Just a test post to see if things still work

 Surprised that this thing is still around.  Just wanted to see if I can still post.

An unexpected article in the Atlantic which has a different take than their usual about Donald Trump.  Surprising, given the almost hysterical hostility the site exudes towards him.

Anybody notice the things that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have in common?  Arrogance, dishonesty, and the firm belief the rules don't apply to them.

What a dismal election.

And...

there's no reason that hedge fund managers should be paying income taxes at 17% when I'm paying 28%.  Just saying...

Taxation and Lower-income people

One of the more annoying things I hear some conservatives claim (especially talk radio hosts like Jason Lewis) is that lower income Americans don't pay taxes.  In my opinion, this is about as stupid as the liberal notions about how only the rich should be taxed.  Everyone pays payroll, gas taxes and other excise taxes, plus state and local taxes.   It would be nice if folks could at least agree that everyone pays taxes, and it would even be better if conservatives would acknowledge the tax burden on the poor is greater than they like to admit.  Via Clive Crook at the Atlantic, this report on who pays taxes in the US.

Just a little question on taxes...

In the great debate on whether or not lower income tax rates create increased tax revenue, the answer to one question seems to be missing.  To wit: where do US tax rates fall on the Laffer curve?  The GOP believes any tax cut increases revenue, and the Democrats believe tax rate increases (on the "rich", of course) can raise enough revenue to fix our fiscal problems.  How the hell do they know?  They don't know where we are on the curve!

Let's assume for the sake of argument the idea behind the Laffer curve is correct.  If, like the GOP, one is using it as a justification for cutting taxes they ought to be able to prove tax cuts to be the correct course instead of just asserting it.  In other words, they should be able to make a case that our tax burden is such that we are on the part of the curve where tax cuts generate enough increased activity to generate more tax revenue than a higher rate.   But I haven't seen any conservatives attempt to make a quantitative case that this is true. 

(Note to conservatives - if capital represents the money used to create/expand business (and jobs), explain why capital gains taxes are too high at 10 (or 15) percent.  If a dollar that comes into my pocket from the sale of the business is used to buy stuff and pay bills just like my wages, why shouldn't the capital gains from the sale be taxed as regular income unless the money is invested?  After all, I pay higher rates on my paycheck than Warren Buffet does on his billions.  Why should capital be taxed less than labor?)

Now the Democrats are even worse, because they don't seem to have any sort of argument for raising taxes except a need for funds for programs they favor and the idea the rich are too wealthy and shouldn't have all that money.   There isn't even enough there to properly criticize.... .

Random Jottings

Just few impressions on a few stories that caught my attention over the last two weeks:

Unemployment insurance extension:   I have a question for the GOP:  In what universe does cutting unemployment insurance create jobs?  I mean, not extending unemployment may give people more incentive to find work, but all the incentive in the world doesn't help one find a job if there are no jobs to be had.  Not to mention that 30 billion dollars is small potatoes compared to TARP and 2 wars.   This is one of those few things the Dems may be right about.   Of course the Dems could have easily used some of the stimulus money or TARP money already borrowed to cover this instead of new borrowing, but I guess bailing out Wall Street , the banks, and funneling money to Democratic interest groups is more important than helping ordinary folks to weather the current economic storm.   More proof that our political class is arrogant and out of touch, regardless of party.


JournoList:  I think conservative commentators are overreacting somewhat to it.  I don't think the emails released by the DailyCaller tell us much that is new.  It showed us that the Journolisters in those emails seem to be a spiteful, mean, petty bunch.  We also learned the posters in the leaked emails hate conservatives, as if anybody who had ever read any of Eric Alterman's garbage couldn't figure that one out.  A bunch of libs, trashing conservatives when they thought they wouldn't be seen doing it. Seems like the kind of slimy, petty behavior found in a junior high school clique. 

The one thing I found interesting is the discussions on how to discredit Sarah Palin before these clowns knew anything about her. The exchanges just screamed the "how dare this outsider aspire to this!, she's not one of of us! " meme.  Given the immediate trashing she got in the media after John McCain selected her for his VP candidate, it sure would be nice to know how many of the JournoList members were involved.  I suspect not all that many, since the Caller didn't name a lot of names, nor were the people mentioned all that prominent other than as left wing hacks.  The way she was trashed was so immediate and widespread that it does make you wonder.  One hopes that Tucker Carlson will release a list of the JouroList membership so we can get an idea.