Carol Platt Liebau posted a note at Townhall.com yesterday about some of the tactics planned to discredit theTea Parties that are happening around the country this week.  A website called CrashTheTeaParty.org has been set up for that purpose. The premise of the website is that they are a group of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who plan to expose the fact that the people involved in the ‘Tea Party’ movement are “racists, homophobes, and moron.”  Their stated goal is “to dismantle and demolish the Tea Party by any non-violent means necessary.”  Why????

This is simply wrong.  I attended the Tea Party in Providence, Rhode Island, last year and plan to attend the one in Worcester, Massachusetts, this year.  I don’t consider myself a racist, homophobe, or moron.  The people I saw in Providence last year were people concerned about job security, higher taxes, and increasing government interference in their lives.  There were people there from every generation–grandparents, parents, college students, teenagers, and young children.  Some of the signs were ‘edgy’ but I did not see anything racist or offensive to any minority.  I particularly enjoyed the people who took the time to attend dressed in the costumes of the Revolutionary War period.

It is sad that there are people in this country so threatened by free speech that they will try to undermine it.

When the government of the United States was formed, the idea was that people would go to Washington to lead us for a short period of time and then they would return home to live under the laws that they had passed.  Well, times have changed.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air reported yesterday on a move by the Obama Administration to make the use of unpaid interns in for-profit businesses illegal.  The Administration has stated that it feels the purpose of using interns is to avoid minimum-wage laws. 

Mr. Morrissey points out:

“It is amusing to see the Obama administration creating the image of poorly treated unpaid interns, when Mr. Obama’s Organizing for America offered internships to help elect the president in during his presidential campaign and are still offering up unpaid internships today. The Summer organizing program also does not even offer food, transportation, or housing stipends.”

Mr. Morrissey also notes that the unemployment rate among young adults is 26 per cent.  Internship programs in the past have provided young adults with work experience that has helped them in finding a job.  Ending internships makes finding employment more difficult for teenagers and new college graduates.

The rules ending internships only apply to for-profit organizations–the politically elite are exempt.

On Thursday, a San Antonio Newspaper posted a story about the reenlistment of Marine Cpl. Matthew Bradford into the Marines.  It wasn’t your everyday reenlistment.  Cpl. Bradford is the first blind double amputee to re-enlist.  He was injured in Iraq while on patrol in Al Anbar province a few months into his first tour of duty there. 

The article states:

“Bradford said he wants to focus his energy on others, now that he’s come so far in his own recovery.

“He said he hopes to help wounded Marines cope with anger, depression and other demons that can fester if there’s not someone around to provide strong peer mentoring.

“”I’m paving the road for the rest of them who want to stay in but think they can’t,” he said. “I’m ready to get back to work.””

What an amazing man.  Please follow the link and read the entire article.  The story of his accomplishments since his injuries is inspiring.

On Friday, Investors.com posted an article about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deciding not to attend President Obama’s nuclear security summit in Washington this week.  Some of the countries attending the summit (Egypt and Turkey) had planned to say that Israel must sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).  Israel has never admitted to having nuclear weapons and has never threatened to use them against another country.  Why, then, were Egypt and Turkey planning to make this an issue?

The article also reports:

“Just last week we learned from the Israeli daily Maariv that the U.S. has refused visas for technicians and scientists at Dimona to get further nuclear training in the U.S. This will estrange our Israeli ally and weaken America’s security posture in the Mideast.”

There are reports that the White House has denied this charge.  I am not sure exactly what the status of the visas is. 

We need to remember that Israel exists in a dangerous neighborhood.  Its neighbors have invaded it on numerous occasions.  One of the things that has kept Israel safe is the general conclusion that it has nuclear weapons and the fear that they would be used.  To take nuclear weapons away from Israel is to make the world a more dangerous place.

Worcester, MA – April 8, 2010 – The Worcester Tea Party, a local grassroots organization dedicated to fiscal conservatism and constitutional integrity, will hold the 2nd Annual Tax Day Tea Party on April 15, 2010, from 4-6pm, Lincoln Square, Worcester. This family friendly event is open to all patriotic citizens in order to share in our appreciation of American values.

In 2009, the Worcester Tea Party organized the Tax Day Tea Party, the summer Rally for Responsible Government in Elm Park, and the Worcester Tea Party Forum featuring Holy Cross Professor Nick Sanchez. The group also sent hundreds of Massachusetts residents to the 9/12 Rally in DC and its members volunteered to help the campaigns of a variety of fiscally conservative candidates. For more information, seehttp://www.worcesterteaparty.com 
  
Contact:
Ken Mandile
Worcester Tea Party
wtp@worcesterteaparty.com
http://www.worcesterteaparty.com

As a resident ‘old person’, sometimes the changes in our society alarm me.  They seem to come from all directions, and a lot of them are not necessarily good.  If you want to look at where some of our culture has gone consider that Annette Funicello was a mouseketeer in the late 1950’s and Britney Spears was a mouseketeer in the 1990’s.  The contrast between the two is obvious.

One of the other areas that has changed drastically is political civility.  Ronald Reagan used to spend time with Tip O’Neill routinely after hours, and the men reportedly got along very well despite their political differences.  Things, unfortunately, have changed.  New York’s CBS 2 reported yesterday on a memo that went out from the leader of the Bergen County (NJ) Teacher’s Union.  The memo was rather simple. 

In the memo, the writer stated:

“Dear lord,’ this year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze, my favorite actress, Farrah Fawcett, my favorite singer, Michael Jackson, and my favorite salesman, Billy Mays. I just wanted to let you know that Chris Christie is my favorite governor.”

The author of the memo, Joseph Coppola, did apologize for the memo.  He said that it was intended as a joke, but did admit that it was in very poor taste.  He also stated that it was definitely bad judgment to send it out. 

This isn’t even a question of civility–it’s a question of common sense and who people trust to be in leadership positions.  This is the sort of thing high school students occasionally say about their teachers (but only to each other), and they don’t write them down or email them.  Mr. Coppola should be long past that level of maturity.  The union might want to consider who they elect as their leaders.

Scott Johnson at Power Line posted a story today about Mohammed al-Madadi, the diplomat from Qatar who set off a bomb scare by smoking his pipe in the bathroom on an airplane.  When confronted by the crew, he joked that he was trying to light his shoes and refused to give up his lighter to the crew.  At that point, he was apprehended by the Federal Air Marshalls on the flight.  The article points out:

“Madadi’s mission is also worthy of note. Madadi was going to meet Ali Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar who is serving eight years in prison after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to support terrorism. Fox News assures us that such diplomatic visits are routine.”

Scott Johnson at this point asks some very relevant questions–“Al-Marri as an imprisoned al Qaeda agent. How many of these guys do we have incarcerated in the United States? What countries are they from? Are diplomats from these countries in fact routinely meeting with them?”

Using diplomatic immunity for purposes other than diplomacy is not a new game.  The Russians did it during the cold war, and I suspect we have done it on occasion ourselves.

The article further reports:

“The Fox News account states that no explosives were found on the flight and that officials were satisfied that Madadi was not trying to hurt anyone. But might he have been probing airline security in the aftermath of Umar Abdulmutallab’s attempted bombing of the flight to Detroit this past Christmas? Abdulmutallab went to the bathroom just before he sought to ignite the explosives he was wearing.”

Is anyone at Homeland Security paying attention?

These story is based on two articles posted on the internet yesterday–one from the New York Times and one from Fox News.  You really need to read both to get the full picture of what is going on.

Bart Stupak announced Friday that he would not seek another term in the House of Representatives.  The New York Times article cited the reason that he had achieved his goal of reforming healthcare and was ready to step down.  The New York Times reminds us that Representative Stupak, who portrayed himself as a pro-life Democrat, only supported the healthcare reform act after President Obama agreed to an Executive Order prohibiting the use of federal money to fund abortions.  The article failed to mention that an Executive Order does not overrule laws passed by Congress and signed by the President.

The New York Times article concludes:

“Still, some Democrats insisted that the whole health care discussion would play little role in this race in the end. “I’ve talked to members of Congress, and the numbers of calls are down,” said Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party. “That issue is quickly fading.” “

Fox News reports some other aspects of the story.  The Tea Party Express has been in Representative Stupak’s district this week, calling for his defeat.  The non-partisan Cook Political Report has moved Representative Stupak’s seat from “Solid Democratic” to “Toss Up.”

I have no idea what the man’s actual reason was for retiring, but I have an observation.  I don’t believe that healthcare reform will fade as an issue–the way it was passed is an much of an issue as what was in it.  There is also the matter of many Democrats who voted for it admitting that they did not know exactly what was in it and had not read it.  But I also have another theory on why Democrats in the House are resigning.  I just don’t think it’s all that much fun to be in the majority in Congress right now.  The programs that President Obama is attempting to push through are not popular with most of the American people, and thuggish tactics are being used to push them through.  I suspect many Representatives in the House feel that they have somehow begun working for Nancy Pelosi rather than working for the American people.  I also suspect that when you disagree with her, Nancy Pelosi is not a joy to work for.  I believe a political line was crossed in the way that healthcare reform was passed, and I suspect that the people who crossed that line may pay a high political price for doing so.

The UK Telegraph posted an article yesterday reporting that grazing cows and sheep may not contribute to global warming.  A recent study in China showed that cows grazing in China actually reduced nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas.  The Authors of the study said that this does not mean that producing livestock to eat is good for the environment in all countries, but that in certain circumstances, letting cattle graze can be good for the environment.  Most of the article attempts to explain why these studies do not mean that it’s ok to eat red meat.  I posted this to make one point–we really don’t know as much as we think we do about global warming and what causes it.  Meanwhile, we really don’t understand how much of climate change is natural cycles in the life of the planet.  I will continue to eat steak.

Hugh Hewitt at Townhall.com reported yesterday on a Congressionally mandated bulletin board that will be set up by the Consumer Products Safety Commission next spring to track safety issues and recalls relating to American products.  It sounds like a really good idea, until you look at it a little more closely.  The problem is that there is no filter on the bulletin board.  A disgruntled employee, an angry ex-spouse, a competitive company (all posts are anonymous) can post something about a problem, a predicted problem, or an imaginary problem.  There is no way a reader of the bulletin board can evaluate a post, because they have no way of knowing who posted it.  The opportunity for abuse is immense.

The article points out:

“A few lawyers specializing in CPSC law have begun to warn their clients of the perils ahead, especially when the plaintiffs’ bar begins to both hunt for clients among the postings and to use the “reports” found there in courtrooms far and wide as evidence of a pattern or practice of corporate indifference to injury.”

Hugh Hewitt is a practicing lawyer who is familiar with how our legal system works (both the good and the bad).  He points out the dangers to American companies if this bulletin board goes up in its present form.  The amount of money an American company will have to spend tracking and responding to charges posted on this bulletin board (true or false) will significantly increase their expenses–not to mention to possible damage that could be done by someone who slanders a company or product for their own reasons.  This is another attack on American business.

Today the Wall Street Journal and the American Thinker both reported on the healthcare crisis that is going on in Massachusetts as a result of the state taking over the healthcare industry in 2006.  It has taken four years for the chickens to come home to roost, but they are here.  (Just a note–the link to the Wall Street Journal will only get you part of the article–it’s a subscribers only article).

One of the problems in Massachusetts is that no one can be denied insurance and pre-existing conditions are covered fully.  What is happening is that people who have major medical issues wait until they know they are going to need expensive treatment, sign up for health insurance, and drop the insurance after the treatment.  Harvard Pilgrim and Blue Cross (major insurance providers in the state) report that short term customers ran up costs well outside their normal expenditures, then dropped their insurance.  This makes the cost of insuring everyone go up.  When the companies asked for rate increases in their premiums, the governor denied 235 of 274 of the requests for premium increases.

According to the article at American Thinker:

“Massachusetts’ “insurance regulators have concluded the reason [that state’s] premiums are the highest in the nation is the underlying cost of health care, not the supposed industry abuses” imagined by President Obama and Governor Patrick.”

That should have been obvious before they passed the law.  As a result of the refusal of their premium increases, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim, and Tufts Heath Plan (the major plans in Massachusetts) have stopped selling policies in the state.  I’m not sure how this will end, but right now the state-run healthcare program that was supposed to be the example for Obamacare is in trouble.  It will be interesting to see what the eventual solution will be.

Yesterday, Paul Mirengoff at Power Line reported that Senator Leahy, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has announced that the hearings on the appointment of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will proceed on schedule. 

Mr. Liu has just provided the committee with 117 previously withheld items that were requested.  According to this article, the material deals with his ideas on controversial items such as affirmative action, judicial activism, immigration, and “constitutional welfare rights.”

Mr. Mirengoff concludes:

“Under these circumstances, I wonder whether Leahy is making a mistake by rushing ahead. At the end of the day, the Dems will need some Republican votes to confirm Liu in the face of a filibuster. Even if they can stomach Liu’s radical positions on issues like reparations to African-Americans, the likes of Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, and Scott Brown aren’t likely to be happy about efforts to limit the ability of Republicans fully to explore Liu’s key writings and the reasons why he withheld many of them from the Senate.”

I understand that the President has the power to appoint judges, and generally speaking, I think he should be allowed his choices, but do we really need to appoint a judge who believes in reparations and “constitutional welfare rights?”  It seems as if the Democrats in the majority have forgotten how even to be reasonable when they are in power.

Today, Daniel Mitchell, a Cato Institute senior fellow, posted an article at the New York Post about Paul Volker’s comments recently on the possibility of instituting a VAT (Value Added Tax).   Mr. Mitchell points out that a VAT will turn America into a slow-growth, European-style economy, rather than the dynamic economy we are accustomed to.  He points out that the proper way to grow the economy would be to reverse the explosion of government spending. 

A VAT tax is rather simple to institute–a tax is added to an item at every stage of the manufacturing process.  Mr. Mitchell uses the manufacture of furniture as an example.  A VAT would be imposed when the raw timber is sold; again when the sawmill produces lumber; again when the manufacturer builds the chair; a tax at the wholesale level, and a tax when the chair is sold to the consumer.  To avoid duplicate tax paying, each level of taxpayer is given credit for the previous payment, thus theoretically charging the consumer only the basic sales tax.  However, a tax was paid at every level of ‘value added’.  Doesn’t it follow that the businesses who pay that tax at every level will pass those costs on to the eventual consumer–thus increasing the price of every product you buy?  You won’t see a VAT tax–you will just notice that the price of everything went up abruptly.

The advantage of the VAT would be that if you used it to replace the income tax, it would save all of us a whole lot of paperwork and aggravation!   Unfortunately, Congress is looking at the VAT tax as something to add in addition to the income tax. 

Mr. Mitchell concludes:

“Today’s income-tax system is a nightmarish combination of class warfare and corrupt loopholes. But adding a VAT solves none of those problems, it merely gives politicians more money to spend and a chance to auction off a new set of tax breaks to interest groups. That’s good for Washington, but bad for America.”

What we need in Washington is not another tax to pay for the increased spending.  We need more of our money and less spending.  Please remember that in November.

Yahoo News yesterday posted an Associated Press story reporting that about 47 percent of United States households do not pay income tax.  Because of the tax credits for low and middle-income families, a family of four, with two children under the age of 17, with an income of as much as $50,000 will owe no federal income tax for 2009.  Tax cuts for low and middle-income families were expanded when President Obama signed the economic recovery package last year.  The top 10 percent of earners pay about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the government.  When you consider that these are the people who hire people and buy things, it is no wonder that the economy is not doing well–a major part of the disposable income that could grow the economy is going to the government! 

In 2007, 38 percent of households paid no income tax; in 2008, 49 percent.  This is dangerous for a democracy.  This means that nearly half the people in the country have no reason to care if taxes are raised.  It is also going to be interesting to see how this plays out as a VAT (Value Added Tax) is discussed to pay for the Obama Agenda.  A VAT affects everyone–regardless of how much money they make.  A VAT tax is an unseen tax–most of it is applied during the manufacturing process–that can increase the cost of any item as much as 20 percent.  As consumers, we may not be aware of the tax itself, but suddenly our spending power will decrease significantly.

I will be attending a Tea Party in Worcester, Massachusetts, on April 15th.  I hope everyone reading this will at least stop by their local Tea Party on that day to compare what they see with what they hear on the news!

These are hard times for small business owners and small businesses.  There is no way they can be sure what their future federal tax burden will be, and at the same time, towns and states have raised some of their taxes and fees in order to raise revenue.  Of course, these taxes will be passed on to the consumer, making some consumers cut back on their consuming.

One of our local landmarks in Plainville is Don’s Diner on Route 1A near the center of town.  If you are on facebook, you can do a search and find them.  Every Wednesday, my husband and I take two of our grandchildren to lunch at Don’s Diner.  It is a great place, and the chef makes a great BLT!   But business in the world of diners is down, and Don’s Diner needs our support.  They are open from 6:30 am to 2:30 pm Tuesday through Friday and 7 am to 1 pm Saturday and Sunday.  Stop in and say hello.  It’s a friendly place with great food!!!  (The ‘hand-cut’ french fries are great!)

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article today about President Obama’s new policy of removing the words “Islamic Extremism” from the central document outlining American national security strategy.  The National Security Strategy is a document which outlined the Bush doctrine of preventative war and describes the struggle against militant Islamic radicalism as the great  ideological conflict of the early 21st century.  The changes to the National Security Strategy represent an effort by the Obama Administration to “change not just how the United States talks to Muslim nations, but also what it talks to them about, from health care and science to business startups and education.”

I really am beginning to wonder what planet this President lives on.  I can’t imagine Iran or Osama Bin Laden doing anything but laugh hysterically when they hear about this one.

Yesterday, Investors.com posted a peace about the changes President Obama has made in America’s nuclear policy.  To me, the ‘money line’ in the article is the quote:

“In his Prague speech last year, Obama spoke of “America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons,” ignoring the fact that before 1945 we lived in such a world and it was neither peaceful nor secure.”

I love the idea of a world without nuclear weapons, a world without war, a world without bullies, a world without tyrants, and a world without dictators who put people who disagree with them in jail (or worse).  I also realize that we won’t ever have any of the above.  Unfortunately, people are human, and unless there are checks and balances on individual power, things very quickly can get out of balance.

President Obama will sign a treaty with Russia in Prague this Thursday.  This treaty promises we will reduce the number of deployed long-range warheads and reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy.  Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, points out that as we are doing this, Moscow is upgrading 80% of its strategic forces and conducting underground, hydrodynamic tests (illegal under the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that we observe).  President Reagan used to say, “Trust, but verify.”  I think we need to get back to that idea before it is too late.

Today at the Washington Examiner, David Freddoso reported on five things that we learned about Obamacare after it had passed Congress.  As Nancy Pelosi famously said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.”

According to Mr. Freddoso, these are the five things:

• Despite what we were told, the bill does not cover children with pre-existing conditions–that will happen later.  Congress and the White House are moving to change that.
• States will find their budgets stretched to the limit by the requirements that states must provide medical care for the poor under Medicaid.
• Niney percent of Medicaid’s new expenses (created by insuring everyone) will be paid by the federal taxpayer–not the states.  This will increase the federal budget.
• If you are not insured and have not paid the penalty, the IRS will take it out of any tax refund you receive when you file your income tax.  (This might explain why the bill includes the hiring of 17,000 new IRS agents.)
• Ski resorts are now required to provide healthcare insurance for every employee who works 120 days.  The original bill had a 150-day requirement, but the House changed that requirement and increased the fine for noncompliance from $750 to $2,000 per employee.

To say that this bill is a nightmare is a total understatement.  “Repeal and replace” needs to be the rallying cry of anyone who wants to be elected to Congress.  If a candidate whimps out on repeal and replace, he needs to be replaced!

CNET reported today that a Washington, D. C. federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission has no right to impose Net neutrality on internet providers.  The court ruled that “because the FCC “has failed to tie its assertion” of regulatory authority to any actual law enacted by Congress, the agency does not have the authority to regulate an Internet provider’s network management practices.”

The reaction by Congress was predictable.  Generally speaking, Republicans supported the ruling, opting for less government regulation of the internet, and Democrats opposed the ruling, suggesting that the internet be put under the type of regulations used on landlines.  These regulations would include price regulation, service quality controls, and technological mandates.

If you are over the age of 40, you might remember that radio as an money-making business blossomed after the ‘fairness doctrine’ was removed about twenty years ago.  The removal of that federal regulation allowed talk radio to find a home on the AM band and totally revived the AM band.  If you want to see growth in an industry, remove the heel of government from its throat.  It will grow.  We need some basic regulations to keep things honest, but generally speaking, government has overreached and impeded economic growth rather than encouraged it.

Today’s UK Times reported on the new British tax program that will negatively impact British take-home pay starting today.  At the start of the financial year, high earners in Britain will be paying a 50 percent income tax.  There will also be increased taxes on dividends for people considered ‘high earners.’  Those earning more than £150,000 (approximately $230,000) would be affected by these tax increases.  There are other changes in the tax structure that will also go into effect–changes in child tax credits, taxes on bonuses, and changes in stamp duties for homes.

The article reports that these changes could be shelved if the Conservatives win the upcoming election.

This is where we are headed unless we elect fiscal conservatives (from either party) in November.  If the Republicans are willing to step up to the plate in reducing spending, I will support them.  I hesitate to support Democrat candidates because even if they are conservative, they will support the Democrat Party leadership in the House and Senate, and thus will not be voting as fiscal conservatives, regardless of personal views.

I have to start this post with a disclaimer.  I don’t play poker.  I don’t object to the game; I simply do not have the skill set required.  Bluffing is not something I do well.  However, I can think of instances where bluffing would be a useful skill (politics, diplomacy, international relations, etc.).

Yesterday the New York Times reported on President Obama’s plan to make nuclear weapons obsolete.  As part of that plan, he renounced the development of any new nuclear weapons and limited the circumstances under which America would respond to an attack with nuclear weapons. 

There are a few troubling things here.  There are a number of bullies in the world right now–Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Russia.  I have put Venezuela in this category because of the recent strengthening of their ties to Russia.  Bluffing can be an effective weapon in dealing with a bully–telling the bully that you will limit your response to his attacks is not an effective response.  Allowing a bully to develop a more powerful weapon while you disarm is also not a wise strategy.

We may not like the fact that America has, in the past, been the final stopgap against bullies, but right now, we are the only stopgap left.  We step down from that role at our own peril. 

Have you wondered about the “Tea Party”?  I have.  I went to a tea party in Providence, Rhode Island, last April 15th.  There were signs (nothing obscene or violent), families, people dressed as American Revolutionary characters, and speakers from the local media and local politics.  They seemed like regular people with basic ideas.  Nothing seemingly earthshaking and nothing threatening.  On the rare occasions that I have watched mainstream media, I have seen the Tea Party members portrayed as fringe lunatics.  They seemed pretty normal to me.  Maybe I’m a fringe lunatic, but I really don’t think so. 

Anyway.  Today’s American Thinker posted some statistics about the Tea Party that are interesting.  According to Rasmussen polling, sixty-three percent of Mainstream America said that their views are closer to those of the Tea Party than those of President Obama.  Forty-eight percent of voters say that their opinions on major issues are closer to the Tea Party than to President Obama.  Eighty-seven percent of the Political Class (who are they?) say that their views are closer to President Obama’s than those of the Tea Party.  Is the Political Class the people who were exempted from the changes coming in the recent healthcare reform act?  Among unaffiliated voters, fifty percent say their views are closer to the Tea Party than to the President.

So what does the Tea Party stand for?  Tea stands for Taxed Enough Already.  That I can agree with.  Many of the candidates the Tea Party supports give out copies of the US Constitution along with their campaign literature.  There doesn’t really seem to be an organized Tea Party, and I hope it stays that way.  Right now, the Tea Parties are holding our political leaders accountable–they are attending town meetings and holding rallies.  They are doing what all Americans are supposed to be doing.  The only threat they represent is the one to the entrenched political hacks that the rest of us have put up with for so many years.

I am always amazed at the many ways some people can come up with to take money out of other people’s pockets.  Robbing people is not allowed, but it seems as if governments are becoming geniuses at thinking up new ways to take money away from the people who earn it. 

The UK Financial Times reported yesterday that UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is finishing up negotiations on a global banking tax that could be approved at the meeting of the Group of 20 in June.  Evidently, Britain, France, and Germany already support this tax; he is hoping that the United States will join in that support.  Why in the world would we want to be part of this?

Germany wants to use the money raised to provide an insurance program for failed banks, but Prime Minister Brown is concerned that will lead to risky behavior on the part of the banks.  Ms. Merkel of Germany suggested that each country should be allowed to decide how to spend the money raised by this levy.  Why are we letting other countries meddle in our tax policies?  We can mess them up sufficiently ourselves!

This is an idea that needs to go away quickly.  The G20 should never be allowed to determine American tax policy.

Newsbusters.org posted an article yesterday contrasting the reporting of two ‘brick thrown through the window at political party office’ stories.  In Marion, Ohio, 50 miles north of Columbus, a brick was thrown through the window at the Republican Party’s headquarters.  No one outside the local media has reported the incident.  Meanwhile, a similar incident at Ohio’s Democrat headquarters in Hamilton County received nationwide coverage. 

When Newsbusters researched the article in the local press, it stated that Associated Press contributed to the report.  When they looked on the Associated Press website for links to the article, there were none.  Obviously, AP knew of the attack, but chose not to report it other than locally.  Meanwhile, the left is trying to link any sort of political malfeasance to the Tea Party or the Republican Party.  Where is the other side of the story?

Today’s Washington Examiner posted an editorial voicing their concerns about the number of people who are receiving some or all of their income from the federal government.  The article pointed out:

“According to the Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, the share of total personal income in the United States that comes from government transfer programs — Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, unemployment compensation, etc. — has grown rapidly over the past six decades, from 5.9 cents of every dollar in 1950 … to 17.3 cents in 2009. In addition, according to BEA, another 9.8 cents of every dollar went, in 2009, to salaries for state, local and federal government employees, a figure that does not include costs of fringe benefits. In other words, more than a quarter of all personal income in the United States is paid for with tax dollars.”

This is an alarming fact.  I would also like to know the role that welfare spending plays in this equation.  What actions is the government taking to help people off the welfare rolls and help them access employment that will provide for their families?  What attitudes in our society allow people to remain on welfare for generations without seeking jobs?

Admittedly, state, local, and federal pensions have gotten out of hand in some cases.  However, in most cases (as in Social Security and Medicare) the majority of the people who are collecting or will be collecting or accessing those benefits shortly have paid into the programs during their entire working lives.  The coming demise of Social Security has more to do with Congress mismanaging the surpluses during the past fifty years than it does government dependency by the recipients. 

We are at a place where there are too many people in the wagon and too few people pulling the wagon.  Until we change the attitude of Congress toward spending, we will continue to head in the wrong direction.  The 2010 elections give us the opportunity to see if the Republican Party is capable of living up to its promises of cutting spending and ultimately lowering taxes.