The wonders of a government controlled economy

Apparently, the island nation of Cuba, renowned for its optimal growing conditions for sugar and coffee, is suffering its worst coffee harvest in history, and its worst sugar harvest in over a century, due to the management skills of its government.

Of course, this is no surprise to anyone who has ever tried to find an affordable apartment in rent controlled cities like New York City and San Francisco, and is even less of a surprise to anyone who watched as the former breadbasket of Europe, the Ukraine and Russia, routinely failed to grow enough grain to feed Russia.  It's also no surprise to those who have watched as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez parlayed record high petroleum prices into a budget crisis and recession, or those who have watched any number of trust fund babies like Mark Dayton and Paris Hilton parlay monstrous inheritances into personal and fiscal disaster.

The ugly reality; people are never as careful with someone else's money as they are with their own.   That's why sound economists note that the list of actual "public goods" is very short.  Hopefully we learn that here before it is too late.

How to evaluate your employer, union, or self....

Take a look at their accounting statements, of course.   In our current installment, Michelle Malkin  reveals that the liabilities of the SEIU (the purple bus union that loves Mr. Obama) have shot from about $8 million to about $121 million--a shift presumably related to that union's spending of $61 million to put Mr. Obama and other Democrats in place, as well as current plans to spend about $44 million this year to keep the tax and borrow and inflate and spend Democrats in firm control of government.

Now it is obnoxious enough when unions spend dues revenue for political purposes, whether or not their members approve, but what we have here is borrowing to spend more on politics--in effect allocating portions of dues that are not supposed to be spent on lobbying to.....lobbying and political action.  Where has the money come from in particular?  Apparently from the pension fund, which is only 75% funded these days for the rank and file. 

Add to that clear accounting line items intended to benefit union leaders at the expense of members, and it's pretty clear that if we had an Attorney General, the SEIU would be facing multiple investigations, and I dare say a number of their leaders would go to jail.  If only we had an Attorney General and a Department of Justice in this country!

The gap between rich and poor; smaller than advertised

Here are some interesting numbers from the IRS linked by my friend Cold, where apparently even if we took all of the income earned by people earning more than $500,000 in 2006, it would have only netted the Treasury about $1.3 trillion.

Now apart from the idiocy of the very idea of taking operating funds away from employers, there is something else very interesting, and I believe the WSJ makes an error in their analysis.

Specifically, 1.65 million tax filers making more than about $388,000 in 2006 does NOT equate to a mere 1% of the population; keep in mind here that these are 1.65 million tax returns representing that many families.  To put this in perspective, the Census bureau estimates about 115 million households this year.

In other words, 1.65 million returns is not the top 1%, but the top 1.5%.  In the same way, 3.8 million households earning more than $200,000 per year is not the top 2%, but rather the top 3.5%.  Correct for the fact that married couples earn more and have more children, and we're most likely talking about the top 2-3% of people sharing income exceeding $400,000 per year, and the top 5-6% sharing income of over $200,000 per year.

So how "rich" are those 1.65 million families?  Well, that 2-3% of people shares 22% of the gross income, but gets to keep only about 2/3 of it (say 15%), so when you count in government payments and taxation......they have somewhere between five and eight times more spendable resources than average.

Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but it's hardly a hereditary oligarchy of wealth--as anyone who has read and understood The Millionaire Next Door knows very well.  Now if only we could get Democrats to read and understand this book....

Why I don't watch TV....

.....in great part because of some work my step-brother-in-law did for Lilly in developing "Cialis," actually.  Now, apparently, you can hardly watch the "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" without having your kids ask you what a "four hour e*******" is.  Although I disagree with the American Academy of Pediatrics on many issues (especiually guns), I think they've got a point here; do kids really need to be exposed to the idea that a man must "be ready" for whatever opportunity to fornicate comes up?

(for that matter, I'd have to suggest that, given societal trends, it's not a terribly helpful thing for adults to hear, either)
It's also telling, in my opinion, that the image the article provides is of a relatively young couple; not a grey hair appears.   It would seem that decades of worship of the idiot box is leading to people in their thirties and forties helping out my step-brother-in-law's stock options and bonuses. 

I hope he'll forgive me for taking the idiot box out to the garage.  It just isn't worth it.

Very scary reality of homosexuality

For a while, I've been pointing out in certain situations that the HIV infection rate for male homosexuals was likely 10-15%; assuming that at most 3% of adult males, or about three million men, were homosexuals, and overall a little less than half of HIV infections were of homosexual men (say 400-500,000), I arrived at the "best guess" that about 10-15% of them carried HIV.

It turns out, according to the CDC, that I was wrong.  Apparently 20% of urban homosexual and bisexual men carry the virus, which suggests that either the number of homosexuals is even less than 3% (and far less than the Kinsey study's 10%), or that there are even more HIV infectiosn of homosexual and bisexual men than the CDC had previously estimated, or both.

Either way, it says something that I would hope that even SIECUS and the Kinsey Institute would clue into; that this lifestyle is like playing Russian roulette--repeatedly.   Yes, the symptoms and onset of AIDS can be mitigated with current therapies, but reality is that it still can be a death sentence--especially among the 50% of those infected that don't even know.

Along those lines, it reminds me of a young man I knew named Donald.  He was a secretary where I worked during graduate school, and was a very flamboyant homosexual who delighted in arguing against those who would argue that homosexuality was wrong.  The one thing we agreed upon was that we loved the Cornhuskers; I rooted for them because "Ski U" had broken most of their promises made to me, and Donald loved the Huskers because he despised Bill MacCartney, Ski U's football coach at the time.

After years of badgering by a professor who begged him to take a test, it came back....as quite frankly we all expected.  Ironically, his health improved for a while as he stopped living on caffeine and nicotine, but inevitably the disease took its toll. 

Maybe someday, SIECUS and other proponents of sexual anarchy will come to their senses and realize what their worldview is doing to too many Donalds.

The very definition of "wimp"

....is a man who has apparently lost a fight with Elmo of "tickle me Elmo" fame.  Apparently not encumbered excessively by his outfit, the actor in the suit broke two fingers of his assailant.

Sad to say, there is no video. 

Thoughts on Sesame Street....

Evidently, the popular PBS children's show has gotten into trouble with parents for featuring a songstress known more for revealing outfits and scandalous lyrics than musicality.  Now while I don't quibble with featuring prominent people on childrens' shows to acquaint them with the real world, I do have to wonder what they are thinking with a lot of their celebrity guests, many of whom lead quite scandalous public and private lives.

So are they acquainting kids with the world, or pushing the moral envelope?  I'm not quite sure, but I wouldn't be altogether surprised if they featured a band from Australia because, after all, the lead guitarist wears a schoolboy uniform on stage.  It would be wholesome, right? 

Maybe the Secretary of State could come, too, and prove that she was not really Brian Johnson.

How far does that income go?

Apparently, a University of Chicago law professor (thus by definition President Obama's intellectual superior, as he actually earned his post) posted something on his blog about how far a $250,000 family income actually goes.  In reality, it's not that far, but unfortunately, his intellectual inferiors (Obama supporters) harassed him until he took his post down.

And so as a public service, let's run down where a $250,000 income goes for a family of three or four in a high cost area of living like Chicago.  Now it is true that the good professor could go to lower cost areas in Chicago than Obama's neighborhood, but.....keep in mind that Chicago is always in the running for murder capital of the nation.  I don't begrudge him that, to put it mildly.

You start with $250,000, and take off $100,000 in income taxes.   You're then at $150,000, and then you take off $15,000 for property taxes and $35000 for the mortgage--I'm guessing the good professor is in a home worth a cool half million or more.  (again, go cheaper, there goes the neighborhood)  Now you're at $100,000, but you're not done.  Take off $10,000 for utilities and maintenance (those old brick homes in Chicago don't heat and cool cheap), $30,000 annually for his $250,000 in college loans, $20,000 annually for vehicle expenses (you don't park for free in Chicago, nor is insurance cheap there), and $20,000 annually for childcare.

In short, for groceries, clothes, and all that--they have approximately $20,000.  Not too many Michelin stars will be enjoyed on that budget, and the President thinks these people have more to take out of their hide.  Well, maybe, but it's going to be a lot more painful than his rhetoric would make you think.

Moreover, given his problems making ends meet before his book-writing windfalls (no dividend, interest, or capital gains income prior to 2005), I would have thought Mr. Obama would have known very well that, at least for big city dwellers, a quarter million dollars per year is not exactly an amount that would make one into J.P. Morgan.

Oddly appropriate, but it could backfire

Michelle Malkin's site is reporting that Kentucky Fried Rat Chicken is leasing space on the derrieres of college coeds to promote their product.  While perhaps this marketing strategy will work in a debauched society like ours, I can't help but wonder if it will backfire in a major way, both for the coeds and KFRC. 

Backfire on the coeds because, as was emphasized yesterday, husbands are won from the neck up, not the waist down.  Backfire on KFRC because, as anyone knows, promoting a product that can make your backside look ginormous with people whose fitted pants make their backsides look ginormous just might remind people that, yeah, maybe it would be a better idea to go to Subway.

I've got to admit, though, that connecting the thought of KFRC with the concept of a bloated rear end is oddly appropriate, if a bit weak as a marketing concept.

An argument for modesty, and against the burqa

Scientists have apparently found that men focus on a woman's body when seeking a date (or short term relationship), but look at her face only when.....seeking a wife.  In other words, science confirms what Grandmother said about how to dress; boyfriends might be won from the neck down, but husbands are won from the neck up.   Notice also that men seeking a wife looked at the face; obviously the burqa isn't in line with sound science.

Appraisal of Mark Dayton's tax plan

Communist   DFL candidate for governor Mark Dayton has released his tax plans, and, well, it looks like a great way to reduce revenues in the long term.  A quick summary of some highlights lowlights:

1.  Increase state income tax by 3.1% (to 10.95% from 7.85%) on incomes greater than $130k (individuals) and $150K (married).  Note first a significant marriage penalty in a day when everything from educational attainment to being law abiding corresponds to having married parents, and furthermore it gives the prosperous (as opposed to the rich like Mark Dayton) a significant reason to leave the state.

2.  Add a property tax surcharge of 2% on homes with a value above $1 million.  OK, so for the rich, Dayton creates a reason to....again...leave the state.  Transaction costs on leaving the state for a lower tax state (say far off South Dakota) are paid for in.....one year.

3.  Casino near the Zoo  Mall of America.  First of all, the governmental costs of dealing with problem gambling often override the revenues--incarceration, divorce, etc., among problem gamblers.  So it's not guaranteed revenue to begin with.  Second, the state has given an exclusive license for casinos to our Indian tribes.  So what Dayton proposes to do is to simultaneously increase the misery of gambling families and native americans.

More or less, what Mr. Dayton proposes is a fairly systematic way to drive prosperous and wealthy entrepeneurs out of the state, leaving more room for trust funders like Dayton.  While this may make it easier for him to attend society events due to less traffic, it's not a good deal for those of us who need to work for a living.

Those with a serious testosterone addiction....

.....might do well to relocate to South Bend, Indiana, home (evidently) of the nation's only "pubic schools."  (H/T Michelle Malkin)  I am going to suggest that the local government schools, having apparently overdone "sex ed" by a wide margin, may be significantly to blame for distracting the "Golden Domers" from basic blocking and tackling, leading to a 1-2 record early in the season.  They way they're going, they're going to be looking forward to the October 16 game with Western Michigan to get their second win.

Which, if things keep going that way, will be just fine with me.  For that matter, the very fact that Western Michigan even appears on their schedule is an indication of how far the Irish have fallen in the past few years.

But seriously, speaking of basic blocking and tackling, it looks like "spelling lessons" might be on the docket (or at least should be) for a South Bend based group advocating the public (or "government") schools.

End of the recession?

Maybe not.  It turns out that with government spending forming such a large portion of GDP, the small rise in GDP last year actually was all government spending--and then some.  The private sector actually appears to have shrunk.

Maybe it's time to start counting GDP in terms of the private sector only, and we'd get a better idea of what's really going on.  H/T SCSU Scholars.

More thoughts on medicine

This morning, while contemplating how it might be possible to have doctors who can both respond instantly in an emergency, and also think through complicated situations well, it struck me that most of those ten dollar words doctors used are derived from Greek and Latin.  So if you want truly outstanding doctors 20 years from now, teach your children the classics today.  If I'd had more Greek and Latin while growing up, maybe I would have instantly understood that glorious fifty dollar word the doctor used to describe the tendonitis in my elbow.

Well, at least I would have had half a chance!

What's President Obama's religion again?

Well, it could be a mistake, or it could be a "tell."  Suffice it to say that I don't think that a believing Christian or Muslim would intentionally remove "by their Creator" from the Declaration of Independence, as our President did.

A huge deal?  Not to me--I'm more interested in how our President treats the Constitution than in how he treats the Declaration of Independence.  However, if it's a "tell" and not a mistake, it indicates that the "official story" about our President is a monstrous fraud.  Thank you, main stream media, for not keeping Obama's feet to the fire with his lack of forthrightness about his history.