Three Parts of Tax and Spend

I posted this comment over at MP Paulsen.  Thoughts?

3 Topics Here

1. How much of our economy is collected and spent by the politicians? My preferred target is ~33% of GDP. That leaves 67% for citizens to use as they wish.
2. Who is taxed to pay that 33% or other? Currently successful people pay a lot more in taxes to support and care for the citizens who are not successful. Makes sense since they have the money and the poor do not. (ie no getting blood out of a turnip)
3. What the politicians choose to spend that 33% or other on? I am somewhat indifferent as long as they over time stay within their budget and keep America secure. (some deficits / some surpluses) Unfortunately even in these good times they are spending more than they take in and our kids will need to pay for it in one way or another. Keep praying that interest rates stay low. :-)

G2A Political Self Awareness
Total US Govt Spend History

What Will They Protest Next

Since MinnPost is moderating this one intensely, let's see what folks here have to say.  MinnPost Go Topless Day  This event apparently occurred on Sunday.  Here are my random thoughts:

• Aren't their much more important things to protest?
• If the freedom to show off their breasts is what they seek. Why is all the internet coverage so rated PG?  I am pretty sure they could flash them on some site.  Reference Rumor Willis' Stroll
• How exactly does anyone envision converting American males to being indifferent to the breasts of American females?
• If they succeed, what will all those poor big breasted strippers do for a living?
• If women have the freedom to show them, do men get the freedom to gawk or take photos?

Being an American Male who either naturally and/or was conditioned to appreciate female physical attributes, I sincerely wish them luck in being successful...  :-)  Thoughts?

Paulson, St Anthony, Sanders and Walker

This post is for my convevience. In case I want to get back to these posts.  Thoughts welcome though.
MP Rep Wonk Paulson
MP St Anthony Falls Turbines
MP Walker Healthcare Proposal
MP Sanders Won't Play Game
MP Walker Annoys Some Conservatives
MP Walker Tax and Spin

Clinton and Black Lives Matter

This is a somewhat amusing exchange.Clinton and BLM

I especially appreciate when the BLM speaker tells one of the most capable politicians in the world... 

Jones: "I say this as respectfully as I can, but you don't tell black people what we need to do. And we won't tell you all what you need to do."

I keep thinking that this is part of the problem some Black people in America have.  They are adamant that they should be able to be successful living and doing whatever they want to do.  I have found it much easier to conform with business dress codes, speaking proper American English, being successful academically, etc  I wish them luck fighting city hall.

Salon Version

Circular Reasoning

Here is a strange post...  MP Clinton Email  Drama and Circular Reasoning
Thoughts?

Bias and the News

This is an interesting article with more interesting comments.  Thoughts?
MP FOX News Challenge

What is Governments Role in Equal Opportunity

Sean left the following comment here.  G2A Liberals and Stereotyping  And I said I would try to get back to it.

"Let's boil this down even further. The sense is that society should function more-or-less as a meritocracy, right? Smart people who make good decisions should tend to find themselves at the top and less-educated people who make bad decision should tend to find themselves at the bottom. 

The question becomes -- which set of policies are more likely to make this actually happen? It's a fact that students in the top 25% of achievement but the lowest 25% of income graduate from college at the same rate as those in the top 25% of income but the lowest 25% of achievement. (Sean's post on the Topic) 

If you want the meritocracy to work, you've got to provide people equal opportunity (to the extent possible) to allow it to happen. We don't have anything remotely close to equal opportunity today, and one party is determined to keep it that way by denying that structural barriers still exist and not taking actions designed to put people on a more equal footing. 

Republicans want to gripe about taxes. For over 40 years following the end of WW2, the top marginal tax rate in this country was 50% or higher. Yet, somehow, wealthy people flourished -- and for the most part, so did the rest of society. Since we've slashed taxes on higher earners, we've only had one small period of sustained real wage growth for middle-class taxpayers (during the Clinton Administration). There's a reason that society is becoming more unequal, and it's not about the laziness or entitlement of the masses -- it's about the policy choices we have made as a country." Sean

Starting at the end first, I think Liberals are trying to compare apples and watermelons with the top marginal tax rate discussions.  These folks explain it in more detail, but in summary the USA was in great shape after WWII whereas most other countries were decimated.  Of course we thrived. Whereas today we can not even get our own citizen's to "Buy American", transport is cheap, communication is instantaneous, money flows easily between countries and those other countries are highly competitive / hungry.  Also, there is apparently some question how effective those rates were and the different gray areas.  My point is I don't think anyone knows what would happen if we jacked up the marginal rates.
AEI Were Taxes Higher
Tax History Project
Forbes Higher Rates

Regarding the main  point, "you've got to provide people equal opportunity".  My question is how far do we take the government interfering in the lives of normal citizens?

Currently we spend ~$1 Trillion per year at the local, state and fed levels to help even the playing field. (ie welfare, medicaid, etc) And this does not count the almost $1 Trillion we spend on Public Education.  So how much is enough?

And how do we get people / families who are trapped in generational cycle to break the bad habits of their parents, grand parents, neighbor kids, etc?

Liberals and Stereotyping

Paul and Jason are in fine form over at MinnPost Discourse Keeps Sinking Lower.  They are saying all kinds of nasty things about the GOP and its supporters.  I called them on excessive stereotyping and it is making for an interesting disagreement.

Now I agree that people on both the far Right and far Left seem to live to stereotype the people on the opposite pole.  The thing is that I thought the folks on the far Left were supposed to be above discrimination, prejudice, etc.  Yet Rush has nothing on these 2 when they get going. Thoughts?

Robots Continued

 Jerry would like to discuss The Robots are Coming further

"Before we forget all about this topic, I was hoping someone could shed some real light on this question: Let us assume, for the moment, that the nation recovers from a bad case of Obamanomics and resumes Reagan-era economic growth and Bush-era "full employment."  

That is, all of the currently unemployed go back to work (the real number, ~11%, not the phony DOL number of 5.whatever). Now assume that we shut off the flood of illegal immigrant labor taking some jobs, and maybe even send a few of them "back where they came from."  

One more: Let us assume that 80-90% of welfare recipients are not only "able-bodied" (a reasonable estimate) and able to work, but they are somehow magically qualified for any job that might be open.  

The question is: ARE THERE enough jobs currently open to employ all the people in this country right now?" Jerry

MN Education Articles

Some charters who get about half the funding of the Union Controlled Near Monopolistic Public Schools got not so good report cards, so the Liberal Union friendly commentators at MP smell blood and attack...  Ironically the charters still did better than the status quo schools.  I will never understand how all these union supporting adults can spend so much time and energy fighting for money, seniority, power, security, work rules, etc while all those unlucky kids are unable to read, write and do basic math...

Of course the Conservatives are not much better since they ignore the reality of unlucky kids with dead beat Parents.
MP Charter Grim Scores
MP Lucey Laney Scores
MP Charter Innovate

Thoughts?

EPA Causes Pollution

CNN EPA Causes River Spill

Now that is an ironic story...

Clean Power Plan

Here is an interesting article.  Thoughts?
MinnPost Clean Power

MN Buffer Strips and Pheasants Forever

We got into some interesting comments  at MinnPost MPCA Citizen Board after I noted that the farmers told me that it was actually the Sporting Group folks who helped to push the buffer strips through.  Which makes sense since enforcing the 16 foot buffer strips better would have been enough, increasing them to 50 ft was just overkill since the water does not enter the ditch over the top in most cases.  Those folks sure do like their Pheasant Habitat.

"Pheasants Forever on Buffer Strips ~125,000 acres or 18,750,000 bushels of corn... $65,625,000 in revenues... I sure hope it helps improve something." G2A

Also please note that Dayton is working around the new laws...  I am curious who he picks and what it is costing us tax payers?  Thoughts

MN Hispanic Republican Assembly

Here is a link to an interesting article and related comments.

MinnPost MN Hispanic Republican Assembly

"Seems: A comparison/analogy was made to a statement Reagan a Republican made, vs. the Republican chant of today. The challenge was to philosophically explain the significant difference between the Berlin wall and the Southern Border wall? The claim is: both sets of folks want to be free and live a good life in a land of opportunity. " Dennis

"Please remember that Mexico is a Democracy, not a communistic oligarchy. Also, the USA will still encourage legal immigration, communications , trade, relations, etc. With this in mind I see the Berlin wall and the Mexican walls as very different things.
Democracy in Mexico the past, present and future 

Let's say there are ~5 Billion people in the world that would love to move to the USA. How many of them do you want to invite and how fast? Do you want them to stand in line, get back ground checks, etc or do you just want them to run across the border? 

I would prefer orderly controlled immigration. If nothing else, to treat those who are following the process with respect. (ie no line budging allowed...) And if we really want to increase starting wages, it may be a good idea to reduce the number of people who can do those jobs to the legal citizens for now.

By the way, are you pro-NAFTA or con-NAFTA?" G2A

The point of my last question is that usually Liberals who are in support of a "Path to Citizenship" and weaker borders  are against NAFTA.  And it just occurred to me that this is very ironic since they are concerned about the jobs going to these other low cost countries, but they are okay with having the low cost labor come here.  Thoughts?

MNGOP Affiliates

I am still puzzled that more Hispanics do not vote GOP since many seem to be Catholic. (ie anti- abortion and LGBT marriage)

How is Congress Doing

As is expected, the Liberals over here are saying that Congress (ie GOP) is still failing.
MinnPost How is Congress Doing This Year?

I keep asking them what they would see as success, but am getting no answers. So here is what I think the Far Left folks would see as a successful Congress:

• Raise and create more taxes.
• Increase spending on existing programs.
• Create new programs to fund.
• Eliminate medical insurance choice.
• Create more regulations, requiring more paperwork / oversight.
• Pardon aliens who budged in line in front of legal immigrants and took American jobs.
• Stifle religious freedoms and force them to they associate with people who believe differently.
• Stifle fire arms freedoms.
• Fund light rail, bike paths, arts, etc. 
• Raise the cost of living and doing business in the USA by increasing the minimum wage significantly.

What else should the Congress be doing to be deemed successful from the Liberal view?  Personally I think the checks and balances are work well.

GOP Presidential Debate

Okay...  It is here...  Thoughts?
Fox News Debate
CNN  Debate

Real Causes of Poverty are Systemic?

This one seems related to our last 2.  Thoughts?
MinnPost Enough Individualistic Rhetoric Real Causes Worker Poverty are Systemic

G2A Why are Poor People Poor?
G2A Why does the Achievement Gap Persist?

Wealth and Who Owns It?

"I would raise taxes. America is a very rich country." Laurie


"The robots owners and the ownership class in general could pay the bulk of the taxes." Laurie


Laurie's comments above from robots remind me of when Hiram's typical view, maybe it is a Liberal / Democratic Socialist view that America's wealth is the sum of the Public Net Worth and every citizen's Private Net Worth. And that all of it should easily accessible to fulfill the whims of society.


Here is a randomly selected piece on property rights.
Intro to Property Rights


From my more Conservative view the USA is a financially stable country that has many wealthy, capable, driven and smart citizens that work hard to keep it that way. I mean even our poor are middle class or rich on a global basis because of the welfare we distribute.


I will never understand why Laurie and folks like her think that people like Bill Gates owe society and her an even bigger cut of his wealth.  Thoughts?