Barry extends Patriot Act

[dbucfan]

Barry didn't do what he said he was going to do.  He dislike the bill he voted for, vowed to change it as a candidate, and meekly signed it without changes.  He didn't lie, he didn't mislead - he simply did do what he said he was going to do.  So while one person might find him a flip-flopper, another might feel more comfortable with calling Barry a failure, or even something different like forgetful, or ineffective... who knows.

I would call him neither a flip flopper or a failure. I'd call him a politician. Show me a President that has ever kept every single one of his campaign promises and I'll show you a figment of your imagination.

Oh it is clear you wouldn't acknowledge the differences in Obama's positions or promises.  Wouldn't expect you to.

[ONEBIGDADDY]

Barry didn't do what he said he was going to do.  He dislike the bill he voted for, vowed to change it as a candidate, and meekly signed it without changes.  He didn't lie, he didn't mislead - he simply did do what he said he was going to do.  So while one person might find him a flip-flopper, another might feel more comfortable with calling Barry a failure, or even something different like forgetful, or ineffective... who knows.

I would call him neither a flip flopper or a failure. I'd call him a politician. Show me a President that has ever kept every single one of his campaign promises and I'll show you a figment of your imagination.

Oh it is clear you wouldn't acknowledge the differences in Obama's positions or promises.  Wouldn't expect you to.

I have followed along since 1978 and realized all the flip floppers in the White House...It happens to all of them...I just can't fathom why we don't realize this, this far along in life. I will send you a piece of information someone sent me in my next post here...OBD

[ONEBIGDADDY]

Charley Reese's final column for the Orlando Sentinel...

He has been a journalist for 49 years.
He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.

Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.
 
This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat.  Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day.  It's a short but good read.  Worth the time.  Worth remembering!

      545 vs. 300,000,000 People

        -By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.  No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating  deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want.  If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal  government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in  Iraq and Afghanistan ....

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they  alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power..

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...

We should vote all of  them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando   Sentinel  Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it... is up to you.

This might be funny if it weren't so  true.

Be sure to read all the way to the end:

                               Tax his land,
                               Tax his bed,
                               Tax the table,
                               At which he's fed.

                               Tax his tractor,
                               Tax his mule,
                               Teach him taxes
                               Are the rule.

                               Tax his work,
                               Tax his pay,
                               He works for
                               peanuts anyway!

                               Tax his cow,
                               Tax his goat,
                               Tax his pants,
                               Tax his coat.

                               Tax his ties,
                               Tax his shirt,
                               Tax his work,
                               Tax his dirt.

                               Tax his tobacco,
                               Tax his drink,
                               Tax him if he
                               Tries to think.

                               Tax his cigars,
                               Tax his beers,
                               If he cries
                               Tax his tears.

                               Tax his car,
                               Tax his gas,
                               Find other ways
                               To tax his ass.

                               Tax all he has
                               Then let him know
                               That you won't be done
                               Till he has no dough.

                               When he screams and hollers;
                               Then tax him some more,
                               Tax him till
                               He's good and sore.

                               Then tax his coffin,
                               Tax his grave,
                               Tax the sod in
                               Which he's laid...

                               Put these words
                               Upon his tomb,
                               'Taxes drove me
                               to my doom...'

                               When he's gone,
                               Do not relax,
                               Its time to apply
                               The inheritance tax.

                               Accounts Receivable Tax
                               Building Permit Tax
                               CDL license Tax
                               Cigarette Tax
                               Corporate Income Tax

                               Dog License Tax
                               Excise Taxes
                               Federal Income Tax
                               Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
                               Fishing License Tax

                               Food License Tax
                               Fuel Permit Tax
                               Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
                               Gross Receipts Tax
                               Hunting License Tax

                               Inheritance Tax
                               Inventory Tax
                               IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
                               Liquor Tax
                               Luxury Taxes

                               Marriage License Tax
                               Medicare Tax
                               Personal Property Tax
                               Property Tax
                               Real Estate Tax
                               Service Charge Tax

                               Social Security Tax
                               Road Usage Tax
                               Recreational Vehicle Tax
                               Sales Tax
                               School Tax

                               State Income Tax
                               State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
                               Telephone Federal Excise Tax
                              Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
                               Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
                              Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
                               Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
                               Telephone    State   and Local Tax

                               Telephone Usage Charge Tax
                               Utility Taxes
                               Vehicle License Registration Tax
                               Vehicle Sales Tax
                               Watercraft Registration Tax
                               Well Permit Tax
                               Workers Compensation Tax


STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?



Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.



We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.


     What in the heck happened?  Can you spell 'politicians?'

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!!  YOU can help it get there!!!



                                         GO AHEAD. . .  BE AN AMERICAN!!!

I found this very interesting...OBD

[dbucfan]

Thanks OBD, having seen that before I still find it amazing that most folks have little to no knowledge what they pay in taxes annually - that taxes take money from everything we do so governments can direct them to the location where they see need for the public's good - you know - for transportation, or communication, or paying back folks who helped get them elected, or directing money to someone who include them in the 'take'. 

Now to get folks to understand money is not an endless supply, that Americans can get by on a lot less government, that folks need to stand upon their own merit, and that Americans can and will take care of their own.  Naturally, that is simply my own thought and belief.

[John Galt?]

To hire one person at $20/hr or $800/week costs:

$1.53/hr or $61.20/wk for FICA (Social Security and Medicare)
$0.30/hr or $12.00/wk for Workman's Comp
$0.22/hr or $8.68/wk for Federal Unemployment Tax
$0.11/hr or $4.40/wk for State Unemployment Tax (Florida)
$0.06/hr or $2.40/wk for additional liability insurance costs

So to hire a new employee at $20/hr costs $22.22/hour or $888.80/week and the employee will only receive $627.98 or 29.35% less!!!

And this doesn't include Obamacare which could cost the employer another $1.41/hr $56.25/wk. Then it will cost a company $3780.20 per month to pay an employee a $3200/month wage of which he will receive $2,511.92. The other $1,268.28/month goes to taxes and fees.

Do the math and for every 2 employees, the taxes are enough to pay a 3rd employee!!!

And why isn't unemployment going down?

Why aren't new jobs being created?

[John Galt?]

Florida's unemployment tax rate soars

ICS Logistics Chief Financial Officer Mark Gier says his company has been fighting in the face of the Great Recession to avoid laying off any of its 444 Jacksonville employees, but a 140 percent increase in unemployment tax this year isn't going to help...

ICS received a notice detailing the hikes in the company's unemployment tax, but Gier said the paperwork for the company's first quarterly payment, due April 30, hasn't yet been filled out. He estimates ICS will have to pay about $60,000 more in unemployment tax than last year.  that's $60,000 more or in addition to what they are already paying

"That's a couple of peoples' pay," he said.

In 2009, the minimum tax rate was .12 percent on the first $7,000 of an employee's pay, but that rose Jan. 1 to 1.18 percent on the first $8,500, which represents a 1,094 percent increase in the minimum tax per worker from $8.40 to $100.30. And if a business has laid-off workers in the past three years, the rate can be higher - as much as 5.4 percent, according to the Department of Revenue. At that rate, the per-worker tax would be $459.

That means a 50-employee company that at the minimum rate in 2009 paid $420 in state unemployment taxes can be stuck with a 2010 tab as high as $22,950.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/business/2010-01-29/story/floridas_unemployment_tax_rate_soars#ixzz1NfLYZDOG

So why aren't companies hiring, BHO did spend Zillions to create "shovel ready jobs", where are they???

What? All that stimulus money went to pay Fed and State taxes and NOT to new jobs?? Shut the door!

[John Galt?]

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation

Private industry employers spent an average of $27.75 per hour worked for total employee compensation in December 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and
salaries averaged $19.64 per hour worked and accounted for 70.8 percent of these costs, while benefits averaged $8.11 and accounted for the remaining 29.2 percent. Total compensation costs
for state and local government workers averaged $40.28 per hour worked in December 2010. Total employer compensation costs for civilian workers, which include private industry and state and
local government workers, averaged $29.72 per hour worked in December 2010....


Table A.  Relative importance of employer costs for employee compensation, December 2010

Compensation                    Civilian        Private        State and local
 component                      workers         industry          government


Wages and salaries               69.7%           70.8%              65.6%
Benefits                                 30.3              29.2                 34.4
   Paid leave                            7.0                6.8                  7.5
   Supplemental pay                2.3               2.7                   0.8
   Insurance                            8.8               8.0                 11.9
     Health benefits                   8.4               7.5                 11.6
   Retirement and savings         4.5               3.5                  8.1
     Defined benefit                   2.7                1.5                  7.3
     Defined contribution            1.8                2.0                  0.8
   Legally required                    7.8                8.2                  6.0



http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm

So 30+% of employee costs are never received by the employee but are Federally mandated "benefit costs".

Brilliant.

[ONEBIGDADDY]

Florida's unemployment tax rate soars

ICS Logistics Chief Financial Officer Mark Gier says his company has been fighting in the face of the Great Recession to avoid laying off any of its 444 Jacksonville employees, but a 140 percent increase in unemployment tax this year isn't going to help...

ICS received a notice detailing the hikes in the company's unemployment tax, but Gier said the paperwork for the company's first quarterly payment, due April 30, hasn't yet been filled out. He estimates ICS will have to pay about $60,000 more in unemployment tax than last year.  that's $60,000 more or in addition to what they are already paying

"That's a couple of peoples' pay," he said.

In 2009, the minimum tax rate was .12 percent on the first $7,000 of an employee's pay, but that rose Jan. 1 to 1.18 percent on the first $8,500, which represents a 1,094 percent increase in the minimum tax per worker from $8.40 to $100.30. And if a business has laid-off workers in the past three years, the rate can be higher - as much as 5.4 percent, according to the Department of Revenue. At that rate, the per-worker tax would be $459.

That means a 50-employee company that at the minimum rate in 2009 paid $420 in state unemployment taxes can be stuck with a 2010 tab as high as $22,950.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/business/2010-01-29/story/floridas_unemployment_tax_rate_soars#ixzz1NfLYZDOG

So why aren't companies hiring, BHO did spend Zillions to create "shovel ready jobs", where are they???

What? All that stimulus money went to pay Fed and State taxes and NOT to new jobs?? Shut the door!

I am kind of confused here. The unemployment has gotten better. Illegal immigrants are leaving and we just had a Governor refuse to build a train that would have added to more jobs. I am not attacking you JG because I really just trying to see the level side of it. Also it was proven by RS that he messed up on the train...OBD

[dbucfan]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576343611464445594.html

This will help

[John Galt?]

I am kind of confused here. The unemployment has gotten better.

It has?? Has unemployment declined or has the way the DoL calculates the figures been jiggered? I think it is more the later than the former.

Besides, my point is if you want to increase employment, isn't it a good idea not to penalize employers for hiring?

[ONEBIGDADDY]

I am kind of confused here. The unemployment has gotten better.

It has?? Has unemployment declined or has the way the DoL calculates the figures been jiggered? I think it is more the later than the former.

Besides, my point is if you want to increase employment, isn't it a good idea not to penalize employers for hiring?

I agree. I know the unemployment is all in who holds the calculator. Thanks for the refreshment...OBD

[CBWx2]

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened?  Can you spell 'politicians?'

OBD,

I'd just like to point out that many of those taxes actually did exist 100 years ago, and that the large middle class referred to in the piece wasn't really the reality of 100 years ago either. Maybe about 60 years ago, but not 100.

I'd also like to point out that while the politicians deserve a lion share of the blame, it's important not to absolve the factors that drive many of them to legislate the way that they do. Behind just about every law are bill where the average Joe got a raw deal, you can probably find a money trail that leads to the bank account of a large corporation that lobbied to make it happen.

[ONEBIGDADDY]

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened?  Can you spell 'politicians?'

OBD,

I'd just like to point out that many of those taxes actually did exist 100 years ago, and that the large middle class referred to in the piece wasn't really the reality of 100 years ago either. Maybe about 60 years ago, but not 100.

I'd also like to point out that while the politicians deserve a lion share of the blame, it's important not to absolve the factors that drive many of them to legislate the way that they do. Behind just about every law are bill where the average Joe got a raw deal, you can probably find a money trail that leads to the bank account of a large corporation that lobbied to make it happen.

Actually I know the taxation without representation issue but it is an issue that I found very relavent to today. I repect this writer and what he was conveying...OBD

[Biggs3535]

Illegal immigrants are leaving

Also it was proven by RS that he messed up on the train

[dbucfan]

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened?  Can you spell 'politicians?'

OBD,

I'd just like to point out that many of those taxes actually did exist 100 years ago, and that the large middle class referred to in the piece wasn't really the reality of 100 years ago either. Maybe about 60 years ago, but not 100.

I'd also like to point out that while the politicians deserve a lion share of the blame, it's important not to absolve the factors that drive many of them to legislate the way that they do. Behind just about every law are bill where the average Joe got a raw deal, you can probably find a money trail that leads to the bank account of a large corporation that lobbied to make it happen.

Feel free to mark the taxes from the list that are over one hundred years old. 

And just for grins and giggles, why don't you identify the ones from the list that reflect where a large corporation might have cost the 'average Joe' leading to 'average Joe' getting a raw deal.

Accounts Receivable Tax
                               Building Permit Tax
                               CDL license Tax
                               Cigarette Tax
                               Corporate Income Tax

                               Dog License Tax
                               Excise Taxes
                               Federal Income Tax
                               Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
                               Fishing License Tax

                               Food License Tax
                               Fuel Permit Tax
                               Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
                               Gross Receipts Tax
                               Hunting License Tax

                               Inheritance Tax
                               Inventory Tax
                               IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
                               Liquor Tax
                               Luxury Taxes

                               Marriage License Tax
                               Medicare Tax
                               Personal Property Tax
                               Property Tax
                               Real Estate Tax
                               Service Charge Tax

                               Social Security Tax
                               Road Usage Tax
                               Recreational Vehicle Tax
                               Sales Tax
                               School Tax

                               State Income Tax
                               State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
                               Telephone Federal Excise Tax
                              Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
                               Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
                              Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
                               Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
                               Telephone    State   and Local Tax

                               Telephone Usage Charge Tax
                               Utility Taxes
                               Vehicle License Registration Tax
                               Vehicle Sales Tax
                               Watercraft Registration Tax
                               Well Permit Tax
                               Workers Compensation Tax