Posted on by Joe
Most people hate tax season…even those who work for the Internal Revenue Service. I saw a story the other day about an IRS agent from my hometown of Roxbury who was convicted on tax evasion charges. How about that, huh? Even the IRS hates paying taxes!
Just another example of how we are all human…even those in real or perceived positions of authority.
Posted on by Joe
Both the Republican and Democratic Presidential primaries are becoming the stuff of political science legend. You have the meteoric rise and fall of the Rudy Giuliani candidacy, the record-setting fundraising of Ron Paul, the almost unbelievable success of Mike Huckabee and his shoestring budget, the historic candidacy of either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama for the Democratic Party and so much more – all going on at once!
Many people have been calling the Republican campaign for John McCain since Mitt Romney bowed out last week. However, Mike Huckabee has had a strong showing in the South and other states where religious voters have major influence. At the same time, McCain has been battling for acceptance by the far right-wing of the Republican Party – especially among the conservative talk radio scene.
On the other side of the battle, the Clintons have been battered and beaten (as usual) by the press with the latest scandal being MSNBC saying that Chelsea Clinton was being pimped out by her mother’s campaign. Vile. This further proves the irrelevance of MSNBC in the news scene and in the world of current events. What a joke that station has become.
Obama, on the other hand, continues to turn heads – including Republican heads. I have a feeling that if Obama is the nominee for the Democrats that he’s going to win the national election by at least a 60/40 margin. But I guess time will tell.
In the mean time, check out Jersey City Locksmith for the best locksmith service in the Garden State!
Posted on by Joe
Exxon-Mobil announced their largest quarterly profit today at $11.7 billion. According to the CNN article, they were making about $1,300 per second last year with an annual profit of $40.61 billion.
Trust me, I’m not one of these lunatic who thinks that companies should be taxed ten different ways to Sunday or that Republicans bend over backwards to make businesses happy, but I have to be honest and say that given the current world market for petroleum and how it has “effected” the price of gas in America, our government should be stepping in at this point. The first priority of government is to protect the people. This means that when the invisible hand of the market turns in a manner that crushes the individual, the government needs to do something (see: FDR and the New Deal).
In fact, George Bush sees that many people are hurting and thus he has offered the economic stimulus plan that is currently being forced through Congress. But I believe that when companies who provide a needed product are making record setting profits that are grossly outperforming the market, then the government DOES need to step in with some type of windfall tax or an investigation into the pricing strategies of these companies. We are not just a petroleum-based economy, but we’re a petroleum-based civilization right now. Yes, that is slowly changing through renewable resources, but the vast majority of this country needs to fill their gas tank and heat their homes.
For a company that provides a needed resources to be making these types of profits when Americans cannot pay for basic needs is a disgrace. Think of it this way, every 30 seconds in 2007, Exxon-Mobil earned the equivalent of the median national income. Every minute last year they doubled the median national income. That means every minute in 2007, Exxon-Mobil made more than most young families make in an entire year. EVERY MINUTE!
If that’s not something the people need to be protected from, then I don’t know what is…
Posted on by Joe
This year’s primary season – short as it may seem – has been a fascinating study in political theater, jockeying for position, and what it takes for a political campaign to succeed in the year 2008. I’ll reserve my comments on some of the fascination with the minutia for a different post, but one of the most eye-opening events is about to take place later today: Rudy Giuliani is going to drop out of the Presidential Race. This is amazing! Here is a guy who wasn’t just #1 in the national polls for almost a year, but was way out in front in most of the state polling for months and months. However, Rudy’s strategy of a national primary campaign has not paid off and he lost his chance at being President.
Whoever decided that strategy for Rudy should be removed from politics, period. Rudy, of course, didn’t help his cause by constantly saying, “blah blah blah 9/11 blah blah New York City blah blah blah.” As someone who is from New York City and still lives in the tri-state area, I can appreciate what he is saying. I wouldn’t expect anyone in Montana, Florida, Maine, Texas, or California to give a crap, though.
Part of me is sad to see Rudy drop out of the race, but another part of me is glad that he’s dropping out because I don’t know if he was truly the best choice for President. On the other hand, I’m extremely glad to see John Edwards drop out of the race.
Many people get on Romney’s case because they feel he is the classic, greasy politician. I feel the same exact way about Edwards. He may be the most ingenuous man that I’ve ever seen on the national political stage. He’s a smarmy, arrogant punk who has no idea what it’s like to live in that “other” America in the year 2008. This guy’s experiences from decades ago when he was living in that other America have almost nothing to do with what the vast majority of Americans face on a daily basis today. Once upon a time, the “other” America was literally children living in cardboard boxes all across the rural South. The Kennedy Family and Lyndon Johnson did more to help those folks than John Edwards could ever hope to do.
To John Edwards, I say good riddance. To Rudy, I say a poor plan and a presentation that left much to be desired did him in.
Posted on by Joe
Thank God for the American federal government! What other organization can bring so many people so many laughs in one fell swoop? You may remember that a few days ago, the government was thinking about sending each taxpayer an $800 check (married couples would obviously receive $1,600). Well, in a move that only our ridiculous government could make, they’ve decided that instead of each taxpayer getting $800, they’ll probably get $300 instead. The reasoning is that the $800 per person economic stimulus package would have only given checks to the 180 million or so Americans who pay income tax. The $300 per person economic stimulus package allows for all Americans to receive a check, including those who don’t make enough to pay income taxes.
In other words…
For those taxpayers who earn higher incomes in the middle class of America, not only are you going to continue to bear the brunt of this country’s weakening economy, but you’re also not going to get the same proportional handout that those in the lower class will receive. For a person who is making so little that he or she doesn’t pay income taxes, $300 is a big deal and really can help in getting a person out of financial rut.
But for the rest of the people who do pay taxes and who are living in the middle class, a $300 check from the government to “stimulate” the economy is bullshit. All $300 does for anyone in middle class America is remind you how screwed you are in the bigger picture. Those who don’t need the $300 will disagree with that statement, but those who needed the $800 will not only agree – they’ll get pissed since $800 isn’t even enough for most people to make one month’s mortgage payment.
We’re all screwed.
