Growth and Taxes

But your honor, Santa did it first

You’d better watch out,
You’d better not cry,
You’d better not pout;
I’m telling you why.
SANTA CLAUS IS TAPPING
YOUR PHONE.

He’s bugging your room,
HE’S READING YOUR MAIL,
He’s keeping a file
And running a tail.
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone.

HE HEARS YOU IN THE BEDROOM,
Surveills you out of doors,
And if that doesn’t get the goods,
Then he’ll use provocateurs.

So–you mustn’t assume

That you are secure.
On Christmas Eve
HE’LL KICK IN YOUR DOOR.
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone.

http://volokh.com/2010/12/25/how-does-he-know-when-youve-been-bad-or-good/
 

Now here’s the scary part, this was supposedly written for and sung at a US Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel Christmas party DURING THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION. I guess the liberals only oppose government snooping during conservative administrations.





Looking for growth? Look to eliminate state income taxes

For those of us who are demographic buffs, Christmas came four days early when Census Bureau Director Robert Groves announced yesterday the first results of the 2010 Census and the reapportionment of House seats (and therefore electoral votes) among the states.

THE RESIDENT POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, HE TOLD US IN A WEBCAST, WAS 308,745,538. THAT'S AN INCREASE OF 9.7 PERCENT FROM THE 281,421,906 IN THE 2000 CENSUS -- the smallest proportional increase than in any decade other than the Depression 1930s but a pretty robust increase for an advanced nation. It's hard to get a grasp on such large numbers. So let me share a few observations on what they mean.


First, the great engine of growth in America is not the Northeast Megalopolis, which was growing faster than average in the mid-20th century, or California, which grew lustily in the succeeding half-century. IT IS TEXAS.


Its population grew 21 percent in the last decade, from nearly 21 million to more than 25 million. That was more rapid growth than in any states except for four much smaller ones (Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho).


Texas' diversified economy, business-friendly regulations and low taxes have attracted not only immigrants but substantial inflow from the other 49 states. As a result, the 2010 reapportionment gives Texas four additional House seats. In contrast, California gets no new House seats, for the first time since it was admitted to the Union in 1850.

There's a similar lesson in the fact that Florida gains two seats in the reapportionment and New York loses two.


This leads to a second point, which is that growth tends to be stronger where taxes are lower. SEVEN OF THE NINE STATES THAT DO NOT LEVY AN INCOME TAX GREW FASTER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. The other two, South Dakota and New Hampshire, had the fastest growth in their regions, the Midwest and New England.

http://townhall.com/columnists/MichaelBarone/2010/12/23/census_fast_growth_in_states_with_no_income_tax/page/full/


I guess it is true. Whatever you reward, you will get more of and whatever you punish you will get less of.



America’s 17 most-bankrupt cities

Have a gander at America’s 17 most-bankrupt cities, and consider the party variable: TWO REPUBLICAN MAYORS, TWO INDEPENDENTS, ONE CITY SO BANKRUPT THAT IT IS IN STATE RECEIVERSHIP — AND TWELVE DEMOCRATIC MAYORS, meaning the Democrats lead 70.5 percent of the most-bankrupt cities, by my always-suspect English-major math.

And you thought their record was bad in Congress.

And get a load of the size of these budget shortfalls: Camden, N.J., at 15 percent, Hamtramck, Mich., at 17 percent, Paterson, N.J., at 24 percent, Central Falls, R.I., at 22 percent.

http://www.nationalreview.com/exchequer/255836/americas-most-bankrupt-mayors

What’s the obvious answer if you are a democrat? Raise taxes of course (and don’t read the previous posting).

BHO: Calm or oblivious?

In June 2009, according to the New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn, chief Obama adviser David Axelrod briefed the president on polling numbers showing the unpopularity of his health-care plans, telling him that “THESE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY DISCOURAGING—THERE’S A POLITICAL COST TO THIS.” Obama responded with a story of a cancer patient who lacked health insurance and told Axelrod, “LET’S KEEP FIGHTING.”

In August 2009, Vice President Joe Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel suggested that they TURN AWAY FROM HEALTH CARE TO SPARE THE PARTY A POLITICAL DISASTER. Obama refused, telling some of his aides, “I feel lucky.” A month later, according to David Paul Kuhn of Real Clear Politics, Virginia Senator James Webb visited President Obama in the White House and “told him this was going to be a disaster.” As Webb described it, OBAMA SOMEWHAT BLITHELY “BELIEVED IT WAS ALL GOING TO WORK OUT.” In retrospect, the preternaturally calm-in-a-crisis Obama celebrated in best-selling books like Game Change seemed less calm than bizarrely oblivious.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/special-january-preview--the-democrats-and-health-care-15602


Was Obama sticking to his principles or rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? From what I see, it was the latter.



Victory Lap? Not really.

The American people gave their assessment of Obama, Pelosi and Reid on Nov. 2, 2010. Every single piece of major legislation they passed was written in secret, unread by most of those voting for it and deliberately misrepresented to the American people prior to enactment.

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAD HAD ENOUGH.
For two years the Democrats refused to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for any American. The size of the Obama humiliation in passing the two-year extension of 2001 and 2003 was not just the tax cut for higher-income Americans. It was the whole bill. He spent two years - as did Reid and Pelosi - not extending it for anyone. And Obama swallowed cutting the death tax from 55% to 35%.


THE BIG ENCHILADA THAT OBAMA, REID AND PELOSI FOUGHT FOR, DEMANDED AND LOST WAS A $1.2 TRILLION OMNIBUS CRAMMED WITH 6,000+ CORRUPT EARMARKS. They were stopped and all the corrupt pork now sits on the side of the road rotting. We say what more Obama/Reid/Pelosi would look like...more spending, more earmarks, more corruption ..good riddance.

http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Grover_Norquist_8BE87347-9DF2-4786-AA3A-6A2FF0108261.html


This above was written by Grover Norquist President of Americans for Tax Reform.



Death Panels

When a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning touched off A POLITICAL STORM OVER “DEATH PANELS,” DEMOCRATS DROPPED IT FROM LEGISLATION TO OVERHAUL THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. BUT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WILL ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL BY REGULATION, STARTING JAN. 1.

Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/us/politics/26death.html?_r=2


So either Sarah Palin was right and President Obama was wrong, or Sarah Palin was telling the truth, while President Obama was not. In fact, the Democrats dropped an every five year “end of life” planning and have now put in a yearly “end of life” planning sessions they would pay doctors to do.  And what happened to the promise of an open administration?