Constructive gadfly
stevendedalus's Articles In Politics » Page 15
December 19, 2008 by stevendedalus
Now that it's a foregone conclusion the domestic autoworkers will be subject to wage controls will their management also be struck with rollbacks as well? Also a foregone conclusion is that most JoeUsers' unionbashers will applaud the ostensibly competitive rollback and future controls and thus ironic that in a sense it is redistribution of wealth which so many ironically argue against even though much of the "wealth is from the much renounced legacy.
December 16, 2008 by stevendedalus
"Many Iraqis, however, believe al-Zeidi was a hero for insulting an American president widely blamed for the chaos that has engulfed their country since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003." Total hogwash! Regardless of the errors of his ways Bush--goes without saying--does not deserve this arrant disrespect. I thought Iraqis were sandal-footed?--guess the perpetrator got the shoes from the US Army. Well, at least the shoes were bomb-free.  
December 11, 2008 by stevendedalus
Obama's decision to resign from the Senate was an enormous blunder. He should now renege on his resignation and storm the Senate to fight for the auto industry with a loud vote. Btw, does anyone know if Biden gave up his vote, too?  What jerks.
December 10, 2008 by stevendedalus
BLAGOJEVICH IS SCUM FROM HELL  AND SEAN HANNITY IS ECSTATIC! -- HOPING THE SCANDAL WILL NAIL OBAMA.
December 9, 2008 by stevendedalus
    I’d be the last guy to defend a CEO making 21mil a year even if his company was stumbling over bales of profit, let alone one losing billions. Hell, Lou Gehrig cap in hand had to beg for a $40k contract, so I seethe when an A-Rod winds up with a 250mil multiyear contract, and Manny turns down Torres’ offer of 40mil for two years because he—in his old age no less—wants 100mil for four years! Then there are these part time pitchers with 4.0 ERA getting 1...
December 7, 2008 by stevendedalus
    Since WAMU went under with a reserve of $45 for every $10,000 loaned, I shudder to think what the ratios of government bailouts are. I suppose with the exclusive right other than counterfeiters to print the Fed’s own money, it probably does not technically apply; on the other hand, the Fed does pretend to "borrow" in order to meet the demands of the bailouts. They keep saying the "taxpayer"—actually China taxpayers—must be protected by so-called assets when...
December 3, 2008 by stevendedalus
  According to an article in Newsweek an atheist can be pro life. Oh, really? The inference here is that this is an oddity and that most atheists and secularists are consequently free choice. The truth is that both sides are irrelevant to a woman's right to choose one way or another. A secularist woman is free to choose life or abortion as is a religious woman free to choose either. The woman is not railroaded by conscience or belief but rather the comfort or discomfort of her mind ...
December 1, 2008 by stevendedalus
  Just as Bill Clinton went back on his promise to lower middle class tax, Obama, too, will find that such a commitment would be reckless under this economic stress. Instead the equivalent should go directly to states not to meet their budgets but rather to put people to work through stimulus to small businesses and infrastructure needs. As for the wealthy above 250K and to stem the panic of investors he should put in effect a 1% surtax for the 2010 tax form, then let the Bush tax cut ru...
November 29, 2008 by stevendedalus
  Which means there still has to be incremental boosts within each tier. Single page tax form. Taxable income should be determined only by dependents and out of pocket medical care above $1,000 and other proven casualties. No other tax preferences except real estate tax on residence but no interest and therefore no AMT. There could, however, be consideration for some rent relief. Earned and unearned income treated as equals. Single or two page form for businesses and cor...
November 29, 2008 by stevendedalus
  It may come as a surprise that I am against the earned income tax credit as I believe from newspaper boy of working paper age to part-time dollar store worker should pay at least a token tax when they meet a threshold of $50 per week and thus subject to withholding, plus social security and Medicare. Many would argue that the IRS cost factor of dealing in petty cash would be prohibitive—to an extent true— but the indoctrination of everyone’s having to share in governm...
November 29, 2008 by stevendedalus
  W will soon be heading  to the ranch of oblivion and Cheney to his happy hunting wilderness; The trillion dollar shovel will be taken out of the hands of Paulson; The war on terror will be downsized to police action; Bush is handing over a better Iraq than if he had had to hand it over to Kerry four years ago; Wall Street seems to be returning from insanity; Apparently Obama is keeping Gates and listening to Patraeus; Ted Stevens finally put to rest; Hillary w...
November 26, 2008 by stevendedalus
    I have no idea what the ideal leverage ratio should be among lenders but it’s reasonable to conjecture that it should not exceed 10:1. For the past twenty years I have been sufficiently fortunate to maintain a zero balance on my credit cards each month. I often wondered why the credit companies are so generous to continue to carry me without charge and tolerate 0% which strikes me as a losing proposition by granting me this grace period—that is, until I began to t...
November 25, 2008 by stevendedalus
  At the drop of a hat Citibank gets its second bailout while the Big 3 must sit in the corner of the classroom for not doing their homework. Normally I would attribute this to class warfare except 50,000 white collars are out of luck as the bailout is unrelated to rehiring. Nevertheless, it is still glaring that Paulson favors Wall Street over Main Street as there’s been little movement with the exception of Fanny and Freddie in relation to forestalling home foreclosures, which ar...
November 23, 2008 by stevendedalus
Granted the economy is tanking, but that is no reason for Obama to back down on increasing the tax rate on those above 250k income. Nevertheless, to avoid further roiling the market, he should do it in increments of 1% until Bush's increase expires in 2010. It would be ridiculous for a new president to allow himself to be intimidated by Wall Street's thugs and economic pundits. The wealthy need to invest regardless of the rate. And as for capital gains, there's not going to be very muc...
November 22, 2008 by stevendedalus
  It’s a good thing that the Democrats did not get saccharine over the auto industry’s tin cup presentation lacking hard core specifics, and instead are requiring that the Big 3 return with realistic restructuring. The foremost embarrassment is the $24 an hour labor discrepancy between the UAW and the union free foreign manufacturers. This is easily solved by the government takeover of the pensions with perhaps some modest adjustments more in line with other company pensions;...