Why do the Rich get Richer?

Tax loopholes. The rich use tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share and leave the middle class to pick up the tab. Around 66% of the wealth earned by a person making over a million dollars a year is made in the stock market. Conversely those making under $100,000 a year only make 2% of their earnings through the stock market. Why would the rich invest so heavily in the stock market? Capital gains tax.

The rich will pay a tax rate of 15% on this 66% of their earnings instead of the 35% that they should pay. Another bothersome loophole exists for hedge fund managers. Never the bastions of fairness these greedy a-holes asked for and received a tax loophole that allows them to take a portion of their earnings and turn it into capital gains. That is an instant savings of $20,000 for every $100,000 in earnings that they chose to convert. Not only does this only benefit the really rich but it only benefits the really rich in one very specific and powerful industry. This is the exact opposite of free market.

President Obama supports a repeal of this specific tax loophole but Republicans and some Democrats wouldn't hear of it. These people are not fighting for you. They are fighting for the rich who will in turn drop loads of money back into campaign spending to keep their lap dogs in power. To add injury to insult they have convinced the very people who get screwed by this scheme that it is of paramount importance to a robust economy. This support is why the middle class has made almost zero gains in the last thirty years and the rich keep getting richer.

Olive Branch for Republicans

I'm always looking for ways to take the irrational ideology of the Republicans and find areas where Democrats can use this to make a compromise that both parties would be satisfied with.

My latest attempt will involve a core Republican ideal - government assistance or welfare. Void of the fact that this spending is popular and important to our economy, Republicans hate this spending. One item that they love to pick on which is lumped in with government assistance is foreign aid. The only problem is the foreign aid budget is only $13 billion a year. That hardly pays for John Boehners yearly tanning bill. There is another government assistance program that is between 7 and 11 times as big as the foreign aid budget that I would love to see eliminated. We could save $92 billion a year of Federal money and up to $50 billion of state and local money if we eliminated government subsidies and tax incentives for big business. Not only would this end the deplorable free money that Republicans hate but it would also push us in the direction that is the basic tenant of being Republican - free market. The free market would have no interest in giving away money to corporate giants like Boeing, Xerox, IBM, Motorola, Dow Chemical, ADM, and General Electric, but that is exactly what our government currently does.

So Republicans are you with me? Continuing these subsidies is un-American and un-Patriotic (Republicans eat that shit up!) so if you love your country like I do you'll contact your congressman right now and demand and end to this Socialist program!

Tea baggers (Tea Party members) aren't informed enough to back their own platform

The Tea Party has touted how they are sick and tired of out of control government spending. This is one of the main tenants of their platform. Well later this month the Treasury Department will release a report showing that from 2009 to 2010 we have had the largest decrease in our deficit that our country has ever seen. Larger than under either Bush. Larger than under Clinton. Even Larger than the Republican Messiah Ronald Reagan.

I'm sure you noticed all of the Tea Baggers partying in the street based on the good news, right? Nope. Why? Because in the end these people don't understand their own motives. The only reason the Tea Party has any traction at all is the economy. It will be laughable when the self identified Tea Party Candidates actaully get to Washington and do absolutly nothing to change the current problems. If you thought President Obama failed to live up to his promises just wait until you see the legislative accomplishments from the Tea Party legislators. At least Republicans know what they stand for. If you support the Tea Party you are basically admitting you don't understand politics or what the government does.

Not Breaking News

Jon Kitna is the new starting QB for "America's Team". It's true.

This Makes Sense

You may not know who Shashi Tharoor is, but he is a friend of The Colbert Report so he is a friend of Furriners.

Mr. Tharoor was on Fareed Zakaria GPS this past weekend and he gave voice to exactly what I think as we head towards an election day which really seems like it will not be pretty for the Democrats (and, hence, for the working class people of this country).

Mr. Tharoor said this with regards to the slumping poll numbers of Barack Obama:

There is certain degree of befuddlement about the fact that he's been given just two years to begin to get things right - that manifestly many of the problems that the country is enduring now are legacy of the decade of somebody else's policies and now he's being punished so quickly for something that perhaps he couldn't have done better. It's a very interesting alert about the short-termism of many voters political calculations.

Well said, sir.

Of course, that isn't to say that I think President Obama has done everything right. Far from it. But, come on. Have you seen these people that the Republicans are running? They are kooks. We need better Democrats (i.e. good riddance to Blanche Lincoln and Evan Byah - and only two more years until we get rid of Joe Lieberman) - not more Republicans looking out for corporate interests.

Charities became lazy thanks to the recession.

I have been told by many a Republican that the people who collect unemployment are lazy and don't want to work. Well, charitable donations are down by 11% (the largest drop in 20 years). I'm certain we will hear Sean Hannity soon calling for charitable organizations to start pulling their weight again or risk loosing any federal assistance.

ICBS - Troy Aikman Edition

Troy Aikman is generally considered a very milquetoast NFL analyst. He is not prone to hyperbole. He does not match the quality standard of Cris Collinsworth, but he certainly does not plunge to the depths of Joe Theisman either. Hence, it was surprising when he let furl with this statement during yesterday's Dallas-Minnesota game:

I think he's one of the top two receivers in football... if he's not the best. The only guy who I think comes close to him is Andre Johnson.

Now, I know what you're probably saying: Hey Furriners... didn't you just say that Randy Moss was the second best receiver of all time? Therefore, it's not THAT stupid.

First of all, don't interrupt me. Secondly, Troy was not talking about Randy Moss. He was talking about Miles Austin! Seriously. I am not kidding.

Okay. If he wants to argue that Miles Austin is the second best receiver in the game. Whatever. That is subjective and I can not disprove him. I think he's wrong. You likely think he's wrong (unless you're related to Miles Austin or Kim Kardashian). But to say that Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson or Reggie Wayne or (insert your own pick here) is NOT CLOSE to Miles Austin?!?! That is indefensible.

Congrats, Troy. You are this weeks bullshitter of the week(end).

Swiss build worlds longest tunnel

On Friday the worlds longest tunnel was completed in Switzerland. The tunnel will be used for cargo and passenger trains as a short cut through the Swiss Alps. While there is an economic benefit the main rationale being the building of the tunnel is the concern over the environmental impact of the current shipping methods, mainly semi-trucks, on the Alps. Each Swiss tax payer is on the hook for over $1,300.

This brings up two important points that are being debated here in the US. The first being infrastructure spending. In the US we are underfunding our national infrastructure by around $200 billion a year according to a report by some former Secretaries of Transportation. To their credit the Swiss realize the value of their investment as it should increase commerce given the convenience with which people and goods can now be transported. Unfortunately the American public is far to selfish to make the same commitment.

The second, and more important point this illustrates is that the Swiss are willing to incur additional taxes to benefit the environment. Unlike Republicans, the Swiss are willing to do this without commitments from any other countries pledging to make similar investments. I'm certain the Swiss would like to see China reduce green house gas emission as well but they are not going to use that an excuse to not do their part.

Americans fascination with reducing taxes and cheap energy has moved us to the back of the pack for innovation and the benefits of being the leader in new technology. The more we resist change the further ahead the rest of the world gets. America didn't become a super power by waiting for someone else to lead but that is exactly what Republicans are doing by keeping foreign fuel cheap and refusing to support the new, home grown, cleaner technologies.

For all of those concerned about China becoming the new super power there is no quicker way to make sure that happens then by sitting on the sidelines and letting the rest of the world become the leaders of the technology race.

Democrats more informed than Republicans

As our tag line suggests Republicans are not very interested in facts, instead relying on their on personal opinion as fact enough. The problem is that this means they tend to be highly uninformed. This explains how incoherent their arguments are when you try and debate them.

The Pew Research Center put together a poll last year to find out where partisans get their news from and it proves my theory. Democrats make up a third of Fox News viewers and almost half of CCN, MSNBC, and Nightly Network News viewers, while Republicans barely beat out Democrats for the share of Fox News viewership and are less than a fifth of the viewership for the other three sources. The chart below shows just how woefully uninformed Republicans are. Keep that in mind next time you try and have a rationale discussion with one.

Moratorium on Deep Water Drilling Lifted - Economy Saved

When the President put a moratorium on new deep water drilling the cries from the right and conservative Democrats was basically screw the environment, jobs trump all else. It was estimated that up to 50,000 jobs could be affected by the moratorium. Well great news, our economy is saved. The moratorium has been lifted so expect a swift turn around shortly. It sounds like it could take up to three weeks to get everyone back to work but once they are back, watch out. I would anticipate unemployment to drop to at least 7% and home prices to increase by a minimum of 10%. Nation, we are back on top. If only we had listened to Mary Landrieu earlier. I guess God works in mysterious ways.

EPA to approve increase in Ethanol

Let me be the first to say this sucks. Ethanol made from corn is an awful product. . The benefits of ethanol are almost non-existent as it does almost nothing to increase the air quality, it takes almost exactly as much energy to manufacture ethanol as it generates when used, it costs the same as gasoline after including the lower output, and we pay twice for this product since the American tax payers subsides Ethanol. This pork barrel spending is an example of how big business uses Washington and the naivety of the American public to line their pockets. Corn growers didn't decide to start making ethanol because it was good for the environment. They did it because they wanted to expand sales. If they truly wanted to make a good source of renewable energy there are a number of other products that are much more efficient. Similarly, Congressman from the Midwest didn't push for the 10% mandate or subsides to huge corn seed manufactures because it was good for America. They did it for big campaign contributions and to keep their own jobs.

Corn ethanol represents all that is wrong with our capitalist system. The irony is that the people who most support Corn ethanol are the same nut bags who hate taxes and socialism. Well I hate to be the barer of bad news but forcing Americans to use an inferior product which our tax dollars fund is both socialism and a poor use of our tax dollars.

I'm disappointed in you ESPN

For some reason during Sports Center ESPN decided it was important to inform the sports enthusiasts that watch ESPN the Mike "the Situation" from Jersey Shore was voted off of Dancing with the Stars. This guy is not an athlete (current or former) and Dancing with the Stars in not an athletic competition so please don't waste my time with this information on my sports channel. I understand these two shows own a parent company but that doesn't mean I should have to be subject to overt cross promotion. That is what commercials are for. If I wanted to know what was happening on Dancing with the Stars I would watch Dancing with the Stars. I don't tune into Sports Center to find out the latest news on Desperate Housewives because the two have nothing to do with each other. At this pace ESPN will start showing a sports based sitcom in the next five years and do for sports programming what MTV has done for music programming. "My Sweet $16,000,000 Contract" anyone?

Since when did refuting science bcome a political position?

Conservatives seem to have no end to the laundry list of things that hate but the one I just can't figure out is their dismissal of science. From Global Warming to Vaccines, or Carbon dating to Evolution, Republicans are willing to shun the overwhelming scientific evidence and rely on their beliefs instead. They often do this using one example which they think then proves all the other scientific information wrong. Just imagine if all I had to do was come up with one reason why God didn't exist.

What I really don't understand about this is how their belief (or non-belief as it were) seems to be tied to their religious beliefs. Since the Bible says the is only 6,000 years old somehow that trumps all the other scientific evidence to the contrary. I'm guessing that most conservatives don't know that the big bang theory was actually though of by a Priest. Why is it that God can't be a scientist and the good book just got it wrong. Wouldn't it be more impressive to think that God didn't use magic to create life but instead uses a superior intellect to design the human race and the other mysteries of the universe?

If Republicans were smart they would brand God as the end all of scientific knowledge instead of a less bombastic David Blaine?

Republicans support teenage pregnancy, and death of unborn childern

Statistics out today show an increase in the teenage pregnancy rates as well as infant mortality all thanks to government spending cuts for lower income households. Spending on specific prenatal care and pregnancy prevention programs services have been slashed in Michigan from over $20 million per year to around $3.5 million per year. So while Republicans push to prevent savings like those in the Health care reform, and fight tooth and nail to stop further regulations for the big banks that catapulted us towards this recession in the first place, they are putting the lives of young mothers and unborn children at risk.

Hey, at least we have the greatest military in the world. Who cares if we have a few less Americans to defend because our spending priorities favor the rich and our military might?

Defense Spedning Cuts should be considered as part of Debt Reduction

Republicans are dead set against cuts to defense spending as a way to balance the budget. The claim is that we will be less safe. The reality is defense spending is a huge industry in many red states and this spending becomes pork that they can bring home to their district under the guise of National Security. I'm at a loss as to why government spending on defense is OK but government spending on infrastructure (see the stimulus package) is evil. The analytical argument against the stimulus spending is how much it cost the government for each job created. Apparently these people have not looked into how much it costs to make one F-22 fighter jet ($125,000,000). This is not some great use of tax payer dollars.

While we already spend around 5 times as much on defense as the next largest spending country we are also spending more on defense than any time in our nations history void of WWII. After adjusting for inflation we spend over $200 billion more per year currently (a 33% increase) than during the Vietnam War, the Korean war, and the Cold War of the 1980's. Even if we cut the $200 billion in excess spending we would still have an advantage of 3 times as much spending as the next largest spending nation.

Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama has routinely asked for cuts only to be rebuffed by Republicans. We could make a significant dent in our National Debt but Republicans won't hear of it. This is Pork Barrel spending at its worst and true fiscally conservatives should be outraged.

Dude, No one cares about your fantasy football team!

While at the Lions game this weekend some tool behind me kept yelling for the Lions to stop running the ball and throw it to Calvin Johnson. While I too believe Calvin should get the ball thrown his way more the running game was going fine. Come to find out the only reason the guy was shouting (obnoxiously and in vain I might add) for Calvin to get more passes was to bolster his fantasy stats. I'm sure you have heard this before but I would like to inform my Lions watching brethren that no one gives a shit about your fantasy team so feel free to keep your concerns over Matt Schaub's stats to yourself.

Bill Maher Mocks Glenn Beck's religion

On this past weekend's episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, Bill brought up a quote from Glenn Beck's wife where she discussed how they became Mormons...they picked it. Bill found this ridiculous since a believe in God should be something that has great meaning not something you pick out of a hat. While this blogger is not privy to the method that lead to Mormonism as the choice, it does strike me as odd for a guy who seems passionate about his religion to pick it like it was a toaster oven. Playing devils advocate, I wondered how Bill would have felt if the Becks had chosen Atheism. Would Maher still find the process of pulling Atheism from a hat as odd or would he find a way to applaud it? I for one, think the world would be a better place if Glenn Beck were an Atheist.

Reports of Sam Bradford’s greatness are greatly exaggerated.

This weekend I had the opportunity to watch Sam Bradford live and in person. I have been hearing for weeks now just how good this kid is and how he is "something special". I don't see it, and that's not just because his success refutes my system QB theory. He threw about 90% of his passes between 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and 5 yards past the line of scrimmage. The only time the Rams moved the ball at all was thanks to the slippery skills of Danny Amendola and Stephen Jackson. The Rams routinely looked to limit the Lions rush and the amount of the field that Bradford had to read by rolling him out. When asked to push the ball down field Bradford lost much of his famed accuracy.

In the end the guy throws more short passes than Joey Harrington and unless he learns how to read the whole field and connect on some deep passes his greatness will be measure by where he ranks among the great busts, not great QB's.

Bringing The Stupid - Jemelle Hill Edition

Okay, all our loyal readers know how this works by now.

This comes from yesterday's Jim Rome Is Burning where the discussion concerned Randy Moss's departure from New England.

Jemelle Hill was essentially defending Randy Moss's right to not try since he wasn't given a contract extension by the Patriots. That is pretty stupid but not what this is about. She went on to say:

Tom Brady wasn't in the conversation to be the greatest ever. People were still weren't sold about... they thought he was a system QB... he gets that guy (Moss) - all of a sudden people are like 'Top 5' instantly. So, of course, he brings a level of legitimacy to the table.

Honestly, I am fine with Randy Moss. Ironically enough, earlier this week I was telling my Justin Bieber-loving colleague how I thought Randy Moss was the second best receiver of all time. Hands down. So I am not a hater.

But let's not be stupid about this. The legacy of Tom Brady is built upon his three Super Bowl rings (twice being the game MVP). Just so we're clear: Randy Moss was not on any of those three teams! Moss was on the 16-0 team that lost in the Super Bowl to the N.Y. Giants.

Was Brady in the conversation as the best ever before Moss arrived? Perhaps not... but he had played six years in the league! I know stats and milestones mean a lot more in baseball than football but you have to at least some longevity. That is why most people think Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, and Jim Brown as the best running backs ever and not Earl Campbell (or Bo Jackson).

To continue, did Moss' arrival somehow provide a "level of legitimacy" that Brady previously lacked? Of course not! That is obnoxiously stupid! What is true is that Randy Moss (and his 23 touchdowns) greatly contributed to the perfect 2007 regular season in which Tom Brady set the single season TD pass record with 50.

To conclude:

Randy Moss? Great player. Will be just fine without Tom Brady.
Tom Brady? Great player. Will be just fine without Randy Moss.

Stimulus tax cuts and Repubocrisy

In my continuing effort to point out the hypocrisy of the platform the Republicans are running, and some how winning on, I give you the Stimulus bill. Republicans fall all over themselves to be at the top of the heap when it comes the non-Viagra induced erections they get for tax cuts. Similarly they hoodwinked the public into believing that the Stimulus package was a huge waste of money. The Repubocrisy here is the Stimulus contained almost $300 billion dollars in tax cuts. You can't love tax cuts and tout them as the catalyst of an economic recover and claim the Stimulus package was an unadulterated failure. At best you can claim more than half of the Stimulus was a failure, but when you hear a Republican talk numbers they'll only quote things like "it cost X amount of stimulus dollars to create one job", or "we wasted $787 billion in tax payer money". These claims are so misleading you would think they originated on Sarah Palin's Facebook page.

Bill Gates income tax

Arthur Laffer published an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal recently regarding a ballot initiative regarding taxes on the wealthy for the state of Washington. Mr. Laffer makes that case that states with high income taxes under preform when compared to states with no income tax. While I don't doubt his numbers he leaves out one very important measure. This is a raise in tax on the wealthy and any numbers regarding total income tax rates, which make up the sole basis for his analysis, become irrelevant. To assume a tax that only affects that top tax bracket will track equivalent to a tax that affects everyone in the state, is a huge leap and shows that Mr. Laffer had drawn his conclusion long before doing any research.

A quick look at the history of the top tax rates compared with the general economic well being suggest the exact opposite of Mr. Laffer's claims and indicate that his analysis is at best incomplete. In the end his conclusion may prove true but it will be in spite of his information gathering, not because of it.

Note to Sarah Palin: The President doesn't get to cherry pick media coverage.

Sarah Palin recently spoke in Texas and only allowed the media to cover the first few minutes. She has convinced herself that she has something important to add to the conversation. This belief leads her to a certainty that the media must have a liberal bias. The problem is that other than her folksy phrasing there is nothing original about the ideas Sarah Palin presents. Unfortunately for the media they are a for profit entity and the American people are fascinated with Sarah Palin. The right is interested because she is so unqualified for attention she gets that people can identify with her. The left is interested for the same reasons rednecks watch NASCAR...the devastating wrecks. Sarah Palin is the least competent speaker to seek public office since George W. Bush and she manages to completely butcher a topic almost every time she talks. When the media covers this blunder it further entrenches the liberal media bias by Palin and her supporters.

The irony is the Sarah Plain often takes Presidents Obama's statements out of context and routinely distorts facts to meet her conservative bias (see death panels). Which is exactly what she accuses the media of doing to her and why she wants to limit the media access to her.

What strikes me as odd is that Sarah Palin seems to have aspirations of being President and that means she will have to speak to the public. Not just the public who supports her but the entire population. George W. Bush tried to limit availability by the media but still managed a staggering number of incompetent statements.

The fact that Sarah Palin has so little self awareness as to realize how unqualified she is to be the President is as damning of evidence that I can imagine for why she should not be President.

Breaking News! Republicans less evolved than Democrats.

Scientist have a term called "negative bias" which describes how our brains are built with a greater sensitivity towards negative information. A lions roar elicits fear in some and peaks interest in others. Evolution dictates that those with a higher negative bias had a higher rate of survival since they were inherently more afraid of possible predators.

While this was of great benefit to our early ancestors, the negative bias of today has much less to do with survival as it does information gathering. In this sense the need for a negative bias has diminished as we have evolved. Unfortunately Republicans still have a very high negative bias as demonstrated by their fear of everything which proves they are lower on the evolutionary scale. While I have no scientific proof for this, Republicans don't believe in most scientifically proven things so this is right up their ally.

Jay Cutler, Mike Martz, and the Bears O-line are aiming high.

Based on the preseason stats the Bears were in line to challenge a long standing NFL record by allowing 144 sacks this season. Unfortunately they have been a huge disappointment allowing only 18 sacks in 4 games which puts them on pace for only 72 sacks allowed. At this pace they won't even crack the top 3 of all time. The good news is after the Giants game they again lead the league in sacks allowed, but the bad news is Todd Collins doesn't have the same commitment as Jay Cutler to achieving greatness and if Cutler misses any time, all could be lost. I'm hoping the team can regain the early success they showed in the preseason and rededicate themselves to setting the record.

On a positive note Chris Johnson is well on his way to 2,500 yards, and at his current pace he should top his goal in week 28 of the NFL season.

Jobs Report good for Republicans?

A new jobs report is expected soon and all indications are the news will not be good for Democrats. Private sector jobs are expected in increase again with the public sector being the main source of job losses.

Since November of last year the private sector has added over 618,000 jobs, which is modest growth when compared to the the 2.9 million per year created under Clinton, but on pace with George H.W. Bush and almost double the per year creation under George W. Bush. The problem is that we are seeing a net jobs loss because of public sector job losses. The loss of public job losses can be traced directly back to Republicans as they are the one's who have limited government spending and forced changes to Stimulus spending that would saved hundreds of thousands of jobs including local fire and police.

I wish Americans were smart enough to see that the Republicans "pledge to America" is just a call to continue to cut jobs while giving the rich more tax cuts. I also wish Democrats would push their message showing the difference between their plan and actual progress versus the Republicans inaction and the failure of the last decade of Republican policies. In case you don't recall the last decade of Republican policies see the Republican "Pledge to America"(pssst... they're the same thing).

Wasteful Spending!

Did anyone catch the end of the BYU v. Utah State game last night?

Utah State scored an (minor) upset with a victory over their in-state rival. It was their first victory over the Cougars since 1993.

If you're like me (a Michigan based Derek Anderson fan), you probably don't much care who won this game. So this is not about the result. This is about what happened after the game.

As the game concluded, Aggie fans rushed the field. ESPN cameras followed the respective head coaches as they shook hands and filed off the field. What amazed me was that the Aggie head coach - some guy I suspect almost no one outside the state of Utah has ever heard of - had no less than 10 guys escorting him off the field! What was that all about? Does he draw comic books of the prophet Mohammad in his free time? Does he perform late-term abortions? Is he a Mafia informant? Is he a liberal (in Utah)? I would like to know who decided it was necessary to surround this guy like he had just assassinated JFK?

Seems like the university overspent on security if you ask me.

Grow Some Balls Democrats!

One of the platforms Republicans have decided to run on this year is the repeal of health care reform. The problem is that recent polling shows 40% of Americans think that the health care reform bill didn't go far enough while only 25% think it went to far. This leaves 35% who think it was just right but in reality people who think this bill was just right are admitting that they really don't follow politics since this bill most certainly is not just right.

What I would really like to see is Democrats start running on the idea of expanding on the health care reform bill and more regulations for the insurance industry since the only group currently polling worse than Congressional Republicans are the insurance companies.

While part of me appreciates that Democrats aren't A-holes that shove crap down people's throat (Republicans claims to the contrary are laughable when you compare the before and after of Bills Democrats have introduced over the last year and a half), but part of me also laments their failure to seize the momentum that was built in 2008.

We as Democrats need to start making noise like the Tea Party does and force Congress to enact the legislation we voted them in on. Maybe Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" or Stephen Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive" will be the catalyst the Democrats need to demand support for our ideals.

Fun for the Weekend

Yesterday I posted about Third Way's tax receipt, and well today Kareem Shaya put together an interactive form to get you a breakdown based on the taxes you actually paid.