If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.
Albert Einstein
Small Business Bill? In its Current Form: Thumbs DOWN!
One of the President's most irritating uncivil habits is the way he constantly manufactures straw men and tries to make his political opponents look like idiots. The small business bill kerfuffle is a classic example:
I’d also like to point out this legislation is fully paid for and will not add one single dime to our deficit...There are times when good people disagree in good faith. But this is not one of those times. This small business jobs bill is based on ideas both Democrat and Republican....A majority of senators are in favor of the bill and yet the obstruction continues. It’s obstruction that stands in the way of small business owners getting the loans and the tax cuts that they need to prosper. It’s obstruction that defies common sense.First of all, there's the hubris of running $1.3T deficits and claiming that a bill is fully paid for. Moreover, the cost estimates are suspect because Congress is likely to make certain tax breaks retroactive (not included). In fact, that would be dubious--rewarding businesses with tax breaks after the businesses made decisions. This is essentially pushing on a string.
Second, the Republicans don't need lectures on small business; it's one of their key constituencies. The issue, which, of course, the President refuses to publicly acknowledge, is that the Democrats are pushing a largely partisan bill with only a small number of GOP amendments being considered. There are some bizarre conspiracy theories out there--that the GOP is deliberately trying to keep the Democrats from achieving a success before the election. Yeah, right... Where were the Democrats on small business last year when they had 60 votes? This couldn't possibly be an act of political desperation less than 3 months before the mid-term elections with slumping economic and job growth, could it? Just as Barack Obama promised over a year ago that the $787B stimulus bill would keep unemployment capped at 8%, he isn't similarly hyping what lending gimmicks and tax breaks might do? I mean, if the $787B stimulus bill hasn't gotten the economy juiced up, just what kind of bang for your buck to you expect from a small business bill at a tiny fraction of the cost?
Third, the issue isn't whether Republicans support parts of the bill--particularly tax breaks and regulatory relief. There's one big white elephant in the bill--a huge investment in community banks with special financing perks for writing loans to small businesses. To most of us conservatives, this sounds a lot like the illegitimate son of TARP. We don't need any stinking Baby TARP. Banks are not charities. They make profits by writing sound loans. There could be a variety of reasons for businesses not lending aggressively which are intrinsic to the nature of lending and regulatory overhead. You can't BRIBE banks into making loans; it's the very nature of their business. You certainly shouldn't be giving giving banks an incentive to make questionable loans--isn't that what got us in this mess in the first place? If you have a dependable cash flow and you are carrying a record low debt ratio, banks will be competing to service your new loan.
A better idea would be to give up this notion of ever-increasing complexity of targeted tax breaks which makes winners and losers. You cannot finesse your way to a high-growth economy by discriminating against job creators and middle-tier/large-cap companies. "Obstruction that defies common sense"? What about a President, who has never met a private-sector payroll and has fewer business executives working for him than any President in recent memory, thinking he knows better what it takes to drive job growth? What about a President who refuses to extend the Bush tax cuts to all parties, especially job creators, in the face of continuing economic weakness, strictly on ideological grounds?
People in Higher Tax Brackets Get Ready for Expected Tax Hikes
The Wall Street Journal reports that accountants and financial planners are getting flooded with calls by people looking to deal with expected income tax hikes next year. Among other things, some are looking at booking fewer billable hours next year (to reduce income), taking capital gains in this tax year, converting income-producing securities to hard assets, and taking advantage of Roth IRA conversions for higher-income people opening up this year (lower tax hit up front and non-taxable distributions later). Mr. President, your ideological policies are penny-wise, pound-foolish. The 2010 fiscal year ending next month and the final quarter will look better than expected, mostly because of income shifting, i.e., borrowing from future asset sales--at a discount.
Political Humor
"Lindsay Lohan will supposedly get a million dollars for her first interview after prison.
I need to start driving drunk into houses." - Jimmy Kimmel
[And Obama raised a million dollars for a political fundraiser in California after running up the national debt by 3 trillion dollars. I need to run for political office.]
"Roger Clemens was indicted today on perjury charges for lying to Congress. When will they ever learn? You just cannot get away with lying on Capitol Hill - unless you've gotten there by being elected." - Janice Hough
[Trillion of dollars in debt, entitlement programs going broke, unemployment back on the rise--but Big Nanny knows where to place her priorities--going after a middle-aged former athlete over his voluntary testimony on steroids. Heaven forbid they should start investigating broken political promises to the American people...No, wait--they would never get to quorum... Come to think of it, that's not such a bad idea...
Given my weight problem and Michelle Obama's war on childhood obesity, it's a good thing they don't call me in to testify on Twinkies. I think the last time I had one was as a little kid, and my mom swears I didn't have a weight problem back then.]
This Jimmy Kimmel video of Sasha Obama hitting a hole-in-one in miniature golf shows why Tiger Wood doesn't play golf with Barack Obama very often...
Musical Interlude: The American Songbook Series
Hoagy Carmichael, "Georgia on My Mind"
