And so it goes on ...
Head of Department of Justice Antitrust division goes the big name NYC law firm. This exemplifies why government regulations mostly help the Ruling Classes: those persons doing the regulating and enforcing want to collect on the big pay checks after leaving office.
Connecticut requires private employers to provide paid sick leave. Wonderful: another hidden tax on employers. Is there any wonder why jobs are scare?
Your author has gotten very jaded. The endless corruption - both explicit and implicit - in the Dark City and by the Ruling Class and the Media complicity in keeping it quiet are quite sickening. The social compact between the plain people and the managerial and professional classes is broken. For 40 years all the gains in productivity have been taken by the Ruling Classes on top and their enablers. The plain people have gotten no income gains.
The connection between a "job" and social benefits needs to be broken. America needs an political Alexander the Great to cut that Gordian Knot. Don't "reform" that relationship, simply totally slice it.
A job should simply be a job - pay for work.
Social shared benefits should be simply provided at a reasonable level. Face reality: America is not going to let people die on the streets either from illness or from starvation. America is a wealthy nation and should provide shared benefits on a universal, insurance style basis that exists from birth for all.
Pay for the shared benefits with a simple VAT or National Sales Tax. That system makes imports pay a fair share.
Word of the Day
"Dolor" - noun [$10] literary
Dolor means sorrow, distress.
Sentence: The plain people will continue to bear individual and collective dolor until a new social compact is created: clean away the cluttered, current system and adopt free fraternalism.
Showing posts with label reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reform. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Engage the People
The People are the ultimate power in the United States, and they are often a sleeping giant. Today, important decisions must be made to choose the path of the United States for the next century. The old path has become wrecked, littered with trash from past mistakes and barriers created over at least the past 40 years. We need a new path to a better nation and a happier people.
A Great Debate must begin and that Great Debate must involve the people in their towns and homes. Arguments must engage them and draw on their beliefs and ideas. We must stop thinking that the Ruling Classes and their media and bureaucratic allies will find solutions. They don't even know the questions and they certainly don't know where the people want to go. Most of them have no connection with the common man and woman for their entire lives.
Ronald Reagan wanted to lead America to be a shining city on the hill. He had a visions and could explain his ideas; America understood and followed. But America left the path upon which he started us.
The Crucial Question now is not, "What is to be Done?", but it is "Where to we want to Go?" What kind of society do we want to be in 40 years?
Without a national consensus on the goal - the endpoint - we cannot choose a path. That's how the world works. We know (or learn) where we are know and we must decide where we want to go, and then, and only then, choose an optimal path to get there.
The People must be involved in that decision. They must accept the goal. And by not just a majority, but by a super majority. The center mass of the people - the middle two thirds, need to be engaged in The Great Debate to reach a consensus on where we want to be as a people in 40 years. The fringe 1/6 on either side are simply left aside. The center 2/3 - the center of mass of the nation - will control its trajectory.
We reject "solutions" imposed by DC, its hegemonic class and their bureaucratic and media allies (such as the DC-centric "Deficit Commission"). The People meet to become involved in debates across the nation; the people should communicate with new media in thoughtful ways. Don't let the screeches by the fringes control the debate. Ignore them.
Where do we want to Go?
Let the Great Debate begin.
Word of the Day
"Vatic" - adjective [$10] formal
Vatic means prophetic, inspired.
Sentence: We need a national consensus for where we want to go, where we want to be in 40 years, whether it's created from vatic leadership or from gritty debates in our homes and towns.
A Great Debate must begin and that Great Debate must involve the people in their towns and homes. Arguments must engage them and draw on their beliefs and ideas. We must stop thinking that the Ruling Classes and their media and bureaucratic allies will find solutions. They don't even know the questions and they certainly don't know where the people want to go. Most of them have no connection with the common man and woman for their entire lives.
Ronald Reagan wanted to lead America to be a shining city on the hill. He had a visions and could explain his ideas; America understood and followed. But America left the path upon which he started us.
The Crucial Question now is not, "What is to be Done?", but it is "Where to we want to Go?" What kind of society do we want to be in 40 years?
Without a national consensus on the goal - the endpoint - we cannot choose a path. That's how the world works. We know (or learn) where we are know and we must decide where we want to go, and then, and only then, choose an optimal path to get there.
The People must be involved in that decision. They must accept the goal. And by not just a majority, but by a super majority. The center mass of the people - the middle two thirds, need to be engaged in The Great Debate to reach a consensus on where we want to be as a people in 40 years. The fringe 1/6 on either side are simply left aside. The center 2/3 - the center of mass of the nation - will control its trajectory.
We reject "solutions" imposed by DC, its hegemonic class and their bureaucratic and media allies (such as the DC-centric "Deficit Commission"). The People meet to become involved in debates across the nation; the people should communicate with new media in thoughtful ways. Don't let the screeches by the fringes control the debate. Ignore them.
Where do we want to Go?
Let the Great Debate begin.
Word of the Day
"Vatic" - adjective [$10] formal
Vatic means prophetic, inspired.
Sentence: We need a national consensus for where we want to go, where we want to be in 40 years, whether it's created from vatic leadership or from gritty debates in our homes and towns.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The New American System
"Things fall apart, the center cannot hold."
That quotation is from W. B. Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming". Modern American society is tending that direction, which would likely be a disaster for the nation. Society is bifurcating and has been for about 40 years. Recent posts here have documented the shifts in economic growth from the middle class to top; the middle class has obtained almost nothing from 40 years of "growth". The Great Recession has increased the bleeding, causing huge job and savings losses for people who have little hope of recovery, viz. the baby boomers approaching retirement. The billionaires, executive classes, their bureaucratic allies and entertainment figures have taken it all. While all that was happening, government grew enormously. It's part of the problem.
We need a New American System: a simpler, fairer system with more freedom and less government for the common man and woman.
Recent posts have outlined a new tax system, a health care system, a energy solution, a transportation solution, a debt solution, a jobs solution. This post focuses on government which connects to the other solutions..
The Federal government needs to be massively streamlined to focus on what's important to the people. Keep and expand what's important and get rid of the rest.
What is important? The five items below command huge public support.
1. Social Security as a core retirement program.
2. Health care (Medicare, medicaid AND health care for all).
3. National defense (very strong without bloat and corruption).
4. Social Safety Net: no one goes to destitution for bad luck or bad genes.
5. Debt for productive investments only.
Get rid of the rest of the Federal government, except simple information gathering programs for public distribution. We need to understand the nation and its parts and trends. Get rid of all the regulations and bureaucracy. Free people and business to create new growth in areas people want, not what is selected or dictated by the hogs at the trough.
I. Increase Social Security about 50% to provide about 1/2 of a reasonable retirement. This will be part of the Social Safety Net and support the happiness of the American people as they need not fear destitution in old age. People must save the rest.
II. Provide the National Health Shared Benefit that I've written often about here. This system provides good basic health care, not everything. People are free to spend more if they wish, but no one dies in the streets. The link between employment and health care is broken. Services are provided by competitive bids.
III. National defense must be strong to protect the nation. Our current military is very strong - superior to all others. It has a weakness, though. Too many military support functions are contracted out. The military needs internal support systems (supply, transportation, etc.) that can be expanded for longer wars, which DO happen, witness Iraq. Contractors will run when the shelling starts. Dedicated service people will not.
IV. The Social Safety Net must be strong so that people feel free to take risks to start new businesses, etc. We don't want them inhibited by a splat into destitution. That now prevents millions from being more entrepreneurial. "Benefits" are really shackles. Food stamps should be expanded in value and available to anyone at low income (no limitation to people with children) , but limited to the simple foods. People should not have to worry about starvation, but doing a bit of work in cooking should be expected. Some kind of housing must be available, too. The current housing glut can supply it. Create homestead programs to give the poor an incentive to take over abandoned housing and fix it up. The National Health Shared Benefit provides the health care. This system is a strong safety net.
V. Borrow with long term bonds to build out the nation's energy, transportation and communication grid-networks completely with structures consistent with the long term Energy and Transportation systems I've written out. This system will provide a strong skeleton for new national growth.
The tax reform solutions I've written about will both pay for this and help provide the shift in jobs and income growth towards the middle class.
We need to move towards this New American System now. I'll do my part in publicizing these solutions. I will soon collect these core posts into an indexed place where you can find them easily. Later I intend to publish these ideas in a printed pamphlet for sending out ... everywhere.
I'll be traveling to NYC Tuesday and Wednesday; no new post until Thursday.
Word of the Day
"Phthisis" noun [$10]; "Phthisic" - adjective [$10]; a T. S. Eliot word.
Phthisis means any progressive wasting disease esp. pulmonary tuberculosis.
Sentence: American society suffers from a social and economic phthisis grinding down the middle class and dangerously bifurcating society. We need to start the cure now.
That quotation is from W. B. Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming". Modern American society is tending that direction, which would likely be a disaster for the nation. Society is bifurcating and has been for about 40 years. Recent posts here have documented the shifts in economic growth from the middle class to top; the middle class has obtained almost nothing from 40 years of "growth". The Great Recession has increased the bleeding, causing huge job and savings losses for people who have little hope of recovery, viz. the baby boomers approaching retirement. The billionaires, executive classes, their bureaucratic allies and entertainment figures have taken it all. While all that was happening, government grew enormously. It's part of the problem.
We need a New American System: a simpler, fairer system with more freedom and less government for the common man and woman.
Recent posts have outlined a new tax system, a health care system, a energy solution, a transportation solution, a debt solution, a jobs solution. This post focuses on government which connects to the other solutions..
The Federal government needs to be massively streamlined to focus on what's important to the people. Keep and expand what's important and get rid of the rest.
What is important? The five items below command huge public support.
1. Social Security as a core retirement program.
2. Health care (Medicare, medicaid AND health care for all).
3. National defense (very strong without bloat and corruption).
4. Social Safety Net: no one goes to destitution for bad luck or bad genes.
5. Debt for productive investments only.
Get rid of the rest of the Federal government, except simple information gathering programs for public distribution. We need to understand the nation and its parts and trends. Get rid of all the regulations and bureaucracy. Free people and business to create new growth in areas people want, not what is selected or dictated by the hogs at the trough.
I. Increase Social Security about 50% to provide about 1/2 of a reasonable retirement. This will be part of the Social Safety Net and support the happiness of the American people as they need not fear destitution in old age. People must save the rest.
II. Provide the National Health Shared Benefit that I've written often about here. This system provides good basic health care, not everything. People are free to spend more if they wish, but no one dies in the streets. The link between employment and health care is broken. Services are provided by competitive bids.
III. National defense must be strong to protect the nation. Our current military is very strong - superior to all others. It has a weakness, though. Too many military support functions are contracted out. The military needs internal support systems (supply, transportation, etc.) that can be expanded for longer wars, which DO happen, witness Iraq. Contractors will run when the shelling starts. Dedicated service people will not.
IV. The Social Safety Net must be strong so that people feel free to take risks to start new businesses, etc. We don't want them inhibited by a splat into destitution. That now prevents millions from being more entrepreneurial. "Benefits" are really shackles. Food stamps should be expanded in value and available to anyone at low income (no limitation to people with children) , but limited to the simple foods. People should not have to worry about starvation, but doing a bit of work in cooking should be expected. Some kind of housing must be available, too. The current housing glut can supply it. Create homestead programs to give the poor an incentive to take over abandoned housing and fix it up. The National Health Shared Benefit provides the health care. This system is a strong safety net.
V. Borrow with long term bonds to build out the nation's energy, transportation and communication grid-networks completely with structures consistent with the long term Energy and Transportation systems I've written out. This system will provide a strong skeleton for new national growth.
The tax reform solutions I've written about will both pay for this and help provide the shift in jobs and income growth towards the middle class.
We need to move towards this New American System now. I'll do my part in publicizing these solutions. I will soon collect these core posts into an indexed place where you can find them easily. Later I intend to publish these ideas in a printed pamphlet for sending out ... everywhere.
I'll be traveling to NYC Tuesday and Wednesday; no new post until Thursday.
Word of the Day
"Phthisis" noun [$10]; "Phthisic" - adjective [$10]; a T. S. Eliot word.
Phthisis means any progressive wasting disease esp. pulmonary tuberculosis.
Sentence: American society suffers from a social and economic phthisis grinding down the middle class and dangerously bifurcating society. We need to start the cure now.
Monday, January 24, 2011
What is to be Done?
That's the famous question. Last week I proved by simple research of widely and easily available data that since around 1970, the common man and woman has been screwed by the hegemonic class and their bureaucratic allies. The screwing occurred under administrations of both parties insidiously and slowly. For 40 years ALL the productivity gains of technology has been slurped down by those hogs. But ... What is to be Done?
(A) The new system must increase the demand for labor ... employees .... in the US economy, and concurrently permit entrepreneurs to prosper. We need reforms to do this WITHOUT increasing governmental power. Increased government is part of the problem; that permits the bureaucratic classes to slurp MORE from the trough; it gives the hegemonic classes a place to buy protection and gain tools to grab more wealth and power.
Increased demand for labor and freedom for entrepreneurs would increase the pay and share of profits for the common man and woman.
(B) The costs of the social safety net must be borne by those who have benefited from the existence of the nation. Notice I wrote that past tense of the verb, benefited. Not the present tense. The current income tax system takes mostly from those trying to become wealthy, not those who are wealthy.
One single change will not do the job; we must identify an entire panoply of changes, each designed to accomplish either A or B or both.
Here are some changes.
1. Eliminate all accelerated depreciation - that subsidizes machines over people. Go back to the old system of the 1960s - straight line depreciation over the useful life.
2. Eliminate the R&D tax credit - a corporate tax subsidy used to replace people.
3. Eliminate the corporate deduction for interest except to the extent of interest income from loans (not securities income) made by banks. Capital is capital - tax it equally: No more subsidies for debt.
4. Eliminate the deduction for charitable contributions in the estate tax. Make the wealthy spend or give away the money while alive.
5. Make the estate tax iron clad - no loopholes for any trusts, etc. The recent changes for exemptions, rates are fair and fine. Encourage the wealthy to spend or give away the money while alive.
6. Implement the other tax reforms the I wrote about a few weeks ago, viz., the low rates & large exemptions for the income tax, the value added tax, the new rules for foundation spending, etc.
7. Seal the borders, but permit immigration from entrepreneurs and the very talented: we need them and they would prosper here. No more use of visas by US corporations to keep US pay down for engineers, etc.
8. Put luxury taxes on many, many goods the wealthy covet (mansions, extravagant travel, old art, etc.). The rate would be equal to the value added tax (i. e., these pay double).
9. Put an excise tax on corporate pay over the President's salary - let's call it the Hog Tax; this is paid at the corporate level and would equal the income tax rate (as modified by my other reforms): high income pays double; NO deferring compensation unless subject to clawbacks. Two moderately paid people suddenly become more economical than one hog.
10. Apply the Hog Tax to any pay over the President's salary for any service (actors, big mouth media, sports hogs, lawyer hogs, etc.), BUT permit them and all entrepreneurs and sole proprietors to income average over 10 years: they should not pay those extra taxes for one time gains.
11. Gut and scrap ALL tax loopholes the hedge funds and money managers: compensation is pay and gets taxed the same as for the common man and woman. Hedge funds pay the Hog Tax on manager pay (see item 9).
12. Invigorate an inspector general to investigate government contracts for overpayment and any indicia of inside dealings.
13. Put a 10% annual excise tax on the licenses of electromagnetic spectrum - all of it - to pay for the safety net. The big mouth media need to pay. The money goes to support and improve the systems nationally.
14. Require truly independent compensation committees for all corporations to be made up from small shareholders (whether by lottery or by some fair system). The Street, hedge funds, mutual funds, etc. are part of the problem.
15. Reform government pensions at all levels to be no better than available to the common man and woman; no one retires before 65 unless they do it on their own savings.
16. Tax ALL income equally - no special buckets - over a sizable exemption (see prior tax reforms).
17. Put an excise tax on sports franchises and on the top 1/2 of player compensation; the money goes to provide access to the common man. The sports owners & player hogs pay for the stadiums and access; no more blackouts. Permit ALL sports betting: the people want it. More freedom for the people.
18. Eliminate taxes on employers for unemployment benefits, but keep worker's compensation taxes (that promotes safely). Unemployment taxes should be paid out of an add-on special Hog Tax: the bosses lay people off to make more money for themselves, let them pay the costs.
19. Use money from the Hog Taxes to keep rates low for the common man and woman. This will make it easier for them to save and lead a happier life. The Hogs pay and aristocracies are prevented. The unlucky and unendowed have a secure, reasonable safety net.
20. Apply the value added tax to all services engaged overseas: outsourcing pays that tax.
Using the principles of Free Fraternalism, finding innumerable small reforms is rather easy. One can see ways to implement these changes almost everywhere. The crucial factor is to embrace the principles of Free Fraternalism and apply them fairly and uniformly.
Combined with the other reforms I wrote about a few weeks ago (which eliminate all taxes on jobs), you can see this new system is consistent with Free Fraternalism. The economics of common people increase; the economics of Hogs decrease; the economics of machines decrease. That's what we want.
Word of the Day
"Latifundium" - noun [$100]; plural latifundia.
Latifundium means 1. a great estate; 2. a great landed estate, especially of the ancient Romans.
Sentence: It's time to break up the latifundia of the hegemonic classes; too much wealth is held unproductively. Put it back to work.
(A) The new system must increase the demand for labor ... employees .... in the US economy, and concurrently permit entrepreneurs to prosper. We need reforms to do this WITHOUT increasing governmental power. Increased government is part of the problem; that permits the bureaucratic classes to slurp MORE from the trough; it gives the hegemonic classes a place to buy protection and gain tools to grab more wealth and power.
Increased demand for labor and freedom for entrepreneurs would increase the pay and share of profits for the common man and woman.
(B) The costs of the social safety net must be borne by those who have benefited from the existence of the nation. Notice I wrote that past tense of the verb, benefited. Not the present tense. The current income tax system takes mostly from those trying to become wealthy, not those who are wealthy.
One single change will not do the job; we must identify an entire panoply of changes, each designed to accomplish either A or B or both.
Here are some changes.
1. Eliminate all accelerated depreciation - that subsidizes machines over people. Go back to the old system of the 1960s - straight line depreciation over the useful life.
2. Eliminate the R&D tax credit - a corporate tax subsidy used to replace people.
3. Eliminate the corporate deduction for interest except to the extent of interest income from loans (not securities income) made by banks. Capital is capital - tax it equally: No more subsidies for debt.
4. Eliminate the deduction for charitable contributions in the estate tax. Make the wealthy spend or give away the money while alive.
5. Make the estate tax iron clad - no loopholes for any trusts, etc. The recent changes for exemptions, rates are fair and fine. Encourage the wealthy to spend or give away the money while alive.
6. Implement the other tax reforms the I wrote about a few weeks ago, viz., the low rates & large exemptions for the income tax, the value added tax, the new rules for foundation spending, etc.
7. Seal the borders, but permit immigration from entrepreneurs and the very talented: we need them and they would prosper here. No more use of visas by US corporations to keep US pay down for engineers, etc.
8. Put luxury taxes on many, many goods the wealthy covet (mansions, extravagant travel, old art, etc.). The rate would be equal to the value added tax (i. e., these pay double).
9. Put an excise tax on corporate pay over the President's salary - let's call it the Hog Tax; this is paid at the corporate level and would equal the income tax rate (as modified by my other reforms): high income pays double; NO deferring compensation unless subject to clawbacks. Two moderately paid people suddenly become more economical than one hog.
10. Apply the Hog Tax to any pay over the President's salary for any service (actors, big mouth media, sports hogs, lawyer hogs, etc.), BUT permit them and all entrepreneurs and sole proprietors to income average over 10 years: they should not pay those extra taxes for one time gains.
11. Gut and scrap ALL tax loopholes the hedge funds and money managers: compensation is pay and gets taxed the same as for the common man and woman. Hedge funds pay the Hog Tax on manager pay (see item 9).
12. Invigorate an inspector general to investigate government contracts for overpayment and any indicia of inside dealings.
13. Put a 10% annual excise tax on the licenses of electromagnetic spectrum - all of it - to pay for the safety net. The big mouth media need to pay. The money goes to support and improve the systems nationally.
14. Require truly independent compensation committees for all corporations to be made up from small shareholders (whether by lottery or by some fair system). The Street, hedge funds, mutual funds, etc. are part of the problem.
15. Reform government pensions at all levels to be no better than available to the common man and woman; no one retires before 65 unless they do it on their own savings.
16. Tax ALL income equally - no special buckets - over a sizable exemption (see prior tax reforms).
17. Put an excise tax on sports franchises and on the top 1/2 of player compensation; the money goes to provide access to the common man. The sports owners & player hogs pay for the stadiums and access; no more blackouts. Permit ALL sports betting: the people want it. More freedom for the people.
18. Eliminate taxes on employers for unemployment benefits, but keep worker's compensation taxes (that promotes safely). Unemployment taxes should be paid out of an add-on special Hog Tax: the bosses lay people off to make more money for themselves, let them pay the costs.
19. Use money from the Hog Taxes to keep rates low for the common man and woman. This will make it easier for them to save and lead a happier life. The Hogs pay and aristocracies are prevented. The unlucky and unendowed have a secure, reasonable safety net.
20. Apply the value added tax to all services engaged overseas: outsourcing pays that tax.
Using the principles of Free Fraternalism, finding innumerable small reforms is rather easy. One can see ways to implement these changes almost everywhere. The crucial factor is to embrace the principles of Free Fraternalism and apply them fairly and uniformly.
Combined with the other reforms I wrote about a few weeks ago (which eliminate all taxes on jobs), you can see this new system is consistent with Free Fraternalism. The economics of common people increase; the economics of Hogs decrease; the economics of machines decrease. That's what we want.
Word of the Day
"Latifundium" - noun [$100]; plural latifundia.
Latifundium means 1. a great estate; 2. a great landed estate, especially of the ancient Romans.
Sentence: It's time to break up the latifundia of the hegemonic classes; too much wealth is held unproductively. Put it back to work.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Reform VII. End Small Business Regulations.
The heavy hand - a ham hand - of government is stifling the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans. That ham hand is at the local level, the State level and the Federal level. Localities use regulations to prevent people from starting small business that might compete with favored groups, or impinge on some connected clique's environment. States use licensing laws and education requirements for "professions" to restrict competition. The Federal government has a huge panoply of regulation ready to land on any business once it grows to 25 or 50 employees. Yup, they tend to restrict hiring more people.
We need to get rid of all this regulation of the common man. We need a new burst of freedom for all of the common men and women.
The tax reforms I proposed are a start; they would get rid of all taxes on employments. The parallel reform we need is a removal off ALL business regulations and licensing (other than life threatening matters) below a very high threshold.
If someone scrapes together enough money to start a business, let him! If someone can get customers to come to him for some service, let him run that business without phony licensing or education requirements. For example, why does the SEC-FINRA regulate financial advisors? Word of mouth or a good private certification such as the CFA would do the job. Let the SEC-FINRA deal with frauds and ponzi-scams.
Why are real estate brokers burdened with silly "continuing education classes"? If they can't do the job, the customers would know it soon. Ditto for people cutting hair or helping the veterinarian treat dogs. Either the customer or the boss knows when the job is being done. Let the customers go to whom they want for services and goods. Let the business owner run his business.
Remember the "UL" label on electric goods? "UL" meant the device was tested by the Underwriters' Laboratories, a private testing service that made sure the device was safely constructed. It was created by the insurance industry.
Make the customers pay attention to the good or service he's getting. The ham hand of government is causing everyone to think the government is supposed to take care of everything and make everything work. It's time that responsibility is put onto the person running the business and the customer to check and make sure the service or good is suitable. They know better, or should know better, than some bureaucrat.
Get rid of almost all government regulations at all levels of government. Then let a thousand flowers bloom - the flowers that a new burst of small business entrepreneurs will bring.
The only regulations needed are for life threatening matters and for the ruling class of the rich and powerful - aka the hegemonic class - to prevent them from enslaving all of us and becoming aristocrats. That's a small group of people and corporations and institutions. Watch them closely; let everyone else be free.
Actions
None. waiting for better rates in the municipal bond market to trickle down to the bonds I'm seeing from Mrs. B's broker.
Word of the Day
"Autotelic" - adjective [$10]; a T. S. Eliot word
Autotelic means having or being a purpose in itself.
Sentence: Government is not autotelic; its purpose is to serve the people and protect them from invaders and oppressors.
We need to get rid of all this regulation of the common man. We need a new burst of freedom for all of the common men and women.
The tax reforms I proposed are a start; they would get rid of all taxes on employments. The parallel reform we need is a removal off ALL business regulations and licensing (other than life threatening matters) below a very high threshold.
If someone scrapes together enough money to start a business, let him! If someone can get customers to come to him for some service, let him run that business without phony licensing or education requirements. For example, why does the SEC-FINRA regulate financial advisors? Word of mouth or a good private certification such as the CFA would do the job. Let the SEC-FINRA deal with frauds and ponzi-scams.
Why are real estate brokers burdened with silly "continuing education classes"? If they can't do the job, the customers would know it soon. Ditto for people cutting hair or helping the veterinarian treat dogs. Either the customer or the boss knows when the job is being done. Let the customers go to whom they want for services and goods. Let the business owner run his business.
Remember the "UL" label on electric goods? "UL" meant the device was tested by the Underwriters' Laboratories, a private testing service that made sure the device was safely constructed. It was created by the insurance industry.
Make the customers pay attention to the good or service he's getting. The ham hand of government is causing everyone to think the government is supposed to take care of everything and make everything work. It's time that responsibility is put onto the person running the business and the customer to check and make sure the service or good is suitable. They know better, or should know better, than some bureaucrat.
Get rid of almost all government regulations at all levels of government. Then let a thousand flowers bloom - the flowers that a new burst of small business entrepreneurs will bring.
The only regulations needed are for life threatening matters and for the ruling class of the rich and powerful - aka the hegemonic class - to prevent them from enslaving all of us and becoming aristocrats. That's a small group of people and corporations and institutions. Watch them closely; let everyone else be free.
Actions
None. waiting for better rates in the municipal bond market to trickle down to the bonds I'm seeing from Mrs. B's broker.
Word of the Day
"Autotelic" - adjective [$10]; a T. S. Eliot word
Autotelic means having or being a purpose in itself.
Sentence: Government is not autotelic; its purpose is to serve the people and protect them from invaders and oppressors.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Reforms V. Privacy.
The US is far behind Europe in enforcing privacy rights for people. I suppose that's not surprising, as European people have borne much suffering from totalitarian regimes like Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy. They (or at least their parents) know that totalitarianism needs to know who is thinking and doing what. Thus in Europe a company like Google faces strong, enforced prohibitions on gathering data about you.
Here is the US, we have almost no protection. Congress is in the pockets of the banks and marketing companies and simply requires them to notify us with long, wordy inserts to things like our credit card bill to "opt out". Of course we all get many, many of those and they are always changing, making us "opt out" over & over again.
Why is the rule not, "opt in"? After all, that's how Nielson gets it ratings. They arrange for a certain number of homes to "opt in" and let Nielson monitor their viewing habits. And when those people want out, they simply quit the programs.
I don't want to be in ANY company's database, but get forced in by wanting to use simple services like credit cards, banks, and store cards to get discounts (that used to exist a sales in newspaper inserts). Sooo I pay cash and don't use my store card anymore. That works. When a company wants to give me a "rewards" card, I decline. I concentrate most credit card spending on one card and then keep track of its privacy policy, making sure I'm on the "opt out" list.
But why do I have to do all this to keep my privacy?
Because the US Congress is in the pocket of the Ruling Class: some of the big corporations and their wealthy lobbyists make money off collecting data about us. And the US government wants to have files on all of us, too.
We need real privacy. No data files at all on us ... anywhere. I want the privacy of a common man who was a pioneer in America. Just pure privacy. I don't want to be a number in a corporate database. Leave me alone!!!
The people need to demand privacy laws - strong ones. Laws the prohibit any company or person or government from maintaining data about you for any reason. If a data file about you needs kept - such as medical records - it should be YOUR property. Period. They have to ask YOU for permission to access it, everytime. You can then give it to your doctor, but NOT to some drug marketing company.
Privacy is essential to a free people. Without privacy, innumerable ways exist to extort or tempt you. We should all demand strong privacy laws from Congress. Our lives are OURS. We are free people! Get out of our lives and homes and stop spying on us. Just leave us alone!
Word of the Day
"Verily" - adverb [$10]
Verily means really, truely
Sentence: The Ruling Class verily sees each of us as a serf whom they want to tattoo with an identifying number and watch ... everything about us: what we eat, buy, use, do, say and think. Demand and value your privacy and everyone's privacy; it's a barrier against totaliarianism and a bulwark of freedom.
Here is the US, we have almost no protection. Congress is in the pockets of the banks and marketing companies and simply requires them to notify us with long, wordy inserts to things like our credit card bill to "opt out". Of course we all get many, many of those and they are always changing, making us "opt out" over & over again.
Why is the rule not, "opt in"? After all, that's how Nielson gets it ratings. They arrange for a certain number of homes to "opt in" and let Nielson monitor their viewing habits. And when those people want out, they simply quit the programs.
I don't want to be in ANY company's database, but get forced in by wanting to use simple services like credit cards, banks, and store cards to get discounts (that used to exist a sales in newspaper inserts). Sooo I pay cash and don't use my store card anymore. That works. When a company wants to give me a "rewards" card, I decline. I concentrate most credit card spending on one card and then keep track of its privacy policy, making sure I'm on the "opt out" list.
But why do I have to do all this to keep my privacy?
Because the US Congress is in the pocket of the Ruling Class: some of the big corporations and their wealthy lobbyists make money off collecting data about us. And the US government wants to have files on all of us, too.
We need real privacy. No data files at all on us ... anywhere. I want the privacy of a common man who was a pioneer in America. Just pure privacy. I don't want to be a number in a corporate database. Leave me alone!!!
The people need to demand privacy laws - strong ones. Laws the prohibit any company or person or government from maintaining data about you for any reason. If a data file about you needs kept - such as medical records - it should be YOUR property. Period. They have to ask YOU for permission to access it, everytime. You can then give it to your doctor, but NOT to some drug marketing company.
Privacy is essential to a free people. Without privacy, innumerable ways exist to extort or tempt you. We should all demand strong privacy laws from Congress. Our lives are OURS. We are free people! Get out of our lives and homes and stop spying on us. Just leave us alone!
Word of the Day
"Verily" - adverb [$10]
Verily means really, truely
Sentence: The Ruling Class verily sees each of us as a serf whom they want to tattoo with an identifying number and watch ... everything about us: what we eat, buy, use, do, say and think. Demand and value your privacy and everyone's privacy; it's a barrier against totaliarianism and a bulwark of freedom.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Reform IV. End the Credit Score Racket.
Credit scores. You hear ads about them all the time, how YOU are supposed to check yours and fix the errors. And Identity Theft. YOU are supposed to check for this and fix the confusion and harm it can cause you. And the financial industry tries very hard to sell you identity theft insurance. They cause pain by spreading lies and you are supposed to buy insurance from them. That's a protection racket.
Banks, landlords and all sorts of companies use this information to make decisions about YOU. Does the credit score company ask you for permission to collect this data? Nope. From where do they collect the data? Anywhere and from anyone.
You have a dispute about a bill. Maybe you never even got the bill. The vendor calls and says pay up, or they'll report the matter to a credit score company. That will hurt you whenever you apply for credit or try to rent an apartment or for all sorts of things, even buying insurance for your car, house or life.
Isn't this reminiscent of a protection racket? Pay us or we'll cause you pain.
"Identity theft": a bank loses money in a scam. They try to force YOU to work to fix THEIR mistakes or they'll spread lies about YOU.
This whole industry and practice is a racket, one of many in the financial industry to loot and pillage from the public. They're like a mafia, seeking all kinds of ways to extort money and work from YOU, while giving you ... nothing.
Identity theft. Let's analyzes this "theft". Who loses money? The banks, etc. get scammed and lose money. And do they try to collect from the perp? Nope. Instead they post lies about YOU to their partners in crime, the credit score companies. Then YOU are forced to fix the errors, or THEY make it impossible for you to get a loan. Identity theft is the banks' problem. Let them fix the errors and try to apprehend the actual thief.
Credit Score Reforms.
1. Permission. No company should be permitted to keep a data collection about YOU unless YOU give them permission. Improve the existing law that requires them to give you a report IF you ask, to a requirement that they give it to you every year regardless of your asking or not. Why should you be forced to spend your time to get your data?
2. Limit on Power. Require that no bank or insurance company make having a credit score a condition to getting a loan or an insurance policy. Ditto for renting apartments, etc. They can make loans the old fashioned way: doing their own homework.
3. Defamation. Make credit score companies responsible for ANY harm that lies they post about you cause you; strict liability should apply, plus a fine for about $500 payable to YOU for your time used to notify them of their lies. Open them up to defamation lawsuits. Require them to check whatever they post about you and force the giver to bear the risk of giving false data. This makes THEM liable for any costs of "identity theft" and would put the costs further onto the banks, vendors, etc. that post the false information about YOU.
All this would level the field. The common man and woman would no longer be terrorized by credit score agencies and threat by debt collectors. Over time, banks would stop relying on these nameless data systems and learn about their local economies and people. Small banks would have an advantage; big banks would be put at a disadvantage.
That's good. Let's end the credit score protection racket.
Word of the Day
"Deracinate" - verb, transitive [$10] literary
Deracinate means 1. tear up by the roots; 2. obliterate, expurge.
Sentence: Financial "innovation" for the past two decades has been a disaster. It has created piratical beasts - from large carnivores and small parasites; they prey on the common man and woman and create huge risks to the economy, all for their own gains. Let's deracinate all these "reforms" and go back to the old ways of the mid 1980s. The system worked better then and was much fairer.
Banks, landlords and all sorts of companies use this information to make decisions about YOU. Does the credit score company ask you for permission to collect this data? Nope. From where do they collect the data? Anywhere and from anyone.
You have a dispute about a bill. Maybe you never even got the bill. The vendor calls and says pay up, or they'll report the matter to a credit score company. That will hurt you whenever you apply for credit or try to rent an apartment or for all sorts of things, even buying insurance for your car, house or life.
Isn't this reminiscent of a protection racket? Pay us or we'll cause you pain.
"Identity theft": a bank loses money in a scam. They try to force YOU to work to fix THEIR mistakes or they'll spread lies about YOU.
This whole industry and practice is a racket, one of many in the financial industry to loot and pillage from the public. They're like a mafia, seeking all kinds of ways to extort money and work from YOU, while giving you ... nothing.
Identity theft. Let's analyzes this "theft". Who loses money? The banks, etc. get scammed and lose money. And do they try to collect from the perp? Nope. Instead they post lies about YOU to their partners in crime, the credit score companies. Then YOU are forced to fix the errors, or THEY make it impossible for you to get a loan. Identity theft is the banks' problem. Let them fix the errors and try to apprehend the actual thief.
Credit Score Reforms.
1. Permission. No company should be permitted to keep a data collection about YOU unless YOU give them permission. Improve the existing law that requires them to give you a report IF you ask, to a requirement that they give it to you every year regardless of your asking or not. Why should you be forced to spend your time to get your data?
2. Limit on Power. Require that no bank or insurance company make having a credit score a condition to getting a loan or an insurance policy. Ditto for renting apartments, etc. They can make loans the old fashioned way: doing their own homework.
3. Defamation. Make credit score companies responsible for ANY harm that lies they post about you cause you; strict liability should apply, plus a fine for about $500 payable to YOU for your time used to notify them of their lies. Open them up to defamation lawsuits. Require them to check whatever they post about you and force the giver to bear the risk of giving false data. This makes THEM liable for any costs of "identity theft" and would put the costs further onto the banks, vendors, etc. that post the false information about YOU.
All this would level the field. The common man and woman would no longer be terrorized by credit score agencies and threat by debt collectors. Over time, banks would stop relying on these nameless data systems and learn about their local economies and people. Small banks would have an advantage; big banks would be put at a disadvantage.
That's good. Let's end the credit score protection racket.
Word of the Day
"Deracinate" - verb, transitive [$10] literary
Deracinate means 1. tear up by the roots; 2. obliterate, expurge.
Sentence: Financial "innovation" for the past two decades has been a disaster. It has created piratical beasts - from large carnivores and small parasites; they prey on the common man and woman and create huge risks to the economy, all for their own gains. Let's deracinate all these "reforms" and go back to the old ways of the mid 1980s. The system worked better then and was much fairer.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Reforms III. The Safety Net.
Ronald Reagan supported a safety net for people who experience bad luck or other misfortunes, or simply temporary economic dislocation. The US is a wealthy society; we already don't let people die in the streets. The US provides considerable subsidies to children of the poor, even to children of illegal aliens. But what does society provide for a 50 year old person with no children who loses a job or has a serious accident or health problem? Nothing, until that person is destitute. Even then, that person's safety net is rather thin, and disappears upon making almost nothing in income.
The current US safety net is really a trapdoor to destitution for people who might have paid taxes all their lives, supporting programs for others. The removal of benefits upon many minimal income creates a huge barrier to climbing out of poverty. Worst, it is a system of chains keeping people in dead end jobs when entrepreneurial effort might benefit all. Any person in a job that provides health benefits must be very careful about changing to a better job; health conditions that exist might be denied coverage in the new job as a "precondition". That person can't quit to start a new business or venture as the loss of health benefits might be catastrophic. That chain is thick and strong as health problems with one's spouse or children also cause one to stick to the dead end job or avoid entrepreneurial risk.
The Safety Net
The US needs a safety net that is not connected to children. Children can be a part of it, but should not be the crucial qualifying requirement. Today we get more children in the safety net because the poor can do better by having more children, usually by multiple fathers (who don't stick around).
The crucial elements of a safety net are food, shelter and health care. Let's deal with health care - actually it's the easy one.
Health Care
The US should provide a national health benefit to all people. The shared benefit would not be connected to employment - it would apply to all people - to anyone legally entitled to be in the US. [Illegals would be treated, then deported.] The shared benefit would not be a gold plated program; it would provide basic benefits, hospitalization and prescription drugs. I've written elsewhere how such a program would be structured and funded [Oct. 21, 2009 and Nov. 24, 2009]. Coverage would be determined by a Medical Board comprised of the public - not doctors or government employees. The common man and woman decide; after all, they are paying.
Food
The existing food stamp program would be expanded and not geared to children: anyone temporarily poor would qualify. Again, a board comprised of the common man would decide what foods are covered. The poor would get a good diet with nutrition, but would be expected to do some food preparation themselves. Yes, to slice & cook. There are plenty of cheap, nutritious foods out there. I know - I prepare and eat them. That's the trade-off: more people benefit, but choice is restricted. No one starves or suffers malnutrition.
Shelter
This is tougher - housing is a locally supplied market. The current program of subsidized housing complexes don't work too well. Communities are burdened paying for education for outsiders. Drug use and violence can overwhelm the complex if too many deviants are concentrated there.
My proposal would be to use a combination of voucher programs and homesteading to start to reform and broaden the housing safety net. Vacant homes or condos in communities that are abandoned would be offered to the poor under a new homesteading law. Living there for 3-5 years plus making improvements (paint, clean-up, simple repairs) would lead to ownership on a profit sharing basis. In communities without vacant homes, vouchers would be offered to the poor or newly homeless; that would include those being tossed out in foreclosure, etc.
This shelter program is rather incomplete, but it's a start. Ideas are welcome. By the way, the homes need to be where the jobs are. The poor might have to move to new communities; again, some kind of vouchers can help here, too.
Basic Income
My tax reform proposal cuts the cord that ties Social Security to employment. taxes that currently fund unemployment benefits are badly constructed: they tax jobs. Combine Social Security, disability and unemployment benefits into a single, simple safety income net. The benefits are not connected to how much you made in your prior job; anyone who worked gets it. The amount and time one would receive the benefit would be related to how long as you worked prior thereto. Thus the person who works for decades, then lost a job gets much longer support and more in hardship. At a certain point one would qualify for their entire retirement years.
For the young or those who haven't worked enough, work would be required and jobs offered when benefits run out. This is fair. In the New Deal, people happily took tough, dirty jobs at low pay simply to have some work and income. The US should offer that. Simply working to paint, pick up trash, plant flowers and clean communities would benefit all. Many other jobs are obvious to anyone driving or walking around with one's eye's open.
Summary
This safety net is not perfect, but it's a good start. The cost is mostly being paid already under many ineffective, complex programs. Benefits should not drop instantly upon making some income, perhaps only upon making a certain aggregate $ amount based on time and income. Let people recover and climb out; don't pull the lever for the trapdoor so again right away. Lower the walls that now keep people poor forever.
One helping hand: remove rules that resticts entrepreneurialism. That's for tomorrow.
Word of the Day
"Opprobrium" - noun [$10]
Opprobrium means 1. something that brings disgrace; 2. public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious.
Sentence: To paraphrase Pericles: There is no opprobrium to poverty itself, but to not striving to climb out.
The current US safety net is really a trapdoor to destitution for people who might have paid taxes all their lives, supporting programs for others. The removal of benefits upon many minimal income creates a huge barrier to climbing out of poverty. Worst, it is a system of chains keeping people in dead end jobs when entrepreneurial effort might benefit all. Any person in a job that provides health benefits must be very careful about changing to a better job; health conditions that exist might be denied coverage in the new job as a "precondition". That person can't quit to start a new business or venture as the loss of health benefits might be catastrophic. That chain is thick and strong as health problems with one's spouse or children also cause one to stick to the dead end job or avoid entrepreneurial risk.
The Safety Net
The US needs a safety net that is not connected to children. Children can be a part of it, but should not be the crucial qualifying requirement. Today we get more children in the safety net because the poor can do better by having more children, usually by multiple fathers (who don't stick around).
The crucial elements of a safety net are food, shelter and health care. Let's deal with health care - actually it's the easy one.
Health Care
The US should provide a national health benefit to all people. The shared benefit would not be connected to employment - it would apply to all people - to anyone legally entitled to be in the US. [Illegals would be treated, then deported.] The shared benefit would not be a gold plated program; it would provide basic benefits, hospitalization and prescription drugs. I've written elsewhere how such a program would be structured and funded [Oct. 21, 2009 and Nov. 24, 2009]. Coverage would be determined by a Medical Board comprised of the public - not doctors or government employees. The common man and woman decide; after all, they are paying.
Food
The existing food stamp program would be expanded and not geared to children: anyone temporarily poor would qualify. Again, a board comprised of the common man would decide what foods are covered. The poor would get a good diet with nutrition, but would be expected to do some food preparation themselves. Yes, to slice & cook. There are plenty of cheap, nutritious foods out there. I know - I prepare and eat them. That's the trade-off: more people benefit, but choice is restricted. No one starves or suffers malnutrition.
Shelter
This is tougher - housing is a locally supplied market. The current program of subsidized housing complexes don't work too well. Communities are burdened paying for education for outsiders. Drug use and violence can overwhelm the complex if too many deviants are concentrated there.
My proposal would be to use a combination of voucher programs and homesteading to start to reform and broaden the housing safety net. Vacant homes or condos in communities that are abandoned would be offered to the poor under a new homesteading law. Living there for 3-5 years plus making improvements (paint, clean-up, simple repairs) would lead to ownership on a profit sharing basis. In communities without vacant homes, vouchers would be offered to the poor or newly homeless; that would include those being tossed out in foreclosure, etc.
This shelter program is rather incomplete, but it's a start. Ideas are welcome. By the way, the homes need to be where the jobs are. The poor might have to move to new communities; again, some kind of vouchers can help here, too.
Basic Income
My tax reform proposal cuts the cord that ties Social Security to employment. taxes that currently fund unemployment benefits are badly constructed: they tax jobs. Combine Social Security, disability and unemployment benefits into a single, simple safety income net. The benefits are not connected to how much you made in your prior job; anyone who worked gets it. The amount and time one would receive the benefit would be related to how long as you worked prior thereto. Thus the person who works for decades, then lost a job gets much longer support and more in hardship. At a certain point one would qualify for their entire retirement years.
For the young or those who haven't worked enough, work would be required and jobs offered when benefits run out. This is fair. In the New Deal, people happily took tough, dirty jobs at low pay simply to have some work and income. The US should offer that. Simply working to paint, pick up trash, plant flowers and clean communities would benefit all. Many other jobs are obvious to anyone driving or walking around with one's eye's open.
Summary
This safety net is not perfect, but it's a good start. The cost is mostly being paid already under many ineffective, complex programs. Benefits should not drop instantly upon making some income, perhaps only upon making a certain aggregate $ amount based on time and income. Let people recover and climb out; don't pull the lever for the trapdoor so again right away. Lower the walls that now keep people poor forever.
One helping hand: remove rules that resticts entrepreneurialism. That's for tomorrow.
Word of the Day
"Opprobrium" - noun [$10]
Opprobrium means 1. something that brings disgrace; 2. public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious.
Sentence: To paraphrase Pericles: There is no opprobrium to poverty itself, but to not striving to climb out.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Reforms II. Funding the Government.
US Federal government funding is completely out of balance. Nearly all its revenues come from taxes on incomes of one kind or another: personal income taxes, corporate income taxes, and taxes on employment earnings. Europe does not do this; its funding mechanisms include big value added taxes to spread the cost of government much more broadly. Value added taxes even make consumers of imports pay for the cost of government, while in the US, consumers of imports get a free ride.
Historically, the US government was funded by tariffs and excise taxes on specific good and services. Perhaps coincidentally, the US had enormous economic growth then. All that changed when taxes on incomes were made constitutional.
The funding imbalance causes huge losses to the US economy and people. Taxes on jobs reduces the number of jobs; letting import consumption get a free ride hurts US based production and ... costs more good jobs.
The US needs to re-balance its funding sources. How?
1. Eliminate ALL taxes on jobs: no Social Security taxes, no Medicare taxes, no other taxes on employment earnings.
2. Put on a big, European style value added tax - or excise tax - on everything, including imports: something in the range of 10-15% could work. The rich would pay a lot as they spend their money; even old art would be taxed.
3. Reform the personal income tax to (A) eliminate ALL deductions and ALL adjustments to income, (B) put in a BIG personal exemption, perhaps $20,000 for each adult and $5,000 per child, and (C) lower the rate to something like 15%. Tax ALL personal income equally, including municipal bonds.
4. Corporate tax reforms: (I) eliminate the deduction for interest expense (must be phased in over time) except for (a) banks and finance companies (as interest for them is an ordinary cost of business) and (b) working capital loans; (II) tax US corporations on worldwide income - no more free ride on income in foreign lands; (III) eliminate deductions for ANY compensation above a fixed number such as the salary of the US President; (IV) permit expensing of all machinery and equipment as paid; (V) lower the corporate rate to something like 15%; (VI) include a big small business exemption of something like $1 million; (VII) move all other deductions for business expenses to a cash basis (this will simplify everything).
5. Estate Taxes: (I) eliminate this entirely, but (II) require all capital gains be realized on death and the taxes paid. Eliminate gift taxes.
6. Foundations: require all foundations to expend ALL monies within 21 years of creation - no perpetual tax free institutions. This eliminates the creation of modern day monasteries owning everything, and fairly quickly recycles all the wealth of the Ruling Class.
This system of funding the government is simple, containing only a few rates and variables such as the exemption levels. It has LOW rates and is fair to the common man and woman. It removes tax subsidies for the Ruling Classes and big corporations. It removes taxes on jobs and even has a simple incentive to hire more people below the executive suite.
TOMORROW: The safety net for the common man and woman.
Word of the Day
"Piacular" - adjective [$10] formal.
Piacular means expiatory; 2. needing expiation.
Sentence: Tossing salt over one's left shoulder after spilling salt is a simple, piacular sacrifice: a bit more salt is lost, but the demons are appeased. [Salt was a very valuable commodity in ancient times.]
Historically, the US government was funded by tariffs and excise taxes on specific good and services. Perhaps coincidentally, the US had enormous economic growth then. All that changed when taxes on incomes were made constitutional.
The funding imbalance causes huge losses to the US economy and people. Taxes on jobs reduces the number of jobs; letting import consumption get a free ride hurts US based production and ... costs more good jobs.
The US needs to re-balance its funding sources. How?
1. Eliminate ALL taxes on jobs: no Social Security taxes, no Medicare taxes, no other taxes on employment earnings.
2. Put on a big, European style value added tax - or excise tax - on everything, including imports: something in the range of 10-15% could work. The rich would pay a lot as they spend their money; even old art would be taxed.
3. Reform the personal income tax to (A) eliminate ALL deductions and ALL adjustments to income, (B) put in a BIG personal exemption, perhaps $20,000 for each adult and $5,000 per child, and (C) lower the rate to something like 15%. Tax ALL personal income equally, including municipal bonds.
4. Corporate tax reforms: (I) eliminate the deduction for interest expense (must be phased in over time) except for (a) banks and finance companies (as interest for them is an ordinary cost of business) and (b) working capital loans; (II) tax US corporations on worldwide income - no more free ride on income in foreign lands; (III) eliminate deductions for ANY compensation above a fixed number such as the salary of the US President; (IV) permit expensing of all machinery and equipment as paid; (V) lower the corporate rate to something like 15%; (VI) include a big small business exemption of something like $1 million; (VII) move all other deductions for business expenses to a cash basis (this will simplify everything).
5. Estate Taxes: (I) eliminate this entirely, but (II) require all capital gains be realized on death and the taxes paid. Eliminate gift taxes.
6. Foundations: require all foundations to expend ALL monies within 21 years of creation - no perpetual tax free institutions. This eliminates the creation of modern day monasteries owning everything, and fairly quickly recycles all the wealth of the Ruling Class.
This system of funding the government is simple, containing only a few rates and variables such as the exemption levels. It has LOW rates and is fair to the common man and woman. It removes tax subsidies for the Ruling Classes and big corporations. It removes taxes on jobs and even has a simple incentive to hire more people below the executive suite.
TOMORROW: The safety net for the common man and woman.
Word of the Day
"Piacular" - adjective [$10] formal.
Piacular means expiatory; 2. needing expiation.
Sentence: Tossing salt over one's left shoulder after spilling salt is a simple, piacular sacrifice: a bit more salt is lost, but the demons are appeased. [Salt was a very valuable commodity in ancient times.]
Monday, January 3, 2011
Reforms for a Square Deal. I.
I'll borrow the policy label that the great President Theodore Roosevelt used to describe his policies for the common man and woman: A Square Deal. They people deserve a Square Deal from the government and the Ruling Classes. The common people are the ultimate source of national sovereignty in the US, and the ultimate reason it survives. Their national cohesion makes the US exist. They fight the wars. Today begins a series advocating simple and not so simple reforms that will help move the US towards ... what ?
What do we want ? What is our End Point ? What is our metaphorical eschaton for the US ?
We want a happier society more consistent with the Preamble of the Constitution of the US and consistent with our inalienable rights to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. I've written elsewhere how this can be accomplished in a broad context of philosophy and also political economics. A happier society would provide near complete freedom for a great majority in the middle, a secure safety net for the poor and considerable regulations for the top - those budding aristocrats. The top pays for the safety net. Simple. I've proven that such a society would be happier [See posts of January 29 and April 9 of 2010]. Now what's the optimal path ?
Today and in coming days I will write about specific reforms that will move us there. First, a simple banking reform.
Banking Reform
There's too much vig in the system. The big banking corporations want a bigger and bigger slice of every transaction and everyone's pay checks. For what ? Nothing. The government provides deposit insurance at a non-profit basis. The Treasury prints the paper money and mints the coins. The debit card systems, the pay day lenders, the fees on bank accounts, the refusal to open accounts for the poor, the fees on every transaction: all are unfair vig the bosses want to loot from the people.
A reform: as a condition of having Federal deposit insurance, any bank or credit union must offer a transaction account for free that a person can use to deposit checks (electronically OR paper) and obtain cash or a debit card. For free, regardless of credit history (as no credit is being given). Now a person with any job can store his money safety and use it in the economic system. He can deposit a check for services rendered (whether from an employer or a friend), and get cash when the check clears. This rule would apply to small business accounts, too. And one more thing: the ability to get a bank check for minimal fee to pay for large expenditures that require checks (car purchase, etc.)
I don't have to suggest reforms for debit cards transaction fees since the Fed has already proposed new rules (after much research) to eviscerate the rapacious fees of the banks. Payday lenders could still exist ... to lend. The same for check cashing services. If they provide value or convenience, they could exist. But the poor could access the normal banking system and ... live freely without the parasites and vig paid.
Krypto Fund
My dog Krypto performed superlatively last year in her money management job. Krypto Fun made a 14.1% total return in 2010, better that most hedge funds. The S&P 500 total return was a bit over 15%; that's 100% equity, while Krypto Fund is less than 50% equity. Obviously Krypto Fund's risk reward is far superior. Good doggie ... here's your fee, a fine dog biscuit.
Word of the Day
"Gracile" - adjective [$10]
Gracile means 1. gracefully slender; 2. graceful.
Sentence: Attractiveness in ladies is not unidimensional: Audrey Hepburn was a gracile beauty; Marilyn Monroe was voluptuously gorgeous, but definitely not gracile.
What do we want ? What is our End Point ? What is our metaphorical eschaton for the US ?
We want a happier society more consistent with the Preamble of the Constitution of the US and consistent with our inalienable rights to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. I've written elsewhere how this can be accomplished in a broad context of philosophy and also political economics. A happier society would provide near complete freedom for a great majority in the middle, a secure safety net for the poor and considerable regulations for the top - those budding aristocrats. The top pays for the safety net. Simple. I've proven that such a society would be happier [See posts of January 29 and April 9 of 2010]. Now what's the optimal path ?
Today and in coming days I will write about specific reforms that will move us there. First, a simple banking reform.
Banking Reform
There's too much vig in the system. The big banking corporations want a bigger and bigger slice of every transaction and everyone's pay checks. For what ? Nothing. The government provides deposit insurance at a non-profit basis. The Treasury prints the paper money and mints the coins. The debit card systems, the pay day lenders, the fees on bank accounts, the refusal to open accounts for the poor, the fees on every transaction: all are unfair vig the bosses want to loot from the people.
A reform: as a condition of having Federal deposit insurance, any bank or credit union must offer a transaction account for free that a person can use to deposit checks (electronically OR paper) and obtain cash or a debit card. For free, regardless of credit history (as no credit is being given). Now a person with any job can store his money safety and use it in the economic system. He can deposit a check for services rendered (whether from an employer or a friend), and get cash when the check clears. This rule would apply to small business accounts, too. And one more thing: the ability to get a bank check for minimal fee to pay for large expenditures that require checks (car purchase, etc.)
I don't have to suggest reforms for debit cards transaction fees since the Fed has already proposed new rules (after much research) to eviscerate the rapacious fees of the banks. Payday lenders could still exist ... to lend. The same for check cashing services. If they provide value or convenience, they could exist. But the poor could access the normal banking system and ... live freely without the parasites and vig paid.
Krypto Fund
My dog Krypto performed superlatively last year in her money management job. Krypto Fun made a 14.1% total return in 2010, better that most hedge funds. The S&P 500 total return was a bit over 15%; that's 100% equity, while Krypto Fund is less than 50% equity. Obviously Krypto Fund's risk reward is far superior. Good doggie ... here's your fee, a fine dog biscuit.
Word of the Day
"Gracile" - adjective [$10]
Gracile means 1. gracefully slender; 2. graceful.
Sentence: Attractiveness in ladies is not unidimensional: Audrey Hepburn was a gracile beauty; Marilyn Monroe was voluptuously gorgeous, but definitely not gracile.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Not good
"We had the experience, but missed the meaning" - T. S. Eliot in "The Dry Salvages".
That applies to the US ruling classes. The Panic of 2008 should have led to real change in how people invest and how the financial system is structured. But almost nothing has changed.
Too much money is in trading hedge funds ... in hedge funds, period. All that money is unproductive for economic growth. Of all those funds of the rich man, only venture capital helps the world get better. The rest are simply parasitical creatures seeking to suck a bit of the vig from markets.
Short selling has not been forced to be "real" - namely, selling only what one has borrowed and applying to all, including market makers.
Computer trading is uncontrolled. Trading pauses and "circuit breakers" are set so wide that they become irrelevant.
The public had become afraid of investing in stocks. That's a colossal change from the 1980s and 1990s.
All the Street seems to want to do is trade. Where is their primary function as financial intermediaries being done ? The same for the big banks. The big banks suck deposits from America and use the money to ... trade securities. They don't try to make loans anymore. Why bother ? They can make more money trading.
Derivatives still interconnect the major financial intermediaries, thus making them wired for another blow-up. Credit default swaps are still permitted as weapons for financial vikings to raid & pillage.
Every week we see another 400,000+ people laid off from work. Unemployment is close to 10%. Underemployment probably is over 15%.
And what does the ruling class do ? Nothing. They fight with each other seeking more power.
Thus, that quote from T. S. Eliot might be the epigram for the old order.
Let's hope the people start to act. The people must stop waiting for government to act, and take action themselves - the people need to restore their own communities, their own economic lives and their own human capital. The tools ? The mind and what exists now. The people need to focus their minds on what they can do now to help themselves with what they have.
This writer is taking actions to help motivate and aid the people to strive to help themselves.
As for the ruling classes ... just push them aside.
Actions
Krypto wants to sell some real estate fund and gold. The proceeds are to go into cash and/or bonds. I'll post actions in the comments, IF I do it.
Word of the Day
"Supervention" - noun [$10]; from "Supervene" - verb, intransitive [$10]
Supervene means to occur as an interruption in or a change from some states.
Supervention means an action or occurrence of supervening.
Sentence: (A) [from The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot, pg 46.] "The individual parts of any collection [of poems, etc.] are affected by the supervention of a wholly novel element ..." (B) Will history see the actions of the people in 2010 as a critical supervention in history and in the path of the US economy?
That applies to the US ruling classes. The Panic of 2008 should have led to real change in how people invest and how the financial system is structured. But almost nothing has changed.
Too much money is in trading hedge funds ... in hedge funds, period. All that money is unproductive for economic growth. Of all those funds of the rich man, only venture capital helps the world get better. The rest are simply parasitical creatures seeking to suck a bit of the vig from markets.
Short selling has not been forced to be "real" - namely, selling only what one has borrowed and applying to all, including market makers.
Computer trading is uncontrolled. Trading pauses and "circuit breakers" are set so wide that they become irrelevant.
The public had become afraid of investing in stocks. That's a colossal change from the 1980s and 1990s.
All the Street seems to want to do is trade. Where is their primary function as financial intermediaries being done ? The same for the big banks. The big banks suck deposits from America and use the money to ... trade securities. They don't try to make loans anymore. Why bother ? They can make more money trading.
Derivatives still interconnect the major financial intermediaries, thus making them wired for another blow-up. Credit default swaps are still permitted as weapons for financial vikings to raid & pillage.
Every week we see another 400,000+ people laid off from work. Unemployment is close to 10%. Underemployment probably is over 15%.
And what does the ruling class do ? Nothing. They fight with each other seeking more power.
Thus, that quote from T. S. Eliot might be the epigram for the old order.
Let's hope the people start to act. The people must stop waiting for government to act, and take action themselves - the people need to restore their own communities, their own economic lives and their own human capital. The tools ? The mind and what exists now. The people need to focus their minds on what they can do now to help themselves with what they have.
This writer is taking actions to help motivate and aid the people to strive to help themselves.
As for the ruling classes ... just push them aside.
Actions
Krypto wants to sell some real estate fund and gold. The proceeds are to go into cash and/or bonds. I'll post actions in the comments, IF I do it.
Word of the Day
"Supervention" - noun [$10]; from "Supervene" - verb, intransitive [$10]
Supervene means to occur as an interruption in or a change from some states.
Supervention means an action or occurrence of supervening.
Sentence: (A) [from The Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot, pg 46.] "The individual parts of any collection [of poems, etc.] are affected by the supervention of a wholly novel element ..." (B) Will history see the actions of the people in 2010 as a critical supervention in history and in the path of the US economy?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
What to Do ?
Many people are now turning attention to the future as the memories of the Panic of 2008 fade ... at least for those with jobs. The victims of the Wall Street and international bank lust for trading profits have not been forgotten, as a poll published yesterday shows high levels of "hate" for the finance industry. Maybe Congress will pass some true reform. Maybe they will fake it. Time will tell.
BUT the huge amounts of borrowing by the US, its States and cities, and many major developed nations will have to dealt with eventually. For now, I'll stick to the US. What is rather obvious to me now after the enacting of ObamaCare and its huge tax burden on higher income people, is that when combined with the coming huge tax increases on those same people (due to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which really helped only those above the AMT thresholds, viz. those making almost $1 million per year), that the ability of government to get more money from that well is nearly gone. They need to go after another pot of money.
Who will they target ? To me, it's obvious that big corporations will be the target, either through rate increases or technical changes or through more mandates. That means stock prices will be hurt.
But the title of this post is "What to Do ?", not "What will they do ?".
We need REAL reform. The elections of 2010 should be nationalized with a new Compact for Reform. Some party, or both, should adopt the following policies for the Compact for Reform.
1. No more secret earmarks, none. Forever. All appropriation requests are fully disclosed in Committee for 30 days in advance of any votes with sponsors identified.
2. Any lawmaker taking political contributions from any person or group benefiting from specific appropriation which they sponsor will be subject to ethics violation and fined - paid personally - equal to double the amount of the contribution. The public money MUST benefit the public, not special interest groups. Spending the public money must be based on reason and open argumentation, not bribes.
3. All taxes on jobs must be replaced with a value-added tax. High taxes on employing people are a cause - maybe THE cause - of long term high unemployment. A value-added tax shifts the burden to those spending the money, not working to create it. A value added tax on ALL goods makes those who consume imported goods pay for something to support the nation. Now production of those goods overseas and their consumption here adds NOTHING to the nation. This will be a huge shift, but a needed one.
4. All mandates on employers regarding employee benefits will be removed except ONE. This one mandate will be that ANY benefit provided to top management be equally provided to all employees in strict proportion to salary or wages (or that gives the lower pay levels more). An excise tax will make "top heavy" benefits prohibitively expensive. NO more will the bosses get great pensions and benefits when the workers get the shaft.
5. No more secret laws voted on by those who cannot have not read them. All bills in excess of ten pages shall be publicly disclosed for a minimum of thirty days.
6. A Fairness Commission will be created to compare all public sector wages and benefits to those in the private sector (the whole private sector, not just big companies), and shall take into account job security; small business will be a major part of the comparison. The commission will make its results public with recommendations for changes needed to equalize pay and benefits.
7. A new small business tax policy will remove ALL taxes on newly created businesses UNTIL they recover 100% of invested capital. This will apply to corporations, partnerships and sole proprietors.
Those simple seven reforms will shift governmental policy in America toward honesty, openness and pro-employment policies. Some can be done with rule changes in Congress. Some require laws. They should be adopted with large bipartisan majorities.
Word of the Day
"Fillip" - noun [$10]
Fillip means something tending to arouse or excite
Sentence: With adoption of the reforms of Bunkerman, appropriations bills and seats on Appropriations committees will no longer be a fillip for lawmakers and lobbyists. The strict standards will draw those devoted to public service, not to sticking their snouts in the trough.
BUT the huge amounts of borrowing by the US, its States and cities, and many major developed nations will have to dealt with eventually. For now, I'll stick to the US. What is rather obvious to me now after the enacting of ObamaCare and its huge tax burden on higher income people, is that when combined with the coming huge tax increases on those same people (due to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which really helped only those above the AMT thresholds, viz. those making almost $1 million per year), that the ability of government to get more money from that well is nearly gone. They need to go after another pot of money.
Who will they target ? To me, it's obvious that big corporations will be the target, either through rate increases or technical changes or through more mandates. That means stock prices will be hurt.
But the title of this post is "What to Do ?", not "What will they do ?".
We need REAL reform. The elections of 2010 should be nationalized with a new Compact for Reform. Some party, or both, should adopt the following policies for the Compact for Reform.
1. No more secret earmarks, none. Forever. All appropriation requests are fully disclosed in Committee for 30 days in advance of any votes with sponsors identified.
2. Any lawmaker taking political contributions from any person or group benefiting from specific appropriation which they sponsor will be subject to ethics violation and fined - paid personally - equal to double the amount of the contribution. The public money MUST benefit the public, not special interest groups. Spending the public money must be based on reason and open argumentation, not bribes.
3. All taxes on jobs must be replaced with a value-added tax. High taxes on employing people are a cause - maybe THE cause - of long term high unemployment. A value-added tax shifts the burden to those spending the money, not working to create it. A value added tax on ALL goods makes those who consume imported goods pay for something to support the nation. Now production of those goods overseas and their consumption here adds NOTHING to the nation. This will be a huge shift, but a needed one.
4. All mandates on employers regarding employee benefits will be removed except ONE. This one mandate will be that ANY benefit provided to top management be equally provided to all employees in strict proportion to salary or wages (or that gives the lower pay levels more). An excise tax will make "top heavy" benefits prohibitively expensive. NO more will the bosses get great pensions and benefits when the workers get the shaft.
5. No more secret laws voted on by those who cannot have not read them. All bills in excess of ten pages shall be publicly disclosed for a minimum of thirty days.
6. A Fairness Commission will be created to compare all public sector wages and benefits to those in the private sector (the whole private sector, not just big companies), and shall take into account job security; small business will be a major part of the comparison. The commission will make its results public with recommendations for changes needed to equalize pay and benefits.
7. A new small business tax policy will remove ALL taxes on newly created businesses UNTIL they recover 100% of invested capital. This will apply to corporations, partnerships and sole proprietors.
Those simple seven reforms will shift governmental policy in America toward honesty, openness and pro-employment policies. Some can be done with rule changes in Congress. Some require laws. They should be adopted with large bipartisan majorities.
Word of the Day
"Fillip" - noun [$10]
Fillip means something tending to arouse or excite
Sentence: With adoption of the reforms of Bunkerman, appropriations bills and seats on Appropriations committees will no longer be a fillip for lawmakers and lobbyists. The strict standards will draw those devoted to public service, not to sticking their snouts in the trough.
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