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White House Leaks:
Obama Willing
To Go Over Fiscal Cliff
White House sources
are telling Democratic reporters that the president is willing to go over the
so-called “fiscal cliff” if GOP leaders don’t agree to his demand for higher
tax rates on the wealthy without substantive spending cuts. A political deadlock would mean an automatic tax
increase for middle-class and wealthy Americans on January 1, and the
opportunity for Obama and the Democrats to push a tax-cutting bill for
middle-class voters in 2013, say the White House officials, who leaked the
claim to two liberal columnists. Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker
John Boehner, say they are opposed to any increase in tax rates, but have said
they would vote to increase tax revenues by ending tax breaks used by wealthier
American
~~~~~~
GOP Gov: Obama
& Congress Are “Psychologically Incapable Of Getting Our Fiscal House In
Order” by Tim Brown
Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal wrote an oped piece at Politico on Thursday in which he took aim at both Congress
and the Obama administration saying that they were incapable of getting the
country’s fiscal house in order. The Republican Louisiana Governor wrote, “I
had the honor of serving in Congress. Here’s what I learned – there will be no
significant change without structural reforms. That’s the polite way of saying
it.” He went on to say, “The less gentle version is that Congress and this
administration are psychologically incapable of getting our fiscal house in
order without laws that give them no other alternative.”
~~~~~~
Obamacare
‘Architect’ Moves on to Pharmaceutical Company By:
Martin Gould
The woman who has been called the “architect of Obamacare” is leaving
the White House to join the pharmaceutical industry that is set to benefit
hugely from its implementation. Elizabeth Fowler, who was Sen. Max
Baucus’ chief health care counsel at the time his finance committee was drawing
up the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act, will become head of
global health policy for Johnson & Johnson’s government affairs and policy
group. “The pharmaceutical giant that just hired Fowler actively supported the
passage of Obamacare through its membership in the Pharmaceutical Researchers
and Manufacturers of America lobby,” reports Glenn Greenwald in The Guardian. “Indeed,
PhRMA was one of the most aggressive supporters — and most lavish beneficiaries
— of the health care bill drafted by Fowler.” After Obamacare was passed, the
White House drafted Fowler in to implement it. That decision was condemned
by good government groups at the time. Danielle Brian of the Project for
Government Oversight called her appointment “pretty gross,” in 2010. But
after little more than two years in the role Fowler is returning to the private
sector. Greenwald said her new job “embodies the sleazy, anti-democratic,
corporatist revolving door that greases Washington.”
~~~~~~
Compromising GOP
Leadership Purges Tea Party Conservatives by Tim Brown
The decisions were made by the GOP Steering Committee at a Monday
meeting, which reviewed a spreadsheet listing each GOP lawmaker and how often
he or she had voted with leadership, three sources said. Reps. David Schweikert
of Arizona and Walter Jones of North Carolina were booted from the Financial
Services Committee. Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Tim Huelskamp of Kansas
were removed from the Budget Committee. According to a source, Schweikert was
told that he was ousted in part because his “votes were not in lockstep with
leadership.” This seems par for the course. If you were not in lockstep with
the establishment back in the primaries or the convention you were treated like
this too. According to the article, “All of the lawmakers other than Jones were
rebellious right-wingers. Huelskamp and Amash, for instance, both voted against
the budget proposed by Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin in committee
and on the floor, because it did not cut spending fast enough. They also voted
against the current continuing resolution that is funding the government
through the end of March.”
~~~~~
"If men through fear, fraud or mistake, should in
terms renounce and give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of
reason and the great end of society, would absolutely vacate such renunciation;
the right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of
Man to alienate this gift, and voluntarily become a slave." --John Adams, Rights of the Colonists, 1772
~~~~~~
Fmr. Thatcher
advisor Lord Monckton evicted from UN climate summit after challenging global
warming
-- 'Escorted
from the hall and security officers stripped him of his UN credentials'
After the news conference, and as diplomats gathered for the climate
conference president's assessment of how close countries are to agreement,
Monckton quietly slipped into the seat reserved for the delegation of Myanmar
and clicked the button to speak. "In the 16 years we have been coming to
these conferences, there has been no global warming," Monckton said as
confused murmurs filled the hall and then turned into a chorus of boos. The
stunt infuriated negotiators and activists here who gather every year to
address what they believe is one of the world's top threats, the steady rise of
man-made global warming. As Monckton was escorted from the hall and security
officers stripped him of his U.N. credentials, several people noted that just a
few hours earlier a group of young activists had been thrown out of the
convention center and deported. Their crime: unfurling an unauthorized banner
calling for the Qatari hosts to lead the negotiations to a strong conclusion.
~~~~~~
“Paying Your Fair
Share” is a License to Steal by Gary DeMa
I’m always willing
to give people the benefit of the doubt. I realize that not everybody knows
everything. But people who claim to be journalists, even those who are opinion
columnists, are usually educated people. Most of them went to college. Then there are the politicians. If they
really believe that the rich are not paying their so-called “fair share,” then
they are either misinformed or corrupt. Rep Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) writes
the following in a USA Today opinion piece titled “GOP Plan Fails the
Fairness Test”:
“When the American people re-elected President Obama last month, they
sent an unmistakable message to Washington. The wealthiest among us should pay
their fair share and protect benefits that American families rely on.”
This is class warfare of the worst kind
because it assumes a moral and constitutional foundation for the premise. Mr. Ellison took an
oath to uphold the Constitution. I want Mr. Ellison to tell me where
in the Constitution it says that when a majority of people vote for a President
that the State can steal from people and give the stolen money to other people,
in the name of what you maintain are “protect[ted] benefits that American families
rely on.” When did confiscating
people’s property become fair? Why not pass out “Pay Your Fair” badges to
elected officials. Any time some a politician needs extra money for a program
that will get him reelected, all he needs to do is flash his “Fair Share” badge
and take money from us. That’s what Mr. Ellison is advocating since a majority
of voters have said this is what they want done. I want to know who gets to
define what constitutes a “fair share.” The “fair share” narrative is used
for the 51 percent of Americans who are (1) ignorant, (2) low information
voters (misinformation voters), and (3) those who have larceny in their hearts.
These people want the government to steal for them. It keeps them from
feeling guilty. The facts don’t lie. The so-called rich are already paying the
majority of taxes. An increase in the amount that Democrats and their
lobotomized 51 percent want the rich to pay will not affect the debt or the
deficit one percentage point. The new money raised will either go to new programs
or will be flushed down the regulatory toilet.
~~~~~~
Here are the facts
that raising taxes is an ideological farce
Taxes paid by highest incomes:
- The top 1% pay 22.7% of taxes.
- The top 10% pay 50% of taxes.
- The top 20% pay 65.3% of taxes.
- The top 40% pay 84.3% of taxes.
Taxes paid by lowest incomes
- The bottom 20% pay 1.1% of taxes.
- The bottom 40% pay 6.1% of taxes.
The real problem is
the size and scope of the Federal Government, not that the top 40% do not pay
enough in taxes.
~~~~~~
Mich. Republicans
Get 'Right-to-Work' Bill Through House
Lansing — The birthplace of the nation's modern-day labor movement moved closer
to becoming the nation's 24th right-to-work state after bills Gov. Rick Snyder
vowed to sign into law passed their first hurdles in the Republican-controlled
Legislature on Thursday. The House and Senate each passed bills on the same day
they were introduced that give private and public sector workers the right to
avoid paying union dues in an organized workplace. Only police officers and
firefighters would be exempt. The package can't reach final completion until at
least Tuesday because of procedural rules that require a five-day layover for
two of the bills before they can be voted on in the other chamber.
~~~~~~
Peter Schiff: The
Fantasy of a 91% Top Income Tax Rate
Democratic Party leaders, President Obama in
particular, are forever telling the country that wealthy Americans are taxed at
too low a rate and pay too little in taxes. The need
to correct this seeming injustice is framed not simply in terms of fairness.
Higher tax rates on the wealthy, we're told, would help balance the budget,
allow for more "investment" in America's future and foster better
economic growth for all. In support of this claim, like-minded liberal pundits
point out that in the 1950s, when America's economic might was at its zenith,
the rich faced tax rates as high as 91%.The tax code of the 1950s allowed
upper-income Americans to take exemptions and deductions that are unheard of
today. Tax shelters were widespread, and not just for the superrich. The
working wealthy—including doctors, lawyers, business owners and executives—were
versed in the art of creating losses to lower their tax exposure. For instance, a doctor who earned $50,000 through
his medical practice could reduce his taxable income to zero with $50,000 in
paper losses or depreciation from property he owned through a real-estate
investment partnership. Huge numbers of professionals signed up for all
kinds of money-losing schemes. Today, a corresponding doctor earning $500,000
can deduct a maximum of $3,000 from his taxable income, no matter how large the
loss. Those 1950s gambits lowered tax liabilities
but dissuaded individuals from engaging in the more beneficial activities of
increasing their incomes and expanding their businesses. As a result, they were
a net drag on the economy. When Ronald Reagan finally lowered rates in the
1980s, he did so in exchange for scrapping uneconomical deductions. When
business owners stopped trying to figure out how to lose money, the economy
boomed. It's
hard to determine how much otherwise taxable income disappeared through tax
shelters in the 1950s. As a result, direct comparisons between the 1950s and
now are difficult. However, it is worth noting that from 1958 to 2010, the
taxes paid by the top 3% of earners, as a percentage of total personal income
(which can't be reduced by shelters), increased to 3.96% from 2.72%, while the
percentage paid by the bottom two-thirds of filers fell to 0.51% in 2010 from
2.7%. This starker division of relative tax burdens can be explained by the
inability of upper-income groups to shelter income. It
is a testament to the shallow nature of the national economic conversation that
higher tax rates can be justified by reference to a fantasy—a 91% marginal rate
that hardly any top earners paid.
~~~~~~
Boehner: Going to
‘edge of the fiscal cliff’ is Obama’s ‘deliberate strategy’
House Speaker John
Boehner said on Friday that going to the “edge of the fiscal cliff” is
President Obama’s “deliberate strategy” in negotiations between the White House
and congressional leaders.
“Four days ago we
offered a serious proposal based on testimony of President Clinton’s former
chief of staff. Since then there’s been no counteroffer from the White
House. Instead, reports indicate that the president has adopted a deliberate
strategy to slow-walk our economy right to the edge of the fiscal cliff,”
Boehner said at the Capitol on Friday.
~~~~~~
Yeah Baby Alert: Zimmerman Sues NBC for Their Pro-Trayvon Lying/Smear Campaign Against Him.
George Zimmerman
sued NBC on Thursday, claiming he was defamed when the network edited his 911
call to police after the shooting of Trayvon
Martin to make it sound like he was racist.
The former
neighborhood watch volunteer filed the lawsuit seeking an undisclosed amount of
money in Seminole County, outside Orlando. Also named in the complaint were
three reporters covering the story for NBC or an NBC-owned
television station. The complaint said the airing of the edited call has
inflicted emotional distress on Zimmerman, making him fear for his life and
causing him to suffer nausea, insomnia and anxiety. The lawsuit claims NBC
edited his phone call to a dispatcher last February. In the call, Zimmerman
describes following Martin in the gated community where he lived, just moments
before he fatally shot the 17-year-old teen during a confrontation. “NBC
saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to
increase ratings, and so set about to create a myth that George Zimmerman was a
racist and predatory villain,” the lawsuit claims.
~~~~~~
Obama Has Muslim
Domestic Terrorism Scandal On His Hands
An Arizona
congressman is asking federal officials why the man suspected of detonating a
bomb outside the Arizona Social Security Administration office in Casa Grande
was allowed to live in Arizona despite being classified a person who had
engaged in “terrorism-related activity.” Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, sent a
letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services on Wednesday with specific questions about the status of
47-year-old Abdullatif Ali Aldosary. Aldosary on Tuesday was ordered held in
jail pending a preliminary hearing. Investigators said instructions on how to
construct an explosive device, bomb-making materials and chemicals were found
in his Coolidge home after a small explosion outside the building in downtown
Casa Grande on Friday morning. Aldosary had approached Gosar’s office with
a request for a “green card” and in November 2011, Gosar forwarded that request
to immigration officials. Gosar said DHS responded by saying Aldosary was
not eligible for a permanent change to citizenship “pursuant to the
terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility, and that “individuals who engage
in terrorism-related activity … are barred from receiving various immigration
benefits.”
~~~~~~
540,000 people drop
from labor force as U.S. rate falls to 7.7%
Looks like Sandy
was not an issue at all in the November jobs report which beat in both the
number of jobs added, at 146,000 on expectations of 85,000, while the
unemployment rate declined to 7.7% from 7.9%, where it was expected to post as
well. Watch this space next month for prio revisions: September and October saw
49K downward revisions combined. November will suffer the same fate. and manufacturing jobs dropped more than
expected… Confused why the unemployment rate dropped? The same, favorite BLS
adjustment – a drop in the labor force participation rate which declined by
0.2% to 63.6% once again, as the number of people out of the labor increased by
over 540K to 88,883,000.
~~~~~~
“Poor” Households
Getting $168 in Welfare Per Day from Taxpayers
It’s official.
Taxpayers are no longer simply helping the poor, they’re subsidizing the lives
of welfare recipients at a better rate than their own. The Senate Budget
Committee has released a report showing households living below the poverty
line and receiving welfare payments are raking in the equivalent of $168 per
day in benefits which come in the form of food stamps, housing, childcare,
healthcare and more. The median
household income in 2011 was $50,054, totaling $137.13 per day. The
worst part? Welfare payments are equivalent to making $30 per hour for 40
hours a week. The median wage for non-welfare recipients is $25 per hour
but because they pay taxes, unlike welfare recipients, the wage is bumped down
to $21 per hour. Are you outraged yet? Do you still believe the talking heads
that "nothing" can be done with the entitlement programs!?
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