Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Update
So far so good on the New Years Resolutions. The wife's company Christmas party was a bit of a setback, as was the massive soreness that a 46 year old out of shape fat guy accrues when hitting the gym five days straight. Taking a couple days off to recover but will start hitting it hard again tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
New Year's Resolutions
I have never been real big on New Year's resolutions, I tend to live for the moment and pursue the things I enjoy with gusto. However, I had a medical event on Dec. 30 that made making some New Year's resolutions seem appropriate, given the timing. So in 2010 I have resolved to:
1) Lay off the beer except on special occaisions (Jazz Fest would be one of those). So far I have stuck to this one, believe it or not.
2) Lay off other booze beyond one medicinal drink or small glass of wine. So far I violated this one once, on Sunday, but I was having a gout attack from Hell at the time. Yesterday I went to the clinic and got that taken care of.
3) Get in the gym again; it has been way too long.
4) Drop 50 pounds. This one will only be tough if I regress on the other 3.
Wish me luck and feel free to ask for progress reports; I need the moral support!!
1) Lay off the beer except on special occaisions (Jazz Fest would be one of those). So far I have stuck to this one, believe it or not.
2) Lay off other booze beyond one medicinal drink or small glass of wine. So far I violated this one once, on Sunday, but I was having a gout attack from Hell at the time. Yesterday I went to the clinic and got that taken care of.
3) Get in the gym again; it has been way too long.
4) Drop 50 pounds. This one will only be tough if I regress on the other 3.
Wish me luck and feel free to ask for progress reports; I need the moral support!!
Thank goodness for Global Warming
I recently heard that since December 30 there have been 1,246 winter weather records set in the United States. The last two nights here have been in the 20's, and they are forecasting weekend nightly wind chills in the 5 - 15 degree range - we will very likely set modern, if not all-time, cold records this Friday and Saturday night. All I can say is Thank God for Global Warming, just think how bad this winter might be without it!!
Transparency?
This morning I heard seven sound bites of then-candidate Obama bloviating about how the health care debate under his administration would be "Transparent" and "In the public view" and "Televised on C-Span". Which of course explains why Pelosi and Ried have denied C-Span permission to cover their closed-door reconciliation hearings. When asked about Obama's promises of transparency and C-Sapn coverage, Pelosi smirked that "A lot of things are said during a campaign". Which, my friends, sums up her and her party's attitude and approach in a nutshell - say whatever you need to say to get elected,then do whatever you want once you are in there, the American public be damned. I hope I am not the only one paying attention to this.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
The following is attributed to David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, University of Georgia. I received it by e-mail and have forwarded it several
times, but I still believe it is relevant and because of it's simplicity is the best arguement for tax reform I have seen.
Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
times, but I still believe it is relevant and because of it's simplicity is the best arguement for tax reform I have seen.
Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
More on Perception vs. Reality
Coincidentally, I was listening to Mark Levin's radio show earlier and Sean Hannity called in. During the course of their conversation they both asserted that they do not question Barak Obama's citizenship and have both said as much on their shows, which further validates the point I am trying to make - the only people who think this is an issue to Reagan Conservatives are those who get their information about Conservatives from ultra-left-wing sources.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Perception vs. Reality
I have received several e-mails and other communications that indicate that an alarming amount of people formulate their opinions about Conservatives and what we are about by how we are portrayed by extreme liberal outlets such as MSNBC, the Daily Kos, the Huffington Post, and the fraudulent posturer Michael Moore.
A perfect example of this is the constant harping on the Birther topic, which attackers of the Conservative movement seem to think is sacred to our doctrine when in fact we all know that this is a total non-issue for mainstream Conservatives. The attacks that I have seen on people like Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal are completely baseless, and the constant attacks on Conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh generally involve taking short sound bites completely out of context.
Another great example is the vociferous excoriation of Bill O'Reilly, who probably has more journalistic integrity than anyone out there. I have said this before - I have seen e-mails to Bill that blasted him for being too far to the left and too far to the right on the SAME STORY. I think that if some of the O'Reilly haters actually read his books and watched his show they might find out that they have a lot more in common with him than they ever would have thought.
When the State controls the media they can force-feed the population whatever they wish to propagate. The sycophantic liberal media in this country sucks up to to those who give them access and support their worldviews. Those who reject Fox News and conservative talk radio out of hand need to re-evalaute their stance; most mainstream media outlets these days are parroting liberal talking points. The Wall Street Journal is a bastion of journalistic integrity that is ignored by the legions who get their worldview from the New York Times and/or Washington Post, among others.
A perfect example of this is the constant harping on the Birther topic, which attackers of the Conservative movement seem to think is sacred to our doctrine when in fact we all know that this is a total non-issue for mainstream Conservatives. The attacks that I have seen on people like Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal are completely baseless, and the constant attacks on Conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh generally involve taking short sound bites completely out of context.
Another great example is the vociferous excoriation of Bill O'Reilly, who probably has more journalistic integrity than anyone out there. I have said this before - I have seen e-mails to Bill that blasted him for being too far to the left and too far to the right on the SAME STORY. I think that if some of the O'Reilly haters actually read his books and watched his show they might find out that they have a lot more in common with him than they ever would have thought.
When the State controls the media they can force-feed the population whatever they wish to propagate. The sycophantic liberal media in this country sucks up to to those who give them access and support their worldviews. Those who reject Fox News and conservative talk radio out of hand need to re-evalaute their stance; most mainstream media outlets these days are parroting liberal talking points. The Wall Street Journal is a bastion of journalistic integrity that is ignored by the legions who get their worldview from the New York Times and/or Washington Post, among others.
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