New York Times fails math and basic tax collecting courses
August 14, 2008
On Tuesday, I saw a headline at the New York Times Web site, Study tallies corporations not paying income tax. This type of story is right up our ally since our readers know that corporations don’t pay taxes; people do. I didn’t get to research the story on Tuesday, but Power Line just provided a kick in the head tonight and reminded me about it.
It turns out that Lynnley Browning and editors at the Times can’t understand basic logic. They figured since two out of three corporations in the study did not pay any taxes, they might as well take the total gross receipts of two-thirds of the companies and assume that 35 percent of that should be tax going to the feds.
They calculated that the government was being cheated out of $875 billion. Idiots. Read more
Confirmed? Raising minimum wage increases unemployment
August 2, 2008
Here’s another great new learning opportunity for readers. If you owned a small business that employed 10 teenagers, how important is the payroll line in your budget? A majority of teens make minimum wage while they scoop ice cream, mow lawns and work at fast food joints.
Many of these employees are paid more than minimum wage depending on the going rate in the area, but this morning I was reminded of the minimum wage increase that Congress passed and the president signed a few years ago. The minimum (federal) wage went from $5.15 to $6.55 per hour in two years, and you may be curious if that change could be related to the unemployment rate of teenagers. Of course it is. Read more
How to lower oil prices right now - Yes. We. Can.
July 2, 2008
Barack Obama does not have any answers. All that he and his Democrat followers can do is blame the increase in gas prices on Big Oil, the war in Iraq, and Republicans that refuse to “invest” in new technology so we can “get off” our addiction to oil.
Of course, it doesn’t help that Dick Cheney used to be the CEO of Halliburton and George W. Bush has all of those buddies that are in the oil industry; but why mix fiction with fiction.
So what can be done today so we start seeing a reduction in fuel prices tomorrow? Read more
The Nanny State Rules? - We Loose
March 9, 2008
Walter Williams’ recent article, Liberty Versus Socialism, reminds us that government control of our personal lives leads to a loss of liberty. Read his full post.
A fortnight ago, I wrote about Mississippi Legislature House Bill 282 that would have imposed fines or revoked licenses of food establishments that served obese people. Fortunately, the measure died in committee. State Rep. Ted Mayhall, one of the bill’s sponsors, justified it by saying that he wanted to bring attention to the fact that “Obesity makes people more susceptible to diabetes, which puts a further strain on the state’s financially-challenged Medicaid program.”
What other issues can put additional financial strain on state budgets? I can name quit a few, and Williams provides us with good food for thought. Read more
Bernake Calls for Reductions in Mortgage Principal
March 4, 2008
Outrage of the day. The fed chairman is suggesting that lenders actually lower the principal of mortgages for those having difficulty covering the rising costs of their subprime loans. Read more
