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.

Dredge the Rivers!

State Senator Tom Libous was interviewed about the need to dredge the rivers, presumably to avoid floods such as the one in September 2011.  First, Mr. Libous stated that he's not an expert on this kind of stuff.  And, he stated, even if he did know something about it, the rivers are under control of the Army Corps of Engineers, not state or local government.  But Mr. Libous, not having any credentials or authority, said we should dredge the rivers.

To me this whole interchange was mildly amusing, until I realized that thousands of ignorant people will take up the chant and potentially wind up spending my tax money to to do something that will have little, if any effect on the potential for flooding in the future.

Just exactly what was the point of that interview anyhow??

Can't Wait For DNC

I can't wait for the Democrats to trot out a group of people unemployed due to Bain Capital actions.  This is better than any reality TV show!  It's such an advantage to go 2nd!!

Super Committee Failure

I'm not surprised, though I'm still disappointed. Our political system is badly broken. I fear for our future. What more can I say.

Let's Eliminate Poliltcal Advertisements!!

Yes folks, it will finally be over tomorrow. There isn't anyone I've talked to who isn't sick of the political advertisements running constantly on the radio and TV. Furthermore, there isn't anyone that I know who is sucked in by the half-truths, innuendos and false promises expressed in the ads.

I suppose there are some people with half a brain that vote based on what they hear in these political advertisements, which is very scary indeed.

Fortunately, I have a solution for the people who are sick and tired of the advertisements as well as the morons who make decisions based on hearing them: Next year, every time you hear a political ad on a TV or radio station, do NOT tune in to that station again till after the election. If we can significantly reduce the number of people watching/listening, real advertisers will demand lower rates because of smaller audiences and the stations will refuse to play political advertisements because they reduce advertising rates and overall revenue.

Yes, I know it's hard to give up World Series and NFL games as well as Dancing with the Stars and Grey's Anatomy and whatever else floats your boat, but I'll bet we can band together and figure out a way to get through 6 weeks without them.

Let's try to build some momentum in 2011 and really make an impact in 2012!!