Gun Squirrels Outdo Gun Nuts

 

Those in favor of gun control, that is putting responsible limits on who can own weapons,  out raised campaign donations for the first time, far, far more than those nuts who think criminals, mentally insane, and everyone else should wear their guns openly and engage in gun battles at the OK corral….

By a whopping 43% !!!!  Raising$ 21.3 million to the gun lobby’s $16.3 million, 

Three fourths of the NRA’s PAC money was donated by self defense corporations like Smith Wesson, Glock, and Remington, in order to promote brand loyalty inside the cult group often known by its other name:  the National Rifle Association even though it has very little to do these days with rifle safety.  Today. this organization’s primary concern is putting military hardware and concealed handguns into the hands of every possible citizen, and to use television to encourage even minor disputes to be now be settled by open street or in home warfare…..

The Gun Squirrels on the other hand, raised most of their money from moms and pops who were against gun violence.  They donated for their children’s sake. Their average donation was under $53 dollars….  They got more.

Prior to the  Newtown shooting…. the gun lobby had out-raised gun control by as much as 100 to 1….   Politically this new found wealth has stopped the threat of the NRA and has rendered all their current bluster and threats, toothless…..   In special elections since 2012, by a ratio of 5 to 1, Gun Squirrels have beaten the pants off the gun nuts….

This is a good thing….  Even though our politicians are rather spineless, and cow before a rabid foaming bunch of erectile dysfunctionites, even to the point of cheering for a senile Mitch McConnell holding a rifle up over his head (they made sure it was unloaded before giving it to him) as he addresses the CPAC crazies, normal moms and pops have turned the corner and are realizing that if they want their their children to live safe lives… they need to buy back their dirty politicians…

So they raised more….

Please help: Here is Gabby Gifford’s organization:  Americans for Responsible Solutions….  Give a sigh of relief, relax, and give a tiny amount as have millions of other normal Americans intent on ridding ourselves of the gun lobby forever…  It should be a word of encouragement to us all, to remember that MADD, who remained steadfast against what once appeared to be almost unlimited funding of the liquor lobby…

But as more people died from drunk driving incidents, people simply got fed up with those on the right who obviously didn’t have hearts and were pushing for more killing, more heartbreak, and more family destruction….  Like that battle, today our battle has turned and if you join now, you can be part of making it acceptable to regulate both guns and live ammo the same way we regulate drinking and driving……..

They have rights, for sure, but not at OUR expense.

 

 

Difficult Times For Delaware 2014

Pushing the data of the Moody’s Analytics regarding Delaware being the only bad risk in the country, some other illuminating factors emerge.  The revenue data taken from our tax receipts over the past two years, portends to ever decreasing departmental budgets state wide in 2013 and 2014.

This problem will be compounded further, by this fourth quarter competing with the largess of last fourth quarter.  If you remember, incomes were very high in December 2012, as a lot of capital gains were cashed in to beat the tax increase beginning in 2013.  There was a huge flood of tax revenue that pushed up estimates, both in personal and corporate income taxes.  The December revenue was 23.3% higher than December 2011.

That largess won’t be coming in this year and we will have to deal with the difference.

Second, due to impingements to our economy, our tax revenue will be under last year.

Delaware employment is growing slowly.  Yet there are only 18 states with a total unemployment (U6) higher.  As a result, personal income tax revenue is down.  This was compounded by a tax decrease recently given to the top 1% of earners. Passage of this tax rate decrease, means those who were the only people actually gaining income, will now, not be paying any of their increases into the treasury, as is being required of everyone else.

Across the nation, total state tax revenues first quarter 2013 rose 6.8%.  Across the nation state income taxes grew 18.4%, state corporate taxes grew 9.4%, and state sales taxes grew 5.5%  ….  Delaware does not have a sales tax.

Only 6 states had declines in personal income tax that same quarter.  Delaware led the pack as having the largest decline at 15.8%. States less shy about raising taxes, California and New York had the highest gains.  $6.3 billion and $1 billion respectively.  Incidentally as correctly predicted by the kavips economic model, both economies are thriving.

Based on withholding data, Delaware’s amount withheld dropped from a 9.3% increase in last quarter 2012, to a 2.0 increase in first quarter 2013, both over the previous year.  At the outset, the potential exists for a loss of that 7.3% difference in fourth quarter 2013.

The wealthy pay in the form of estimated payments.  They don’t use withholding.  The average estimated payment’s percentage increase over 2012, was 12.2%.  However the 4th quarter payment was a jump of 23.3% over the fourth quarter of the previous year.  Meaning the average of the previous 3 quarters was a negative or -3.7% from the year 2011.  Only that windfall of the fourth quarter, driven primarily by federal tax changes, gave Delaware its positive increase in estimated payments for 2012. Bottom line.  We were lucky. First quarter 2013, they are up 7.9% in comparison.

Corporate tax.  Overall across the nation, corporate tax increased by 9,4% this first quarter of 2013 over the same quarter last year. 30 out of the 46 states that have corporate income taxes showed increases. 16 of them were double digit increases.  Virginia suffered the largest decline: $87 million.  New York showed the biggest gain:  $239 million.

Tax Revenue is directly related to economic growth.  Growing economies increase personal income taxes and sales taxes as income gets spent. Delaware’s economy is estimated by the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia for the three months prior to June 2013, to lie between the growth rates of 0.1% and 0.5%.

Take the first quarter of 2013.  It is a harbinger of things to come….  In Delaware, the amounts collected Jan-March.

• Personal income tax:  2012 = $411 million   2013 = $346 million …. drop of $65 million or -15.8%
• Corporate income tax: 2012 = $65 million    2013 = $73 million …. increase of $8 million or 12.3%
• Total with other (fees) included:  2012 = $956 million  2013= $883 million…. drop of $73 million or -7.6%….

Our current state budget is running $73 million in the red based on actual versus revenue projections.  And this does not even include the fourth quarter drop off. Delaware was one of only 5 states capturing less personal income taxes in 2013’s first quarter than in 2012. Rhode Island, Indiana, Utah, West Virginia were its team mates. Delaware lost $65 million (-15.8%); West Virginia was second losing a comparative paltry $21 million. or -5.4%.  The others:  Rhode Island -$13 million (-6.4%); Indiana -$5 million (0.5%); Utah -3 million (0.6%)

It was estimated that over the year Delaware’s tax decrease would cost the state $70-80 million.  if averaged per quarter, that would be $17 to $20 million lost to the state every 65 working days.

One would conclude that a big part of Delaware’s state revenue problem is a direct result of that tax break we handed over to the top percent of Delawareans…. There are 15 states with higher top marginal tax rates than Delaware.  All but one of them (Idaho) are showing better growth than Delaware.  The belief that lower taxes creates jobs and better state economies does not agree with reality experienced by other states on a daily basis.

Again, the national economy as a whole is looking better.  Delaware is looking like the exception.  After the Great Recession the national total of state revenues dropped for 5 consecutive quarters. The national total of all state’s revenues has since grown 13 consecutive quarters…

The same criticism that applied to Obama after the Obamacare vote, applies now to Markell after the SB 165 vote.  Instead of trying to fix something that was working fine, one’s attention should have been spent on all that which isn’t (working fine)….

Recommendations for 2014:

Go to multiple tiered tax rates:

• 10% on $1 million or more
• 9% on $500,000 or more
• 8% on $250,000 or more
• 7% on $125,000 or more
• 6.75% on $60,000 or more

• Spend most of our money on Delaware’s people.  Hire empty positions. Keep the money here in state as much as possible.
• Cut out from budget most consulting fees for out-of-state entities.
• No hiring of outside specialists or corporate buddies.
• Add more teachers, firemen, policemen where needed.
• Push for building an offshore wind farm; override all Pepco’s objections.

Just When You’ve Mastered “The Electric Slide”, Get Ready For “The Global Shift”

We knew this but it  is now being published… and so it is in the news.

The world is getting warmer… and we can now predict our climate by looking at map at 300 miles south and guessing what our weather will be from that…

Just as plate tectonics and  Darwin’s origin of the species were able to lay the groundwork of reason  for explaining puzzling observations, this simplifies what to expect from global warming rather startlingly.

Texas is now  what we alway thought of when we considered the weather of Mexico; Oklahoma is now West Texas; Kansas is now Oklahoma; Nebraska is now Kansas; South Dakota is now Nebraska, North Dakota is now South Dakota: Southern Manitoba is now North Dakota…..

If  West Texas had 3 days of rain, now Oklahoma is getting 3 days of rain;  If it snowed 12  times in South Dakota, it is now doing the same in North Dakota… and so on.

So, to predict our heat, rain, winters, etc, our guide would be North Carolina.  Longer growing seasons,  some winters with no snow, hot summers…

However due to Global warming, the East Coast has a caveat.  An anomaly so to speak  and actually some relief from the North Carolina summer heat we would normally expect….

With the unprecedented melting of the Arctic and Greenland icecaps dumping its excess into the Labrador Current, that cold water drops South hugging the East Coast shoreline all the way down to North Carolina’s Outer Banks where it finally becomes neutralized…   Therefore even though we have hotter air masses, the colder ocean temperatures creates a buffer against Global warming off the entire northeastern US.

Europe, Japan, and Alaska all experience  the same mitigating effect, although with both Greenland and the Arctic Icecaps melting into the Labrador, the US East Coast gets a stronger volume of cold water.  Call it our icy shower effect….

Once melting stops and the currents dry up, we return to the North Carolina scenario of the twentieth century….

Chart Courtesy of NOAA

So, we in Delaware really get the best climate on the East Coast.    Warm winters, little or no snow, and cool breezy summers….. as well as a longer growing period, and… less dependence on fossil fuels for winter heating.

Gee, global warming isn’t so bad for Delaware after all….  Oh, the rising seas?  There you go again… Why did you have to spoil the rosy picture I was painting?

 

American Taxpayers Subsidize Every Big Bank’s Bonus To Their Top Executives!!!

Courtesy of Bloomberg

Bloomberg published a report showing how a Federal subsidy of 0.8th of one percent, costs the US Treasury $83 billion dollars a year.

Ironically we are arguing about how to fill almost that exact amount with sequestration. $83 billion; either by taxes or cuts.

But what Bloomberg points out, by deducting the subsidies from the reported profits of the top five banks, that without the subsidies, there would be no profits.

The bonuses being paid to all top bank executives, are our money that we are subsidizing. The dividend payouts being received by every stockholder, is a give-you-something-free right from the US Treasury….

So, how does it make you feel, Mr. Middle Class, to have bankers flaunting $43 million paychecks, fleeced out of taxing you, while you pay $3.00 for every automatic teller transaction….

Oh, I’m sure you don’t mind. These banks are too big to fail… They bankrolled almost the entire Republican Party, and now, as long as Boehner runs the House, they are completely protected and can keep living off your subsidies…. You know what? They probably won’t even say thank you… Because in their eyes, their bonuses? They built that…..

Republicans, so devious … you gotta love them.

Mitt Romney: Global Warming; Where It All Began; The Circle Is Now Complete

From the YouTube debate in August 2007, in preparation for the 2008 primaries, a question to Mitt Romney was entertained from this character.  (Mitt Romney refused to answer, saying I ain’t talkin’ to no snowman.)

Yesterday Bloomberg endorsed Obama:  with this message to Mitt Romney:   It’s Global Warming, Stupid… 

Taxes and The Wealthy

Right click to open full image… Pictograph Courtesy of Viral..

So, can someone tell me again, why we shouldn’t tax the rich, and instead, balance the budget on the backs of everyone else?…….

I seem to be missing that little detail where that all makes sense……

Delaware Footnote…

From Bloomberg….

On May 4, 2010, Geithner visited Kaufman in his Capitol Hill office. As president of the New York Fed in 2007 and 2008, Geithner helped design and run the central bank’s lending programs. The New York Fed supervised four of the six biggest U.S. banks and, during the credit crunch, put together a daily confidential report on Wall Street’s financial condition. Geithner was copied on these reports, based on a sampling of e- mails released by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

At the meeting with Kaufman, Geithner argued that the issue of limiting bank size was too complex for Congress and that people who know the markets should handle these decisions, Kaufman says. According to Kaufman, Geithner said he preferred that bank supervisors from around the world, meeting in Basel, Switzerland, make rules increasing the amount of money banks need to hold in reserve. Passing laws in the U.S. would undercut his efforts in Basel, Geithner said, according to Kaufman.

Anthony Coley, a spokesman for Geithner, declined to comment.

Battle of the Giants…

Having recently seen the Harry Potter movie, it is scary. Ever since watching…. I now see giants everywhere. Before when I looked, I never knew they were there…

Two giants will be doing battle here in Delaware… (The recession is finally paying off for our little state.)

Papers were filed with the ITC (International Trade Commission) by the South Korean giant Samsung LED against a division of another giant this time from Germany, Siemens….. over 8 patient infringements.

Samsung LED also said it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware to seek damages and a permanent injunction to bar Siemen’s subsidary, Osram’s alleged patent infringement from entering this country.

At stake is the financial future of these two companies. One will win, and the other for lack of a better word, will be vanquished.

Since Siemens actually has a plant in Delaware, next to the Glasgow Park off Route 40 and 896, I’m putting my bets on that giant…. if they get hurt, it will cost jobs.

Hotels, restaurants, transportation companies all stand to be a little busier as this gigantic fight, gets under way…. It would be helpful to practice on the Korean and German dialects now, before the event gets under way…

Sprechen sie deutsch?

니미럴 개자식 ….

It should be an interesting fight.

Quick Solution to Debt Ceiling Crises

Today the White House issued this Executive Order.

“Should the debt ceiling not be lifted in time by May 16, in order to prevent the Treasury from running out of funds, I am hereby using the emergency powers given to the Chief Executive by the Constitution, to temporarily suspend the Bush Tax Cuts until: 1) either we can legally borrow the funds to continue paying on our commitments, or 2) we bring our debt down to the 2008 level by having much more tax revenue pour in.

This is in effect, immediately, and I have instructed the IRS to recalculate all 2010 tax forms over the level of $2 million dollars, and asses those individuals and companies, for the differences.

We must take this action because Republicans want to pay politics with your lives. As Chief Executive, I am responsible to you, not them. I won’t let that happen.

With these tax cuts out of the way, and with our austerity programs already in effect, that windfall of profit the Treasury will receive, will be entirely funneled towards the paying off our debt.

This policy will continue until Republicans can act reasonably and in a productive fashion.

Barack Obama.

Reasons Why GE Should Build in Delaware

1. Proximity to one of the top research Universities in the country..

2. Well trained work force, ex Chrysler, GM, DuPont, Siemens,

3. Good relations between unions and management at all Delaware companies.

4. Proximity to Dupont Headquarters.

5. Delaware’s Corporate Legal System.

6. Delaware’s own underutilized and “cheap” access port for import and export ocean traffic .

7. Close proximity to the moneyed and power towns of Washington, New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, which is good for investor relations.

8. Nearby beach as incentive to draw top engineers from around the nation.

9. Soon to be built, cheap offshore wind power, which will help to moderate utility costs against the ever rising price of coal and natural gas.

10. By getting foot in Delaware’s door, GE could have an inside track at building and installing their top rated turbines off Delaware’s shores…

GE is looking for somewhere to build a new solar plant... Not one requiring tons of sun, but a place to manufacture the thin film necessary for the exchange of electrons necessary to make electricity. Driving down the cost of this film, will drive down the cost of solar electricity.. The lower the cost, the more it will be used, meaning less coal will be burned….

Lower Delaware is the best place in the nation for it.

.. and thanks Nancy for bringing this to our attention…. 🙂