The-Asterisk

Let's be clear. Most consumers of the Obama post-campaign campaign agitprop have as much of an idea of the difference between an increase in the tax rate and an increase in tax revenue as they do the difference between profit and profit margin. President Obama campaigned relentlessly on raising the tax rate on the top earners... "those people like me, who can afford to pay a little bit more to help reduce the deficit", he would say in that sotto voce that became so familiar on the stump. And really, who could disagree that the filthy rich (most of whom are Democrat Party supporters), couldn't afford to pay "just a little bit more"? After all, for them, a checkbook rounding error would fund my family for a year. So what is the harm in raising the top rate from 35% to 39.6%. I mean, that was the rate during Clinton's final years in office. They were the golden years and look how great a shape he left the economy in. (Discussion of the Internet bubbl...

Here is a quick tale of two homeowners... There are two houses on the same street. Both were built in the same year and both were identical houses. The first house has been owned by Joe for five years. It was a decent house when Joe got it, but Joe has neglected his home, choosing to spend his money on lottery tickets and having a good time. Joe has several kids still at home, but he never makes them mow or do anything around the house. Each year, his home is assessed at an ever decreasing value, meaning that his property tax bill decreases, even though property taxes are primarily used to fund public education for kids like his. The second house was owned by Joe's brother who was an even bigger loser than Joe and he was finally foreclosed out of his house after three years of effort by the bank. Even though the house was just like Joe's when he bought it, he took care of it even less than Joe did. When he lost his job at the mill, and the bank started to foreclose on his m...

This morning I was ranting on Twitter and I tried to make my point through several consecutive tweets. 140 characters is not a lot of room to relay a big thought and one follower, @dogwalkblog took me to task on this point. He is a great blogger, but he has a history of media experience behind him. I have passion, this blog and 8000 tweets behind me, and I think I have become a better blogger for having gotten "out there" and expressed myself. So, with that said, I will make my point about how I disagree with the President in what is fair. President Obama opined in his State of the Union address earlier this week that he wants to make things fair so that all people have a fair shake at whatever it is they want a fair shake at. Jobs? Income? Health? Free throws? 4 minute mile? Marriage? I don't know... Let me start out by saying LIFE IS NOT FAIR and thank God for that fact. If it was fair, virtually no one would push to exceed and succeed, because there would be no...