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Bipartisan Bloat | Christopher Preble | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The party that opposes nearly all other forms of federal spending happily embraces the military variety. Republicans assert that military spending cuts will result in massive job losses, even as they argue that cuts in other federal spending would grow the economy and create jobs in the private sector. They are skeptical that the federal government should engage in nation-building at home, but celebrate it abroad. Republican candidate Mitt Romney accuses Obama of fostering a "culture of dependency" in the United States, yet ignores that U.S. security guarantees have created an entire class of affluent countries around the world that now rely upon U.S. tax dollars to pay for their defense."
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Romney's Taxes and the Liberal Mindset | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary
Romney's Taxes and the Liberal Mindset | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "One endlessly repeated commercial points out that Romney paid only 13.9 percent of his income in taxes in 2010, "probably less than you."
"unless your household was earning more than $189,400 per year, it is unlikely that you are paying a higher federal income-tax rate than Romney. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average middle-income American pays an effective federal income-tax rate of 1.3 percent. Recall that half of Americans pay no federal income tax at all."
Was their ad directed at the rich?
"Democrats were quick to dismiss [Romney's charity donations] as substantively different from and less important than paying taxes. In fact, some suggested that such large charitable contributions might actually be a form of tax evasion, since they were tax-deductible. By helping people on his own, Romney was undermining government charity. "Charity is not democracy," complained Garrett Gruener, who helped found Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, a pro-tax group"
"according to a recent Gallup poll, Americans who described themselves as "very conservative" gave 4.5 percent of their income to charity, on average; self-described "conservatives" gave 3.6 percent; and "moderates" gave 3 percent; while "liberals" gave just 1.5 percent; and "very liberal" Americans gave barely 1.2 percent.
Those who voluntarily give the least are the same people who will spend the next few nights in Charlotte telling us how much they care, while demanding that the government take more from the rest of us by force through higher taxes."
"It is reflected in a belief that government jobs are especially ennobling, while people who work in the private sector are necessarily "greedy" and "corrupt." "
"It is government, the president believes, that makes all else possible. That is why the president repeatedly expresses concern over cutbacks in government spending, while observing that "the private sector is doing just fine." "
"unless your household was earning more than $189,400 per year, it is unlikely that you are paying a higher federal income-tax rate than Romney. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average middle-income American pays an effective federal income-tax rate of 1.3 percent. Recall that half of Americans pay no federal income tax at all."
Was their ad directed at the rich?
"Democrats were quick to dismiss [Romney's charity donations] as substantively different from and less important than paying taxes. In fact, some suggested that such large charitable contributions might actually be a form of tax evasion, since they were tax-deductible. By helping people on his own, Romney was undermining government charity. "Charity is not democracy," complained Garrett Gruener, who helped found Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, a pro-tax group"
"according to a recent Gallup poll, Americans who described themselves as "very conservative" gave 4.5 percent of their income to charity, on average; self-described "conservatives" gave 3.6 percent; and "moderates" gave 3 percent; while "liberals" gave just 1.5 percent; and "very liberal" Americans gave barely 1.2 percent.
Those who voluntarily give the least are the same people who will spend the next few nights in Charlotte telling us how much they care, while demanding that the government take more from the rest of us by force through higher taxes."
"It is reflected in a belief that government jobs are especially ennobling, while people who work in the private sector are necessarily "greedy" and "corrupt." "
"It is government, the president believes, that makes all else possible. That is why the president repeatedly expresses concern over cutbacks in government spending, while observing that "the private sector is doing just fine." "
California mom jailed for kids’ truancy | Fox News
California mom jailed for kids’ truancy | Fox News: "A California mom was sentenced to 180 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to allowing her kids to miss more than 10 percent of the of the school last year"
How China got businesses to pay taxes: scratch-n-win tickets - CSMonitor.com
How China got businesses to pay taxes: scratch-n-win tickets - CSMonitor.com: "Businesses purchase special machines that print special receipts known as fapiao in addition to regular receipts, called shouju, that cash registers provide. Every time a receipt is printed, a transaction is recorded and taxes must then be paid on it. To ensure owners actually use the machines, the government got creative: The fapiao that the machines print out are essentially scratch-and-win tickets with prizes ranging from 5- to 50,000 yuan ($.75 to $8,333). For perspective: A subway ticket in China is 2 yuan, and a monthly phone bill is about 60 to 127 yuan for an iPhone.
Following the implementation of the program, the frequency of customers asking for receipts increased dramatically, according to a 2009 survey conducted by Mr. Wan. Those who had never requested receipts began asking for them one out of every two transactions. The frequency of those who requested receipts before the fapiao program was implemented increased by 30 percent after hearing about the program."
Following the implementation of the program, the frequency of customers asking for receipts increased dramatically, according to a 2009 survey conducted by Mr. Wan. Those who had never requested receipts began asking for them one out of every two transactions. The frequency of those who requested receipts before the fapiao program was implemented increased by 30 percent after hearing about the program."
Monday, October 01, 2012
Voting for President: The Lesser Evil Is Still Rather Evil | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary
Voting for President: The Lesser Evil Is Still Rather Evil | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "After a quarter century, the Republican Party default option has resulted in a government which is vastly more expensive and expansive. It didn't matter whether the Democrat or Republican actually was elected. Government was bigger after every president left office. So much for the claim that the latest GOP presidential candidate would "stop the expansion of government and give the marketplace an opportunity to repair our nation.""
"voting for the lesser of two evils irrespective of how evil they are should be the definition of futility. As long as Americans vote for big-spending war-mongers, America's leaders will be big-spending war-mongers. A libertarian wouldn't have to be elected to exert influence. Perennial Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs transformed American politics because both major parties ended up adopting much of his agenda. A philosophical libertarian candidate, whatever his party, could do the same if he demonstrated increasing political support for liberty.
As for November, the best outcome would be divided government. The Republican Congress worked overtime to constrain President Bill Clinton. In contrast, the same legislative body gave President George W. Bush every outlay and war that he wanted. The Democratic Congress worked to limit President Bush before later joining with President Obama to greatly expand government. The Republican House has battled the Democratic president."
"voting for the lesser of two evils irrespective of how evil they are should be the definition of futility. As long as Americans vote for big-spending war-mongers, America's leaders will be big-spending war-mongers. A libertarian wouldn't have to be elected to exert influence. Perennial Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs transformed American politics because both major parties ended up adopting much of his agenda. A philosophical libertarian candidate, whatever his party, could do the same if he demonstrated increasing political support for liberty.
As for November, the best outcome would be divided government. The Republican Congress worked overtime to constrain President Bill Clinton. In contrast, the same legislative body gave President George W. Bush every outlay and war that he wanted. The Democratic Congress worked to limit President Bush before later joining with President Obama to greatly expand government. The Republican House has battled the Democratic president."
Fixing Medicare Requires Seniors to Pay Quite a Bit More | Jeffrey A. Miron | Cato Institute: Commentary
Fixing Medicare Requires Seniors to Pay Quite a Bit More | Jeffrey A. Miron | Cato Institute: Commentary: "It makes no sense to buy insurance against the "risk" of routine medical care, such as annual checkups, or against the risk of moderate expenses, such as many medication regimes, minor surgeries or treatments. Homeowners insurance does not cover broken toilets or snow removal, only major events such as a fire. These expenditures may well be worthwhile. For example, annual checkups might help avoid larger medical expenses in future. But most consumers can afford these without insurance.
In addition, insurance can make the healthcare market less efficient by reducing consumer incentive to economize on health costs. This "moral hazard" is a major reason behind escalating costs. When consumers are not paying for their care, the incentives for excessive utilization are huge: unnecessary tests, too much surgery rather than watchful waiting, doctor visits with minimal value, brand name versus generic drugs and more."
In addition, insurance can make the healthcare market less efficient by reducing consumer incentive to economize on health costs. This "moral hazard" is a major reason behind escalating costs. When consumers are not paying for their care, the incentives for excessive utilization are huge: unnecessary tests, too much surgery rather than watchful waiting, doctor visits with minimal value, brand name versus generic drugs and more."
President Obama's Alleged "War on Coal" - Climate Change Edition | Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary
President Obama's Alleged "War on Coal" - Climate Change Edition | Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The regulation at issue proposes an emissions target of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour of generation — something impossible for coal-fired power plants to meet without expensive carbon capture technology — but it applies only to brand-spanking-new, non-peaking natural gas power plants and coal-fired power plants that might be built some day in the future. Not to existing power plants. Not to existing power plants that undertake extensive upgrades that might deem them a "new source" for regulatory purposes under the Clean Air Act. And not to peaking gas-fired power generators.
That's the key to understanding this regulation because — as the EPA points out (and as CEOs in the utility sector confirm) — there are no new coal-fired power plants in the pipeline that this rule might cover and no prospect of the same unless natural gas prices hit at least $9.60 per million BTU (in 2007 dollars) on a sustained basis. Moreover, almost all of the gas-fired power plants that will be built will meet these standards without any additional costs.
Hence the regulation will impose negligible costs and, as the EPA itself confesses, negligible benefits."
"They could have gone after existing coal-fired generation, but didn't. They could have gone after coal-fired power plants that upgraded into "new source" status, but didn't. They could have imposed steep requirements on old and/or new gas-fired generators, but didn't. They essentially ... did nothing: And this from an administration that had long argued that political opponents better come to the negotiating table and sign-on to a cap-and-trade bill lest the administration grow tired of talk and ram something through unilaterally."
That's the key to understanding this regulation because — as the EPA points out (and as CEOs in the utility sector confirm) — there are no new coal-fired power plants in the pipeline that this rule might cover and no prospect of the same unless natural gas prices hit at least $9.60 per million BTU (in 2007 dollars) on a sustained basis. Moreover, almost all of the gas-fired power plants that will be built will meet these standards without any additional costs.
Hence the regulation will impose negligible costs and, as the EPA itself confesses, negligible benefits."
"They could have gone after existing coal-fired generation, but didn't. They could have gone after coal-fired power plants that upgraded into "new source" status, but didn't. They could have imposed steep requirements on old and/or new gas-fired generators, but didn't. They essentially ... did nothing: And this from an administration that had long argued that political opponents better come to the negotiating table and sign-on to a cap-and-trade bill lest the administration grow tired of talk and ram something through unilaterally."
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Feds snoop on social network accounts without warrants | Politics and Law - CNET News
Feds snoop on social network accounts without warrants | Politics and Law - CNET News: "Federal police are increasingly gaining real-time access to Americans' social network accounts -- such as Facebook, Google , and Twitter -- without obtaining search warrants, newly released documents show."
"It's not clear how many of those 1,661 real-time intercepts last year -- which do require a judge's approval -- targeted social networks, and how many were aimed at e-mail providers."
"Police must merely claim their request is "relevant" to an ongoing investigation. (A search warrant, by contrast, requires probable cause, and a live wiretap order is even more privacy-protective.)"
"It's not clear how many of those 1,661 real-time intercepts last year -- which do require a judge's approval -- targeted social networks, and how many were aimed at e-mail providers."
"Police must merely claim their request is "relevant" to an ongoing investigation. (A search warrant, by contrast, requires probable cause, and a live wiretap order is even more privacy-protective.)"
Wild plane passenger tackled on flight to California | Fox News
Wild plane passenger tackled on flight to California | Fox News: "Passengers say they had to tackle a passenger who was allegedly behaving aggressively and grabbing women during a flight"
How often do passengers handle bad people vs. crew or marshals? Marshals aren't on all flights and crew can't be everywhere and both are minimal.
How often do passengers handle bad people vs. crew or marshals? Marshals aren't on all flights and crew can't be everywhere and both are minimal.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Putting Al Qaeda in Perspective | John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart | Cato Institute: Commentary
Putting Al Qaeda in Perspective | John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart | Cato Institute: Commentary: "A standard cost-benefit analysis suggests that enhanced US domestic expenditures on homeland security since 9/11 would have to prevent one large attack per day to be cost effective."
"The chance that an American will perish at the hands of a terrorist at present rates is 1 in 3.5 million per year. And extremist Islamist terrorism worldwide has claimed 200-400 lives per year outside war zones, which although tragic and regrettable, amounts to the yearly number of bathtub drownings in the United States."
"the FBI receives more than 5,000 "threats" a day. Only a tiny number of these have led to terrorism arrests, but the FBI continues to follow up all of them, expending huge amounts of money in what some in the Bureau call "ghost chasing." "
"The chance that an American will perish at the hands of a terrorist at present rates is 1 in 3.5 million per year. And extremist Islamist terrorism worldwide has claimed 200-400 lives per year outside war zones, which although tragic and regrettable, amounts to the yearly number of bathtub drownings in the United States."
"the FBI receives more than 5,000 "threats" a day. Only a tiny number of these have led to terrorism arrests, but the FBI continues to follow up all of them, expending huge amounts of money in what some in the Bureau call "ghost chasing." "
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