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American jobs and global economy

"Dobbs's Disciples

By Donald Boudreaux 

Source Tech Central Station Daily 

"Economist Paul Craig Roberts has joined recently with the likes of Lou Dobbs and Sen. Charles Schumer to denounce so-called "outsourcing" -- that is, the importation of services.

 

Roberts is aware that, throughout history, free trade has raised the living standards of ordinary people. But, he says, this historical record is irrelevant to today's world. He explained the reasons in a January 6, 2004, New York Times op-ed written with Sen. Schumer and entitled "Second Thoughts on Free Trade":

 

"First, new political stability is allowing capital and technology to flow far more freely around the world. Second, strong educational systems are producing tens of millions of intelligent, motivated workers in the developing world, particularly in India and China, who are as capable as the most highly educated workers in the developed world but available to work at a tiny fraction of the cost. Last, inexpensive, high-bandwidth communications make it feasible for large work forces to be located and effectively managed anywhere."

 

In short, Roberts alleges that the American standard of living is threatened by the world's growing prosperity, improved education, better governance, and greater fluidity of capital and resources to move in search of higher returns.

 

Roberts' argument is deeply flawed. Its most fundamental defect is his implicit assumption that the world's stock of non-human capital is fixed.

 

Suppose for the moment that the world does possess only a fixed amount of capital goods -- a fixed amount of factories, robots, machine tools, industrial chemicals, and R&D labs. In this case, Americans would indeed suffer from improvements in foreigners' work ethic, education, and emancipation from their governments' misguided regulations. Some capital goods that today are here, raising the productivity of workers in America, would relocate tomorrow to other countries whose citizens can now use much of this capital more effectively than they could in past. As capital flees America, the productivity of U.S. workers falls because these workers will be partnered with fewer efficiency-enhancing capital goods. Americans' only hope of keeping much of this capital from fleeing would be to accept lower wages. Workers suffer. Capitalists get filthy rich.

 

But one of the defining features of the modern world is capital's expansiveness, its non-fixity. Capitalists the world over know that in every place governed by a rule of law and marked by a reasonably free market, a strong work ethic, and a spirit of commerce, profits can be made by employing workers there. And this employing of workers is done by creating capital in those places.

 

As people in China and India become freer, and as advanced technology enables them better to serve customers in America, some jobs currently done in America will indeed be 'outsourced' to these distant lands. But America's loss of some capital to foreign countries creates opportunities for other investments in America.

 

The reason is that as some capital and jobs leave America, workers -- along with some supply routes and capital equipment remaining in America -- are freed up to work at other tasks that in the past were insufficiently profitable. By freeing up this labor and capital, outsourcing increases the profitability of new investment opportunities. These diligent and honest workers, along with some capital equipment, remain in place, willing to work, all in an economy and culture friendly to enterprise. Perceiving these profit opportunities, entrepreneurs sweep in and create new capital, capital that never before existed and that would not be created were it not for the fresh opportunities opened by outsourcing.

 

And this new capital creates not only new products for consumers to enjoy but also new jobs for domestic workers.

 

Don't think me Pollyannaish for predicting that new capital and jobs eventually will be created to replace the capital and jobs attracted abroad by outsourcing. My prediction is based not on fanciful wishes, but on the fact that the capital drawn away from America by outsourcing was profitably invested in America before new foreign opportunities attracted it away.

 

Why was this capital invested here in the first place? The reason is that property rights in the U.S. are secure, taxes are reasonably low and predictable, corruption is minimal, and American workers are well trained and hard-working. Also, producers and consumers in the U.S. have direct access to history's greatest legal, physical, and economic infrastructure. So when particular goods and services become more profitable to produce elsewhere -- because of the principle of comparative advantage -- these features of the American economy that prompted the initial investment don't disappear. They remain. And they prompt entrepreneurs to create new capital and jobs in place of the departed capital and jobs.

America grows richer, not poorer, as we trade openly with a freer and more prosperous world.  "

 

Don Boudreaux is Chairman of Economics Department at George Mason University.  "

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=041706C

Comments
Entry #261

Mexico and Illegals ... not pretty

<excerpt> 

"Mexico Harsh to Undocumented Migrants 

 By MARK STEVENSON

Source Yahoo News

"TULTITLAN, Mexico - Considered felons by the government, these migrants fear detention, rape and robbery. Police and soldiers hunt them down at railroads, bus stations and fleabag hotels. Sometimes they are deported; more often officers simply take their money.

While migrants in the United States have held huge demonstrations in recent weeks, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Central Americans in Mexico suffer mostly in silence.

And though Mexico demands humane treatment for its citizens who migrate to the U.S., regardless of their legal status, Mexico provides few protections for migrants on its own soil. The issue simply isn't on the country's political agenda, perhaps because migrants make up only 0.5 percent of the population, or about 500,000 people — compared with 12 percent in the United States.

The level of brutality Central American migrants face in Mexico was apparent Monday, when police conducting a raid for undocumented migrants near a rail yard outside Mexico City shot to death a local man, apparently because his dark skin and work clothes made officers think he was a migrant.

Virginia Sanchez, who lives near the railroad tracks that carry Central Americans north to the U.S. border, said such shootings in Tultitlan are common.

"At night, you hear the gunshots, and it's the judiciales (state police) chasing the migrants," she said. "It's not fair to kill these people. It's not fair in the United States and it's not fair here."

Undocumented Central American migrants complain much more about how they are treated by Mexican officials than about authorities on the U.S. side of the border, where migrants may resent being caught but often praise the professionalism of the agents scouring the desert for their trail.

"If you're carrying any money, they take it from you — federal, state, local police, all of them," said Carlos Lopez, a 28-year-old farmhand from Guatemala crouching in a field near the tracks in Tultitlan, waiting to climb onto a northbound freight train."................

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060418/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_mistreating_migrants

3 Comments
Entry #260

bubonic plague case reported in Los Angeles

Good reason to keep fleas absent from your pets, from your home.

<excerpt>

"Rare bubonic plague case reported in Los Angeles

A case of bubonic plague has been reported in the second largest US city of Los Angeles for the first time in 22 years, health officials said.

An unidentified woman came down last week with symptoms of the disease, known as the Black Death when it devastatingly swept across Europe in the 14th century.

 Health officials said they believed the infected woman, who remains hospitalised, was exposed to fleas in the area around her house and stressed that the likelihood of a spread of the rare disease was very unlikely. " ....

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/18/060418221440.ge1hwj2v.html
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Entry #259

New Immigration Law today

Said to be one of the toughest state laws in the nation just signed today by Georgia's governor.

"Governor Signs Immigration Bill
Reported by Denis O'Hayer
Source WXIA TV
"Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a sweeping immigration bill into law on Monday as supporters of the measure rallied outside the state capitol.

"We cannot tolerate activity that distracts us from embracing those who come here legally and thrive," the governor said upon signing the legislation into law.

Hours before the signing, about 200 demonstrators gathered on the capitol steps to support the measure, which they say will duplicate existing federal law. The law will deny many state services to adults who are in the country illegally and penalize employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"Your coming to America does not give you the right to tread on the American law. Abide by the immigration laws that are in tact today," said Rep. Melvin Emerson, R-Gwinnett County.

The counter rally did not come close to the gathering of nearly 50,000 people who marched through DeKalb County last week to demand recognition for illegal immigrants. However, organizers of the counter rally on Monday disagreed with the theme of the original march and said it does not matter what the economic impact of illegal labor is.

"Let's assume that each state could make a $1 billion profit from not enforcing existing law. Would we be willing to do that and, if so, which other laws maybe could we ignore to further increase our profit?" asked organizer D.A. King.

"For me and most of us here, it is about the rule of law upon which our nation was founded and there really is no other agenda."

Organizers of the counter rally said they would like Congress to go even further with harsher penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants and the possibility of prison time.

The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act will verify that adults seeking many state-administered benefits are in the country legally. It sanctions employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and mandates that companies with state contracts check the immigration status of their employees.

The law also will require police to check the immigration status of people they arrest to see if they face deportation orders.

The National Conference of State Legislatures says the measure is believed to be the first comprehensive immigration bill to make it through a statehouse this session. Many of the new law's provisions will not take effect until 2007.

The bill drew protests at Georgia's state Capitol and prompted a daylong work stoppage by some immigrants earlier this month. "
http://wxiatv.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=78693
2 Comments
Entry #258

Snotty Receptionist

SNOTTY RECEPTIONIST
An older gentleman had an appointment to see the urologist who shared an office with several other doctors. The waiting room was filled with patients. As he approached the receptionist desk he noticed that the receptionist was a large unfriendly woman who looked like a Sumo wrestler.
He gave her his name.
In a very loud voice, the receptionist said, "YES, I HAVE YOUR NAME HERE; YOU WANT TO SEE THE DOCTOR ABOUT IMPOTENCE, RIGHT?"
All the patients in the waiting room snapped their heads around to look at the very embarrassed man. He recovered quickly, and in an equally loud voice replied, "NO, I'VE COME TO INQUIRE ABOUT A SEX CHANGE OPERATION, BUT I DON'T WANT THE SAME DOCTOR THAT DID YOURS."
DON'T MESS WITH OLD FOLKS!
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Entry #257

H.R.25 "Fair Tax"

Embedded H.R.25  link in Neal's article seems to work, not sure if my copied links under the bill name will work for you or not.

 

H.R.25            Fair Tax Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.25:

"IT MAY BE APRIL 17TH --- BUT IT'S REALLY TAX DAY.

"Well, here we are, folks.  Did you enjoy your Easter weekend?  Did you take the kids out for an Easter Egg hunt somewhere?  Or, is it possible that you were trapped in your home, ignoring your family, trying to get your tax return finished.  It needs to be filed today, you know.  Oh, you could file an extension, but if the Imperial Federal Government of the United States still has any claim to some of the money you worked for and earned in 2005, you have to send that in with your extension.

A few questions, if you have the time.

First:  How much time did you spend fixing up your tax return and getting it ready to file?  The average individual taxpayer spent an average of 57 hours for their 2004 return.  Was 2005 better or worse?  Fifty-seven hours.  That's over 7 working days.  What else could you have done with those days?  Could you have added an additional week of vacation for your family?  Could you have spent that time with your children, visiting a sick relative, or just sitting on a fishing boat somewhere?  Sorry 'bout that, but there's tax returns to be filled out ... and you either do it yourself or you pay someone else to do it.

Oh ... and that "paying someone else to do it" thing.  Just how much money do you think is spent every year by individuals and businesses just complying with our tax code?  Well, if history is our guide, the tax return for General Motors will be over 50 feet high.  Just what do you think GM is paying for tax compliance and return preparation?  There are many estimates here, but they seem to start at about $300 billion a year and go up to $500 billion.  That's money that isn't being spent to expand businesses, create jobs, or investigate new technologies.  Eliminate our tax code and you'll see an immediate infusion of $300 billion, or more, into our economy.

Another question:  Just how much did you pay in taxes for 2005?  Come on now, don't look at your tax return.  Just say it out loud.  "I paid $______________ in federal income taxes last year."  You don't know?  Well, don't feel pregnant.  Most people don't  They know how much they "got back," or how much extra they had to pay with their return, but few can tell you how much they actually paid without having to look it up.  Politicians love it this way.  With their withholding program your money just vanishes.  It disappears before you ever even get your hands on it.  You can't miss what you never had .. so we now have this lovely situation where people not only don't know how much they paid in taxes, but they don't even know how much they made!  Go ahead!  Ask someone what they make!  If you get an answer at all it will be something like "I take home ......"  You didn't ask what they took home, you asked what they made!  They don't know, and the free-spending politicians smile.

While we're talking about your taxes, rest assured that American businesses have it just as bad as you do.  You would never believe how many hours businessmen have to spend every year worrying about the tax consequences of virtually every decision they make.  This is time they don't spend growing their businesses.  But .... and this is a huge "but" ... these businesses, especially the larger ones, have one advantage you don't have.  They can run.  They can flee the United States for a more favorable tax climate overseas.  This doesn't mean that they have to shut down their operations here in the U.S.  They just move their headquarters.  Some businesses can save tens of millions of dollars by just moving their headquarters overseas.  Politicians hate this.  They start spewing forth phrases like "Corporate Benedict Arnolds," as if there were something treasonous about fleeing a high-tax location for one with lower taxes.  These corporations have a responsibility to their shareholders.  Perhaps you're one of them; one of the shareholders.  Do you want the company in which you hold shares to maintain it's corporate home in America when money could be saved by simply moving a corporate office and some employees overseas?

OH!  And let's not forget the dreaded AMT!  The Alternative Minimum Tax!  Many taxpayers --- and many more each year --- have to calculate their federal income taxes not once, but twice every single year.  They figure their taxes once with all of their legal credits and deductions, and then again with several limits on credits and deductions.  Whichever method creates the higher tax liability is the method you use to pay your taxes. The AMT was created 35 years ago to make sure high income-earners didn't take advantage of perfectly legal deductions and credits to avoid the payment of taxes.  The rich had to be nailed.  Trouble is, due to inflation the AMT is now sneaking into middle income tax returns.  Today the AMT will hit about 3.5 million Americans.  In a few years that figure will increase to about 30 million.  Although it's a bit late, here's an AMT calculator you can use to see just how close you are to being nailed --- or, just how nailed you already are! 

OK ... you already know where I'm heading with all of this.  The FairTax.  If H.R. 25, The FairTax Act, became law all of the scenarios mentioned above, and many more, would disappear.  There would be no "tax day" because there would be no federal income tax.  You would not spend one single penny on tax planning and preparation, and neither would any American business.  Tax compliance costs, be they $300 or $500 billion, would be a thing of the past.  If the FairTax were law right now this past weekend would have been nothing more than a beautiful Easter Weekend for all Americans.  No distractions.  Just enjoy your family on another beautiful Spring weekend.

With the FairTax American businesses wouldn't be spending tens of thousands of hours a year, and billions of dollars, contemplating and working out the tax consequences of business decisions.  Instead, they would be spending that time and money on decisions and projects to grow their businesses.  That, of course, means hiring more people; opening new locations; and generating more revenue.

No --- the FairTax isn't perfect.  For the life of me I can't figure out a perfect, unblemished way to collect the billions of dollars that our voracious federal government needs to operate both it's legitimate and illegitimate functions.  The vast bulk of that money has to come, one way or another, from the people in this country who earn and hold all of the wealth.  I've been studying tax reform for over 25 years.  Flat tax, sales tax, excise taxes, AMT .. you name it. 

The FairTax is clearly the best plan out there.  Let's check off some points:

  • The FairTax is the ONLY tax reform proposal that would completely lift the federal tax burden, including Social Security and Medicare, from the poor. 
  • It is the ONLY tax reform proposal that will protect every single American  household from the responsibility of paying federal taxes on their income up to the federal poverty level. 
  • The FairTax is the ONLY tax reform proposal that would bring much of the $11 trillion in dollar denominated deposits outside of the jurisdiction of this country and our tax code back to the United States to go to work in our economy.
  • The FairTax is the ONLY tax reform proposal that would make America the number-one tax haven in the world for businesses!  The United States would be the only country in the world in which businesses, domestic and foreign, could operate without any tax component on tax or labor.
  • It is the ONLY tax reform proposal that would sharply curtail, if not eliminate, the influence of the K Street lobbyists on our politicians.  The FairTax leaves no room for manipulation for the benefit of favored constituencies. 
  • The FairTax is the ONLY tax reform plan that would make the payment of federal taxes essentially a voluntary act.

Now ... let me tell you the biggest drawback to the FairTax.  This may not be a drawback for you --- but it certainly is for the people we must rely on to get rid of the current tax code and enact the FairTax.  It's just this simple:

Implementation of the FairTax would constitute the biggest transfer of power from Washington DC to the people of the United States since our country was founded.  "

http://boortz.com/nuze/200604/04172006.html#taxday

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Entry #256

Where your tax $$ go

This is by the co-author of the "Fair Tax" book, revised and in paperback,  Neal Boortz referencing to stats in an article.

Embedded links in the top of this article does not work correctly. 

"AND JUST HOW BIG IS YOUR TOTAL TAX BITE?

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation steered me to a rather interesting (though not shocking) facts on taxation in America.  The source is an article by Michael K. Evans posted on IndustryWeek.com  (ArticleID=11678).  Do you have any idea just how huge your total tax load is? Take a look at these facts. 

First -- and this fact is now beyond debate -- all taxes are paid by individuals.  All taxes are levied against wealth, and only individuals hold wealth.  For those of you who attended government schools, and are thus a little slow on concepts like this, corporations are not wealthy.  Corporate shareholders hold that wealth. Individuals.  So ... for the sake of Evan's article, he says that the taxes are paid by employees or proprietors, the owners of small businesses. Now .. the tab:

  • Total federal income taxes collected last year:  $932 billion.  That works out to $6,650 per employee.
  • In addition to income taxes, the federal government collected another $1.286 trillion in taxes, mostly Social Security taxes. 
  • The total state and local tax burden amounts to $1.14 trillion.
  • The grand sum here -- paid by employees and proprietors -- is $3.358 trillion.  That's $3,358,000,000,000.00
  • This works out to $24,000 per employee. 
  • The total compensation earned by employees and individual proprietors last year was $8.2 trillion.   
  • This means that 40% of income goes to taxes of some sort.
  • That rate, of course, is much higher for those earning higher incomes.  Much lower for those in low income brackets.
  • Nice, huh?

Now ... grab this fact.  Where did most of this money go?  National defense?  Homeland security?  Hardly.  In terms of Federal expenditures you have:

  • $495 billion for national defense.
  • $272 billion spent by the federal government for the purchase of goods and payment of employees
  • $1.69 trillion sent to someone else.  $1.69 trillion in income redistribution.

This is just fine with those on the left who believe that income is distributed, not earned.  For the rest of us?  Well, I don't know about you, but I have a wee bit of a problem with all of this."

http://boortz.com/nuze/200604/04142006.html#taxes

Comments
Entry #255

"Fair Tax info update ...

As promised more information on the "Fair Tax" which eliminates all federal taxes and no more April 15th frenzy.  As information and explanations become available I will post them in my blog so you can read them.  This first article gives a good overview about information I've heard before which seems to cover many questions about the concept.

 

I personally like the "Fair Tax" which is implemented at the same time the federal income tax amendment to the Constitution is repealed, so no double taxation.

 

The Fair Tax national sales tax is based upon what people buy so captures tax from the underground economies of illegals and high rollers who engage in less than legal occupations.
 Big Grin 

 

Since the Fair Tax is based upon what we the people buy and that is how Washington is funded if we're happy with their policies we spend and fund them.  If we're not happy with their policies we quit spending and put them on a monetary diet, therefore we are in direct control over how the federal government is run.

 

From what I've heard so far it is a really outstanding idea that will work in its current form.

 

It is with Todd's permission that I've posted the Fair Tax book information below the article.

 

 

"Fair Tax" Promotes Better Compliance, Smaller IRS

Apr 14, 2006, 15:45

Ben Pierce

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- John Collet of Americans for Fair Taxation presented their ideas to a small crowd Tuesday, March 28 at UMKC in Kansas City, Mo. If this Houston-based organization had their way, the Internal Revenue Service would be a thing of the past and more high income taxpayers would pony up their fair share of taxes.

The FairTax replaces the income tax and all other federal taxes with a national consumption tax. The FairTax is levied only once, at the point of purchase on new goods and services.

The group admits it will be difficult for legislators to face down entrenched special interest groups, but they initially proposed replacing the current system with U.S. Senate bill S. 25 and U.S. House of Representatives bill H.R. 25. The next step would be to repeal the 16th Amendment to the constitution allowing the Federal government to levy an income tax.

Signatories to the original petition include noted academic economists and practitioners who feel the current tax code cannot simply be fixed. The current regs include 54,000 pages, approximately 2.8 million words of mind-numbing rules, exceptions and special interest loopholes. This tangled web would be replaced by a simple national sales tax similar to that paid to the county, city or, in the case of our own Hawthorne TDD, the subdivision.

But what about poor people? The FairTax provides every family with a rebate of the sales tax on spending up to the federal poverty level (plus an extra amount to prevent any marriage penalty). The rebate is paid monthly in advance. It allows a family of four to spend $25,660 tax free each year. The rebate for a married couple with two children is $492 per month ($5,902 annually). Therefore, no family pays federal sales tax on essential goods and services and middle-class families are effectively exempted on a big part of their annual spending.

But what about the administrative burden of collecting the tax, now falling on the IRS? States can elect to collect the federal sales tax on behalf of the federal government in exchange for a fee of one-quarter of one percent of gross collections. Retail businesses collecting the tax also get the same administrative fee.

One of the biggest results of the Fair Tax would be to make it more difficult to evade taxes through shelters and other schemes. According to former IRS boss Charles Rossotti, people who actually pay taxes are cheated nearly $300 billion by those who do not pay all their taxes. This means we would enjoy a 20 percent decrease in what we have to pay if everyone paid their fair share.

Charities, which theoretically enjoy the benefits of our tax deduction for contributions, also would benefit under the FairTax. After the 1986 Tax Reform Act, charitable giving increased rather than decreased, despite lowering marginal income and transfer tax rates. Charitable giving rose by $6.4 billion, or 7.6 percent, in 1987 after the top tax rate fell from 50 to 28 percent (more than doubling the tax price of giving). The message is that increasing disposable incomes allows more giving, should citizens decide to do that.

Perhaps one of the worst drawbacks of the current tax system, with its preferences for certain industries and citizen expenditures, is that it distorts the price system of allocating resources to an activity. By removing the twisted incentives of the tax code, the FairTax people hope to accomplish a better use of resources.

Many citizens support the FairTax idea, too. Although many people who would favor such a system look at it from the perspective of making paying taxes simpler, that also represents a huge savings in national resources. If people are not forced to support a massive army of accountants to take care of their taxes, and instead use those resources for something else, the reallocation could potentially benefit all Americans and make our economy more competitive.

A tax every time you pay for your groceries also helps keep in front of taxpayers exactly how much they really pay in taxes. Seeing it come out of your pocket provides a rarely cited psychological advantage of causing people to bulk at every attempt to increase their taxes. Having taxes come out of a check when you never see the full amount makes it easier for Uncle Sam to pilfer your earnings.

(digitalBURG.com publisher Ben Pierce, CFA, signed the original FairTax petition letter along with approximately 75 other economists from locations throughout the country.)
____________________________

THE FAIRTAX BOOK --- REVISED AND EXPANDED

In just over two weeks - on May 2nd - the soft-cover edition of The FairTax Book will be released.  The book contains revisions to clarify points about the FairTax, and a 5000 word "afterword" to bring you up to speed on the latest status of H.R. 25 and to answer some of the critics who have surfaced in the last six months.

Though the furor over the hard-cover edition of The FairTax Book has died down, interest in the FairTax has not.  The president's tax reform commission turned out to be a complete flop -- recommending nothing more than more of the same.  In the meantime H.R. 25 is adding sponsors in the congress, and House leadership has promised a vote on H.R. 25 in the coming months. 

Many of you ask what you can do to move the FairTax forward.  I have a simple, and, on the surface, a self-serving suggestion on how you can do just that.  Buy the soft-cover edition of The FairTax Book.  Don't just by one, buy several. Spread them around.  Send them to your friends.  I would ask you to do that today ... buy them today.  Go to Amazon.com and order a few copies.  For less than $100 you can get 10 copies to spread among your friends.  Business owners could buy a copy for every employee!  We had just that happen with several business owners when the hardback came out.  I can remember several days when Belinda and I were hidden in a conference room signing hundreds of books for this or that corporation that bought a book for every employee. 

Members of Congress were already shocked last year to see The FairTax Book, a book on taxes, debut at No. 1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list.  If the soft-cover edition of the book has a similar success it will send an even-stronger message to Washington.  The people have studied this idea for tax reform, and they like it.  It's not just a flash-in-the-pan. 

Now .. I see that my asking you to get out there and buy the soft-cover edition might sound a bit self-serving.  After all, I'm earning royalties here, aren't I?  Well, the same pledge I made for the hardback edition stands for the soft-cover.  Every penny of royalties, after expenses, will go to charity.  With good sales of the soft-cover edition when all is said and done I will have contributed over a half-million to charity.  I'm not in this to make money.  I'm in this to change the tax code.  Help me.

Here's your link for ordering the soft-cover edition from Amazon.com.  Order now and you'll have your books within a day or two of the release date.  There's an even fancier link at the bottom of the page!

Comments
Entry #254

"Medicaid Hurdle for Immigrants

This is something that should have happened 30 years ago.  In the age of technology they should also have a thumbprinted photo ID so cards can't be "borrowed" or multiple ID's assumed to double dip from several states.

MSM decries hardship on recipients when in fact it's been an ongoing hardship on working, tax paying Americans for years which is NEVER mentioned.

Kudos for Georgia (R) Representative Norwood!!

"Medicaid Hurdle for Immigrants May Hurt Others

by ROBERT PEAR

Source New York Times

WASHINGTON, April 15 — More than 50 million Medicaid recipients will soon have to produce birth certificates, passports or other documents to prove that they are United States citizens, and everyone who applies for coverage after June 30 will have to show similar documents under a new federal law.

The requirement is meant to stop the "theft of Medicaid benefits by illegal aliens," in the words of Representative Charlie Norwood, Republican of Georgia, a principal author of the provision, which was signed into law by President Bush on Feb. 8.

In enforcing the new requirement, federal and state officials must take account of passions stirred by weeks of national debate over immigration policy. State officials worry that many blacks, American Indians and other poor people will be unable to come up with the documents needed to prove citizenship. In addition, hospital executives said they were concerned that the law could increase their costs, by reducing the number of patients with insurance.

The new requirement takes effect on July 1. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will save the federal government $220 million over five years and $735 million over 10 years.

Estimates of the number of people who will be affected vary widely. The budget office expects that 35,000 people will lose coverage by 2015. Most of them will be illegal immigrants, it said, but some will be citizens unable to produce the necessary documents. Some Medicaid experts put the numbers much higher, saying that millions of citizens could find their health benefits in jeopardy.

State officials are trying to figure out how to comply. Many said the requirement would result in denying benefits to some poor people who were entitled to Medicaid but could not find the necessary documents.

"This provision is misguided and will serve as a barrier to health care for otherwise eligible United States citizens," said Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washington, a Democrat.

Ms. Gregoire said the provision would cause hardship for many older African-Americans who never received birth certificates and for homeless people who did not have ready access to family records.

Hospitals and nursing homes are expressing concern. "The new requirement will result in fewer people being eligible for Medicaid or enrolling in the program, and that means more uninsured people," said Lynne P. Fagnani, senior vice president of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. "They still need care, but are more likely to wait until their condition becomes more severe and more costly to treat."

The new requirement will come as a surprise to most Medicaid recipients. The law said federal officials should inform them "as soon as practicable" after Feb. 8. But the education campaign, to be conducted in concert with states, has yet to begin." .....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/us/16medicaid.html?ei=5065&en=2f79a02d4edc9cb7&ex=1145764800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

Comments
Entry #253

Scam Alert ~ Jury Duty

"Jury Rigged

Scam:   Identity thieves trick the unwary into revealing their personal details by telling them they've failed to report for jury duty and warrants for their arrest are being issued.

Status:   Real fraud, potential for financial harm unknown. 
 http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp
2 Comments
Entry #252

"Start immigration reform with those who follow the law

This says it all!!  Cool  Thanks to Powerline for the link.

"Start immigration reform with those who follow the law
Katherine Kersten,
Source Star Tribune
"In recent days, our TV screens have been filled with pictures of vast crowds, demanding more "rights" for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Religious groups have championed their cause. Adoring reporters have shoved microphones in front of them -- falling head over heels again for raucous '60s-style demonstrations.
Jaco van Rooyen, a 22-year-old South African immigrant worker, hasn't been out there waving a sign. He's a legal immigrant playing by the rules. In short, he's a forgotten man.
Bob Webber, an Edina immigration attorney who works with immigrants like Van Rooyen, says, "My clients ask, 'Why isn't anyone talking about us?' They can't understand it."
Van Rooyen's story mirrors that of thousands of other legal immigrants, whom the media have largely ignored in their romance with "undocumented workers." He is a general farmworker and mechanic for Kristie and Marlyn Seidler on a 9,000-acre farm 55 miles north of Bismarck, N.D. "There's nothing he can't fix," says Kristie Seidler. "He's vital to us."
Seidler says it's impossible to find skilled Americans willing to work in rural North Dakota. In the last three years, not one American has answered the many advertisements she and her husband have run.
The Seidlers could hire illegal immigrants but don't want to break the law.
But following the law is costly and time-consuming. The Seidlers have had to jump through multiple hoops with government agencies to hire Van Rooyen, who honed his skills on his family's South African farm. In addition to proving that no qualified American will do the job, they have had to pay thousands in fees and legal and travel costs. Van Rooyen has worked for them for four agricultural seasons, but was compelled to return to South Africa each autumn. Every year, they have had to repeat the whole expensive process to get him back legally.
Now, the Seidlers need Van Rooyen year-round. Nine months ago, they started paperwork to adjust his immigration status. But they've hit a wall: The American government caps visas for skilled workers such as him at 140,000 a year.
As a result, Van Rooyen will have to return to South Africa again when his visa expires on Nov. 30. This time, he will probably have to wait at least five years to return, because of the current visa backlog.
"I do what's asked of me; I obey the law," says Van Rooyen. "There are many obstacles, and it's frustrating that some people get to be here without doing those things."
"The issue with illegals has blurred the problem of people trying to come here legally," adds Seidler. "All the policymakers see is the illegal issue."
Obviously, many illegal immigrants are good folks, striving to better their families. But they have broken the law to get here. That's why many Americans find it unsettling to see them pumping their fists and shouting grievances in the streets -- cheered on by their American "social justice" allies.
You don't hear an entitlement mentality in Van Rooyen's voice.
Do our immigration laws need an overhaul? You bet they do. But let's start with what we should be able to agree on: much-needed reform for law-abiding immigrants such as Van Rooyen. Instead of marching for the cameras, they are quietly striving to show their respect for that centerpiece of American citizenship: the rule of law."
http://www.startribune.com/191/story/367832.html
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Entry #251

INVASION USA "Protests backfire!

Second article is what Georgia's Senior (R) Sen. Chambliss is trying to accomplish and gives a timeline of 2 previous amnesties which are precipitating the current invasion and protests.  Unlike the MSM who's putting a PC spin on the protesting invaders, they are illegal aliens who are breaking US laws by crossing the border without proper visas.  Have heard it said that the majority do not want to adapt to and meld into US culture, but do want to bring Mexico to the US.

INVASION USA
"Protests backfire!
Zogby poll: National demonstrations by illegal aliens have negative impact

"Recent images of seas of illegal aliens marching in cities across the U.S. are having a far greater negative than positive impact on the foreigners' cause, according to a new poll.

A Zogby survey of nearly 8,000 people shows coast-to-coast protests against immigration proposals in Congress – particularly to make it a federal felony to be an illegal worker in the U.S. – have not persuaded a majority of likely American voters.

Asked whether the protests have made likely voters more or less sympathetic toward undocumented workers, 61 percent said they're less likely to be sympathetic to the plight of illegals as a result of the protests, while only 32 percent of respondents said they're now more sympathetic. Younger respondents to the poll were more likely to be sympathetic than were older participants. And while 56 percent of Democrats said the protests made them feel more sympathy for unlawful workers, just 6 percent of Republicans felt that way.

"The gap between what the American people believe ... and what these elites in Washington thinks is right, that continues to grow wider," said host Sean Hannity on his national radio program today. "Many Republican leaders are siding with the elites, they are not siding with the people that put them in office."

The survey also shows an overwhelming majority of Americans – nearly 4 out 5 – is doubtful President Bush and Congress will find a fair and effective solution to the immigration crisis. While 88 percent of Democrats and 85 percent of independents said it's unlikely a solution will be found, 66 percent of Republicans agreed.

Doubt about the prospect of Washington's success on the issue spreads across all geographic and racial demographics, the survey shows.

Asked specifically whether Bush or Congress is trusted more to properly handle the immigration issue, 50 percent said they don't think it's likely either branch of government will get the job done properly. Another 22 percent said they trust Congress more, while 17 percent said they think Bush is more likely to come up with the right answer. There was some difference depending on the age of the respondents – those over age 65 said they trusted Bush more, while those under age 30 said they put more trust in Congress.

Likely voters said their biggest concern about illegal immigration is the burden it places on government social services at all levels. While 27 percent said the increased burden was their top concern, another 22 percent said they hold a companion worry – that illegals will trigger an increase in the cost of government services.

One in four – 26 percent – said they were concerned America's southern border may be the entry point for terrorists intent on attacking the U.S.

A majority of Americans said they oppose amnesty for illegals who already reside in this nation. While 52 percent said there should be no amnesty, 32 percent said they'd favor it.

The survey shows significant partisan divide on this question. Among Democrats nationwide, 51 percent favor amnesty, while 29 percent oppose it and another 20 percent said they are unsure. Among Republicans, just 13 percent said they favor amnesty, while 76 percent said they oppose such an offer.

The Zogby Interactive survey included 7,967 respondents nationwide between March 31 and April 3, and has a margin of error of +/- 1.1 percentage points."

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49711

Chambliss: Amnesty would be mistake
04/05/2006

By Dave Williams
Staff Writer
Source Gwinnett Daily Post

"ATLANTA — Any immigration reform bill that gives undocumented workers a path to American citizenship would repeat mistakes  Congress made 20 years ago in granting illegals amnesty, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said Tuesday.
“That was the trigger that got us into the situation we’re in today,’’ Chambliss told reporters during a telephone conference call. “People on the other side of the border saw a chance to come across illegally and get some kind of legal status.’’
Chambliss is pushing an amendment this week that would remove from the bill a provision allowing illegal immigrants working in agriculture to become U.S. citizens following an 11-year process that would include undergoing a background check, paying a $2,000 fine and learning English.
His proposal instead would require illegal farm workers to return to their home countries after two years and re-enter the U.S. in a legal manner.
Senate leadership has set a goal of passing a bill by the end of this week and getting the illegal immigration issue into a conference committee with the House, which passed its version of the legislation last December.
Congress granted a limited amnesty in 1986 to some 3 million illegal immigrants then living in the U.S., which is believed to have touched off a wave of immigration primarily from Latin American countries. 

Today, the nation’s population of illegals is estimated at about 12 million.
“The ’86 law failed, and it failed miserably,’’ Chambliss said.
The same thing happened when Congress granted another amnesty to illegals in 1990, said Phil Kent, the Atlanta-based national spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control.
“This would be the third amnesty,’’ he said."

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=1&url_article_id=13569&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2

5 Comments
Entry #250

'Hex' on a plane lands woman in jail

 Crazy  Naughty  Skeptical
 
'Hex' on a plane lands woman in jail
By Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News
April 12, 2006
"A 50-year-old woman is accused of getting violent on a Delta Airlines flight from Las Vegas to New York City, slapping a flight attendant in the face, putting a "hex" on the plane, announcing that it would crash and declaring that all the passengers, their children and their grandchildren would die early Tuesday.

The pilot made an unscheduled stop just after midnight Tuesday morning at Denver International Airport, where passenger Svetlana Yankovsky, address unknown, was arrested.

She faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew.

One flight attendant told an FBI agent that Yankovsky was drinking from a bottle of wine while the plane was taxiing at the Las Vegas airport, according to court documents.

After the flight attendant took away the bottle, Yankovsky allegedly demanded her "red water" back and began singing, chanting and touching other passengers.

The plane still was climbing after takeoff when two passengers asked flight attendants to "do something" about Yankovsky, court documents said.

But when flight attendants tried to calm Yankovsky down, she allegedly told them, "Not good, plane crash, all die."

"Yankovsky continued her erratic behavior by 'hexing' the aircraft, the crew, and the other passengers," an FBI agent's affidavit said. "Yankovsky was singing and chanting in the aircraft and saying that everyone was going to die, their children would die, and their grandchildren would die."

It said the plane's four flight attendants gathered in the rear of the plane to discuss how to handle Yankovsky, and considered using the restraints that were on board and asking other passengers to help them subdue the woman. They got out the restraints, but were afraid to use them, the affidavit said.

When flight attendant Sandra McKibben approached Yankovsky and tried to quiet her, Yankovsky slapped her in the face, it said.

"Yankovsky continued her erratic behavior throughout the rest of the flight until removed by Denver police officers," the affidavit said."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4616431,00.html

Comments
Entry #249

"..... rush to border

"Guest-worker hopes spark rush to border

 

Associated Press
Apr. 12, 2006 11:31 AM

 

NOGALES, Mexico - At a shelter overflowing with migrants airing their blistered feet, Francisco Ramirez nursed muscles sore from trekking through the Arizona desert - a trip that failed when his wife did not have the strength to go on.

He said the couple would rest for a few days, then try again, a plan echoed by dozens reclining on rickety bunk beds and carpets tossed on the floor after risking violent bandits and the harsh desert in unsuccessful attempts to get into the United States.

The shelter's manager, Francisco Loureiro, said he has not seen such a rush of migrants since 1986, when the United States allowed 2.6 million illegal residents to get American citizenship.

This time, the draw is a bill before the U.S. Senate that could legalize some of the 11 million people now illegally in the United States while tightening border security. Migrants are hurrying to cross over in time to qualify for a possible guest-worker program - and before the journey becomes even harder. "..............
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0412mexico-border-rush12-ON.html
2 Comments
Entry #248

"Union Dues Spent on Golf, Cadillac, Resorts, and Even Wal-Mart

"PRESS RELEASE
"Union Dues Spent on Golf, Cadillac, Resorts, and Even Wal-Mart
New Union LM-2 Financial Information Available and Searchable on UnionFacts.com

4/3/06

Washington, DC – Revised financial reporting requirements by the Department of Labor (DOL) are exposing union leaders’ spending habits with unprecedented clarity. Last Friday (3/31), most major unions filed their LM-2 financial disclosure forms with the government, and jaw-dropping expenditures are already easy to find.

Using the search function on www.unionfacts.com, making sense of the mountains of union financial data is simple. A preliminary look revealed the following:

 

  • Nearly $1.5 million in union members’ dues money was spent on golf.
  • The Ironworkers AFL-CIO Local Union 40 spent $52,879 on a new Cadillac for a retiring president.
  • $7.9 million of employee dues money went to resort expenditures.
  • The Boilermakers AFL-CIO Local 374 spent $8,800 of employee dues money on Christmas gifts at Wal-Mart, despite the labor movement’s smear campaign against the retailer.
  • Between six AFL-CIO locals, over $50,000 of employee dues money was spent at a single D.C. steakhouse.
  • The AFL-CIO alone spent over $49 million on political activities and lobbying—much of which is spent quietly on in-kind political expenditures like pro-Kerry brochures and websites. That’s almost $20 million more than it spent on representation activities.

“The increased transparency of union spending will be especially meaningful to union members who are getting their first candid look at how their mandatory union dues are spent by labor officials,” said Richard Berman executive director of the Center for Union Facts. “The 40% of union members who voted for George W. Bush might be interested to know just how much of their dues money went to support John Kerry.”

To learn more visit: www.UnionFacts.com. For further information or to arrange an interview please call Sarah Longwell at (202) 463-7106.


The Center for Union Facts is a non-profit organization supported by foundations, businesses, union members, and the general public. We are dedicated to showing Americans the truth about today's union leadership.

http://www.unionfacts.com/news.cfm?id=16

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Entry #247
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