Raise Your Own Taxes

From Gregg Easterbrook at ESPN.com:

"Last week a group of millionaires, including the musician Moby, urged Barack Obama to raise taxes on the rich. Taxes on the rich should indeed be raised, though that alone would be far from sufficient to fix the national debt -- a combination higher middle-class taxes, Social Security reductions, defense-spending cuts and increased economic growth is required to fix the damage done by a decade of reckless spending by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Last week's group, and rich people such as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, who say they favor higher taxes on the wealthy, should bear in mind that they can tax themselves immediately. Right now the top rate for federal income taxes in 35 percent; Obama has proposed raising the number to 39.6 percent beginning in 2011. Nothing stops Gates, or Moby, or any other rich person from simply calculating an additional tax of 4.6 percent, and adding it to the check they send to the Treasury. If you're rich and say you believe the rich should be taxed more -- then tax yourself! Otherwise you're just patting yourself on the back for claiming to want to be taxed, but never actually parting with the money.

And if the president is sincere, why hasn't he already taxed himself to the same extent that he wants to tax others? Filing jointly in 2009, Barack and Michelle Obama had an adjusted gross income of $5,505,409, and paid $1,792,414 in federal taxes. Had the top-rate tax that Obama advocates been in effect they would have paid an additional $253,249. Why didn't the president set a leadership example and tax himself by sending an additional $253,249 to the Treasury?"

Well, why not indeed? I'm not persuaded that taxes need to go up on the rich. I am of the opinion that removing more capital from the private sector and dumping into a rathole the size of a galaxy, i.e., the Federal Treasury, is bad for the economy.

But it would be wonderful to see these "higher taxes" nabobs put their money where their mouth is. But I'm not going to hold my breath.

We Need More Leaders Like This

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is a man with backbone.

Inheriting the reins of a state drowning in debt and where in 2009 public employment added 11,000 jobs while the private sector lost 120,000, Christie is insisting that the leaks that are sinking the state's budget be plugged.

Mr. Christie's answer is simple: "a smaller government that lives within its means."

However quaint that may sound, when you have to cut nearly $11 billion in state spending to get there, you are going to get a lot of yelling and screaming. Most comes from the New Jersey Education Association, hollering that "the children" will be hurt by Mr. Christie's proposals for teachers to accept a one-year wage freeze and begin contributing something toward their health plans. What makes the battle interesting is the way Mr. Christie is throwing the old chestnuts back at his critics.

The children will be the ones to suffer from your education cuts. "The real question is, who's for the kids, and who's for their raises? This isn't about the kids. Let's dispense with that portion of the argument. Don't let them tell you that ever again while they are reaching into your pockets."

If you want, read it all.

Obama and Biden - Hype and Charade

The economy is still wretched after Dr. Obama's prescribed stimulus. Joe Biden, the effervescent Veep said today that the economy was worse than they thought. Maybe, when they described the economy during the election campaign as the worst since the Great Depression, they were just lying. Maybe.

From Investor's Business Daily: Of $157.8 billion "made available" under the stimulus, only $56.3 billion has been paid out — or 7% of the total $787 billion. And according to ex-Treasury Department economist Bruce Bartlett, "just 11% of the the discretionary spending on highways, mass transit, energy efficiency and other programs involving direct government purchases will have been spent by the end of this fiscal year."

Based on this, there are only two possible conclusions: One, the stimulus has been the most inept public waste of money in history. Or two, it was a cynical attempt by the Democrats to vastly expand the scope of government during a time of crisis. Or maybe it's both.

Probably both. Oh, and they want to do another stimulus, too. Brilliant!

Read it all, if you want.

Time to Dump the Inbox

I rifled through the Inbox here at Central Standard and came up with a few things that you must know, if you must know.

Number One Son and his roommate have posted more graphic art over at their blog, Spare Oom. I particularly like this one - I'd say it's good enough to be a poster or a postage stamp, but then, that's Dad talking.

This is an ugly development, I think. The Cardinals had two second basemen before Christmas. Now we're rifling through the outfielder drawer to find one. I am not impressed with the performance of Cards' GM John Mozeliak to this point. Obviously, if the club wins around 90 and is in the hunt well into September, well then, I'm wrong. But right now I'd say the All-Star Game is going to be the highlight in St. Louis aside from the day-to-day heroics of Albert Pujols.

You'll want to see this from the guys at Powerline and get one before Obama rejects as false the notion of you mocking the current administration.

The liberals, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and many, many others believe that people who are wealthy should be punished, penalized. I have never understood why this is admirable. It is simply envy carried out to it's wickedly logical ends. I don't begrudge anyone who makes money. As a matter of fact, I try to learn from those who can make money so I can make more, too.

Anyway, the liberals, contemplating a deficit well over 1 TRILLION dollars (trillion = 1,000,000 x 1,000,000) are looking for ways to tax the wealthy and their businesses. But there's a problem. Simply, it won't work. Still, they will try.

Aren't you glad the smart ones run the government now?

1040s Are For Other People

I don't recall ever seeing so many cabinet appointments blow up on the launch pad before. Obama has certainly brought change to Washington. And so many of the appointees are in trouble for failure to pay their taxes.

Hmmm.

Is it just me or is it clear that the reason liberals don't have the slightest qualm about raising taxes is because they intend to dodge them?

103. Taxes and Houses and Veeps, Oh My

Who will be Barack Obama's running mate? The world wants to know. Well, CNN and MSNBC want to know. Personally, I can wait.

Usually, the top of the ticket is the big dog, the head honcho leading the nation into the new - whatever. Well, consider this. Obama is the least qualified person ever to be nominated by a major party for president. And in a few hours, he will probably pick someone who does not outshine him.

Just let that sink in for a moment.

There is a danger in writing about Obama in the way I do. It is that I will be perceived as a negative, grouchy, crabby old man. Crotchety, even. Anti-whippersnapper.

I realize that. But I realize this, as well. I think the argument can be made that we live in the most perilous time since the end of the Cold War. OK, I understand that is not a large chunk of history. Nevertheless, I think it's a valid assessment. So, who then should we pick for president? Barney Fife or Marshall Dillon? The Disorderly Orderly or Dirty Harry? C'mon. It's not even close.

I write about Obama the way I do because two things are abundantly clear to me - 1) there are a handful of very dangerous and/or highly critical international conflicts, or near-conflicts, around the world, and, 2) every one of them demands more than teleprompter speeches and a victory lap through Europe. And that is all Obama's got. That is all he's got.

The world is more dangerous than that. We can not afford to give the keys of state to a guy that hasn't even completed Driver's Ed.

Well, what are others saying? Lots. If you are trying to keep up with the Obama news, it's tough. And I'm not even talking about all the "homer" coverage he gets from the mainstream media. Let's see if I can give you a taste and then maybe we'll talk about some fun stuff.

Back a few weeks ago, when Obama was on his Resume Safari to Europe, John McCain began running some ads that really took Obama to task. That was when the "Celebrity" ads came out. And I thought then that it was brilliant. Obama was on tour, on a schedule and basically working from a script. In other words, he was a bit pinned down and less able to respond to what was happening here due to, again his schedule, and the time zones. And that's when McCain started punching - when Obama couldn't do anything about it. It was very smart, I thought.

It also struck me as being strategic in the military sense. And for heaven's sake, John McCain is nothing if not military. And you know what? I think the campaign has been going that way ever since. There has been a precision and incisiveness to what McCain is doing. And I think Obama has been in the position of having to respond to whatever McCain dictates. And I think the poll numbers reflect that.

Well, here's someone who has taken the latest flap over houses and turned it into a military campaign and it's hilarious. I also think it confirms my thinking. But, of course I would think that.

Here are a couple of more thoughts to ponder. The Dems National Convention is this coming week, but how does the week end? With McCain announcing his running mate on Friday. Sure it won't get the foaming-at-the-mouth coverage that we've seen for the last two days, but it will be the capstone of the week. The timing is brilliant. Again.

And then I saw an article just a few hours ago where the McCain camp said it's expecting Obama to get a 15-point bounce from the Convention. That would be huge. But here's the deal. If he gets it, OK, that's what we expect. If he doesn't, then something must be wrong because he didn't have the bounce we expected.

I think McCain is playing Obama and the media masterfully. And better still, I don't think they know it. It's against the Liberal Code to think anyone could best them.

Here the guys at Powerline echo the "unprepared" theme. Here's a quote: "... one of the many problems with being a leftist is that it leads you to say lots of stupid things. Today, the Obama gaffe machine went into overdrive. By November, I suspect that most voters will have heard enough to know that Barack Obama is unqualified to be a middle-manager in a well-run company, let alone President of the United States."

You should read it all.

Same song, another verse. This one is particularly witty and I wish I had written it. Back in junior high, one of the dangers we had to face was getting "pantsed" during gym class. Getting pantsed meant that, unbeknownst to the victim, someone snuck up behind him and yanked the victim's gym shorts down around his knees and then the perpetrator would run off. That is getting pantsed. In this article, Obama gets pantsed. Here's a quote - “With all due respect, Sen. Obama, being president is above your pay grade. And the voters are starting to figure that out.”

As we all learned in "The Untouchables" there is something called 'the Chicago way'. Except in the movie it was a good thing. From the article - “Democrats don't like it when you say that Barack Obama won his first election in 1996 by throwing all of his opponents off the ballot on technicalities.

More - “Mr. Obama has never stood up against Chicago's corruption problem because his donors and allies are Chicago's corruption problem. Mr. Obama is not the reformer he now claims to be. The real man is the one they know in Chicago -- the one who won his first election by depriving voters of a choice.”

Hold on to your wallet. Obama likes to raise taxes according to this piece. And this one, too. Here's George Will - "This senator, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, is going to get a huge, complex industry to produce, and is going to get a million consumers to buy, (hybrid) cars. How? Almost certainly by federal financial incentives for both — billions of dollars of tax subsidies for automakers, and billions more to bribe customers to buy these cars they otherwise would spurn."

I know! Let's raise taxes to entice people to buy cars they do not want! Brilliant!

Have you Obama fatigue yet? I hope so. The more, the merrier.

Did you know Seahawks can run? Well, some of them do and after I read this article I was ready to hit the trail. Here's what they said about the run - "I really look at this as kind of a metaphor on life," Pattison said. "You want to stop and you want to quit, but that's the easy thing to do."

"This isn't about climbing Tiger Mountain specifically, since there are higher peaks with longer trails. And it isn't about time, since Pattison will still be running the trail this winter when the weather turns cold, the trail gets sloppy and the times can get downright glacial.
Running the Cable Line trail is more about dedication.”

My daughter and son-in-law honeymooned in Seattle last summer and they would like to go back there some time. Peter, you need to find this trail and run it. In fact, take me along and I'll run it, too. Or I will try. Or I'll hold your camera, or something.

Man, that was a long post. I'm glad it's Friday.

Drive

I don’t follow the stock cars too much, but this is news. Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he’s leaving the racing company his father began, DEI, and will make himself, essentially, a free agent for next year. The latest talk, according to ESPN Radio, has him in negotiations with Richard Childress Racing about joining them next year. This is where Earnhardt’s dad signed on in 1981 to drive the No. 3. Junior, whose No. 8 belongs to the team he just left, may wind up with dad’s old number.

A number of interesting things were said – Junior’s stepmom, who’s running DEI, said they will thrive in the future. Junior is obviously making the move for a chance to win a championship. Everybody said they were disappointed.

OK, questions – what’s going on right now at DEI, Junior, that makes it tough to win? And Teresa, why will you win in the future if you can’t win now with one of the best of the current crop of drivers? Why do you let EARNHARDT leave Dale EARNHARDT Inc.? (It is Inc., right?)

I think, no matter which team Junior winds up with, and no matter who drives for DEI and the stepmom, the real race is off the track. The real race is which one of the two wins first, and which wins more often. This could be better than what happens on the track a lot of weeks.

Cardinals News - such as it is - Padres, Dodgers and Tigers coming up - if there's any sign of life after these next 3 series then we might be decent this year, but it's way too early yet to hope of catching Milwaukee.

Nice bit on Springfield's Joe Mather - he's stinging the ball.

Politics - The Baseball Crank also has some interest in political news makes a list of tax-raising governors and the executive from Illinois made the list - He, and we, are happy to note that the Land of Lincoln will have no more taxes - for now anyway.