There Seems To Be A Racial Double Standard That Comes From The Left

In a world where Hank Williams Jr. is panned for making an analogy, the equally inflammatory commentary by those on the left, should be treated with the same prejudice.  That is, if public figures make asinine statements, they should be denounced at minimum.  My main issue is of course with Bryant Gumbel.  I get the radio announcer.  However, said radio announcer needs to get his priorities straight.

Ayn Rand: Breaking down the Two Ideologies of Capitalism & Socialism

This video is a little dry, so only watch if you are a hardcore conservative.  Ideas are welcome.  Otherwise the next post down is a fascinating infographic on corporate taxes.

Corporations Do Not Pay Their Fair Share: An In-Depth Exploration of The Idea

Corporations pay a ton of taxes though they probably should not. Since they are over taxed, these taxes are just passed to the consumer in higher costs. Think about this. A person who works for themselves files a Schedule C tax form and they are taxed on their earning as a company and as a person. It is one form, one tax, one person/entity.

Now think about a corporation. They are taxed on wages, and income(revenue - expenses) they bring in, THEN if they disburse to the shareholders(the would be Schedule C owner) a portion of those profits in dividends are again taxed.

This is for all practical purpose triple taxing of corporations. Talking about not paying their fair share? If you want to be intellectually honest with yourself and others, you have to admit that Democrats lie to people like you. There should be massive tax reform on corporations with the threat of reinstating the current tax standard with a slight increase if companies do not pass a majority of those tax cuts to the consumers and to a lesser extent employees. This would lower the costs of US goods at home and across the world, increase sales dramatically, create jobs, increase the wealth of emplyees, etc. This is what needs to be done and it needs to be done now.

I want to veer of subject for a second here.  The point of investing is to make a return via these dividends that exceed the rate of interest you could achieve via other financial instruments.  Since dividends are basically worthless, the morkets have degenerated to a game of speculation almost exclusively.  This is not the way the markets should operate and obviously increase risk to investors.  Many of the GOP field have put forth capital gains reuction plans that will help in some regard.  Gingrich has a 0% capital gains tax across the board and Romney has a 0% capital gains tax for households making under $200,000.  I think both plans have their merits. 

However, the main point of this blog is to state the importnats of corporate tax reform, of which the USA has the 2nd highest rate of 35%.  Gingrich want a 12.5% rate to encourge new money to come into this country to take advantage of what would be a corparate tax rate that is tied for the lowest in the world with Ireland. 

Oh, and by the way, the reason, some companies do not pay taxes in certain years, is because they did not make a profit or they are carrying a tax credit from years past where-in they lost a great deal of money.  Here is a generic example:

GE makes 10 billion in profits in 2008 and are taxed $2 billion.  In 2009 they have a $10 billion loss.  While they do not get money from the government, they an carry that loss forward to protect future profits from being taxed. 

You have to understand if teh government only takes and does not compensate their for losses, then over time the likelyhood of all companies going bankrupt approach 100%.  That entails in loss of jobs, which result in the loss of wealth of Americans. 

The time to stop the corporate bashing is now.

Hilarious Cain Advertisement: His Campaign Manager Smokes Something!

Is this simple pandering to the smoker vote? What exactly is going on here and why does Hermain Cain give us the bed room eyes at the end of the video?
Is this the worse persidential add of all time or the best?  It certainly has people talking.

Fundamentals: What is a conservative? What is a democrat?

Conservatives wish to conservative the constitution, liberals wish to ignore it and grow the size of government as much as possible.  Their goal, control of the people.

If you wish for freedom, you are a conservative, if you require servitude, you are a liberal.

Fascinating Video: The Department of Education a Socialist Indoctrination Tool

In addition:  Newt Gingrich's leftward lean.  Is he a true conservative?

3 Common Myths of Capitalism

Reagan talking about Horse Manure

Are The Demands of Occupy Wall Street The Demands of the Tea Party?

I say yes.

Below is the list of the Occupy Wall Street movement demands.  It appears that conservatives have latched onto the idea that these hippie/commies are just dumb kids and burnouts, which they mostly are, but they raise issues that we should have already brought before congress.

 One and the same

As a conservative, I agree with all of these demands except four and seven.

Issue four is a terrible idea as it suggests taking the tax structure back to 1950-60 levels..  If we look back to when Reagan lowered the highest tier of the marginal tax code from 70%, he said, "It is time we let the bull loose", and just that happened.  America thrived under the premise.  It is unfortunate that Bush and now Obama have crippled our nation with a massive debt burden.  That being said, a slight tax increase on the profoundly wealthy is something that needs to be implemented along with a pro job creation policy so that revenues increase as quickly as possible.

What is a pro job policy?  Well, the first thing you do is to stop saying that the unemployed should be able to sue companies that do not higher people who have been unemployed for a long period of time.  Nothing will cause a company to put a freeze on hiring more so than the thought of infinite and meaningless litigation.

Issue 7 just doesn't seem particularly thought out, but let me know your thoughts.

LIST OF PROPOSED "DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS

1. CONGRESS PASS HR 1489 ("RETURN TO PRUDENT BANKING ACT"http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1489 ). THIS REINSTATES MANY PROVISIONS OF THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass–Steagall_Act --- Wiki entry summary: The repeal of provisions of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act in 1999 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking which issued securities and commercial banks which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. Most economists believe this repeal directly contributed to the severity of the Financial crisis of 2007–2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with their depositors' money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms. Here's detail on repeal in 1999 and how it happened:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass–Steagall_Act#Repeal .   
   
   
2. USE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES FULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS who clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the following notable cases: (insert list of the most clear cut criminal actions). There is a pretty broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who got away with millions / billions illegally and haven't been brought to justice. Boy would this be long overdue and cathartic for millions of Americans. It would also be a shot across the bow for the financial industry. If you watch the solidly researched and awared winning documentary film "Inside Job" that was narrated by Matt Damon (pretty brave Matt!) and do other research, it wouldn't take long to develop the list.  
   
   
3. CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY BY REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION which essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections. The result is that corporations can pretty much buy elections. Corporations should be highly limited in ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media. This legislation should also RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES IN THE U.S. SO THAT POLITICAL CANDIDATES ARE GIVEN EQUAL TIME FOR FREE AT REASONABLE INTERVALS IN DAILY PROGRAMMING DURING CAMPAIGN SEASON. The same should extend to other media.
   
   
4. CONGRESS PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION SO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE & CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOP HOLES AND ENACT A PROHIBITION ON HIDING FUNDS OFF SHORE. No more GE paying zero or negative taxes. Pass the Buffet Rule on fair taxation so the rich pay their fair share. (If we have a really had a good negotiating position and have the place surrounded, we could actually dial up taxes on millionaires, billionaires and corporations even higher...back to what they once were in the 50's and 60's.
   
   
5. CONGRESS COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION and staff it at all levels with proven professionals who get the job done protecting the integrity of the marketplace so citizens and investors are both protected. This agency needs a large staff and needs to be well-funded. It's currently has a joke of a budget and is run by Wall St. insiders who often leave for high ticket cushy jobs with the corporations they were just regulating. Hmmm.  
   
   
6. CONGRESS PASS SPECIFIC AND EFFECTIVE LAWS LIMITING THE INFLUENCE OF LOBBYISTS AND ELIMINATING THE PRACTICE OF LOBBYISTS WRITING LEGISLATION THAT ENDS UP ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS.  
   
   
7. CONGRESS PASSING "Revolving Door Legislation" LEGISLATION ELIMINATING THE ABILITY OF FORMER GOVERNMENT REGULATORS GOING TO WORK FOR CORPORATIONS THAT THEY ONCE REGULATED. So, you don't get to work at the FDA for five years playing softball with Pfizer and then go to work for Pfizer making $195,000 a year. While they're at it, Congress should pass specific and effective laws to enforce strict judicial standards of conduct in matters concerning conflicts of interest. So long as judges are culled from the ranks of corporate attorneys the 1% will retain control.  
   
   
8. ELIMINATE "PERSONHOOD" LEGAL STATUS FOR CORPORATIONS. The film "The Corporation" has a great section on how corporations won "personhood status".http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SuUzmqBewg
   
   
   
   
   Let us discuss...

Conservative Video Round-up

I have decided to start a new weekly blog that will be called the Conservative Video Round-up, in which I will link to some great videos to learn from and share with your liberal friends.

The Foundation of the American Government:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d4f_1318296267


The Liberal Generation:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=76b_1315951004


Newt Gingrich:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QkogUO-XSk


Some Dude Keeping It Real:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c96_1315943217


Comments please.

Thoughts on Where America Stands

 Have you haven't noticed the country is nearly insolvent and would likely be so if if not the trillions of additional debt to be added to the American balance sheet.

Republicans are not against SS, medicare, or medicaid.  They are against the mismanagement of such systems.  The nation has an enormous economy, but if you take out the $700 billion in military spending, the economy is not so robust.  Then take out all levels of government, 16.7% of all employed, which adds no real product or service to GDP numbers, you have to concede, something is wrong.

Think about this.  The democratic party wants to continue to grow government to regulate ever aspect that they can.  This is their policy, big government.  It is easy to verify, go to www.wikipedia.com or any other course.  If you take the 16.7% of people employed by government and their spouses, that is 33.4% of the electorate.  You do realize, that once that government has the majority of votes, that they have absolute power over people.  It is scary and it is the goal of democrats.  You think it is not, you are fooling yourself.  They want power to implement policies that future entrench their power.  

Republicans believe that this is inherently a terrible, terrible idea.  They do not want to dismantle SS, or Medicare, or Medicaid, as liberals would have you believe, but rather reform them to a system that works.  Of course taxes have to be raises, but programs have to be cut.  You can guarantee that it is not going to be public libraries, unless redundant.  Pools, if they accept federal money, should be closed. That is certainly a local government responsibility.

Charity is certainly a worthy virtue, but to take from people through taxation to give to someone else, seems a bit heinous, wouldn't you agree?  The great thing bout this nation, is our economic mobility.  most people are poor and work through life to better themselves, and by doing so pay more taxes which enriches the entire country.  Just because some people make a dumb amount of money, does mean that you should have a right to take it from them.  Where is the motivation to make more money.  Why not live in government housing and take what the government hands out?  It is nuts.

Have you seen modern public housing?  Do you think that people should be rewarded to the extent that they are, without making the sacrifices to better themselves? 

Salishan Housing Project in Tacoma Washington, Paid for partially with Federal funds. Why work? 

 
We pay $430 billion in interest on our debt every year and that is going to increase by 14.3% over the next two years.  That is at an average interest rate in the mid 3% range.  I would look up the exact number, but my computer is pretty much frozen at the moment for some reason. 

I am sure you remember when interest rates were above 12%.  If they rise even 3% from current levels, we are in a bad way.  You are talking about SS, Medicare, Medicaid, Military spending, and debt servicing taking more money than tax revenue can take and still have a functioning economy.

The austerity measure that Europe is taking at the moment is exactly what will happen here.   Taxes will crush business, which provides people the lifestyle they have today, spending on these programs, will be cut drastically, and we will not be in a good position.  We need to put aside the slander from the left and work to fix the issues today, so that in 10 years, we are not completely suck.  That includes raising taxes on most everyone.  The bush tax cuts are 85% for the middle class by the way.  It is easy to talk about the few million dollars that are are taken by businesses for jets, but you will not here of the really revenue generator which will be the largest tax increase on the middle class in decades.  This is necessary and will happen, despite the republicans trying to avoid it.

Revenues will increase at the expense of all citizens.  It just has to happen.  The status-quo can not continue and to be honest a surtax on those making $1 million a year is perfectly reasonable.  There are about 350,000 households that bring in that kind of money.  If we are honest with ourselves, it is ridiculous.  That does not me that we should absolutely ravage their income, but 6% is okay, right?

Who is to Blame for the Sub-Prime Financial Crisis?

As Newt Gingrich stated at the GOP debate in Hanover last week, if one is looking for where the blame is to rest for financial crisis, you have to look at Chris Dodd and Barney Frank.  However, the problem is much deeper.  Let us trace the financial crisis to its roots.

Here is a timeline of events that ultimately caused the financial turmoil of the later part of the last decade:

1977:  Community Reinvestment Act - Signed into law by the white devil, Jimmy Carter.  No empirical evidence that the governmental demand of making loans to low income individuals had a major effect on the financial crisis.  The culprit of course was the sub-prime lending boom that was encouraged by Clinton and Bush, most likely to prop economic numbers.

  

1999: The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act was brought before the house and senate by the three republicans that the bill's name carries.  Signed into law by President Clinton.  This bill reversed the Glass-Steagal act of 1933 that separated investment banking and retail banking.  This is how retail banks were able to invest in higher risk securities over the past decade and find themselves holding trillions of dollars in toxic assets.

2002:  Rep. Ron Paul is warning of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s possible ruin of the financial industry in front of the House of representatives .

Thanks to Squeakywheel for pointing out that Bush Signed into law the American Dream Downpayment Act in Dec. 16th 2003.  This helped low income borrowers with down payments and closing costs, but I was unable to find anything tying this to the lax borrowing guidelines.  Squeakywheel says that this lead to Stated Income mortgages, but I could not find the data to support.  If anyone has insight, please comment.

2004:  Republicans push for more regulation of Fannie and Freddie. Barney frank, who later became the head of the subcommittee and bold-faced lied numerous times that, “he inherited the problem when he took the position in 2007”.  What a turd.  Listen to the fool below stump for not increasing regulation of the industry; even in light of a compelling report for such things.  You will also notice other members of the committee playing race politics.

Here is the subcommittee hearing on the matter.  It is one of the best portrayal of the democrat/republican dynamic(emotional driven nonsense vs. prudence, based upon evidence) I have ever seen.  The democrats got us good, though liberal media has pulled the wool over the eyes of most. Watch.  It is hugely interesting.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5ca_1309803937

2005:  Emboldened by the lack of action $1.469 Trillion subprime mortgage are originated between 2005 and 2006.

 2007:  The financial collapse begins takes hold.

2009:  Obama takes office.

2012:  Obama leaves office accomplishing nothing more than inhibiting the public sector from creating long term employment opportunities for those Americans desperate for employment.  He did this in a number of ways, which will be discussed at length in a blog to follow.

The future:  The ramifications of the financial crisis are still not fully known. However, this blog is all about the blame game.  The score Rep. 25% the Democrats 75%

What Liberals Believe: A Policy of Subversion by Misdirection

Please note the tagline, "Thousands of quotes on why America needs to be rescued from greedy corporations, homophobes, racists, imperialists, xenophobes, and religious extremists". You have got to be kidding me.

While this book has this on the front cover to sell what is otherwise an unreadable 600 pages of nothing but quotes, it exemplifies exactly how the left tries to move the would be debate from topics of importance to how the right is evil. If you have not noticed this trend, just be aware, it is basically impossible to miss. I want to offer a few examples before moving forward with the post.

Republican's want women to die on the floor: This is a supposed leader

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqvWnaAZGfw

Republican's are racists: Who exactly is racist in the video? The sad part is the failure of the subcommittee to act on the finding of the regulators increased the damage of the financial crisis by 2 fold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

Now what is more troubling, is that Barney Frank, who is in the video stumping for Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac and had a lover at Freddie during the period, is now the head of said subcommittee. It is certainly easy for one to surmise why Chris Dodd & Barney Frank sponsored he housing recovery act. I would assume it is a thinly veil their wrong doings and/or incompetence.

When Newt Gingrich declared that they should be investigated if people were looking for someone to jail during the GOP debates in Hanover New Hampshire on October 11th, Frank came back with the assertion that Gingrich was just embarrassed that he was polling behind Michelle Bachmann.

It is pretty clear to see a pattern which should be troubling to most Americans.

In an attempt to keep these posts to a manageable level, I am going to try to break them into easy to digest and discuss topics. Please comment on your thoughts and please suggest topics for discuss going forward.

Good luck!