Practice Good Theory

In 2011, payroll taxes were 13% of wages instead of the usual 15%. Obama wants to reduce it to 12% for 2012. I think this is stupid, short-term thinking. I'd be happy to see payroll taxes stopped entirely if the system is being wound down.  We could pay existing retirees from general taxes; pay people near retirement some amount too; phase it out somehow or the other... but it makes no sense to keep the whole system in place and merely take in less taxes. Cut spending stupid:  If we're not cutting spending, reducing taxes simply means more government debt. Essentially what the government is doing to the average wage-earner is saying: "Keep an extra $1,000 every year, and we'll take on an extra $1,000 of debt in your name." I do not want that. First cut the spending! If the government comes up with a credible plan to cut spending over the long term, I wouldn't even  mind a short-term tax hike. I will not cheer lower taxes today when it means higher taxes t...

The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook ( Link, in case the video above does not play ) In the video above, the Daily Show slams the Fed for giving banks $7.7 trillion in secret. This is a gross misrepresentation that started with a shoddy Bloomberg story and was later echoed elsewhere in the Blogosphere. Simply put, the Fed did not lend anywhere near $7.7 trillion . It was closer to $2 Trillion. Secondly, this total was widely publicized at the time. (What was kept secret was the details about which banks got funds and how much. Everyone knew the details were not being disclosed, and some politicians were quite vocal asking for the details.) The Fed responded to Bloomberg's article, and Bloomberg says they "stand by their reporting", but the details of their clarification show that they were at least guilty of writing in a way that readers might easily be misled. As much as I woul...