16

Apr

No surprise, Gillibrand and Schumer support Buffett Rule.

Sen. Charles Schumer assured critics of the Buffett Rule that “we don’t begrudge wealth in this country, in fact, it is part of the American dream to apply yourself and become successful.” However, he argued that the “middle class can no longer bear the burden of reducing our deficits alone,” and that there needs to be “shared sacrifice.” via Capitol Confidential » Gillibrand, Schumer commit to support ‘Buffett Rule’ in showdown vote Monday.

Sen Schumer swears he and his fellow liberals don’t begrudge wealth but his actions prove otherwise. I can’t imagine anyone that feels that a wealthier person should pay less in taxes than a poorer person, but the Buffett Rule is more about getting back at the rich.

There are better ways to fix the tax code, like for one, scrapping the whole thing and simplifying it to a few rates and maybe a half dozen deductions. The Buffett Rule only add to the complexity of the IRS and worse pits Americans against each other.

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13

Apr

Do you even know what a health exchange is?

Me neither.

However, NY State will begin the process of setting one up thanks to a Gov Cuomo executive order. This is in the hopes that the Supreme Court won’t overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Act and the Federal government will come through with it’s promise of $2.6 billion.

The order sets up a market place for health insurance plans to compete and provide the best price to consumers. Cuomo’s order envisions that the exchange would be paid for with $2.6 billion in federal tax credits and eventually be self-sustaining by 2015. The order also calls for regional committees composed of members from the health, insurance and business community. via Cuomo issues executive order for statewide Health Exchange – YNN, Your News Now.

What concerns me the most is the idea that the program will be self-sustaining by 2015. The phrase self-sustaining can mean many things:

  • the federal government will continue to fund it,
  • New Yorker taxes will increase (again), and/or
  • people are forced to participate.

Either way, it doesn’t sound like individual liberty. Nor does a state run health exchange sound like a free market. The only thing I hear is more government programs, regulations, spending, and taxes.

Why did Gov. Cuomo start this program so early when everything is up in the air?

 

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12

Apr

Does Warren Buffett have two rules?

As a major opponent of the President’s proposed Buffett Rule, I found this Buffett quote to be more in line with my views.

I could end the deficit in five minutes.  You just pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of more than three percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. via Warren Buffett’s 5-Minute Plan to Fix the Deficit – CNBC.

Check out Warren Buffett’s book The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life.

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11

Apr

The Buffett Rule is supposed to be about fairness, but fairness as defined by who?

Many years ago, in a galaxy far-far way we decided to go to progressive income tax. As the years passed so did the number exemptions and deductions pass as laws. Subsequently, today’s United States Federal Tax Code has become a major mess.

The Buffett Rule is the basic principle that no household making over $1 million annually should pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay. Warren Buffett has famously stated that he pays a higher tax rate than his secretary, but as this report documents this situation is not uncommon. This situation is the result of decades of the tax system being tilted in favor of high-income households at the expense of the middle class. Not only is this unfair, it can also be economically inefficient by providing opportunities for tax planning and distorting decisions. The President has proposed the Buffett Rule as a basic rule of tax fairness that should be met in tax reform. To achieve this principle, the President has proposed that no millionaire pay less than 30 percent of their income in taxes. via The Buffett Rule – Business Insider.

Now our President and Democrats want to pass another law, on top of the current tax code, designed to make things fair. As if they’re the arbiters of what is fair.  Instead of passing the Buffett Rule how about being assertive and actually reforming our mess of a tax code?

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09

Apr

Utica’s Next Budget Could Be as Tough As This Year’s

Can it get any worse? Yes, it can and will get worse. There are less people and thus less tax revenue.

The city will lose roughly $661,000 in water trust revenue, Budget Director Peter Fiorillo said. It used that much in the 2012-13 budget but doesn’t expect to use more next year.

Pension and health care costs – which rose $2.2 million last year – are expected to rise again next year.

The city is locked into more than $70 million in general fund debt obligations, and the biggest chunk of its budget — employee costs — are directly tied to the services the city provides.

via Utica’s next budget could be as tough as this year’s – Utica, NY – The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York.

Raising taxes will only work so much. Utica needs to find a way to increase jobs and get people to stay in the city.

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05

Apr

Congress has to cut somewhere.

There just isn’t enough money to keep funding everything. While I support our NY farmers I’m concerned that an entire industry is dependent on a “safety net”  from Uncle Sam. There has to be a better way.

Dairy farmers could see a change in the MILC program, their safety net for when domestic milk prices fall below a specified level. And the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, could also be cut, something New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Ag Committee, is fighting against.

via Federal Farm Bill up in the air – YNN, Your News Now.

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05

Apr

Practicing what you preach…

Le Moyne College’s purchase of a half-million dollar McMansion is not what taxpayers intended when they granted a property tax exemption for educational institutions. Perhaps it would be easier to accept if it were bordering the campus or within walking distance. It is so egregious for the Jesuit institution to buy such an elaborate home far from campus when every previous college president took a vow of poverty.

via Opinion today: Property tax exemption for educational institutions go too far | syracuse.com.

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