Thursday, August 22, 2013

How nice red areas turn tino Detroit style dumps #4

Politicians have no clue as to what the 80/20 Principle is



See, in the world of business, roughly 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers.

The same is true of government tax receipts. But instead of sending a thank you note to the people picking up the tab, lefties like to persecute these people; deride them as if they are somehow part of the problem instead of part of the solution and finally, tax them some more.

And you know what most of these people end up doing? They don't protest. They don't get angry. They just leave and take their tax dollars with them.

Just look at our future United States of Detroit.............

Blue states like California and Illinois are  struggling meeting obligations for their own public pension funds, so they certainly don’t need this latest bit of news—their tax bases are shrinking drastically. A new study on state-by-state income migration from the Tax Foundation (h/t WSJ), found that New York, California, and Illinois—the largest blue states in the country—led the country in income flight during the last decade. New York was hit particularly hard, losing $46 billion dollars of taxable income to people leaving the state over the past ten years. And these states were not alone: blue stalwarts like Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts were not far behind.
Red and purple destinations like Florida, Texas, Arizona and North Carolina led the pack of states benefiting from this migration, each gaining over $10 billion in taxable income due to new migrants from other states. Although the red/blue divide breaks down somewhat towards the middle of the group—red states like Louisiana saw some minor losses while blue states like Vermont enjoyed modest gains—the overall pattern is hard to miss.
One of the trends driving blue boosters to despair is that the most extensive government programs require taxes hikes which tend to cause businesses to flee, eventually taking residents and their tax dollars with them. This erosion of the tax base forces states to hike taxes further to keep the system running which only accelerates the process. The pension crises in states like California and Illinois suggest that this cycle may be reaching some sort of natural climax. Reversing the trend will require some gut-wrenching changes to business-as-usual.


Need some more evidence? How about on a national level..............

Earlier this month it was reported that the number of Americans renouncing their citizenship increased sixfold in the second quarter compared to last year. According to The Wall Street Journal, more Americans renounced their citizenship in the first two quarters of 2013 than the whole of 2012 combined. The increase comes ahead of a July 2014 deadline (which has been moved back six months) imposed by an absurd piece of legislation called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which compels foreign financial institutions to disclose the holdings of their American customers to American authorities as part of the U.S. government's latest attempt to crack down on Americans who avoid taxes by keeping assets abroad.  

Of course, American authorities can’t legally force a foreign entity to do anything. However, they can threaten to impose a 30 percent withholding tax on income from American sources on a foreign financial institution if those institutions don’t comply with the U.S. Treasury Department’s demands, thereby turning foreign businesses into an IRS enforcement tool. The recent news of the huge increase in the number of Americans renouncing their citizenship is only the latest reminder of not only the arrogance of the IRS but also of the fact that American tax laws place an unreasonable burden on American who live abroad.

One of the most notable instances of an American renouncing his citizenship is Eduardo Saverin, the Brazilian-born co-founder of Facebook, who has lived in Singapore since 2009. Ahead of Facebook’s IPO Saverin renounced his American citizenship, although Saverin denied that his decision was based on economic incentives. Saverin’s decision upset some legislators on Capitol Hill, and prompted Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and some of his colleagues to sponsor a bill, which died in committee, called the Ex-PATRIOT Act, which would have punished Americans who chose to make the rational decision to take legal means to move assets and wealth abroad in an attempt to hand over less money to the government. One of the most objectionable parts of Schumer’s Ex-PATRIOT Act is its title. While perhaps a clever backronym, the implication that you must be somehow unpatriotic for living abroad or for choosing to take legal means to lower your tax bill is disrespectful and symptomatic of a worrying attitude towards the relationship between citizens and their government.  
So if you are the state of New York, just keep yapping about how you don't want Rush Limbaugh as a resident and poof! he'll be a Florida resident in the blink of an eye.

Who did they vote for? #181

Meet Jeffrey Wright and Alexis Longo.



Why are they in the news?


A Dunkin’ Donuts worker was beaten and pistol-whipped Tuesday by a Florida couple enraged over a botched coffee order, police report.

The 1 PM melee at the Lauderhill eatery resulted in the arrest of Jeffrey Wright, 27, for aggravated battery, a felony. Alexis Longo,right’s 22-year-old wife, was charged with misdemeanor battery.
According to a Lauderhill Police Department report, the couple placed a drive-thru order that they later discovered contained the wrong coffee. Longo wanted her java with vanilla. Instead she got caramel.

So the pair parked their vehicle and went inside the restaurant to speak with a manager. Before that could occur, the pair got into an argument with the worker who had handled their order. Matters quickly escalated and Wright and Longo allegedly began assaulting the employee.

So last fall did these two citizens vote for Romney or Obama?

More.....

Life in "Progress" City - Gary IN edition

A group of people tried to rob middle school students at a bus stop in Gary. 

It happened at 24th and Gerry Street. 

 A 14-year-old says a grown woman punched her in the face while she was waiting for the school bus this morning. 

A group of Lake Ridge Middle School students were near the intersection after 7 a.m. when they say two men and two women got out of a black car and attacked. 

“They came up to us asking us for our lunch money and asked for money and electronics. They said if we don’t listen to them someone is going to get hurt,” the 14-year-old said.

More......

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Presidential lawlessness

Life in "Progress" State - California edition


One conversation I find interesting is discussing what makes economies great.

Most liberals usually go to the place that most of America's wealth comes from the Anglo-exploitation of conquered colonies.

I offer that it comes from the establishment of the rule of law which limits economic uncertainty for commerce to thrive.

The U.S. used to be that kind of place but now we have California who doles out tax cuts for businesses and then takes them back...............

Small business owners in California who were promised big tax breaks by the state government are now being ordered to pay possibly thousands in back taxes after a court ruling last year.
CBS Sacramento reports the state promised the tax breaks for opening certain kinds of businesses five years ago, but a court ruled the practice unconstitutional in December.
Now, the California Franchise Tax Board wants their money. The station reports an estimated 2,000 small businesses will be forced to pay up their retroactive taxes, totaling as much as $120 million. 

Some businesses will face a bill of as much as $200,000.
“It sends a message that you can’t trust government,” Ken DeVore with the National Federation of Independent Businesses tells CBS Sacramento. “If you comply in good faith with the rules, they can go back and penalize you.”
California Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Redondo Beach, is fighting back against the taxes. His bill to block the taxes passed a Senate panel last month, and now faces a fiscal review from the Senate Appropriations Committee.
This is akin to jumping into a poker game and having some dude in a robe walk in and state that three of a kind now beats a straight.

Who wants to play in that environment?



Tuesday, August 20, 2013

geez

How nice red areas turn into Detroit style dumps #3

Liberals fleeing the messes they create.

Years ago, I dated a fabulously liberal woman. It was serious enough that we talked of kids and what schools we would send them to.

Since both of lived inside city of Cincinnati Public School system, I just assumed that we would probably send our kids to a parochial school of some type.

I will never forget her response "I still champion public schools so I think we would probably move out to West Chester to send our kids there".

My response back was this "Oh, how nice, white and liberal you are. You wouldn't think of sending your kids to CPS but your affluence allows you to have school choice that you would never allow a parent stuck in CPS system".

Needless to say, things didn't work out for us.

I did notice that she married and now lives in a suburban school system adjacent to the Gekko's, dragging her liberal values with her.

And this happens in every urban area across the country.


Brian Hackford is divorcing Philadelphia, citing irreconcilable differences over public education.

For most of his adult life, Hackford has loved this city - its energy, its grit, its humor, its culture, its diversity, restaurants, parks, museums, and a host of other ineffable qualities that have made this place home.

But try as he might, he no longer believes the Philadelphia School District can be trusted to provide his three children with a good education.

"I've lived in the city since 1995. I've planted roots. Every single one of my friends except one lives in the city. But at 41, I'm having to start all over again."
Hackford, a co-owner of the Keswick Cycle stores, and his wife have put their home in Roxborough up for sale.

"We have an offer," he said glumly, "and if it works out, we're going."

There is no way to know how many parents have lost faith in the city's ability to adequately fund education, and whether they outnumber those who like their kids' schools and won't bail out because of "yet another funding crisis," as one father put it. Countless others can't afford private schools or a move to the suburbs.

Here's my thinking, we conservatives long ago decided that your schools were piles of crap so we left them. You should live with the creations of your own making and keep all of your liberal sensibilities with you.

But look at the bright side. Your kids will believe in global warming even if they can't read.

More.....