The Tax-Code Mess | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Tax-Code Mess | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The total quantity of federal tax rules is gigantic. Tax publisher CCH collects all the paperwork in one volume, and it currently spans 73,608 pages and covers nine feet of shelf space. That is more than triple the volume of tax rules as recently as the 1970s, as shown in the chart."

The chart shows that it was only 400 pages in 1913

"In a recent report, the IRS Taxpayer Advocate said that the compliance or paperwork costs for the federal tax code are more than $160 billion a year. That cost represents pure waste to the economy — it's like throwing in the trash the entire retail sales of Target, Home Depot and Safeway every year.

In addition to being complex, the federal tax code is constantly changing. The Taxpayer Advocate found that there have been 4,428 changes to the tax code in just the last 10 years. Those changes stem not just from a hyperactive Congress, but also from the constant gushing forth of new tax regulations from the Treasury. The result is growing tax instability, which undermines financial planning, business investment and other decision-making in the economy."

"Emblazoned on the Supreme Court building’s façade is the promise of “equal justice under law.” Yet the horrendously complicated tax code illustrates how far the government has strayed from that promise. Sadly, the purpose of those 73,608 pages of federal tax rules is not equal treatment but the top-down manipulation of society by Washington."

Tenn. governor vetoes college discrimination bill | Fox News

Tenn. governor vetoes college discrimination bill | Fox News: "The Republican governor said Wednesday that he disagrees with Vanderbilt's policy, but it's "inappropriate for government to mandate the policies of a private institution.""

Congressional Quarterly: Panel Votes to Boost NASA Funding in Fiscal 2013 Spending Bill - In the News - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin

Congressional Quarterly: Panel Votes to Boost NASA Funding in Fiscal 2013 Spending Bill - In the News - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin: "The Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee approved a draft fiscal 2013 spending bill 17-1, with Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., voting against it.

Overall, the panel’s Democratic leaders stayed mostly in line with President Obama’s budget request in shaping the bill. The measure would provide $51.9 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Commerce and Justice Departments, NASA and other agencies. The total represents a $1 billion cut from the fiscal 2012 enacted level, according the panel."

California college student forgotten in jail cell says he drank urine to survive | Fox News

California college student forgotten in jail cell says he drank urine to survive | Fox News: "A college student who federal drug agents forgot and left in a holding cell for five days without food, water or access to a toilet said Tuesday that he drank his own urine to survive."

NYTimes Realizes That The FBI Keeps Celebrating Breaking Up Its Own Terrorist Plots | Techdirt

NYTimes Realizes That The FBI Keeps Celebrating Breaking Up Its Own Terrorist Plots | Techdirt: "Over the last few years, we've noticed that nearly every victory the FBI celebrates against terrorism is actually about stopping its own terrorist plots that it feeds to hapless individuals, often nudging them and pushing them down the road to "become" terrorists, despite commonly displaying little to no aptitude for actual terrorism."

"In one case, the judge -- even as she was sentencing the guy to decades in prison -- admitted that the guy wouldn't be a "terrorist" if it weren't for the FBI:"

Obama Worse than Bush on Civil Liberties - Romney No Different From Obama | Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign CommitteeRon Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee

Obama Worse than Bush on Civil Liberties - Romney No Different From Obama | Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign CommitteeRon Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee: "When Obama signed NDAA he said ”My administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens.”

This pretty much cemented the conservative consensus on NDAA–no president, and especially Obama, should be able to throw American citizens in jail indefinitely without trial or due process.

Mitt Romney disagrees. Not only would he sign NDAA without hesitation, his position is essentially no different from Obama’s.

Said Romney: “There are a lot of things that I think this president does wrong. Lots of them. But I don’t think he’s going to abuse this power. I know that if I were president I wouldn’t abuse this power.”"

Tenn. police arrest man for paying with real $50 | Fox News

Tenn. police arrest man for paying with real $50 | Fox News: "But a police evidence technician told the arresting officer that some old bills don't react to the markers. So police gave the money to two banks to check, and they said it was real but just very old."

Be careful with old money. :-/

US May Day protests planned, may disrupt commutes | Fox News

US May Day protests planned, may disrupt commutes | Fox News: "bridge district ferry workers say they'll strike Tuesday to shut down morning ferry service.

In New York, organizers have called for protesters to block one or more bridges or tunnels connecting Manhattan to New Jersey and other parts of the city."

That doesn't sound like a good way to get friends and supporters. :-/

MOMENT OF CLARITY: Wiscosin Gets Jobbed

MOMENT OF CLARITY: Wiscosin Gets Jobbed: "The fact is that none of our elected officials who promise to create jobs in the private sector have any say in the matter; politicians can only put up or tear down barriers to job creation. 

If you want to judge Governor Walker, or any other politician for that matter, on job creation, then list the barriers he has erected to private sector job creation down one column, and list the barriers he has removed down a second column."

"According to BLS – not me - the number of persons employed in Wisconsin in March of 2011 was 2,838,145. And according the BLS – not me - the number of persons employed in Wisconsin in March of 2012 was 2,856,643. My calculator says that is an INCREASE of 18,498."

Debate rages over severity of child-porn sentences | Fox News

Debate rages over severity of child-porn sentences | Fox News: " offenders who possess and distribute child pornography can go to prison for longer than those who actually rape or sexually abuse a child. In a 2010 survey of federal judges by the Sentencing Commission, about 70 percent said the proposed ranges of sentences for possession and receipt of child pornography were too high. Demonstrating their displeasure, federal judges issued child porn sentences below the guidelines 45 percent of the time in 2010, more than double the rate for all other crimes."