Among the issues most commonly discussed are individuality, the rights of the individual, the limits of legitimate government, morality, history, economics, government policy, science, business, education, health care, energy, and man-made global warming evaluations. My posts are aimed at intelligent and rational individuals, whose comments are very welcome.

"No matter how vast your knowledge or how modest, it is your own mind that has to acquire it." Ayn Rand

"Observe that the 'haves' are those who have freedom, and that it is freedom that the 'have-nots' have not." Ayn Rand

"The virtue involved in helping those one loves is not 'selflessness' or 'sacrifice', but integrity." Ayn Rand

For "a human being, the question 'to be or not to be,' is the question 'to think or not to think.'" Ayn Rand

11 June 2008

Obama on Taxes

Barack Obama warns that McCain's tax policy, spending plans, and energy plans will continue the economic slowdown he likes to pretend is a recession. However, his higher taxes on oil companies and wealthy individuals, even though accompanied by a $1000 tax break for most working families, will do much less than McCain's plans to straighten out the economy. The plans of either to institute carbon taxes are likely to send the economy into recession, if implemented, especially as some sort of additional tax.

Not happy to only make the economically absurd claims above, Obama claims that President Bush sacrificed investments in health care, education, and energy and infrastructure on "the altar of tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs." The truth is that the Bush tax cuts enabled the economy to grow so fast and steadily that much more money rushed into the government coffers and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress gleefully spent every last additional penny and then spent some a second time. Chris Edwards, The Cato Institute director of tax policy notes that the Department of Health and Human Services increased spending by 67% in 7 years under Bush, while the Dept. of Education increased spending 92%, the Dept. of Energy spending was up 42%, and federal capital investment outlays were up 35% for non-defense investments and 131% for defense investments. The big tax breaks for corporations resulted in an increase of 128% in federal corporate tax revenues. I suppose Obama's claim that they got those big tax breaks means that he thinks their taxes should have gone up much more than 128%! Hey, Obama, way to ship hordes of jobs to China and India!

The fact of the matter is that the Democrat goal of hugely expanded government expenditures was much better realized by President Bush with his tax cuts than it ever will be by Democrats with their punitive tax schemes on the higher income earners and windfall profit taxes on whichever industries earn the disfavor of the Democrats. Why do the Democrats never talk about windfall taxes on the movie industry? Is it because so many movie stars and producers are giving them a lot of campaign money? Just wondering.

Barack Obama has genius in fooling many of the people most of the time. Other than that, he does not know at all what he is doing.

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