There is perhaps no better advertisement for an Ivy League education that this comment from a student of two such fine institutions;
“Steve, the math is the math. You can’t lower rates and raise revenue, unless you’re getting revenue from someplace else,”
I find it very interesting that a good number of these posts use an Associated Press story as the baseline for my commentary. I don’t seek out AP stories, but it often seems like their reporting often shows the bias of the mainstream media.
First the headline (with a link to the original story)…
…Now the story
OKLAHOMA CITY — A year after Republicans swept into office across the country, many have trained their sights on what has long been a fiscal conservative’s dream: the steep reduction or elimination of state income taxes. [So far so good]
“Top Democrats and Republicans in Congress prepared new proposals to avert a government debt default and a potential global financial crisis.”
That’s the lead paragraph from a story in today’s paper. What should scare you is when Democrats and Republicans agree on something the public generally gets screwed. I believe that both sides realized that they set up this “battle” and now that the public is watching they are not sure how to get out from all of the rhetoric that they have been spreading. What both sides agree on is that they both want desperately to get re-elected and regain power. Even a little power is better than none and they are more than willing to squander our money, our children’s money, and our grandchildrens’ money to maintain their power. Here are few facts as I see them:
In “Parse-imony” I break down current news stories with my pithy, running commentary…
First the headline:
Stormwater fee plan steams some Mt. Lebanon residentsMt. Lebanon residents expressed their concern Tuesday night that a proposed stormwater fee amounted to a “rain tax” that was unfair to the owners of smaller homes. [They are concerned because it is a tax.]
Many times as I read an article I find a few sentences that capture the essence of the piece. In “Phrase-e-ology” I’ll post some thought followed by key phrases. As always I’ll have a link (in blue) to the original article.
It is hard not to grab some great phrases from an author like Walter Williams. His recent article asks the question of whether we (America) deserves our fate (still avoidable at this point). Pointing out that our culture is following in the footsteps of some historical empires like that of the Romans, Spanish, French, and English where…
There once was a story about a Gov. named Ed, poor Philadelphia man, mostly kept his state in red, then one day he was spendin’ out his a#%, and out from the ground game a hissin gas…Marcellus that is, natural gas, Pennsylvania cash…
If it helps that introduction sort of goes with the Beverly Hillbillies theme song [a show on TV Land for those of you under forty].
This is a rather simple equation that should be used whenever a group suggests that something won’t have an impact on consumers or expresses a desire to tax (or charge fees) for some industry or demonize profits from some large industry.
C = Cost to produce something
P = Profit needed by company to make it worth the risk to produce something
PC = Price to consumer
Way back in the early 1980s I worked at a restaurant atop Pittsburgh’s tallest building. The food was decent; the service was good; the view was awesome! The U.S. Steel Building now sports a “UPMC” (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) sign acknowledging their biggest client. The famed building was recently acquired by UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. based out of New York. Pittsburgh’s Tribune review reported that the investing group has skillfully locally recorded “is a consignment of leases and rents by the lender in the deal…UBS also recorded a mortgage document for a $220 million loan UBS provided for the acquisition to Manhattan-based Karasick and his partners.” Neither action requires the payment of transfer taxes which was estimated to be $10 million.
Politicians succeed by engaging us with truths (usually only half truths) to get us riled up for their cause which is ultimately about getting them reelected. Few politicians care about anything more than achieving this goal. They avoid the tough decisions while decrying that the other side won’t make the tough decisions. The good news for American citizens is that we have a free press that sorts out complex issues and will not let politicians get away with the half truths. Okay that was dripping with sarcasm, but I am a dreamer and that is the way our country is supposed to work.
In “Parse-imony” I break down current news stories with my pithy, running commentary…
First the headline:
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland lawmakers will debate today an increase in the sales tax on alcoholic beverages and how to subsidize troubled horse racing tracks as the General Assembly pushes toward midnight adjournment. [It is extremely interesting that the Maryland elected officials are looking to tax citizen who prefer to imbibe while at the same time give money to (although “subsidize” sounds much better) folks who run another “sin tax” operation leaving little doubt who has better lobbyists.]
