Joe The Plumber

I just saw an excellent video that encapsulates very well why I do not support Barack Obama's economic "plan." (Scheme seems a more appropriate term.)



If you want to see most of the conversation between Barack and Joe you can see it HERE.

Neil Cavuto of Fox News interviewed Joe. It was also worth viewing.



Barack Obama is a master of obfuscation. In another video that I saw today Charlie Gibson pointed out that in both cases when the Capital Gains tax was lowered (by Bill Clinton and by George W. Bush) that tax revenue increased. Barack objected that he didn't care about revenue he cared about fairness. Then, of course, he turned around and said that you have to have enough revenue to "pay as you go."

I have a real problem with this Obamanomics. First of all, it is utterly socialist for the government to redistribute wealth. In fact, it really goes beyond socialism - that is more a tenet of communism. The communists "redistributed the wealth" by taking all of the wealth so that everyone (except for those in charge) were dirt poor. Odd thing was - it still wasn't fair. And it deincentivised the workers in the society by removing any reward for their labor.

This is what Barack Obama proposes: The government is all-knowing and all-wise and knows what a "fair wage" is far better than you do. If you (or your business) get above that level of income the government should knock you back down to size and take your "excess" because it can waste money far better than you ever imagined was possible.

As a former small business owner, I can testify that the amount of revenue that a company brings in is in NO WAY a reflection of the income that the owner takes home. My "prosperous" real estate business bled out three times what I took home in expenses. In one good year where I actually managed to make about $10,000 more than the average my taxes knocked me back down to making LESS than I had the year before. Even with revenue over $100,000, my take home pay was not enough to make ends meet, and I do not live an extravagant lifestyle by any means. (I live in a modest home under 900 square feet. I own one vehicle. I don't have any "toys" like boats or 4-wheelers or things like that.)

This will only get worse under Obama's "brilliant" plan.

In fact, Obama's many assurances that he plans to lower taxes for us peasants appear to be prevarication. According to a recent email that I received:

Obama plans to charge 28% Capital Gains Tax on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.) How well do you think that will help the housing crisis? Funny how he didn't mention that part in his discussion with Joe.

Obama plans to raise the dividend tax from 15% to 39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.') Remember what Charlie Gibson said in the debate? Lowering taxes INCREASED tax revenue.

This increased dividend tax will also hurt small business owners who have incorporated under an "S" corporation. They are able to reduce their tax liability by paying themselves dividends instead of income. Yet one more way Obama is planning to pillage the little guy.

Obama also wants to reverse the Bush Administration tax cuts in the income tax. Currently these liabilities are as follows:

Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

Under Obama's plan?

Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!

And Obama wants to bring back the inheritance tax too. This tax was never fair. All of the items in an inheritance have already been taxed throughout an individual's lifetime. Yet the government decided that they could rape the heirs by stealing the estate that a person worked so hard for all their life through taxes. Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes. This is basically the government playing God. By this tax they are saying, "I have given you all of these things and so I deserve to take them back."

In addition to these tax increases, Obama plans to penalize people for buying houses that are too large (new government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet.) The government under Obama will suddenly have the right to determine how big a house you should have. He also plans to add new taxes for natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) because the government should also save the world from "global warming," no doubt. Communism, my friends.

Oh yes, and then there is the increase that Obama plans for the gasoline tax. And plans to tax your retirement accounts. And new taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

If Barack Obama was interested in "fairness" over revenue, then he should be talking about the fair tax plan proposed by Mike Huckabee and others. Why not have a flat tax based on consumption rather than based on income? Think of the reduction of government expense if they didn't have to employ an army of auditors to keep the people of our country afraid to do their taxes. Turn those auditors against the government bureaucracy! Let them find the waste in the government and root out the dead wood. That would account for a huge reduction in revenue needed to run the government.

Wouldn't it be much nicer if no one had to worry about doing taxes? If they were handled whenever you made a new purchase? Those who spend less will pay fewer taxes. Those who spend more will pay more taxes. Makes sense to me. Accountants will be able to keep normal hours throughout the year and focus on other aspects of their business that are more enjoyable and incur less liability than personal and business income taxes do.

Barack Obama's economic/taxation policy will bankrupt America. It will take a shaky economy and send it in an unrecoverable tailspin. I pray to the Lord that he never gets his way.

(The text in italics is taken directly from the email that I received. A couple links were offered as verification for the claims made, but there are about 50 articles between the two links and I have not had time to fully investigate. And both links take you to CNN sources, which I hardly trust as unbiased or trustworthy. Is everything contained in this email true? I don't know. The articles that I have tried to scan seem to be all over the place, just like Obama's answers to every question that is asked him.)

In the end, regardless of whether this data is completely true or not it does not influence my decision one iota. I had already made up my mind before I saw this, and it only serves to reinforce that decision. I may take the time to verify all of this data, but realistically I probably won't. I don't have the time, interest, or patience to deal with a whole lot of political hooey right now. You can check the links that I provided above if you have an inquiring mind.

And Then There Was One...

Well, it is all but official, John McCain is going to be the next Republican nominee for President. Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race.

I'm a little disappointed that my primary vote in May will be virtually meaningless. I'll still probably vote though. I may still make a protest vote just to let Senator McCain know that he has some bridge building to do and to let it be known that I will be watching very carefully.

It looks like Hillary is done. It isn't official yet, but with her losing Texas, it doesn't look possible for her - even if she wins Ohio as projected. I can't say that I am disappointed, although I tend to think that she would be a more competent president than Senator Obama.

I have been staying away from keeping up with too much of this political stuff this time around. It isn't like anyone will change my mind by anything that they have to say. I WILL be voting Republican. The only things that could change that would be: a) an audible voice from God or b) an angelic visitation from God.

Now I suppose that it is possible that I may not end up voting for Senator McCain. If Mr. Gingrich enters the race I'd vote for him. I don't think that is very likely, though. I will be curious to see if all of those uber-conservative naysayers follow through with their foolish notion to cross lines. That is too bizarre a thought for words.

It will also be interesting to see if either candidate wins the endorsement of the NRA. The NRA has been no friend to Senator McCain since McCain/Feingold.

That's enough politics for now. I don't have much of a stomach for it anymore.

UPDATE: March 5, 2008 10:38 am That'll teach me...

It turns out that the news last night was WRONG. Hillary won both Texas and Ohio. I don't think that it will really change anything, but it does make it more interesting.

And Then There Were Two

So, Mitt Romney has gracefully bowed out of the Presidential race. I saw that coming before Super Tuesday. So that leaves McCain, Huckabee, and Paul - two candidates (one whole and two halves.) By the time the North Carolina primaries hit in May, there won't be any point going to the polls. It will have been settled long before then.

My prediction? McCain and Obama. Hillary is in deep trouble. I doubt that she can make it to the end of March. She'll never beat Obama between here and the convention without having him killed. (And I wouldn't put it past her. By the way, when does her Senate seat expire?)

I heard another statement by Dr. Dobson today that he will abstain rather than vote for McCain, Clinton, or Obama. I wonder if he would have voted for Romney? I have just found out that he is endorsing Huckabee. I dare say it is too little too late. That endorsement two months ago would have probably gone a long way. It looks like Dr. Dobson won't be voting. How foolish. But the scary thing is that many are actually considering doing just that. Cleta Mitchell, chairman of the American Conservative Union Foundation said, "It's a very American privilege not to vote."

Privilege not to vote?! Beg pardon, but those folks that have been dying in the Middle East aren't doing it so that we can pout, take our ball, and go home, leaving our country's leadership to chance. Please don't get me wrong. I have a lot of deep-seated misgivings about McCain, but I would vote for former President Clinton before I would vote for Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. I can say that without reservation.

I suppose we will see if anyone but Senator McCain is still in the race in May. If Huckabee is still in, I may vote for him as a protest vote, but it seems pretty certain that the Senator is the Republican's man - officially anyway even though Rush Limbaugh is still blistering McCain on his show. And Michael Reagan (Ronald Reagan's son) even went so far as to say,

"If you are a newcomer to politics and you're undecided on who you are going to vote for, but know you are going to vote for the candidate who gives you substance instead of mere promises, there is no doubt in my mind you are going to vote for the Democrat nominee because that's where the beef is."

"...Unless Republicans start acting like Reagan and quit talking like Reagan, the only place they are going in November is home."

I have to give Mike this, Obama can speak - wow. Seriously, even with the inherent absurdity of some of the things that he was promoting his speech was inspiring.

McCain isn't without his allies though. Senator Bob Dole has sent a letter to Rush Limbaugh in McCain's defense. McCain reached out to conservatives today, but his statements made it clear that he was not willing to go as far as many of the party base want him to.

Tonight, speaking to the CPAC McCain defended his conservative record and his commitment to a conservative platform.

Speaking just hours after Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, McCain acknowledged he had “the distinction of being the GOP front-runner,” and “intended to keep it.”

As such, he said he had the “responsibility to unite the party, and conceded: “I cannot prevail over the Democrats without conservatives…

“I have defended many positions we share. I am proud to be a conservative … My record is one of a mainstream conservative.”

As a candidate, he promised to “offer a clearly conservative approach to government, and to “stand by my conservative convictions.”

McCain vowed to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, abolish the Alternative Minimum Tax, and protect second-amendment rights. He boasted of his “24-year pro-life record,” and his support of the troop surge in Iraq.

One thing is certain, McCain has a lot of bridge building to do with the conservatives if he has any hope of beating the Democrats in November. The party is too divided right now for him to have a chance.

This consternation should also be as a warning to those in Congress. This conservative angst is running deep. Those in Congress would do well to note the frustration level of their constituents, and represent the party that elected them better. It is high time that they get something done in Washington, lame duck or no. The people of this country won't put up with four more years of this sort of nonsense.

I do hope that whomever eventually wins the nomination will be able to unify the party. The Clinton years were dark years in my memory. I would hate to have to endure even four more years of Democratic leadership.

More On McCain

It would seem that conservatives are fairly divided on McCain. As I reported earlier, Michael Medved is squarely in McCain's corner, but I have since read or heard several absolutely blistering condemnations of him as a candidate only today.

The first that I read was written by Ronald Reagan's son, Michael Reagan, and was entitled John McCain Hates Me. He said in as many words later in the article that the sentiment is echoed back towards the Senator.

The feeling is mutual between McCain and me. I don’t like the way he treats people. You get the impression that he thinks everybody is beneath him. He seems to be saying, “I was a war hero, and you had damn well better treat me as your superior.”

He has contempt for conservatives who he thinks can be duped into thinking he’s one of them, despite such blatantly anti-conservative actions as his support for amnesty for illegal immigrants, his opposition to the Bush tax cuts which got the economy rolling again, and his campaign finance bill which skewed the political process and attacked free speech.

I am appalled by his contempt for the intelligence of his listeners when he flat-out lies and expects them to believe what he says even when the truth is staring them in the face.

So, there you go.

Later I heard Ann Coulter say that she would vote for Hillary Clinton over John McCain. Yes, you heard that right, and she said it with all of the vitriol that she could muster. Sean Hannity wasn't terribly supportive of him either.



Hmmmm...

Now I see that Dr. Dobson won't support him either. He recently reaffirmed his views which were aired months ago. Well, crap.

It looks like McCain will probably wrap up the support he needs to win the nomination on Super Tuesday. Both Huckabee and Romney are fading fast. It's not looking good for the Republicans in November. If the conservative base balks at McCain there is no way that he will win. That leaves us with Hillary or Obama at the helm. (Excuse me while I shudder uncontrollably.)

So what is the answer? Well, I am still pulling for a Gingrich upset at the convention - but I'm not holding my breath either.

Here is the thing. I just cannot vote for either Obama or Hillary. They have way too many stupid ideas. I will not vote for either of them under any circumstances - barring the sudden appearance of the Antichrist as a candidate.

And sorry, I cannot abstain from voting simply because there aren't any perfect - or even nearly perfect candidates to choose from. To abstain is childish, overly-idealistic, and incredibly irresponsible even if you are Dr. Dobson. There is no way that McCain, Huckabee, or even Romney could be worse than Clinton or Obama. No way at all.

I would rather put in a vote for the best of the bad choices than stick my head in the sand, bitching the whole time, and wait for the inevitable bad choice to be elected so that I can bitch about it some more. Guess what, Republican party: Ronald Reagan isn't running for either party's nomination. Get over it and make the best of what you have to work with or provide a better alternative. And if you find someone better then let me know so that I can vote for him too.

Still Learning

I haven't commented in a little while about how things are going with the website design. I must say that I am happy with the progress that I am making - with the exception that I wish I could do it a little faster. I am becoming more and more proficient with HTML which has been very rewarding. I have been progressing through the tutorials pretty well, although I have taken a little bit of a sabbatical from them to gain some practical experience. I have been helping a friend to develop her website and have been creating some HTML forms for it. I hope that we will be able to publish the site early next week, and I'll give you an address where you can check it out.

Today I am fighting off a cold that has been passed around my family now for weeks. I think that I am still winning, but it is taking a lot of my energy reserves to fight. Hopefully, I'll have the energy and the ability to sing at church tomorrow morning.

Tonight I am heading over to my sister's house to have dinner with her family. I hope they like what I have made. I've made a shepherd's pie. I think that it will be good. I'll report back on it later.

Next week I plan to hit the tutorials again hard. Hopefully I can finish the advanced HTML tutorials and move on into the CSS tutorials. If I can do that I should have most of the tools that I need to begin modifying the Joomla site in earnest. I think that I have figured out enough now to begin collecting the components that I will need for the site. Then I can begin to modify the skin to make it look the way I want it to. I suspect that somewhere along the line I will also have to pick up the JavaScript stuff and the SQL. The good news is that each of these skills that I add will increase my marketability.

I have had some responses to my resume and a good friend has let a lot of his friends know that I am looking, which has turned up some good leads. We'll see if they materialize into anything. I used to think that I knew the direction that God was taking me, but now I really have no idea. I still want to go to seminary, but I don't know if I am cut out to be a vocational pastor. There are a couple of elements to the job description that I am not sure that I am comfortable with - like the deathwatch. Not a job that I think that I would like to do - especially if the person dying isn't saved. And I can't imagine trying to do a funeral for a lost person. What comfort can you offer the family? They most certainly AREN'T in a better place. How dreadful. The only thing that you can do is point the way to salvation - but how do you do that without reminding the family of the terrible consequences that their loved one is facing even at that moment? How tragic.

By contrast, I went to a very positive funeral yesterday. It was for a brother in Christ - a friend of my church - who died. It was very uplifting and encouraging. As I have gotten older, I would much rather go to a good funeral than a great wedding. So often with weddings, that is the happiest moment of the relationship. Cynical, I know, but all too often true. At least with the funeral for a Christian it is only the very beginning of their eternal bliss - something that we can't even begin to comprehend on this side of eternity.

I haven't been paying much attention to the political scene lately - bigger fish to fry, but I was a bit surprised by the outcome of the primary the other day. I didn't expect Huckabee to win by such a large margin, and I didn't expect the 3-way split between the Democratic front runners. I REALLY didn't expect Edwards to do so well and for Hillary to finish 3rd. Looks like it is going to be an interesting lead up to November. I would really hate for John Edwards to win the nomination. He is too good a liar. I think he even believes his own lies. I guess it is a necessary skill for trial lawyers.

Well, I guess that is all for now. I need to go and finish up my shepherd's pie. I'm supposed to be over at her house at 6:00. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Update:

The shepherd's pie turned out very well! It was a big hit.