I’m compensating for the fact that criminals don’t obey gun laws, myself. Not to mention that some of them might be jealous of the size of my…you know.
Category Archives: Media Criticism
The Most Murderous Faith-Based Religion
No, it isn’t Islam — it’s Marxism.
[Update a few minutes later]
This seems related, somehow. How is Warren Buffett like the Pope? They’re both completely clueless about how economies work:
The great advantage of competition in markets is that it exhausts all gains from trade, which thus allows individuals to attain higher levels of welfare. These win/win propositions may not reach the perfect endpoint, but they will avoid the woes that are now consuming once prosperous economies. Understanding the win/win concept would have taken the Pope away from his false condemnation of markets. It might have led him to examine more closely Spain’s profligate policies, where high guaranteed public benefits and extensive workplace regulation have led to an unholy mix of soaring public debt and an unemployment rate of 20 percent. It is a tragic irony that papal economics mimic those of the Church’s socialist opponents. The Pope’s powerful but misdirected words will only complicate the task of meaningful fiscal and regulatory reform in Spain and the rest of Europe. False claims for social justice come at a very high price.
A similarly harsh verdict must be rendered on Warren Buffett, whose much discussed editorial in the New York Times foolishly condemns the very economic system that allowed him to flourish as an extraordinary investor. Rhetorically, Buffett’s editorial reads like the confession of a man who got away with putting his hand in the cookie jar. He starts by insisting that in difficult times the principle of “equal sacrifice” should guide collective deliberations. In good autobiographical fashion, he then admits that the current tax system has allowed him to get away with paying just under $7 million in taxes this past year, which works out to be 17.4 percent of his $40 million personal income.
In Buffett’s utopian world, higher taxes, including higher capital gains taxes, magically generate the revenues needed to eliminate the current massive deficit. For this bold proposition, we have Buffett’s personal assurance that he has never seen capital gains rates that approach 40 percent “scare off” large or small investors. This is a simple case of sampling error, for those people who are scared off by high capital gains taxes don’t beat a path to his doorway in the first place. It would have been better if Buffett had addressed the “lock-in effect” with respect to capital gains. People only pay capital gains when they sell their stock. Accordingly, investors are highly sensitive to the capital gains rate, because why sell if the net proceeds from the sale are so small that they more than negate a higher rate of return from a shrunken capital base?
On this logic, lower capital gains rates generate more tax revenue for the federal government.
Of course, according to the president, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is “fairness.”
How Bad Are Obama’s Numbers?
Romney is the only candidate leading Obama among registered voters, 48 percent to 46 percent, with 6 percent undecided, according to the new Gallup poll. Perry and Obama are tied at 47 percent among registered voters, also with 6 percent undecided.
Obama would beat Paul, 47 percent to 45 percent, and best Bachmann by a 4-point margin, 48 percent to 44 percent.
“Registered” voters always tend to skew more Democrat than likely and actual voters. When Obama’s only up two points on Ron Paul among them, you know he’s in trouble. Of course, bad news for the president is good news for the country.
[Update a couple minutes later]
I’m not a big fan of Rick Perry, but Professor Bainbridge has found a reason to vote for him — the trial lawyers hate him.
We Need Spending Cuts
Not tax hikes. But it’s just the majority of economists. What the hell do they know?
[Update a while later]
Based on comments, I guess I should have added…”The science is settled!”
Our Brilliant President
Remember this the next time some tells you how intellectually curious he is. I still don’t believe that he’s ever read Hayek.
Kim Kardashian
Really, you could toss a dart at a phonebook and do better than what we have now.
The Real 2012 Match Up
Obama versus reality. Of course, he’s been on a jihad against reality for his entire life. I think reality may win next year.
Inequality Grows
…as poor ignorant atheists swamp the nation:
As far as I can see, this is bad news for everybody. Atheists and agnostics like to think of themselves as smarter than the God-bothering trailer trash on Tobacco Road, and deeply dislike the thought that they are losing the argument among the most intellectually qualified and best prepared; religious people have to be concerned for the future of religion when whole social classes are dropping away.
It is also very bad news for the poor. The rich can actually get along without much religion; one of the nice things about being rich is that money can frequently shield you from the consequences of a weak character and bad decisions. If you are rich enough, you can do very poorly in high school but Daddy will have a nice chat with the college president after which the school gets a new gym and you get a slot in the freshman class. You can be pretty sure that the college won’t flunk you out or expel you without a lot of second chances and counseling.
Oh, and if somehow you booze and flirt your way through college and don’t pick up any useful skills, don’t worry. You won’t have any student loans to repay and Daddy will make sure that you find something to do.
The poor aren’t so lucky. The poor kid who wants to get ahead actually has to achieve something. He or she has to sacrifice, defer gratification, learn useful skills, and endure the scorn of classmates who think he or she is a geek and a nerd. Some of us are able to do all that and more without the strength and focus that comes from faith in God — but most of us need all the help we can get.
I’ve been able to manage without, but I’ve noticed that a lot of people can’t. And it seems that the public schools have finally done Dewey’s job.
Me, Too
Conservatives want to see Paul Ryan enter the race:
Ryan is the perfect 0bama foil. He is patient and kind while Obama is brittle and testy. He is utterly genuine while Obama is phony. Ryan is the boy next door, the guy you can count on. People respond warmly to him. Paul Ryan is low-key and likable while the current WH occupant is high-strung, high-maintenance and extremely arrogant. Ryan has great intellectual credentials and has always been an authentic conservative thinker. His relative youth would contrast nicely with our hapless president’s tired, old act. I think Ryan could get out there and impress voters as a modern version of Abraham Lincoln, and, God knows, we really need a person like that, somebody who is authentic, somebody who is the real deal.
While any of the current Republican candidates would be a vast improvement over the current occupant of the White House, Ryan is the only one for which I would have any enthusiasm. Fairly or not (mostly not, as a result of the continuous media attacks on her for the past three years), Palin has too many negatives with too many people to be electable (at least this cycle), and Christie has problems in my mind on Second-Amendment issues and an unwillingness to recognize the threat of Jihadism.
There are only two down sides to Ryan. It would make it harder to campaign against Obama on his previous lack of executive experience, and the president would attempt to argue that he’s now had some (I can imagine the campaign slogan: “Obama in 2012: Partway Up The Learning Curve!”). The other is that, while he’s not irreplaceable, it would be good to seem him continue as Chairman of the Budget Committee, particularly with a Republican Senate.
[Mid-morning update]
Oh, be still my heart. George Pataki is considering getting into the race. I guess he wants to compete with Huntsman for the “Democrat in Republican clothing” Republican vote. All two percent of it.
[Early afternoon update]
Too bad. Ryan’s not running. He would have been the closest serious candidate to my own views in, perhaps, my lifetime, or at least since Goldwater.
[Update a while later]
Five reasons Ryan isn’t running.
Will The President Run Again?
Ed Morrissey wonders. I don’t think that the LBJ comparison is quite apt. While LBJ did think a lot of himself, he was also in pretty bad health, and likely knew that another term would kill him (he barely lasted that time period without being president). I think that Obama is far too self delusional to not run again.
On the other hand, Michael Malone has some interesting advice for the president, that he won’t take.
[Update late afternoon]
Wrong link in the second one. It’s fixed now.