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Making Your Life More Expensive |
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I tried to warn people.  The impact of Obama's "Land of Make-Believe" policies continue... Private-sector jobs in the U.S. fell 473,000 in June. Which then leaves it to Obama to then spend "stimulus" money (your tax dollars) to provide jobs.Which is exactly what I cartooned last fall. I look forward to MC'ing the July 4th Des Moines Tea Party this Saturday. |
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One of the benefits of buying a car with better mileage is paying less in taxes at the pump. As the government tries to push better miles per gallon, government would of course need to replace the revenue confiscatory taxation it collects at the gas pump. How to do that? Why, tax by the mile, of course! The idea of shifting to a by-the-mile tax has been discussed for years, but it now appears to be getting more serious attention. A federal commission, after a two-year study, concluded earlier this year that the road tax was the "best path forward" to keep revenues flowing to highway and transportation projects, and could be an important new tool to help manage traffic and relieve congestion.You [would] get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove - tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center. How excited might you be to let the government not only track where you drive and where you are, but then tax you directly for your miles?Taxes tend to cause less stir when they are bundled with other costs. For example, your income is taxed before you receive it, and not afterward. Gas taxes are collected when you pay for your gas, not afterward. Sales tax is collected as part of the sale, not afterward. If Americans really understood how much they pay in taxes - all totalled - and had to pay separately, why there might even be a rebellion. But because the taxes are collected from so many diversified sources and are generally bundled with income or expense, we don't htink much of it. It's all hidden. Out of sight, out of mind. Which is why by-the-mile taxation will be a tough sell. Or should be. But Obama's telling us what lightbulbs we can have now, so maybe people will mindlessly put up with this new paradigm. |
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It ain't pretty... To put it bluntly, the fiscal policy of the United States is unsustainable. Debt is growing faster than gross domestic product. Under the CBO's most realistic scenario, the publicly held debt of the U.S. government will reach 82 percent of GDP by 2019 -- roughly double what it was in 2008. By 2026, spiraling interest payments would push the debt above its all-time peak (set just after World War II) of 113 percent of GDP. It would reach 200 percent of GDP in 2038. This huge mass of debt, which would stifle economic growth and reduce the American standard of living, can be avoided only through spending cuts, tax increases or some combination of the two. And the longer government waits to get its financial house in order, the more it will cost to do so, the CBO says. The CBO's new long-term forecast is considerably more pessimistic than the one it issued 18 months ago, mostly because of the recession, which has driven the budget deficit above 12 percent of GDP. But the report makes clear that the recent economic downturn did not cause the government's predicament and that the situation will not necessarily improve once the economy does. The principal cause of long-term fiscal distress is the aging of the U.S. population, coupled with rising health-care costs -- which, together, will drive spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to new heights. Unchecked, federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid combined will grow from almost 5 percent of GDP today to almost 10 percent by 2035 -- and to more than 17 percent of GDP by 2080. The only logical question to ask is: do you love your kids enough to fight for their future? |
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The Waxman-Markey bill, known as "Cap and Trade," might pass today. If it does, with their strong majority, the Democrats will likely pass it in the Senate. And of course, Obama will sign it into law. On the day that happens, I'm pretty sure that most conservatives will wake up. I say most because while there are many who are somewhat aware of what's happening these days, most don't want to get involved. Politics is an ugly topic most of the time. Mostly, folks just want to avoid it except in private conversations where it won't prove contentious. Unless of course, it starts hitting their income. And most assuredly, this bill will hit their wallets. When conservatives wake up, it won't be a Republican uprising. Democrats too, because most Americans are conservative. And more yet are fiscally conservative. Once Waxman-Markey hits the streets and hikes our energy prices, Americans will wake up. At that point, here in the Land of Make-Believe, Americans will be pissed. Bush will be a distant memory compared to the increasing problems in the economy. You see, in the Land of Make-Believe, all these liberals hold to the idea that taxing people is just revenue to be gained in pursuit of economic justice and fairness. Take from the rich and give to the poor. The way life ought to be, according to them. It's at that point, when the socialist rubber meets the road, that Americans wake up and realize just what the hell they did in electing this Congress and this president. It's at that moment that "The Big Undo" will start. Yep... nothing like a reactive response. For all the unwillingness to get involved earlier and be pro-active, they'll have to start electing people who promise to unravel the Barackracy erected to manage Cap and Trade's mandates. Because if they don't, America will deteriorate, and Americans will do what it takes to protect their wallets. It won't just be the liberals who killed business. Nope. It will be the fence-sitters who refused to get involved earlier. Silence is enabling. For all the discomfort and lack of social graces that politics brings, it is necessary. Otherwise, crap happens like Waxman-Markey because conservatives, too busy being busy and worrying about their social status and network, refused to take action early. Nicey nice is fine and dandy - except when you're parked in front of a train. See it coming yet? |
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If you know me personally, you know that my road in life has been tough. If there's been one lesson of my life, it's the value of persistence. It's all one foot in front of the other. Just keep walking and don't quit. I hear from folks on the Right and at times, they seem overwhelmed by what Obama and Pelosi are foisting on us. It's fast and furious, no doubt. The pace of it, coupled with the media's support of this socialist train, takes the wind out of the sails of some. It's worth the fight. Keep at it. We're just getting started... |
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One theme that is consistently clear with our president is his clear disdain for America as it is today. Campaigning on a pledge of "change," he has continued to push the meme. He seeks to change America. Now I know that his voters thought it was great fashion to vote him into office. It made them feel better about themselves. It might have been because he was the anti-Bush. It might have been because he came across as youthful. It might have been the excitement of electing a black man into our nation's highest office. I know several Obama voters, and I've heard all three reasons for voting him in. What I didn't hear from any of them was a desire to nationalize industries. I didn't hear a desire to control the banking system. I didn't hear that they felt more fees and taxes needed to come their way. I didn't hear that they wanted deficit spending to rise by multiples. Who we are is defined by what we do. Who is Barack Obama? Is he the youthful, peace-loving, polyethnic guy? Or, is he the power-grabbing, free-spending, thin-skinned fella who failed to speak out against tyranny and governmental violence in Iran until the polls said that he must? Actions, not words. And he acts like he is above the United States of America. Like he's better than America. Like it's distasteful to have to represent our values of liberty and individual freedom. This is why he seldom talks of liberty and freedom. It's why he hesitates to push other nations toward liberty and freedom. He doesn't really believe in such things. Instead, his sole mission is to flatten this nation into a model of fairness. That's the change he seeks. Not liberty, but fairness. Sameness. Somewhere along the way, equality in America morphed into fairness. Equal treatment under the law transformed into similar outcomes via the law. So I ask Obama voters: does he represent you? Did you want the government to take over industries? To hurt our economy through greater taxation and fees? To pass enormous debt to children? Is that what you stand for? I realize that the fashion of an Obama bumper sticker seems exciting and rebellious, but by your enabling of his actions, you're the reason these things are happening. Are you proud of that? Is he the instrument of your intentions, or is he just the accessory to your apparel? Because putting a man who perceives himself to be above his country and who works feverishly to change our country toward a socialist model is not attractive about you. You look the fool. And because all of this debt will be transferred to my children, I blame you. I will fight you, and I will mock you. Because I'm proud of my country, and its historical stand for liberty and freedom. It's a damn shame you're not. |
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