tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94317412011-11-27T19:48:04.590-05:00Rantings about current economic and political topics near and far.Manticorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12454654546778380209noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-71275046144985611952010-12-04T16:51:00.010-05:002010-12-04T17:24:21.946-05:00

I just saw a news article on MSNBC relating to the Senate vote which failed to pass legislation which would have extended tax cuts for 'all but the highest' income levels. Accompanying the story was a picture of Democrats standing next to a big poster with the headling 'GOP Plan'. The poster was supposed to show how unfair the Republicans are being to the middle class and said the following:

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-18556555123360995382010-10-20T08:11:00.012-04:002010-10-20T08:47:47.145-04:00

I've always found President Obama to be arrogant and condescending. Watch any speech he gives and he is always pointing and lecturing as if he knows all. My opinion of his attitude was reinforced when I read this quote of his given at a recent fundraiser: "And so part of the reason that our [Democrat] politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument does not seem to be

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-1462629443262938322010-10-12T12:34:00.009-04:002010-10-12T13:02:28.417-04:00

We're coming into the final stretch on the mid-term elections and it seems that not a day goes by that I don't receive some mailing from the Democratic party denouncing the other candidate for the crime of supporting 'outsourcing' or having had worked for a company which 'ships jobs overseas'. You can see the same narrative coming out of our so-called leaders in Washington as well. Outsourcing

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-16934170470473155592010-10-07T18:48:00.009-04:002010-10-07T19:30:46.113-04:00

In an excellent article in the Sacramento Bee, Robert Higgs discusses some interesting facts about spending in the economy. We are told by politicians that we need to stimulate consumer spending so the economy can get back on track. Yet, according to data presented by Higgs, consumer spending during the downturn actually increased and is currently at 71% of GDP. However, investment spending

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-58946544279740818742009-02-14T09:21:00.007-05:002009-02-14T09:39:01.841-05:00

Regardless of whether or not you believe that an economy can be 'stimulated' by government spending, it would seem that if you are trying to get out of a recession, you would spend the stimulus money now, not later. However, according to the Congressional Budget Office, of the $787 billion appropriated in the final bill, $236 billion won't be spent until 2011. That's 41% of this monster. If

Manticorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12454654546778380209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-40772192400287709222009-01-17T12:30:00.005-05:002009-01-17T12:39:42.831-05:00

On the front page of The Ann Arbor News today there was a little box with a letter to incoming President Obama. In part the letter said: [...]I think you deserve to be the president because you are going to do smart and good stuff, like give poor people homes and a life. Granted this letter was from an 8 year old, but this thinking of the President as some sort of Superman is pretty pervasive,

Manticorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12454654546778380209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-47833337711903658382008-10-31T07:39:00.005-04:002008-10-31T08:02:12.297-04:00

It's really disappointing that the McCain campaign isn't doing a better job exposing Obama's economic plans for the sham that they are. They should be pointing out wherever they can that raising taxes, particularly during an economic slowdown, is a recipe for failure. Spending money you don't have compounds the problem. I call this 'wishonomics' because you have to wish that economic realities

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-29569314937723757842008-10-21T07:45:00.006-04:002008-10-21T07:57:36.194-04:00

When the subject of taxation is brought up, particularly in who shoulders the most burden, defenders of Obama's tax plan like to claim that it is the lower and middle classes who have the tax burden, and those in the top 5% who aren't paying their 'fair' share. This flies in the face of the facts which clearly show that those making over $250,000 pay a far greater share in federal income taxes

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-44039557187901025742008-08-12T08:30:00.004-04:002008-08-12T08:58:15.945-04:00

Tax. Spend. Dictate. These three words completely summarize the economic policies of Barrack Obama. On taxation, Obama believes that the 'rich' pay too little in taxes so his plan is to raise taxes on those earning more than $250,000. Why $250,000? I assume because he feels that the number of people earning more than that are in sufficiently small numbers that they won't affect his polling

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-84667678238694156352008-06-23T19:16:00.006-04:002008-08-12T08:58:58.619-04:00

There has been an ongoing debate in our local newspaper on the topic of buying foreign cars vs. buying American cars. In addition, we've had letters stating that we shouldn't buy anything from a foreign country. The idea is that buying American will save American jobs. The reality is that this action would actually cost American jobs. When people buy foreign products, it's entirely possible

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-61443102071748132842008-05-05T07:49:00.005-04:002008-05-05T08:05:01.964-04:00

I was reading this weekend that Hillary Clinton has chosen not to listen to economists regarding her gas tax holiday. Big surprise there since it's obvious from her other economic positions that she chooses to ignore sound economics on a regular basis. She has an amazing ego which convinces her that whatever she wants she will get, regardless of reality. More likely, she feels that if she

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-92115065793359247202008-03-27T17:57:00.008-04:002008-03-27T18:08:51.816-04:00

In another example showing how much contempt Hillary Clinton has for freedom and the U.S. Constitution, we have this gem of a quote (courtesy of the New York Times) We need a president who is ready on Day 1 to be commander in chief of our economy. First, I would like to know where the Constitution grants such a power to the President. Commander in Chief of the armed forces, yes, economic ruler

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-51747326846784616612008-02-11T18:58:00.000-05:002008-02-11T19:15:50.990-05:00

A new study by Michigan Future Inc. finds that, no surprise, Michigan is a lagging in the creation of high-wage jobs requiring as least a bachelor's degree. The study says that states with an abundance of information, finance, insurance, professional and technical services and other similar occupations have the highest per capita income. Not surprising, Michigan is lacking in these areas. When

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-59977289813453708822008-01-09T19:52:00.000-05:002008-01-09T20:14:59.654-05:00

In an earlier post I made reference to a comment made by Hillary about all the expensive ideas she had to make this country great. Well, she's at it again. In a recent post on the Cato@Liberty blog, David Boaz writes about a Clinton ad which ran before Christmas in which our heroine is shown wrapping gifts and putting lovely tags on each one with titles such as 'Universal Health Care', or '

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-83137365167637626502008-01-09T19:29:00.001-05:002008-01-09T19:52:14.812-05:00

There is a petition drive going on in Michigan to place a ballot proposal on the November ballot which would force the state government to come up with a plan for universal health care in Michigan. If passed, the bill would amend the state constitution to require that the government "make sure that every Michigan resident has affordable and comprehensive health care coverage through a fair and

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-49348460337283080072007-11-09T07:27:00.000-05:002007-11-09T07:42:33.988-05:00

Recently there has been several letters to The Wall Street Journal concerning the notion of a 'Living Constitution'. The idea is that times change and the founders didn't expect us to be tied down to concepts from the past. The 9th amendment was mentioned as explicit proof that the founders intended the Constitution to be a living document. On one level I agree with the argument. Certainly

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-20535562441528800772007-10-19T13:58:00.000-04:002007-10-19T14:00:39.505-04:00

Great column by Arnold Kling on the type of economics taught at George Mason University. If I were looking for a place to get an economics education today, I would attend George Mason.

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-60050223888046602962007-10-11T17:45:00.000-04:002007-10-11T18:39:42.360-04:00

Government is Good is a web project by Douglas J. Amy, a Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College. The site describes itself as providing "An Unapologetic Defense of a Vital Institution". However it's more unthinking than unapologetic. A perfect example is provided by the author's writing on "A Day in Your Life". The article starts with the claim that "Though we usually fail to notice

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-53363560854342550442007-10-11T16:03:00.000-04:002007-10-11T16:13:51.813-04:00

I just read about a new tax reform proposal offered up by a couple of House Republicans that sounds interesting. It's called the "Simplified Tax" system and it comes close to being a flat tax. It has two rates, 10 and 25 percent, with a large standard deduction of $25,000 for married filers and $12,500 for singles. It supposedly would eliminate all other deductions and credits. Dividend and

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-58033132081298884602007-10-10T17:07:00.001-04:002007-10-10T17:09:46.875-04:00

In response to Mitt Romney's comment that he would have to consult attorneys before going to war, presidential candidate Ron Paul quipped: Why don't we just open up the Constitution and read it?

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-15360712658504382802007-10-10T16:51:00.000-04:002007-10-10T17:01:28.664-04:00

I see that Hillary Clinton is once again attempting to buy votes. On Wednesday, Clinton proposed tax cuts up to $1,000 per year to encourage millions of working-age families to open 401(k) accounts. If she had stopped right there I wouldn't have much of a problem. I'm always in favor of ways for people to keep more of their own money and to give the government less. However, as always, there

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-53583841257315672962007-10-05T07:26:00.000-04:002007-10-05T09:56:03.014-04:00

In today's Detroit Free Press there is an article with the headline Tax Deal Blasted as mere quick fix - Closer look shows trouble on the way. No kidding. One of the things the article points out is the fact that most of the new revenue from this tax will come from taxing business services. Guess who is a heavy user of business services? Automakers. Now, one reason Michigan is in such trouble

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-27385739957050901642007-10-04T17:35:00.000-04:002007-10-05T09:58:23.238-04:00

It's a well established fact that when you tax something, you get less of it. It's one of the main reasons why people say we should raise gas taxes, or raise the cigarette tax. Raising the tax will supposedly reduce demand and help people stop smoking or driving too much. For some reason, however, people (politicians in particular) seem to forget or ignore this little fact of life. Granted,

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-6695333001747463772007-10-03T19:00:00.001-04:002007-10-05T09:56:47.256-04:00

Recently the State of Michigan Legislature passed a new budget which called not only for an increase in the state income tax, but also an expansion of the state's 6% sales tax to include services. All of this to fix a $1.75 billion dollar shortfall in the current budget. This $1.75 billion amounts to about 5% of the annual budget. There were some cuts and other changes which will supposedly

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-43611060181496459102007-10-03T17:47:00.000-04:002007-10-03T17:52:40.644-04:00

I just read the news that Ron Paul has collected $5,080,000 in campaign contributions in the third quarter of fundraising. He managed to raise $1,200,000 of that in just 11 days. Pretty impressive for a lesser known candidate.

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-84454749878577570392007-10-01T10:19:00.000-04:002007-10-01T10:22:38.657-04:00

I love this quote from this post at Coyote BlogA government that adjusts itself to the citizens is a Democracy. A government that demands citizens adjust themselves to the government is fascism. I think that sums things up nicely.

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-45282707269637659582007-09-30T17:26:00.000-04:002007-09-30T17:30:57.422-04:00

It's nice to see that Ron Paul is at least getting some press. There was a nice column in today's Detroit Free Press about his campaign. I've also seen articles or columns talking about his candidacy in The Wall Street Journal, CNN and other places. With the exception of his thoughts on immigration, I agree with almost everything he says. I know he won't win, but I think it's a good thing

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-15939426191099756142007-09-30T17:22:00.000-04:002007-09-30T17:25:36.949-04:00

I just read about a series of earthquakes in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean. Officials said the quake was in an isolated part of the Pacific Ocean where they seldom occur. It seems that climate change is being blamed for just about every natural catastrophe these days, so how long will it be before someone claims that climate change is responsible for this?

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-60919798446778403282007-09-27T17:45:00.000-04:002007-09-27T17:59:15.365-04:00

In today's Ann Arbor News there is a front page story about how the people of Ann Arbor were saved from unwrapped bread being sold at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. A vendor from Chelsea (a city near Ann Arbor) had brought some bread to sell at the market. A State of Michigan food inspector from the Department of Agriculture cited the vendor for keeping his bread in the open air. She ordered

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-16538340205899566212007-09-25T22:14:00.000-04:002007-09-25T22:28:31.415-04:00

Sheldon Richman has a great Perspective piece in the current issue of The Freeman - Ideas on Liberty, the monthly publication of The Foundation for Economic Education. In it, Richman has some great quotes from Sudha Shenoy, an economist at the University of Newcastle, Australia. The piece is about how economic nationalism is senseless. For example he quotes Shenoy as saying:When you read a

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-38366230206789890312007-09-24T07:37:00.000-04:002007-09-24T08:00:29.565-04:00

In today's Wall Street Journal there is a letter from a gentleman who was responding to a column by Karl Rove concerning market based health care. The writer's complaint was that purchasing health care isn't the same as purchasing something like a car. Patients, he states, are 'incapable' of making reasoned decisions when purchasing health care, they just want to be cured. To some extent he is

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-81914616663558984522007-09-22T09:13:00.000-04:002007-09-22T12:45:11.681-04:00

In speaking with the Associated Press about her health care proposals, Hillary Clinton said: I wish it were possible to just wave a magic wand and say from the White House, 'Here's what I want.' But that's not the way it works. To me, this quote speaks volumes. Hillary (like most other politicians) believe that they know what's best for "the country". They believe that if they pull the right

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-41475456892227959872007-09-20T15:50:00.000-04:002007-09-20T15:56:59.265-04:00

This morning I read in the Wall Street Journal that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed sweeping labor reforms and social security system. Needless to say I wasn't surprised to see that French labor unions are planning strikes to protest these changes.

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-11850952963366359542007-09-19T19:14:00.001-04:002007-09-19T22:04:52.702-04:00

Much has been written about the 'social responsibility' of corporations and how they should 'give back' to the community. The company I work for is working on just such a plan. I don't have a problem with a company offering to do things which aid the 'community' but I do have a problem with the phrase 'Giving back to the community'. The phrase makes it sound as if companies improperly 'take'

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-12403667914314543492007-09-04T12:42:00.000-04:002007-09-19T22:05:18.545-04:00

At least John Edwards has the honesty to let people know that the government will own your body once single payer health insurance is inacted.  At a campaign stop in Iowa, Edwards said'It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care [...] If you are going to be in the system, you can't choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-13513551798452625122007-08-24T08:31:00.000-04:002007-09-19T22:07:09.702-04:00

I'm continually amazed at the number of people who are clamoring for a 'single payer' health system in the United States.   I'm shocked that people would voluntarily want to give up control over their bodies to a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats.   Why on Earth would you want to cede control over your body to a single, monolithic insurance entity which only responds to lobbying and vote

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-1115825728833382752007-05-11T10:42:00.000-04:002007-09-19T22:07:44.113-04:00

One of the ongoing arguments over Social Security is the notion that the 'wealthy' should pay more taxes to help make sure that the system has adequate funding. The most common suggestion is that the income limit subject to FICA taxes should be raised or eliminated. Doing so would naturally bring in more revenue and would help maintain solvency. Of course, this suggestion is generally made by

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-1115475588661104392007-05-07T10:01:00.000-04:002007-09-19T22:08:21.847-04:00

Recently, Dr. David Graham of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research spoke at a roundtable on drug safety at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Dr. Graham stated that the FDA remains a "culture of denial" more focused on whether drugs are effective than whether those drugs are safe for patients.This is all well and good, however, what constitutes a 'safe' drug?

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-1115166611612462102007-05-03T20:24:00.000-04:002007-09-19T22:08:43.863-04:00

Recently The Ann Arbor News ran an editorial in in favor of raising the income limit on which Social Security wages are taxed as a way to help the financial stability of Social Security. The editorial didn't indicate whether or not they also supported raising the benefit level paid to higher income workers, but I would have to ask if not, why not?The current Social Security benefit structure is

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-1115174009412729052007-05-02T22:14:00.000-04:002007-09-19T22:09:14.396-04:00

Discussion of adding 'private' accounts to Social Security invariably result in people complaining about how any privatization, no matter how small, will spell doom for Social Security. There is a fear that benefits will be cut, benefits that people 'earned' by paying into the system.I'm sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but the money you pay in FICA is a tax plain and simple. Once you pay it, it

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9431741.post-1102015493109536572004-12-02T14:24:00.000-05:002004-12-02T15:50:53.196-05:00

Economics/Politics Creationism Lives! - D. Boudreaux, Cafe Hayek

J Howehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10473420679502543413noreply@blogger.com