Brooks writes a funny article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/opinion/26brooks.html
Gay marriage may not lead to men consorting with animals, but it has led to Republicans laying down with Democrats:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/us/28marriage.html?_r=1&ref=politics
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
How taxes are suppose to work:
A Progressive Flat Tax by Justeconomics
All income you receive will be taxed at a single rate (~25%?) subject to the following two adjustments only:
1. Deduct $10,000 from your household's income for every living breathing human being
2. Deduct/Add your net deposits/withdrawals to/from any saving or investment account.
Repeal:
Corporate taxes
Capital gains taxes
Payroll taxes
Property taxes
Estate taxes
Sales taxes (except when applied to control externalities such as cigarette taxes or gas taxes)
If you support a family of 4 with a $40k income, you will pay no taxes. If you have an income of lots and lots of money, you will pay about 25% in taxes.
If you want to raise more revenue, increase the tax rate (on everyone). If you want to make the tax more progressive, increase the personal deduction.
All income you receive will be taxed at a single rate (~25%?) subject to the following two adjustments only:
1. Deduct $10,000 from your household's income for every living breathing human being
2. Deduct/Add your net deposits/withdrawals to/from any saving or investment account.
Repeal:
Corporate taxes
Capital gains taxes
Payroll taxes
Property taxes
Estate taxes
Sales taxes (except when applied to control externalities such as cigarette taxes or gas taxes)
If you support a family of 4 with a $40k income, you will pay no taxes. If you have an income of lots and lots of money, you will pay about 25% in taxes.
If you want to raise more revenue, increase the tax rate (on everyone). If you want to make the tax more progressive, increase the personal deduction.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Would you lend money to Chrysler?
President Obama's interference in the Chrysler bankruptcy is disgusting.
1. Disregard for bankruptcy law
When investors invest their money in a company, the agree beforehand who gets what and when if something goes wrong. In the Chrysler capital structure, everyone, including the Unions, agreed that the 1st Lien Lenders would get paid first and so long as they did not get everything back, no one would get anything else.
President Obama has now decided to build an economy based on politics and popularity rather than on property rights and contracts.
The restructuring plan gives the Unions far more recovered value than the 1st Lien Lenders or other creditors in the same position as the Unions would be getting.
Why? There is no question of fairness. The Unions agreed to their subordinate position beforehand. Daimler, the previous German owner of Chrysler, even offered $1 billion to get them to agree and the Unions accepted. Suddenly, the Unions are allowed "backsies" and take that money out of the hands of the 1st Lien Lenders and the US taxpayer.
If President Obama wants to use taxpayer money to subsidize the Unions that's one thing. A waste of taxmoney, but within the bounds of democracy. If President Obama wants use investor money to subsidize the Unions, that's kleptocracy.
2. The use of death threats to enforce his will
President Obama used the bully pulpit without regard to the safety of human life. Investors who disagreed with him became targets of a lynch mob that he stirred. Safety and security were the reasons that these dissenting investors dropped their court case.
The courts of the United States exist to protected us from the tyranny of the majority. When the President himself is at the head of the mob and is directing its anger to prevent the court case from even being heard, then we are losing our individual freedom.
This is mobster behavior, not Presidential behavior.
1. Disregard for bankruptcy law
When investors invest their money in a company, the agree beforehand who gets what and when if something goes wrong. In the Chrysler capital structure, everyone, including the Unions, agreed that the 1st Lien Lenders would get paid first and so long as they did not get everything back, no one would get anything else.
President Obama has now decided to build an economy based on politics and popularity rather than on property rights and contracts.
The restructuring plan gives the Unions far more recovered value than the 1st Lien Lenders or other creditors in the same position as the Unions would be getting.
Why? There is no question of fairness. The Unions agreed to their subordinate position beforehand. Daimler, the previous German owner of Chrysler, even offered $1 billion to get them to agree and the Unions accepted. Suddenly, the Unions are allowed "backsies" and take that money out of the hands of the 1st Lien Lenders and the US taxpayer.
If President Obama wants to use taxpayer money to subsidize the Unions that's one thing. A waste of taxmoney, but within the bounds of democracy. If President Obama wants use investor money to subsidize the Unions, that's kleptocracy.
2. The use of death threats to enforce his will
President Obama used the bully pulpit without regard to the safety of human life. Investors who disagreed with him became targets of a lynch mob that he stirred. Safety and security were the reasons that these dissenting investors dropped their court case.
The courts of the United States exist to protected us from the tyranny of the majority. When the President himself is at the head of the mob and is directing its anger to prevent the court case from even being heard, then we are losing our individual freedom.
This is mobster behavior, not Presidential behavior.
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