Loopholes

It seems like all the presidential candidates are getting on the bandwagon.  No matter what program we want to fund or just to reduce the deficit, all we have to do is close the tax loopholes.  While this seems like a popular idea, maybe we should think about it for just a minute.

Some loopholes are undoubtedly created as political favors.  I'll contribute $1M to your campaign if you give my product some kind of tax advantage.  Generally, I would be happy to see these loopholes disappear up.  I think the electoral process would be better for it.  On the other hand, many (most?) loopholes are established to encourage a particular behavior.  The most common one is the home mortgage tax deduction, which encourages home ownership.  Can we expect to eliminate all the loopholes and not expect the behavior of the entities benefiting from the loopholes to change?  Will their behavior change in a direction that is more costly to the economy in general and the middle class in particular?  I don't think anyone knows, but before we go around cavalierly hacking away at loopholes, we damn sure better understand the consequences.

You just can't expect to take money from one segment of the population and give it to another without expecting those that lose their money to change their behavior as a result.

Where are the Christians?

Where is the Christian outrage?  Did ISIS wait for a "government" to support their cause?  Al-Shabaab?  Al-Qaeda?  No, they just did it on their own.  Murdering, de-humanizing, terrorizing, looting, plundering.... all in the name of GOD.  Where is the Christian outrage? They are being singled out and murdered, just because they are Christian.  Where is the outrage?  Why don't they fight back.  Why are they waiting for America, or Britain or Germany or whoever to fix the problem? Why doesn't the Pope declare war on Islam?  Like it or not, this IS a holy war.  It's about competing ideology's all claiming they have rights  bestowed by  an invisible supernatural being.  My dad is better than your dad.

Perhaps the Christians and Muslims can wipe each other out and leave a peaceful, reasonable world for the rest of us.

Minimum Wage

Over the past several months, I've heard it over and over again: ."Minimum wage is too low;  A family of four (or six or eight or two) can't survive on minimum wage;  The minimum wage MUST be increased;  Minimum wage should go from $8/hour to $15/hour".  On and on and on....

What about the other end of the equation??  Aren't high prices just as much a part of the problem?  Could I live on $8 an hour if hamburger was $0.49/lb..... gas was $1.20/gal..... a loaf of bread was 20 cents... etc??

Why do we always talk about the wage side of the equation.  Why don't we REDUCE PRICES so that people can afford to live on minimum wage??????

NY Property Taxes

I just read an article lamenting the fact that 25% of NY property is exempt from taxes.  This is due, to a large extent, to properties such as universities, churches, government buildings, etc.  In some counties (e.g. Tomkins County) the tax exempt percentage is as much as 40%.  To this, the Tompkins County Administrator states: "You do try to pay 100% of your bills with 60% of the tax base."

HANG ON A MINUTE!!!!  These tax exemptions are not new!!  You, the government, decided to grant the tax exemptions in order to encourage whatever "business" you granted them to.  You should have based your BUDGET (and therefore your bills) an the tax base of ACTUAL non-exempt property.  Don't blame high property taxes on tax exemptions that YOU agreed to.  You are trying to pay 100% of the bills with 100% of the tax base you knew you had.

GOP takes a hit in CNN Poll; Do they care??

A recent CNN poll showed that the majority of Americans blame Republicans for the Government shutdown and the loss of billions of dollars to the US economy.  But do they care?

The hard line conservative Republicans come largely from congressional districts that are so carefully gerrymandered that it doesn't matter what the general population thinks.  These guys are going to get re-elected no matter what.

Isn't it time to get rid of the gerrymandering process and have an independent agency define congressional districts based on population and geometry rather than politics?

President: "Sign up; it will save you money"

During a speech in the Rose Garden today, President Obama expressed his frustration regarding the problems with the healthcare.gov website developed to allow people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

While President Obama acknowledged that the website was experiencing problems at the moment, he encouraged us to be patient and consider other means to enroll; e.g. by phone or in person.  The main thing, he said, was to sign up, IT WILL SAVE YOU MONEY.

The President obviously doesn't understand how insurance works.  EVERYONE can't save money. Everyone pays premiums and claims get paid to those who are sick.  For the sick, it saves money IF and only IF their illness results in expenses that are greater than the premiums they paid.  The un-sick never save money.

Money = Free Speech

I'm not sure exactly when spending money became an expression of free speech.  The Citizens United case was the first time I remember and now the Supreme Court is considering removing limits on individual campaign contributions as well.

Could you not make a case that paying a prostitute is an expression of free speech and therefore laws against prostitution are unconstitutional?