Friday, September 7, 2007

The Great Bailout and Taxes

The Great Bailout and Taxes


In a recent conversation with my dad he said that he never thought that tax revolts would occur in his lifetime, but for the first time, he is beginning to anticipate that a tax revolt is not too far away. I was a bit taken aback, but then began thinking about the possibility, and he may have a valid point. Consider two extremes – 0% taxation is total freedom, 100% taxation is essentially slavery. At what point are we all simply indentured servants to Uncle Sam? Right now, if you are actively working for a paycheck, it is likely that about half of the money that is paid by your employer to you is going to Uncle Sam. For some it is a little less, for some it is a little more.


Don’t believe it…? Are you taking into account your employers 7% of matching taxes that are paid and not even shown on your pay stub? How about gasoline tax? Who nets more money from your gallon of gas, the oil company or the government? Did you think about normal sales taxes? How about the approximately 22% of business taxes that has been found to be passed to consumers in the ordinary cost of goods?


This leads to a big question, are we all really working until lunch everyday just to raise enough money to pay taxes for the privilege of…working?


How is this possible? It's easy, no one knows what he or she pays in taxes. So, at what point does that amount become so exorbitant that people start to seek the information that is out there and figure out what they are paying? Can we always blame businesses for gouging consumers without looking at what the government is taking in? Thus far most Americans seem OK with taxes and small tax increases because the government is supporting our troops, building roads, funding schools, and helping less fortunate people. So we do our duty, complain a little, but cough up because at the end of the day it isn’t worth going to jail over taxes (which is what happens if you don’t pay, is it not?)


But then a program is proposed that just doesn't make sense and people like me get extremely irritated, such as, the mortgage bailout. In case you are not aware? Some people, mostly in Southern Florida similar areas bought property they couldn’t afford in fast appreciating markets, sat on it too long, and now they can’t unload it for the windfall profits that they were hoping to obtain. They now face foreclosure because they simply cannot afford the payments. President Bush announced an effort to allow the government to guarantee the loans of these people while they ride out this dip in the market, or continue to sell their property for a smaller amount of profit. Make no mistake, this isn’t mom and pop at the end of a thirty-year mortgage getting ready to be thrown out, these are people that bought way too much home thinking they would get to re-fi before the bigger payments hit, or re-financed at the appreciated value of their home, i.e. took out a bunch of cash and bought other stuff without understanding what they were getting into. After all, there was no end to how high their home values would go, right? Wrong, now their investment (a home is usually referred to as a person’s largest investment) is crashing and they can’t get away from it.


Real Estate is not a liquid asset, never has been, never will be. It's one of the reasons for the buyer beware motto when one is purchasing property. Now after subsidizing the cost rebuilding Southern Florida and coastal areas in post-hurricane season every year (if you don't think we are doing this just look at the price of lumber and construction materials in your area), we are going to bail the homeowners out of their bad investments? Or at least hold the fort down long enough to let them ride out the downturn.


Are we going to bail out business owners whose business fail in low-income parts of the country? Or investors who buy hot stocks and lose their shirts? Nope, just the people who guessed wrong on the housing market in over-valued areas. It is easy to get caught up in thinking that we are "helping" people, and as I have said most Americans believe in helping their fellow man or woman. We seem OK with taxes going to help people, so why is this any different? The difference here…these people are living BETTER than we are!!! That’s right, they are living in nicer houses, with fancier cars, toys, furnishings, etc in parts of the country that most of us only get to visit for a week on an overpriced vacation. Will the average American be OK with losing half of their income each day only to subsidize a person in a million dollar home in Southern Florida, driving a Hummer and/or Mercedes while he/she is driving two used cars and living in a modest home in this area because the cost of living was more manageable? Should those of us who didn’t over-buy, didn’t make a mistake, and didn’t wait too long to get out be footing the bill for those that did? Should those of us who moved to more rural, more consistent areas continue to subsidize big city and coastal living? I hope not.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu has WV Connection

From the Official Federal Election Commission Filings.

HSU, NORMAN

NEW YORK, NY 10012
NEXT COMPONENTS, LTD./PARTNER

ROCKEFELLER, JOHN DAVISON IV
VIA FRIENDS OF JAY ROCKEFELLER

02/22/2007 2000.00

06/08/2007 300.00

06/08/2007 1700.00

News Article about Norman Hsu; Democratic Donor a No Show at Hearing

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Pick the Welcome to WV sign

After 6 months of programming to create a poll (Government efficiency at its finest, takes about 30 seconds to create a poll on most websites) the Governor's office has put up a poll to find a new slogan for the Welcome signs.

Click here for the website

I find it odd that this site says the signs were made to be temporary. They are bolted on just like every other sign along the states roads. Also when I was in Charleston during the state of the state address where the governor unveiled the "Open for Business" signs, he never said it was temporary. In fact why would you even mention a temporary sign in a state of the state address. Kind of like the governor saying in the state of the state, "By the way the DOH wanted me to let you know there is going to be a flagman on US 50 in Preston County tomorrow. They will put up a temporary sign to that effect."

Let's face it. The governor tired to come up with something clever, but failed. We all make mistakes, but don't cover them up. Just admit you tried and it didn't work. I have more respect for someone that tries and fails, than one that fails and says, "I meant to do that."

Here is your chance to vote on what you would like to see on the welcome signs.

Recommendations
  • Wild Wonderful, West Virginia
  • The Mountain State
  • 50th Place, but better than Guam*

WV Republican Presidental Convention Participants

The following candidates have signed on to participate in West Virginia's Presidential Convention on February 5th, 2008.

  • Sam Brownback
  • Rudy Giuliani
  • Mike Huckabee
  • Duncan Hunter
  • Alan Keyes
  • John McCain
  • Ron Paul
  • Mitt Romney
  • Fred Thompson
  • Gene Zarwell

Gere Calls For Boycott

Recently actor Richard Gere called for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China. Long an advocate for freedom in places like China and Africa, Gere holds special concern for the people of Tibet. It is one of the few worthwhile causes that you see among the Hollywood crowd.

Would this work? Few will actually abide by this call, although not many sympathize with China maintaining their government of repression. Catholics who acknowledge the Pope as their spiritual leader must hold Mass in caves or face arrest. China claims it alone has the right to name the Dalai Llama.

However it is changing slowly. As a middle class gradually emerges, it will demand more rights and a larger voice in the government. China fears exposure to outside ideas enough to censor internet traffic. The Olympics will bring a flood of Westerners and an avalanche of scrutiny that could help stimulate greater change.

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China also has a problem with the English translations of some of their food. For the duration of the Olympics, government restaraunts will not serve "steamed crap." Coca Cola had similar problems once. A worldwide ad campaign from many years ago that read "Coke adds life" in English translated into Chinese as "Coke brings your ancestors back from the dead."

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Senator Larry Craig

For anyone, anywhere, regardless of orientation, trying to have sex in a public bathroom is a bonehead move. For Senator Larry Craig (R) Idaho it could be a career killer. Nevada Republican Senator John Ensign has publicly called on Craig to quit. Democrats once again have ammunition to attack the party of family values, accusing Republicans of hypocrisy.

Republicans cannot duck the morals issue. If a party uses the issue of family values, it will be pilloried when one of its members acts in a way that is less than consistent with those values. Beyond that, homosexual, or any kind of sex in a bathroom is illegal. Maybe the crime ends up being about as legally ominous as a speeding ticket, but Republicans have asked their constituents to expect better of their representatives. Unfortunately too many lately have not lived up to those standards.

Is Larry Craig's career over? One of the most socially conservative delegate districts in West Virginia returned by a rather large margin a Democratic incumbent caught on tape at a homosexual sex party. Most voters knew of this tape, but voted based upon his record instead of his private life. However this is West Virginia, a different political bird than Idaho.

Republicans certainly fear that this will undermine them in 2008 just as teh Mark Foley incident did in the fall of 2006. It is more likely that people will completely forget about Craig if the GOP lets them. Either Craig himself or the voters of Idaho should decide it is time for him to leave. The rest of the party needs to let the process happen. That being said, acting in that manner in public definitely deserves condemnation. Some child could have walked in and seen that. However the party needs to issue its disapproval, then let the democratic process take over.