Who You Calling Evil? Big Oil

 

There has been talks about a ‘Gas Tax Holiday‘ bill between Presidential candidates.There has also been discussions of how to pay for it. The tax they are purposing us to take a ‘Holiday’ from does pay for streets, police, and drunk driving commercials. I believe McCain will probably elect to cut spending within the federal D.O.T. Obama calls the duck, a duck. because we are talking about a savings averaging $25-35 for the duration of the ‘Holiday’. That of course depends on the type of vehicle you’re driving. Hillary, well she’d like to take the pandering a step further, by having ‘Big Oil’s’ windfall profits pay for the less taxes collected.’Big Oil’ and ‘Windfall Profits’ doesn’t saying it make you feel good? Doesn’t it feel like you’re sticking it to the evil oil companies? I’ve been thinking about it though;

Why do we believe they are so evil?

Is it because they profit from our stupidity? Profit from our pain of filling our SUV’s, with the hot rims. so we can get to our under paid jobs to pay our sub-prime mortgages?

That’s the bad side of capitalism. Companies producing products we purchase in droves. Justifying our wants that are camouflaged as needs: “more room to get my three kids to soccer…safer because it’s bigger” all the while not realizing they are driving up the demand for oil, and endangering the drivers of smaller, fuel economic cars. So wasn’t this situation we are hoping the government will bail us out of, once again, created by us and not the ‘Evil’ ‘Big Oil’ comapnies?

So why doesn’t the government (Democratic Presidential candidates) go after the auto industry? No money. All the major, US auto, manufacturers are losing money. Mainly because they are still trying to SELL SUV’s. This is an example of how stupid the auto industry is: The automakers cash cow is the SUV. So let’s keep producing them, flood the market, and then wonder why sales are down. The situation we are in has been building, everyone saw it coming. So why wouldn’t the industry adjust?

It’s obvious, a ‘Tax Holiday’ is too little too late. Even if it was a major cut, it would n0t help, it would increase our oil demand. Not helpful, it would be like offering a Hybrid SUV…wait they do.

Real Solutions

1. Production of vehicles with the minimum of 30 miles per gallon
2. Advancing the efficiencies of the gasoline engine
3. Larger tax credits for Hybrid owners
4. Tax credits for cars getting better than 30 miles per gallon

I’ll have to say Obama is the only one right on this issue, surprisingly, since he is a Democrat. Whereas Hillary’s stance not so much. She falls in with the Democratic objective; wealth redistribution.That is where the temptation lies for wanting a piece of the ‘windfall profits’.

Explain Why It’s Unfair

How is restating the accusations of an argument the comeback?

That is all Hillary did in her press conference calling out Obama for making ‘false statements’ in his mailers to Ohioans. Oh yeah, she mention he was using Karl Rove tactics…[burn]

“Sen. Obama knows it is not true that my plan forces people to buy insurance even if they can’t afford it,” she said. [via CNN]

“Sen. Obama knows that it is not true that my plan forces people to buy insurance even if they cannot afford it. My plan has more financial help.” [via FoxNews]

Wouldn’t this have been a good opportunity to explain ‘how’ or ‘why’ you will not be penalized?

So, I decided to refresh my understanding of both Obama’s Health Care Plan and Hillary’s Health Care Plan…[reviewing]

I got nothin. Hillary’s website made nothing clear whether or not you would be penalized. Barack’s message is… well, the same. Neither website answers any questions.To the point, I didn’t see where it says that Barack’s plan wouldn’t penalize you for not having health insurance.

Clinton’s plan says: [via HillaryClinton.com]

Senator Clinton’s plan will:

• Provide Tax Relief to Ensure Affordability: Working families will receive a refundable tax credit to help them afford high-quality health coverage.

• Limit Premium Payments to a Percentage of Income: The refundable tax credit will be designed to prevent premiums from exceeding a percentage of family income, while maintaining consumer price consciousness in choosing health plans.
• Create a New Small Business Tax Credit: To make it easier-not harder-for small businesses to create new jobs with health coverage, a new health care tax credit for small businesses will provide an incentive for job-based coverage.

How is a Tax Credit not a penalty NOW for people who cannot afford insurance? You don’t get your credit until after you have figured your tax obligation or refund. A majority of Americans figure their tax liability once a year. You pay your health insurance premiums every month.

How is that relief?

Did you see what I saw? What do people, that don’t pay attention to politics, hear when she is telling you: “Everyone deserves quality health care…”

…her American Health Choices Plan will secure, simplify and ensure choice in health coverage for all Americans…[via HillaryClinton.com]

The fact that we have to pay our premiums now, not when we get our tax rebate check, is the logic that elludes Hillary and Democrats.

I don’t like when they use the word ‘credit’. It reminds me of credit cards. You are spending money you don’t have. A tax credit is money you are hoping to get back IF there is a surplus in the taxes the IRS collects.

Technorati Tags: Clinton, Obama, Health Care

Do You Download Music? Doesn’t Matter Pay Tax Anyway

Musicians leaving their labels in order to produce, distribute, and sell their music…by themselves. Why do this? Isn’t this career suicide? I don’t think so, because those musicians making the jump have all been veterans (NIN, Madonna, Oasis, Jamiroquai). As far as the reason why, I hope it is because they are not happy with how the labels are using their content [songs]. Using it to sue their fans.

Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor, is the only artist [I believe] to be doing this for ‘The Fans’.  He has been known to tell his fans to go ahead and steal their music.

Yes, my feelings exactly.

Well, at least I thought Trent got it. That was until I read this interview with c|net News.com. Trent, in the interview, is obviously disheartened by the response of his latest project received. Trent decided to produced and distribute an album for Saul Williams on the internet, as a way to test the internet as a distribution system. The test showed that out of 154,000 [approx.] only 20% paid $5 for the album. Not enough money for the effort…

Trent was pissed by the response?

What did he expect, offering up a no-name, hip-hop artist to test the waters? I downloaded it, for free. I wanted to know who and what this album had to offer before I bought it. I listened to the whole thing. It wasn’t memorable, nor worth keeping. I deleted it from my hard drive. Now if it would have been a NIN album, Trent was offering, I would have paid the $5. Then listened.

Trent, don’t give up, be realistic. Try it with a NIN album, that will be the proof. It will also be proof…no it will scare the shit out of the labels.

That isn’t what actually disappointed me though, it was that Trent believes…

“All music is now available and able to be downloaded and put in your car and put in your iPod and put up your a– if you want, and it’s $5 on your cable bill or ISP bill.” Trent Reznor in c|net news interview

Really!?, if you watched the YouTube clip, Trent tells his fans to steal because they are being robbed by the music labels for such high CD prices. With his tax, not a new idea by the way, he is willing to take money out of the pocket of ANYONE. Whether they have, or even know how, to download music. His tax will guarantee the profits of the music labels he just told, and has asked us to, fuck off!

UPDATE: Trent is feeling a little of the morning after, hang over, ‘foot in mouth‘ syndrome. Good I am glad he came to his senses, blaming everyone else, but he at least realized what he said and retracted it…     

Mortgage Darwin Awards

Apparently the philosophy in the United States is that if one person does something stupid they must take personal responsibility for it, but if a chunk of the population does something stupid, we must all pay.  At least that’s how it seems now.  We all get emails with the latest “Darwin Award” for the person that made the dumbest mistake and paid for it with their life – this is meant to amuse and entertain us.  You hear about a few people who make ridiculous investments and lose everything, and you think, why did they do that?  But when less than 1% of the U.S. population “invests” in sub-prime mortgage loans, apparently we reward them.  According to this article we are working hard to make sure the poor decisions made by a few to over-buy on homes by using sub-prime ARMs are rewarded by freezing their interest rate.  The rest of us saw the disclosures and what would happen when the rates increased, so we took the traditional 15, 30 (and sometimes 40) year fixed rates, knowing that the rate may be higher now, but in the long run would be smarter.  We were right!  But guess what, those that took the poor choice and managed to hang on until now, they will reap the rewards.  How is this any different than the age old ploy used by credit cards.  Dangle a low introductory rate, then jack up the interest rate.  Always aimed at people with less than pristine credit, resulting in disasterous results for many of them.  Now the mortgage industry played the same game, with oddly enough similar results, but instead of saying, “you got into it, you get out of it” we have now apparently decided to reward them, freeze their interest rate and let the other 99% of the mortgage paying population who made the smart decision, be the losers.

Do You Believe The Internet Is Tax-Free?

Did you know that the internet is under the threat of being taxed? Not the shopping you do, but your access. All the people who ‘own’ the internet (Telco’s and Cable networks) want another tax shelter. That is the simple fact, this would be another way that Americans will pay THEIR corporate taxes.

Back in 1998 the House and Senate sought to protect the internet, in it’s young years, from the internet access tax. However, that protection is set to expire Nov. 1, 2007. Tonight the Senate has approved a seven-year extension. It will then go to the House, where they would prefer a four-year extension. In the past there has been support for a permanent ban, but has not been able to receive a majority vote.

This untapped source of tax revenue is to irresistible to pass up by most politicians.

Prediction: A bill will pass to tax internet access and it will be disguised as a ‘Internet Child Protection Act’ (sounds familiar…if I heard this from somewhere else I apologize for not remembering where)

[a reminder of this tax via TechCrunch]

Technorati Tags: taxes, internet

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