Last week America’s Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that “tax cuts for the most fortunate 2% - 3% of Americans should be allowed to expire”.  On Sunday the Secretary went on to say something that virtually no economist would agree with…..that “raising taxes on the nation’s highest income earners would NOT have a negative effect on growth”.  Who is he trying to kid?

First off let me offer a couple of facts.  Consumer spending is estimated to account for 65% -70% of GDP. Of that consumer spending, over 30% of it comes from the top 5% of income earners.   The reason so few (if any) economists would agree  that raising rates for the top tax bracket doesn’t have a negative effect on growth is because it is totally illogical to believe that reducing the discretionary income of those that spend the most wouldn’t reduce overall spending…and thus economic growth.

Continue reading » Jobs and Taxes: Who are we trying to Kid?

When is a tax increase not a tax increase..until it is a tax increase?  The answer: The healthcare legislation commonly known as Obamacare.

The video below is an exchange between former Clinton senior political advisor George Stephanopoulos and President Obama.  The interview took place September 2009 on the ABC show This Week. 

Throughout the exchange, particularly the last half of the video, President Obama repeatedly takes Stephanopoulos to task for asking why Obamacare’s  forcing Americans to purchase healthcare insurance (or pay a penalty) is not a tax. The President declares “for us to say that you’ve got to take responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase”.

Continue reading » When is a Healthcare Tax Increase NOT a Tax Increase?

EASY COME:   I’ve seen guys like David Crisp numerous times at the beach.  Perhaps you have too.  They are the guys who go around with metal detectors sweeping the ground in search of…hmm, what are they searching for?  A dime that fell out of a purse?  The proverbial wedding ring that some sad woman is still crying over?

Well Mr. Crisp, an amateur treasure hunter, was at his “craft” as he strolled through Frome (Southwestern England) when the beeper on his listening device indicated he had come in contact with metal.  After a bit of digging knew he had found something that exceeded his wildest imagination. 

Archaeologists would be needed to help with the dig.

Continue reading » Dollars and Pounds: Easy Come, Easy Go

Homo sapiens are a most amazing creature.   We have built technologically sophisticated ships to transport ourselves to the moon.  We’ve developed mobile communication systems and the internet. We’ve even figured out how to map the genome and create “artificial” life.

However, we can’t do everything.  Three months into the worst man made ecological disaster in American history we haven’t yet capped a blown up oil rig which is pouring untold barrels of black sludge into the ocean.  BP is pursuing a “relief well”, which basically means drilling a new well at an angle so that it captures the oil currently spilling out before it reaches the existing well’s broken opening…..or putting yet another type of cap on the well.   The next best option after that seems to be using a nuclear device.  Yikes!

Continue reading » Human Hubris?: Changing the Planet’s Weather in the Face of an Oil Spill

For decades American presidents have been saying that the United States needs to become more energy independent.  Whether it was Jimmy Carter speaking while gas prices soared as Middle Eastern nations formed an oil cartel to increase prices, George Bush’s rhetoric in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, or Barack Obama saying green thinking was the pathway to new jobs and a better world.

Yet it seems as though there has been but modest alterations with regard to how the overwhelming majority of people heat their homes, transport themselves, or get their electricity for turning on a light switch.

The question is: If there is so much talk of changing our energy habits, why has there been so little actual change?

Continue reading » Are Green Industries about to Save Us?

The World Cup is the most watched sporting event on the planet. Every four years gallons of ink are used printing newspapers that report on all aspects of play.  Entire nations come to a complete stop when their team is playing. Some players have even been known to have been murdered because of their poor play during the tournament.

The question is: Why is the officiating so bad…and why is instant replay on the most important calls not used?

The video below shows a goal scored by England in their match with Germany that wasn’t ruled as a goal.  It is shocking because the ball bounces inside the net by at least two feet.  How is it possible that in a match that is watched by hundreds of millions of people, and had been anticipated for years, could be “ruined” by a referee’s terrible non-call? (Though Germany went on to win the game 4-1 and was clearly the superior team, the game would have been tied at 2-2 and then who knows how play/strategy/tactics would have been altered?)

Continue reading » The World Cup: What You See ISN’T Necessarily What You Get

I believe that the single most destructive word is “should”.  Sadly, the word “should” prevents far too many of us from enjoying life the way it is….as opposed to the way it “should” be.

Who amongst us hasn’t had any of these thoughts?

I should have more money by now.

I should already have _________.

Why should I have to do _________ when suchabody doesn’t?

It’s not fair. It should be fair.

Try to test yourself.  Listen to when you use the word “should”.  Try to use it less.  It is a very interesting exercise.  I bet you’ll be surprised by what you catch yourself saying and thinking in connection with the word “should”.

Continue reading » It’s the “Shoulds” that Lessen Your Happiness

President Barrack Obama is going before the nation tonight on national TV to speak about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  He is going to try and gain momentum for a fix to the leakage and its cleanup….discuss monetary compensation for those economically injured…..contemplate the massive environmental damage….and seek to stop the political bleeding that has captured his administration. He might even use the crisis to trumpet an energy policy that may or may not have much merit. (More on that in another post)

Unfortunately for Mr. Obama, a person can only make an initial impression once.  Likewise, a President only has one shot at his initial response to a crisis.  The judgement is in….and the American people are not pleased with the way the government has thus far handled the crisis. (And make no mistake. This is a crisis of huge proportions) 

While it is certainly possible that the next phase of this crisis, and the one after that, is handled much more adroitly than has thus far been the case…the initial Obama response to the Gulf Oil Spill has been rated UNSATISFACTORY by the American people.  

Continue reading » Presidential Politics and the Gulf Oil Spill

An Israeli commando force attacked the six ships, which were carrying supplies that included cement, wheelchairs, paper and water purification systems, in international waters, 70 miles off the Gaza coast. The commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara passenger ferry, one of three ships provided by Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), a Turkish aid organization.   Tehran Times 

To watch Al Jazeera TV is to learn that on May 31^st, in the middle of the night, Israeli commandos stormed a humanitarian flotillia that was trying to bring aid to the people of Gaza.  Unprovoked, nine peace loving people were killed by the murderous Israelis.  Immediately Turkey, France, the European Union, Russia, the United Nations Secretary General and many others all express deep outrage.  Why would Israel, a democracy, engage in such an outrageous unlawful act of hateful brutality?

To understand the question is to know the answer.  And to know the answer  is to know some truths. 

The first truth is that from a public relations standpoint, Israel fell into the nightmare trap those hoping for its destruction had set.  That is folly on the behalf of the Israelis.  The second truth is that almost none of the statements mentioned at the top of this blog post have any relationship with reality.

Continue reading » Truth and Folly: Israel and the Palestinian “Peace” Flotilla

Cultural norms change.  In 1993, when Democratic President Bill Clinton initiated the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule regarding homosexuals serving in the military, it was approved by the majority of the American people who thought it “fair”, though disapproved by the majority of those serving in the armed forces. (who thought it tampering with their institution) It was seen as a sort of compromise.  An attempt by the chief executive to not get too far ahead of society’s cultural norms, while recognizing that homosexuals had a “place” in the nation’s military.

When President Harry Truman signed executive order 9981 which integrated the military, you could say that he moved ahead of the nation in terms of what most Americans thought was appropriate. President Abraham Lincoln used black troops during the Civil War so as to strengthen his forces and for various political reasons.

Some argue that the military is not a place for ”social experimentation”.  On the surface that argument has some merit and is used by those opposed to repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell”.  However, I believe Congress, particularly Congressional Democrats, acted correctly to initiate the process by which people will be legally assured they can serve their country regardless of their sexual orientation.

Continue reading » “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is the Past