OPP Newsletter wrote:
http://qz.com/103269/the-us-has-the-largest-monthly-budget-surplus-since-the-financial-crisis/
Creative accounting. The so called surplus was dividend payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. No relation to the normal income and expenses.
riiiiiiiight / budget surplus MUST be a bad thing , or contrived .
Benefits For All Need Contributions From All
7/12/2013 -- The divided United States is broken, fiscally, financially, culturally, politically, regionally, and morally. No matter the issue, half are for something while half are against said something. Half the population pays no income taxes and most of those pay no payroll taxes but seemingly receive 100% of the benefits. No matter the issue, half are for something while the other half are against it.
Everything is disconnected as government divides the people, multiplies regulations, adds bureaucracies and caveats with contradictory Ifs, Ands, or Buts, while subtracting constitutional rights, refuses to enforce legitimate Law of the Land, and refuses to protect the border while it spends massive American blood and money to protect borders of rogue terrorist nations that are in fact enemies of the US.
Congress refuses to defend its constitutional turf from dictatorial Executive Orders and arbitrary policy, conceding excessive powers to whoever happens to be President, while SCOTUS makes law instead of ruling on constitutionality. Every new 1,000+ page solution creates two new problems ad infinitum eliminating any effectiveness from solutions that in turn need to be fixed, causing another two new problems. Consequently nothing fits, causing gears to grind uselessly.
A real fix for the perpetual related problems of HealthCare, Taxes, Deficit, and Debt, is to change the tax structure in a way that treats all legal residents alike in conformance with constitutional intent. Something must be done, and quickly as the National Debt now stands at an official $17 Trillion, closer to $100 Trillion according to real accounting standards. Barack Obamas presidency has had four consecutive years of $1 Trillion+ annual budget deficits, unprecedented in American history.
Foundation to fix the problems is installation of a 3% National Sales Tax (NST) with NO exemptions or exceptions, not even for non-profits, government, religious, medical and education. Dedicate 1% to current budget; 1% to National Debt; and 1% to Universal Medicare (UMC) to cover all legal US residents.
All residents, legal or not, having income or not, would be required to file an annual tax return to be used for census as well as to determine eligibility and amount or percentage of co-pay. Medicare is an established bureaucracy with its superstructure in place, so new departments would not be required.
To insure there are sufficient funds during the t***sition, a revised Income Tax Table applying to business as well as individuals would reduce income taxes to a graduated 20% maximum. Stock market Wall Street type t***sactions would be subject to a 1/2 percent t***saction tax. That might put the brakes on High Frequency Trading (HFT) that adds to problems connected with artificial volatility that gobbles up normal investor profits in the blink of an eye, while causing havoc in the market. This tax creates a cushion enabling small investors to buy and sell on an even par with professional traders.
Rationale for the half percent tax on Wall Street type t***sactions is the reality that TV Wall Street Business Programs on CNBC and Bloom refer to floor traders as placing BETS on expected up or down movements in certain stocks or groups. Therefore, by their own words they border on being gamblers rather than investors. This insignificant fractional tax is valid and based on the methodology of gambling dens that oversee gambling rather than gamble themselves, the House rakes in its allotted percent, be it 5%, 10%, or wh**ever the traffic will bear.
High powered investors already changed rules in their favor when they forced changes in stock pricing from eighths of a dollar to pennies, and are now mills, tenth of a cent, and Basis Points that are One hundredth of one percent, that combined with High Frequency Trades executed in nanoseconds, puts investor-gamblers in the catbird seat, and these gamblers get tax breaks as well???
Wall Streets gambling den may well be akin to a den of thieves and a shining example is former NJ Governor Jon S. Corzine who after leaving NJ in financial shambles with what may have been illegal or funding policies not v**er approved, but was rewarded with a position as CEO of MF Global Holdings Ltd which he drove into bankruptcy with ill advised $Billion investment futures bets that he oversaw.
The beauty of the NST is that everyone would pay something whether income sources be legal, illegal, wages, fees, consulting, capital gains, interest, dividends, management, under-the-table, drugs, welfare, crime, etc would pay 3% of spending for support of the country, including automatic Universal Medicare for ALL LEGAL RESIDENTS of the US.
States stand to reduce their deficits as UMC payments for healthcare would wipe out the bulk of State Medicaid costs. Government payments of 3% NST would revert back to government for the express purpose of reducing Debt, and not recycled back into current budget expenditures. That equates to an automatic 3% cut in budget spending that trickles down to further reduce National Debt.
NST is based on an available 2008 study promulgated by Philadelphia Congressman Chaka Fattah and touted by Lanny Davis published in The HILL, would produce sufficient revenue to handle the Debt, Deficit, and National HealthCare that would operate under existing Medicare rules and regulations, thereby containing overhead and regulations.
Using Lanny Davis numbers, there were $755 Trillion of total t***sactions in 2008. If $312 Trillion in stock t***sactions is deducted, with no exemptions or exceptions for NST, that leaves a possible $4.43 Trillion in annual revenues for each phase: 1% each, or $4.43 Trillion for Budget, $4.43 Trillion for Deficit; and $4.43 Trillion for Universal Medicare. This means the proposed NST by itself represents real possibility for eliminating National Debt within 5 years, as $4.43 Trillion allotted to Budget exceeds expenditures and Obamas proposed $3.8 Trillion Current Annual Budget.
Currently the 2013 Budget Deficit is estimated to shrink to $759 Billion but one thing is certain; Figures dont lie, but liars figure. Current expenditures are $3.8 Trillion, nearly $1 Trillion more than revenues that continue to be misspent and wasted with unproductive and unnecessary redundancy.
The NST could replace the need to rely entirely on Income Tax that under this plan would be replaced by a graduated tax with higher exemptions and higher standard deduction to reduce manipulation of expenses for tax gain. The single tax-table for all entities, Personal, Business, and Non- Profit entities with a maximum GRADUATED tax rate of 20%, sample rates summarized as follows:
Effective tax rate on Taxable Income of $100,000 2.74%
Effective tax rate on Taxable Income of $1 Million 7.47%
Effective tax rate on Taxable Income of $1 Billion 19.88%
Tax loopholes and special exceptions and treatment would be eliminated as ALL income would be treated identically, no exceptions, no tax-free income, no implied interest rate deductions for stock traders who do no work but get tax breaks for perhaps creating bubbles that eventually break the economy. The present Income Tax Code is cumbersome, complicated, confusing, and beyond fixing its over 76,000 pages and even the IRS gives conflicting rulings and does not understand its own rules and regulations.
Revenue from lowered income tax would make up budget shortfall, if any, not paid by budget portion of the 3% NST, while excess is dedicated to further reduction of National Debt. Income Tax regulations would be programmed to expire when NST is sufficient to cover Current Budget at which time the IRS should finally become history. Everyone pulling the wagon instead of half riding the wagon is a win win situation for the country and all residents.
Albert Maslar CPA (Retired)
albertmaslar2@gmail.com
You make a lot of sense Albert , personally I would like to see a national Flat tax.
The only thing that gets in the way of both are partisan and special interest politics . There are those also in this country who feel they shouldn't be paying any taxes , and those seeing the position THAT ALL OF US HAVE contributed to one way or another , should not be subject to any national plan to get the country out of fiscal straits .
Unfortunately the great fallacy is that tax cuts to big business creates jobs . Big Business is NOT in the business of creating jobs . Jobs are created by DEMAND , and that depends on money in the form of 'spendable '/disposable income in the hands of the many NOT the few . That is what drives the capitalist machine .The more you take from the working masses the less they have to spend , the less the demand for goods and services . And that unfortunately does not diminish the profits or income of the few . The very fact that an average working person has paid more tax than General Electric , is an indication of a broken tax system where unrelenting lobbying for favorable legislation of tax breaks on the part of Big Business under the guise of " creating jobs " is a farce .
And the GE Chairman is on-board the Obama advisory board on how to create jobs...jobs that Obama does not want to create. The Keystone XL Pipeline has been vetted and found to be environmentally safe but Big Bad Boy Bully stomps his feet and shouts NO NO NO. Millions of potential jobs but the anointed one says NO. Look at what happened in Quebec when a runaway train carrying oil got out of control, wiped out a village and some 60-75 dead. So much for environmentally safe.
Albert Maslar wrote:
And the GE Chairman is on-board the Obama advisory board on how to create jobs...jobs that Obama does not want to create. The Keystone XL Pipeline has been vetted and found to be environmentally safe but Big Bad Boy Bully stomps his feet and shouts NO NO NO. Millions of potential jobs but the anointed one says NO. Look at what happened in Quebec when a runaway train carrying oil got out of control, wiped out a village and some 60-75 dead. So much for environmentally safe.
Are you serious ? LOL...and here I thought you has an education throwing your budget figures around. The accident in Canada is related to human error in applying brake proceedures at best , and a criminal investigation is underway at worst . Poor argument using that as any kind of example to make an irrelevant point . Millions of Jobs ? Stick to the facts if you wish to remain credible . Has it been determined HOW the sludge at the Gulf end of the pipeline will be handled and by WHOM ? And as for holdups ...lol...there's a little gal in Texas with part of her ranch abutting the pipeline route , litigating it .A staunch republican I'm told . But that in itself is irrelevant . Of course there will be environmental concerns , are you saying they should be ignored and left unaddressed?
But EVEN all that aside , Democrats would have passed it and Obama signed it , if not for the GOP int***sigence on other issues that go along with the bill . Of course , you've never heard of anything like that huh ? Quid pro Quo ?
Everything is human error, be it the Canada oil train catastrophe. or the Gulf oil spill. The point is that there is no absolute fail-safe when dealing with the human condition. The Gulf oil spill was enabled by the US Government Mineral & Mining Service (MMS) that was supposed to be the watchdog to make sure BP followed the rules and regulations to guard against the very thing that happened. But the watchdogs got hungry and were paid off, bribed, given all kinds of perks, including sexual favors to look the other way, and look the other way they did. MMS allowed a situation where weak concrete reinforcing and other short cuts were intentionally overlooked. MMS is a US Federal bureaucracy watchdog that chose NOT to watch. Did any of them get prosecuted??? LOL
As to the XL Pipeline, environmentalists are holding about 2 Million direct and indirect good-paying tax-paying jobs hostage while the US continues to buy oil from Middle East enemies who use American money to do war, violence, and terror to the generous Americans...And then overcharge for the oil so Americans pay up more at the gas pump.
The point is not to win this argument, but to do what is in the best interests of America and its people. I'm, in my 84th year and all I know is that I don't know nothin'.
And what of a Brakeman failing to properly engage the tarin brakes .
That's not the same as BP blowing a well due to just what you listed .
But aside from that ? Whose oil is that in that Keystone ? [which btw we both well know will go through ]
That brakeman was either outright human error, or an intentional neglect of doing his job to do wh**ever, doesn't matter, as humans make errors all the time. The idea is to "make sure" as the politicians put it, that we must make sure something like this doesn't happen again. But there is always one more thing, one more thing, one more thing ad infinitum.
On my book copyright 2002, I listed my version:
There is no end of "new things," mostly worse, and some beyond imagination, that happen, can and will happen, requiring steps to be taken to insure that
"SOMETHING LIKE THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN."
Since the beginning of time, has mankind ever been perfect?
Well, not until now, as "I used to think I was perfect, but I made one mistake; Once I thought I was wrong and I wasn't. LOL
That is obviously Canadian oil they want to pipe through the proposed XL Pipeline to US refineries, otherwise the Chinese are dead serious about getting involved themselves, and that could open a whole new can of worms. Even if that oil would not reduce gas prices in the US, that is better than giving oil money to our enemies.
oldroy
Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)
Lou wrote:
And what of a Brakeman failing to properly engage the tarin brakes .
That's not the same as BP blowing a well due to just what you listed .
But aside from that ? Whose oil is that in that Keystone ? [which btw we both well know will go through ]
When will that pipeline permission go through? Maybe when Congress takes away the right of bureaucracies to control things like that, but that would have to be after 2017, provided we can have an e******n in 2016.
So human error is not responsible for each of those catastrophes, huh? I don't think you understand what the old man was saying or maybe you just wanted to call him on something so obvious. Of course, the federal government was almost as responsible for the BP spill for the reasons listed by our friend.
Ok, Lou, do you not see the discussion between you and Marslar as much better than those you have with all the name calling. I think I learned some things in this discussion and that doesn't often happen when name calling is the main reason for posts.
oldroy
Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)
Albert Maslar wrote:
Benefits For All Need Contributions From All
7/12/2013 -- The divided United States is broken, fiscally, financially, culturally, politically, regionally, and morally. No matter the issue, half are for something while half are against said something. Half the population pays no income taxes and most of those pay no payroll taxes but seemingly receive 100% of the benefits. No matter the issue, half are for something while the other half are against it.
Everything is disconnected as government divides the people, multiplies regulations, adds bureaucracies and caveats with contradictory Ifs, Ands, or Buts, while subtracting constitutional rights, refuses to enforce legitimate Law of the Land, and refuses to protect the border while it spends massive American blood and money to protect borders of rogue terrorist nations that are in fact enemies of the US.
Congress refuses to defend its constitutional turf from dictatorial Executive Orders and arbitrary policy, conceding excessive powers to whoever happens to be President, while SCOTUS makes law instead of ruling on constitutionality. Every new 1,000+ page solution creates two new problems ad infinitum eliminating any effectiveness from solutions that in turn need to be fixed, causing another two new problems. Consequently nothing fits, causing gears to grind uselessly.
A real fix for the perpetual related problems of HealthCare, Taxes, Deficit, and Debt, is to change the tax structure in a way that treats all legal residents alike in conformance with constitutional intent. Something must be done, and quickly as the National Debt now stands at an official $17 Trillion, closer to $100 Trillion according to real accounting standards. Barack Obamas presidency has had four consecutive years of $1 Trillion+ annual budget deficits, unprecedented in American history.
Foundation to fix the problems is installation of a 3% National Sales Tax (NST) with NO exemptions or exceptions, not even for non-profits, government, religious, medical and education. Dedicate 1% to current budget; 1% to National Debt; and 1% to Universal Medicare (UMC) to cover all legal US residents.
All residents, legal or not, having income or not, would be required to file an annual tax return to be used for census as well as to determine eligibility and amount or percentage of co-pay. Medicare is an established bureaucracy with its superstructure in place, so new departments would not be required.
To insure there are sufficient funds during the t***sition, a revised Income Tax Table applying to business as well as individuals would reduce income taxes to a graduated 20% maximum. Stock market Wall Street type t***sactions would be subject to a 1/2 percent t***saction tax. That might put the brakes on High Frequency Trading (HFT) that adds to problems connected with artificial volatility that gobbles up normal investor profits in the blink of an eye, while causing havoc in the market. This tax creates a cushion enabling small investors to buy and sell on an even par with professional traders.
Rationale for the half percent tax on Wall Street type t***sactions is the reality that TV Wall Street Business Programs on CNBC and Bloom refer to floor traders as placing BETS on expected up or down movements in certain stocks or groups. Therefore, by their own words they border on being gamblers rather than investors. This insignificant fractional tax is valid and based on the methodology of gambling dens that oversee gambling rather than gamble themselves, the House rakes in its allotted percent, be it 5%, 10%, or wh**ever the traffic will bear.
High powered investors already changed rules in their favor when they forced changes in stock pricing from eighths of a dollar to pennies, and are now mills, tenth of a cent, and Basis Points that are One hundredth of one percent, that combined with High Frequency Trades executed in nanoseconds, puts investor-gamblers in the catbird seat, and these gamblers get tax breaks as well???
Wall Streets gambling den may well be akin to a den of thieves and a shining example is former NJ Governor Jon S. Corzine who after leaving NJ in financial shambles with what may have been illegal or funding policies not v**er approved, but was rewarded with a position as CEO of MF Global Holdings Ltd which he drove into bankruptcy with ill advised $Billion investment futures bets that he oversaw.
The beauty of the NST is that everyone would pay something whether income sources be legal, illegal, wages, fees, consulting, capital gains, interest, dividends, management, under-the-table, drugs, welfare, crime, etc would pay 3% of spending for support of the country, including automatic Universal Medicare for ALL LEGAL RESIDENTS of the US.
States stand to reduce their deficits as UMC payments for healthcare would wipe out the bulk of State Medicaid costs. Government payments of 3% NST would revert back to government for the express purpose of reducing Debt, and not recycled back into current budget expenditures. That equates to an automatic 3% cut in budget spending that trickles down to further reduce National Debt.
NST is based on an available 2008 study promulgated by Philadelphia Congressman Chaka Fattah and touted by Lanny Davis published in The HILL, would produce sufficient revenue to handle the Debt, Deficit, and National HealthCare that would operate under existing Medicare rules and regulations, thereby containing overhead and regulations.
Using Lanny Davis numbers, there were $755 Trillion of total t***sactions in 2008. If $312 Trillion in stock t***sactions is deducted, with no exemptions or exceptions for NST, that leaves a possible $4.43 Trillion in annual revenues for each phase: 1% each, or $4.43 Trillion for Budget, $4.43 Trillion for Deficit; and $4.43 Trillion for Universal Medicare. This means the proposed NST by itself represents real possibility for eliminating National Debt within 5 years, as $4.43 Trillion allotted to Budget exceeds expenditures and Obamas proposed $3.8 Trillion Current Annual Budget.
Currently the 2013 Budget Deficit is estimated to shrink to $759 Billion but one thing is certain; Figures dont lie, but liars figure. Current expenditures are $3.8 Trillion, nearly $1 Trillion more than revenues that continue to be misspent and wasted with unproductive and unnecessary redundancy.
The NST could replace the need to rely entirely on Income Tax that under this plan would be replaced by a graduated tax with higher exemptions and higher standard deduction to reduce manipulation of expenses for tax gain. The single tax-table for all entities, Personal, Business, and Non- Profit entities with a maximum GRADUATED tax rate of 20%, sample rates summarized as follows:
Effective tax rate on Taxable Income of $100,000 2.74%
Effective tax rate on Taxable Income of $1 Million 7.47%
Effective tax rate on Taxable Income of $1 Billion 19.88%
Tax loopholes and special exceptions and treatment would be eliminated as ALL income would be treated identically, no exceptions, no tax-free income, no implied interest rate deductions for stock traders who do no work but get tax breaks for perhaps creating bubbles that eventually break the economy. The present Income Tax Code is cumbersome, complicated, confusing, and beyond fixing its over 76,000 pages and even the IRS gives conflicting rulings and does not understand its own rules and regulations.
Revenue from lowered income tax would make up budget shortfall, if any, not paid by budget portion of the 3% NST, while excess is dedicated to further reduction of National Debt. Income Tax regulations would be programmed to expire when NST is sufficient to cover Current Budget at which time the IRS should finally become history. Everyone pulling the wagon instead of half riding the wagon is a win win situation for the country and all residents.
Albert Maslar CPA (Retired)
albertmaslar2@gmail.com
Benefits For All Need Contributions From All br 7/... (
show quote)
I have to say that this may well be the best post about this subject that I have read in over 10 years on a lot of forums. You explained the whole thing very concisely and showed too much t***h for most progs to accept.
I think these words from you may be my favorites of all time.
Figures don't lie, but liars figure. Current expenditures are $3.8 Trillion, nearly $1 Trillion more than revenues that continue to be misspent and wasted with unproductive and unnecessary redundancy.
Quid pro quo is a fallacy, a lie, a bribe, I'll scratch your back if you scratch my back. That does not make it RIGHT. That is conspiracy to do the wrong thing in return for another wrong thing. That is exactly what is wrong with Congress. Political philosophy of Mark Twain; "V**e the rascals out," does not work in our political world that knows which pro to pull to get the desired quo. Maslar political philosophy is more drastic than Mark Twain:
"If they choose, on their own, to run for office;
Elect them for two terms at a time,
And let them spend the first term in jail,
Because they must've done something."
oldroy wrote:
When will that pipeline permission go through? Maybe when Congress takes away the right of bureaucracies to control things like that, but that would have to be after 2017, provided we can have an e******n in 2016.
So human error is not responsible for each of those catastrophes, huh? I don't think you understand what the old man was saying or maybe you just wanted to call him on something so obvious. Of course, the federal government was almost as responsible for the BP spill for the reasons listed by our friend.
Ok, Lou, do you not see the discussion between you and Marslar as much better than those you have with all the name calling. I think I learned some things in this discussion and that doesn't often happen when name calling is the main reason for posts.
When will that pipeline permission go through? Ma... (
show quote)
Human error is a brakeman failing to properly engage a train break . A refinery explosion due to ignoring safety checks and negligence are another matter altogether .
BP has k**led over 250 Americans with TWO Refinery Explosions and the Infamous Well Blowout . All due to criminal negligence and malfeasance .
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