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It’s good to be back in studio. Today, Tony recaps the attack in Belgium that killed 6 and injured 123. Then, Scott Ott joins us to talk about Occupy Wall Street and the idea of income inequality. Finally, does the talk around Gingrich and Romney give Rep. Ron Paul an opportunity for victory? Listen and find out.
Tony Katz, host of The Tony Katz Radio Show, talks with Thom Hartmann of The Big Picture on RT, about the PayRoll tax cut, and how to pay for it. In Tony’s own words, -
I’ve done a lot of interviews on RT. I’ve done contentious interviews. This is the first where the host seems completely uninterested in a conversation. The amount of talk-over in this interview is just stunning. Watch for yourself.
As reported by NBC 4, the Los Angeles Angels have won the bidding war for star player Albert Pujols, beating out his former club, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins.
The deal, rumored to be worth up to $260 million, may not be a long term winner for the organization:
The Angels’ rookie general manager Jerry Dipoto pulled off the deal,but with Pujols set to turn 32 in January,the deal may last longer than his days as a productive player. He’s actually coming off the worst season in his illustrious 11-year career,having failed to bat .300 or drive in 100 runs for the first time.
This deal baffles me. I had heard that Pujols was offered $225 million by the Cards. Was the promise of $30 million worth the move to California, where most of that will be eaten up by taxes (and where the Governor is appealing the voters to vote for higher income and sales taxes?)
Pujols certainly has the right to play where he wants if the team is willing to pay. However, this deal doesn’t look like a smart move, but rather a forced marriage. Congrats to the happy couple!
As reported by The Christian Science Monitor, via Drudge Report, California Governor Jerry Brown wants to bring a ballot initiative to the people of California, asking them to raise their own taxes.
Brown has been rebuffed by the legislative angle, where he needs a two-thirds majority for tax increases, because of Republican opposition to his proposals. So, Brown has decided to bring his case to the people of California directly:
“I am going directly to the voters because I don’t want to get bogged down in partisan gridlock as happened this year,” said Brown in a statement. “The stakes are too high.”
“The stark truth is that without new tax revenues, we will have no other choice but to make deeper and more damaging cuts to schools, universities, public safety, and our courts,” he added.
His plan (proposed as temporary) would include:
Without digging into the minutia, the current CA income tax rate is 9.3%. As has been evidenced by New York, people leave when the tax rate gets to high. As they leave, their taxable income goes with them (according to the NY Post, New York lost $4.3 billion in 2006-2007) As evidenced by Steve Malanga in the City Journal, businesses are already leaving California for that same reason.
Unfortunately for California, and Californians, we are not dealing with a man of reason. We’re dealing with Jerry Brown. In 2010, Joel Kotkin wrote of Brown, and his thoughts on growing an economy:
The decline of progressivism continued under the next governor: Pat Brown’s son, Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr., who took office in 1975. Brown scuttled infrastructure spending, in large part because of his opposition to growth and concern for the environment. Encouraged by “reforms” backed by Brown—such as the 1978 Dill Act, which legalized collective bargaining for them—the public-employee unions became the best-organized political force in California and currently dominate Democrats in the legislature
Last month, I wrote an article about other states targeting California businesses, and commented that if California continues down this path of high taxation that other states, “…will benefit royally.”
With this proposal (a hat tip to the hard-core progressive meme of “tax the rich!” and the far more violent “eat the rich!”) Brown is pushing to the other states the workforce to go along with the businesses. Brown is actively courting the voters to vote for their own ruination. Will the people of California go for it? The results have yet to be seen.
But, if you were still looking to open a business in California, it would seem that one-way moving vans is the market to be in.
As reported by AceOfSpadesHQ, a division of Warren Buffet’s behemoth Berkshire Hathaway is suing the Internal Revenue Service over what it is referring to as an “illegal” tax assessment of $643 million.
NetJets is a division of Berkshire Hathaway that provides people an easy way to own a private jet. Like a time-share of sorts, you buy a membership to have access to a fleet of private planes, then pay for the usage of that plane. You know, for everyday folks.
This isn’t Buffet’s first run in with the IRS. Berkshire Hathaway is reported to owe $1 billion (yes, with a “B!”) to the IRS.
All of this runs afoul with Buffet’s message of advancing taxation on America. Buffet has called on raising taxes on all people who earn more than $1 million per year. Obama and Co. think the number is more around $250,000 a year.
As AceofSpadesHQ guest writer Drew M. points out, the hypocrisy is, well, typical:
Buffett and his management team have a fiduciary obligation to fight this on behalf of their clients. But the idea that Buffett then will turn around and say other people (presumably including most of these same clients) should be taxed at higher levels to satisfy his moral vanity is an amazing twist of logic.
Hypocrisy thy name is Liberalism (and always has been).
On our side, the Tony Katz Radio Show continues to support the corporate jet industry. They are still offering reduced cost advertising on their radio show for those in the private aviation industry.
One of the great sources that can appear in your inbox on a daily basis is The Transom, which is the brain child of Heartland Fellow Ben Domenech. Everyday, like clockwork, he has a bevy of news stories, analyses and “digging deeper” facts. Between that and my radio show, your day is pretty much complete.
This morning’s Transom pointed out Governor Rick Perry’s latest plan, entitled Uproot and Overhaul America. It is a very interesting read, and you will (unless you think Occupy Wall Street has a “good message”) find yourself nodding along in agreement. Amongst the plan, there were three subjects that jumped out as most important:
There is a lot to the plan, but these three jumped out (you may have others that jump out for you…tell me in the comments.) First, there is nothing safer than talking bad about Congress when they have an 11% approval rate. But Perry isn’t bashing, he’s proposing an interesting solution. He’s not just going after lawmakers, but making a statement regarding the amount of money we spend on the offices and staff for each lawmaker – $11 million per, according to Perry’s numbers. In addition to the savings, Perry believes that being part-time will force lawmakers to spend more time in their districts, so they will be more in touch with their constituent’s needs. (Perry thinks that the lawmakers will need to get jobs, and therefore have the same kind of jobs as their constituents….I think that is not the reality in the main.) Save money AND have an in-touch Congress….that’s a winner idea.
Second, Perry wants to rework Homeland Security and the EPA. Many of the candidates talk about the problems with the EPA, and how ideological regulations are crippling American manufacturing and growth. They are right, and Perry is very open about reducing their scope and increasing the power of the individual states. (He does not call for the outright elimination of the EPA, and attempts to reason their continued existence.) But Perry does call for a reduction in budget to Homeland Security. His reasoning engages an appreciation of history, and an understanding of what happens if government goes unchecked:
While many have given DHS a free pass on their financial statements as the department has developed, we can no longer afford to let another massive federal agency operate without financial restraint, organization, or efficiency.
Some might think that a Conservative candidate going after Homeland Security is heresy, and that it would open the candidate up to charges of being called weak. Perry is very clear throughout his plan that unchecked spending must end, and will end if he is elected. To that, he brings about his idea of requiring a 2/3rd majority to pass any tax increases on the American people. Within his entire plan, this may seem like the most likely to be called pandering. However, if the plan is to engage the Tea Party base, and turn on undecided Independents, this is the way to do it.
The plan is solid. It’s well thought out, and well presented. But is too late? Perry’s awful debate performances have knocked him solidly out of the top tier. In the latest Public Policy Polling numbers, Perry dropped from 14% to 8% in one month. Even with Cain’s “scandal” and poor response on Libya, Perry continues to drop.
This plan is more than President Obama ever gave the American people. Within it are real opportunities for the nation to get back on track, get moving forward and to be a part of a better tomorrow. However, it is very doubtful that Perry will be given the chance to implement it. It’s not Too Little, but it is Too Late.
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President Obama has a $1.5 Trillion dollar tax increase planned, but Tony explains that it’s just an overture to his disappointed base.
Tony Katz, host of The Tony Katz Radio Spectacular, talks to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) at the Iowa Straw Poll about the Super Committee and the nonsense of tax increases.
According to FOX NEWS, the latest debt limit deal has an increase of $2.4 Trillion, with $1 Trillion happening immediately, and the rest based on certain “triggers” as they have become known. Congress would have until the Thanksgiving recess to come up with $1.2 Trillion in spending cuts. If not passed by December, automatic “across the board” cuts would then go into effect.
Yet, FOX also announced that the Progressive Caucus (the ones who proposed the most embarrassing and insulting budget ever!) has stated that they can not support the new possible deal because it DOES NOT include tax increases.
It seems that the idea of compromise has gone out the window. As the Progressives are showing, their “rigid ideology” of taxation (see Big Government and Government Control) is far more important than the welfare of the nation, and much more important than backing their weakened leader, President Obama. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) leader of the Progressive Caucus has come out to say:
This deal trades peoples’ livelihoods for the votes of a few unappeasable right-wing radicals, and I will not support it
One no longer has to opine as to who the real radicals are. They are obvious, and they want your money.
In addition to my blogging here, and at ObamaMustNotWin.com, I post article at The Tatler, which is part of Pajamas Media. Here is my latest:
Illinois is getting quite a reputation for itself.
The Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn (D) signed a law that requires Internet retailers like Amazon.com to collect the 6.25% Illinois sales tax on affiliate sellers in the state.
