That giant sucking sound you hear is more money being vacuumed out of your wallet. Congress was voting fast and furiously on a variety of bills yesterday (even Barack Obama decided to show for a change), and one of the things they did was to pass a budget plan, which although not a final budget, gives us a direction of where Congress is heading. Among the casulties in the fiscal bloodbath, are most of the Bush tax cuts (only some of which may be renewed), a moratorium on earmarks that both John McCain and Mark Kirk have supported (but was pretty much shot down), and an end to the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax (known as the AMT, not the ATM--except perhaps that's how Congress looks at it).
All this fun to look forward to is on top of rising (and already sky-high) gas prices and a slowing economy. If you have the misfortune to live in Cook County, you can enjoy that new 1% sales tax addition (now the nation's highest), and new property transfer tax, which is on top of the RTA bailout tax that Lake and the other Chicago-area counties are also subject to. No wonder Palatine wants to secede.
Let me get this straight... in a slowing ecomomy, the solution is to take more spendable income OUT of people's wallets and put it into the government's... for what? The stimulus package plan clearly shows that many in the government understand that the way to grow the economy is to get money into people's hands and let them spend (although you can argue about the merits of this particular effort all you like), but I think it's a better plan to let people keep more of their money in the first place, not dole it out in laughably small checks after the government has taken it (and expend time, money and resources in having to administer it). Maybe it's just sour grapes since TA sure won't be getting a check, although the TA family pays way more in taxes than many who will get a check (and some will get a check that pay no taxes at all).
Well, have a good weekend, everyone! I have to go bill some client for something so I can make some money to afford all the new domestic spending that the Dems think I need. Or that someone needs, anyway.
OBAMA AND THE MINISTER: Check out this must-read piece in the Wall Street Journal about Obama's minister, Jeremiah Wright. I don't want to spoil the article for you, but if Obama gets tarred with Wright's views on race, it's over. The man that Obama has a relationship like an "old uncle" is also a charter member of the "blame America" club, and appears to think we are to blame for 9/11 by ending WWII with the use of nuclear weapons. Still trying to figure that one out. Read more from CNN here. Be sure to watch the video of the preacher at work. Also some more on Fox.
14th CD Update: Well, in the aftermath of Jim Oberweis's defeat against Bill Foster in Illinois's 14th Congressional District, the NRCC has announced that it probably won't be fronting Oberweis any cash for the general. This is quite a change from a month ago when the NRCC was pretty rosy on Oberweis's chances. TA wonders if this is the first public sign of pressure on Oberweis to bow out of the race, although with a self-funded candidate like Oberweis, there is not a lot of financial pressure the Beltway folks can apply. But, even if he did call it quits (which I doubt his ego will allow), who would step up to run in his place? We still need someone in the 11th, for cats' sake.
WE HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE, AND IT'S NOT THE FAR RIGHT: I will be doing more on this in the future, but in the meantime check on this moderate GOP blog I came across, RealRepublicanMajorityOrg.
OBAMA NOT OPPOSED TO LENDING A HELPING HAND: Barack Obama, the candidate to end politics as usual (or was that Blago?) wasn't adverse to using his political influence to help friends or even his wife to go after some big federal bucks. The Chicago Tribune reports:
"Obama released on Thursday a list of all his requests for earmarked federal spending in 2005 and 2006. He already had released a list of spending requests made in 2007. In among them was a request for $1 million in federal funding in 2006 for a new pavilion at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where his wife, Michelle Obama, was a vice president at the time. The request was not ultimately included when Congress passed spending legislation that year, according to the Obama campaign."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
There are two elements to getting us out of a recession. One, of course, is having as much money in the hands of consumers as possible. The other is government spending that creates jobs.
When General Dynamics builds fighter jets and submarines, that is very good government spending because American workers are making the planes and ships. And, out tax dollars are what pays General Dynamics.
A good policy is one that takes the best parts of tax structure and government spending into a partnership.
If the teachings and preachings of "pastor" Jeremiah Wright, Obama's go-to guy for over 20 years, don't raise questions all over our land then I think we are doomed come next January.
How can anyone in their right mind condone this kind of vicious, hate-spewing filth and not condemn the man and his teachings. Mr. Obama is silent. What does that tell us about the man who would be president.
Rides on private jets, earmarks that would benefit friends and family, business as usual while he wants the American people to see one word: Change. Oh, it's change all right and you can hear the "change" jingling in his pocket and the pockets of those he will enrich if he becomes the president.
Higher taxes, a one size fits all healthcare system, sitting under the tree and singing Kumbayah with the terrorists he knows he can win over is what this guy is offering as his version of Change.
I'm going back to bed, pulling the covers over my head and hoping that when I wake up this will all have been a very bad nightmare. Good grief, what next!
Jeremiah Wright!, Farrakahn, talking to Ahmadinejad, Michelle Obama not being proud to be an American, the endorsement of Todd Stroger, Power and her pro-Palestinian Authority policies, Brezinski....
I am beginning to think Obama is Mark's greatest asset.
TA:
Can I hire Michele Obama? I want to get a million dollar earmark too.
Let's chat about the MilkMan a few minutes. All politicians have egos, just like professionals and average Joe's in the private sector. It's human nature, you can't change it.
That being said, when a politician (or the hypothetical businessman) has an 0-6 record, it's time to look in the miror and be honest: you may not be cut out for what you are trying to achieve. Moreover, in the case of a politician like the MilkMan, one has to be honest and admit that business success does not equate to political success. (This is not a criticism of what the MilkMan has done. Anyone who runs, puts themself on the front lines, and puts thier money where there mouth is time and time again, should be applauded.)
With the foregoing in mind, I believe that if the MilkMan decides to continue on, there is a strong possibility it will be in vain and it will cost him upwards of $4 million of his own money.
So, what's with all the gloom and doom ICBP you ask?
Well, I believe that the MilkMan's most recent loss could become his finest hour. It presents him with a huge opportunity to become the savior, the most high-profile politician and the most respected Republican in all of Lake County, EVER. Pretty big statement huh?
So you ask, ICBP, how does the MilkMan do this? Here it is: Image what would happen if the MilkMan didn't run. Rather, he took the $4 million he was going to spend on a probable loss and he gave $500,000 to four State Rep and four State Senate candidates. Sounds crazy, but just think about the ramifications of that before you start typing. Let it sink in.
Hear that sound? That's the sound of plops from the bricks hitting Dem toliets all over Lake County with the mere suggestion of such a proposition.
Under this scenario, I predict Republicans would pick up 2-3 House seats and Link would almost certainly be defeated in the current cycle. With that momentum, Lake County would be returned to Republican control at the State level two years later. The political landscape at the State level would change dramatically in Lake County - all because of a MilkMan.
Any Dem's reading? Pup? Puppet (aka, Ryg)? MayDay? Mr. Dead People Petitiion Guy? - Any of you up for a fight against a candidate with half a million in the bank? Scary thought huh?
So, all of that being said, how about it Jim? Do you want to become one of the most popular and powerful Republicans in the State of Illinois? Or, are you going all-in with a weak hand that could leave you 0-7?
Post a Comment