Which would you rather have: an extra $284 added to your tax refund, or a job? If you're an average American (say, a plumber), that is the difference between Obama's tax plan and McCain's.
The median household income nationwide is $50,233, according to the Census Bureau. The Tax Policy Center found that, for married couples with incomes of $50,000, two children and both parents working, income taxes would be cut by $284 more under Mr. Obama’s plan — by $1,005, compared with $721 under Mr. McCain’s plan.
Deloitte also examined such a couple and found similar benefits; a $700 cut under Mr. McCain’s plan and $1,000 under Mr. Obama’s.
To finance this tax cut, Obama would "raise the tax rate for single households with incomes of $200,000 or more and for families with incomes over $250,000. He would also raise taxes on capital gains and dividends." Yeah, sock it to those greedy so-and-sos, right?
Well, if you don't fit into that $200k per year crowd, you probably work for someone who does. They earn1 enough money to enjoy some of the finer things in life, some of which are probably out of your reach at this point. But, at some point they realize that they could earn even more money (thereby enjoying even finer things and in greater quantities) if they hired a few people and grew their business. This is what's known as capital investment–or, in liberal terms, building an empire on the backs of the poor–where wealth and resources are invested in order to generate even more wealth and resources. So, your employer invests $50,000 into your salary in order to produce $55,000 worth of goods and services. Everyone wins. You make your mortgage payment, and your boss has an extra five grand for his trouble.
Obama, who is one of these greedy so-and-sos, likes to tell you that these greedy so-and-sos have way too much money. So, here's the deal. If you give him what he wants (i.e. a position where he has the authority to take their wealth away from them), he'll give you what you want (i.e. other people's stuff). Think of it like prostitution, only dirtier. He gets the power, you get the money (about $300 or so), and the rich people pick up the tab.
Yes! I'll take that deal. I mean, who couldn't use an extra $300? What could go wrong? Besides those rich guys have more than they need, anyway.
Well, when the someone you work for realizes that the extra revenue created by keeping you on the payroll will be negated by the extra taxes they will pay on it, suddenly keeping you employed doesn't seem like such a good investment after all. Maybe he'll just spend that $50,000 now instead of trying to turn it into $55k over the next 12 months. I hear Vail is pretty. So, your boss enjoys a nice ski weekend this winter while you look for a new job. Oh, but good luck with that because nobody else is hiring, either, because Obama's tax increases will have this same effect on a national (international?) scale.
Do the math. Obama's plan doesn't make sense, no matter how envious you are of what the Jonses have. McCain is no Reagan, but at least he hasn't promised to spread the wealth around, until there isn't any left, in the name of "fairness".
Footnotes:
Yes, that's right. Most of them work very hard for the money they earn. [back]
My dad sent me this the other day. It would probably be funny, except that kids trick or treating tonight will be the same ones who end up footing the bill for an out of control social security system, ever-expanding welfare rolls, socialized health care, and environmental anti-boogeyman efforts. Enjoy the free candy, kids, 'cuz you'll be paying for it later.
That was the message Obama had for reporters from three major newspapers who didn't give him their endorsement. Reporters from The Washington Times, The New York Post, and Dallas Morning News, some of whom have been traveling with the Obama campaign since 2007, were notified last night that they were no longer welcome on Obama's campaign plane. The Washington Times gave their endorsement to McCain just two days ago.
This is the sort of change we can expect from Obama. If you refuse to bow down before the ObaMessiah, there will be consequences.
When a childhood friend of mine joined the Marines, I got a call from Uncle Sam. He wanted to know how long I'd known Dan. He wanted to know if Dan had ever espoused any radical beliefs, or if he had associated with any groups that had. He asked if Dan had ever lived overseas, or if he had ever said anything that would indicate disloyalty to the U.S.A. They wanted to make sure that he was qualified to receive security clearance he would need to become an intelligence officer. As I understand it, Dan spent the next few years watching a whole lot of al Jazeera.
The point is, the military takes their security pretty seriously. If you come from a radical background, including associations with people or groups that are less-than-patriotic, you probably won't be granted any meaningful level of security acceess. With this in mind, John Washburn, who is ex-military, makes a great point:
[B]ased on Obama’s prior associations, I can safely say that obtaining an upper-level security clearance would be impossible for him. The minute the Pentagon discovered his Wright association alone – never mind the one with a domestic terrorist – he would be denied access to any significant national security information. If he joined the military, he would not be granted the most basic security clearance. Yet, as President and Commander in Chief, Obama would have access at the highest level. This man wouldn’t be qualified to be a White House staffer, much less President unless, of course, the American people voted to put him in charge. And there are some who believe his associations don’t matter? Yeah, right.
This reminds me of that old saying about the fox guarding the hen house. Use your vote wisely, American.
Bits, the technology blog of the N.Y. Times, reports that H211 LLC, a "company controlled by Google’s top executives, including billionaire founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, appears to have added a new plane to its well-equipped fleet: a fighter jet, or more precisely a Dornier Alpha Jet."
The article says that they will load it up with instruments for NASA missions, but I'm not buying it. Now that they've entered the cell phone industry with Android, the next untapped market for Google is the heads-up display for fighter pilots. Just think of the possibilities. A pilot types in "Iran nuclear facility" and then clicks on "I'm feeling lucky." 0.08 seconds later Google maps delivers a map of Achmadinajad's back yard. That sounds extremely useful to me.
The first was...
RSS 2.0
