TAX POLITIX
The Politics of Taxes
Virginia Attorney General Used Asset Forfeiture Funds For Staff Pay Raises
When assets are seized during federal investigations, the proceeds can be shared with law enforcement agencies who participate with federal agencies during the process. This is called Equitable Sharing, and both the Justice Departments and Treasury Departments can do it. The funds received have rules that govern how they are spent. Therefore it was surprising that a Power Point presentation created by the Justice Department in 2015 suggested a way to circumvent those rules; typically they...
Stifling NYC Business Policies Claim Another Victim
The hostile New York City business environment has claimed a new victim: the legendary China Fun restaurant, which has been in operation for 25 years. A letter on left on the door of the restaurant on January 3, 2017, outlined the reasons: “The climate for small businesses like ours in New York have become such that it’s difficult to justify taking risks and running — nevermind starting — a legitimate mom-and-pop business,” read a letter posted by the owners in the restaurant’s front door....
Presidential Appointments: Then, Now, and the System
Newt Gingrich warned that Trump's "Drain the Swamp" verbiage was really a lot of bluster. His presidential appointments seems to be reflecting that -- but is it really Trump's fault? Or are his hands tied? Or a mix of both? Jay Cost over at The Weekly Standard, gives some insight into the history of presidential appointments and how the system works. It's definitely worth a read in its entirety: As a candidate, Donald Trump promised sweeping change in the way Washington functions. He would...
Trump on Obamacare
After telling the American electorate that he wants to repeal and replace Obamacare, Trump has now stated that he may not do this entirely. The way he worded his remarks indicates that he is willing to keep “ObamaCare’s preexisting condition and the 26 year old provision to stay on their parent’s plan” to remain. These two provisions are not “Obamacare” provisions - they are provisions that could - and maybe should - be part of a new health care law. The new replacement for Obamacare could...
Obama, Climate Change, and the DoE
Congress heard a report this week that evidenced interference by the Obama administration into Congressional process with regard to a piece of radiation legislation in 2014. The Administration appears to have used the Department of Energy to forward his particular climate change package while simultaneously remove opposing viewpoints and sour lawmakers on a certain bill that would possibly conflict with his agenda. The Washington Free Beacon produced the overview; I have reprinted it below in...
What’s Wrong With Charter Schools and Vouchers, Again?
In virtually every case where there is a voucher or charter school program, the amount of money provided for the students is significantly less than the public school is charging for educating kids. The fact that public school advocates are seething that these alternative forms of education are destroying the public school system is incredibly outrageous. If a student in public school costs $15,000 to educate and the same student costs $10,000 for a charter school, it leaves the public school...
Mnuchin Gets It Wrong
Last week, Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, announced that high earners won’t receive an “absolute tax cut” suggesting that any tax reductions would also be coupled with less deductions. Unfortunately, Mnuchin doesn’t know or pretends to ignore the fact that high income earner have faced brutal tax increases during the Obama Administration, and thus any decreases are really just a return to the more appropriate rates of the Bush years. Obama raised the Bush tax rates on only...
A Better Way
It gets really annoying when commentators blather on about Obamacare and the Republican’s plan to repeal and replace; they get called hypocrites and the commentators keep suggesting that there is no plan to replace Obamacare, because they are terrified that it actually might happen, striking at the heart of the pinnacle of liberal policies. But it’s not true and we all know it. It’s like the same lie we keep here over and over from the Democrats that the Republicans are being obstructionist...
Tax Increases and Decreases
I'm sick and tired of reading over and over again in places, both liberal and conservative, that the Trump and GOP-proposed tax reforms are going to give the lion’s share of the cuts to the top 1%. The entire concept is utterly distorted, especially in light of the fact that nobody talked about the litany of tax increases that occurred when Obama and his Democrat cronies passed the Obama and Obamacare increases. Obama raised the Bush tax rates on only the wealthiest earners from 36% - 39.6 %...
Tax Cuts: A Simple Lesson in Economics
Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this: >-The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing >-The fifth would pay $1 >-The sixth would pay $3 >-The seventh $7 >-The eighth $12 >-The ninth $18 >-The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men ate...
TAX
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Food Stamps Growth Soars; Jobs Stagnant
Romney Paid More Than His Fair Share of Taxes…In 2010. MSM Blinked.
So, Mitt Romney released his 2011 taxes. And on cue, Think Progress rolls out this inane hit piece entitled "By Romney’s Own Standard, His Tax Returns Would Disqualify Him From The Presidency". The summary of their argument accuses Romney of paying...