The Beatles Foretold of Obama
Mar 28, 2008 Political
The Beatles (a famous musical group for those of you too young) had a song about the Tax Man. They could have been talking about the Democratic Party in general but they must have known that Barack Obama was going to appear in the future because everything in that song could apply to his plans for America. Barack Obama has already indicated that he would raise the cap on income subject to Social Security, an action that throws good money at a bad problem with addressing he root cause.
Now Obama is saying that he will raise the Capital Gains tax to no mre than 28% (nearly double what it is now). Of course Obama wants people to believe that this will only affect the rich because in the world of liberalism only rich people make enough money to have capital gains. However, about half the country owns stock and other items that would be subject to the higher tax so everyone who invests for the future will have that future attacked by Obama, the Tax Man. The rich, well they know how to shelter their money. Warren Buffet, a man Obama claims to have discussed his tax ideas with, shelters his money. John Kerry’s wife earned 2.54 million dollars in non taxable interest by investing in things she did not have to pay taxes on. The rich know how to avoid taxes. The rest of us will end up paying the 28% to fuel the government but once again, Obama misses the boat because higher taxes stifle investment and they do not address the root cause of the problem.
The real problem is out of control spending. The federal government spends more than it takes in and it continually invents new ways to spend more and more. Little is ever cut and lawmakers fight tooth and nail to keep pork projects and earmarks which waste taxpayer money. This country does not pay too little in taxes, we spend too much. Social programs account for around 70% of the budget. Congress never cuts programs or consolidates, it just makes new programs and adds money to failing ones. Couple this with earmarks and spending spirals (not like Hillary’s airplane) out of control.
Obama wants to add to the tax burden of the people in this country. There is no need for this and it is regressive. An increase in the capital gains tax will stifle investment and add to our economic woes. Increasing taxes on wealthy will lead to creation of fewer jobs. Obama claims to be for change and he claims to be progressive with new and progressive ideas but his ideas are the same old worn out, tried and failed liberal tax and spend programs that keep people enslaved to the government.
The Beatles described Obama and liberals quite well:
One, two, three, four…
Hrmm!
One, two, (one, two, three, four!)Let me tell you how it will be;
There’s one for you, nineteen for me.
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.(if you drive a car, car;) – I’ll tax the street;
(if you try to sit, sit;) – I’ll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold, cold;) – I’ll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk, walk;) – I’ll tax your feet.Taxman!
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.Don’t ask me what I want it for, (ah-ah, mister Wilson)
If you don’t want to pay some more. (ah-ah, mister heath)
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.Now my advice for those who die, (taxman)
Declare the pennies on your eyes. (taxman)
‘Cause I’m the taxman,
Yeah, I’m the taxman.And you’re working for no one but me.
Taxman!
Tags: failed policies, liberal. tax and spend, Obama, taxes
Chelsea, Get A Real Job and Pay More Taxes
Feb 20, 2008 Political
Monica Lewinsky’s boyfriend’s wife said that hedge fund managers aren’t doing real work during a round table discussion. This must come as a shock to Chelsea Clinton who works for a hedge fund where I am sure she feels she works pretty hard. It is amazing that Hillary Clinton would tell people she has been a mother longer than a politician after the suggestion she was pimping out her daughter and then say her daughter does not do real work. This is another example of how Hillary will say and do anything, including pimping out and insulting her own daughter, to get elected.
Hillary was trying to pander for votes by telling people that Wall Street investment managers who make 50 million dollars on actually pay a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than do people who make 50 thousand a year. This is a patent lie. If we take a 50k income and assume married filing joint with 2 children and the taxes paid are about $3,073 or 6%. This assumes no itemized deductions.
A person who makes 10 million dollars1 (one fifth the amount she cited in her remarks) with the same assumptions pays $3,466,874 or 34.67% in taxes. We can assume that the 50 million dollar earner will stay at the 35% range and pay significantly more in total dollars. Of course these folks might not get their income in dollars. They might get it in stock in which case there is no disposable income and they have to pay taxes on the dividends. Even with itemized deductions there is no way the millionaire pays less in percentage than the 50k a year worker. Given that the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will probably kick in it is unlikely that the millionaire will have many itemized deductions.
Hillary told a lie because she knows there are many people who will believe this crap. It is classic class warfare and it is shameful. Additionally, Hillary Clinton is a millionaire and has refused to release her income tax reports. Is this because she has found a way to pay far less in taxes than most (percentage wise)? Is she citing herself as the proof of her claim? If Hillary is paying less in taxes than she thinks she should be why does she not send money to the treasury? As I pointed out before, they take donations.
Hillary is not the only Democrat to play this game and she will not be the last. They all talk about tax cuts for the rich as if there is such thing as tax cuts for the poor. The bottom 40% of wage earners pay absolutely no taxes so how could their taxes possibly be cut at all. The tax cuts affected all people who pay taxes and since the top 25% of wage earners pay 84% of the taxes in this country, they are going to be the ones who benefit from a tax cut (notice that even the bottom 50% of earners get a 0.5% benefit from tax cuts even though they pay less than 4% of the nation’s income taxes). It is very simple but the masses do not seem to understand this and politicians like Hillary are more than happy to exploit the ignorance.
How do tax cuts benefit those who pay no taxes? There is more income for those who do and they are the class that creates jobs. Additionally, those who pay no taxes benefit from government services used. These folks use a far greater amount of those services than they pay for (since they are not paying taxes) and the tax payers use far fewer of those services. Everyone is eligible for the same government benefits regardless of what they paid.
In reality though, the tax payers are not entitled to as much even though they pay more. Wealthy people who retire cannot draw Social Security because their retirement income is too high, however they still pay Social Security all their working lives. If Social Security were privatized a great number of the working class would actually retire with a decent amount of money and not have to rely on the government to survive. Of course, the government does not want this because they need to control people to retain power.
Liberals realize this and this is why they engage in class warfare. They like to pretend they are just like the rest of us but like most politicians from either party, they are wealthy. None of them understand how it is to actually work for a living and the feeling of living paycheck to paycheck. The real dirty little secret is that all these folks who want to tax the rich work real hard to pay as little as they can to the IRS.
Chelsea must really feel good knowing that her mother thinks she does not have a real job. Maybe the fact that mommy dearest sent her to Hawaii to campaign took a bit of the sting out of the slap but it had to hurt nonetheless.
It would be interesting to see how many hedge fund managers donated money to Hillary. It would be even more interesting if they asked for it back.
Sources:
National Taxpayer’s Union
Tax Foundation
1The tax calculator I used only allows an income up to 10 million dollars to be entered. It must not have been designed for hedge fund managers or members of Congress.
Tags: amt, chelsea clinton, hedge fund, Hillary, pandering, real work, taxes
MD Judge: OK to Violate Constitution
Jan 10, 2008 Political
Last November, Maryland’s Governor called a special session of the legislature in order to tackle a budget deficit that the same legislature was responsible for giving us. Governor O’Malley asked them to raise every tax imaginable and they obliged him by raising even more than he could have imagined. The Governor claimed that the increases would not affect nearly 90% of the residents but in the end each and every person will pay more money. The increase in the sales tax will particularly hurt the poor and middle income residents.
During that session the Maryland Legislature took an action that violated the State Constitution. The Maryland Constitution states that one chamber needs the permission of the other before taking a recess of greater than three days. The Senate took off longer than three days without permission which is a violation. To make matters worse, a clerk falsified documents to make it appear as if everything had been done appropriately. I am absolutely certain that the clerk did not take it upon herself to do this and was given instructions to do so by one of the Democratic leaders. However, since the State’s Attorney General refuses to have it investigated, we may never know for sure. All actions give the impression of impropriety and perception is often the truth for people who, according to the talk shows, believe something fishy took place.
The Republican Party of Maryland filed suit to have the tax increases, the largest in state history, nullified. The contention is that if they were done in violation of the Constitution then they are not valid. Unfortunately, a judge decided that while the Democratic leadership “erred” nullifying the tax increases would be “too drastic” a remedy. What Judge Thomas Stansfield is saying is that even though the law makers broke the law it is OK and what they accomplished by breaking the law is satisfactory. Making them pay for their abuse would be “too drastic.”
How many times has a murderer been released because his Constitutional rights were violated? Has any judge ever stated that releasing a guy who was not read his rights or was denied a lawyer would be too drastic? We have a Constitution for a reason and if we are not going to follow it then we should just flush the damned thing down the toilet. Lawmakers, many of whom are lawyers, should be held accountable for breaking the law. I am quite sure if I were before this chowder headed judge for drinking and driving he would not say that while I “erred” fining me or putting me in jail would be “too drastic.” He would say that I violated the law and that I had to pay for that violation.
Why is it the people who are supposed to uphold our laws, the ones we give power to make those laws, are not held to that exact standard?
We need to get rid of this judge and we need to get to the bottom of the crime involving falsifying the records. Perhaps if the Republican lawmakers threaten the clerk with a few years in jail she might be able to shed some light on the matter.
Is it any wonder that Martin O’Malley, the dim witted, jackass Governor of Maryland has a lower approval rating than President Bush? Considering that Maryland is an overwhelmingly Democratic state, that is saying something.
The next election is three years from now and those idiots think people will forget but there are many of us who will keep reminding the public. We need to vote all these jackasses out of office and replace them with people of honor. Additionally, Thomas Stansfield is a Republican Judge who will need to run for reelection. The people need to boot him to the street.
Your (dis) honor, if it is against the Constitution it is illegal. Anything that results from the illegality should be nullified. I know I never went to law school but if I did I would have at least paid attention.
Tags: crimes, Democrats, Maryland, taxes, unconstitutional
Barry Rascovar Gives an A for Failure
Dec 22, 2007 Political
Barry Rascovar of the Gazette in Maryland has given his annual grade to our new Governor Martin O’Malley (MOM). The grade is an A – minus, a little better than the B he awarded Governor Ehrlich in his first term. The major difference in the grade seems to be that Rascovar is happy that MOM raised taxes, in fact the largest in the state’s history, and that MOM did this in an effort to tackle a tough budget deficit. Rascovar indicated that Ehrlich did not do this and he was a bit less mature in his first year. I can’t imagine this is true given MOM’s propensity to cry and whine about everything but let us look at what he did to earn that A.
MOM blew a 2 billion dollar surplus left to him by Ehrlich, mostly to pay off his political backers, and then he called a special session of the legislature to address the budget problem. Rather than reduce spending and cutting waste, the Democratically controlled legislature voted to raise taxes so high they will burden everyone in the state regardless of income. The issue of slots, one that was dead for Ehrlich so as to deny him the success, is now going to go before voters and many of the tax issues are tied to the slots bill being implemented. The legislature left this to the people because they were too cowardly to tackle it themselves. I wonder why we were not allowed to vote on whether our taxes should be raised as well.
Barry Rascovar probably would have given a higher grade but, to him, MOM did not go deep enough into our pockets. He, according to Rascovar, should have raised gas taxes and indexed that to inflation. Of course, the tax would never go down, it would stay the same or increase. There is fairness for you. Rascovar thinks this would have raised more money for social programs, as if we do not waste enough money on them now.
MOM raised taxes when we are getting ready for a down turn and when the values of homes are declining. He raised taxes during a period when home foreclosures are at an all time high due to people lacking the intelligence or experience to make good decisions. Barry Rascovar seems to think that these taxes are going to be wonderful and fix everything when, in fact, they will actually stifle growth and will cause people who can afford to, to leave the state for more friendly neighboring states.
The tax increases, on top of the 75% electric rate increase (one MOM promised to stop) will mean hard times for many families. This earns an A from Rascovar who must have some sadistic desire to see people suffer. However, this is typical liberalism. Cause as much pain as possible and then allow the government to swoop in and promise to fix it. Get reelected and cause more pain. It is a viscous cycle that keeps repeating because people are not smart enough to see how badly the Democrats are hurting them.
Of course, MOM comes from Baltimore City where the schools were the lowest performing in the state. He is used to leading unintelligent people who do not have the knowledge to change their circumstances. As long as these people exist there will be people like MOM in charge.
Barry Rascovar might just be in line to head the school board. His grading system, one that rewards for failure, is right in line with MOM’s philosophical views. What this state does not need is a bunch of unthinking, unintelligent dimwits running around making decisions about the future of the state.
We already have that in our legislature, in MOM, and in the toady reporters who lick their boots.
How does shoe leather taste Barry?
Remember those who voted to increase your taxes when they ask for your vote…
Tags: gazette, O'Malley, rascovar, report card, taxes
The AMT, a Congressional Tax Scam
Dec 22, 2007 Political
The Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT, was enacted in 1969 to force millionaires to pay a “minimum” amount of taxes. The law was specifically aimed at the fewer than 200 millionaires in this country. I am sure Congress did not consider that there would be many more millionaires over the years with a few billionaires sprinkled in. They also never figured what would happen to this archaic law over the years. Since Congress failed to index the AMT for inflation, this law has been affecting people who are no where near being millionaires and it has done so for years. People who make a little as $150,000 can be hit by the AMT (and some with lower incomes depending on circumstances). There are people who would argue that $150,000 is a very good salary, and it is, but that in no way makes a person a millionaire.
Nearly 40 years after the AMT was enacted Congress has decided to do something about the way that it is affecting non-millionaires. But this comes with great concerns to our esteemed members of the criminal club in Congress because they are trying to figure out how to make up the revenue that will be lost by fixing the AMT. They want to do this by raising taxes on the rich (who else) but the AMT was a tax that was designed to only affect the rich in the first place. Charlie Rangel is beside himself because of all the money the government will lose if they fix the AMT without replacing the revenue source. Rangel says this as if the money belongs to the government instead of the people.
What I want Rangel and others to do is abolish the AMT completely. It is antiquated and has no place in our system. There are a lot of rich people and they pay a great deal in taxes. Then, I want Rangel and the other members of Congress to find a way to refund the money that they have received illegally over the years. The AMT was designed to impact millionaires. It has resulted in non-millionaires paying a fortune in extra taxes over the years so Congress owes people money back. Their law affected people it was not supposed to touch so the reality of the situation is, Congress will not be losing money, as Rangel claims but rather it will be no longer getting money to which it is not entitled.
My opinion is that Congress has never been entitled to the money the AMT has raised from non-millionaires because this is contrary to the law they enacted in 1969. Congress has been ignoring this for nearly four decades because they liked taking in extra money that they had not planned on getting. This allows them to waste even more. The problem is, the AMT has not reached down to the middle class of America and the middle class is not too happy. Congress might kiss the rears of lobbyists and rich people for campaign money but the middle class is a larger voting block and they do not want to tick everyone off. So they put up a little patch to keep the AMT from getting even more people this year while they work on a way to make the rich pay for a mistake that was only supposed to affect the rich in the first place.
The desire of the Democrats in Congress to always tax the hell out of the rich is one of the reasons many businesses decide to move their efforts out of the country. It is why many rich people have investments that are not subject to the US tax system and it is why rich people hire armies of lawyers to keep them from being raked over the coals. Next time one of you bleeding heart liberals cries about some big company (like Heinz) outsourcing to another country don’t cry about the company and how evil and greedy it is. Instead, focus your anger toward a body that thinks it is OK to rape people because they are successful. The actions of Congress cause people to react.
People who have paid the AMT over the years (and who are not millionaires) should write a letter to their members of Congress demanding their money back. They should assert it was taken by fraud and should be returned.
The AMT does not make millionaires pay a minimum tax. It forces ordinary wage earners to find ways to reduce the burden of taxes by getting higher cost health insurance and making larger contributions to retirement plans. These reduce the amount of income that is actually taxed. Of course, there are plenty of ways to avoid taxes, as the rich in this country (like members of Congress) have found out.
We need a tax code that is no more than 10 pages long. It should include a flat tax that cannot be raised above a certain number without the vote of the people. The flat tax will eliminate the need for the pithy class warfare Democrats love to play and it will eliminate the need for many other tax schemes such as the AMT. It should also reduce the need for an IRS (the Gestapo of the Congress) and it will reduce the cost associated with running the tax scheme of this country.
One thing we should make sure of is that Rangel and the rest of his bandits are not allowed to rape the rich to fix a problem that should never have happened and only happened due the the incompetence of the Congress.
Others with similar items:
Outside the Beltway, Stop the ACLU, The Midnight Sun, Rosemary’s Thoughts, guerrilla radio, 123beta, Adam’s Blog, Right Truth, Stix Blog, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, The Amboy Times, Chuck Adkins, Conservative Cat, Nuke’s, Faultline USA, Allie is Wired, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Walls of the City, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, Celebrity Smack, The Pink Flamingo, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Tags: amt, Congress, crimes, Democrats, incompetence, tax and spend, tax the rich, taxes