Fanaticism // Current

Renouncing Islamism: To the brink and back again

British muslim Maajid Nawaz is the country's most famous former Islamist fanatic... more

Vierotchka
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7 days ago
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10 comments

Persepective on Islamic Fanaticism

This is by far the best explanation of the Muslim terrorist situation I have ever... more

plusaf
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8 days ago
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0 comments

Ultimate Star Wars Collection

These people have to have the ultimate Star Wars collection, but the question remains... more

clarity_kat
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22 days ago
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0 comments

When Ego Has No Limits...

Check the two links on the right sidebar of the linked page, too.... This woman... more

plusaf
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4 months ago
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4 comments

Business gets taxed, workers get hurt

(Fortune Magazine) -- Sometimes what's politically irresistible is economically nonsensical, as we may soon be reminded. The Obama administration, desperate for revenue and spotting an easy target, is proposing three hefty tax increases on business. If the administration gets its way, the result will be bad news for all Americans.

The first instance of dangerously mixing politics with economics was the administration's announcement in May that it wanted to "reform our international tax laws" so that they don't "stack the deck against job creation here on our shores."

In a smooth bit of political rhetoric, the White House linked international corporations to individuals who illegally evade taxes by secretly stashing income overseas. "Today our tax code actually provides a competitive advantage to companies that invest and create jobs overseas compared to those that invest and create those same jobs in the U.S.," or so began the White House's May 4 statement. In the very next sentence, the administration segued to "our tax system is rife with opportunities to evade and avoid taxes through offshore tax havens."

The average citizen had to conclude that most big U.S. companies are tax cheats. Only a dedicated student of accounting would figure out that the term "tax haven" as defined by the Treasury Department means any country with a lower corporate tax rate than America's, which is all countries except Japan.

The reality is that the administration is lashing out against perfectly legal behavior. A U.S. company that makes money in Country X pays Country X's taxes on that money. If the company ever brings the money back to the U.S., it must also pay the additional tax that would be due under America's higher rate. The administration argues that since America has virtually the world's highest corporate tax rate (and even Japan's is only a fraction of a point higher), current rules create incentives for U.S. companies to operate anywhere but here, at the cost of U.S. jobs. The White House therefore proposes charging all American companies full freight -- the whole difference between their overseas taxes and the U.S. corporate rate -- on all their profits as soon as they're earned, no matter where. This measure, in their minds, would bring jobs home.

If the logic eludes you, you're not alone. The bottom-line effect of the change would be a steep tax hike -- more money vacuumed out of corporate coffers. Would that make U.S. companies competing in a global economy more inclined to hire additional workers in the highly expensive U.S.? The answer is clear. It's why Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said recently that if the change is enacted, "we're better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S."

That's Obama's first proposed business tax increase. Another would require companies to account for their inventories on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis rather than a last-in-first-out (LIFO) one -- an eye-glazing change that's highly significant. In an era of rising costs, to assume that you're selling your oldest inventory rather than your newest increases reported profits and thus taxes, even though nothing real has changed. If inflation turns worse, as many analysts predict, FIFO would force companies to pay real taxes on phantom profits as the value of goods gets inflated while they sit in inventory.

The third business tax hike would be the new levy on carbon emissions. Regardless of the form it takes -- a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax - and despite the good reasons for it, it's still a tax, money out the door for which a company gets nothing

Taxwise, a company is just a bunch of incorporation papers; all taxes are paid by people -- customers, shareholders, and employees. And guess who would bear most of the burden of these tax increases? It's the U.S. employees of the companies being taxed.

but you don't believe that, do you?(Fortune Magazine) -- Sometimes what's politically irresistible is economically... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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1 comment

It's all about control...

Brace Yourselves....

as a friend puts it,....

"I have been fairly open about my opposition to the man-made global warming hysteria. One of my main points has been that the people who are advocating certain policies which I don't like, and who claim to do it in the name of saving the planet, actually have other motives, which include penalizing the USA for our success, re-distributing wealth, and establishing a more powerful international governance superseding our sovereignty. And some of you have disagreed with these points.

But now the mask has been dropped. http://www.climatedepot.com/a/1893/Gore-US-Climate-Bill-Will-Help-Bring-About-Global-Governance got lots of people to go on the record about their actual goals, including:

Al Gore: "But it is the awareness itself that will drive the change and one of the ways it will drive the change is through global governance and global agreements."

The previous French President Chirac: Kyoto is "the first component of an authentic global governance."

Former EU Environment Minister Margot Wallstrom said, "Kyoto is about the economy, about leveling the playing field for big businesses worldwide."

Othmar Schwank, a global tax advocate noted that wealthy nations like the U.S. would bear the biggest burden based on the "polluters pay principle." The U.S. and other wealthy nations need to "contribute significantly more to this global fund," Schwank explained. He also added, "It is very essential to tax coal."

Friends of the Earth coordinator Emma Brindal: "A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources".

Former Colorado Senator Tim Wirth: "We've got to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing - in terms of economic policy and environmental policy."

Whether or not they have any actual interest in environmentalism, they don't even bother hiding their primary goals any more: impoverishing the United States, ridding themselves of our sovereignty, and stealing as much of our money as they can get away with, all in the name of "saving the planet".

Sigh."Brace Yourselves.... as a friend puts it,.... "I have been fairly open about... more

plusaf
added this
5 months ago
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33 comments

Arab Festival 2009: Sharia in the US

"Enjoy".... Thanks to http://www.actforamerica.org/ for the link.

plusaf
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5 months ago
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6 comments

96.6 Percent Off, and they're still trying... what a government!

re: your government's housing rescue program.... "But the government’s own eager... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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0 comments

Endangered Polar Bears Info..

facts don't change many people's minds, but here's some background on one photo....... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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Where does electricity come from?

Electricity is a good thing. It powers your computer, drives economic growth,... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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0 comments

You Want Inexpensive Electric Cars? Here They Come!

Korean firm considers Carolinas, Georgia for electric vehicle production plant... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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For you youngsters out there...

STUNNING SENIOR MOMENT A very self-important college freshman... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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"What if there were no STOP signs...,

I came across this video in YouTube and I think it is the funniest one I have seen,... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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You're going to hate this one....

I've been waiting for a LONG time for this kind of report to surface, and today it... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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21 comments

Obama, you, me, taxes and reality.

From MY investment gurus... Carbon tax, value-added tax, foreign tax credit... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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39 comments

Obama and Bush Caused the Mortgage Crisis..... No, wait...

This video clearly shows that George Bush warned Congress starting in 2001 that this... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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2 comments

Were Eleven Governors Hoodwinked on Cap-and-Trade?

Eleven Governors May Have Unknowingly Given Tax Dollars to Cap-and-Trade Project they... more

plusaf
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5 months ago
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0 comments

Where are all the jobs we exported to China and India???

I don't analyze the Manufacturing Industry... but a friend of mine does, John Layden. [ http://www.prevelconsult.com/ ]

I met him back around 1984. It turns out, HE's the guy who taught Motorola what "six sigma" means. No, Motorola didn't invent it.

So, when I ran the July, 2009 issue of the FRC Money Forecast Letter from http://www.vanecktillman.com/index.php by him, he had a few comments....

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"Alan,

About 80% of this is pure bunk. He’s completely missing the boat on manufacturing. He offers statements from the media narrative (6 million US jobs being shipped to China) without any evidence. The only study I’ve seen showed about 300,000 over a 7 year period. During the period of time in question China lost 15% of its manufacturing jobs. If we shipped the jobs to China someone should put a tracer on them, cause they didn’t arrive. Every one of the top 20 industrial nations has lost jobs over the last 10 years. A total of 31 million factory jobs were lost while increasing output 30%. It’s called productivity.

Two things are happening. Manufacturers are setting up shop to produce close to the market. The idea that anyone will ship cars across an ocean for long is crazy. If American based auto companies won’t do it, the Chinese, Koreans etc will. Second there are many jobs moving from manufacturing to the service sector. Manufacturers outsource everything from landscaping to corporate jet service. So some of the “lost” manufacturing jobs are now in the service sector. When EDS bought the IT operations of GM in the 80s it moved tens of thousands of jobs from manufacturing to services overnight. But nothing happened except the bank account where the payroll checks were drawn.

He’s roughly right on the savings rate. But there is a better overall measure – velocity of money. Velocity went down (in part due to savings which works like parked money) so the money supply had to go up to stay in equilibrium."

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Enjoy! Now go back to thinking what you thought was "The Truth" about all that....

LOL!I don't analyze the Manufacturing Industry... but a friend of mine does, John Layden.... more