Taxed 2 Debt!

Stimulus Jobs Part 2, More Stimulusy

Yesterday we mentioned the last stimulus report from the administration and a recent article out of the AP that talked about the discrepancies in the numbers.

Yesterday there were more numbers released.  The administration stated that they had saved or created 600,000 jobs.  Vice President Biden said in the same day that it was around a million.

He later said it wasn’t.

I wanted to talk a moment about saving jobs.  This is an interesting fantasty stat because it cannot be measured.  Unless you have someone actually being handed a pink slip, and Stimulus Man walks in and kicks it in two with his pointy boots, this number isn’t real.

It’s just like saying by eating a banana this morning I made a butterfly fly in the Far East.  It’s beautiful and filled with great thoughts, but it’s not anything tangible.

I saved a job this morning by stubbing my toe on a chair rind.

Taxed 2 Debt isn’t the only one making waves about this, even the L.A. Times is saying: no, no sir.

Why is this appliciable to Taxed 2 Debt?  We’ve painted a pretty good picture so far as to what leads to higher taxation, and it usually begins with massive spending.

We’re just pointing out that not only has the massive spending been underwhelming in its use, but the payment will be due later.

Have a safe Halloween!

I put on my Snuggie this morning and saved a Gabafillion jobs.

Stimulus Fiction

Fiction, is what the Stimulus is promoting best.

Obama’s Big Stat League

Yesterday AP ran a report about the last stimulus status report. It found that the jobs created by the massive spending were overstated by sometimes ten times the amount.

Today, a new stimulus report will be released promising more jobs created in just the last month.

I’m not sure how we can get this message to the administration, but this isn’t fantasy football. In real life, not political fantasy land, we don’t get to ascribe a fantastical set of numbers not based in reality.

Creating a job actually means putting someone to work long-term, and only counting that person once.  We can’t count the same person over and over again, or change the stats in your fantasy league so that one job equals 10 jobs, for kicks and giggles.

Even in its limited review, the AP found job counts that were more than 10 times as high as the actual number of paid positions; jobs credited to the stimulus program that were counted two and sometimes more than four times; and other jobs that were credited to stimulus spending when none was produced.

This is your money, or even worse, your future grandchild’s  money, being taken from them and then being lied about, blatantly.  It’s not that hard to count–at leastlast time I checked my one year old’s ability with her Dr. Seuss Math Flash cards it wasn’t.

The lies need to stop.  More outrageous debt will lead to greater and more burdensome taxes in the near future.

Press Secretary Gibbs said that if the number is off, which it is, then it is only around 5,000 people. If this was true, which it is not–the number is much greater according to the report, how do you lose 5,000 people? Is there some 5,000 people shaped hole that this group was graded across?

The number is higher. The cost is higher. Transparency indeed. Hey President Obama, I got Vince Young starting this Sunday, what about you?

Time Traveling Adventures

“It is patriotic to pay more taxes.” –Joe Biden, 2008 Presidential Election.

In the early 2010′s, a group of three men decide to change history as we know it.  Al Gore, Mike Moore, and Joe Biden use the loot from the stimulus fund to fund a government effort to build the first time machine.

They are the first three to test drive it–first stop, 1770′s.

The three arrive in Philadelphia, during the time of the historic continental congress.  “What’s with all this sticky humid air?” Vice-President Gore asks a a nearby tree.  “Tree, why has global warming not been healed in this distant future?”

“Al, we’re all over here.” VP Biden says, running his hands through his hair to make sure even non-organic materials made it through the time-space jump.  “And we’re not in the future–we’ve gone back to September 1774 to visit the first continental congress.  And trees don’t talk.”

“In my future all the trees talk back–it’s something I invented.”

“We’re from the same time as you, and the trees don’t talk, Al.”

“One day they will, and when they do remember that I invented it.  But if they could speak, it would sound something like: ahhhhh, my limbs hurt from all your excess driving.”

The three made their way down the streets of Philadelphia to the Carpenter’s Hall, where over 100 delegates from the 13 colonies met as a group to stand against the Intolerable acts and the Townsend acts, a collection of numerous taxes.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Michael Moore begins, “we know that you’re upset about a few things.  But we are from the future to encourage you to take a different route completely–a little less…independent?”

“Now I know that in the past, before Britain was steeped in debt, that they didn’t need to raise revenue out of your flesh, and that now Britain is demanding more revenue and taxing more goods.”

Joe Biden steps up, “But gentlemen, it is patriotic to pay more taxes!”
Patrick Henry, a Son of Liberty, speaks up from the corner of the room.

“Sir, I don’t understand the words coming out of your face.”

“The fact is, sometime in the distant future, we’re going to spend a lot of money as a country.  I do mean a lot–like more than you’ve ever dreamed of.  And there is a problem with spending that type of cash–you need to have that type of cash.  So, we’ll need to raise taxes like gangbusters.”

“How about you just don’t spend the money?  What you just explained is kind of why we’re all here in the first place,”‘ a voice from the front of the room says.

Joe Biden nods, pats the gentleman’s wig and says something unintelligible.

Patrick Henry stands up, pulls on his vest and says: “If you cared about this country at all, you wouldn’t be driving it into the pit of debt. ”

The men are angry.  They begin shuffling from their wooden chairs, in an attempt to surround the three time travelers.  Al Gore finds this an appropriate time to chime in: “This would be a great time to talk about curtailing your collective flatulence as a young nation.”  The three are chased out of the hall and back to their machine.  The song that plays upon their escape, is not unlike this one.

Our Tax Dollars At Work?

Being in the real estate business, I find it interesting to study the historic prices of homes that are currently listed for sale. For example, if I am showing a client a property, a house, that is for sale for $200,000, I can go into the system and look at what date it previously sold and for what price. I can do this for the history of the property and find out what it sold for each time over the last few years.

Well, I came across a property the other day in which a client had some interest. So, I went into the system and discovered the latest sales prices and dates of the property. To my surprise, I discovered that the house had sold in August of 2009 to Fannie Mae. Fannie had purchased the property from another bank to relieve this bank of its “toxic assets”. Now, this was a great house and would be easy to sell. The “toxic asset” is the actual loan that was owed to this previous bank.

I discovered that the property was currently listed at $265,900. The interesting part of this equation is the fact that Fannie Mae had just bought this property in August of 2009 for $317,000. Keep in mind that this is now October 2009. In a sixty day time period, Fannie was willing to take a minimum of a $52,000 loss, before any negotiations take place and closing costs are calculated.

Now, normally, this would be none of my concern unless I happen to be a stock holder of Fannie Mae, or any other private institution that decided to make a horrible financial decision. And in a normal world, I would think of the stupidity of the situation and then go about my day. But, unfortuneatley, this is not a normal world anymore. As a matter of fact, I am now an owner of Fannie Mae, not by choice, and this decision to bail out this other bank and let Fannie take the hit because it is now government owned angers me. When did I have any opportunity to approve this? When did this become a good business practice? When is this other bank going to take responsibility for the poor choices (bad loans) that they decided to make. When will they reap what the sow? Why do I have to work harder to pay more taxes so that my tax money can go bail out a private institution that I will never see any rewards from? The frustration and questions could continue…..

This is how the government is running the businesses and entities that they control. Social security and medicare for example….will be bankrupt soon. What will happen when they contol the health care system? I think everyone knows the answer to that question.

I know we hear about these “toxic assets” and the bail out and the government controlled entities, but this expample above puts things in perspective. The stupidity of a situation. The frivolous use of MY money. This is what I am working my tail end off for? This is my motivation?

A Breakdown of the Possible VAT Tax

Tags: Taxation, VAT tax

The Innovation will not be Legislated

There’s an argument out there that says: So what, the government wants more of your money, what have they ever done to you?

The history of governments is something for another day, but the answer to this question in the short term is better answered by a question: What has the government ever done for you?

Innovation: The Microwave, Mr. Potato Head, Ipods, Foot Powder, all things you may have used today, although hopefully not at the same time. These things were not born through legislation or through any executive order. Normal everyday people brought these ideas and countless others to fruition. Innovators–inventors, farmers of ideas–work best with less restriction, less red tape. Creators work best with freedom–freedom of expression, freedom of choice, and most importantly freedom of resources.

Every day when you walk to work, or when you ride the train or your Segway that runs on soup, there is an amount of your income that is deducted. You don’t see it, but imagine a tiny minus sign above your head, counting off the amount that is subtracted on a daily basis. What could you do with this amount at the end of the day? The answer is surprising.

Unfortunately we don’t have the technology here at Taxed2debt to give you magical numbers floating above your head. I’ve looked into it. But we can bring that number to your attention here, and in the upcoming book.

More money taken from you equals more restriction on your life. There’s less you can do–less people you can help. The less freedom you have, the less innovative and creative you will be.

With more resources being taken from you in the future, how are you going to innovate? How are you going to come up with the next big thing? The government: congress, the administration, and the courts are not going to come up with the new ipod. It’s just not going to happen–they’re much better at politics than they are at ipoding.

We need people like you, yes you who are reading this now in your underwear, to have as much freedom as possible. We want you to follow your dreams and help others along the way.

Tags: Debt and Taxes

A Biden Fortune Cookie

I’d want my money back for the free after dinner cookie.  Biden’s logic escapes us, and the forefathers.

Life and Taxes

In a year, an attempt to keep up with every tax you pay would be daunting.  Imagine running back into a Dairy Queen to get a copy of the reciept you forgot in order to document the state sales tax you just payed on that Butterfinger Frosty.

Then there’s the land taxes, cell phone taxes, income taxes, taxes on breathing.  Well, that last one is made up but you get the point.  Keeping up with the sheer amount of money that is taken from you would be a difficult thing to do each day, however that’s what we’re for.

We took a year in a life of a small business man and household, documented every tax down to the cent, and plan on revealing the percentages and data in our book, Taxed 2 Debt.  What we believe it will show is something that cannot be denied.  People, regular middle class people like you me and Cosby, are paying too much in taxes.

We’re pulling for legislation for lower taxation, or even a more radical-permanent solution of the Fair Tax.  We want things to be fair and we want people to be free to pursue the American Dream that has made this country so great over the last 230 some odd years.

Walk with us–we’re learning to blog here a bit and look forward to your input, questions, complaints and murmurings.

Tags: blog, Debt and Taxes

Stealthy Legislation

There’s talk of a ‘stealth stimulus’ being passed in the near future as well as another home equity bailout.

I wanted to take a moment and ask for a personal bailout for myself. I’m simply too big to fail. I mean it, as the co-author on this blog I am a large man, and you would not like me falling on or around you. Things could break–people could get hurt.  Babies could cry.

Reading articles mentioning the possibility of a second stimulus and or a second housing bill reminds me of a game I often played as a child.

It would usually be in a magazine, or on a worksheet. There would be a picture of numerous items, and you had to pick out the one that didn’t belong. If you scan through most of the opinion pieces now, the news blurbs, and the interviews, you’ll find that most are stating that the stimulus hasn’t worked and the housing bailout helped no one. There are numerous articles explaining how these ideas were broken or unnecessary, and then you see the article mentioning round 2?  One of these is not like the other.

More government spending=more taxes.

Tags: bailout, stimulus