"Producing Papers" is Lethal to Democrat Ability to Win Elections #teaparty

RUSH: Byron York today has an opinion piece that is excellent in the DC Examiner, and it's a takeoff, it's a reaction to a Michael Gerson column that ran in the Washington Post. Here's Byron York: "In the Washington Post, columnist and former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson pronounces the new Arizona immigration law 'understandable -- and dreadful.' Gerson says states do not have the authority 'to take control of American immigration policy -- an authority that Arizona has seized in order to abuse.' The effect of the new law, he argues, will be bad for everybody: It makes it harder for illegal immigrants to live without scrutiny -- but it also makes it harder for some American citizens to live without suspicion and humiliation. Americans are not accustomed to the command 'Your papers, please,' however politely delivered. The distinctly American response to such a request would be 'Go to hell,' and then 'See you in court.'

"Which leads to the question: What America is Gerson living in? No, we are not confronted by actors with heavy German accents demanding our papers. We are instead confronted routinely by people of all stripes asking to see our driver's license. When we board an airplane, we are asked to produce a government-issued photo ID, usually a driver's license. When we make some credit- or debit-card purchases in department stores, we are asked to produce a driver's license. When we enter many office buildings, both private and government, security guards often ask us to produce a driver's license. When we go to doctors' offices and hospitals, we are asked to produce a driver's license. When we check into hotels, we are asked to produce a driver's license. When we purchase some over-the-counter drugs, we are asked to produce a driver's license. If we go to a bar or nightclub, anyone who looks at all young is asked to produce a driver's license. And needless to say, if we have any encounter with police or other authorities, we are asked to produce a driver's license. Some situations involve an even higher level of scrutiny. When we get a new job, we are asked to provide not a driver's license but a passport or birth certificate to prove citizenship. In other situations, too: When I renewed my District of Columbia driver's license last year, I had to produce a passport to prove citizenship, even though it was a valid, unexpired license I was renewing. And in many places, buying a gun -- a constitutionally-protected right -- involves enormous scrutiny."

By the way, I can personally attest to this driver's license business. I had to go get mine renewed. There were three forms of documentation required. A tax return, a passport, I forget what the other one was, and without all three you didn't get your renewal, even though mine had not expired, my picture was on the expiring license. It was a level of scrutiny I have never faced in getting a driver's license before. (interruption) Well, yeah, I was upset by it, of course I was upset by it because it was silly. And yet it was there. "Has Michael Gerson never experienced any of those situations? And by the way, has he read the Arizona law? Does he know that it specifically states that in any encounter with police, when a person produces a valid Arizona driver's license (or, for non-drivers, other forms of ID listed in the law), that person is immediately presumed to be in the United States legally? Given all the situations listed above, can anyone argue that being asked to produce a driver's license, if one is in some sort of encounter with police in which police are acting lawfully (that is also specified by the new law) is overly burdensome? Being asked to produce identification is a burden that falls on everyone," and now all of a sudden it's racist.

It is racist to ask people who may be here illegally to prove that they are here legally? We have to produce a lot of this identification, by the way, especially when we get a job because of illegal aliens. Can I be clear about this? You go apply for a job and you have to prove that you're a citizen because of the influx of illegals. We aren't used to being asked for our papers? "Our papers, please." About the only time we aren't asked for identification, my friends -- I've gone through everything Byron York said here, I agree with it -- about the only time we're not asked for ID is when we vote. We are asked for our papers. We are asked to prove who we are constantly, multiple times a day, and yet somehow it is racist to do this in Arizona. And the president of the United States may move to undo the immigration law. This is how the regime does things.

Mexicans are Hypocrites along with their president Felipe Calderon

If you were caught living in Mexico illegally..you'd get your head chopped off

Why I Regret Voting For President Obama

Why I Regret Voting For President Obama
By Jill Dorson

I am a registered Independent. I voted for Barack Obama. And for that, I am sorry.

I'm not sorry for you. I'm sorry for me. Because I voted for Obama for me, not for you. I voted for hope and change and all the intangibles that Obama was peddling in the wake of the financial crisis, Sarah Palin, Sept. 11 and all the other ills that shook our country in the last decade. I wanted something new. Something different. What I got was, I suppose, exactly what I voted for - a spin doctor. And not a very good one at that.

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Jill Dorson RealClearPolitics
Barack Obama John McCain

Before John McCain unwittingly picked a tabloid-magazine cover girl for his running mate, I was leaning toward going Republican this time around. I did the second time Bush was on the ballot and I very nearly did the first time, too. But as soon as Palin climbed out of her igloo and onto the national scene, well, there was no turning back for me.

You see, I felt my choice was to risk McCain dropping dead and letting the world's most well-known hockey mom run this country, or to believe that Obama would surround himself with educated people and that he was smart enough to take their advice.

I was right. He is smart enough to seek counsel. I'm just outraged at the counsel he's seeking these days. Key financial leaders who are tax cheats come immediately to mind, but as the recent terror attack made clear to me, the idea that a president of the most powerful nation in the world could think it was OK to have a Homeland Security chief with such a loose grasp of what terrorism is and how it works is troubling.

I was right there laughing when George W. Bush struggled with the names of countries around the world early in his tenure. And while my knowledge of foreign policy is limited, I thought Bush's was lousy, too. But after Sept. 11, I saw a man with no charisma step up and fight for this country, its citizens and its freedom. Bush became a leader.

Seven years later, I am ashamed to say that I was blinded by charisma. Obama was so convincing that I stopped caring about what he knew and started getting caught up in the euphoria. Imagine having a president who came from a broken home, who had money troubles, who did grass-roots community service? A young father. The first black president. It pains me to admit I got caught up in the hoopla.

But McCain made it easy. He's a smart man, I don't doubt that. But between picking Palin, suggesting that the first debates be delayed and, well, picking Palin, he made it easy for Obama to win. As Election Day drew near, all Obama had to do was keep his mouth shut to win.

All that changed when the Obama campaign became the Obama administration. I was a small business owner during 2008 election and my business ultimately failed under the weight of a horrendous economy. I am not ashamed. I worked hard. But I believed that Obama would try to level the playing field between big business and small, between thieves and honest business people, between greed and moderation. Instead, he bailed out the most wicked and left the rest of us fail.

I watched with horror as Obama followed Bush's lead in bailing out banks, auto makers, insurance companies, all of those companies deemed "too big to fail." What does that mean? My small company got thrown under the bus and my savings were ravaged - perhaps Wall Street is using them for bonuses this year.

Not to mention President Obama is recklessly spending our country's future into oblivion.

It was clear after just 90 days what a mistake I'd made. My taxes have gone up and my quality of life has gone down. Hope has given way to disgust and I see now that change is simply a euphemism for "big government."

Like many others, my view is narrow. I vote for the candidate I think will be best for me. I often define myself as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. But above all, I want to feel safe and I don't want to feel that I am being ripped off. I want a president who inspires me and cares about my contribution to the fabric of the country. I want a president with experience and savvy, a Commander in Chief who puts our country and its citizens first.

I only hope the Republicans can find him the next time around.

Too Dumb to Understand "Obama Tax Cut 2009" Tax Credit Giveaways

Absolutely amazing poll results from CNN today about the $787 stimulus package: nearly three out of four Americans think the money has been wasted. On second thought, they may be right: it's been wasted on them. Indeed, the largest single item in the package--$288 billion--is tax relief for 95% of the American public. This money is that magical $60 to $80 per month you've been finding in your paycheck since last spring. Not a life changing amount, but helpful in paying the bills.
The next highest amount was $275 billion in grants and loans to states. This is why your child's teacher wasn't laid off...and why the fire station has remained open, and why you're not paying even higher state and local taxes to close the local budget hole.
It turns out that what people are really upset about is all that wasteful money that has gone to political public works projects...except that the overwhelming portion of that money hasn't been spent yet. Remember all those "shovel-ready" projects? Well, they didn't exist. The big jobs-creating projects like the rebuilt "smart" electric grid, major highways and fast trains will come on line during the next year. (Although these projects might have gotten greater public support if they'd been chosen by a National Infrastructure Bank--a panel of experts, like the fed--that would have picked them according to their value added, rather than by the bozo appropriators in the Congress.)
So, two thoughts:
1. The Obama Administration has done a terrible job explaining the stimulus package to the American people...especially since there have been very few documented cases of waste so far.
2. This is yet further evidence that Americans are flagrantly ill-informed...and, for those watching Fox News, misinformed.
It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of dodos.

Seeing a Liberal Defending Tax Cuts is Quite Fun

Seeing a liberal like Cynthia Tucker defend tax cuts is quite fun. It's fun until you realize a liberal thinks a tax credit (pork spending) is a tax cut:

Little-known fact: Obama has CUT taxes

3:23 pm January 25, 2010, by ctucker

If you’re going to blame the president for your economic misery, then you ought to at least have your facts right. This morning, RealClearPolitics posted a piece from a self-described independent, Jill Dorson, who says she regrets her vote for Barack Obama.
Some of her complaints seem logical. But one of the complaints is factually inaccurate: she says her taxes have gone up. In fact, Obama pushed through a massive tax cut in the stimulus bill.

All that changed when the Obama campaign became the Obama administration. I was a small business owner during 2008 election and my business ultimately failed under the weight of a horrendous economy. I am not ashamed. I worked hard. But I believed that Obama would try to level the playing field between big business and small, between thieves and honest business people, between greed and moderation. Instead, he bailed out the most wicked and left the rest of us fail.
I watched with horror as Obama followed Bush’s lead in bailing out banks, auto makers, insurance companies, all of those companies deemed “too big to fail.” What does that mean? My small company got thrown under the bus and my savings were ravaged – perhaps Wall Street is using them for bonuses this year.
Not to mention President Obama is recklessly spending our country’s future into oblivion.
It was clear after just 90 days what a mistake I’d made. My taxes have gone up and my quality of life has gone down. Hope has given way to disgust and I see now that change is simply a euphemism for “big government.”

Here’s the thing: The stimulus package, for which Obama is being bashed, contained the biggest one-year tax cut in U.S. history. That’s right. The biggest one-year tax cut in U.S. history was pushed through by a Democrat.
Over at Time, pundit Joe Klein vents his frustration over the popular misunderstanding of the stimulus bill.
Maybe Ms. Dorson’s state or local taxes have gone up. But her federal taxes have not.

Is Obama's 2009 Tax Cut the Biggest in History? No, it was the biggest Tax Credit in History

The Democrats have been so busy defending federal spending, and denigrating the stimulative power of tax cuts, that they apparently either forgot to -- or felt they couldn't -- point out something rather dramatic: the tax cuts in this stimulus plan appear to be the biggest in history.
The compromise stimulus plan includes $282 billion in tax cuts over two years.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Bush's first two years of tax cuts amounted to $174 billion. A second batch in 2004 and 2005 cost $231. And those were thought to be bigger than the tax cuts offered by Reagan, Kennedy or others.
Now, perhaps some new analysis will show that the tax cuts end up not quite being the largest in history by this measure or that. But it's clear they're massive.
I'm ducking the debate on whether this is economically good or bad -- but surely it ought to be a big story.
It leads to two further points. The fight got boiled down to: Democrats want spending. Republican want tax cuts. This is partly the media's fault for following the script layed out by the Congressional leaders, but it also represents a lost opportunity by Obama. In his press conference, he mostly made the case for spending. He didn't make the case for the massive size of his tax cuts.
Second, Obama kept a campaign promise that few Republican thought he'd keep. If this weren't part of a larger package, that would be an enormous story. A liberal Democrat in the campaign promised the biggest tax cut in history. Republicans said it was a complete charade (and many liberals didn't much like it anyway). And the Democrat in his first few weeks delivers the tax cut.

TARP II: Breeding More Bailouts

Regulatory Redux

• Not Fixing the Problem: Congress and the Obama Administration are proposing new regulations that they claim will fix the financial industry. In reality, these regulations would hurt consumers and make future government bailouts more likely. They would also do little to address the real problems in the financial industry.
• "Too Big To Fail" : Some propose giving the Federal Reserve or other regulators sweeping powers to control firms deemed "too big to fail"--firms whose failure could put the financial system at risk.
• False Security : This puts a lot of faith in regulators who missed the outset of the last financial crisis.
• The Real Life Effect? More risk. The government's new powers would signal to markets that the targeted firms are guaranteed against failure, thus leading those firms to take more undue risks, not fewer.

Government Intervention Is Not the Answer

• New Regulatory Bureaucracy : The bill would create a new "Consumer Financial Protection Agency." Despite its name, this new bureaucracy would hurt consumers far more than it would help them.
• Limiting Financial Innovation : The new powers granted would likely be used to limit the development of new products, thus depriving consumers of the real benefits of financial innovation.
• Increased Risk: The new rules would do nothing to reduce the risk of another financial crisis and in fact could increase risk by interfering with safety and soundness rules.

A Permanent TARP

• Broad Federal Powers: The proposals would give the FDIC or another agency broad power to seize and close failing financial institutions (with limited court review) and establish a permanent fund to resolve the affairs of the firms it takes over.
• Uncertainty: Private businesses would be subject to closure at the sole discretion of bureaucrats in Washington based on vague standards.
• The Final Irony: These regulations would pave the way for more bailouts rather than preventing new ones.

There Is An Alternative

• Modernize Bankruptcy Laws : One reason for the TARP bailouts was that current bankruptcy laws are not designed for modern financial firms. Congress should create an expedited bankruptcy process to restructure and close large and complex financial firms. Otherwise, the next time firms face financial troubles, the government will again be pressured to bail them out.
• Strengthen Capital Standards: Policymakers should strengthen capital standards to reduce the risk that financial firms will reach the point that their failure could endanger the entire financial system.

For more information, please visit: www.heritage.org.

Senator Dodd’s Regulation Plan: 14 Fatal Flaws in Financial Reform

Fourteen Flaws
Among other things, the bill:

1. Creates a protected class of “too big to fail” firms. Section 113 of the bill establishes a “Financial Stability Oversight Council,” charged with identifying firms that would “pose a threat to the financial security of the United States if they encounter “material financial distress.” These firms would be subject to enhanced regulation. However, such a designation would also signal to the marketplace that these firms are too important to be allowed to fail and, perversely, allow them to take on undue risk. As American Enterprise Institute scholar Peter Wallison wrote, “Designating large non-bank financial companies as too big to fail will be like creating Fannies and Freddies in every area of the economy.”[1]
2. Provides for seizure of private property without meaningful judicial review. The bill, in Section 203(b), authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to order the seizure of any financial firm that he finds is “in danger of default” and whose failure would have “serious adverse effects on financial stability.” This determination is subject to review in the courts only on a “substantial evidence” standard of review, meaning that the seizure must be upheld if the government produces any evidence in favor of its action. This makes reversal extremely difficult.
3. Creates permanent bailout authority. Section 204 of the bill authorizes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to “make available … funds for the orderly liquidation of [a] covered financial institution.” Although no funds could be provided to compensate a firm’s shareholders, the firm’s other creditors would be eligible for a cash bailout. The situation is much like the scheme implemented for AIG in 2008, in which the largest beneficiaries were not stockholders but rather other creditors, such as Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs[2]—hardly a model to be emulated.
4. Establishes a $50 billion fund to pay for bailouts. Funding for bailouts is to come from a $50 billion “Orderly Resolution Fund” created within the U.S. Treasury in Section 210(n)(1), funded by taxes on financial firms. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the ultimate cost of bank taxes will fall on the customers, employees, and investors of each firm.[3]
5. Opens a “line of credit” to the Treasury for additional government funding. Under Section 210(n)(9), the FDIC is effectively granted a line of credit to the Treasury Department that is secured by the value of failing firms in its control, providing another taxpayer financial support.
6. Authorizes regulators to guarantee the debt of solvent banks. Bailout authority is not limited to debt of failing institutions. Under Section 1155, the FDIC is authorized to guarantee the debt of “solvent depository institutions” if regulators declare that a liquidity crisis (“event”) exists.
7. Limits financial choices of American consumers. The bill contains a new “Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection” with broad powers to limit what financial products and services can be offered to consumers. The intended purpose is to protect consumers from unfair practices. But the effect would be to reduce available choices, even in cases where a consumer fully understands and accepts the costs and risks. For many consumers, this will make credit more expensive and harder to get.[4]
8. Undermines safety and soundness regulation. The proposed Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection would nominally be part of the Federal Reserve System, but it would have substantial autonomy. Decisions of the new bureau would not be subject to approval by the Fed. New rules could be stopped only through a cumbersome, after-the-fact review process involving a council of all the major regulatory agencies. This could impede efforts of economic (or “safety and soundness”) regulators to ensure the financial stability of regulated firms, as the new, independent “consumer” regulator would establish rules that conflict with that goal.

9. Enriches trial lawyers by authorizing consumer regulators to ban arbitration agreements. Section 1028 specifically authorizes the new consumer regulatory agency to ban arbitration agreements between consumers and financial firms. By reducing the use of streamlined dispute resolution procedures, more consumers and businesses would be forced to pay the costs of litigation—to the benefit of trial lawyers.
10. Subjects firms to hundreds of varying state and local rules. Section 1044 limits pre-emption of state and local rules, subjecting banks and their customers to confusing, costly, and inconsistent red tape imposed by regulators in jurisdictions across the country.
11. Subjects non-financial firms to financial regulation. Regulation under this legislation would extend far beyond banks. Many firms largely outside the financial industry would find themselves caught in the regulatory net. Section 102(B)(ii) of the bill defines a “nonbank financial company”” as a company “substantially engaged in activities … that are financial in nature.” The phrase “financial in nature” is defined in existing law quite broadly. According to former Treasury official Gregory Zerzan, it includes things such as “holding assets of others in trust, investing in securities … or even leasing real estate and offering certain consulting services.”[5] As a result, a broad swath of private industry may find itself ensnared in the financial regulatory net. As Zerzan explains: “An airplane manufacturer that holds customer down payments for future delivery, a large home improvement chain that invests its profits as part of a plan to increase revenues, and an energy firm that makes markets in derivatives are all engaged in ‘financial activities’ and potentially subject to systemic risk regulation.”
12. Imposes one-size-fits-all reform in derivative markets. The bill would subject derivatives now traded over-the-counter by banks and other financial institutions to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and/or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It would require most derivative contracts to be settled through a clearinghouse rather than directly between the parties. Yet derivatives are already increasingly being traded on clearinghouses thanks to private efforts coordinated by the New York Fed.[6] The Senate’s bill, however, would require virtually all derivatives to be so traded. Applying such ill-designed blanket regulation would make financial derivatives more costly, more difficult to customize, and, consequently, less widely used—which would increase overall risk in the economy.[7]
13. Allows activist groups to use the corporate governance process for issues unrelated to the corporation or its shareholders. Section 972 of the bill authorizes the SEC to require firms to allow shareholders to nominate directors in proxy statement. Such proxy access turns corporate board elections from a process designed to ensure that each board has a good mix of skills and experience into a popularity contest where the long-term interests of the stockholders become secondary to political agendas or corporate raiders. The process can also be used by labor unions, politicians who manage public pension funds, and others to force corporations to respond to pet social or political causes.
14. Does nothing to address problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two government-sponsored housing giants helped fuel the housing bubble. When it popped, taxpayers—because of an implicit guarantee by the U.S. Treasury—found themselves on the hook for some $125 billion in bailout money. Not only has little of this amount been paid back, but the Treasury Department recently eliminated the cap on how much more Fannie and Freddie can receive. Yet the bill does nothing to resolve the problem or reform these government-run enterprises.

The Obama Smoke and Mirror Tax Cuts of 2009

Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:20pm GMT

Feb 17 (Reuters) - The $787 billion U.S. economic stimulus package contains about $287 billion in tax cuts, according to the latest congressional calculations on the value of the package and its impact on U.S. budget deficits.
President Barack Obama signed the bill on Tuesday, saying he wants quick action to boost the struggling economy.
Here are some of the major tax provisions in the bill:
FOR WORKERS, CONSUMERS AND RETIREES
* A "making work pay" refundable tax credit championed by Obama of up to $400 per individual and $800 for couples in 2009 and 2010. It is calculated at a rate of 6.2 percent of earned income and is phased out for individuals with adjusted incomes over $75,000 and couples with incomes over $150,000.
* A one-time payment of $250 to Social Security beneficiaries, railroad retirees and veterans receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. State government retirees not eligible for Social Security would also get the $250 payment.
* Increases the earned income tax credit for low-income workers with three or more children.
* Increases eligibility for the refundable child tax credit to more low-income workers. The bill reduces the income floor to $3,000 in 2009 and 2010 from the current floor of $8,500.
* A new $2,500 tax credit for college education expenses. The credit phases out for individuals earning more than $80,000 and couples with incomes over $160,000.
* An $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers for homes purchased between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2009. The tax credit phases out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and couples earning more than $150,000.
* Temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax for millions of middle-class taxpayers who otherwise would be ensnared by the tax originally meant for the very wealthy.
FOR BUSINESSES
* Small businesses with gross receipts of up to $15 million can write off 2008 losses against five previous tax years. Current laws allows a two-year carryback of losses.
Businesses will also be allowed to immediately write off more of their investments in computers and other equipment.
* Businesses that repurchase debt at a lower amount than when it was issued will be able to defer taxes on it. Usually reduced or canceled debt is treated as income and taxed. The break applies to debt repurchased adjusted after Dec. 31, 2008, and before Jan. 1, 2011.
* A tax break on capital gains from the sale of stock held in a small business for more than five years.
* The bill raises about $7 billion in revenues by repealing a Treasury Department decision last year to liberalize rules that were intended to prevent companies in a merger from taking huge tax breaks on losses of firms they were acquiring.
FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
* Creates a new category of tax-preferred bonds for investment in economic recovery zones for job training, education and economic development.
* Creates a new category of tax-preferred bonds for the construction, and repair of public schools and the purchase of land for schools.
* Creates a federal subsidy for state and local governments offering bonds that give investors credits against their federal taxes in place of interest payments.
FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
* Extends tax breaks for wind facilities and other renewable energy facilities and provides other tax incentives to encourage development of renewable energy facilities.
* Authorizes an additional $1.6 billion of new clean renewable energy bonds as well as $2.4 billion of energy conservation bonds to finance state and local government projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
* Extends tax credits for energy-efficient improvements to existing homes.
* Provides a tax credit for purchase of "plug-in" electric vehicles of at least $2,500. The credit is increased depending on the battery capacity of the car purchased.
* Provides a new 30 percent investment tax credit for facilities engaged in producing renewable energy technology and conservation.

Censuses have bedeviled the public since at least the days of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth

"The government doesn’t produce quality products in any worthwhile area. Indeed, its main products are taxation, regulation, inflation, and wealth redistribution – which all eventually destroy their supposed beneficiaries as surely as they do those who are handcuffed and looted."

Casey On The Census

April 18, 2010

By Doug Casey

Censuses have bedeviled the public since at least the days of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth, and they’ve never served any purpose except to give rulers more information on their subjects.
The case is made, of course, that the information gathered is also used by business. Fine, then let the businesses that need it hire pollsters to go out and get what they need at their own expense, instead of having to make the best of the hodgepodge garnered by the government.
The case is also made that, although you must give your name and address, you aren’t asked for your Social Security number. And the government can’t reveal any individual data for 70 years.
Maybe it will, or maybe it won’t. But don’t think generalized statistics, at least, aren’t crunched in a thousand different ways by IRS, NSA, FBI, DOD, CIA, DEA, and numerous other suppressive agencies to aid their missions. Local authorities have long used census data, which is broken down by the block, to search for possible zoning violations, among other things.
How many houses are on your block? Any particulars in which you stand out may serve as a flag that will at some point compromise your interests and those of your family.
Although Title 13 requires survey responses to be kept “strictly confidential,” I say that’s a guideline, at best. Census data was of critical importance in rounding up everyone of Japanese extraction in 1942 so they could be put in concentration camps. In 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau provided information to Homeland Security that it had gathered about Arab-Americans.
In point of fact, the PATRIOT Act makes everything an open book, notwithstanding the Census Bureau’s $350 million advertising campaign.
Of course, I recognize that resistance is, if not futile, at least academic. Not filling out some form hardly makes one a modern-day Braveheart. But it’s at least a step up from cutting off those “Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law” tags from your futon.
They’ve already determined the exact GPS coordinates of every dwelling in the country. That’s sure to be useful in the event of some “national security” emergency, or perhaps just keeping track of the over one million folks on the TSA’s Terrorist Watch List, or maybe other lists.
This is, I feel, a moral issue, much more than a technical or financial one. But, although a billion dollars is hardly even a rounding error today, it’s still worth noting the financial numbers. The cost of the census is estimated at $14.5 billion, with hiring something between 600,000 and 1.2 million people, who presumably are otherwise unemployed. They’re paid up to $22 an hour to perform various functions, contacting an estimated 134 million households. The Census Bureau estimates about 47 million households will have to be visited personally because they won’t respond by mail.
Now, it’s laudable for a member of society to go along with efforts that may improve conditions; that type of goodwill is what makes society work, and it’s why most people’s first reaction to things such as the census is “Sure. Glad to help.”
But, as I’ve tried to indicate, neighborliness is not what we’re dealing with here. You’ve got to consider the source, and it’s the same organization that sent you your tax forms. What we’re dealing with is a moral question, and the more often you roll over on these things, the easier it is to roll over the next time. You will eventually feel like a gyros on a spit in a Greek restaurant, where every time you go around, another slice is taken off, until you’re all gone. It’s no wonder the Jews in Germany went to their fates peaceably. It was just force of habit.
I’m told that anyone who fails to answer a question on his form is now liable for up to a $5,000 fine. Last time around it was $100 max, so they’re apparently getting more serious about it.
That’s a nuisance. And worse, it tends to draw attention to you. Maybe it’s one of the things that can get you put on the list of people who are “politically unreliable.” But at least they can’t yet bring out the rubber hose, electric shockers, and waterboards if you withhold everything but your name, rank, and serial number.
And in my neighborhood, I guarantee there’s at least one person who, when questioned on the whereabouts of his form, is likely to tell the nosey little geek something like “Hey, sport, if you want information, you should go down to the Information Agency. And this isn’t it.”
The whole process is counterproductive and objectionable, at best. Let’s look at the facts. After you cut through the rhetoric, doublethink, and smoke-screening altruism that surrounds the subject, you find the essence of the state in pure force – the kind that comes out of the barrel of a gun. There’s no voluntarism whatsoever about obeying laws. Only sociopaths think force is a good thing; decent people know it’s something to avoid.
It logically follows that if the state has a legal monopoly on the use of force, the state should be able to use force only to protect individuals from force. That means the purpose of government is, at most, to protect you from force outside its jurisdiction (with a defensive military of some sort); to protect you from a force inside its jurisdiction (with a police force); and to provide a court system to allow you to adjudicate disputes without resorting to force.
How, then, do all the census questions relate to any legitimate function of government? Why, not at all. Only a small and decreasing fraction of government resources actually even go toward furthering any of the government’s legitimate functions – which it does a pathetic job of  performing.
The military is run like a gigantic pork barrel operation, pulling the country toward bankruptcy while concentrating on pointlessly whacking primitive foreign hornet nests. The police harass as much as they protect and seem to direct their attention mostly to revenue generation and the enforcement of arbitrary laws. And it’s next to impossible to get into court (even if you can afford it) and equally difficult to get out once you’re in.
In fact, an excellent case can be made that defense, police, and courts are far too important to the smooth functioning of society to be left to the type of person who inevitably winds up working for the state. Certainly, when it comes to the police, I’d prefer a Mike Hammer, or even a Thomas Magnum, trying to solve a crime than the typical flatfoot whose main interest seems to be filling his quota of traffic tickets.
And private arbitration agencies that would have to compete based on the fairness, intelligence, and cost-effectiveness of their decisions would be a big step up from today’s corrupt, glacier-like and politically motivated courts.
The government doesn’t produce quality products in any worthwhile area. Indeed, its main products are taxation, regulation, inflation, and wealth redistribution – which all eventually destroy their supposed beneficiaries as surely as they do those who are handcuffed and looted.

The New Contract From America #teaparty

Remember the Republicans' Contract With America they promised to implement should they win control of Congress in 1994?  A lot of it was penny-ante inside baseball, like promising to ban committee proxy votes. 

At Tea Parties all over America yesterday (4/15), a new Contract was unveiled - a Contract From America - that tells folks in Congress what to do if they expect to be elected in November.  It is sunlight-to-moonlight better than that wimpy thing of Gingrich's 16 years ago.

It demands politicians, to get the Patriotic American vote, pledge to scrap the entire IRS tax code and replace it with one no longer than 4,543 words - the length of the Constitution - scrap Cap & Trade, scrap all earmarks... and my favorite, defund Obamacare.

Yes, the Defund Strategy, first propounded right here in TTP, then moved forward by TTPer Mitch Rapp with the Defund & Disobey website, has now been adopted by the entire Tea Party movement.  Congratulations, Mitch!  Congratulations to all TTPers who helped bring this about.

50% of Americans Get Something for Nothing; Income Taxes Are Somebody Else's Problem

WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem. About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009 (see chart above, data here). Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That's according to projections by the Tax Policy Center.

In recent years, credits for low- and middle-income families have grown so much that a family of four making as much as $50,000 will owe no federal income tax for 2009, as long as there are two children younger than 17.

Tax cuts enacted in the past decade have been generous to wealthy taxpayers, too, making them a target for President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. Less noticed were tax cuts for low- and middle-income families, which were expanded when Obama signed the massive economic recovery package last year. The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education. It is a system in which the top 10 percent of earners -- households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 -- paid about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the federal government.

The bottom 40 percent, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment. "We have 50 percent of people who are getting something for nothing," said Curtis Dubay, senior tax policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation."

Health Insurance Death Spiral Will Begin on September 23, 2010

ObamaCare will have a very long roll-out. While some provisions have already come into effect, others will take many years. When will individuals and businesses first see a consequential impact on their health benefits? I believe that it will be the “slacker mandate,” which commands that health plans cover “children” up to 26 years of age on their parents’ health benefits; and comes into force six months after enactment.

September 23 will mark the beginning of the “death spiral” of private health insurance. Most people correctly anticipate the full force of the death spiral in 2014, when insurers will no longer be able to charge actuarially accurate premiums for applicants with pre-existing conditions. Applicants can wait until they become sick, and then apply for coverage which insurers must offer at a premium which is initially artificially low. This causes healthy people to drop out; and the cycle continues until the risk pool collapses. Insurers must then raise premiums to cover the guaranteed losses and avoid insolvency.

The only way to stop this is to punish healthy people who choose not to buy insurance, via a tax, fine, mandatory payroll deduction of premium, or whatever you want to call the money that the government seizes from you to hand over to Aetna, CIGNA, or whichever health plan the future Health Czar (”Health Choices Commissioner”) deems acceptable. One of the elements of ObamaCare that guarantees its instability is that the financial penalties for not complying with the mandate to carry insurance are too low to ensure that people actually maintain coverage. In 2016, the penalty will be $695 per individual [H.R. 4872§ 1002(a)(2)(c)].

Firms with over 50 employees face a fine of $2,000 per employee if they don’t offer benefits, or have low-income employees who are receiving “premium tax credits” [H.R. 4872 § 1003]. However, the fine is reduced by the first thirty employees. So, if an employer has 55 employees and offers no coverage, the assessment will be $2,000 times 25, which is $50,000. Allocated over the entire workforce of 55, the fine per employee is only $909. (The fine for employers who offer coverage but also employ workers who receive premium tax credits is a little more complicated, but the consequences are similar.) Businesses which employ 50 workers or less are exempt from these penalties. And even these penalties only take full effect in 2016, two years after the rules that require insurers to accept all applicants, regardless of health status. It is therefore likely that small and medium-sized employers will bail out of health benefits, once the government has established the ”exchanges” into which they can dump their employees, often for highly subsidized coverage. (This is what Factcheck.org means, when it claims to debunk the Republican conclusion that ObamaCare requires 16,500 new IRS agents by arguing that they will actually be doling out money, rather than taking it in.)

But we don’t have to wait until 2014 for the collapse to begin. The first phase of the death spiral will occur as early as the end of September, when very sick young adults present themselves to their parents’ employers, seeking coverage. The Senate Democratic caucus has unwittingly demonstrated this via a promotional video trumpeting the “reform.” The video’s subject is Freddie Effington, who enjoyed coverage on his parents’ employer-based plan until he turned 21 in 2005. He then went without coverage for two years “hoping to get to the job position” whereby he would get his own employer-based benefits. Tragically, Mr. Effington was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2007.

Now, it is important to understand that Mr. Effington (and his parents) had choices. He could have applied for individual health insurance when he turned 21. As a healthy young man, he would likely have been able to buy it at a reasonable premium in Alabama, his state of residence. Or, he could have taken advantage of provisions of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), by which he could have applied for coverage without underwriting [45 CFR § 148.120]. HIPAA has significant flaws (which partially explain why the call for “reform” continued after it was passed in 1996). However, it required that individuals maintain continuous creditable coverage to benefit from inclusion of coverage for pre-existing conditions. The requirement to maintain continuous creditable coverage reduced the risk of a death spiral by relying on individual responsibility rather than government power.

The new “reform” blows away that fundamental protection. As of September 23, young adults who are seriously ill and under 26 will immediately present themselves to their parents’ employers, seeking coverage. However, the majority who are healthy will not. Imagine, for example, that you are a plumbing contractor with a dozen or so employees, who offers health benefits. On September 23, you will face this unpredictable liability. One of your workers might show up seeking coverage for his 23-year old son with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma; and perhaps another one with a 25-year old daughter recently diagnosed with an equally dreadful illness. You simply cannot predict how many such cases will present themselves. As a consequence, you will seriously consider dropping health benefits as September 23 approaches.

Some number of innocent employees will be victimized by losing health benefits because of this “slacker mandate,” and compelled to navigate a health-insurance environment that is preparing for chaos. This will present an interesting opportunity for ObamaCare’s political opponents, as the country slides into the mid-term elections.

Video: The Obamapad