Monthly Archives: October 2011
Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions – Acadiana’s News Leader
Your government, er National Nannies at work again. Of course this law is needed, for, you know, our own good.
House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions, and it flew so far under the radar most businesses don’t even know about it.
“We’re gonna lose a lot of business,” says Danny Guidry, who owns the Pioneer Trading Post in Lafayette. He deals in buying and selling unique second hand items.
“We don’t want this cash transaction to be taken away from us. It’s an everyday transaction,” Guidry explains.
Guidry says, “I think everyone in this business once they find out about it. They’re will definitely be a lot of uproar.”
The law states those who buy or sell second hand goods are prohibited from using cash. State representative Rickey Hardy co-authored the bill.
Hardy says, “they give a check or a cashiers money order, or electronic one of those three mechanisms is used.”
Hardy says the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions, and sell them for a quick buck. Having a paper trail will make it easier for law enforcement.
“It’s a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead,” explains Hardy.
Guidry feels his store shouldn’t have to change it’s ways of doing business, because he may possibly buy or sell stolen goods. Something he says has happened once in his eight years.
“We are being targeted for something we shouldn’t be.”
Besides non-profit resellers like Goodwill, and garage sales, the language of the bill encompasses stores like the Pioneer Trading Post and flea markets.
The assault on our liberties continues, and continues, and……….
Why Israel why?
I simply cannot fathom why Israel would swap hundreds of terrorists for one Israeli soldier. Sure they know that these animals will soon be planning future attacks on Israel. Gateway Pundit has more
The media was there this week when Wafaa Al-bis, a Palestinian female terrorist, met her parents after 7 years of captivity in Israeli jails.
Yesterday the liberated terrorist encouraged a group of children to go blow themselves up.
Reuters reported, via Jihad Watch:A would-be Palestinian suicide bomber freed by Israel in the prisoner swap for soldier Gilad Schalit told cheering schoolchildren in the Gaza Strip the day after her release on Wednesday she hoped they would follow her example.
“I hope you will walk the same path we took and God willing, we will see some of you as martyrs,” Wafa al-Biss told dozens of children who came to her home in the northern Gaza Strip.
Biss was traveling to Beersheba’s Soroka hospital for medical treatment in 2005 when Israeli soldiers at the Erez border crossing noticed she was walking strangely. They found 10 kilograms (22 lbs) of explosives had been sewn into her underwear.
A member of al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, Biss was sentenced to a 12-year term for planning to blow herself up.
After she spoke, the children cheered and waved Palestinian flags and chanted: “We will give souls and blood to redeem the prisoners. We will give souls and blood for you, Palestine.“
There can be no peace for Israel, not when they must live next to filthy beasts like this.
Ed’s NFL Week 7 Picks – 2011
Washington Redskins @ Carolina Panthers – Panthers
Seattle Seahawks @ Cleveland Browns – Browns
Atlanta Falcons @ Detroit Lions – Lions
Denver Broncos @ Miami Dolphins – Broncos
San Diego Chargers @ New York Jets – Chargers
Chicago Bears @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Buccaneers
Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans – Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Arizona Cardinals – Steelers
Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland Raiders – Raiders
St. Louis Rams @ Dallas Cowboys – Cowboys
Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings – Packers
Indianapolis Colts @ New Orleans Saints – Saints
Baltimore Ravens @ Jacksonville Jaguars – Ravens
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——— Week 6 Picks ——— 10 Wins – 3 Losses ———
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons – Falcons
Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals – Bengals
San Francisco 49ers @ Detroit Lions – Lions
St. Louis Rams @ Green Bay Packers – Packers
Buffalo Bills @ New York Giants – Bills
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers – Steelers
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins – Eagles
Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens – Ravens
Cleveland Browns @ Oakland Raiders – Raiders
Dallas Cowboys @ New England Patriots – Patriots
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Saints
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears – Bears
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets – Jets
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——— Week 5 Picks ——— 9 Wins – 4 Losses ———
Philadelphia Eagles @ Buffalo Bills – Eagles
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers – Saints
Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans -Texans
Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts – Colts
Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars – Bengals
Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings – Vikings
Seattle Seahawks @ New York Giants – Giants
Tennessee Titans @ Pittsburgh Steelers – Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ San Francisco 49ers – 49ers
San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos – Chargers
New York Jets @ New England Patriots – Patriots
Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta Falcons – Packers
Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions – Lions
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——— Week 4 Picks ——— 13 Wins – 3 Losses ———
Carolina Panthers @ Chicago Bears – Panthers
Buffalo Bills @ Cincinnati Bengals – Bills
Tennessee Titans @ Cleveland Browns – Titans
Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys – Lions
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Houston Texans – Texans
New Orleans Saints @ Jacksonville Jaguars – Saints
Minnesota Vikings @ Kansas City Chiefs – Vikings
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles – 49ers
Washington Redskins @ St. Louis Rams – Redskins
New York Giants @ Arizona Cardinals – Giants
Atlanta Falcons @ Seattle Seahawks – Falcons
Denver Broncos @ Green Bay Packers – Packers
New England Patriots @ Oakland Raiders – Patriots
Miami Dolphins @ San Diego Chargers – Chargers
New York Jets @ Baltimore Ravens – Ravens
Indianapolis Colts @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Buccaneers
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——— Week 3 Picks ——— 9 Wins – 7 Losses ———
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills – Patriots
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Carolina Panthers – Panthers
San Francisco 49ers @ Cincinnati Bengals – Bengals
Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns – Browns
Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings – Lions
Houston Texans @ New Orleans Saints – Saints
New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles – Eagles
Denver Broncos @ Tennessee Titans – Titans
New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders – Jets
Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers – Chargers
Baltimore Ravens @ St. Louis Rams – Ravens
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears – Packers
Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks – Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Falcons
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianapolis Colts – Steelers
Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys – Redskins
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——— Week 2 Picks ——— 13 Wins – 3 Losses ———
Oakland Raiders @ Buffalo Bills – Bills
Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers – Packers
Kansas City Chiefs @ Detroit Lions – Lions
Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts – Browns
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings – Vikings
Chicago Bears @ New Orleans Saints – Saints
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets – Jets
Seattle Seahawks @ Pittsburgh Steelers – Steelers
Baltimore Ravens @ Tennessee Titans – Ravens
Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Redskins – Redskins
Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers – Cowboys
Cincinnati Bengals @ Denver Broncos – Broncos
Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins – Texans
San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots – Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons – Eagles
St. Louis Rams @ New York Giants – Giants
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——— Week 1 Picks ——— 10 Wins – 6 Losses ———
New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers – Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens – Steelers
Atlanta Falcons @ Chicago Bears – Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns – Browns
Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans – Texans
Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars – Jaguars
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs – Chiefs
Philadelphia Eagles @ St. Louis Rams – Eagles
Detroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Lions
Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals – Cardinals
Minnesota Vikings @ San Diego Chargers – Chargers
Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers – 49ers
New York Giants @ Washington Redskins – Giants
Dallas Cowboys @ New York Jets – Jets
New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins – Patriots
Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos – Broncos
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School Hands Out Bracelets To Students With X-Rated Pictures
School Hands Out Bracelets To Students With X-Rated Pictures – Daily Mail
‘Slap bracelets’ with pictures of naked women have been handed out to school children being recognized for their fundraising efforts.
Pupils at Jay Elementary School in the Panhandle, Florida, were given the X-rated accessories to mark their charitable work.
However, officials were left red faced when the nude images were discovered underneath the bracelets’ cloth coverings.
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They have now started to try and retrieve around 160 of the bands which work by folding themselves around the arm when they are ‘snapped’ from their original rigid position.
Those that were handed out to the children at Jay Elementary had been made from recycled metal tape measure covered with a colorful cloth.
One of the children became curious and removed the cotton, uncovering the pornographic images which has so far been found on four of the bracelets.
Santa Rosa County School District spokesman Bill Emerson said there was initially some disbelief at the discovery.
‘It was one of those calls you get from parents where you say “really”,’ he said. ‘Then it turns out to be true.’
The finger is being pointed at a Chinese company that manufactured the bracelets for a Nashville-based company that sourced the shipment of the novelty items.
Mr Emerson doesn’t believe, however, that all the bracelets will be returned. ‘Curiosity is bound to get the better of some of [the children],’ he said.
The children are expected to receive another reward for their fundraising efforts.
The school was contacted by Sandra Lambeth whose daughter discovered the image when she took one of the bracelets apart.
Jay principal Danny Carnley said that one person had described the images as being something you might see in a country garage.
He told North West Florida Daily News: ‘I would call the images terribly tasteless, but not x-rated.’
In an apology, Elijah Collard, president of Reading for Education, apologized adding: ‘I can assure you that we are just as shocked and frustrated as you to discover inappropriate printing on the interior metal of the “slap bracelet”.
‘We have notified the U.S. supplier about the problem who has, in turn, contacted the manufacturer in China. We are returning all “slap bracelet” inventory to our supplier and discontinuing their use.’
Your Daley Gator Thursday Afternoon NFL News Update – 10/20/11
Raiders Get Palmer In Bengals Trade (Other League News) – Charlotte Observer
The Oakland Raiders made a bold move to replace injured quarterback Jason Campbell on Tuesday, trading two high draft picks to the Cincinnati Bengals for Carson Palmer.
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Coach Hue Jackson paid a high price to acquire a quarterback he knows well but who has struggled in recent years and refused to report the Bengals this season despite being under contract through 2014.
The Bengals had been adamant about not trading Palmer, who wanted to be dealt from a team that has had only two winning records in the last 20 years.
Owner Mike Brown repeatedly insisted he wouldn’t consider Palmer’s request for a trade because he didn’t want to reward him for holding out. He changed his mind after the Raiders offered a 2012 first-round pick and a second-rounder in 2013 for the 31-year-old quarterback.
The Raiders (4-2) became desperate for a quarterback after Campbell broke his collarbone during a win over the Browns on Sunday. Campbell had surgery Monday and was expected to miss at least six weeks, leaving the Raiders with only Kyle Boller and Terrelle Pryor on the roster.
— Around the league —
Chicago: A suburban Chicago man has been charged with assaulting wide receiver Devin Hester at a casino.
Police say Hester was in a cashier line Friday night at the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines when Daniel Rago, 52, slapped the player in the back of the head with his hand and then walked away.
Police say Hester didn’t retaliate. He says Rago had been drinking and later explained he was just trying to slap Hester’s hat off.
Cincinnati: Running back Cedric Benson received a reduced one-game suspension from the NFL for his misdemeanor assault cases settled before the season. Benson originally received a three-game suspension for the incidents, but appealed on grounds that he wasn’t under contract with any NFL team when his latest arrest occurred.
Middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, who was inactive against Indianapolis on Sunday, expects to miss at least one more game because of a sprained left ankle.
Cleveland: Defensive end Marcus Benard pleaded not guilty to two traffic charges stemming from his motorcycle accident last week.
Benard, who is done for the season after breaking his hand and sustaining other unspecified injuries in the high-speed crash, was charged with reckless operation and driving with a suspended license.
Miami: The Dolphins (0-5) against the Broncos (1-4) is certain to draw a lot of attention Sunday because it will be Tim Tebow’s first start of the season for Denver. While Miami’s attendance has been in decline, a sellout is possible due to Tebow’s popularity and the Dolphins’ long-planned tribute to him and the rest of the Florida Gators’ 2008 national championship team.
It might seem a bit awkward for the Dolphins to honor the opponents’ starting QB, but that’s the way the season has gone.
Philadelphia: The Eagles traded running back Ronnie Brown to the Lions for running back Jerome Harrison and an undisclosed draft pick in 2013.
Brown had only 13 carries for 38 yards with the Eagles. His fumble against San Francisco cost Philadelphia a win.
Harrison is starting his second stint with the Eagles.
Jacksonville: The Jaguars placed oft-injured tight end Zach Miller on injured reserve because of a nagging shoulder injury. The Jaguars also placed defensive end Austen Lane and cornerback Rod Issac on injured reserve, and waived receiver Jamar Newsome from the practice squad.
Pittsburgh: A violent collision with Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew’s churning knees won’t be enough to keep Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu out of the lineup.
Coach Mike Tomlin said the 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year is “good to go” after passing a concussion test.
Obama’s Bus Tour A Flat Failure
Obama’s Bus Tour A Flat Failure – American Thinker
The question is, when will reality set in for Obama?
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Closing out his bus tour on a low-key note, President Obama made a pitch for his jobs package at a firehouse, where a subdued crowd needed a bit of prompting to applaud his proposal to boost the economy.
Anytime a crowd needs “prompting” to applaud what a president says – especially on friendly turf with presumably his core supporters in attendance – you might want to get out the butter and jam because you know the prez is toast.
Obama visited Fire Station 9 to draw attention to a major piece of his $447-billion jobs package. He wants to spread $35 billion among states and cities, in part to prevent layoffs of police and firefighters, and would pay for it with a surtax on millionaires. Congress may vote on that measure as early as this week.
On Wednesday afternoon, Obama stood at a lectern against a backdrop of firefighters and offered his prescription for solving the persistent jobs crisis: “A fair shot for everybody; a fair share from everybody. That’s the principle that built America.”
The president got a polite reception from the 100 or so people crowded into the station garage. Early in his speech he mentioned his American Jobs Act.
One or two people clapped.
“You can go ahead and clap,” the president said. “Go ahead, nothing wrong with it.”
What an embarrassment.
This entire “Class Warfare Tour” has been a bust. He tried to do a balancing act with the OWS crowd, endorsing their protest without endorsing some of the loonier and hateful things that are coming out of the encampments. He tried pretending his jobs bill isn’t dead. He tried to rev up crowds by getting them angry at “millionaires and billionaires” without much success.
Nobody is listening and few care. He already gives of the stench of not a lame duck, but a dead duck – a failed one term presidency that people will talk about in the same breath as Jimmy Carter.
Man Jailed After Repeatedly Having Sex With Dog In Neighbor’s Yard
Man Jailed After Repeatedly Having Sex With Dog In Neighbor’s Yard – Weekly Vice
Kimberly Lawson, a 40-year-old Memphis man was jailed after he allegedly had sex with a German Shepherd named Adam.
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According to Memphis Police, officers were dispatched after witnesses saw Lawson having sex with a woman’s dog a reported what they saw.
Investigators say witnesses watched as Lawson pulled down his pants, got down on his knees and allowed the dog to “mount” him.
Witnesses told police they saw Lawson allow himself to be mounted by the dog at least three times within an hour’s time. The alleged assault reportedly took place in the dog owner’s yard.
“We wouldn’t have thought that somebody, I am just going to say it, raping my dog cause that’s what he did. I had to tell Adam he didn’t do anything wrong. The man did something wrong,” said the dog’s owner, Caroline Morris.
Morris stated that she believes the sexual abuse has continued for nearly a month because Adam has been acting strange.
Lawson was booked into jail on a charge of criminal offense against an animal.
Finally… Republicans Confront Obama Administration On Junk Science Misconduct
Finally… Republicans Confront Obama Administration On Junk Science Misconduct – Gateway Pundit
Finally, Republicans in Congress challenged the Obama Administration over their junk science misconduct.
The lawmakers claim there are repeat incidents of “scientific misconduct” among federal agencies that are guiding radical Obama policy.
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The GOP lawmakers highlighted the scolding a federal judge gave the Fish and Wildlife Service last month over testimony in defense of a plan to protect a tiny fish called delta smelt by diverting water in California away from farmland.
GOP reps confronted the Obama Administraion over their junk science misconduct in an official letter.
Fox News reported:
Several Republican lawmakers are challenging the Obama administration’s science czar over what they claim are repeat incidents of “scientific misconduct” among agencies, questioning whether officials who deal with everything from endangered species to nuclear waste are using “sound science.”
The letter sent Wednesday to John Holdren, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, cited four specific controversies in recent years where scientific findings were questioned. Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., rattled off a slew of questions on what they called “the apparent collapse in the quality of scientific work being conducted at our federal agencies.”
“Specifically, we are concerned with data quality, integrity of methodologies and collection of information, agencies misrepresenting publicly the weight of scientific ‘facts,’ indefensible representations of scientific conclusions before our federal court system, and our fundamental notions of ‘sound’ science,” they wrote. “We identify in this letter important examples of agency scientific misconduct.”
Inhofe spokesman Matt Dempsey told FoxNews.com the issues in the letter had been on Republicans’ radar screen “for some time.” But he said the lawmakers decided to compile them and confront the administration about it out of concern that a “trend” was developing.
“The concern is there’s a lot more there,” he said.
White House representatives so far have not returned requests for comment on the letter.
Then there’s my personal favorite… The Obama EPA claiming their job-killing policies will prevent 17,000 premature deaths – without a shred of evidence to back them up.
Daily Benefactor News – Busted: Obama DOE Altered Green Energy Loan Program Bulletins
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Busted: Obama DOE Altered Green Energy Loan Program Bulletins – National Review
It appears as though the Obama administration has been caught red-handed trying to cover up evidence in relation to the “green” loans programs that helped finance Solyndra.
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CNBC reports that a number of press releases posted by the Department of Energy have been retroactively altered to remove the name of a solar company thought to be the next “green” failure:
The changes occurred in two press releases from the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program – the same program that has been the center of controversy surrounding the failed solar company Solyndra.
Both were changed to remove the name of a company that has received negative press attention in recent days, SunPower, and replace it with the name of another company, NRG Energy.
In the April case, the Department of Energy loan programs office announced in a press release on April 12 “conditional commitment” to a $1.187 billion loan guarantee to support the California Valley Solar Ranch project, which it said was “sponsored by SunPower Corporation.”
But that release was later changed on one website to say the project was “sponsored by NRG Energy.” The date on the release remained “April 12, 2011.”
The name substitution is not completely random. NRG recently finalized its acquisition of the California Valley Solar Ranch project from SunPower in September. However, at the time of the press release in April, SunPower still controlled the project.
Naturally, the DOE blames ‘outside contractors,’ who “inadvertently” altered the news bulletins while updating the loans program website.
Either way, what possible motivation could DOE have to making the changes? Well, here’s a possibility:
SunPower now carries $820 million in debt, an amount $20 million greater than its market capitalization. If SunPower was a bank, the feds would shut it down. Instead, it received a lifeline twice the size of the money sent down the Solyndra drain.
Indeed, SunPower received a $1.2 billion loan guarantee just days before the DOE’s Sept. 30 deadline to approve such agreements. The company, like Solyndra, is also extremely well-connected politically.
Rep. George Miller (D., Calif.), co-chairman of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and close confidant of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (who has Solyndra connections of her own), was a strong advocate for SunPower, which according to PAC filings contributed $15,650 to House and Senate Candidates in 2010. Of that, $14,650 went to Democrats, including $4,000 to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), $2,900 to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) and $500 to Miller himself. Oh, and the company also hired Miller’s son as a lobbyist.
SunPower is currently on track to become the second embarrassing failure in the DOE’s loan portfolio. It is deeply in debt, and company executives recently announced plans to lower its earnings projections for 2011 even further.
More:
In his Sept. 26 column for SeekingAlpha.com, Stoyan Elitzen lists SunPower as the ninth-most-shorted solar stock in either the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ markets. Short sellers are betting that a stock price will go down, as opposed to those who buy long, who expect a stock price to up.
According the Elitzen, the size of SunPower’s short position is equal to 15 days of its average daily volume of 725,000 shares per day. By any measure, such pessimism is a banshee screaming in the night for a company’s stock price that has already lost 94% of value from its 2007 apex.
Although its stock has recovered from its all-time low Oct. 4 of $6.60 per share to trade between $8 and $9 per share, it has been a steep slide from its all-time high Dec. 3, 2007 of $133. Then, the company was worth $13 billion.
Today, its market capitalization is $800 million, just short of its debt of $820 million, according to the company’s July filings for the second quarter.
It certainly doesn’t look good.
Video here.
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FINALLY! Joe Biden meets his mental equals
Yep! Joe might be able to hang with these folks, until next school year………….
A glimpse at Perry’s economic plan
Impressive? Yes, and I think he can sell it. If elected could he get it done? A great portion of it? Half of it? All of it? Who knows, but, I like what I see, and look forward to seeing the whole thing
Texas Gov. Rick Perry supports a flat tax, he said, giving a hint Wednesday of what the economic plan he will release “in six days” will look like.
“It starts with scrapping the 3 million words of the tax code, starting over with something simpler: a flat tax,” Perry said at the Western Republican Leadership Conference at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.
“I want to make the tax code so simple that even Timothy Geithner can file his taxes on time,” Perry said, taking a shot at President Obama’s Treasury secretary.
The second part of his plan will be a serious commitment to spending cuts and the passage of a balance budget amendment.
“I will barnstorm this country from day one, going to all fifty states if that’s required, to generate support for a balanced budget amendment that will require — that will demand — the necessary changes be placed in our Constitution and make tough choices year after year,” he said. “We must have a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
“We must reform entitlements,” Perry added, saying that he would preserve Social Security for today’s retirees and those approaching retirement.
Again, looks promising, but the details need to be examined.
What did I think of last night’s debate? Glad you asked
First of all THANK God the John “Charlie Crist” Hunstman was not there.
Second, I will be so happy when on Ron Paul is no longer part of these debates.
Third, Michele Bachmann should really just go away. Ms. Bachmann, read my lips YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO WIN, no matter how many fake stories about retarded kids you tell. Go back to Congress and try to recall why so many admired you.
Fourth, the most impressive candidate has easily been Newt Gingrich. The man offers the best answers, and seems to be the best informed. Alas, he has severe character issues, and will never get elected.
Fifth, Rick Santorum continues to snipe at, and lie about whoever is leading the polls. Sorry, I really do not like, or trust Santorum, and like Bachmann and Newt, he has zero chance.
Sixth, I love Herman Cain, although I retain serious doubts as to he chances. His 9-9-9 plan, I have my doubts about, I will be frank. And I have been wondering if he and Romney have struck a deal of sorts. Cain seems loathe to really criticize Romney, but not Perry, who is clearly more Conservative than Romney. Something smells there. Oh and about that negotiating with terrorists thing Herman? WTF? Sorry, Mr. Cain, but this is completely unacceptable! Watch the video, then go read what Ace wrote, it sums up my feelings about Cain.
Seventh, to all those folks telling us how presidential Romney is, I have just one question. Where are you getting this from? Sorry, he sounds like a politician to me, a politician who is saying what he is supposed to say.
Finally, to Rick Perry. Sir, I admire you, you have been a great governor, and frankly most of the criticisms against you are BS. No, you are far from perfect, but, you have the executive record that scares the you know what out of the Left. Look at who hates you Governor. Pro-abortionists, trail lawyers, environmental wackos, gun control nuts, MSNBS. You have the ability, and ideals.
So, why do you go after Mitt Romney’s lawn care workers? Really, governor, you have Conservative creds that Romney only claims to have. Clean his clock on job creation, on his history of flip-flopping, and leave the stupid attacks alone. In other words, stop listening to whatever advisor told you to go after Romney’s lawn care.
Ronald Reagan’s Economist, Dr. Arthur Laffer, Defends Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan
Cain’s Stimulating ’9-9-9′ Tax Reform – Arthur B. Laffer
It used to be that the sole purpose of the tax code was to raise the necessary funds to run government. But in today’s world the tax mandate has many more facets. These include income redistribution, encouraging favored industries, and discouraging unfavorable behavior.
To make matters worse there are millions and millions of taxpayers who are highly motivated to reduce their tax liabilities. And, as those taxpayers finagle and connive to find ways around the tax code, government responds by propagating new rules, new interpretations of the code, and new taxes in a never-ending chase. In the process, we create ever-more arcane tax codes that do a poor job of achieving any of their mandates.
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Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s now famous “9-9-9″ plan is his explicit proposal to right the wrongs of our federal tax code. He proposes a 9% flat-rate personal income tax with no deductions except for donations to charity; a 9% flat-rate tax on net business profits; and a new 9% national tax on retail sales.
Mr. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan was designed to be what economists call “static revenue neutral,” which means that if people didn’t change what they do under his plan, total tax revenues would be the same as they are under our current tax code. I believe his plan would indeed be static revenue neutral, and with the boost it would give to economic growth it would bring in even more revenue than expected.
In the recent past, federal tax revenues from the personal and business income taxes, all payroll taxes, and the capital gains, gift and estate taxes have averaged $2.3 trillion, while gross domestic product has averaged about $14.5 trillion. The total revenue from these taxes as a share of gross domestic product averages around 16%. Sometimes it’s a good deal higher, as in the boom of the late 1990s, and sometimes its lower, as in today’s “Great Recession.” But a number in the 16%-19% range is as good as you’ll get under our current tax code.
By contrast, the three tax bases for Mr. Cain’s 9-9-9 plan add up to about $33 trillion. But the plan exempts from any tax people below the poverty line. Using poverty tables, this exemption reduces each tax base by roughly $2.5 trillion. Thus, Mr. Cain’s 9-9-9 tax base for his business tax is $9.5 trillion, for his income tax $7.7 trillion, and for his sales tax $8.3 trillion. And there you have it! Three federal taxes at 9% that would raise roughly $2.3 trillion and replace the current income tax, corporate tax, payroll tax (employer and employee), capital gains tax and estate tax.
The whole purpose of a flat tax, à la 9-9-9, is to lower marginal tax rates and simplify the tax code. With lower marginal tax rates (and boy will marginal tax rates be lower with the 9-9-9 plan), both the demand for and the supply of labor and capital will increase. Output will soar, as will jobs. Tax revenues will also increase enormously—not because tax rates have increased, but because marginal tax rates have decreased.
By making the tax codes a lot simpler, we’d allow individuals and businesses to spend a lot less on maintaining tax records; filing taxes; hiring lawyers, accountants and tax-deferral experts; and lobbying Congress. As I wrote on this page earlier this year (“The 30-Cent Tax Premium,” April 18), for every dollar of business and personal income taxes paid, some 30 cents in out-of-pocket expenses also were paid to comply with the tax code. Under 9-9-9, these expenses would plummet without a penny being lost to the U.S. Treasury. It’s a win-win.
A static revenue-neutral tax change requires static winners and losers. And this 9-9-9 plan has made certain that even on static terms those below the poverty line will be better off—period. Once the dynamics take hold, many of those below the poverty line will find good jobs and thus will rise above the poverty line and start paying taxes.
This is the type of tax increase I wholeheartedly support. I support collecting more in taxes from people with high incomes who choose to actually pay taxes at lower tax rates than use lawyers and accountants to avoid taxes at higher tax rates. Some tax revenues at low tax rates is a heckuva lot better than no tax revenues at high tax rates.
While the 9-9-9 plan has captured people’s imaginations at this moment, it’s not all that different from California Gov. Jerry Brown’s 13% flat tax when he ran for president in 1992. As you may recall, he came in second behind Bill Clinton in the Democratic Party primary.
In 1986, President Reagan passed a major tax-reform bill that lowered to 28% from 50% the top marginal personal income tax rate. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 also raised the lowest marginal income tax rate to 15% from 11% and closed many loopholes, making for a flatter tax structure. Reagan’s bill passed the Senate in a landslide 97-to-3 vote. Who says a flat tax can’t be a bipartisan proposal?
Still, a number of my fellow economists don’t like the retail sales component of the 9-9-9 plan. They argue that, once in place, the retail rate could be raised to the moon. They are correct, but what they miss is that any tax could be instituted in the future at a higher rate. If I could figure a way to stop future Congresses from ever raising taxes I’d do it every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Until then, let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good.
Dr. Laffer is chairman of Laffer Associates and the Laffer Center for Supply-Side Economics and co-author – with Stephen Moore – of “Return to Prosperity: How America Can Regain Its Economic Superpower Status”
Books by Arthur Laffer
H/T Mark Levin
Ethics Committee Re-Launches Probe Into Whether Jackson Attempted To Buy Obama’s Senate Seat
The House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday afternoon that it would resume its inquest into Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.’s role in possibly attempting to purchase the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.
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A statement on the committee’s website notes that the chairman of the committee, Alabama Republican Rep. Jo Bonner, and the ranking member, California Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez, “have jointly decided to extend the matter.”
The probe into Jackson’s involvement was initially deferred due to a request by the Justice Department. That request was withdrawn after former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was found guilty of corruption in June.
Jackson testified at Blagojevich’s trial in May that he never authorized an associate to make a deal with the former governor in exchange for the Senate appointment.
An affidavit detailing the alleged crimes of Blagojevich describes how a designee of “Candidate 5” – later revealed to be Jackson – offered to gather $1,500,000 for Blagojevich in exchange for the seat.
In a clandestinely recorded Dec. 4, 2008 phone conversation, Blagojevich said that Jackson was being considered for the appointment because “we were approached ‘pay to play’” by a Jackson associate, who said that the congressman would “you know, he’d raise me 500 grand.”
Blagojevich said that the congressman’s representative had offered to have another fundraiser rake in an added $1 million. “An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a senator.”
In a second secretly recorded conversation on Dec. 4, Blagojevich said that “some of this stuffs gotta start happening now… right now.” The then-governor instructed the other caller to meet in person with one of Jackson’s associates. “I would do it in person. I would not do it on the phone,” he said.
On Dec. 8, 2008, one day before Blagojevich’s arrest, Jackson personally met with the governor about the Senate seat.
Former Illinois Rep. Debbie Halvorson, who intends to challenge Jackson in the Democratic primary in 2012, released a statement Tuesday afternoon, pointing to the development as “proof that he continues to be plagued with distractions over his possible role in Rod Blagojevich’s pay-to-play scandal.”
“We should have a representative that is focusing on job creation and economic development for our district – not on ethics investigations,” Halvorson said. Jackson has not yet issued a statement.
Gatordoug
darcprynce
Dave C
