Posted in Politics on Dec 10th, 2010
One of my pet peeves with Politifact is that they generally debunk trivial facts and completely ignore the significant issues. I view them as a Snopes competitor. Here is an example of them ignoring major issues. Congress is voting on the DREAM Act and Politifact says there are several versions in Congress. Did Politifact just [...]
Posted in Politics on Dec 9th, 2010
In the article, Do Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Create Jobs? – Megan McArdle – Business – The Atlantic, Megan makes some good points about the economic impact of extending the tax cuts. We’ve got a massive fiscal problem ahead of us, and extending all these tax cuts until 2012 will simply mean that both [...]
Michelle Malkin in the article, Small-Biz Killers – Michelle Malkin – National Review Online, says: State unemployment benefits last up to 26 weeks. Bipartisan-supported Washington mandates have raised that to 99 weeks. The current proposal would raise the total to 155 weeks In this article, Calculated Risk: Tax Negotiations: No help for 99ers, the author [...]
This would have been a great time for Democrats and Republicans to come together and forge a "budget neutral" compromise of spending cuts to offset lower tax revenues. For two years we have been living under “emergency” exemptions from the PAYGO law. I think the voters showed they are equally concerned about the jobs and [...]
Posted in Politics on Dec 1st, 2010
For the average person it is hard to figure out the ruckus over government deficits. Everyone seems to be an expert who has their favorite facts that support their conclusion. The biggest problem I have with experts is that there are so many of them and they all come up with different conclusions. Recently I [...]
Posted in Politics on Nov 14th, 2010
Although I am modestly hopeful that Congress will embrace spending cuts through a civil debate, I suspect that it is more likely the process will look a lot like the “California budget debate”. The saving grace for the American people is if the California situation gets uglier, Congress may be more willing to embrace a [...]
Recently I went to Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget site, Budget Simulator | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and ran the budget simulator. The objective is stabilize the U.S. Debt at 60% of GDP by 2018. I think I came up with budget cuts and tax increases that amounted to 58% of the [...]
Posted in Politics, Things that make me go hmm... on Nov 3rd, 2010
The theme from our main stream media pundits is that the voters do not have the stomach to cut spending on key entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Yet the voters seem to have no problem voting against levies for school programs. By voting against these levies levies the school districts will [...]
Posted in Politics on Oct 29th, 2010
I was wondering what polices would Archie Wilson like to see implemented to control cronyism. Here are some of my ideas:
1. Public notice of pending TIFs
2. Public comment on pending TIFs
3. Background material on pending TIFs displayed on county web site.
Posted in Politics on Aug 5th, 2010
Although I respect Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s past accomplishments, this attempt by them to get billionaires to pledge $125 billion to charity is not the best use of our billionaires talents. Although there are many worthwhile charities, the greater good for this country would be served by creating sustainable, long-term jobs. It is these [...]
On this day, the Virginia Tech community reflects on the vibrant lives of the 32 students and faculty who were tragically taken from us a year ago. Through light, art, and music we pay tribute to each and every person we lost. We gather to honor our friends, colleagues, and family members. We will never forget.