An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for Taxes
A Hand UP…Not A Hand OUT
2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
I wonder if this is why the Democrats in the Senate refuse to come up with a budget?
Dependence on Government Highest in History
The Foundry
When John F. Kennedy was President, just over a quarter of federal spending went to fund programs paying for some 21.7 million Americans to be dependent on Uncle Sam. But as high as that spending and dependence on the federal government was then, it has exploded today, with one in five Americans — more than 67.3 million — depending on Washington for assistance.
Obama’s “Jesus” Taxes!
Well said, Mr Crowder!
Thieving Money
Yesterday, this little story was in our church’s bulletin, and it got me to thinking. I have a tendency to associate things with current events, and this is no different.
A twelve-year-old member of the church I pastor recently left a five dollar bill on my desk with a note that read, “I have my thieving money”, along with her signature. I couldn’t figure out what she meant. Had she stolen money she was now returning?
When I saw the girl’s father the next Sunday, I mentioned the money and note and asked if he could tell me what she meant. With no hesitation, he said that it was her tithe. She obviously had misspelled tithing.
As I thought about the misspelling, I realized that for those who do not tithe, they really do have a stash of “thieving” money, for as the Bible suggest, the one who refuses to tithe is stealing from God.
Now, what struck me in the scope of current events? Well, that would be the complete misunderstanding of Barack Hussein Obama of scripture!
“For me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required,” Obama said, quoting the Gospel of Luke.
Evidently, he doesn’t understand that the command is for the individual to give. Forced giving is not a joy, it is a burden. To give freely of yourself is the joy that the Bible is relating, not the theft by the government in the form of taxes. It is the church’s duty to care for the destitute, the infirm, the lost, NOT the government! I suppose sitting in Jeremiah Wright’s church for all those years, it’s understandable that he doesn’t know the true meaning of Scripture. I suggest we pray that his eyes will be opened, that he will take the blinders of socialism off, and truly see!
Lies, Damn Lies, and Politics
Labor Market Contracts by 1.2 Million People, Zero Hedge Reports
The labor market contracted by 1.2 million people in a month, according to research from Zero Hedge, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The government reports that the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent in January from 8.5 percent in December as the economy has added a net 243,000 nonfarm payrolls to the economy.
However, those who quit looking for work aren’t counted as part of the total labor force, which also isn’t accurately reflecting population growth, which basically allowed the government to yank 1.2 million out of the labor force in January.
Wouldn’t it be nice if this administration would just tell the truth for a change? I know…. I’m asking the impossible! What are the REAL numbers? They can tell us the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.3%, but that doesn’t make it true. How about counting ALL the people who are out of work, who have given up because there are no jobs in their field, and are now having to take government aid? But then, isn’t that what this administration wants? As many people dependent on the government as possible. The ruinous policies of the Obama administration has sunk this country so far into debt, in all likelihood, no matter who wins in 2012, the ability to reverse the damage will be almost impossible in one term. However, giving Obama and his machine a second ‘chance’, will do even MORE damage!
Holder’s Crime Syndicate
A U.S. Justice Department source has told The Daily Caller that at least two DOJ prosecutors accepted cash bribes from allegedly corrupt finance executives who were indicted under court seal within the past 13 months, but never arrested or prosecuted.
The sitting governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, his attorney general and an unspecified number of Virgin Islands legislators also accepted bribes, the source said, adding that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is aware prosecutors and elected officials were bribed and otherwise compromised, but has not held anyone accountable.
Is there NO ONE accountable in Obama’s administration?
The bribed officials, an attorney with knowledge of the investigation told TheDC, remain on the taxpayers’ payroll at the Justice Department without any accountability. The DOJ source said Holder does not want to admit public officials accepted bribes while under his leadership.
I may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but even I know that bribery is a crime. And these criminals are still on OUR dime?
DOJ leadership has been fretting internally, the source said, about how to handle the story when the news breaks because it represents a new level of corruption in the Obama administration. The Holder Justice Department is concerned about the appearance that it lacks the competence to enforce the laws in which Obama has shown political interest, including those related to corruption and other financial crimes.
The list is growing of the Obama administration’s crimes. Under the so called leadership of Eric Holder, crime seems to be the norm for his department. When will we see the arrest of this feckless weasel?
OUR Money, Their Agenda
Legislation Prohibits Taxpayer-Funded Attack Ads on Soda
Rob Bluey
New legislation introduced in the U.S. House yesterday would prohibit the use of federal money for advertisements attacking products like Coke and Pepsi.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) introduced the bill to counter a growing trend of anti-obesity ads that are funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Scribe reported in October the money was included in President Obama’s economic stimulus law.
When I first saw that headline, I thought….there they go again! But after reading the whole post, I must say, I totally agree with what I read of the legislation. If there is other nonsense stuck in the bill, I’m not aware of it. Now, I realize that diabetes is a very serious disease, and obesity is a problem, but to fake pictures, and attack U.S. companies that provide jobs for American citizens is taking it too far. Not to mention using our money to attack those companies.
New York City received $15.5 million in federal funding for its anti-obesity efforts. While it has generated most of the attention for its eye-catching ads, other cities are engaging in similar practices. In Philadelphia, the city spent $2.4 million on ads attacking soda. Campaigns have also popped up in Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle and even Topeka, KS.
The 2009 stimulus, of course, was sold to Congress as a plan to revive the economy by creating or saving millions of jobs. According to Smart Taxpayers Exposing Waste, a campaign launched by the American Beverage Association, Philadelphia could have used the money it spent on ads to hire 52 police officers, 54 firemen, 57 paramedics, 58 teachers or 88 EMTs.
Now we know why the porkulus was such a failure. It was pushed as a spending spree to get the economy moving, and provide jobs. When the number of jobs that COULD have been created is canceled out by Big Brother pushing an agenda instead of considering the safety of citizens FIRST, I’d have to say the porkulus was a MAJOR FAIL! If any city needs more cops (from reading SYLG), it would be Philadelphia!
Throwing Away OUR Money
Personally, I want to see those con artists behind bars, along with the POS in the WH who GAVE them OUR money!
H/T: Mimosa via FB
Outsmarting Obama
More Meddling
Senate targets texting in new ‘distracted driving’ program
The Senate begins work this week on a spending bill that would set up a new $10 million grant program aimed at helping states combat “distracted driving,” which focuses on texting behind the wheel.
“While there is no definitive data as to how many distracted driving deaths and injuries are caused by cell phone use and texting, 20 percent of the drivers involved in fatal accidents in 2009 were either using or in the presence of a cell phone at the time of the crash, and there is reason to be concerned about whether the recent rise in distracted driving fatalities is linked to the increasing use of electronic devices,” according to report language for S. 1596, the 2012 spending bill for the Department of Transportation and other agencies.
Pissing away even more of OUR money. Evidently, using said funds to protect our borders, or shoot, just give it back to us, never occurs to Congress. Seriously? “…in the presence of a cell phone…”? I’m “in the presence” of my cell phone every time I get in my truck. And when the Mr is with me, I’m in the presence of TWO! GASP!
Now, don’t get me wrong…I do think ‘distracted driving’ is a fairly serious issue, however, that is not for the federal government to deal with, it is a state issue. The state makes the laws concerning its roads like speed limits, etc. Unfortunately, the feds have used blackmail to push through their agenda. Anyone else remember the forced 55mph debacle? The feds threatened to withhold funds unless the states complied with their rules. Isn’t it odd how the federal government decided to blackmail states with money that came from….the states? 
Here’s a novel concept! How about using that large chunk of change, and actually TEACH good driving habits in those public indoctrination centers? Just glancing through this bill, I want to smack the dog fire out of someone. A few trillion here, several billion there, and the occasional million tossed in for good measure.
I think it’s time to remind Congress, once again, who is in charge, because they obviously have forgotten…..THEY WORK FOR US! And we can fire them!
Are You People DEAF????
Spending Bills Passed by GOP House Increased Debt $1T in 10 Months
Federal spending bills approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives have increased the national debt by more than $1 trillion dollars in just 10 months.
Republicans won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2010 elections and took control of the House on Jan. 5, 2011, when the chamber convened and elected Rep. John Boehner (R.-Calif.) as speaker.
Was our message not clear enough? Should we have camped out in your offices to make sure you DID get the message??? Should we behave like the trashy Occupy Wall Street slimes, and take up residence, smelling to high heaven, sharing vermin with the rest of the residents of the area?
But the Republican-controlled House did not gain a veto power over federal spending until March 4, 2011. That was the expiration date of the continuing resolution (CR) that the lame-duck Democrat-controlled Congress approved in December 2010. After March 4, federal spending has been approved by legislation that needed to be approved in the Republican-controlled House.
On March 1, 2011, the Republican-controlled House passed its first CR to fund the government after March 4. Since then, it has approved a series of CRs to keep the government funded. The Republican House approved its latest CR on December 16. It will keep the government funded until the end of fiscal 2012 on Sept. 30.
ONE TRILLION DOLLARS! $1,000,000,000,000!!!!
Eighty-six House Republicans went against their party leaders and voted against the Dec. 16 CR, which actually garnered more votes from House Democrats (149) than House Republicans (147).
When the Republican-controlled House approved its first CR on March 4, 2011, the national debt was 14,182,627,184,881.03, according to the U.S. Treasury. As of the close of business on Jan. 9, 2012, the national debt was 15,236,506,139,986.86.
Those 147 Republicans should start looking for a new job! I’m not the only one that is fed up with D.C. wasting OUR money! The Democrats have been having a high ol’ time spending money that doesn’t belong to them for many decades now, and evidently, the Republicans are trying to play catch up! HEY!!! IT IS NOT YOUR MONEY!!!
That means the debt increased by $1.05 trillion over the past ten months.
That equals approximately $8,964 for each of the 117,572,000 American households estimated by the Census Bureau.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a spare 9 grand laying around each month. I don’t have a spare quarter, thanks to the stupidity that runs rampant up there! The whole idea of 2010 was to STOP the madness, and bring some sanity back. Obviously, it didn’t work, and WE, The People got screwed over, once again!
At the current rate, the Republican-controlled House is agreeing to allow the U.S. Treasury to borrow approximately an additional $896 per month American household per month.
Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution says: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” Article 1, Section 7 says that every bill “shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate … before it become a Law.”
The hell with it! You are ALL FREAKIN’ FIRED! Seems that ‘oath of office’ means NOTHING to you people! Not a one of y’all are worth the effort that we put forth to get y’all elected, with one or two exception. And I’m starting to wonder about them as well!
Pee In The Cup
Drug testing for workers’ comp, welfare sparks worries
Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey expects Tennessee will put in place a law that requires drug tests for people drawing government assistance or workers’ compensation. Other high-ranking Republicans aren’t so sure.
What’s not to be sure about?
The House speaker and the governor have voiced concerns about the cost and whether federal rules that govern the programs, including food stamps and welfare, give the state enough flexibility to start drug-testing programs that can survive a legal challenge.
Well, what you do, see, is take the cost out of whatever monetary benefits said testee will be getting. Yup. Charge them for the test. If they pass, fine. If they fail, just think how much money the state would save by not paying said benefits for the flunker. Our hard earned money should not be supporting someone’s drug habit. So, what’s the problem?
Ramsey, R-Blountville, recently told the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce that a similar proposal last legislative session carried a $12 million price tag but did not take into account the savings the state or employers will see from cutting off benefits to drug users.
See? It really would come out to our benefit. And, like I said, make the testee pay for the test. If they want state and federal benefits, then while they are looking for employment, they should be stone cold sober, right? Not to mention the test should be given on a monthly basis, with the cost being deducted from any compensation they’d receive.
“This is your money that we’re trying to protect here,” Ramsey told the business group. “Folks, we don’t need to give any support to that lifestyle.”
Ramsey said he’s confident that lawmakers will be able to make a strong case based on other states’ experience that the proposal would be revenue neutral.
Why, oh why, isn’t Ron Ramsey our governor instead the RINO we got? sigh….
House Speaker Beth Harwell said that while she agreed with the aim of the drug-testing proposal, addressing the state’s financial picture is a bigger priority.
“With the budgetary constraints that we face in this state, we want to make sure that those who are receiving assistance from the state are qualified and are doing everything they personally can do to take care and provide for themselves,” said Harwell, a Nashville Republican. “I think there will be a thorough discussion, but I think it’s too early to predict whether it will pass.”
If our state legislators don’t give a damn about spending OUR money on junkies and drunks, then I really don’t think they should be sitting in Nashville with the power to take from us, and give to them, do you? How about we use some common sense once in a while? The state’s financial picture includes giving benefits to people who don’t deserve them. I’d say that’s a pretty big priority as well, and it would end up saving US in the long run.
Gov. Bill Haslam said recently that he hasn’t seen specifics of the proposal but that there are still a series of questions that need to be addressed.
“We need to see what sort of federal leeway we have there, and I haven’t gotten that data back yet,” he said. “And No. 2, who would implement that and how would it be implemented?”
Ya know, Haslam is pretty nice guy, but I’m not all that impressed with him in a leadership role. Those questions that need to be addressed includes how much will this save the state of Tennessee in the long run. I’d say, quite a bit. And honestly, has anyone looked at the 10th Amendment lately? Stop handing over power that belongs to the state to the feckless…I mean federal government. Sheesh!
Florida became the first state to enact drug testing for welfare applicants since Michigan tried and failed more than a decade ago. Michigan’s random drug-testing program for welfare recipients lasted five weeks in 1999 before it was halted by a judge, kicking off a four-year legal battle that ended with an appeals court ruling it unconstitutional.
How is it unconstitutional? If that’s the case, then no company should be allowed to drug test either. If I own a company, I’m going to make sure I don’t have people who are high working in my business. It’s BAD for the business, and there are major safety concerns. The same should apply for those getting “free stuff”. It shouldn’t be free to them. Drug use is a crime. Why reward criminal behavior? They should earn the benefits! I’m kind of fed up with judges making decisions contrary to the will of the people. This is one area where Newt is right. These libtards bozos have no business changing the laws to suit THEIR political agenda. They do NOT have that power, however, they have taken it away from the people. Oklahoma is a good example.
H/T: Rod Williams via Facebook
Not Just NO, But HELL NO!
The White House plans to ask Congress by the end of the week for an increase in the government’s debt ceiling to allow the United States to pay its bills on time, according to a senior Treasury Department official on Tuesday.
The approval is expected to go through without a challenge, given that Congress is in recess until later in January and the request is in line with an agreement to keep the U.S. government funded into 2013.
Uh…no Bubba…what you NEED is your sorry ass kicked to the curb, and as soon as is humanly possible! And anyone who allows you to suck any more money from our pockets needs to be in the gutter with you!!
Payroll Tax Cut Spin
I know I can’t be the only one who KNOWS a full year, also known as 12 months, of the payroll tax cut is BETTER than a miniscule 2 months.
Harry Reid and Rainbow Farting Unicorns
Sen. Harry Reid’s Unicorns: Fact Checking a Whopper
Tax policy should be serious business carried out by serious politicians using real facts and figures. This is why we have the Library of Congress and the Congressional Budget Office, among other expert institutions.
How can we take Congress seriously when the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, makes patently inaccurate, outrageous and bizarre claims on an important tax-policy issue without any heads being turned? I guess this is what we have come to expect of Congress. No wonder citizens with favorable opinions of Congress are as rare as unicorns, to borrow a phrase.
Congress’ ratings suck because Congress sucks. It’s pretty much that simple. We have no trust in a body of arrogant back stabbers who are suppose to be working for US, not against us at every turn.
Harry Reid’s statement on December 6 on his proposed 1.9 percent surtax on million-dollar incomes has kicked up some dust. Here is his statement:
“Millionaire job creators are like unicorns. They’re impossible to find, and they don’t exist… Only a tiny fraction of people making more than a million dollars, probably less than 1 percent, are small business owners. And only a tiny fraction of that tiny fraction are traditional job creators…Most of these businesses are hedge fund managers or wealthy lawyers. They don’t do much hiring and they don’t need tax breaks.”
I’m tellin’ ya….this guy needs to be put out to pasture! Millionaire’s don’t create jobs? Really? What has Bill Gates been doing? How about Steve Jobs? I guess they had their own unicorn’s farting rainbows filled with pots of gold, eh? The dud shows all the signs of being either in early onset of Alzheimers or he is just flat out insane, and in need of a heavy dose of thorazine!
Taking their cue, National Public Radio launched a search for one millionaire job creator. They triumphantly announced:
“NPR requested help from numerous Republican congressional offices, including House and Senate leadership. They were unable to produce a single millionaire job creator for us to interview.”
Really? Ya know, I find it absolutely amazing that no matter what we say, we are still funding NPR. What a bunch of useless libtards. And they still beg for more from clueless listeners. I seriously doubt they could survive in the real world where the market actually dictated the need for their, uh….non-services.
Were it not for Google, I would have accepted Harry Reid’s unicorn story and NPR’s confirmation. Unlike Harry Reid’s office, I went to the IRS’s Table 1.4 “Sources of income, adjustments, and tax size of adjusted gross income, 2009” to check things out. (I summarize my sources in a separate blog posting). Here is what I found:
There are 236,883 tax filers with incomes of a million dollars or more. By Harry Reid’s count, only one percent, or 2,361 of them, are business owners, and a tiny fraction of them create jobs. I do not know what Harry means when he says “a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction.” If we let 5 percent represent Harry’s “tiny fraction,” we are left with 118 businesses owners who earn a million or more and create jobs. Yes, they are only slightly less rare than unicorns, if Harry is to be believed.
This leaves 236,765 million-dollar-plus tax payers, most of whom are “hedge fund managers and wealthy lawyers” who “don’t create jobs and don’t need tax breaks.”
I would have to say that Reid’s staff is totally incompetent. But then, so is Reid, so I guess they’re all a good match. Heed the words Mr Reid: Google is your friend. Or if you prefer, Bing will also aid you in your search for a fact or two.
My Google search for Harry Reid’s quarter million hedge fund managers and wealthy lawyers came up empty handed. I could identify at most sixteen thousand “wealthy lawyers and hedge fund managers,” not Harry Reid’s quarter million.
Well, Harry Reid’s numbers leave much to be desired, but maybe he is right that millionaire business owners do not create jobs.
What does the IRS have to say about this? Millionaire tax filers earn a total taxable income of $623 billion, on which they pay the highest average rate (30 percent) of any tax bracket. (Either Warren Buffet’s secretary has an incompetent tax accountant or Buffet has some pretty juicy tax breaks. I think the latter is more likely). A 1.9 percent tax surcharge on million-dollar-earners would yield $11 billion, assuming those shifty millionaires take no evasive action to avoid the tax.
I’m more inclined to say that Warren Buffet has lost what little sense he has, and will soon be sharing a rubber room with Harry Reid. While there are many people who are totally clueless, and will not do any investigation for themselves, there are just as many who WILL. This leaves people like Buffet, Reid, Pelosi, and D’Bama with a dilemma. What to do about the folks who aren’t as stupid as they believe? Well, they are doing their darnedest to silence any dissent from their rainbows and unicorn scenario, of course!
Millionaire tax filers earn $221 billion – almost a quarter of a trillion — from business and professions, partnerships, and S-corporations. This is puzzling: If Harry Reid’s figure is correct (2,361 millionaire businesses), then the average millionaire-owned business earns almost a hundred million dollars, and all, except 118 of them, do this without hiring anyone. These super heroes do their own typing, selling, drafting. public relations, building, and manufacturing. They do not need employees. Remarkable!
I wonder, since Harry Reid has become quite rich off the backs of the taxpayers, does he actually create any private sector jobs? Hmmm… Evidently, all those real business folks have managed to become quite wealthy (good on them) without doing a thing. How can I get into that racket? Not that I care about being rich or anything, but I’d really like to learn how these folks manage it without producing any products that the public wants, or without hiring hundreds or even thousands to not produce anything.
To summarize:
Millionaire tax filers earn almost a quarter trillion dollars from their businesses. They must hire hundreds of thousands of employees to do so.
There are a trivial number of millionaire hedge-fund managers and wealthy lawyers (who, according to Harry, do not hire anyone and don’t need tax breaks). The millionaire tax surcharge is not aimed at them, but at the tens of thousands of millionaire business owners.
To put it in ol’ broad terms…. Harry Reid is full of caca de toro!
Playing The World’s Smallest Violin
‘Waa, No Pizza Night’: Sad Stories Roll In at Request of Obama White House
The White House says it’s been flooded with responses to the question it posed Wednesday: “What does $40 mean to you?”
One day after the White House asked “working” people to “tell us what your family will give up if your (payroll) taxes increase,” the stories are rolling in, including one from a person who worried about not having enough to pay the cable bill — or continue family pizza nights.
“Our cable internet bill is $49 per month. If we lose this payroll tax cut then we will have to give up either (our) internet access or possibly our ‘Friday Family Pizza’ night. Either way, we will lose something that brings us together as a family,” wrote “K.Z” from Frederick, Maryland.
Honestly, I can’t believe there are people in this country that are so freakin’ dense that they actually buy into the large piles of male bovine excrement that continuously come out of this White House and the sad sacks of Congress. It’s truly pathetic!
An extension of the payroll tax cut will save a “typical” family earning $50,000 around $40 a paycheck, the White House says. It also will reduce the only dedicated funding source for Social Security benefits, but only a few people in Washington are talking about that.
If that typical family is making $50K, they aren’t suffering all that much. Some folks really do need to learn how to live without luxuries. And yes, having cable or ‘pizza night’ is a luxury, NOT a necessity of life. Are we truly so spoiled that a mere two month extension of a pitiful ‘tax break’ would so totally ruin our lives that we find it necessary to whine to the White House? This is truly embarrassing, and I’ve no doubt that if people in other countries read this drivel, they’d think even less of us spoiled RICH Americans than they do now….if that’s even possible.
President Obama and his fellow Democrats are blaming House Republicans for the current stalemate over extending the payroll tax cut. The House bill calls for a year-long extension; but the Senate passed a bill extending it for two months. Unless the two bills are reconciled by the end of the year, the payroll tax will go up.
Naturally D’Bama blames others. I think I’d be totally shocked if he, just ONCE, took responsibility of his own actions. And heaven knows, the Senate Dems, led by one of the most weaselly beings on the planet, can’t possibly tell the truth about this whole issue. 2 months from the Dem controlled Senate VS a full year from the Republican controlled House….which one makes more sense? To the left, naturally 2 months of a break is so much better than a full year. Why? Because they are feckless morons who want YOUR money. Of course, the left stream media is all over this, right? Pointing out the difference between the two plans? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ok, stupid question. I admit it.
Some conservative Republicans say the payroll tax cut extension is a bad idea, period, because it siphons money from the Social Security Trust Fund.
What a novel concept. A Social Security Trust Fund. Problem is….there is no “Trust Fund”. Congress has been so busy spending money that was intended to be returned to the person who paid it in, that there is nothing left for the future. How many older people bought into the idea that S.S. was going to fund their retirement? Likely way more than the population of the State of Texas!
Wolf called the payroll tax extension a “raid on Social Security, which is already going broke,” and he noted that the money paid into the system now — through payroll taxes — pays benefits for existing retirees.
“Granting another tax holiday is unwise. It puts the existing benefits of those 55 million Americans who currently receive Social Security at risk to continue a failed ‘stimulus’ policy,” Wolf said.
*shakes head* We don’t need another ridiculous scheme from Congress. Both sides of the aisle has been playing fast and lose with our money for way too long. We need a TOTAL tax system overhaul. You jackwipes in D.C. need to pull your collective heads out of you collective hinders and realize, we ain’t as stupid as you believe us to be! We are quite well aware of your irresponsible behavior, year in, and year out. And ya know what? We are DAMN SICK OF IT! The behavior of BOTH parties has been down right criminal, and the vast majority of y’all should be behind bars! Stealing is a crime, you know!
