The Peregrin Falcon

As usual, last night coming home from work, I flipped on the radio in my car to my favorite pre-set AM talk station. Listening to talk radio for me is more soothing than just bopping along to the same old songs and formats that have been played for umpteen decades.

Mark Levin, is a radio host that I listen to on occasion. I have nothing against him; he is simply in the rotation of others on my listening list. When I tuned in Mr. Levin was going over the tax plan presented by Sen. Obama.

I have been curious about this tax plan from the start. Whenever I encounter a public figure talking about taxes based on essentially class-warfare; I am skeptical. After all, if I were aspiring to be in the upper class; why would I want to bash them?

Mr. Levin began reading from a blog post by Ned Barnett. I have included a link and the title of the post so you can go to it directly. However, for now I just want to point out the interesting points I found curious.

Senator Obama’s Four Tax Increases for People Earning Under $250k
By Ned Barnett

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/senator_obamas_four_tax_increa.html

Point 1:
“…The first loophole was easy to find: Senator Obama doesn’t “count” allowing the Bush tax cuts to lapse as a tax increase. Unless the cuts are re-enacted, rates will automatically return to the 2000 level. Senator Obama claims that letting a tax cut lapse — allowing the rates to return to a higher levels — is not actually a “tax increase.” It’s just the lapsing of a tax cut. “

Isn’t this like a staunch politician? Don’t admit what you’re doing, just rename it! Let’s see….. Haven’t we encountered this before? Does anyone remember the definition of “is”?

Point 2:
“…For a married family, filing jointly and earning $75,000 a year, this increase will be $3,074. For those making just $50,000, this increase will be $1,512. Despite Senator Obama’s claim, even struggling American families making just $25,000 a year will see a tax increase — they’ll pay $715 more in 2010 than they did in 2007. “

Does this mean that “Joe The Plumber” was …. Right? I think it does. Sorry, Media Zombies, sorry Mrs. Couric, sorry Mr. Maher; middle income Americans can and do think.

Points 3 & 4:
3.1 “…The next loophole involves the payroll tax that you pay to support the Social Security system. Currently, there is an inflation-adjusted cap, and according to the non-profit Tax Foundation, in 2006 — the most recent year for which tax data is available — only the first $94,700 of an unmarried individual’s earnings were subject to the 12.4 percent payroll tax.”

3.2 “…Senator Obama has proposed lifting that cap, adding an additional 12.4 percent tax on every dollar earned above that cap — and in spite of his promise, impacting all those who earn between $94,700 and $249,999”

4.1 “…Senator Obama has also said that he will raise capital gains taxes from 15 percent
to 20 percent. He says he’s aiming at “fat cats” who make above $250,000. However, while only 1 percent of Americans make a quarter-million dollars, roughly 50 percent of all Americans own stock – and while investments that are through IRAs, 401Ks and in pension plans are not subject to capital gains, those stocks in personal portfolios are subject to capital gains, no matter what the owner’s income is.”

4.2 “…Finally, Senator Obama has promised to raise taxes on businesses — and to raise taxes a lot on oil companies. I still remember Econ-101 — and I own a small business. From both theory and practice, I know what businesses do when taxes are raised. Corporations don’t “pay” taxes — they collect taxes from customers and pass them along to the government. When you buy a hot dog from a 7/11, you can see the clerk add the sales tax, but when a corporation’s own taxes go up, you don’t see it — its automatic — but they do the same thing. They build this tax into their product’s price. Senator Obama knows this. He knows that even people who earn less than $250,000 will pay higher prices — those pass-through taxes — when corporate taxes go up. “

All I can say is… Home Run, Ned, Home Run.

Ok, so it is October 2008. Four months have gone by since I expressed my original problem with the current choices for President. Barak Obama, and John McCain are the official choices of the two major parties. Obama, and McCain have choosen Vice Presidential running mates. Debates have happened and scheduled to happen at least once more before the big day.

I am still not happy with my choices. The news of the day has changed. In June, the big stories were the war, the illegal immigration problem and the philosophical choices for Supreme Court Justices. The only story now is the looming economic crisis that has all the pundits saying those dreaded words “Great Depression” and “Economic Bail-out”.

Again, both parties locked in mortal combat, call each other names and drudge up the best of the worst minutiae available. Frankly, those of us in the real world are sickened at the pettiness.

Here’s what I want to see.

I want to see a person run for office who can be able to put the country ahead of his or her own family and agenda.

I want to see a person look at all the threats to the American way of life and decide which one’s must be address immediately and which one’s can wait for another day.

I want someone who can’t be bought.

I want someone to take both parties by the ears, drag them to the woodshed, and beat their hind-ends’ red, so that they never ever think of taking advantage of their positions of trust again.

In all honesty, it is time for We the People to send Mr. Smith to Washington. Only this time, we hold our government directly responsible.

We as a nation need to agree that all three branches of government have:

No more golden parachutes,
No more lifelong benefits,
No more access to the public treasury,
No more ability to raise taxes without a nationwide annual vote,
No more lifelong appointments to the Supreme Court or any other court,
No more allowances to live in D.C. and yet represent a different area of the country,
No more public monies for housing and transportation, and
No more ability to give themselves pay raises.

It is time for the buck to stop and for our representative republic to be just that, a true representation of the people’s collective will. It is time for wisdom to be valued over smoothness. It is time for virtue to be valued over memberships. It is time for actions to be traceable and to be clear.

Remember Washington, history, the nation, and the world are collectively watching.