Comments for Lux Americana

Comment on Don’t Like the Nat’l Budget? You Try. by David Claiborne

David Claiborne — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:32:56 +0000

California takes in nearly twice as much in state tax receipts as any other state, but we’re actually about 10th per capita (’05 stats here – http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/05staxrank.html )

Spending isn’t ever going to go down – it shouldn’t. Number one, government spending has to keep track with inflation just like personal spending does. And just as individuals strive for a higher standard of living (higher income, higher spending), so too will the government/society/”the commons” whatever you want to call it. Part of the reason I personally live in California is because I like being on the cutting edge. I want to be living in the first state to get all the cool new toys, and that means a lot of spending – which means a lot of jobs, and a lot of wealth going back to private citizens.

California’s tax code is insane. After capping the property taxes, and passing a law that says the voters of the state have to approve tax hikes by referendum, we simply can’t raise enough money through taxes to pay for the services people demand.

Yeah there’s a lot of waste, and we have to crack down on that. But there’s also a lot of tax cheats, and insane decision-making that favors cutting spending on social services before cutting say, state legislature salaries (over $100k in California – http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/12/03/california-legislature-set-to-get-a-big-raise-do-they-deserve-it-2/ ) or tax breaks for fat-cats. The little guy always gets the short end of the stick.

Comment on Don’t Like the Nat’l Budget? You Try. by David Caldwell

David Caldwell — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:42:56 +0000

Problem I have with that is this….
California already taxes harder than it’s other 49 states, but there is no transparency to the MASSIVE spending influx which has never slowed down. Even if they upped taxes and received the “$6 billion” increase they supposedly needed…the spending hasn’t slowed down at all. Therefore even with tax hikes, they would still be dramatically in debt, from impractical spending budgets.
The most inane response to this deficit is cutting off all programs that give future jobs such as education and social welfare (Programs that ARE designed to get those hurting back on their feet). This seems like a very temporary fix, that will cost California more money in the future by having uneducated Californians running the state in 10 years or more. Granted school districts like Los Angeles Unified CAN hold their own without financial aid from the state, it leaves over a hundred districts penniless and/or closed for good.

Comment on A Letter on Socialism by Don’t Like the Nat’l Budget? You Try. | Lux Americana

Don’t Like the Nat’l Budget? You Try. | Lux Americana — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:26:22 +0000

[...] worth noting here that I’m an ardent proponent of capitalism. Those who are confused by my recent defenses of socialism need to do some homework. I would suggest starting with The Wealth of Nations, considered by many [...]

Comment on Top 10 Unknown Facts About Money by David Caldwell

David Caldwell — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:21:16 +0000

Seven Little known Civil War facts
http://current.com/items/90197245_seven-civil-war-stories-that-your-teacher-never-told-you.htm

Comment on Top 10 Unknown Facts About Money by Maeghanne Ayers

Maeghanne Ayers — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:35:59 +0000

Ohhh….. lookie at dis…. http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/fedprssal.html

Fun stuff.

I make less money then the President did in 1789! hmmmm…. Yet I am still the 617,928,589th richest person in the world. Top 10.89%! ( http://www.globalrichlist.com/ )

Guess I shouldn’t cry into my ramen but be thankful for the dime and clean water it took to have it!

Comment on Should Tax Increases Be Permanent? by David Claiborne

David Claiborne — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:02:31 +0000

LVTfan,

Great info, thanks so much for reading and commenting. I’ll definitely check out those resources. I’ve long been a huge fan of Teddy Roosevelt, especially the Bull Moose platform, but I just discovered Georgism while researching this particular article. I’m sure we’ll be chatting further as I look over your site

Comment on Barack Obama’s Bad Touch by David Caldwell

David Caldwell — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:25:24 +0000

LMFAO!!! Thank you for going there Maeghanne!!! The Fine Art…*Laughs*

Comment on Should Tax Increases Be Permanent? by LVTfan

LVTfan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:54:27 +0000

I’m heartily in favor of abolishing the income tax, and agree that Henry George’s tax on land value … all the things that the classical economists would recognize as land, including electromagnetic spectrum, landing rights, geosynchronous orbits, but most particularly URBAN land values, which can be 10,000 times the value of an acre of good agricultural land .. would be our best choice.

Some things OUGHT to be socialized … and the value of the natural creation and the value of that which the community creates through its investment in infrastructure and services are definitely in that category. When we permit some of us to reap windfalls, others lose their birthright, and only get to sow what others reap.

Other things ought to be privatized, and I regard wages as in that category. Sales ought not to be taxed, either.

Search on wealthandwant and lvtfan for more on these topics!

You might particularly appreciate TR’s Bull Moose party platform. It sounded distinctly Georgist. It’s at wealthandwant; use the google search at the bottom of the front page to find it.

Comment on Hannity Still Silent on Waterboarding by Daily News About Waterboarding : A few links about Waterboarding - Wednesday, 29 April 2009 02:20

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:21:05 +0000

[...] Hannity Still Silent on Waterboarding [...]

Comment on Barack Obama’s Bad Touch by Maeghanne Ayers

Maeghanne Ayers — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:24:48 +0000

The first google result of “bush fisting”:

http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Bush-Fine-Vaginal-Fisting/product-reviews/1890159026

AND… the third… which is MUCH more interesting to the topic at hand:

http://wonkette.com/400394/george-bush-senior-is-a-terrorist-fist-jab-adulterer