Ryan Road Map
Republican Paul Ryan has create a fiscal road map that some House Republicans are embracing. You can and should look at his plan because I feel that some parts of this plan will be considered and likely passed by the House of Representatives.
Paul Ryan should be commended for trying to come up with a comprehensive plan for fixing the fiscal mess this Country is in due to horrible choices made by Congress over the last 50 years.
This post is going to look at his tax plan. There are parts of it that are good and parts of it that are bad; overall it is good.
The Democrats are attacking his plan; however, they have absolutely no plan of their own except to keep kicking the can down the road and making our kids, grand kids, great grand kids, and so forth pay for our poor choices.
First off his plan limits Federal revenues to to this tax to 19% of GDP. This seems fairly reasonable; I wish it could be lower; however, it cannot.
For individuals:
- He wants to repeal the Alternative Minimum tax. This is an absolute must.
- He wants to not tax interest, dividends, and capital gains. I 100% oppose this; in fact, I think these items should be taxed at exactly the same rate as normal income.
- He wants two different tax systems where taxpayers get to choose which system they are in. I think this is a horrible idea; we need one simple system.
- His plan eliminates almost all deductions except for a health care credit he proposes. I like this approach.
- He advocates a very large standard deduction. I do support this.
For business he wants to repeal the corporate income tax; this is an absolute must. We need to do this because of globalization; our companies operate at a serious disadvantage against foreign companies.
He wants to use a business consumption tax with the following tenets:
- His plan charges an 8.5% tax on business consumption (Total sales - total costs). I have to think about this further; however, it may work because it would not be charged on exports; it would be charged on imports which would for sure create jobs in the US.
- His plan eliminates depreciation entirely. This is a good thing as well.
Mike
Property tax caps on the ballot next week (Wonkish)
It is rare that I find myself in agreement with the Journal Gazette and opposing Governor Mitch Daniels. It happens so rarely that it is notable.
Next week Hoosiers get to decide whether to put the property tax caps in the Indiana Constitution. Putting them in the Indiana Constitution will make them almost impossible to change. I oppose the property tax caps because they are unfair. Basically property taxes are capped as follows:
- Homes that are a primary residence of a taxpayer are capped at 1% of assessed value.
- Rental Properties, Farms, Land for Mobile Homes, and Long Term Care facilities are capped at 2% of assessed value.
- Business Real Property (Land and Buildings) are capped at 3% of assessed value.
- Business Personal Property (Equipment, Furniture, Computers, etc) are capped at 3% of assessed value.
Note these caps will be not apply if the voters pass a Referendum authorizing additional taxes.
I completely oppose these caps because I do not feel that they are in any way fair. I would have supported the property tax caps if they had been the same for all types of property. For example I would have supported them if the caps would have been 1.5% for all classes of property.
Why the Democrats should (and will lose) the election next week
There are truly a large number of reasons why the Democrats are going to lose the elections next week; however, in this post I am just going to discuss some of the major ones. I truly think they are going to get trounced in the national elections. I currently think the Republicans will gain about 45 seats in the House and 7 seats in the Senate.
The major reasons are below; I hope some of the Democrats reading this blog will respond to this post.
1. The first reason is because this is a mid-term election. The minority party historically tends to do well in the midterm elections.
2. The second reason is because the US economy is crap and everyone knows it. The Republicans are expending a lot of energy and money trying to convince the voters that it is the Democrats fault the economy is poor. The Democrats are doing just the opposite. As we have discussed on this blog before; there is no doubt in my mind that our current economic problems are AT LEAST 40% attributable to BOTH political parties. Neither was innocent. The problem the Democrats have to deal with is many of the voters do not care whose fault it is; they will take our their frustrations on whoever is in office. The Democrats are in power so the voters will take it out on them. Since the economy is crap the Democrats will be punished for it at the polls.
3. The 3rd reason is the “right” is energized. The Tea Party movement has brought a lot of discouraged conservatives back to the Republican Party. Mid-term elections are about ”bringing out” your base and the Republicans are going to turn out their base. Many Americans are absolutely furious (and they should be furious) about “Obamacare” and these people are going to vote.
4. The 4threason is the “left” is no longer energized. The “left” was energized in the 2006 election and they were really energized during the 2008 election and they carried President Obama to a big victory along with a lot of other Democrats. The “left” is disappointed in the Democrats and do not feel that they have held to their campaign promises nor do they feel that they have passed an agenda that is “liberal” enough. Examples of broken Democratic promises include:
a. To draw down troop levels in the middle east and to cut military spending. Neither has happened, in fact, our troops levels remain the same as when Republicans were in charge and military spending has significantly increased since Republicans were in charge.
b. To “drain the swamp” in Washington and restore ethical behavior. The truth of the matter is that power corrupts. I do not believe that one political party is inherently more corrupt than the other; however, I do believe whichever party is in power is more likelyto behave in a manner that is not ethical. The Democrats have been hammered with ethical violations and there is no doubt that most Americans realize that the Democrats have not “drained the swamp,” they have just continued the ethical violations of those they replaced. Two Democratic House members will face trials that were purposefully delayed until after the elections. This is the first time in decades that two members have been under investigation at the same time; this is the 3rd or 4th time Charlie Rangel (Democrat, New York) has been investigated.
c. To be more open and transparent. The Obama Administration has been horribly opaque and refuses to be transparent. What they have done is released more pages of documents; however, they do a lot more redacting.
d. The Democrats have been promising to restore fiscal discipline in Washington DC. Nancy Pelosi specifically promised that there would be no more deficit spending when she became the House Speaker in January of 2007. Since that time she has added 5 trillion dollars to the national debt.
I could go on and on; however, that would not serve a real purpose.
Mike Sylvester
We’re Doomed
From California Republican Senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina:
“Let me propose something that may seem crazy to you: you don’t need to pay for tax cuts. They pay for themselves, if they are targeted, because they create jobs,” Fiorina said
Of course California is hopelessly bankrupt so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at such nonsense but unfortunately the stupidity is spreading like a virus:
It was a lively debate Friday night in Colorado Springs between Ken Buck and Michael Bennet, the two candidates for U.S. Senate.
[...]
In regards to the economy Ken Buck said, “By extending tax cuts you pay down the deficit, you grow the economy by giving people more money and giving people the certainty they’ll know how to spend, they’ll have more money down the road to spend.”
This is the same intellectually bankrupt thinking that took over the Republican party 2 decades ago when they decided that balanced budgets didn’t matter anymore. Neither party is capable of grasping what is inherently obvious to every non-brain dead individual outside of Worshington - the only way to balance the budget and eventually pay down the deficit is to spend less than you take in. It really isn’t that difficult and the fact that neither major party seems able to comprehend that basic fact is why we’re inevitably doomed…
Gays in the military, Post 2
Earlier this week I posted about this issue and I wanted to update that post.
In my earlier post I was very irritated that an “activist judge” over-turned a law that had been in place for seventeen years. Worse yet the judge denied a request from the President of the United States to delay the ruling for a period of time so the military could adjust to the new policy. Soon thereafter the appeals Court stayed the order for an unknown period of time.
This process illustrates why it was a bad idea for one judge to overturn the law and then insist on immediate repeal even though she knew it was going to be appealed. In one weeks time the military has had to change its rules multiple times and this serves no one.
In my original post I was against a lone judge overturning a law like this. After thinking about it and talking to a couple of people about it I am convinced I was wrong in part of my first post. A lone Federal judge SHOULD be able to over-turn a law; this is how the judicial process works and how issues like this get to the US Supreme Court where they belong.
Where the judge went wrong was when they refused to stay the order. This has caused a large disruption in our military and is unwarranted.
In my earlier post there were several good comments. As I said in my earlier post I am now OK with gays openly serving in the military. I did not used to be OK with it… This is a stance that has slowly changed as I have gotten older. It has taken me a long time to get to this point of view; however, I think it is time to change the culture of our military.
A couple of people commenting on the prior post said that gays openly serving in the military will cause a lot of disruptions and be a problem with unit cohesion. I agree with that initially. Initially there is going to be a lot of disruption and change is never easy. Back when African Americans were integrated with white soldiers there was a lot of disruption as well; however, it was the right thing to do.
Bill specifically referred to his experience in the United States Navy. Bill is a friend of mine and we both served in the nuclear power plants of US warships; he on a surface ship and me on a submarine.
Having an openly gay person on a submarine is going to be very disruptive in the beginning. It is going to cause a lot of problems until the military culture adjusts and it is going to be a painful transition.
When I served there were two instances where a crew member was found to be gay. Both times they were immediately taken off of the submarine for their own safety. There is no doubt in my mind that when I served (1989 - 1995) there is a decent chance that some of the crew members might have been inclined to physically assault another crew member who was gay. I in no way support “gay bashing” or violence against gays. In fact people who commit violence against someone just because of their sexual orientation is a person I will not associate with. That being said; I am pretty sure it would have happened.
This transition is going to be very hard for the military; especially in certain branches (those with a lot of alpha males like the marine corps) and locations where the people are isolated (like on a submarine).
Mike
Activist Judges
After being the established law of the land for 17 years an activist judge in California has ruled the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule as unconstitutional. If this policy is to be over-turned it should be over-turned in Congress; not by one Federal judge 17 years after it became law.
I have mixed feelings about gays in the US military. Please remember I served several years on a nuclear powered submarine and that is a very isolated environment that no one can understand who has not served on a submarine (or something like it).
It has taken me a long time to get there; however, I now think “don’t ask, don’t tell” should be repealed and that gays should be allowed to openly serve in the military. For a long time I have felt that gays should be able to have civil unions and that they should receive the same rights as heterosexuals who are married.
Once the activist judge issued her order the Obama Administration asked her to delay the enforcement of her order. She refused today. It is 100% absurd that one Federal Judge can overturn a law that has been in place for 17 years and turn the Pentagon “on its ear.”
Mike Sylvester
YLNI The Vote
As part of Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana’s mission to engage and empower young leaders, it is hosting a Candidates’ Night Thursday, October 21, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. A number of candidates seeking office at the Federal, State, County, City and Township levels this November will be in attendance. The event will feature brief introductions from the candidates, but is largely formatted to encourage the candidates to meet and greet attendees on a one-on-one basis.
YLNI’s candidates’ brochures will also be available, which provide information about candidates for Allen County voters. A PDF version of the is available for download at www.ylni.org. In addition to information about the candidates, the brochure contains: information about the amendment for vote on the ballot, district maps, and election day information. Please contact sam@ylni.org for questions regarding the event or brochure.
Indiana Senate Race
Evan Bayh absolutely back-stabbed the voters of Indiana when he decided not to run for re-election and purposefully waited to announce it; ensuring that there was no primary.
Once Mr. Bayh (Democrat) made his announcement Mr. Coats, a former Indiana Senator (Republican) decided to run for re-election. Unfortunately with the backing of the DC political machine he was able to win the Republican primary.
The Indiana Senate race has three candidates:
- Mr. Coats (Republican)
- Mr. Ellsworth (Democrat)
- Mrs. Sink-Burris (Libertarian)
I have spent the last few years as a member of both the Republican and Libertarian Parties. I find my philosophy to be somewhere in between those two Parties.
I certainly at this point cannot vote for Mr. Ellsworth. The Democratic Party needs to lose their majorities and the health care policy they passed needs to be entirely repealed. This is a national priority.
I certainly cannot vote for Mr. Coats. There are two main reasons for this:
- First and foremost he has not lived in Indiana for about one decade. I do not vote for carpetbaggers from other states. I disliked it when Hillary Clinton did it and I try not to be a hypocrite. Worse yet even if he wins the election I do not expect him to move to Indiana.
- Mr. Coats moved directly from the US Senate into a position as a lobbyist. This is not illegal; however, it certainly should be.
I personally know the Libertarian candidate Rebecca Sink-Burris and I will definitely be voting for her next month. She is an excellent candidate and I will vote with her with a clear conscious.
Mike
Yet another issue President Obama is wrong about…
The Republicans have long been strong advocates of the failed war on drugs. Our previous Congressman Mark Souder was a huge believer in the “failed” war on drugs.
I do not do drugs and I have no desire to do drugs.
As many of you know I do not believe in the failed “war on drugs.” I think it is a complete waste of taxpayer dollars. You can purchase drugs in any city in this country, in any high school, and in most if not all prisons and jails in this country. The ”war on drugs” has costs us hundreds of billions of dollars and drug use is still common and illegal drugs are easy to purchase.
There is no reason to believe that the “failed war on drugs” will ever succeed. I personally feel it is a complete waste of money.
California may legalalize “mj” in a couple of weeks.
So the Obama Administration has come out and said it will still aggressively prosecute the war on drugs even if the voters of California vote to legalize “mj.”
I had a strong dislike for the Bush Administration; however, the Obama Administration has proved to be even worse on issue after issue.
The Democrats tend to be smarter on the failed war on drugs than the Republicans in my opinion; however, even with strong Democratic majorities and a Democratic President we have made no progress on scaling back the failed war on drugs.
Good grief.
Mike Sylvester
What is going on with the economy?
Gold is at an all time high and the stock market has recently went up about 10%.
This is not normal; anyone have any ideas why this has happened?
Mike Sylvester
