In Obama's economy be thankful you pay taxes

April 15th is one of the few days on the calender when we put aside our differences and aim our collective ire towards the IRS. It isn't hard to get angry when thinking bout the work, the overtime, and everything in our personal lives we put aside in order to pay our bills, only to see a large chunk of it handed over to the government so they can do a variety of things we object to it doing before we even get a chance to budget out our month. Of course, we get this rage in small doses twice a month, but facing the cumulative total of Uncle Sam's plunder once a year is enough to drive even the most stable member of society into a blind rage. And yet, in 2014, we who pay taxes should be thankful. To clarify I think taxes should be lower across the board (ideally we should institute a flat tax on income or scrap the income tax altogether and institute a national sales tax), the tax code should be simplified (73,000 pages is more than excessive), and we should limit the amount of taxes the government is allowed to collect as a percentage of GDP (the 40-year average is a tad higher than 17% of GDP and that is too high for my liking). Taxes stifle growth, place limits on innovation, and dampen productivity by themselves, and that doesn't take into account the 6.1 billion hours and $168 Billion Americans spend preparing their taxes each year. Taxes are a destructive force that are too often used not to generate revenue but to punish or aid sectors of the economy based on the whims of the party in power. And that doesn't even touch upon what the taxes are used for – government intrusion into the private economy (ObamaCare, Solyndra), bailouts (GM), increased transfer payments (record numbers of Americans on food stamps and SSDI), and wars.

And yet, in 2014, we who pay taxes should be thankful.

One of my favorite political bumper stickers/slogans of all-time is “Work! People on welfare are depending on you!” Never has that been more true than on April 15th, 2014. According to the USDA, 20% of households were on food stamps last year. The monthly average of people on food stamps throughout 2013 was over 47 million compared to 33 million in 2009. We have seen the labor force participation rate drop to its lowest point in over 35 years since 2009 and the underemployment rate sits above 13% five years after the so-called recovery began. According to the Tax Policy Center 43% of Americans do not pay income taxes, over 46 million live in poverty, and median income has fallen 4% since the beginning of the recovery. Did I mention there are now over 80 means tested programs in America and that have spent over $3.7 Trillion over the past five years?

A lot of these numbers come from a concentrated effort by the Obama administration to increase the number of those eligible for these programs (and creating new ones), but the real reason why so many people are on welfare or are facing tough times is the terrible economy that continues to this day. Sure there are people who abuse the system (and let's face it, the welfare benefits in some states are better than working a low-wage job) but many people who want to work cannot work because of an administration that has declared war on work. ObamaCare will kill off hours worked and keep small businesses from creating jobs, higher taxes on “wealthy individuals” will ensnare small businesses, larger corporations are constantly under attack by an administration that spends more time talking about income inequality than income opportunity.

So let us rename tax day “Be Thankful You Have A Job In The Obama Economy Day.” We may not be happy about the amount the government is taking, or that they do it in the most inefficient way possible, or that they spend it on worthless projects and programs that suck the life out of the economy, or that there is rampant fraud in our welfare programs, or that so much goes to countries who hate us, but we can be happy that Obama's economy hasn't completely savaged our resilient private economy. Hopefully our friends, family, and neighbors who want to work but haven't found work will find work at companies constantly fighting against the headwinds the Obama administration has put in place.

So yes, be thankful you pay taxes in 2014. Not because of what the money does or the amount taken, but because you have managed to hold a job in spite of the economy and say a prayer for those who have added to 5-years of depressing stories about life in the Obama economy.

Jeb...exists

Let's start this blog with a quote from former Florida Governor Jeb Bush:

"There are means by which we can control our border better than we have. And there should be penalties for breaking the law," he added. "But the way I look at this -- and I'm going to say this, and it'll be on tape and so be it. The way I look at this is someone who comes to our country because they couldn’t come legally, they come to our country because their families -- the dad who loved their children -- was worried that their children didn’t have food on the table. And they wanted to make sure their family was intact, and they crossed the border because they had no other means to work to be able to provide for their family. Yes, they broke the law, but it’s not a felony. It’s an act of love. It’s an act of commitment to your family. I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime that there should be a price paid, but it shouldn’t rile people up that people are actually coming to this country to provide for their families."

First off, we knew this was Jeb's position all along. If he runs in 2016 the two policy issues that he will have to deal with are his support for Common Core and his support for comprehensive immigration reform. Jeb is going to throw border security fig leafs in front of his plan which will (rightly) be labeled as amnesty. For someone who has been in politics for a few decades there is very little Jeb can surprise voters with because his beliefs are well documented. His level of name recognition is not in the same league with Hillary, but it is higher than everyone else on the GOP side who is thinking about running in 2016 (with the possible exception of Christie and Paul).

But let's remember that Jeb knows the GOP primary is three primaries. The first two run concurrently – an establishment primary and a conservative challenger primary. Jeb knows his competition first and foremost is going to be Scott Walker, Chris Christie, and probably another Governor. The conservative base primary is where Paul and Cruz will duke it out (and whoever else gets in). The winners of these two races will go head to head, but Jeb knows if he can clear the establishment/moderate field before the conservative challenger can then he will have a major advantage. Let's be honest, McCain did it, Dole did it, and Romney to a lesser extent did it (but let us not forget that Romney was the conservative alternative to McCain for much of 2008).

One other thing to point out is the news today that Jeb is meeting with Russell Moore, head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, later this week. Moore is an evangelical leader, who took over for Dr. Richard Land (who was an extraordinarily influential evangelical in political circles) as head of the ERLC. Moore also teamed up with Ralph Reed to pen an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about the need for compassionate immigration reform. It isn't hard to see the angle Jeb is playing here – it is our Christian duty to help our brothers and sisters no matter the land of their birth (or legal status). Jeb knows if he can pull some evangelicals from the conservative primary voters over to an already clear moderate primary field he could cruise to the nomination.

But all of this is speculation, as is the idea that anything Jeb says or does is some sort of bell weather as to which was he is leaning. The decision to run for president is first made on the family level and nothing that Jeb says or does before he announces should be treated as anything different than a public figure reiterating his position on an issue. If Jeb runs he will be as tough an establishment figure to contend with as we have seen since his father won in 1988 and it is foolish for those in 2014 to declare his candidacy DOA.

Rep. Jim Moran: You know what Congress needs? A raise!

How can you make an already unpopular institution even more unpopular? Well, this doozy of a quote sure is a start:

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) thinks members of Congress aren't paid enough.

Speaking to CQ Roll Call, Moran, who is retiring after this term, said he and his colleagues are not adequately compensated for their public service.

“I think the American people should know that the members of Congress are underpaid,” Moran said. “I understand that it’s widely felt that they underperform, but the fact is that this is the board of directors for the largest economic entity in the world.”

Rank-and-file members of Congress are paid $174,000 annually. However, Moran says, it's just not enough, as members often have to maintain two residences: one in their home district and one in Washington, D.C.

"A lot of members can’t even afford to live decently in Washington," he said, noting that some of his colleagues sleep in their offices or rent "tiny" apartments to save money.

The median income in America is $51,017 and $174,000, according to Kiplinger, places members of Congress in the top 5% of taxpayers nationwide. Suffice to say there are not many people going to bed at night praying that members of Congress get a pay bump.

However, I don't find that particular part of the quote to be the most egregious comment that Moran made in this interview. People always think they should be paid more than they currently and let's be honest, to be the least trusted institution that Gallup has polled since 1973 you need to be filled with people like Jim Moran.

No, it was the "this is the board of directors" comment which really shows just how dangerously naive Moran is when it comes to his responsibilities and the role Congress needs to play. The government is not a business. It does not create wealth. However, it does play a role in setting the rules for business and with Moran being an ardent supporter of President Obama 's economic policies Moran owns a piece of the worst recovery (if you can call it that) in the post-WW2 era, the lowest labor force participation rate in the past 35 years, and a deficit spending binge that led to more debt being created under Obama than under any other previous president! This doesn't even include ObamaCare which is stunting growth and cutting hours for workers!

So, let's say he is on a board of directors - a quick glance at what has happened to our economy over the past 5 years is enough to have everyone fired, never mind get a raise! As President Calvin Coolidge said "The business of America is business," and Rep. Jim Moran, member of America's "Board of Directors" has rubber stamped every policy that has come in front of him that makes it more difficult for entrepreneurs and private enterprise to succeed.

So God Made Congress

I have come to believe that ObamaCare is the most difficult subject to write about simply because there are few original points left to make. Pundits and politicians tend to make the same points, crafted around the latest data, and only occasionally is a new study released or a new question asked. Today we just so happened to have one of these new points made, or at least a point that has not been made since implementation of ObamaCare began:

Democratic National Commitee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) is so impressed with Obamacare, she couldn’t think of any legislation Tuesday she would introduce to fix it. Nothing “glaring” anyway, she toldThe Daily Rundown‘s Chuck Todd.

...

” You know, I think there are going to be issues that arise around the margins,” she said. “If we just have a chance to sit down with Republicans, like we’ve done with hundreds of bills through years of our history, we could hammer out problems that arise. But when you’re dealing with –

“You don’t have one that’s on your radar screen?” Todd asked.

“That comes to mind immediately?” she replied. “No, nothing glaring. I’m not saying that there aren’t problems, but there are always going to be tics in a law that arise, and what we should be doing is sitting down and working those out.”

First off, this must be news to every single Democrat who is facing an uphill battle to retain their seat this year (especially in the Senate where the Democrats could lose control). It takes a brave safe politician to make a comment about the most contentious political issue of the past 5 years that places them firmly in the minority of Americans. Thirdly, and this is the most obvious point, it shows the exact arrogant attitude that has led to Congress's abysmal approval ratings. To believe that ObamaCare doesn't need to be fixed means you don't believe that people who have been kicked off their health insurance (over 6 million) have been adversely effected, you don't believe that people with serious illnesses are telling the truth about the hurdles they are facing to get the care they need, and that you don't believe health insurance premiums are about to skyrocket.

Also, without going too deep into the math, making a statement like this means that you believe that uprooting the entire health insurance system and screwing people who have plans and doctors they like all in the name of fairness while spending $2 trillion over the coming decade is the right way to go about getting 2 million people off the list of the uninsured. That's right, not the 7.1 million number being thrown around today, but when you take into account the number of people kicked off their coverage who are part of that number along with the 20% of the 7.1 million who are estimated to have yet pay their first month's premium we are looking at 2 million out of 45 million uninsured, or slightly over 4% of the uninsured population that this law was designed to help actually being helped (Medicaid doesn't count because it is barely health insurance). A true victory indeed!

Stories like this remind me why I thank God everyday for our congressional overlords who have the foresight to not only pass a law that will work flawlessly, but to do so before even reading the actual content of the bill! We are truly blessed to have people such as DWS in office who are incapable of making a mistake.

Note: Google Blogger doesn't like it when you copy and paste HTML from open office into the post so all the links are broken. If I was paid to do this I would fix it but I am not! Plus these stories are easy to find.