to ram it through. Now that Republicans are in control of the House Obama is meeting resistance. Tyrants hate when they meet resistance because they feel that they should be able to do what they want (which is why King Barry has bypassed Congress claiming that we can’t wait for them). I have failed to find the “we can’t wait for Congress” clause in the Constitution.
The public is not in favor of this despite Obama’s claim that it is. The public does not want us to have Stimulus II because it will be like Stimulus I, a slush fund to pay off Democrat constituencies. Obama knows this and his game plan is not to really pass this because he really does not care about job creation, he cares about pinning the blame on Republicans.
If Obama cared about jobs the economy would be better. He has been claiming for three years that he is focused like a laser on jobs. If he has then he either does not want to create them or he is inept (I believe both). I will leave it to you Democrats to decide which. The fact is, he has not created jobs nor does he want to. He needs things to be bad and to get reelected so he can be unleashed for four years imposing new and ever expanding government programs to help the people. He wants to impose his Marxist beliefs and he needs it to be bad AND get reelected. That is why he is blaming Republicans.
Obama has told us, from in front of a bridge, that God wants us to pass the Obama jobs bill. Jay Carney (as in carnival barker) said that this is like the Biblical passage that Jesus helps those who help themselves. This IS NOT a passage from the Bible but I don’t hold liberals too critically in this area. They don’t read it, think religion (particularly Christianity) should be barred from everything and only invoke religion when they need to use it as a political tool, not a tool for living a good life.
Obama invokes God from time to time. I, unlike Obama, do not claim to speak for God. I don’t know if God wants the jobs bill passed though I would doubt he would want anything that takes even more freedom away and gives government more power to pass. I find it hard God would side with Obama given that Obama thinks having a baby punishes a woman, supports abortion AND murdering children born alive after an unsuccessful abortion. I just don’t see God supporting that kind of person but I don’t speak for God. I speak for me and I don’t support it.
Obama also, as he often does, invoked Ronald Reagan.
Obama also resorted to one of his favorite rhetorical tricks by quoting Reagan, who was president from 1981 to 1989, and is a hero to modern day conservatives, to decry Republican policies.
Reagan, Obama said, argued that it was “common sense” to repair bridges and highways before they needed to be rebuilt in future years at many times the cost.
“Since when do we have Republicans voting against Ronald Reagan’s ideas?” Yahoo News
The real question is, since when does Obama agree with Reagan? I know Obama did this to try and give the impression that Republicans are against Stimulus II because and only because, they are opposed to Obama and it is all politics. Republicans loved Reagan and what he did and I want to do the same thing so it must be because of me.
Yes Barry, it makes sense to fix bridges before they need to be replaced. You had that chance with Stimulus I which you said would create jobs, fix roads, and repair bridges. None of that happened on any scale to make a difference. You are playing politics.
But, if you are on board with Reagan and are not opposed to doing what he did then don’t take half steps. Don’t play politics. Use the full Monty. Reagan CUT TAXES. You and your Democrats want to raise taxes on the so called rich (though the increases will be felt by everyone) and Reagan CUT TAXES. The Reagan tax cuts stimulated the economy and allowed private businesses to create millions of jobs. Reagan’s policies got us out of the Jimmy Carter funk of high inflation, through the roof interest rates and high unemployment. Reagan reversed all of the Carter malaise and turned this country around. Unemployment went down and the economy improved. So Barry, go all the way and do ALL the things that Reagan did.
Then Republicans can get on board.
I know that Obama thinks God is in his corner and Carney thinks the Bible says Jesus helps those who help themselves. They are incorrect but since they seem intent on following scripture (just like Obama now wants to follow Reagan), let me help them and those who want government to provide for them:
“And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
And for the Obama regime as well as the OWS crowd, I offer this:
“For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” 1 Thessalonians 3:10
So what I think we have here is the Bible telling people not to depend on anyone else (including government) and to DO FOR THEMSELVES. And if they don’t, they don’t get to eat!
Beware of Obama. Marxists are inherently evil…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: Bible, carney, carter, economy, God, jobs bill, lies, malaise, Obama, reagan
Money; That’s What I Want
Sep 7, 2010 General, Political
Movie Trailer for I Want Your Money. This contrasts Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and different versions of America, one involving freedom and one involving being shackled to the government.
Here are other money related items for your enjoyment.
Money, That’s What I Want (Politician’s Theme Song)
Money (Wall Street Theme Song)
Money For Nothing (Welfare Theme Song with the Bill Clinton Verse ‘Chicks for free’)
Big Dog salute to DEG.
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: government, lies, money, Obama, reagan, redistribution, taxes
Malaise & Praise
May 15, 2009 Political
I confess, I was a child of the sixties, and I grew up during the Viet Nam war. As the war was winding down, I turned eighteen- a seminal age, for that was when my government determined that I was man enough to join the army, whether I wanted to or not.
There were protests in the streets, as the Mainstream Media, which was all there was, got their soundbites and film for the evening news. I was faced with a dilemma- I could be “drafted”- in effect forced into the army to fight the war in southeast Asia, provided my “lottery number” came up. Every year, the government would hold a lottery with the 365 days in the barrel, and the government would draw a certain number out- in my case it was 98 days, and my birthday was designated as #99. I had escaped the draft of that year, 1970. I admit I was relieved- I was not then political, or paying attention to political things. That would come later. For the present moment, I was content to go with the flow, calling Nixon and Kissinger war criminals, and wishing the war would end.
I took my contemporaries opinions to heart, never questioning their logic, and when Nixon resigned, felt some vindication of my positions, even though the positions weren’t really mine, and I hadn’t thought them through. Then came Gerald Ford, and because he was a Republican, he got ridiculed also, for being clumsy, and for being mentally slow, which was far from true, but since the media and Saturday Night Live decided to portray him as inept, he got that reputation.
Oh but wait- there’s LESS- Jiminy Carter was voted into office, and within a year, I had become a political person, because he began to drive this country straight into the ground just as fast as he could.
Have you ever been on a Carny ride gone wrong? I have, and watching that retaining bolt slowly slide out of its position while screaming to the operator , who thought it was hilarious, until the bolt actually fell out next to him. He was lucky it didn’t brain him, and I was lucky my seat didn’t fall off. Jiminy Carter’s one term was like that carny ride- scared me to death, and I couldn’t get off. I’m getting that feeling again.
Then the Iranians took the embassy hostage and kept them for 444 days. 444 days where Carter’s impotence was out in the open for everyone to see. Hell, Kleenex had more backbone.
Twenty minutes after Reagan was sworn in, the Iranians released the hostages- they didn’t want to be a target, and they had a good idea that Reagan would give the order to get our people home. That was, for me, the beginning of national pride to me. No more did we have to be ashamed of ourselves. We could look each other, and more importantly the rest of the world straight in the eyes. No matter what else Ronald Reagan would do, that one thing, the psychological lifting of a weight from our collective shoulders, would do more in the next eight years than anything else.
The difference between the Republicans, as embodied by Reagan, and the Democrats, was stark- Reagan was hopeful, and emphasized our positives, while the Democrats were constantly telling the nation what we were doing wrong. No upbeat message here- we were soap scum, tile grout, the lowest of the low, according to the Democrats. We were sucking the life out of the rest of the world, like global vampires, and the rest of the world believed it, even though we had helped, indeed poked and prodded the USSR, until it folded like a cheap suit, and the threat of a cold war was over, Germany could re- unite, and the beginning of the prosperity of Europe could begin.
Reagan’s terms ended, and George H. W. Bush’s term began, but people had grown weary of Republicans, or perhaps they just didn’t like Bush as much as Reagan, but Bush 41 lasted only one term before Slick Willy slid into office like a slug, leaving a trail.
People like Clinton always make me uneasy, like a used car salesman, or some of these pitchmen you see on TV- you walk past these people holding onto your money tightly, and never taking your eyes off of them. After all, someone who has never worked for a living will never be able to ” feel my pain”. What a crock. And then there was Vince Foster, Whitewater, and let’s not forget Monica- who was truly a sideshow. I didn’t have a problem with Clinton cheating on his wife- heck, his character is so shallow that I EXPECTED that from him- what I resented were his blatant lies to the American people, like a child caught with chocolate on his face, who still denies that he ate the candy.
Well, we all know who was elected next, and thank God he was, because I would have hated to even think how badly Gore would have handled 9/11- he would have “put them in a lockbox” or fined the terrorists carbon credits for flying those planes into the towers. Instead, George W. Bush was elected, and the one thing he had to do and do right, he did. He kept us safe from another attack.
Every President has flaws- I have, as I’ve become more political, read up on many of the presidents we have had, and by and large, they are nothing to write home about- oh, you get glimpses of some exceptional behavior, a la Lincoln, but by and large, the presidents seem to reflect the times they are a part of.
Still, somehow, we seem to get presidents that often can take the reins of the difficulties of the age, and do the one thing that makes sense in those difficult times. We also get the clowns- the presidents that can do nothing right, and rightly should have been run out of town on a rail. Which one is Skinny B?
I’ll let you make up your own mind on that one. I know where I stand. After reading this, you might have solidified your thinking, or not.
Sometimes the circumstances make the man- sometimes they break him.
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Looking At Presidential Pardons
Nov 25, 2008 Political
Presidents have the authority, under the Constitution, to grant pardons and their decision to do so is absolute so no one can overturn them. Clinton pardoned a number of people and in the flurry of activity during his last day in office he granted a pardon to Marc Rich. That was a bought and paid for pardon but it cannot be overturned. Charges could have been brought against Clinton if it could be proven that he was paid for the pardon. Clinton also pardoned members of the FALN, a violent Puerto Rican nationalist group. One of Obama’s nominees had a little something to do with the Clinton pardons…
President Bush has been stingy with the pardon pen and has issued about half of those Reagan or Clinton issued. This past week President Bush issued pardons or sentence commutations to 16 people. Some of them are for people who were involved in drugs (either smuggling or using) and others were for a variety of crimes, none of them appear to be for people who committed violent crimes. There are two pardons that are missing and should have been made a long time ago.
Border agents Compean and Ramos, who were convicted of shooting a drug smuggler, still sit in jail while Bush pardons drug smugglers and users. These two border patrol agents were doing their jobs and shot the man in the line of duty and they ended up in jail while the US government granted immunity to the smuggler so he could testify (and we paid for his medical treatment).
The idea that two men who risked their lives in an attempt to keep our borders secure and our country free from the drugs that are smuggled in could end up in jail is mind boggling. What is even more a miscarriage of justice is that the president has yet to right this wrong by pardoning these men and returning them to their families where they belong. We need more of these kinds of people guarding our borders because God knows the Congress has no intention of doing it. The only mistake these two made was they did not kill the guy when they shot him. Then there would only be one story to worry about.
George Bush needs to pardon these men right away.
There are folks who have requested pardons or to have their sentences reduced. Two prominent ones are Randy Cunningham, a Republican California Congressman and Edwin W. Edwards, former Democratic Governor of Louisiana. Both were sent to jail after being convicted for corruption while in office.
These are two people who should not receive a pardon or shortened sentences. They used their office for personal gain and they violated the public trust. What they did is inexcusable and they should have to serve every day of their respective sentences. Every politician who is convicted of corruption should be put away for a very long time as a deterrent to others in office.
What kind of country is this where politicians who abused their offices expect to get pardoned while border guards who actually did their jobs are ignored?
There is also concern that Bush will issue a blanket pardon to everyone associated with him so that they cannot be prosecuted when the Democrats start their witch hunt. I have no problem with this. The Democrats have no reason to go after people and only want to try and dig up any little thing in order to embarrass the president and those who worked for him.
We can’t get these idiots to work full time as it is so they need to focus on the important things. If Bush issues the blanket pardon it will take away the distraction and allow the Democrats to work on more pressing issues.
But, if they go after Bush and those who worked for him they should keep in mind that they will not always be in power. Pay back can be a son of a gun.
Source:
Times Online UK
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Tags: border patrol, Bush, Clinton, controversy, pardon, reagan