Desperately Seeking Middle-Class Taxes

M2RB:  The Beatles

Let me tell you how it will be

There's one for you, nineteen for me

'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small

Be thankful I don't take it all

'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

What Obama's critique of Ryan tells us about Obama's budget plans.

Democrats in Charlotte are pounding away at the savage budget cuts that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan supposedly favor and their phantom plan for "raising taxes on the middle class," as President Obama puts it. The truth is the opposite, but table that for a moment. The President seems not to realize his critique is really a scorching if implicit indictment of his own time in office.

Think about his logic like this: Mr. Ryan's House budget details a long-range plan to equalize spending and tax revenues without—ahem—raising tax rates. But if such fiscal restraint is as deep and draconian as Mr. Obama claims, then as a matter of arithmetic the White House must favor a tax increase of an equal size, or something close to it, in order to pay for the amount of government he wants to sustain.

 

***

The nearby chart dramatizes this reality. It shows the accumulation of outstanding debt as a share of the economy in the modern era. This is debt held by the public—the kind the country has to pay back to bond investors, and not the IOUs that one part of the government owes to another part. These debt projections are highly speculative, and faster economic growth would do a great deal to mitigate them. But we offer them to help readers compare the Ryan and Obama budget visions.

For reference, the top line shows the Congressional Budget Office's "alternative fiscal scenario," which it considers the most realistic prediction if current tax and spending policies continue. In that model, debt grows two times as large as GDP by 2037 and the economy crashes. Not good.

Barely better is Mr. Obama's 2013 budget, which is the second line from the top. The White House purports to "stabilize" the deficit and therefore the debt boom over the next decade. After four consecutive $1 trillion-plus deficits and a more than 70% leap in publicly held debt since Mr. Obama's inauguration, that's a pretty modest goal.

But even discounting the usual accounting gimmicks that the White House uses to show this "stability," check out the fine print. There, the document concedes that beyond 2022 "the fiscal position gradually deteriorates" and the deficit "continues to rise for the next 75 years, and the publicly held debt is also projected to rise persistently relative to GDP." In other words, Mr. Obama's budget does not change the spending and debt trajectory.

Even in this best-case scenario by Mr. Obama's own lights, debt soon exceeds the 112.7% debt-to-GDP high-water mark in 1945, incurred to win a war for civilization across the world. The U.S. would now be taking on a larger liability—well above the 90% ratio that most economists consider the general boundary between safety and crisis—simply because the political class refused to modernize the entitlement state that drives the debt.

Mr. Ryan's budget, as shown by the third line, would gradually reduce debt by 36% relative to the status quo by the end of the decade, by 59% in 2030 and 80% less by 2040. No question that requires reforms that by conventional political standards are large. But that's because they're commensurate with the magnitude of the fiscal problem.

Mr. Ryan's major contribution has been to expose the illusion that Mr. Obama's re-election campaign rests on: pretending that raising taxes on a few thousand "millionaires and billionaires" can fund an ever-growing government.

The shaded wedge represents the smallest possible tax increase Mr. Obama would need to achieve the same fiscal balance as Mr. Ryan—except that, in his budget, spending would be at a quarter of the economy and climbing fast. And that's by the White House's own most optimistic projections. The reality will be far messier.

Every time Mr. Obama warns about Mr. Ryan "gutting" this or that "investment," what he's not saying but is unavoidably implying is that taxes must be far higher to finance this spending. Assuming he can read the budget tables, he knows the government has made promises it cannot mathematically keep—but he hopes nobody notices.

 

***

Mr. Ryan had an instructive colloquy with Tim Geithner on this point in February. The Budget Chairman noted that the Administration doesn't "have a plan to make good" on the promises the political class has made to voters. The Treasury Secretary replied that "As I said, we're not disagreeing in that sense. I made it absolutely clear that what our budget does is get our deficit down to a sustainable path over the budget window."

Timothy Geithner and Paul Ryan.

Mr. Ryan: "And then it takes off." Mr. Geithner: "Let's ask ourselves why they take off again. Why do they do that?" Mr. Ryan: "Because we have 10,000 people retiring every day and health-care costs going up."

Mr. Geithner: "That's right. . . . We're not coming before you to say we have a definitive solution to our long-term problem. What we do know is that we don't like yours."

The only omission in Mr. Geithner's remarkable candor is that Democrats do have a plan, kind of. As debt continues to build, at some point U.S. creditors will lose confidence in the Treasury's ability to repay. Then Democrats and even some Republicans will impose a European-style value-added tax or another money machine to appease the bond markets.

What voters should know is that this taxing big bang won't only hit the affluent. Far from it. For evidence, consult a recent study by Eric Toder, Jim Nunns and Joseph Rosenberg of the Tax Policy Center. We know this Brookings-Urban Institute shop has credibility with liberals, because it is the source of the fiction that the Romney-Ryan team wants to boost middle-class taxes.

The researchers looked at how high income-tax rates would have to rise in the top two or even three tax brackets to lower debt to sustainable levels under something akin to CBO's alternative fiscal scenario. They conclude that even if the top rates hit 100%, the budget "cannot achieve the debt-reduction targets in some or any of the target years." Though conceding that near-total confiscation is "completely unrealistic," they report the results anyway "to indicate the infeasibility of achieving a high debt-reduction target simply by increasing top individual income tax rates." And this is from economists who favor higher taxes.

 

***

Another way of putting it is that the rich aren't nearly rich enough to finance Mr. Obama's spending ambitions. Sooner rather than later, Washington will come for the middle class, because that's where the real money is.

Another thing Mr. Obama likes to say is that Messrs. Romney and Ryan "know their economic plan is not popular." Perhaps he can read minds, but at least they have a plan they're willing to put before voters. The President knows that voters won't like his, which is why he isn't honest about it.

 A version of this article appeared September 6, 2012, on page A16 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Desperately Seeking Middle-Class Taxes.

Taxman - The Beatles

 Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.

'Toon of the Day: Fo Mo Years!

M2RB:  Ed Sheeran

‘Cause you need me, man, I don’t need you 

You need me, man, I don’t need you 

You need me, man, I don’t need you at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you

You Need Me, I Don't Need You

You Need Me, I Don't Need You -Ed Sheeran

I don't want to bruise your ears  

Or hurt you again 

But I got back-stabbed by a black cab  

When I needed a friend

 
Now I’m in town, break it down, thinking of making a new sound 

Playing a different show every night in front of a new crowd  

That’s you now, ciao, seems that life is great now 

See me lose focus, as I sing to you loud  

And I can’t, no, I won’t hush 

I’ll say the words that make you blush 

I’m gonna sing this now
 

See, I’m true, my songs are where my heart is 

I’m like glue, I stick to other artists 

I’m not you, now that would be disastrous 

Let me sing and do my thing and move to greener pastures  

See, I’m real, I do it all, it’s all me 

I’m not fake, don’t ever call me lazy 

 I won’t stay put, give me the chance to be free  

Suffolk sadly seems to sort of suffocate me

 
‘Cause you need me, man, I don’t need you 

You need me, man, I don’t need you 

You need me, man, I don’t need you at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you

 
You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you at all  

You need me
 

I sing and write my own tune  

And I write my own verse?  Hell  

Don’t need another word-smith to make my tune sell?  

Call yourself a singer-writer. You’re just bluffing  

Your name’s on the credits and you didn’t write nothing  

I sing fast, I know that all my shit’s cool 

I will blast and I didn’t go to Brit School  

I came fast with the way I act, right 

I can’t last if I’m smoking on a crack pipe

 
And I won’t be a product of my genre 

My mind will always be stronger than my songs are 

Never believe the bullshit that fake guys feed to ya  

Always read the stories that you hear on Wikipedia  

And musically I’m demonstrating 

When I perform live, feels like I am meditating  

Times at The Enterprise when some fella filmed me ‘

A young singer-writer like Gabriella Cilmi’

 
‘Cause you need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you
 

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you
 

You need me, man, I don’t need you 

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you
 

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you
 

'Cause you need me, man,  

You need me, man, 

'Cause you need me, man,  

You need me, man,
 

‘Cause you need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you
 

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you
 

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you
 

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you  

You need me, man, I don’t need you, at all  

You need me, man, I don’t need you

MSNBC's New Slogan

Moonbats Spouting Nothing But Crap!

Pic of the Day: Going Viral

Jobs Picture Comparison: January 2009 v. August 2012 -- Empty Suit Employment

 

M2RB:   Stone's "Empty Suit"

Empty suit, built on ice, one crack, end of lies

The flame is about to fade inside his little vacuum

Counting - years go by

Running - out of time

Shining - the shine will die

Fading - out of time

 

 

 8.1%
+96,000
  368,000 DROPPED OUT
88,921,000 'NOT IN LABOUR FORCE'

  Lowest labour force participation rate since September 1981.

This morning's jobs report for June was another abject, colossal, unmitigated, catastrophic disaster for the American economy, the millions of unemployed and underemployed, the college graduates hoping to embark upon a glowing career path, families, whose homes are underwater, and for one man, in particular, who has "focused like a laser beam" on one job: his.  That one man is President Barack Hussein Obama.

It has long been a very open secret that the Enron-style number-fudging that Señora Solis is doing over at the Department of Labour would land any of us in the private sector right next to Bernie Madoff R. Allen Stanford Jon Corzine.  At this rate, Hilda may need to spring Bernie from prison to accomplish her one job mission -- well, other than the one creating hotlines for illegal immigrants to call to learn about their "rights":  Getting Barack Obama reelected.  Yep, only Corzine can create those kinds of numbers.

Essentially, Obama is demanding Daniel Boulud turn cow patties into Araguani Chocolate Cremeux and that is "Ce n'est tout simplement pas possible.  Comprendre?"

Another 368,000 Americans just VANISHED from the labour force last month.  Poof!   The number of Americans employed fell by 119,000.  

Job reports for June and July were revised lower. The June count fell from 64,000 to 45,000, while July’s number came in at 141,000 from an originally reported 163,000.

 

January 2009:  Not in labour force:  81,023 million 

August 2009:  Not in labour force:  88,921 million

The economy added 96,000 jobs, seasonally adjusted. -- about one-third of them were in temporary services and another third in low-paying service and food jobs. Whoop-dee-doo!

When discouraged workers are added, the unemployment rate rises to 15.0%.  When part-timers, who want full-time jobs, underemployed, jobseekers, discouraged, and dropouts are added to the U3, the real unemployment number is around 23.3%.   If we keep the participation rate at the level it was when Obama took office, then unemployment (U-3) is 11.4%.

 

Real Unemployment Is Around 23.3%

Hey!  Did someone say "War on Women"???  I've got ya a "War on Women."   Check it out:

In January 2009, the number of women employed was:  67.007m

In August 2012, the number of women employed was:  64.670m

In January 2009, the number of unemployed women was:  4.845m

In August 2012, the number of unemployed women was:  5.697m

The percentage change in the number of women employed between January 2009 and August 2012 has been a DECREASE of 3.488% .

The percentage change in the number of women unemployed between January 2009 and August 2012 has been an INCREASE of 17.585 %.

 "Our growth rate is measly [so what did you expect?]"

- Austan Goolsbee, former Obama economic adviser

Measly growth rate?  Yeah, I guess you could call it that.  **eyeroll**  But, can we at least get it to hurry up so that we can get rid of this imbecile?  Seriously.  Who in their bloody mind would hire and expand with Black Jesus (h/t David Axelrod) as CEO of the country?

Among the major worker groups:

Nationally, the U-3 rate for whites was 6.3%, a decrease from 6.5% in July.  The unemployment rate for adult white men dropped to 6.3% from 6.8% in July, for adult white women decreased from 7.4% in July to 6.9 % in August, and unemployment amongst white teenagers increased from, 21.5% to 22.8%.

Nationally, the U-3 rate for blacks is 14.5%, a decrease from 15.0% in July. The unemployment rate for adult black men dropped to 13.8% from 14.9 in July,  unemployment rate for black women increased to 13.2% -- up from 12.7% in July, and black teenaged unemployment increased to 38.8% - up from  38.1% in July.

Nationally, the U-3 rate for Hispanics was 10.1% for August, a decrease from 10.3% in July.  The unemployment rate for adult Hispanic men dropped to 8.1% from 8.2% in July, unemployment rate for Hispanic women decreased to 10.3% (10.5% in July), and the Hispanic teenage unemployment rate stands at 29.0%.

 

The unemployment rate for Asians 5.9%, an decrease from 6.2% in July.

There were 2.116 million more workers suffering long-term unemployment of 27 weeks or more in August, 2012, than when Obama started “working to put the middle class back to work” in February, 2009.

02.09: 2.917 million

07.12: 5.033 million

That’s a 72.54% increase in the number of Americans, who have been unemployed for an average of 27 weeks or more.

BUT, the unemployment rate for government workers went from 5.6% in July, 2012, to 5.1% in August, 2012.

Good news, good news, good news! /s

Who will rid us of this meddlesome priest?

OK, onto the business of the day.....


I ran the numbers comparing January, 2009, to August, 2012:

January 2009:

Civilian non-institution population:  234.739m

Civilian labour force:  153.716m

Employed:  142.099m

Employment-population ratio: 61.3

Unemployed:  11.616m

Not in labour force:  81.023m

Not in the labour force, but who want a job now:  5.62m

Part-time, but want full-time job:  8.038m

Participation Rate:  65.5%

Average Weeks Unemployed:  19.8

Unemployment rate:  7.6% 



August 2012:

Civilian non-institutional population:  243.566 m

Civilian labour force:  154.645m

Employed:  142.101m

Employment-population ratio:   58.3

Unemployed:  12.544m

Not in labour force:  88.921m

Not in the labour force, but who want a job now:  6.929m

Part-time, but want full-time job:  10.538m

Participation rate:  63.5%

Average Weeks Unemployed:  39.2

Unemployment rate:  8.1%

Percentage Change:

Civilian non-institutional population:  +3.76% increase

Civilian labour force:  +0.604% increase

Employed:  +0.001 % increase

Employment-population ratio:  -4.894% decrease

Unemployed:   +7.989% increase

Not in labour force:   +9.748% increase

Not in the labour force, but who want a job now:   +23.292% increase

Part-time, but want full-time job:   +31.102% increase

Participation rate:  -3.053% decrease

Average Weeks Unemployed:  +97.98% increase

Unemployment rate:  +6.579% increase

"the economy is turning around and you can't stand it. "

- treasonous repubs, The Latest Jobs Report Falls Short, Yet Again, Townhall.com, 7 September 2012

GDP by Quarter:

2009:1……...…-5.5
2009:2………...-0.7
2009:3………....2.2
2009:4………....5.6
2010:1………..…2.7
2010:2………..…1.7
2010:3………..…2.6
2010:4……….….3.1
2011:1……..……1.9
2011:2………..…1.3
2011:3………..…1.8
2011:4……….....3.0
2012:1………..…1.9
2012:2………..…1.5


1. U.S. manufacturing shrank at its sharpest clip in more than three years in August while U.S. construction spending in July fell by the most in a year, new reports showed on Tuesday.

2. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity fell to 49.6 in August from 49.8 in July.

3. The reading fell shy of the 50.0 median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

4. The ISM index’s employment component fell to 51.6, the lowest since November 2009, from 52.0 in July.

5. New orders, a forward-looking sub-index, fell to 47.1 in August, the worst showing since April of 2009. It stood at 48 in July.

6. U.S. construction spending fell in July from June by the largest amount in a year, weighed down by a big drop in spending on home improvement projects.

7. The Commerce Department says construction spending declined 0.9 percent in July. It followed three months of gains driven by increases in home and apartment construction. New home construction rose again in July, but spending on home renovation projects fell by 5.5 percent.

8.  And, we just fell to 7th from 5th place last year on economic competitiveness.






Will update will more, so cheque back. 

Empty Suit - Stone

A teenager is trying not to show the real him
Mysterious guys are the coolest ones
Won't look at even the best friends in the eyes
Scared of a thought, they could see through

Many years later he still is just pretending
Hiding something he has never found
Locked up from inside and the key is thrown away
Stranger to himself, lost inside

Counting - years go by
Running - out of time
Shining - the shine will die
Fading - out of time

Black and white is all he sees,
Colours, they are missing
Life is sometimes shades of grey butColours he can never feel again

Behind the wall, thoughts of grey,
one change, mind's decay
Empty suit, built on ice, one crack, end of lies

The goal line was crossed before he even got to start
Never knew when the time was right
Tried to hurry in everyplace, but
never got there in time
Now it's too late, the show is sold out

The flame is about to fade inside his little vacuum
No one will give him a hand
No one will hear him through

Counting - years go by
Running - out of time
Shining - the shine will die
Fading - out of time