Free kibbles

TAX AND SPEND:

Because of high tax rates and double taxation, the government receives nearly twice as much money from corporate profits than owners.

"When received by shareholders, the $260,000 in dividends are taxed again at a rate of 15 percent (according to current law). As a result, shareholders receive just $221,000 of the million dollar profit. The $39,000 in dividend taxes are added to the $350,000 "off the top" corporate tax to bring the government's total take of the company's profits to just a shade under $390,000. In other words the government gets about 75% more cash flow from the company than the actual owners. Looked at in a slightly different way, the government gets about 65% of the non-retained earnings while shareholders, who put up the money and take all the risk, get 35%. Does this seem fair?

This level of taxation puts American corporations at a noticeable disadvantage vis-à-vis companies in the countries against which we are most keenly competing. In China, the slicing of the pie is much more favorable to owners. There, corporations are taxed at a rate of 25% and dividends at 10%. Using these numbers (and the same payout ratio used for the US corporation), the Chinese government gets 51% of distributed corporate profits and shareholders get 49%. In Hong Kong (which is part of Communist China), the situation is even better. There, the corporate tax rate is 16% and the personal dividend rate is zero. If you do the math there, the government gets 33% and the shareholders get 67%.

This comparison raises an interesting point. If shareholders in communist China are allowed to keep more of their earnings than shareholders in capitalist America, which nation is more communist and which more capitalist?"

That's why I keep saying the US is very nearly the new Soviet Union. I knew there was a catch when Obama proposed cutting the corporate tax rate. Here it is.

"Although the President proposes lowering the corporate tax rate to 28% he also wants to scrap the dividend tax and instead tax the distributions as ordinary income. In practice, the vast majority of individual recipients of dividends fall into the higher end of the income spectrum. Which means a very large chunk of these dividends will be taxed at the highest personal rate of 39%. But Obama also wants to subject these high earners to a surtax to pay for his health care initiative, which means that many of the recipients will be taxed at a rate of 44% (this also accounts for the phase out of personal deductions for higher earners!) So for these high-income earners, using our current example, the new distribution split with the government under Obama's proposals will be about 70/30 in favor of the government. This is actually worse than the status quo."

Nice analysis.

Million dollar lottery winner continues to receive food stamps.

REGULATION:

It sounds like this Amazon patent puts Diigo out of business. Patents are out of control.

FEDERAL RESERVE:

How the Fed's inflation is making our economic problems worse while hiding the damage in the short term.

HEALTH CARE:

Guess what happens when we allow politicians to control our water supply? They cut off water from farmers.

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY:

Analysis shows wind power is ten times more expensive than traditional power.

I've read more warnings about space weather events in the last year than I've seen all my life previously. I think this is just tool government is using to scare us.

POLICE STATE:

Man barred from seeing his own daughter alone because he asked police to investigate child abuse porn on his computer.

Just like the FBI is funding terrorist wannabes, it's funding hackers too.

Private company offers to run prisons as long as states guarantee 90 percent occupancy. As terrible as this sounds, that's exactly what's happening now. People are being arrested, prosecuted and jailed just to keep cops, prosecutors, judges and prison employees in their jobs. Our (in)justice system is a socialist jobs program for these people. If this guy had his way, the system would be a fascist jobs program for his company. It won't make any difference to all the people the (in)justice system preys on.

Policeman monitoring neighborhood has undercover cop chase himself for 20 minutes.

WAR:

The US government is openly funding the rebels in Syria. We can expect more terrorist attacks for that.

POLITICS:

Republican gerrymandering results in Kunich defeat.

The Republican primary in Ohio as finally called for Romney. Romney had a very successful super Tuesday. I hope he doesn't win an outright victory because that would take away Ron Paul's leverage.

"Despite pushing Romney to the limit across the state, Santorum will be ineligible for some of those delegates because he failed to qualify for the ballot in some Ohio congressional districts — including the one where his victory party was held Tuesday night.

Santorum strategist John Brabender said, "You have a candidate like Rick Santorum where we didn't have the money, didn't have the infrastructure, didn't have anything. Mitt Romney had the entire establishment, yet he's having trouble beating us.""

That's true. This shows that few want either Romney or Santorum. Conservatives are holding their noses and voting.

Brit makes the case against Romney. The same case would work against Santorum and Gingrich since they love government much like Romney.

MEDIA:

Thirty advertisers have dropped Rush. They'll be back. Limbaugh downplays the losses.

Claim that Breitbart's company will release the Obama Harvard tapes by March 12.

MISC:

Asian resist imminent domain while Americans roll over.

More evidence that Roosevelt manipulated Japan into attacking Pearl Harbor and that he knew about the attack in advance, but didn't inform anybody at Pearl Harbor. I get the first part. Presidents manipulate events to get enemies to start wars. But I don't get the second part. Why not catch the Japanese fleet in a trap? I understand how it's politically advantageous to get Japan to start the war, but how is it politically advantageous to badly loose the battle instead of winning the battle or at least saving US lives and ships while taking out some Japanese troops and ships.