No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Archive for May 21st, 2008

Introducing A Roadmap for America’s Future

by @ 18:01. Filed under Politics - National.

Today, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI, my Congresscritter) released a plan to deal with the looming financial crisis that is facing the federal government, “A Roadmap for America’s Future. Yesterday, I highlighted a Congressional Budget Office report on the long-term future of the federal government’s finances. To recap yesterday’s analysis; doing either nothing or attempting to match the required spending increases with tax increases was found by the CBO to be unsustainable.

They also did an analysis of a third scenario; the not-yet-released Roadmap. I chose not to discuss that at that time because the details of the plan weren’t out yesterday, and because the CBO limited its analysis to the overall numbers. The CBO found that the then-not-specific spending targets requested by Ryan and the minority on the House Budget Committee is ultimately sustainable, with debt as a percentage of GDP briefly peaking above 100% around 2040 and falling back to a slightly-more-manageable number as deficit spending is replaced by surpluses, and economic growth continuing at a pace not possible otherwise.

On to some of the specifics:

  • “Discretionary” spending as a percentage of GDP is steadily cut from unspecified programs from 9.8% currently to 3.1% by 2082. This one is going to be the hardest to do, but it is absolutely vital to make the numbers work. I’m a bit troubled that there are no specifics mentioned, especially since eliminating pork, which is one of Ryan’s causes, won’t nearly be enough.
  • Privatizing Medicare, with the government providing the amount spent per enrollee (with upward adjustments for inflation, health-care inflation and risk factors, and a downward adjustment for income) to purchase private insurance.
  • Creating a tax credit for those not in Medicare to purchase health insurance, which would be portable and multi-state.
  • Privatizing Social Security.
  • Introduce a simplified income tax, with but 2 rates, a large personal deduction, and other than the health insurance deduction noted above, no other deductions.
  • Replace the corporate income tax with a “business consumption tax” (i.e. VAT). I’m not exactly sold on this, though Ryan notes that unlike the income tax, it can be removed from exports and added to imports.

There’s a lot more than I’ve included here. It truly is a sweeping proposal.

House guarantees higher gas prices – Language warning

by @ 16:56. Filed under Lawsuit madness, Politics - National.

(H/T – Jim Hoft)

No, I’m not going to apologize for the language. This is some seriously fucked-up repugnant shit.

By a vote of 324-84, including the entire Wisconsin delegation in the aye column, the House of Representatives passed a law designed to do two things that will do everything but reduce gas prices:

– Allow anti-trust suits against OPEC.
– Demand the 932nd investigation into price-fixing by Big Oil.

I’ll briefly take the second item first. Because of the jackasses in Congress, including the fucktards in the Senate that refused to open up the Colorado oil shale fields, we’re at the extreme high end of the supply-demand curve. OF COURSE there’s going to be massive speculation when demand outstrips supply, and said speculation is going to leverage prices beyond what it would if there was a better balance between demand and supply. I will point out the 931 previous investigations all found that there was no collusion between the traders to keep the price high; what the fuck is gong to be different with the 932nd?

Berry Laker pretty much predicted the response of the market to this piece of horseshit. I missed the intraday charts, but oil closed at $133.17/barrel and wholesale reformulated gas closed at $3.3965/gallon. I’d say that’s a shot across the bow.

Now to the suing OPEC item. There’s a slight problem with that; they’re sovereign nations not subject to territorial law. When the Justice Department comes a-knocking, what do you suppose the reaction of Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the rest of OPEC is going to be? If you think they’ll boost production just because a couple lawyers threatened them, I’ll point out that Saudi Arabia brushed off a friendly request from President Bush a couple weeks ago. When some judge decides to try to seize those countries’ assets in the US, what’s more likely; a capitulation from OPEC or a complete shutoff of the spigot and a “FUCK YOU!”? I’ll remind you that we’re more-dependent on OPEC now than we were the previous two times they shut off the spigot, and they shut it off for more-trivial reasons than all of them having their assets seized.

Then there’s the whole question of enforcement. If we’re serious about forcing the OPEC spigots open, it’s going to take a military operation that makes both theaters of WWII look like a training exercise. Talk about your blood for oil. Oh yeah, that’s going to cost a lot.

I do have to take a moment to ask Paul Ryan and Jim Sensenbrenner, two Congresscritters who usually know better, “What the fuck are you thinking by signing onto this smelly piece of shit?” There is nothing, I repeat, nothing that could possibly make this worth voting for.

Taxation without representation, MATC edition

by @ 16:25. Filed under Politics - Milwaukee County, Politics - Wisconsin, Taxes.

(H/T – Owen)

The Milwaukee Area Technical College district wants to jack up budgeted spending by 6.2% over last year’s budget to $333 million, supported by a 4.9% property tax levy increase. Let’s run some numbers:

– Last year, despite budgeting “only” $314 million, they actually spent $331 million because of various unbudgeted construction projects.
– The 4.9% property tax levy increase asked for is, according to the article, mostly for increases in salary and benefits. That would be an additional $1.5 million in wages/salary, $2+ million in health care and $2.5 million in current-year non-health-care fringe benefits (an additional $2 million in increased fringe benefits is related to a new requirement to put future retirement benefits on the books the year they’re accrued instead of the year they’re paid out). Who here outside of government has had a 4.9% increase in wages and benefits?
– Tuition (set by the state) is going up 5.5%.

Jeanette Bell (ex-mayor of West Allis and proven tax-and-spender) had the audacity to claim that MATC cut to the bone. Again, I ask, who outside of government is getting a 4.9% increase in their compensation packages? Say, maybe it’s time to take another look at the $600,000 public safety initiative as well.

The Morning Scramble – 5/21/2008

by @ 8:29. Filed under The Morning Scramble.

Ever since I was a young boy…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpDd2nclh3I[/youtube]

  • Jib explores roadside economics and find the news grim. Given that the manufacturers of cars and personal recreational vehicles are resorting (once again) to very-low-interest long-term financing to get people in the door, I’d have to say the ripple effect is not done yet.
  • Michelle Malkin cranks up the Obama Gaffe Machine.
  • Curt asks whether the Iranian leader Barack Hussein Obama would meet with unconditionally is the puppet Ahmadinejad or head Mad Mullah™ Ayatollah Khamenei.
  • Gopfolk has a two-for in the toon department, taking on both Indiana Obama and the “threatened” polar bear.
  • S. Weasel unleases her latest Photoshops on BHO. I like the second.
  • Eric ties together Hillary Clinton and the Kentucky Derby. Say, wasn’t the lone filly in the Derby put down on the track?
  • Bill Quick says Clinton’s in it to win it back her $11 million in loans. Given they’re almost at the tipping point in delegates, I’m at least somewhat inclined to agree.
  • Tom McMahon applies the 2004 standard to this election. Of course, he forgot to put the partisan spin that makes all the difference, but that’s the point.
  • Ed Morrissey asks whether the split in the party of the Rat is racial or ideological. While it is ideological, the fact that they always go for the candidate that most-approaches 110% compliance (and, by 0.01 percentage points, it’s Obama over Clinton) means that despite the temptation for John McCain to tack even further left, there’s nothing to be gained by doing so.
  • Second dose of the boss – Michelle issued a Shamnesty Alert for the Feinstein/Craig amendment to the GWOT supplemental bill.
  • Speaking of the bill, it’s time for a second dose of Curt – he notes that shamnesty isn’t the only game being played on what was once touted as a “clean” supplemental.
  • Headless Blogger outlines the eight main symptoms of Groupthink. ‘Rats, Islamokazis and Gorebal Warming acolytes (I do repeat myself, though) sure seem to meet the definitions.
  • ChrisG has some fun ticking off some of the spam caught in the Flopping Aces filters. A mild content warning has been issued for the spam.
  • Katie Favazza caught a rather interesting take on biofuels from the UN. The stopped clock that is the UN may not be quite right, but they’re not the 180-degrees wrong they usually are.
  • Elliot asks the salient question after the local paintcatcher (the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for those of you who don’t remember where I am) put out the online call for “victims” of “Big Oil”.
  • Brian answers the question of whether conservatism is dead in the emphatically-negatory. I’ve long struggled with the answer to that question.
  • Second dose of Jib – he tells Milwaukee Brewer manager Ned Yost to either take some heat like a man or get out of the dugout. I’ve made it no secret I’d prefer the latter.
  • A less-than-healthy Kathy Carpenter summoned up the strength to point out one more thing (besides voting) that we need photo IDs for – prescription drugs.

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