Say Anything Blog

King at SCSU Scholars led me to a very interesting statistic; Richard Wagner of George Mason University estimated the cost (in 1993) of the death tax.

$640 billion over eight years, or eighty billion dollars annually.  It’s probably safe to assume that today’s cost is over one hundred billion dollars annually in expenses businesses incur to shield their estates from the death tax.

In contrast, estate tax revenue is only about twenty-five billion dollars annually.  It therefore has a dubious distinction; with a cost/revenue ratio of four or so, it is one of very few taxes to be less efficient at gaining revenue than the income tax, which costs about 30 to 50 cents in complicance costs for each dollar of revenue.

Here is the tax plan of Barack Hussein Daley Ayers Wright Pfleger Rezko Obama.  Take a good look.

It’s not a tax cut package at all, but really a hodgepodge of tax credits, mostly refundable.  In other words, really more welfare than a tax cut, and the upper end of the spectrum gets fleeced a la Huey Long.  The only people that can like this one are tax accountants and lawyers.

Now consider what is being promoted by this tax plan.  Daycare.  Not itemizing.  Mom working outside the home.  College.  Mortgage debt.  Hybrid cars.

Now let’s consider what big problems we face as a nation are:  mortgage defaults are wrecking the economy, as well as those of Europe, Iceland, Pakistan, China, and elsewhere.  Too many kids are running wild because they’re under the “care” of a disgrunted psychology major instead of their mothers.  Our roads are full of mothers forced to work by the tax code.

If you want to do the environmentally sensitive thing when your child is an infant, use disposable diapers like Pampers.  Research has found that using disposables actually causes less environmental damage than does the use of cloth diapers.

Now granted, this is a government study, so it needs to be taken with a grain (OK, shaker) of salt, but I do have something to say to all those people who thought they were doing something for the environment by lugging a pail of stink bombs to the washer a few times per week.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!

Environmentalism; the best way to destroy the planet we inhabit.

I would guess that many here—certainly most conservatives—are not generally avid readers of “Mother Earth News,” but here’s a neat article detailing where the environmental left and the libertarian/paleoconservative right can come together. 

More or less, it details how all of our billion-dollar efforts and subdidies have failed at the most basic of goals for an agricultural program; giving us more, and better, food to eat.  In addition, it’s been a disaster for freedom and the environment.

Want liberty?  Want to protect the environment?  End ethanol and farm subsidies.

Here.  My take:

1. Charitable giving is a bit low at 1.5-3% for 2006 and 2007, but it’s (ahem) better by far than Joe Biden’s, and comparable to superior to Barack Obama’s—at least prior to Obama’s book-writing.

2. Mortgage interest is reasonable at about $10k/year, and declining, not increasing. The Palins do not appear to be using their home as a bank account. The interest also suggests that they have significant (well over 50%) equity in their home.

3. Unlike Obama and Biden, the Palins do show consistent interest, dividend, and capital gains income.

4. Very unlike Obama and Biden, the Palins show very significant savings, including a number of mutual funds, Todd Palin’s business, and more.

Overall, due to the charitable giving aspect, I give the Palins an A- on their financials, vs. an A for McCain, a D for Obama, and an F for Biden. We can probably trust her near a three trillion dollar budget.

Congressman Alcee Hastings said this about Governor Palin:

Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through.

(emphasis mine)

Evidently, due to global warming, it’s so cold in Alaska that even the moose are wearing parkas and coveralls during the moose season. Exactly how cold? Well, here’s a hint; moose season in Alaska is in September. Imagine what those beasts wear come January.

Of course, this might just be the bigoted ramblings of a brain impaired Democrat from Florida, but I tend to prefer the other explanation. Take a drive, save a moose from freezing to death.

Cross posted at Bike Bubba’s Bits.

I, along with many other people, think that if the government got its hands out of the lives of native americans, that all would at least eventually be better off for it—with the possible exception of people working for the BIA with no real skills, of course.  So why is this politically a non-starter?

I’ve posted earlier on the tax returns of Barack Obama and others, and one thing that jumps out for both Obama and Biden is that despite excellent income, they don’t have much income from interest and dividends, and worse yet, the amount of interest they pay often increases year over year.

In other words, they don’t save much money, and they’re using their homes as a de facto bank account.  You don’t want to trust them anywhere near a budget, right?

Now we learn that Obama’s chief economic advisers include “alumni” of Lehmann and Fannie Mae—both in serious trouble because of excessive use of poorly chosen debts. 

You know, it fits, and for all their mockery of “borrow and spend Republicans,” it seems that the real party of borrow and spend is the one of equus asinus.  Moreover, for all the Democratic rhetoric about “unconscionable” payouts to underperforming executives, it seems that their side of the aisle is perfectly comfortable with this as long as it’s “with them” politically.

If you value your bank account, take note.

As usual, many are highly offended at the tactics used by the police to control the riots at the GOP convention, and I would ordinarily be 100% on the side of the police.

That is, until I saw this.  Young lady offers no resistance to police, and is repeatedly hit with noxious substances (not sure if it’s pepper spray or tear gas), hit with a bicycle, and more.  There do not appear to be any other protesters there to help her.

In all the arguing over who has more executive experience—a bayou bait shop owner, Sarah Palin, or Barack Obama—one thing seems to be lost to me.

Specifically, exactly how much experience in government do we want?  Do we really want someone who has gotten used to the horse trading, backroom deals, and vote-buying that characterize our legislatures and executive branches, or would it be better to have someone come in and say “what on earth is going on here?”

Maybe the latter guy (or gal) would run into too many problems due to a lack of experience.  On the other hand, maybe they would have the ability to see the screw-ups that have become a part of standard operating procedure in DC, and maybe they’d have a chance to fix them.

At least, they’d have a chance if they figured out who was leaking everything to the NY Times and Washington Post.  But that’s another issue.

Proof’s post about the proper way of eliminating the environmental degradation due to hybrid cars reminds me of something I want to do as I ride my bicycle to work.

I want to pull up beside a Prius and yell

You’re destroying the environment with your gas guzzler!

Original inspiration for this from ShotInTheDark.

Has anyone noticed that as we banish ethnic jokes and slurs from our discourse, we are actually turning on each other MORE as a result?

Now I’m not trying to defend the use of racial and ethnic slurs—though if one should call me “honky,” I should be hard pressed to take offense, I admit.  (does it really mean anything?) What I can say, however, is that ethnic (racial, religious) jokes can serve a valuable purpose as we get to know each other, and if we completely proscribe their use, we’ll end up attacking each other more.  Let’s go to a couple of examples

WorldNetDaily provides evidence that Obama campaign staff placed campaign posters at the Western Wall, the most holy site in Judiasm.  (it’s the remaining foundation of the third Temple built by Herod)

Innocent explanation?  Difficult, as the stop was unannounced—it’s extremely unlikely that anyone not in the campaign could have done this. 

First the Brandenburger Tor, then the Siegessaule, now the Western Wall.  Can you say “megalomania”, boys and girls?  God only knows what Obama would have done had the Temple been rebuilt.

I’m reading my copy of “Design News” now, and it claims that energy equivalent to 12 quarts (about 23 lbs) of oil is needed to make one quart (about 14 lbs) of steel.  About 16 quarts of oil (about 32 lbs) is needed to make a single quart (about 6 lbs) of aluminium.  To make a quart (2 lbs) of platics, you need about two quarts of oil in “energy input.

All in all, making a new vehicle requires somewhere around twice that vehicle’s weight in coal or oil.  Now consider that in light of a 3000 lb Toyota Prius.  Before you save an ounce of carbon dioxide from this vehicle, you need to save literally 6000 lbs of fuel.

Actually, it’s worse, because the energy input is mostly from coal.  Make that about 10,000 lbs of fuel, or approximately 1500 gallons of gasoline.

....in one simple step. No, I don’t recommend trying, but our government does exactly this. How?

They reduce Social Security benefits by 50 cents for every dollar earned after a certain threshold. When you count FICA, state income tax, and federal income tax, you come to the uneasy realization that Social Security takes back 50 cents, and the rest of government takes back up to 40 cents on the dollar. Not surprisingly, a study performed at my alma mater (Michigan State) found that seniors don’t work for a dime on the dollar.

But how does this kill people and inheritances? Simple. Retirement is a disaster for health, as it all too often trades physical activity for worship of the idiot box, and when you combine poor health with poor income, you simultaneously kill Grandpa and the inheritance he wanted to pass down.

Dare I suggest repeal of this ill-founded rule?