Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live.
Margaret Fuller
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Lightning Round
- "Stupid Americans" Gruber tries to finesse his statement on tax subsidies for state exchanges. Give a professor a few weeks before testifying before Congress, and he'll come up with an implausible story. In this context, he's trying to get us to believe that the tax subsidies were the carrots the feds were using to convince the states to set up an exchange, but the only way to guarantee subsidies in the event a federal exchange wasn't available. That doesn't pass the smell test: it ignores the "all or nothing" Medicaid expansion/extortion, and it doesn't explain why qualify the exchange in the subsidy application itself--it could have simply stated a qualified state or federal exchange. I don't think they expected two-thirds of the states not operating an exchange, and I think they expected a quick legislative patch if it turned out that the feds had to create an exchange. I saw my former Congressman Cummings was more interested in reading Gruber the riot act over "stupid Americans" (basically Gruber pointed out that the financing of ObamaCare was smoke and mirrors, that premium increases are a form of redistributed taxes that doesn't appear on Congressional books).
- NBER publishes another study showing the adverse effect of minimum wage increases on younger/less-skilled workers. One of the takeaways "progressives" were pleased to note in the aftermath of a bad midterm were 4 red states, Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, hiking the minimum wage to just over $10/hour. I was listening to a backlog of ABC This Week and had to hold my tongue; the economically illiterate Dem advisers saw this as "proof" of their core message of economic populism. No, it's more a case of prohibiting someone willing to accept gainful employment at a lower rate. Employers will not hire if the cost of an employee exceeds their benefit. NBER points out that hypocritical "progressives" should instead offer an income tax credit for lower-wage employees. Of course, "progressives" don't want it to come from their spending budget...
- Will a prospective Keystone Pipeline result in a political swerve? With crude dropping 30-40% since summer, Obama has unintentionally been the beneficiary of a de facto middle-class tax cut in the form of falling gas prices, already in some states breaking $2/gallon. The idea is that energy Republicans at this point may have ambivalent feelings about a further glut on the market, say by Canadian tar sand oil, may exacerbate the oversupply problems. The swerve might then be Obama would politically benefit from more oil on the market, while Big Oil, shale oil producers, etc. are in a world of hurt; permits and rigs are down. So if Obama approves, greater supply would make things better for consumers and hurt energy producers.... Actually, I'm not sure I buy that, because tar sands are expensive to produce, not unlike shale oil. I'm more worried about what parties are ultimately behind oil price hedges at, say, $70/barrel. This means even if prices go to $50/barrel, some party will have to make up the difference. We could see some AIG-type losses. At least one source suggests the Saudi price war at the expense of Russia, Canada, and US oil is motivated by China supplanting the US as a top customer.
Facebook Corner
(Ron Paul). 'House Chooses New Cold War With Russia' -- Please have a look at my Weekly Column: http://tinyurl.com/outmrbn
By the way Ron, your son seems to have gone astray. put him over your knee and give him a good spanking. he is heading further and further off course.
I am so sick and tired of Ron Paul ideologues bashing Rand. Rand is simply a more pragmatic politician than his dad and has built a broader coalition.
(Libertarian Republic). Rand Paul Thinks Cop Who Choked Garner Should Resign (VIDEO)
I am pleased the few pro-liberty conservatives, like Paul and Amash, are distancing themselves from the law-and-order fascists who want to blame the victim--never mind the fact Garner had been previously arrested on selling loosies without prior cops killing him...
(IPI). "We don't have the time to mess around. We are in deep, deep trouble financially," Rauner told a meeting of the Illinois Farm Bureau at a downtown Chicago hotel.
"The next 24 months are going to be rough. And I apologize. I ain't going to be Mr. Popularity for a little while. That's OK. Four years from now I think, though, everybody will appreciate what we did."
Don't even think of increasing taxes or else I will regret voting for you Gov.! Best way is to lower the salaries of the heads like the newly appointees, etc.
Popularity usually translates to higher spending at other people's expense and/or political harmony with the opposition. Expect Rauner will push back at Democrat spending priorities.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Eric Allie via Townhall |
Vaughan Williams, "Greensleeves"
