Spencer's Super-Happy Fun-Time Right-Wing Word Pit

Before I go on another self serving political rant that makes no sense, I have to tell you about the dream I had last night.  I dreamt that I was a homeless Jewish boy detective living in the Jewish ghetto in 1940's Poland.  I was like the Encyclopedia Brown of Jews and I was hired by a Nazi to help him find a mysterious treasure.  I am thinking it was the medication.

Anyone who watched the debates or just read the news or even our blog knows about this guy in Ohio named Joe Wadafdfjaldfjhaunnvmczvmmv or Joe "the Plumber".  Well, if you don't know...  This is the guy who had an exchange with the 'O' man while his excellency was touring the streets and mingling with the serfs.  Joe says that he wants to buy a plumbing business worth around $260,000 and that the Obama tax plan would tax him more.  This became a huge talking point in the debate.  McCain used it to call Obama out on his tax plan.  It seemed to work.

...It's looking better and better each day...
First up is this video from Fox News Yesterday.


Did you like that? Too bad McCain isn't far behind that one either.
Second. I have seen so many headlines about the vicious and horrible attacks from the McCain campaign against Obama. All weekend and even today, we are hearing about how McCain is running a despicable smear campaign against Obama. What they are upset about is that McCain and the Right have linked the 'O' man to William Ayers (Domestic terrorist and murderer) and to Acorn (which Obama first said, I have nothing to do with them, then yesterday said.... well they didn't pay me). How rotten to point out fact. Because making fun of McCain for not being able to use a computer (he's handi-capable you know) is not slimy. Because rabidly attacking a 15 year old girl who is pregnant for political gain is just peachy. People in glass houses.... Just saying.

This article explains why lower taxes seem to help the economy. The whole paper is worth a read. Really.

"Even though economists still disagree about the size and nature of taxpayer response to rate changes, most economists now believe that changes in marginal tax rates exert supply-side effects on the economy. It is also widely believed that high marginal tax rates—say, rates of 40 percent or more—are a drag on an economy. The heated debates are now primarily about the distributional effects. Supply-side critics argue that the tax policy of the 1980s was a bonanza for the rich. It is certainly true that taxable income in the upper tax brackets increased sharply during the 1980s. But the taxes collected in these brackets also rose sharply. Measured in 1982–1984 dollars, the income tax revenue collected from the top 10 percent of earners rose from $150.6 billion in 1981 to $199.8 billion in 1988, an increase of 32.7 percent. The percentage increases in the real tax revenue collected from the top 1 and top 5 percent of taxpayers were even larger."

Supply Side Economics
by James D. Gwartney
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/SupplySideEconomics.html

James D. Gwartney is a professor of economics and director of the Gus A. Stavros Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Economic Education at Florida State University. He was previously chief economist of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.

"How can we give $200 Billion dollars in tax cuts to corporations at a time like this!" - Obama

     b.  Re-distribute their money back in the form of governemnt aid when they are failing.

2.  Taxes help the economy.

Well, I don't buy it.

Obama....

I said a few days ago that Washington needed to susped Capital Gains taxes in order to boost the economy and not this "Bail Out" fiasco.  Which I have read through, finally (Thanks, Korynn) and determined that it is a mess.... 'cause I'm such an expert financial... money... person... and all...  We are buying loans from the banks and then re-writing them with a lower interest rate as well as for a lower principle.  Really?  How were we supposed to make the money back?  I digress.  So Trish sent me this email from Dave Ramsey...

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:  Common Sense Plan.  
I. INSURANCE  
    A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.  
    B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:     
        1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.       
            a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.       
            b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives. 
        2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.  
    C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.  
II. MARK TO MARKET
    A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.  
    B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.  
III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX  
    A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.  
    B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. 
This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Link to Source

Well well well....

I urge all of you to send this on to your Congress-person(s)