Meanwhile, the deficit continues to grow

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, as they used to say in the Saturday morning Western serials, the deficit continues to be ignored by Corporate Media. The Wall Street Journal has a wonderful opinion piece discussing just that here.

The problem seems to be pretty simple: federal taxes bring in approximately 16% of GDP every year, and the federal government seems to spend about 24% of GDP every year (and it's increasing over time, while tax receipts are decreasing over time - I refuse to call them "tax revenues," as that sounds wildly inaccurate). So we have a "structural" problem, obviously. Either taxes have to go up more and more, and soon, or spending has to go down more and more, and soon.

You can bet which one I'm voting for.

When you factor in the huge number of folks in this country who pay no taxes, or even NEGATIVE taxes, that means that repayment of the existing national debt, as well as the repayment of the FUTURE national debt, falls on fewer and fewer people every year. It's hard to see how this turns out good for those folks who pay taxes.

We're always hearing how the national debt ($15.3 Trillion in total) is something like $40k+ for each citizen in the country. That's misleading - when we look at that number for each taxpayer that's currently funding the government, it goes up to something like $140k each. That's a liability that's in addition to their credit cards and mortgage and their retirement savings and sending the kids to college, etc. Where does the purchasing power come from to do all of our personal things and THEN pay off the government debt over the next generations? I can't see it.

There's no doubt that quality of life is going to have to equalize some of this disparity, and it's hard to see how this trend will reverse or reduce in the short-term. One thing seems clear, however; regardless of your political persuasion, those budget numbers don't work.

I may not have made the case as well as I could, here, but those numbers aren't all that complicated. And there's only so much help that "growth" can give.

Administration pushes for higher taxes on the "rich"

I guess "rich" means different things to different people, but the Wall Street Journal has a story about how the new budget means new recommended tax rates on things at the federal level.

Let's see: politicians tax smoking because that reduces smoking, and they tax drinking because that reduces drinking.

How does that logic fit with taxing capital gains (or, for that matter, taxing individual estates)? Does that mean that we WANT investment to go down, as represented by the ever-present effort to increase taxes on those of us who try to invest?

Gingrich won't debate if media moderates

OK, I hate linking from MSNBC, but maybe they're onto something.

Mr. Gingrich hints that he won't participate in debates that are hosted by the mainstream media because of media bias. Can't blame him for that opinion, but it causes a little problem when you're hoping to be a candidate on the national ticket.

Last I checked, all presidential debates (not primary debates) were formal, media-moderated, no-applause or hooting & hollering events. All of them.

So if Newton becomes the nominee for the Republicans, he won't debate the sitting president. That should work out well.

Someone needs to sort that out before Speaker Gingrich gets much farther, I think

One more thing

If you haven't had a chance to see the IBM film "They Were There" you should take the opportunity. It's amazing.

It shows what having long-term stability can allow a company to do. A benefit of "monopoly"? Maybe.

More about Steve Jobs

Start here.

Don't forget to watch Pirates of Silicon Valley.

And the Stanford speech (link for text of the speech). You can see it here if you haven't.

Walter Isaacson (the guy who wrote the book) spoke at University of South Carolina in December. There's a link to a video of his presentation here. Fascinating.

He was a remarkable guy, and a jerk by the account of many. But sometimes it takes a jerk I guess.

Finally, here's a Forbes link that discusses Peggy Noonan's comparison of Jobs to Obama, but also talks about the life cycle of big companies. Really interesting.

If George is scared, I'm scared!

George Soros says we're on the edge of a class war in this country.

And he should know: he's been a silent sponsor of class warfare for years and years. Not just by supporting media groups such as NPR, either; he's brought down economies all by himself. Creating an national class war is probably like a walk in the park for him. A lite snack.

For those of you who are Tom Clancy fans, his latest book features a behind-the-scenes character (Lasko) who plays the same kind of games but gets tangled up with terrorists as well as political intrigue. No similarities, none.

If George says that riots and violence are coming, that must mean he's already made up his mind about it and gotten the word out. The only issue left is timing.

As with all things, we should seek out the folks who stand to gain by strife and the suffering of others to understand where their motives lie. George Soros gains when economies are in turmoil, either monetarily or politically. He's spent a lot of money to create an economy in this country that is much more favorable to his type of influence and control. He's spent a lifetime advocating a particular brand of free markets that aren't really free, but are instead controlled by cronies, so it isn't surprising to find that he's "worried" now.

I point this out to aspiring business leaders in order to illustrate how easily one's ethics can be compromised. It starts out as a few favors here and there, and before you know it there's an entire international network of influence, information and corruption ready to swing into action when politics doesn't go your way, or when you decide that chaos is good for your business.

I'm sure Mr. Soros would say that's he's working toward a better tomorrow for everyone.

Ok, so I have been neglecting the Blog...

Houston is best economy in Norf Merikuh! Who knew?

See the Chronicle.

Most of us here in TX take this for granted, but we are, indeed, the healthiest city in the healthiest state in the healthiest country in the world, economy-wise, with maybe only a few small, isolated exceptions such as Switzerland.