Math v. Vitriol

With Wisconsin lost, all that is left for the Left to do is mewl and spit vitriol.
This is the perfect time for Conservatives to take the high ground, and win the day with calm, common sense, and actual honest-to-God numbers.

As Matt Welch argues over at Reason, "No amount of crying over evil Scott Walker will help governments fix their bleeding balance sheets."

Get Serious About Governing, Democrats

  [...]   Wisconsin has been the front line of America's Democrat vs. Republican, blue vs. red rhetorical war for 16 months now, ever since newly elected Republican governor Scott Walker pushed through a budget repair bill that withdrew government from the union dues-collecting business for public employees and removed the collective bargaining power of most government unions, an act that triggered historic public protests. So on the morning after Walker survived a labor-led recall election by a higher margin than he originally won office in 2010, there were plenty on the left grumbling darkly about the Dark Lord rising over our once-free country. 

At The American Prospect, Harold Meyerson compared Walker's actions to a "jihad" and suggested (paradoxically) that a post-union labor movement might just resort to rioting. Walker "wins one for the plutocrats," Joan Walsh lamented at Salon, without really explaining how the monocle-wearers could win 38 percent of the union vote. 

Such demonization was of a piece with leftish commentary in the run-up to the recall. Esquire's Charles P. Pierce described Walker as a "goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage its midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin," which would now be subject to "the habits of oligarchy." Even more grossly, The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote in The Washington Post that Walker's policies were intended to "cleanse the electorate of people who don’t look, earn or think like him."    

[...]    

So, progressives: What is the right percentage of a government budget to be spent on public sector pensions? If this requires that cities and states simply need to come up with bigger budgets (through increased taxes) precisely how much bigger would be appropriate? If you don't want to increase overall budgets, what other government services are you willing to cut?    

[...]    

As long as Democrats keep dodging these questions, no amount of plutocrat-baiting will reverse their political fortunes. Governments at all levels are out of money. Progressives are going to have to come up with a better response to that than saying "we were robbed."

Indeed....

Mitt Romney on Taxes and California

#hhrs #tcot   
From Jim Geraghty:

On California governor Jerry Brown’s call for a referendum in November on his proposal for an $8.5 billion tax hike:
“I think you are seeing the result of a series of actions in California, actions that have led to public-sector unions’ having benefits and wages out of line with those in the private sector. There’s an unwillingness to deal with fiscal problems before they reach near-crisis level. And the high rate of taxes in California is causing businesses to leave California.

“I hope that doesn’t accelerate, but as the governor continues to raise taxes on the most successful, the most successful will leave. Others will decide to not open their doors because the risk will be too great that even if they’re successful, the government will end up taking what they earn. The governor is taking them in the wrong direction. I wish Californians had elected Meg Whitman. She would have been more successful and explained to Californians the need to cut back on spending and eliminate unnecessary programs. There are other states that have very different records. I think it’s interesting that the state with the highest or among the highest tax rates in the nation also has the worst or near the worst deficit.

“You can’t tax your way out of debt or a deficit. You simply have to rein in the size of the government, because the government will simply ask for more and more and more, until the taxpayers finally say ‘enough.’”

Democrat's Cottage Retirement Industry

Today Instapundit asked the question:

"How safe is your Roth IRA?"

He was quoting from a Megan McArdle article on the fact that some (many?) on the left would like love to get their hands on all that cash which is never going to produce any more taxes for their schemes. (except of course when it is spent...)

So McArdle also dispenses with some unorthodox investment advice on how to avoid any lefty machinations, like perhaps buying a vacation home with the cash. Professor Reynolds adds:

"Or maybe buying a vacation home overseas, the way inhabitants of third-world kleptocracies have done for years to avoid desperate grabs by debt-ridden regimes."

Of course this is an especially apt observation, if by "third-world kleptocracies" he meant Congress, and by "inhabitants" he meant Chris Dodd, or Charlie Rangel.

Here is Congress putting the McArdle plan in action...

Dodd:


Rangel:


Or inaction if you prefer:


Take heed America!

NYT: Conservatives Are Right, But They're Still Mean!

Who said this:

"Although taxpayers are on the hook for the recession’s costs, most state employees pay only 3 percent of their salaries to their pensions, half the level of most state employees elsewhere. Their health insurance payments are about half those in the private sector.

In all, the salaries and benefits of state employees add up to $18.5 billion, or a fifth of [the State]’s operating budget. Unless those costs are reined in, [the State] will find itself unable to provide even essential services.

To point out these alarming facts is not to be anti- union, or anti-worker."

Rush Limbaugh? Anne Coulter? Hosni Mubarek? Scott Walker? Nope..none other than the New York Times about NY state's current fiscal woes.

Now over at the NYT, they still can't bring themselves to fully admit that conservatives are right. Saying so leaves such a bitter taste in their mouths, that they must immediately follow up any kudos with a big BUT!

Immediately after printing the words above, they got right back to the business of what passes for civility in Liberal Fantasy Land:

"In recent weeks, Republican politicians in the Midwest have distorted what should be a serious discussion about state employees’ benefits, cynically using it as a pretext to crush unions.

New York does not need that sort of destructive game playing. What it needs is a sober examination of the high costs of wages and benefits, and some serious proposals to rein them in while remaining fair to hard-working government employees."

Really? The Republicans have distorted the discussion? The Republicans have cynically used the situation to their own ends? Really??

Last I checked, the only ones willing to have a serious discussions *were* the Republicans. The only serious discussions that Wisconsin or Indiana Democrats were having were with the waitresses working at the undisclosed hiding locations.

Last I checked, the ones who were cynically using the situation were the Union members who left school children and their parents in a lurch, shouted down debate, held a state capital building hostage [see Presidential lexicon], shoved their opponents around, and essentially told taxpayers "Suck it up whiners, and gimme my due!". This is the type of sober, serious discussion that the NYT wants Republicans to be party to?

The bottom line is that the only folks who have performed "a sober examination of the high costs of wages and benefits" has been those "cynical" Republicans. Democrats prefer to still live in fantasy land where the government gravy-train can go on forever. The only folks who have offered "some serious proposals" to rein in costs have been those same Republicans. Democrats have either abdicated their responsibility, or again believe that their don't need to be serious proposals to change the path of government spending. Of course it is no mystery as to why this is....

It is great that the editorial board at the NYT may be finally catching onto reality, but they need a little more rehab to able to kick the "Blame Republicans" addiction.

Although I fully expect this addict to relapse....

Collective Bargaining 101

Not really sure what 'Collective Bargaining' is? Then head over to the Foundry blog at the Heritage Foundation. The first thing you will learn is that Collective Bargaining is not a Right...it's a privilege.

Second, they have a nice video illuminating the racket that Collective Bargaining really is. Collusion between Public Sector Unions and politicians of a certain persuasion to keep overnment big, tax dollars flowing, and those politicians in power...

"...Government Unions have a direct stake in keeping government big, no matter what the voters may want..."

As Instapundit likes to say...our country is in the very best of hands...

The Mob Has Spoken?

So who really wants over-priced and under-performing "high-speed rail"? Apparently we all do, since the Federal Government is going to give it to us...

I can only imagine that this is the reaction that Democrats think that these boondoggle projects will create in the public...



Count me as on board! I am nearing my military retirement, and need one of those cushy jobs!

And So The Vote Buying Begins....

According to the WaPo via the ever-watchful Corner, the Obama Administration will begin to attempt to buy off American voters before the upcoming election.

Obama Administration Considering Payroll Tax Holiday
September 2, 2010 5:31 P.M.
By Daniel Foster

The White House economic team is reportedly considering pushing for a second stimulus comprised of “tax breaks” for businesses — including a possible $300 billion payroll tax holiday, and a $100 billion extension of an R&D tax credit.

The Washington Post reports:

"The staff-level discussions are in preliminary stages. But with the unemployment rate expected to rise again in new jobs numbers due out Friday, such a move could serve both to spur hiring and to combat Republican charges that Obama’s tax policies would hurt small businesses.

More spending on infrastructure – particularly transportation projects – is also under discussion, sources said. But a person familiar with the talks said it would be easier for a package consisting purely of tax cuts to “avoid the stain of a ‘bailout’ or ‘stimulus’ label.”

The proposals could be rolled out as early as next week.

That sounds great if you ask me and my paycheck, but it won't change my vote. And I am betting it won't change a whole lot of other votes as well. In fact I would venture to say that it could drive more voters away, as those who are on the fence may well see it for the attempted bribe that it is.

Additionally, the WaPo offers some extremely flawed analysis by saying "such a move could serve...to spur hiring..." Really? They think that a temporary tax holiday will cause employers to hire permanent employees?? Once the holiday is over, they would have to start paying the taxes again, one of the reasons that they wouldn't have hired those people in the first place.

Tax holidays are good at spurring one-time transactions (purchasing school clothes, TVs, clunkers, etc), but will probably have limited effect on recurring transactions (e.g. payrolls).

Much like 'Cash for Clunkers' and 'First Time Homebuyers' tax credits before it, this proposed temporary tax holiday will most likely have temporary effect...and a bad aftertaste when it is all over.

But then again, this proposal isn't about improving the economy, it is about sustaining the Democratic Party...

The Coming Obama Tax Increases - Part 4

Warning: "In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011."

Higher tax rates on savers and investors

The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

So much for that pledge. As I have said before America...you get what you vote for, and this can certainly be classified as "change".

More to follow....

Source: Americans for Tax Reform

The Coming Obama Tax Increases - Part 3

Warning: "In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011."

The return of the Death Tax
This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

More on the Obama Administration's incentivizing death here. Or as Rob Long said, "Who needs Death Panels when we have a Death Tax?"

More to follow....

Source: Americans for Tax Reform

The Coming Obama Tax Increases - Part 2

Warning: "In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011."

Higher taxes on marriage and family

The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

So much for that pledge. As I have said before America...you get what you vote for, and this can certainly be classified as "change".

More to follow....

Source: Americans for Tax Reform

The Coming Obama Tax Increases - Part 1

Warning: "In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011."

Personal income tax rates will rise

The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

So much for that pledge. As I have said before America...you get what you vote for, and this can certainly be classified as "change".

More to follow....

Source: Americans for Tax Reform

This Isn't Working - Pt 3

Shock & Awe - Obamacare Style!

"Did I say it would 'save you $2500 a year'? Sorry, I meant 'cost you $2400 a year'. My bad. Ok, lets talk about immigration...." - President Obama*

That was quick: reports filtering in of health care premiums for families rising $2,400 annually in reaction to today's signing of Demcare bill...

I guess it is all the fault of the evil insurance companies taking advantage of people and gouging them.... But then again, they may need to get what they can while they can....

Rush Limbaugh had stacy, his secret insurance lady on the phone today, and she basically said that under the new rules that the insurance companies will probably go out of business in less than 2 years.

But $2400 really isn't a bad deal...I mean that is only $1 per page of the Obamacare bill....

*President Obama as portrayed by my imagination...

This is "Free" Health Care...

Thanks to Rep. Paul Ryan for these great slides:





More of Ryan's slides here.

America, The Gulliver of Nations

Powerline posts a keen insight on how Great Britain's present, may become our future:

Once the federal government becomes so deeply involved in allocating health care, it will come to be a dominant focus of political discourse.

Over the years watching on C-Span the British Prime Minister's Question Time, I've observed that a large portion of this exercise is devoted to specific questions about the quality care provided by The National Health Service in members' districts. A question on the terrorists threats to the UK will invariably be followed by a passionate query from a Member asking the PM if he's aware of nurses being re-assigned at a hospital in Sheffield. The PM seems to spend as much time on parochial health care issues as on national security.

The politics of deciding who gets what in the way of medical treatment doubtlessly will push aside traditional affairs of state. Every member of Congress will need to hire several staff members just to manage constituents' complaints about their care. Elections will be won and lost on the basis of who can get the most in the way of health care for their districts.

We will become the Gulliver of nations, a great power whose leaders are tied up in strings as they spend much of their time addressing the medical complaints, valid and imagined, of their electorate.

We *will* become the Gulliver of nations. And it will not just be due to healthcare. The more our Federal government becomes so deeply involved in the regulation of anything and everything (education, the environment, banking, retirement, fishing, car manufacturing....etc), the more we tie ourselves down. The more the Liliputians UN bureaucrats will take advantage of us. The more we will make ourselves irrelevant.

The Pillage of the Future by the Present

City Journal is carrying a good read on the current addiction of the 'modern democratic state' to Keynesian-driven indebtedness, not from the normal American punditry, but in the context of the evolution of European states .

The thesis of German Peter Sloterdijk reminds us that we Americans are not alone when worried about our current 'financial unsustainability'.

The Grasping Hand
The modern democratic state pillages its productive citizens

[...]

The modern democratic state gradually transformed into the debtor state, within the space of a century metastasizing into a colossal monster—one that breathes and spits out money.

[...]

What is new is the gargantuan scale of public debt. Mortgaging, insolvency, monetary reform, or inflation—no matter, the next great expropriations are under way. Today, the state’s grasping hand even reaches into the pockets of generations unborn. We have already written the title of the next chapter of our history: “The pillage of the future by the present.”

Read the whole thing...

Blowing Cash in Vegas v. Blowing Cash in DC

The President is out with his latest economic advice:

"When times are tough, you tighten your belts," the president said.

Well said Mr President.

"You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage...."

Oh, OK....that must be different than increasing next year's deficit by 36%, and expanding the deficit by an additional $2 Trillion over the next decade? Must be....

"You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college."

Again, I guess that is different than all of our cash being blown in the city of Washington DC.

Geez, it has only been a year, but Las Vegas has been replaced by DC as the city with the biggest financial gambles.

Thanks for the economics lesson Professor Obama...I know Harry Reid appreciates it.

Right Idea...Wrong Target

After a week of reality injection, you're getting warmer Mr. President, but you have chosen the wrong target for your "help".

Obama May Call for Freeze on Discretionary Spending

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- There is a “fighting chance” President Barack Obama will propose a freeze in most discretionary spending by the federal government in his State of the Union speech next week, Senator Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat, said.

Gee, the last time I checked, our Federal spending problem wasn't a discretionary spending problem....



And of course, whenever you hear a democrat calling for a freeze/reduction in 'discretionary spending', you know what that really means....



How about we look at all that entitlement spending....yeah, fat chance, right Mr. President?

How Conservatives Are Made

#hhrs #tcot #rs #sgp
From The Corner:

"They Just Took My Money" [John J. Miller]
That's what my 8-year-old son said about the sales tax on the ride home from Borders a few minutes ago. He had a $10 gift card from Christmas, bought a Clone Wars book for $7.99, looked at the receipt, and wondered why he still didn't have a full $2.01 on it

This is how conservatives are made.

Congrats John, you must be very proud!

2009: The First Year of Global Governance

Mark Steyn distills our future succinctly:

"'Climate change' and 'health care' are different ends of the same stick: They're both all-purpose pretexts for regulating every aspect of your life..."

But to protest this is somehow dangerous....