All these people are wrong.

It’s been proven time and time again that higher taxes, including taxes on the rich (who are responsible for the grand majority of taxes collected), leads to lower tax revenues.   And it is being proven yet again in the UK (from Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air):

Speaking of reality, the UK did exactly what Obama and the Democrats propose to do here — pass a surtax on high-income earners. The new tax rate of 50%, which took effect at the beginning of the year, was expected to raise a billion pounds in extra revenue each month. So how did that work out? Tax revenues dropped by more than £500 million:

The Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a drop of £509 million compared with January 2011. Most other taxes produced higher revenues over the same period.

Senior sources said that the first official figures indicated that there had been “maneuvering” by well-off Britons to avoid the new higher rate. The figures will add to pressure on the Coalition to drop the levy amid fears it is forcing entrepreneurs to relocate abroad.

The self-assessment returns from January, when most income tax is paid by the better-off, have been eagerly awaited by the Treasury and government ministers as they provide the first evidence of the success, or failure, of the 50p rate. It is the first year following the introduction of the 50p rate which had been expected to boost tax revenues from self-assessment by more than £1billion.

So, why does this happen?  Let’s go back to Ed again, since anything I would put down would merely mirror what he is saying already.

Oopsie! It turns out that the wealthy can find ways to shelter income when government drives the cost of taxes high enough to make it worthwhile. If that means taking their money and going where the tax laws are more welcoming to investment, then this particular population has fewer barriers to making that solution work than most of the middle class. Instead of gaining more revenue, the UK will end up losing revenue, and not just from the sheltering — but also in lost economic growth as the wealthy have to put that capital to sleep rather than make it work in the economy.

I’ve heard plenty of people say it isn’t fair that the rich can keep their money in this fashion and this is why the government should step in and take it from them. My response to this is, how is this any different than every single person out there doing what they can to avoid paying any more in taxes than they have to?  Many people invest a certain part of their earnings into a 401(k) and use a company match, all pre-tax dollars that also drops your yearly earnings and overall tax responsibility.  Do you have a 401(k)?  Quite a few states have put in place a sales tax on internet purchases and  it is up to individuals to be honest and pay this tax.  How many of you that live in one of these states actually pay this tax?  Property taxes are based on the value of a home, and home improvements can raise the value of said home. How many of you have made improvements on your home and contacted your local government to let them know they have your house undervalued on the tax rolls?  I remember the days when it wasn’t a bad idea to buy a car and pay off the car loan with a home equity loan because there is usually a tax deduction on the interest. Ever skirt the system this way?

Let’s face it.  While most people have no problems paying taxes, everyone does what they can to avoid paying any more than they absolutely have to.  The only difference between the rich and everyone else is that 1) the rich have more options when avoiding taxes because of the amount of money they have earned and 2) the rich pay the grand majority of all taxes collected so any change in their contribution has a greater effect on the government’s revenue.

I will end this posting with this.  The next time you hear someone try and tell you how evil the rich are and they need to pay more, ask them how many tax breaks they take advantage of and how much more they would need to earn before they would stop using those tax breaks.

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From The Hill:

Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) accused his Republican colleagues of having “convenient amnesia” when claiming that the Senate has not passed budget in over 1,000 days.

“Our friends have convenient amnesia. It’s good talking points, but the fact is we have a budget in place for this year and next. We have ten years of spending caps and a special committee was given the opportunity to deal with entitlements and revenue without the threat of filibuster,” said Conrad on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday.

Maybe Conrad is a little confused on what the meaning of the word budget is.  Or maybe he is not all that sure of how the process works within our federal government.  Lord knows he isn’t passing out a bold face lie to the American people in an attempt to benefit himself and the left by saying what really isn’t a budget is a budget.  Could you imagine anyone accusing him of doing that? There is no way I am going to accuse him of that type of lie!!  Would you accuse him of lying?

Anyway, to help out Conrad a little I am putting up an excerpt from a piece put up earlier this month by Tina Korbe over at Hot Air:

The Congressional Budget Act requires the president to submit a budget to Congress by Feb. 1 every year. The Senate Budget Committee is to report a budget resolution to the full Senate by April 1. The House and Senate are to reach agreement on a concurrent budget resolution by April 15. Senate Budget Democrats haven’t submitted a budget since 2009.

There are actually two bits of information that Conrad should find helpful here.  The first is a quick summary of how the budget process works within our federal government, and the other is the last time the Dems submitted a budget.  If he pays close attention to the year when the last budget was submitted, subtracts that from the year it is now and takes the difference times 365, he will see that America has gone over 1,000 days without a budget and the Republicans he calls friends do not have amnesia.  In fact, his friends the Republicans are spot on with their assessment that there is no budget in place.  Now that he knows this Conrad can finally stand up in front everyone and say he was incorrect in his accusation mis-statement that the Republicans have a mental illness and he is backing away from a bold face lie correcting his previous incorrect statement that there is a budget in place.

And as an added bonus, I’ll even include this excerpt, again from Tina:

We’ve been over this before. The Budget Control Act is not a budget. Yes, it created 10 years of spending caps, but those apply solely to discretionary spending — and the main culprit for our out-of-control debt is mandatory spending (entitlements!). But, but — the BCA created the Super Committee, which did have a chance to tackle entitlements, you say? Well, did it? Did the Super Committee tackle entitlements? No. In what world is the creation of a committee the same as the construction of a sound money-management plan? Only in Congress.

Hopefully this information will make its way to Conrad so he can have a better understanding of how the budget process works within our federal government.  And if he and his fellow Dems really are unsure of what the meaning of the word “budget” is, he can click here for help.  I’m sure Mr. Ryan would be more than happy to help you out with those big two syllable words.

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From the Daily Caller:

“This tells you how bad our politics have become,” Krauthammer said. “Everybody here is so delighted that we finally have a bipartisan agreement and are celebrating it. Over what? … We have just added $100 billion [to a $16 trillion debt for]… a payroll tax cut that every economist will tell you will not have any influence on the creation of jobs or helping our economy. It is temporary and it will have no effect.”

Krauthammer explained that the way the government is paying for it makes absolutely no sense.

“And you know how we are paying for some of the goodies in that?” he continued. “We are auctioning off spectrum. Now you ought to auction off spectrum anyway. However, the idea that you are going to do that — this is a priceless commodity that the government is selling it off. Is selling crown jewels — it is selling the jewels to buy crack.’

“The payroll tax cut has no effect … it is going to make people smile for eight or nine months, $100 billion and we are selling, auction to do that. That’s the state of our politics today. And we’re all happy it was done on a bipartisan basis.”

I’m with Krauthammer in that the way fedzilla is paying for this payroll tax cut makes absolutely no sense.  I say if the payroll tax cut is so important, then put it in place by actually cutting federal costs.  If this can’t be done, then either don’t put it in place or call it for what it is, a government plan that hands out borrowed money.

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Here’s what Ryan has up on his facebook page:

Too many politicians in Washington refuse to advance credible solutions to tackle the debt threat. The President’s budget fails the leadership test – offering empty promises and a diminished future.

About half way through the video, I love how Ryan gives Geithner a little time to talk, then shuts him down and takes him to school.  Watch Tim’s face at the 2:28 mark when Ryan calls out Tim’s false accusation that Ryan’s plan somehow is an undue burden on the middle class.  Then when Geithner tries to say what Ryan said is not a fair description of his plan, Ryan says “well, actually I do” and then continues with his 100% correct argument that unless the government gets it’s act together, we are going to have a debt crisis.

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I happened to see a Facebook post put up by Mark Finnegan. Mark and his family run Finnegan’s RV, but he and his brother John are best known in recent years for the outstanding VetsRoll program. The project has taken hundreds of World War II and Korea Era veterans, all expenses paid, to Washington to view the war memorials and receive the honors they so richly deserve. It’s one of the best and most selfless efforts in our area, which is why the Finnegans received last year’s Beloit Daily News Laurence A. Raymer Headliner Award.

Mark was an invited guest at the Republicans’ Lincoln Day Dinner. He wasn’t there to be political. As Mark noted, “I go to great lengths to remain politically neutral.” He was there strictly to tell the group about the VetsRoll program.

He brought three others with him: “I had three honored guests with me, a WWII veteran who arrived by himself, plus an 87-year-old (I believe) WWII Navy WAVE (female veteran) and my own 86-year-old mother, a ‘Rosie-the-Riveter’ during WWII.”

Mark said as they arrived he saw a crowd of “boisterous” protesters, “with a few even laying down on the ground in front of the doors to disrupt guests from entering. As I escorted my WAVE guest through the crowd, we were met with an onslaught of profanity, boos, taunting and a childish, obnoxious guy with a bullhorn.”

From that point, it got worse.

“After I guided her safely inside, I went back out to meet my arriving mother and to escort her through this intimidating group. Someone in the group recognized who I was and immediately the crowd began a chant of ‘Boycott Finnegans’ RV Center!’ … I met my mother and convinced her that these people were simply expressing their ‘rights’ and that she would be safe. She somewhat reluctantly agreed to walk in. … As we tried to walk through the group again, these people (not kids, mostly in their 40s to 60s) continued to focus their boycott chant on our family name and business of 43 years, crowding, screaming and booing not only me, but my beloved 86-year-old mother. The moron with the bullhorn walked beside us while leading the ‘Boycott Finnegans’ chant with that thing only about 12 inches from my ear and that of my mother’s.”

Mark notes that, on behalf of VetsRoll, he has spoken to and received enthusiastic support from various unions in several communities. He points out that VetsRoll supporters come from all walks of life, with the full diversity of political opinions.

But because he dared show up at this gathering — not as a political advocate, but to represent VetsRoll — he and his elderly guests were abused.

So, what group of people screamed into the ear of an 86 year old woman with a bullhorn?  If you haven’t already figured it out, I’ll give you a moment to think about it.

Do do do doooo do do dooooo (think of the Jeopardy music) . . . . . .

Okay, that should be enough time.  If you guessed the anti-Walker / anti-conservative lefties, you are correct!!!

The event where this total act of disrespect for WWII veterans and the 86 year old Mrs. Finnegan occurred was the Lincoln Day Dinner, an event held by the Rock County Republican Party.

Now let me say up front Governor Walker wasn’t there.  Lt Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, AG Van Hollen and my favorite conservative (and the person I named the face of the Conservative Movement many years ago) Rep. Paul Ryan were in attendance.  And if you haven’t heard about this story, that’s because it barely got any coverage within the MSM.  For some reason, the media looks at jerks trying to block doors WWII vets are using to enter an event as not newsworthy.  The  little bit of coverage the protests did get was nothing short of pathetic.

Republicans auction protesters’ commode

The Rock County Republican Party held its Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday at the Eclipse Center in Beloit and turned a protest demonstration to its benefit.

During the event, a group of protesters came onto the stage carrying a gold-painted commode and threw paper play money throughout the stage, according to Rock County Republican Party chair Jason Mielke.

After the protesters left, the gold-painted commode as auctioned off for $1,000 which was donated to the Republican Party to support local candidates.

Speakers at the Lincoln Day Dinner included Congressman Paul Ryan, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

Now I’m going to give my opinion.

The actions of the anti-Walker protestors is beyond deplorable, yet the perfect example of who the left really is.

That’s right, you lefties are deplorable.

Within your movement are people who will lay down on the ground to try and stop WWII veterans from entering an event they are attending as honorary guests.  Feel free to explain to me how this was not an act of disrespect and dishonor.

Deplorable.

Within your movement, a man put a bullhorn into the ear of an 86 year old lady and yelled for people to boycott the business that carries her families name simply because her son, the man that donates his time to the VetsRoll program, was speaking about the program at this event.  Feel free to explain to me how this should be cheerfully considered freedom of speech.

Deplorable.

The people protesting were not a bunch of young kids but middle to upper age adults.  And yes I use the word ‘adult’ veeeerrrrryyyyyyyy loosely.

Deplorable.

These ‘adults’ (again, using the term loosely) don’t care that these WWII era folk were born and raised during the Great Depression, a time when not getting everything you wanted was a part of life, not something to cry about.

Deplorable.

For the past year, your side has wished harm on those you oppose and in more than a few cases entire families, children included.  Your side conducts protests in the same fashion an infant will act up when told to eat the vegetables on their supper plate, with screams and cries and pouts.  Your side has justified actions by believing they are a means to an end, a poor excuse for inexcusable behavior.

And I put all of you together because every one of you has either participated in the anti-Walker / anti-conservative movement or has decided to not speak out against any of your side’s deplorable actions every person in America has been witnessing for the last year.

As far as who “you” are, if you’re unsure if I’m talking about you I can help you out.  If you are so mad at what I have written you are cursing my name (it’s Jerome, by the way), if you are so angry you are wishing harm on me, if you have become so irate you want to write a reply to this posting with words like “you are an a**-you-know-what” or something similar, or if you are offended by any of this, then I am writing about you.

And finally, if you are offended, good.  But remember this:  I have offended you only by writing about your own actions and the deplorable actions you refuse to speak out against.

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The thing I like the most about Breitbart is that he injects an attitude into the Conservative Movement and shows that if you want to take on the left, you can’t be afraid to tell it like it is.  And tell it like it is is exactly what he did in his speech to CPAC.

I watched the speech a couple times, picked out three parts that I feel are the best parts and wrote Breitbart’s words below for your quick and easy reference.  Without further ado, let’s get this posting going, shall we?

If you follow Andrew on twitter, you know that he receives a ton of nasty tweets from the left and he retweets a lot of them.  I always figured Andrew was doing this because he isn’t afraid to expose those ‘tolerant and understanding’ lefties.  I was close.  Here is what Andrew had to say about his retweeting (1:50 mark):

Because they’ve held over our heads with contempt the false narrative of their innate tolerance.  The least tolerant people you will ever meet in your entire lives.  I know it.  I live it every single day.  And I retweet it to remind them that I know exactly who they are.

Next, pay close attention starting at the 5:20 mark when Andrew talks about having a bit of video from Obama’s past that will expose a bit of the Savior’s past.

I’ve got videos, This election, we’re going to vet him from his college days to show you why racial division and class warfare are central to what hope and change was sold in 2008.

Oh how I can’t wait to see this!  Video of a college age radical Obama, who would become the guy that sat and worshiped during the Reverend Wright’s racist rants, the guy that ran in the same circles as and served on a couple boards with the radical Weatherman Underground member Bill Ayers (you know, the guy that bombed government buildings in the early 70’s), the guy that said America needs “unity” and “to come together” while campaigning yet as the POTUS approved of the Occupy movement.  This could be entertaining!

For my last excerpt of Breitbart’s speech, let’s go to the 12:45 mark.  Simply awesome.

There are two paths.  One is America, and the other one is Occupy.

Over the last three years, I’ve realized that the Republican party and conservative movement is not what ABC and CBS puts on the screen.   They try to portray you in the worse possible light and when I walk through CPAC or I travel the United States to meet people in the Tea Party who care, black, white, gay and straight, anyone that’s willing to stand next to me to fight the progressive left I will be in that bunker.  And if you’re not in that bunker because you’re not satisfied with this candidate, more than shame on you.  You’re on the other side.

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Now that all the recall petitions against WI Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four Republican Senators are in and have been made public, reviews of the petitions are showing a tremendous amount of fraud.  And when I say fraud, I’m talking about identity theft via people’s names being signed on a petition by someone other than that person, the person circulating the petition writing in addresses and having it signed by someone else, fake names like Hitler and Daffy Duck and parts of the petition being blacked out so the people couldn’t see what they were really signing.  To check out just a few examples, click here.

The only reason this fraud is being found is because of groups like Verify the Recall and independent citizens going over the petitions one at a time looking for anything that is obviously less than legal.  You would think the state of Wisconsin would also join in and root out the illegal activity within this recall process, but the arm of the government in charge of doing the investigation, the Government Accountability Board, has come out and said “Nahhhhhhhhhh.”

Before we go any further, let me give the folks who are not familiar with the Wisconsin GAB a quick bit of background.  The GAB consists of six former Wisconsin judges that are appointed by the Governor and serve a six year term.  Currently there are five judges on the board (sixth spot is vacant) and all were appointed by the lefty loving former WI Governor Jim Doyle.  This is the same Jim Doyle that while in office cuddled up with the very public unions that were raking it in for years and years while Wisconsin taxpayers watched their tax bill go up big time and the state burned through all it’s money until it was broke.  And yes, these are the same public unions that are recalling Walker.  See where this is going?

Here’s the video of GAB Director Kevin Kennedy explaining how little they care about who signs a recall petition.

“We don’t require under the Constitution or our statutes that the signers be registered voters.  They definitely have to be qualified electors.  And again the statutes limit our review to what’s on the face, so we don’t go behind it to determine their 18 or whether they passed away or whether they’re not U.S. citizens.”

The GAB is going to “review” the petitions, but if you take what GAB Director Kennedy is saying at face value, they won’t do anything more than look at the petition and say “Yup, that’s a petition.  Count it!”  Doesn’t matter if they know nobody in Wisconsin has the name Adolf Hitler or Daffy Duck and clearly see the name on a petition.  Doesn’t matter if they see the same name many times.  Heck, if they hold true to their commitment of doing nothing about the fraud at all, this means if any of them have a child under the age of 18 and their child’s name and address is clearly written on a petition, they would say their minor child should be counted.  If anyone at the GAB feels I am wrong in saying any of this, you can send me an email at cabinetmeeting(at)hotmail(dot)com and I’ll put up whatever argument against this you may have.  And yes, fill in the @ where the word “at” is and . for “dot”.  Just want to make sure you don’t have an excuse to not respond, unless of course you can’t because I am totally correct in what I say.

So, can a person who values the democratic process do anything about this fraud and lack of action by the government body in charge of said fraud?  Yes, but that person has to be the elected official targeted in the recall.  This means Scott Walker has to bring up the fraud on the petitions aimed at him, and Rebecca Kleefisch has to bring up the fraud being used against her, and so on and so on.  And no, third party groups like Verify the Recall cannot be used (or at least the GAB is saying they can’t at the time of this posting and you know it would take a court order to make them change their ways).  If you ask me (and I’m going to tell you even if you don’t ask me), the only reason the GAB doesn’t want to allow Walker or Kleefisch or anyone else to use a group like Verify the Recall is because the GAB knows Verify the Recall and other groups have the resources to detail the fraud so that it cannot be ignored, and that goes against the mission of the Democrats, unions and the lefties to steal back Wisconsin from the taxpayers.

I said at the beginning of this post that the illegal petition activity shows how deep the left’s influence and corruption goes in the state of Wisconsin, and I know I made that point.  But to add the icing on the cake (or insult to injury), I do believe I will include a bit more of the corruption that the lefties in Wisconsin perpetrated and the GAB allowed.  Via WisConserve.com.  (excerpt)

2004 Presidential Elections

The Republican Party of Wisconsin received more than 500 complaints of voter fraud in the 2004 elections. Of these complaints the most notorious was “smokes for votes,” a campaign in which Democratic campaign workers were giving cigarettes to homeless people in return for votes for Al Gore. The GAB didn’t look into a single case.

2008 ACORN Scandals

In the 2008 presidential elections there were widespread reports of ACORN workers forging fake signatures in favor of president Obama. We later learned that the ACORN workers were using a variety of techniques to tip the elections including using the names of the deceased and names of pets. After the GAB review, only 5 people were able to be prosecuted while reports indicated there were far more cases involved.

2011 Supreme Court Justice Elections

In the 2011 Supreme Court Justice Elections between Justice David Prosser and Joanne Kloppenburg, there were major reports of Dane county high school students double voting in the names of their underage friends, and UW-Madison students double-voting in the names of their roommates. Some of the students were as bold as to post stories of their actions on Facebook. In Milwaukee county there were also wide-spread accounts of witnesses claiming poll workers were allowing some voters to vote twice. When the poll workers were questioned by witnesses, the witnesses were threatened and told to “mind their own business.” The GAB never looked into it.

2011 Recall Elections

In order to hold a recall election for state legislators, the GAB needs to verify a certain amount of petition signatures. Today the GAB gave the go-ahead for an additional three Republican senators to be recalled. All of this is legal and indeed this is what democracy looks like.

The problem here is they’re ignoring the signatures against Democrats! Currently, the GAB has given the OK to hold recall elections against a total of six Republican senators. Right now there are enough signature’s to recall 3 Democratic state senators. Yet somehow, the signatures to recall the Democrats are being blatantly ignored by the GAB.

*click on the link above for the rest*

H/T Charlie Sykes for the video

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The Seattle Public Library has a long list of rules of things you can’t do in the library, to ensure “comfort and safety” of staff and patrons. You can’t eat, sleep, look like you’re sleeping, be barefoot, be too stinky or talk too loudly.

But you can watch graphic porn on a public computer in front of kids. Despite repeated complaints from female patrons about men watching porn in full view of their children, the library has held fast to its policy of unfettered online access for grown-ups.

The reason: It’s not in the business of censorship.

The first two questions that went through my mind when I read this story were 1) who are the people in charge of this library and 2) why would anyone go to a public library and watch porn?  Then I asked which is worse – the people that are cool with porn being watched in front of children in a public place or the person watching it?

Wow. . . . . . .

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“We do not need to bring a budget to the floor this year — it’s done, we don’t need to do it,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters on Friday.

Reid, who is really nothing more than a puppet for the lefties, thinks that when he and others in the federal government raised the debt ceiling (again) last fall and put in place a couple spending caps that they did put together a budget.

Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued that the debt-limit agreement in August directs spending for the next year and said Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) has already asked the heads of the subcommittees to write their appropriations bills for fiscal 2013.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has said he would probably mark up a budget resolution for 2013, but Reid recently told the Hill he didn’t expect any floor action on a measure produced by the panel.

I have a question for all of you.  Do you really think that the federal government deciding they can spend more of our money than previously allowed equals a budget?  That’s like a husband and wife that are severely in debt deciding their budget for the next year has been set because they got approved for another credit card.

As far as the legal side of it all, Tina Korbe over at Hot Air spells it out nicely:

If what Reid and Schumer are arguing is that the Senate doesn’t need to pass a formal budget resolution to enable the government to spend taxpayer money irresponsibly, then they’re right. For the past couple years, while the Senate Budget Democrats have sat on their hands, failing to submit a budget resolution to the full Senate, the Senate Appropriations Committee has still authorized ungodly amounts of discretionary spending.

But if what Reid and Schumer are saying is that they’ve followed the law and submitted a budget resolution, then they’re flat-out wrong. The Congressional Budget Act requires the president to submit a budget to Congress by Feb. 1 every year. The Senate Budget Committee is to report a budget resolution to the full Senate by April 1. The House and Senate are to reach agreement on a concurrent budget resolution by April 15. Senate Budget Democrats haven’t submitted a budget since 2009.

Personally, I put a lot of the fault for stuff like this on the American people.  If we would stop re-electing people like Reid and make it clear they lost their job because of poor performance, politicians across the country would finally have an incentive to do their job.  Until this starts to happen on a regular basis, people like Reid will continue to ignore the duties of their position and we will only have ourselves to blame.

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