Saturday, January 26, 2008
More on the 2008 Stimulus Package:
ABC News has compiled an FAQ regarding the proposed 2008 tax "rebates". Some interesting topics include how stay-at-home parents, retirees, and disabled veterans are treated as well as how the "rebates" apply to the 2008 tax year.Labels: Politics, Taxes
.: posted by
Dave
4:07 PM
Thursday, January 24, 2008
More on the Economic Stimulus Package:
Individuals who pay income taxes would get up to $600, working couples $1,200 and those couples with children an additional $300 per child under the deal. Workers who make at least $3,000 but don't pay taxes would get $300 rebates. The rebates would be limited to individuals whose income is $75,000 or less and working couples with incomes $150,000 or less. The plan would also boost the cap on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits.
[...]
The rebates would phase out gradually for individuals whose income exceeds $75,000 and couples with incomes above $150,000, aides said. Individuals with incomes up to $87,000 and couples up to $174,000 would get partial rebates. The caps rise higher for individuals and couples with children.
I shouldn't complain about a sudden $2100 windfall, but I still don't believe this is a necessary move by our federal government. More likely, it is just a scheme to give the illusion that they're "doing something". We could use a little less scheming and a little more sensibility.Labels: Economy, Taxes
.: posted by
Dave
12:48 PM
So, if you're a progressive, and you endorse the development of biofuels as an alternative to gasoline, but you're also deeply concerned about hunger in the third world, how do you reconcile your thoughts when you read this?
Speaking at a regional forum on bioenergy, Regan Suzuki of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization acknowledged that biofuels are better for the environment than fossil fuels and boost energy security for many countries.
[...]
Foremost among the concerns is increased competition for agricultural land, which Suzuki warned has already caused a rise in corn prices in the United States and Mexico and could lead to food shortages in developing countries.
She also said China and India could face worsening water shortages because biofuels require large amounts of water, while forests in Indonesia and Malaysia could face threats from the expansion of palm oil plantations.Labels: Energy, Politics
.: posted by
Dave
12:24 PM
And The Stimulus Goes Forward:
via the Economist -
President George Bush will unveil the whole package in his state-of-the-union speech on January 28th. But several details have leaked. Households will receive tax rebates of between $300 and $1,200, depending largely on how many children they have. Pressure from Democrats ensured that even families too poor to pay taxes will benefit. And pressure from Republicans ensured that even couples who earn as much as $150,000 a year will get a handout.
The package also includes tax cuts for businesses, giving firms incentives to invest in new factories, showrooms, machine tools and so on. Small firms will enjoy laxer rules on writing off expenses, and ailing firms will get rebates for taxes already paid.
To buoy house prices the package includes a rescue plan for distressed mortgages more generous than anything previously mooted. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two huge government-backed firms that finance and guarantee home loans—will be allowed to buy up mortgages significantly larger than the $417,000 maximum currently permitted. Critics worry that this will only delay a necessary correction in the housing market, but they will almost certainly be ignored.
Both parties have compromised. Democrats wanted to expand food stamps and unemployment benefits, but have backed down. Republicans wanted to target the rebates at those who pay income taxes, but have reportedly agreed to extend them to the large number of Americans who do not.
Compassionate Conservatism meets the Democratic legislature, and in an election year to boot.
Sigh.Labels: Economy, Politics
.: posted by
Dave
12:01 PM
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Fred has dropped out of the Republican race. I've heard that he isn't interested in a cabinet or a VP post either. That's too bad, as I believe he is the only one in the race worth voting for. I believe that it is my civic duty to vote, but this year, I will definitely be holding my nose when doing so.Labels: Election 2008, Voting
.: posted by
Dave
1:45 PM
Don't ever let it be said that ESPN doesn't respect what's going on with Volunteer basketball.Labels: Basketball, ESPN, Vols
.: posted by
Dave
1:43 PM
Monday, January 14, 2008
If there are a total of 37 million people in America living in poverty, how could there be 60 million people living on $2,555 a year?Labels: Financial, Hyperbole, the Media
.: posted by
Dave
4:05 PM
A headline that speaks for itself:
Financial advisers' No. 1 worry: A Democrat in the White HouseLabels: Election 2008, Financial, Politics
.: posted by
Dave
8:38 AM
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Best Laid Plans...
When the day started, I was cheerfully planning a football party next weekend. Most of us are Cowboys' fans. At least one of us (me) is a Colts' fan. Absolutely none of us are Patriots' fans.
Well, of course, the Pats won handily yesterday. Today, the Colts lost by 4. So did the Cowboys. And I didn't really get to pay attention to much of it anyway because of the boys.
Sigh.
I guess it won't be a festive party. Oh, well.Labels: Exasperating Moments, Football, Friends, Parties
.: posted by
Dave
6:52 PM
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
There is evil in this world. Pure evil.
We see images of it on TV, hear about it on our radios, every day. We've become somewhat desensitized to it, too. A murder on a street corner in town. A wife beaten to death in Anytown, USA. "Sad, but it happens," we say. And then we move on.
This week, three particular stories have captivated me. These aren't people I know. I had no emotional interest in them. But reading each one affected me.
First, we have a college basketball coach with a beautiful son. He marries a woman who seems to be his dream wife, but it falls apart. She refuses to let go of the marriage, and in the meantime becomes more unstable. Ultimately, she exacts her revenge on her estranged husband by killing herself, and the son they shared.
Second, another relationship soured along the way. More revenge by an evil man as he decides to throw four children into the bayou from a height of 80 feet.
Third, here in Smith County, where I live, a vivacious, stunning young lady was murdered by her boyfriend, and then partially eaten. Yes, that's what I said. Eaten.
As I said, we're desensitized. We all too often move on, and accept that bad things happen. But things like this make me stop and think twice.
Say a prayer for the innocent families that were affected by these events. And say another prayer for the moral relativists out there. Anyone who says evil doesn't exist need only read these three stories to know otherwise.Labels: News
.: posted by
Dave
10:32 PM
Now THIS is rich with irony:
On the eve of a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Indiana Voter ID law has become a story with a twist: One of the individuals used by opponents to the law as an example of how the law hurts older Hoosiers is registered to vote in two states.
Faye Buis-Ewing, 72, who has been telling the media she is a 50-year resident of Indiana, at one point in the past few years also claimed two states as her primary residence and received a homestead exemption on her property taxes in both states.
Labels: Law, Politics, Voting
.: posted by
Dave
4:49 PM
John Derbyshire hits the nail on the head regarding Election 2008:
Subtract out those who want the handouts, those who want the Washington jobs, those who want to tell us how to live, and those who want everlasting war, and there's not much left of small-government conservatism. Pity — it was a really cool idea.Labels: Election 2008, Government
.: posted by
Dave
12:37 PM
I haven't felt like posting much to the blog lately, but I have been diligently responding to the Dallas Morning News' decision to name the 'illegal immigrant' as the Texan of the Year. See the editorial board's blog post here, here, and here, including some rather angry reader reaction. My own take is also included in the comments.
Basically, I disagree with the editorial staff's choice because a) an illegal immigrant is not a Texan, no matter how you parse it, and b) the DMN board changed their criteria for selecting the TOY midway through the process. It is my feeling and that of many others that no candidate existed that fit their editorial agenda, so they 'moved the goalposts'. Bottom line: the 'illegal immigrant' is definitely a candidate for story of the year in Texas, but the choice of such a nebulous group as TOY is misguided and nonsensical.Labels: Illegal Immigration, Texas
.: posted by
Dave
9:19 AM
Michael Silence pointed out today a proposal in NJ to raise toll fees by 50%. Some are objecting that the increase is a hidden tax hike.
I'm as anti-tax as they come, but raising tolls isn't really a tax. It's a hike in user fees. There can be an argument made that a toll is a user fee that cannot be avoided. However, in every toll jurisdiction in which I have lived (Texas, Georgia, Mass Pike, NYC), there were alternate paths for travel. Note that I didn't say 'convenient' paths of travel.
I would prefer have tolls and eliminate taxation for funding roads, creating a system whereby roads are paid for by those who use them, but that's another discussion altogether.Labels: Government, Roads, Taxes
.: posted by
Dave
9:17 AM
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