Disrupt the Narrative

First off, it brings me to tears to think of the parents who have lost their precious little babies to a monster today. I think of the unspeakable grief that they are going through and can’t imagine such a thing. That they have likely bought these little kids their favorite Christmas gifts which are already wrapped and under the Christmas tree…

And then I think that the greatest crime in all of this is our collective social decay that results in the breeding of these monsters. How can such monsters live among us? Where does this social decay come from?

Why have some amongst us worked so feverishly over the last half century to remove this document from schools, courthouses and other public places?

Sometimes you just have to wonder.  Is there hope?

Michigan is now a right-to-work state, meaning labor unions can no longer coerce people into paying dues as a condition of taking a job.  A Republican controlled state legislature quickly passed and a Republican governor signed legislation freeing employees from mandatory union dues payments.

Naturally the unions are up in arms.  They just had their lifeblood of coerced dues payments cut off and there have already been statements (and actual acts) threatening violence.  Nice guys, huh? Without the money the unions will not be able to control as many politicians, further weakening union power.

With Michigan generally and Detroit specifically being economic basket cases this change is long overdue.  It will be positive for businesses to know they will not be run into the ground by union demands and union controlled politicians.  The Michigan Republicans probably realize something obvious, that there is actually a viable auto industry in this country but that it is no longer in Michigan and instead has relocated to the southeast.  Hazard a guess why?  Amazingly the manufacturers in the southeast did not go bankrupt in the downturn, did not need taxpayer bailouts that will never be repaid and the employees still have jobs.

Of course the President is whining about how this hurts the middle class, but he never asks the more pertinent question, “How does union control of the labor force that ends up destroying businesses and jobs help the middle class?” Of course it doesn’t, but what the President is really saying is that this hurts the union/liberal/Democratic Party fund raising and money laundering machine.  Bummer, Mr. President, but stop hiding behind your faux concern for the middle class while promoting a corrupt system to benefit your supporters. Let’s score this one for liberty.

All of this brings up a bigger point. We still have the remnants of a federal system of government and it is a base from which conservative and free market ideas can still be promoted. Michigan is just the latest example, but Wisconsin and Ohio also took on unions and numerous states are refusing to be sucked into the expansion of Medicaid and have refused to create state run health exchanges.  And now it comes to light that numerous Democratic senators who voted for Obamacare and the tax on medical devices have realized that it will hurt jobs in their states.  We already knew that, but if they realize it now, better late than never.

These are just little blades of grass growing through the cracks in the asphalt, but in the long run they will be more significant than the “green shoots” of Obama’s yet to appear economic recovery.

Kudos to the Michigan legislature and governor for taking one step in helping to prevent the United States from becoming Detroit Nation.

By the way, the Democrats are welcome to Charlie Crist. Good riddance.

As we approach the fiscal cliff at the same time of year as the generic, watered-down, non-offensive winter celebration many people formerly knew as Christmas, it is only fitting to update a classic song to fit the sad times we live in.

The Twelve Days of Cliffmas

On the first day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
a debt we can never repay.

On the second day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the third day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the fourth day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
an a debt we can never repay.

On the fifth day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the sixth day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Six Volts a-sputtering,
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three  defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the seventh day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Seven solar panels,
Six Volts a-sputtering,
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the eighth day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Eight cronies a-bilking,
Seven solar panels,
Six Volts a-sputtering,
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the ninth day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Nine union bailouts,
Eight cronies a-bilking,
Seven solar panels,
Six Volts a-sputtering,
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the tenth day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Ten banks a-borrowing,
Nine union bailouts,
Eight cronies a-bilking,
Seven solar panels,
Six Volts a-sputtering,
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the eleventh day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Eleven Fed easings,
Ten banks a-borrowing,
Nine union bailouts,
Eight cronies a-bilking,
Seven solar panels,
Six Volts a-sputtering,
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

On the twelfth day of Cliffmas
Obama sent to me
Twelve worthless Treasuries,
Eleven Fed easings,
Ten banks a-borrowing,
Nine union bailouts,
Eight cronies a-bilking,
Seven solar panels,
Six Volts a-sputtering,
Five health exchanges,
Four IRS agents,
Three defense cuts,
Two tax increases,
and a debt we can never repay.

Happy Holidays!

I received an email yesterday from the never ceasing Obama campaign, an organization that appears ready to work for Obama’s third term, but they asked me to participate in a survey.

I figured….what the hell. What are these cheatin’, connivin’ bastards up to now.

Standard stuff at the outset. Name. Age.

But then came Gender.

Other? I know that a segment of Obama’s base are, shall we say, sexually diverse. And I know that he caters to the Transgender crowd. But once one commits to a gender, either the natural one that one is born with or the one that the individual aspires to, there’s been pretty much a decision made. Hasn’t there?

Does an “Other” who needs to piss when out of the home stand indecisively between the mens’ and ladies’ room signs unable to make a decision?

This survey also struck me as strange as the next question, as captured in the above photo asked which ‘Constituency Group/s’ I am a member of.

Scanning the list…………………………………..

I’m not on his list. I am not a part of any of his preferred grievance monger groups. Here they are. Are you?

* African American? Nope.
* Americans Abroad? Nope.
* Arab American? Nope.
* Asian American or Pacific Islander? Nope.
* Educator? Nope
* Environmentalist? Nope.
* Healthcare professional? Nope.
* Jewish American? Nope.
* Labor? Not in the ‘Labor Union’ sense, but I do labor. A lot. More so than those that Obama identifies as ‘Labor’, I’m sure.
* Latino? What’s the word for ‘No’ in Spanish? That’s right. No.
* LGBT? Nope. Too lazy for all of that self loathing and acrobatic sex.
* Native American? Well. I’m American and I am Native to the country. But I don’t think that’s what they mean. We used to call them Injuns, I think, and I ain’t one.
* People of Faith? I guess so, but that’s kind of broad, isn’t it? Is that different than the Muslims Arab Americans and Jews you mentioned earlier? Are they not also people of faith, or are you just afraid to use the word CHRISTIAN? I do have faith in one thing. I am absolutely sure to my core that the end of your second term will be even more miserable than the end of your first term, which is pretty fucking miserable.
* People with disabilites? Nope. Other than my Obama-Tourrettes Syndrome that occurs whenever you appear on my television.
* Rural Americans? I do live in a country setting, but I do not earn my living off the land, don’t own chickens, goats, cows, horses and my dog just died. I have never walked behind a plow but have used a rototiller and own a mini-tractor. Does that make me a ‘rural American’? Does Obama address country folk with, “Hey! You didn’t plow that! rural American.”?
* Seniors? Not yet, but I’m working on it.
* Small Business Owner? Nope.
* Student? Nope.
* Veterans/Military Families? Nope. God bless them all, though.
* Women? Nope. But I’m married to one. And her name is not Julia.
* Young Professional? Nope. Probably I’m better described as a former young professional.
* Youth? Again. I’m a former youth.

That’s the whole list. I’m not on it. You may or may not be on it.

If you’re not a professional grievance monger you’re just not on the list.

How weird are these Obama people? They want to pigeon hole every one of us. Here’s my description of the ‘Constituency Group’ that I belong to:

* Hard working, tax paying, law abiding person who wishes to be left alone and doesn’t meddle in others affairs. I may privately question your lifestyle decisions, but will not condemn you for it publicly. However. If those choices end up causing you health and social issues later, please do not come to me for remediation.

Yeah. Of course I wouldn’t be on Obama’s dream list.

Lastly, why would the Obama campaign be doing such a survey, anyway? Are they scheming to get the 22nd amendment overturned so that the Pharoah can run for a third term?

These people are just plain weird.

Remember those fun college days when instead of studying  you went to that party you really should have skipped and then you had to hope that the all night store was open so you could buy a Cliff Notes version of the book you didn’t read?  Well, for those of you who have not been in the weeds on the “fiscal cliff” issue, here is the Cliff Notes version.

Obama wants to raise individual income taxes and further attack the creation of wealth.  Taxes are scheduled to rise dramatically on January 1 due to the expiration of the Bush era tax cuts. Obama is very forthcoming about his willingness to engage in class warfare (one of the few things he is actually upfront about) and his desire to tax the “rich”.  Don’t worry though, because the “rich” may include you.  The left is so “inclusive”!!

But there is a catch. Higher tax rates will not lead to more tax dollars flowing to the Treasury. Higher rates will, however, result in tax avoidance strategies, deferring of income and gains, decreasing investment, etc. until the tax climate improves. The only result of higher tax rates is a weaker economy which will lead to a larger, not a smaller deficit.  Only cutting spending will solve the deficit problem and avoid the fiscal cliff.

Just for grins I googled the words “New York City public salaries” and got a link to seethroughny.net  Pay dirt!  Working for New York City can be very lucrative, putting one comfortably into the “rich” category!  Working for the Department of Environmental Protection appears especially remunerative.  Check this out and you will see a chart of folks making pretty good moola.  Do you think they voted for Romney?  Do you think they think they are rich? But I digress.

Anyway, here is the real point. The federal deficit is projected to run about $1.2 trillion for the current fiscal year. Will raising taxes help reduce the deficit? No, because higher tax rates do not lead to more tax dollars flowing to the Treasury.  Actions (especially tax rate increases) have consequences and individuals and businesses react to protect themselves.

From the Tax Policy Center  I found tax data for 2008 (the most recent I could find) for high income earners, in this case, with incomes of $200,000 or more (not really “rich” in my book).  There were 3,841,459 returns filed with salaries and wages totaling $1,206,006,303,000, adjusted gross income of $2,462,007,963,000 and taxable income of $2,060,968,496,000. The tax received was $537,481,728,000.

Ok, now think about these numbers. If the annual federal deficit is $1.2 trillion and the taxable income of all returns with income over $200,000 is about $2.0 trillion, then it would require a total tax take of about $1.7 trillion (the $537 billion paid plus an additional $1.2 trillion) to balance the budget on the backs of these people.  However, that implies a tax rate of about 82.5% of taxable income ($1.7 trillion divided by taxable income of $2,060,968,496,000). Do you see where I am going here?

Tell me, do you really think that tax rates could skyrocket without dire consequences to the economy?  Of course not. Can you spell Greece or France? If taxes were increased to suck another $1.2 trillion out of the economy then the economy has to shrink by that amount.  In other words there is really a smaller economy to tax. It does not take long for the people being taxed to death to realize that they need to avoid onerous taxation.  Guess what they do? They find ways to defer taxable income, stop making investments because the net after tax return is too low and they lobby Congress for various tax breaks, etc. that benefit higher income people.  In the end the Treasury does not actually receive the dollars it thinks it will get but it does spend all the money it thinks it will get.   Hence the result that tax increases lead to larger not smaller deficits.

In a nutshell we need to cut spending or else.

http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=32908