RANTING: Estimates? Gooferment estimates? ROFL!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/09/24/a_political_solution_part_ii

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Thomas Sowell :: Townhall.com Columnist
A Political “Solution”: Part II
by Thomas Sowell

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Estimates of how much money a government program will cost are notoriously unreliable. Estimates of the cost of the current bailout in the financial markets run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, and some say it may reach or exceed a trillion.

*** end quote ***

Estimates are always wrong. In this case, we have no idea of the liability the congress critters are signing your children up for!

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POLITICAL: Corporations don’t pay taxes; people do. Zero the Corporate Tax Rate!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

http://www.doughroller.net/2008-presidential-elections/presidential-debate-fact-check-obama-mccain-economic-cla

First Presidential Debate Fact Check: Obama and McCain’s Economic Claims
Written by DR | Bookmarks: Reddit this, del.icio.us

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The first 2008 Presidential Debate saw both Senators Obama and McCain defend their economic proposals and attack the other’s plan. Facts, figures and statistics were flying back in forth during the exchange so fast it was difficult to keep up. So after the debate I watched the replay and read the transcript to pick out the economic claims made by both Presidential candidates. In this article, we’ll look at their claims to determine whether they are rock solid true (earning a score of 1), true but with a lot of spin (earning a score 2) or flat out, nose-growing false (earning a score of 3).

*** end quote ***

MY COMMENT ON THIS STORY

Excellent job on fact checking. Calm and reasoned. Apparently fair.

I have no “dog” in this fight. I’m a little L libertarian. Don’t care much for either candidate.

I would like to comment on “Corporate Income Tax”.

It’s a sham designed to deceive the folks as to what is the overall level of taxation that Americans pay.

CORPORATIONS DON’T PAY TAXES OR FEES. YOU DO!

As a “frugal” site, I read often, I think you’d hammer this home.

Corporations are very much like a zero sum game. If they have a cost, they pass it along to the person who buys their product or services. If it’s a widget with a pound of steel in it, your paying for that pound. Price of steel goes up, the corporation marks up the price of their product. Simple enough. If they didn’t they’d go broke.

When the gooferment imposes taxes on Corporations, that’s just another cost that the business pass along to you. EXCEPT now you can’t see it. You don’t know what portion of the cost of a loaf of bread is taxes and what portion is bread.

It gets worse, regulations and laws add costs. They come to you hidden in the cost of the products.

It gets even worse, when the gooferment taxes a product that corporations use to make or deliver other products (e.g., gasoline), that tax is a tax on taxes. And is passed along and even buried further. It has an exponential effect!

I’ve seen estimates that the real tax percentage in products is HUGE! 50 to 75%!! I don’t think anyone can tell. AND that’s excatly the politicians purpose.

Bottom line: Corporate taxes imho should be ZERO!

Let’s put the cost of gooferment squarely out in the open! These bozos are no fools. There’s a reason that Tax Day is a half a year away from election day. That reason is that they couldn’t get it any further away.

So, when either candidate talks about corporate taxes, regulation, and fees, I think they are, possibly unknowingly (But I don’t beleive that) DEFRAUDING us from know the true cost of how badly we are being ROBBED!

sigh, imho,
wake up sheeple,
fjohn

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MONEY: Buying a “falling knife”?

Sunday, September 28, 2008

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCNnbO2lMJG4&refer=home

WaMu Failure Shakes Seattle, From Shareholder to Job Seeker

By Peter Robison and Dina Bass

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Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) — Sally Rawlings was one of the last people to buy shares in Washington Mutual Inc., showing faith that her hometown Seattle savings and loan would be able to weather its financial crisis.

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I’d suggest that she not go trying to catch “falling knives”. Although it is tempting, to buy low. But it’s low for a reason! Stop losses by not starting them?

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RANT: DRM never!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/09/26/walmart-shutting-dow.html

Boing Boing – A directory of wonderful things

Wal*Mart shutting down DRM server, nuking your music collection — only people who pay for music risk losing it to DRM shenanigans

Posted by Cory Doctorow, September 26, 2008 8:34 PM

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Hey suckers! Did you buy DRM music from Wal*Mart instead of downloading MP3s for free from the P2P networks? Well, they’re repaying your honesty by taking away your music. Unless you go through a bunch of hoops (that you may never find out about, if you’ve changed email addresses or if you’re not a very technical person), your music will no longer be playable after October 9th.

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That’s why I’d never buy anything with a DRM in it. I learned this lesson early and had it reinforced by Yahoo buying Real who bought whatever it was that I liked.

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RANT: SNY network leaves RU game to TALK about the Mets!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

What a joke.

RU was playing Morgan State. Not a big game by any means. But, SNY left live coverage of that for the Mets “post game” show, where they couldn’t show any of the game highlights. So they spent the better part of a hour TALKING about it. Talked it to death! How dumb!

Sorry RU, you deserved better!

They rejoined it with 2:57 left in the SECOND quarter with the score 35 zip. Game was over.

Why bother?

Just shows you the level of respect SNY has for its viewers.

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POLITICS: Debate reaction. Who cares what big gooferment wants!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

I too listened to the debate. Who cares! Both are big gooferment interventionists. Neither understand that the ‘crisis’ is created by the gooferment — both sides have their hands int he mess up to their elbows. The D’s created Fannie and Freddie; they tax and spend. The R’s are not much better — they promised smaller and delivered bigger; they borrow and spend. Neither of them nderstand the problem starts with gooferment and ends there. The gooferment creates the problem and then rescues us from it. A plague on both their houses.

Only freedom and liberty can prevail in the long run. Force begets force. If I can’t convince you that something is a good idea, then maybe it isn’t. I have to be humble enough to accept that.

I won’t, can’t, force you to do what you don’t wnat to do. I’d like you to do the same for me. So take your government off my neck, please!

I don’t want to buy 80% of AIG. I’d like my tax money that was stolen back. I don’t want to pay for all the things you think are “good for me”. Let me keep my money and spend it on what I think is good for me. If I make mistakes, so be it. They are MY mistakes. Please don’t inflict YOUR mistakes on me.

Take a look at the little flash movie at http://www.isil.org/resources/introduction.swf becasue it says it better than I can.

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LIBERTY: Stop the bailout!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

http://tinyurl.com/4brspa

Download “Stop the Bailout!” 26-09-2008 (2.97 MB)
Duration: 8:05 m – Filetype: mp3 – Bitrate: 51.28820816953 KBPS – Frequency: 44100 HZ
Lew Rockwell on the Michael Reagan Show

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Well worth a less than ten minute listen.

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WRITING: TEOTWAWKI fiction – Chapter Ninety Three – Twenty Five Years

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Chapter Ninety Three – Twenty Five Years

October 19, 1987

It Started In Church – October 19, 1962
http://www.itstartedinchurch.com

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FUN: 85B$ to AIG, no; 300k$ to every adult, yes!

Friday, September 26, 2008

FROM MY LUDDITE FRIEND:


From: Luddite
Date: September 26, 2008 9:04:45 AM EDTTo: “Know It All”Subject: Birk Alternative Economic Recovery Plan
*** begin quote ***

The Birk Alternative Economic Recovery Plan

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I’m in favor of giving out the $85,000,000,000 to Americas in a “We Deserve It Dividend.”

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens, age 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fairly good stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into the $85 billon. That equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425, 000 to every person 18+ as a “We Deserve It Dividend.”

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 back in taxes. That sends $25.5 billion right back to Uncle Sam.

The result is every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 net of taxes in their pocket. A husband and wife would have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 or $595,000.00 in your family? Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved. Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads. Put away money for college – it’ll be there safe in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car – create jobs. Invest in the market – capital drives growth. Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – h ealth care improves. Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth, let’s really do it…instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG – the hell (sorry about that!) with them. Liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate.&nb s p; Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.

Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party that would take place!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion . We deserve the money more than the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

*** end quote ***
But what would the poor starving plutocrats do? The strange “common sense” you find on “those inter tubes”!
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INTERESTING: Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009

Thursday, September 25, 2008

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/category/y-2009/

“Project censored is one of the organizations that we should listen to, to be assured that our newspapers and our broadcast outlets are practicing thorough and ethical journalism.”

— Walter Cronkite

[JR: I especially think in today’s media culture, where everyone has an agenda, we have to be careful about being manipulated!]

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