Sinclair bait...

This was good. Everyone should at least be versed in the main differences between Keynesian and Hayekian thought when it comes to economic crisis or recession.



Now remember, just because Hayek is economically conservative (which is technically small "l" liberal) doesn't mean that Republicans are. Most modern Republicans are Keynesian, but believe in stimulus in tax cut form as opposed to artificial priming of employment programs (ye olde WPA) and other safety net programs (unemployment insurance, medicaid, food stamps, etc...)

For the crazies...

Soundtrack for this post required click here.

His Mom's first name is legally Stanley. It's sort of when I learned that Tina Fey's real name was Elizabeth Stamatina Fey. This won't put any crazy birthers to bed, as Dave Weigel notes on his blog on Slate.com, they'll likely want to see a baby footprint (even though Hawaii never did that).

Now where was the 2008 Republican Presidential nominee born? Oh that's right, I forgot, in PANAMA! But it's OK because he's white and that feels more American. And it's also OK because he was born on a U.S. naval base which makes it diplomatically and legally a teeny, teeeeny, tiny slice of America, but don't tell conservative Republicans to hold the same view about Guantanamo Bay,  because they can't have both a naval base that IS America and another base that is most definitely NOT America, because then they would have to follow U.S. federal law and no one in Congress likes doing that.

Where are the liberal town hall outbursts?

Dave Weigel in an article on Slate.com, wrote this column chastising Democrats for not being able to scrounge enough "grassroots" outrage to Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan, like the summer town halls where the newly emerging tea party folks screamed and hollered about the injustice of President Obama's healthcare plan, which failed on a policy level but won on a political level as it energized Republican voters for 2010. (I'm sorry tea partiers are comprised of a WIDE cross-section of American political tradition.)



Now, I hate to slam a fellow NU wildcat, but the reason that there are no liberal town hall outbursts is because liberals actually believe in compromise. And although we're willing to call Republicans out on the things we disagree with, we at least let the debate happen. See below for how "angry" liberals face off with their Representative Ryan below:



There you have it. Sighs of "ah...come on Paul" and boos that calm down within 2 or 3 seconds.

This is both the Democratic Party's biggest strength and biggest weakness. It's the "I see your point" quality that most Democrats have. Politically it doesn't make for the strongest case and Republicans use this weakness to play to win as the healthcare debate showed where conservative ideas to reduce costs (such as online exchanges, individual mandates, and living will planning) were all reduced to "death panels" and "government takeover".

Mental Health Break

It's always good to take a time out every now and then. Enjoy America's own Lenny Bernstein leading the Vienna Philharmonic in the 4th movement of Gustav Mahler's 5th Symphony. All about suspension and tension in this one. If this doesn't convey longing, I don't know what can. How bad do you want that last note?

Not your call to make

With all of the hoopla over Planned Parenthood these past few weeks, I thought I might share my thoughts on this controversial subject. If I were a candidate, here's what I would say when it comes to abortion:

No one from the most liberal senator in the country to the most scared teenager in the heartland is FOR ABORTION. Women choose this option as a very last resort and I'd be willing to guess that few are happy when they feel it's the most appropriate option or choice for them.

Then I would either play the video like above or read one of the "It's so personal" essays collected on Andrew Sullivan's blog during a discussion about the moral challenges and justifications concerning the vilified "late-term" abortions and the D&X procedure (where the baby's head is severed before removing the fetus from the uterus). But for now, I will reference the above video.

(ahem, speech):

Now, if Danielle and Robb had been able to induce labor or perform an abortion, I don't know if Danielle and Robb would burn in hell for their sin. And some people have every religious right to identify that as sin.

I don't know if God would look down at their decision with shame or sadness.

Personally, I don't believe so, and personally I believe that God knows what is in their hearts if they had to make that terrible decision.

Abortion was essentially illegal where they lived, and if they had been able to get one I don't know whether they really would have committed a crime worth penalizing them for. I would feel that they have been through enough pain already.

But here's what I do know.

I know that this decision is NOT MINE TO MAKE.

I know that this decision is NOT MITT's (Romney)'s to make.

In many ways, it's really not CONGRESS's decision to make.

And frankly America, it's not YOUR DECISION TO MAKE.

The ONLY people who should be making this decision and are capable of making this decision are Danielle, Robb, and their doctor. As President Clinton once said, "Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare." And I wholeheartedly agree that it should be rare, and we should encourage young women when it's appropriate to look into adoption services as there are many families in America who would love to take care of and raise a child. But the choice is not OURS to make, it's theirs. And I'll fight to ensure it stays that way.

The Ernie Tax Reform Plan

Hey Everybody, with Rep. Ryan's plan and the President announcing his plan. I thought I would propose my own plan to fiscal sanity.  The Ernie plan couples liberal ideas with conservative ideas and none of these things will pass without the other attached to it, the goodies for both parties are only enforced if the others become law. Again, as fake president I veto any bill that only has one side of the equation.

- Conservative idea - Cut taxes for current tax brackets by 5% with the current top rate for those making over $379,000 at 30%. (Currently at 35%)

- Liberal idea - In order to get those tax cuts for the new American (upper) middle class add 3 more brackets to compensate for the new economic reality of those who have multi-million dollar salaries.

- 40% tax bracket for taxable income over $750,000
- 45% tax bracket for taxable income over $1,500,000
- 48.5% tax bracket for taxable income over $3,000,000

Now remember, a person who makes $3M pays the same amount taxes on their first $16,000 as the person who makes $16,000. So if a person made $3,000,001 a year, under the Ernie plan they would only pay a 48.5% rate on the $1 that they earned above the bracket.

Conservative idea - Strongly cut corporate taxes. I would cut the corporate rate from 35% to 15%.

Liberal idea - close all of the BS corporate loopholes and get rid of any tax subsidies and credits to those firms who are extremely healthy and making massive profits.

Crazy Ernie idea - tie a reduction in corporate taxes to either direct domestic hiring statistics (tailored to company size of course) or the percentage of domestic research & development investment by said corporation. "The more you invest in America, the more America will invest in you." Companies that show strong investment in domestic production and hiring could receive a corporate rate as low as 5%.

Primer for next idea, there are those who only make money off of stocks and bonds and such - these are called capital gains. Capital gains were taxed between 20 and 28% under Bill Clinton, with the Bush tax cuts they are now at 15%. Warren Buffett famously said "I pay less in taxes as a share of my income (15%) than my secretary (mix of 10-30%)."

Crazy Ernie idea - Capital gains tax for those with incomes under $100K will be 0%. After 100K, capital gains tax will be taxed at the person's marginal tax rate. For example, for 2011 Ernie was taxed at 10%, 15%, and 25%, but my marginal rate was something like 17.2% when all was said and done. So if I made more than 100K this year my capital gains tax would be 21.1% (It is currently 15%)

Lemme know what you think!

Republicans Are Not Serious About the Deficit

News outlets are noting that budget negotiators are "inches away" from a deal to avert a government shutdown, but that the one item holding a full deal back is the Republican's policy rider for fully de-funding Planned Parenthood, under the auspices that no tax dollars should go to fund abortions.

Unfortunately, there's just one small hitch. It is already federal law that no federal dollars go to funding abortion services; it's called the Hyde Amendment. And in fact abortion services makeup only 2% 3% of the services Planned Parenthood provides. So what does Planned Parenthood do, you ask? They largely provide basic health services for low-income women. Things such as mammograms and standard GBYN health exams and drum roll please...birth control! Perish the thought!

Most economists have called the funding of Planned Parenthood a deficit reducer. Why?

What do you think costs more? The $10-15 subsidy a month so a low income young woman can buy birth control? OR... The cost of the Child Income Tax Credit for 18 years? Let's also assume that this young woman is a single mother who has to stay home from high school and will probably never end up paying a tax dollar in her life. Hmmmmm... I wonder.

Methinks the birth control pills are cheaper for the government to help pay for.

Now, you might say maybe teens shouldn't be having sex at all! But your problem is not with Planned Parenthood, but with the man upstairs. It is His PERFECT design (right?) to make teens hornballs with larger and more active amygdalas and less active frontal lobes during this crucial timeframe. Too bad he designed humans so poorly to have intercourse when they were most fertile and physically healthy.

So Republicans, take the deal. We can argue (again) about abortion in 2012. And if you're serious about reducing the deficit, buy the damn birth control. Isn't having fewer poor people walking around the U.S. your favorite thing ever, anyway?

Venting about the response to Rep. Paul Ryan's 2012 Budget Roadmap

All over the blogosphere, the reviews of Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) 2012 "Path to Prosperity" are in and they are summarized as follows. "Some things are good, some things are bad, but let's give Paul Ryan applause for being so brave about forwarding tough solutions to tough problems vis-a-vis entitlement reform." Fareed Zakaria's recent column is a perfect example.

Below is what I wrote to Andrew Sullivan's blog (now at The Daily Beast/Newsweek) venting about this blather:

"I'm sorry but liberals came up with various serious proposals for healthcare. Yes, many of those plans either were rejected or dumbed down by the political process, but I don't remember many conservative thinkers (other than yourself) giving the liberals much credit for "policy bravery."

Hmmmm...if I seem to remember correctly, Republicans uniformly tried to negate an adult conversation about a serious policy topic by alleging that Democrats just wanted to "pull the plug on Grandma." Even though finding more honest ways to talk about end of life planning is the most philosophically "conservative" and cost-cutting policy in the bill. Being adult enough to confront one's own death and weigh the costs of useless treatment in the last few months is probably the bravest we'll have to be in our lives.

But I forgot, the Dems just wanted to kill Grandma.

Ryan isn't going to get any applause from me for being a f***ing ADULT legislator willing to seriously talk about the problems we face. Welcome to the intellectual honesty club. I'm glad someone from that party has joined."

For Becs...

"That's all I'm asking for...one night with your Mother on Mother's Day"