tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29201463161352078922023-11-15T10:04:47.161-08:00BobNBamaAn Alabama based community discussion of politics, religion, and businessBob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-89160735925974020552014-08-01T18:00:00.003-07:002014-08-01T18:00:36.452-07:00Most unemployed people not happy to 'sit on the couch at home and eat bonbons' <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Published on AL.com on January 20, 2014 at 10:13 AM, updated <span class="updated" title="2014-01-21T15:13:54Z">January 21, 2014 at 9:13 AM</span></div>
<span class="updated" title="2014-01-21T15:13:54Z"> </span>
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Seventeen years ago I was unemployed for several months. After almost
two decades of working with few interruptions I had no job, and for a
short time, no prospects. <br />
<br />
The only thing that saved me from
completely depleting my savings was the small amount of unemployment
compensation I received from the State of Alabama, an amount that was
less than 20 percent of my previous salary.<br />
<br />
If you were in that
situation today, the maximum you could receive from the state is $265
per week; most people receive less (the minimum is $45 per week) and
unemployment compensation in Alabama averages under 30 percent of your
previous wages.<br />
<br />
While
unemployed I spent every day looking for work – it was my job. I’m sure
most unemployed now do the same. It is insulting to the dignity, self
worth and sense of responsibility of unemployed Americans to suggest
that the small amount paid in unemployment compensation incentivizes
them to stay at home. <br />
<br />
Anyone who thinks that most unemployed
people are happy with a 70 percent pay cut, happy to, as one
conservative commentator said, “sit on the couch at home and eat
bonbons”, is a fool. And yet that concept is being peddled on
conservative radio and TV.<br />
<br />
At the end of December unemployment
benefits for the long term unemployed were cut off as a part of the
budget bill. Deletion of extended benefits was part of the price of
bipartisan support to avert yet another budget crisis.<br />
<br />
Democrats
hoped that a separate deal could be negotiated to restore benefits, but
so far none has occurred. Republicans have demanded that the benefits be
offset by other cuts or revenue, but all Democratic suggestions of
offsets so far have been rejected.<br />
<br />
One suggestion that would pay
for the extension of unemployment benefits and yield additional deficit
reduction as well is the elimination of the carried interest rule. This
is the tax loophole that allows hedge fund and certain other investment
managers to have most of their annual earnings taxed as capital gains
rather than at the higher rates wages are subject to.<br />
<br />
Think about
this: The wages of doctors, lawyers, electricians and plumbers are
subject to higher tax rates that this elite group of millionaires and
billionaires. No one can argue that a dollar of tax break enjoyed by
these super wealthy creates more economic stimulus than a dollar of
unemployment compensation, but the loophole stands strong, protected by a
bulwark of Republican intransigence. <br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
Having
once been unemployed I have empathy for those currently out of work.
Who do you empathize with, those who have hit hard times or the wealthy
and powerful? Do the powerful need your empathy?</div>
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Anyone who thinks that most unemployed people are happy with a 70 percent pay cut ... is a fool.</div>
Empathy has taken a beating lately. The concept has been under assault
since the advent of political talk radio through the use of ridicule,
false outrage and exaggeration. Empathy itself was the subject of
conservative ridicule during the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court
Justice Sonya Sotomayor when President Obama suggested that the quality
of empathy was desirable in a justice. <br />
Our own Sen. Jeff
Sessions, R-Ala., criticized the suggestion that empathy was an
important trait in a judge, but wouldn’t you prefer a judge that
understands the implications of her decisions when following the law?<br />
<br />
Radio
pundits in particular seem to disdain empathy. Perhaps when you own the
bully pulpit you can’t resist the temptation to become a bully. After
all, the people you ridicule as sluts, lazy welfare cheats, communists,
socialists, fascists or liars often have little ability to defend
themselves, particularly on the shows where they are smeared.<br />
<br />
What's more disturbing than this public bullying is the popularity of
these tactics with a small but very vocal group of fans of these shows.
Why do some people cheer the bully and not the underdog? What has died
in your soul if you delight in the belittling of others?<br />
<br />
When we
disagree, do we need to be so disagreeable? Would empathizing with
people we disagree with cost us anything? It doesn’t require you to
compromise your values to see things through others eyes, and you just
might find something to agree on. Perhaps that is what the bullies fear.
<br />
The next time you hear someone ridiculing the poor, or calling
the unemployed lazy for not being able to find a job, I invite you to
turn off the TV or radio and pull out a Bible and read James 2. Think
about who you identify with and why. If that does not change your
attitude, then open YouTube and listen to one of my grandfather’s
favorite songs, a 1970 Country Rock hit by Joe South: <br />
Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes<br />
Oh, before you abuse, criticize and accuse<br />
Walk a mile in my shoes...</div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-3331405874445447412014-08-01T17:55:00.005-07:002014-08-01T17:57:04.344-07:00Huntsville's Interfaith Mission Service celebrating 45 years of making North Alabama a better place<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Published on AL.com on May 19, 2014 at 7:22 AM, updated <span class="updated" title="2014-05-19T12:24:22Z">May 19, 2014 at 7:24 AM</span>
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<br />
How do you define success? Is it having a lot of money? You know that
it's not; all of us know some miserable people with plenty of money. Is
it fame? Once again you know that fame alone is not success. Justin
Bieber checks both the fame and money boxes, but most of us see him as a
slow train wreck, a hair style attached to a future trivia answer.<br />
<div class="entry_widget_large entry_widget_right" id="asset-13962493">
<span class="adv-photo-large"><span class="photo-data"><span class="caption"></span></span></span><br /></div>
Let me offer a different definition of success. It is measured by the
number of people whose lives you help make better. By that definition
teachers and doctors stand side by side with the people who provide
blankets to the homeless as real successes. With that definition in
mind, I'd like to introduce you to a very successful organization that
most of you have never heard of. It is time to say to say hello and
happy 45<sup>th</sup> birthday to Huntsville's Interfaith Mission
Service, a group that has worked quietly and tirelessly to make North
Alabama a better place.<br />
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<br /></div>
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<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
IMS's mission is "to strengthen and enhance
our congregations' capabilities to meet human needs, participate in the
public forum, and promote religious, racial and cultural harmony". If
this sounds like a bunch of folks sitting around a campfire singing
Kumbayah, let me set you straight. IMS began in 1969 to help its member
congregations (then exclusively Christian and Jewish) multiply their
efforts to meet community needs. The organization has added
congregations since then, including Hindu and Islamic and can truly say
that they represent the spectrum of faiths that make up our community.
Although IMS does not represent a particular political point of view,
the organization has been active in advocating beliefs common to the
represented faiths, including meeting the needs of the poor and elderly
in the Huntsville area.</div>
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
<br /></div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
Perhaps
one reason that many in Huntsville are not familiar with the IMS is
that the group has a history of spinning out missions once they take
root.</div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
</div>
Perhaps one reason that many in Huntsville are not familiar with the
IMS is that the group has a history of spinning out missions once they
take root. Meet some of the IMS's children – groups that the IMS founded
or co-founded:<br />
<ul>
<li>Huntsville Emergency Line Project (HELPLine) provides telephone counseling and information and referral services.</li>
<li>HOPE Place is a confidential shelter and service provider for spouse
abuse victims. It has merged with HELPLine to become Crisis Services of
North Alabama.</li>
<li>Huntsville Interfaith Volunteer Transportation Service (HIVTS)
provided transportation to medical appointments to people without
transport. It was a forerunner of HandiRide.</li>
<li>Care Assurance Support for the Aging (CASA) formed in 1978 under
contract with Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments (TARCOG) to
provide volunteer services to assist with the unmet needs of aging and
homebound individuals.</li>
<li>IMS First Stop, formed in 2001, provides services to homeless persons.</li>
<li>Living in Family Transition (LIFT) started in 1982 to provide low
cost housing for homeless persons until they can transition to more
permanent housing.</li>
<li>Food Bank: IMS provided initial seed money along with United Way to start the Food Bank of North Alabama in 1984.</li>
<li>Agora began as a coffeehouse for young adults in 1970. Later it
expanded as Community Umbrella Program (CUP) to address drug abuse and
eventually operated a Youth Emergency Services (YES) clinic for drug
users</li>
<li>FOODLine/Food Pantry System formed in 1970 with nine congregations.
Currently, 17 pantries are operating with many more congregations being
"feeders" to these pantries. Volunteers operating telephones at the IMS
office perform the clearinghouse functions.</li>
<li>Alabama IMPACT was a statewide coalition of religious denominations
formed to track and advocate for legislation promoting welfare reform
and social justice. IMS staff and volunteers did research and mailings.
Alabama IMPACT later merged with Alabama Arise.</li>
<li>CCC (Community Counseling Center) to Family to provide individual
and family counseling services. The agency later merged with the Family
Counseling Agency and is now known as the Family Service Center.</li>
<li>DIAL Kindergarten Screening - The purpose is to test children entering elementary school to determine school readiness skills</li>
</ul>
IMS has another mission – to promote religious, racial and cultural
harmony. IMS does not gloss over our differences but through its efforts
we find out how much we have in common, and learn to respect each other
while acknowledging our differences. Learning opportunities include
programs such as Hometown Pilgrimage, a program where different faiths
open their services to members of other religions and Countering
Islamophobia, where participants meet local members of the Islamic
community and learn more about their faith.<br />
<br />
Service opportunities include the Day of Service and Unity every
September. This brings members of participating congregations and
community spirited people not affiliated with an IMS member congregation
together to perform service projects around the Huntsville area. This
project started as a community unifying project after the September 11,
2001 attacks and has continued annually. Projects vary each year and
have included such activities as painting at the Harris Home, gardening
at area group homes, or packing food packets for the homeless.<br />
<br />
Every major world religion has a version of the Golden Rule. Whether
Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Baha'i, the IMS provides a
place to put that rule into action, a quiet North Alabama success story
for 45 years and counting.</div>
</div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-78811996876424275842014-08-01T17:53:00.001-07:002014-08-01T17:53:31.736-07:00Here are a few more Biblical references Alabama lawmakers should learn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Posted on AL.com on February 25, 2014 at 7:24 PM, updated <span class="updated" title="2014-02-26T01:38:31Z">February 25, 2014 at 7:38 PM</span><br />
<span class="updated" title="2014-02-26T01:38:31Z"> </span>
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Three cheers for Kyle Whitmire’s coverage of the debate in the Alabama House on the bill to<a href="http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/02/things_i_learned_during_the_al.html"> enable Alabamians to hang the Ten Commandments in public buildings</a>. <br />
If
the posted comments were representative of the discussion, the level of
debate was fully up to what you expect from the Alabama House; sadly
uninformed, pandering and without relevance to the daily lives of
Alabamians.<br />
<br />
<div class="entry_widget_large entry_widget_right" id="asset-14118228">
<span class="adv-photo-large"><span class="photo-data"><span class="caption">Bob Nicholson is a volunteer community columnist for AL.com (Contributed by Bob Nicholson)</span><span class="byline"></span></span></span> </div>
Rep. DuWayne Bridges in particular seemed unfamiliar with the Ten
Commandments even though he sponsored the bill, so I thought I’d give
him the reference to the Ten Commandments, and to make some suggestions
of some other passages to read. <br />
<br />
Perhaps our legislators can stop standing on their Bibles long enough to open them and read the referenced texts.<br />
<br />
The
Ten Commandments are in Exodus 20: 2-17 (Rep. Bridges - crossing the
Red Sea is in Exodus 14). Our House members should pay particular
attention to the 9th Commandment. A modern interpretation would be
“don’t lie”. I’m sure there are some others they may need an
introduction to as well.<br />
<br />
The Ten Commandments are only a small
portion of the rules that God gave the Israelites. Rep. Bridges should
consider amending his bill to include posting passages of Leviticus
13-15 in Alabama health education classrooms. It covers the laws
concerning skin diseases and bodily discharges. <br />
The Bible
goes into some details about what types of discharges are unclean. Since
Exodus and Leviticus were written almost 3500 years ago, nothing was
included about unclean discharges from the Alabama legislature. We now
call that legislation.<br />
<br />
OK, enough snarking. Here are a few passages that I do wish our legislators were familiar with: <br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
Exodus
22:25-27 prohibits the charging of interest on loans. They should keep
this in mind when they debate the payday loan bill. I’m not suggesting
that the House outlaw interest, but a little perspective as to what’s
fair would be helpful. </div>
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
<br /></div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
Exodus
22:25-27 prohibits the charging of interest on loans. They should keep
this in mind when they debate the payday loan bill. </div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
</div>
Malachi 3:5
has several lessons for the legislature. Among those, God promises
harsh judgment on those who oppress workers with unfair wages. I hope
our legislators understand that paying the minimum required by law and
what’s fair are not necessarily the same thing. <br />
<br />
I haven’t
heard that our Republican-dominated legislature is in any hurry to talk
about the minimum wage, but when they are, guidance is available.<br />
<br />
Malachi
also calls us to treat the immigrant fairly. HB 56 is Alabama’s version
of fair. Is it yours? Jesus himself in Matthew 25 tells us to welcome
the stranger. What could be stranger than our legislature being
welcoming?<br />
<br />
While the legislature considers solutions to the
mismanagement of Tutwiler prison, they should consider the Bible's
consideration for the prisoner. Passages in Hebrews 13, Matthew 25 have
something to say about that, but Psalm 69:33 gives them some of the best
support in finding a humane solution: “For the Lord hears the needy and
does not despise his own people who are prisoners”.<br />
<br />
Would Matthew
25:31-46 lead our leaders into reconsidering their refusal to expand
Medicaid? Probably not, and I know that their answer is that Jesus did
not specify that government be involved when he told us to take care of
the sick. That’s true, he just told us to do it. How well are we
succeeding? Are emergency rooms as primary care and medical bankruptcies
part of God’s plan? If so, God is not very cost efficient or effective.<br />
<br />
The
Bible also has warnings for our good very publicly church attending
public leaders. In Amos 5:21-24 God is telling the Israelites that he
does not accept their worship because they do not practice justice to
all the people. Isaiah 1 repeats this message (as do most of the other
books of the prophets). In other words, you can be a good church going
person, but if you don’t do the right thing it doesn’t matter. Jesus
seconds that motion in Matthew 6:21-23.<br />
<br />
This column is not a
support for an Alabama theocracy. I beleive strongly in the separation
of church and state. Whenever in history the two have become entwined,
both have, in some way been corrupted. Rather it is a call for our
legislators to follow one other passage of scripture, Matthew 6: “Beware
of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for
then you have no reward from your Father in heaven”. <br />
<br />
Paraphrased
in modern Alabama terms, this chapter says don’t make public displays
of your religion by praying in public, by proposing bills supporting
public religious displays, or by putting carving the Commandments into a
large rock that you piously display. Just do the right thing. <br />
Christianity
survived assault by the Roman Empire. It survived the dark ages and the
excesses of the Crusades. Communism could not trample it. It will also
survive the buffoonery of the Alabama legislature. It’s just too bad
that it has to. </div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-64152081114141262252014-08-01T17:49:00.002-07:002014-08-01T17:49:55.694-07:00Before convicting four Alabama counties of voter fraud, let's see the evidence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Published on AL.com on April 24, 2014 at 3:24 PM </div>
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If you needed to rotate the tires on your car would you accomplish that task by changing the oil? Silly idea isn’t it?<br />
Yet that analogy is on target when you look at the Alabama
Legislature’s actions in establishing strong voter ID laws. They claim
that they are reacting to fraud allegations and a crowd of onlookers,
columnists and pundits, are cheering them onward.<br />
<div id="story-package">
<div id="series">
<br /></div>
<div id="series">
Unfortunately, only a brief examination of the “evidence” shows no
fraud. I am a Certified Fraud Examiner. The definition of fraud is
specific (wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial
or personal gain) and to casually alleging such is irresponsible. In
order to prove fraud, not only do you have to show what happened, you
have to show intent as well. Lacking a confession admitting intent,
fraud is proven in court by ruling out all other possibilities. </div>
<div id="series">
</div>
</div>
Let’s
look at the latest “evidence” and see if it meets the definition of
proving fraud. Four counties in Alabama, Macon, Wilcox, Lowndes and
Greene, have more voters on the roll than the US Census Department
estimated their adult populations to be in 2012 by a cumulative 2934
people. And, these counties vote with a strong Democratic majority. Not
only that, but in 2012 former Alabama Congressman Artur Davis alleged
that wholesale voter fraud goes on in parts of the Black Belt. Convinced
that there is fraud going on? Don’t convict just yet.<br />
<br />
Is there a
possible explanation other than fraud for the difference? Yes, in fact
there are several possible explanations. The Census Bureau’s estimates
could undercount the populations of these counties. Only a small
underestimation in these counties could account for the entire
difference.<br />
But if the estimates are correct it still does not
indicate fraud, only that an explanation is needed. Could the rolls
simply be out of date? Both of these are possible and are not
fraudulent. Secretary of State Jim Bennett is right when he says that
the discrepancies create opportunity for voter fraud, but opportunity is
not fraud.<br />
<br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
The question as to why there is
a discrepancy should be investigated thoroughly before corrective
actions taken. How can you fix a problem before you know what the
problem is? If the voter rolls are out of date, they should be updated.
If they are intentionally overstated, then someone should go to jail.</div>
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
<br /></div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
In order to prove fraud, not only do you have to show what happened, you have to show intent as well. </div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
</div>
Artur
Davis’ allegations should also be fully investigated. Since his
allegations two years ago Luther Strange has had plenty of time to look
into this, yet we are still waiting for arrests. There have been other
allegations of voter fraud in the last few years in Alabama, most often
concerning absentee ballot abuse.<br />
<br />
These are serious and
troubling. For supporters of the new voter ID laws, these allegations
are reason enough to warrant strong ID laws. They argue that we don’t
need to wait for an election to be stolen to put in controls to stop
fraud. I agree with them completely – except that voter ID laws do
nothing to address the allegations of fraud that have been made to date.<br />
<br />
In order to steal an election, you need a lot of votes. That’s
why allegations to date allege vote buying and fraudulent absentee
voting. Vote buying was alleged recently in a Tuscaloosa election. White
fraternities and sororities were accused of buying votes with promises
of limo rides and free alcohol. These were valid voters with ID’s. The
new law does nothing to prevent this.<br />
<br />
It is the duty of county
voting officials to investigate suspicious requests for absentee
ballots. Therefore wholesale absentee ballot fraud would almost
certainly require the participation of county voting officials, who can
circumvent the absentee ballot rules. Once again, voter ID rules would
not prevent corrupt officials from manufacturing requests for absentee
ballots.<br />
<br />
Even if ID laws do nothing to prevent the type of fraud
that is most likely to occur, what is wrong with showing a specific type
of state issued ID at the polls? Many studies throughout the country
conclude that strict voter ID laws have a disproportionate effect on the
black elderly and poor. They are more likely to not have proof of birth
or residency and more likely not to have transportation to county
courthouses to obtain ID’s. This is a burden that will prevent some from
exercising their rights as citizens.<br />
<br />
If ID laws don’t prevent
fraud why did our legislature really pass voter ID laws? Various Alabama
Democrats have alleged racism. Intent is hard to prove and I object
just as strongly to allegations of racism as I do fraud without proof.
The record is clear. Not every Alabama Republican legislator called
black voters “aborigines” or admitted under oath that he was worried
that high black turnout would benefit Democrats.<br />
<br />
And although
Alabama’s Republicans have tried to redraw district lines in a manner
that limits black voting power this does not prove racism in itself. But
Alabama has a troubling history on race and any disproportionate effect
warrants a questioning of motives.<br />
<br />
I’d support calls for better
voter ID laws if the program were designed so that EVERY legal voter
received an ID for free and without undue burden. But if we really want
to prevent fraud, let’s improve controls over how the ballots are
distributed and counted and quit throwing up barriers to valid voters.
Finally, let’s stop the name-calling. Not everyone who supports voter ID
laws is racist and being against ID laws does not mean you support
fraud. </div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-54698157806746615402014-08-01T17:47:00.004-07:002014-08-01T17:47:25.555-07:00Ronald Reagan, deficits, big government: It's time to let go of some myths<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Published on AL.com on October 31, 2013 at 8:20 PM<br />
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<br />
In column after column, writers have enjoyed bashing the
Obama administration with a variety of facts and statistics. It's past time to
examine some of these facts to separate fact from accepted myth. This is not
meant so much as a defense of the president as it is a fact check of what is
being peddled. If a columnist has to use incorrect or misleading statistics,
you can guarantee that his or her arguments are weak.<br />
<br />
One recent columnist wrote about Obama's continuing
trillion-dollar deficits. I don't know whether he was intentionally misleading
the readers, or did not bother to get up-to-date data, but recent estimates
place the 2013 fiscal deficit at $680.3 billion. While that's too high, it
represents a more than $300 billion deficit reduction in one year. That massive
reduction can be attributed to three factors; an improving economy, the Obama
tax increases, and the effects of the much-disliked sequestration. <br />
<br />
On the subject of our national debt, one Alabama congressman
cannot string two sentences together without talking about the United States'
impending insolvency. While the U.S. debt now stands at just over $17 trillion
dollars, or just over 100 percent of current GDP, our historic high, just after
World War II, was 121.7% of GDP. We recovered from that level of debt, and we
can do it again if we have the national will.<br />
<br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
To put things into perspective, the World Bank publishes
debt statistics of countries around the world. As of 2011, Greece's debt
totaled a disastrous 106.5 percent of GDP, while Singapore had debt at a
manageable 110.2 percent (Japan was at a whopping 189.9 percent). Why is
Greece's dangerous, while Singapore's is manageable? The world's financial
managers answer in the returns they demand to invest in this debt – They
believe that one country can repay the debt while another risks default. U.S.
debt rates remain at near historic lows; the world still judges us sound. It
won't remain that way in the long term if, for no other reason than political
brinksmanship, some irresponsible politicians threaten default. Eventually they
will be taken seriously by the world's bond buyers and the damage they cause
will be expensive. </div>
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
<br /></div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
Budget cuts that add to the deficit later, and tax cuts that do not pay for themselves are not the way to fix the problem. </div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
</div>
The world's patience with our growing debt is not limitless,
but we do not need to act stupidly or cruelly to address the problem. Budget
cuts that add to the deficit later, and tax cuts that do not pay for themselves
are not the way to fix the problem. Although Alabama's Republican Congress
members call themselves fiscally responsible, none of the budget alternatives
they have supported are realistic approaches to balancing the budget. They
support additional tax cuts and unspecified cuts that promise great return and
little pain. Don't let anyone fool you. Our economy is addicted to deficit
spending. Any plan to swiftly balance the budget would likely plunge us into a
deep recession. The budget cuts and tax increases needed to achieve this will
be painful to everyone. There is not enough waste, fraud and abuse and there
are not enough giveaway programs to cut to make this easy. Labeling yourself
fiscally responsible means nothing unless you follow it up with budget
proposals that are more than magical thinking.<br />
<br />
One of the biggest myths Republican writers support these
days is the growing legend of Ronald Reagan. He is praised for his unyielding
conservatism and for the positive effect he had on the American national mood. But
his record tells us a different story. When Medicare was proposed, he
campaigned nationally against the Socialism he thought it represented. Yet as president,
he vowed to protect it. He cut taxes when he took office. Yet when he realized he
had cut too deeply, he raised them. As a CPA then in public practice, I
remember his tax changes well. His actions to raise taxes alone would cause the
very people who idolize him today to label him a RINO. <br />
He stood up to our enemies. Yet he illegally sold weapons to
the Iranian government and negotiated with terrorists to release American
hostages. Can you imagine what today's Republicans would say about President
Obama if he sold weapons to the Iranians? The call to impeach would be shouted
from the rooftops. Yet the Regan myth grows.<br />
<br />
Finally, let's look at Alabama. Many conservatives chafe at
the burden the federal government places on us. They rant against anything the
Obama administration supports, even if the idea did not originate with the president,
and even if the idea was originally proposed and embraced by conservatives
(such as Obamacare). Yet few other states get a better return on their
investment in the federal government than Alabama. According to 2010 Census
data, Alabama, in that year, received $2.03 for every dollar we sent to
Washington. We will bite the hand that feeds us, but we will continue to expect
to be fed. Our rugged independence, our standing up against the overbearing
federal government is one of our most cherished myths. Like the great Walt
Kelly said in Pogo: "We have met the enemy, and he is us." </div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-75389947253754369462014-08-01T17:44:00.000-07:002014-08-01T17:44:07.162-07:00This is a milestone the US shouldn't be proud of<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Published on AL.co on June 28, 2014 at 6:00 AM </span></div>
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There was an important number in the news last month – 400.<br />
<br />
You probably didn't hear about it. It's one of those things that is
important but not exciting. No cat videos about the number 400 were
made. It's not an update to the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans nor
a reference to Jason Isbell's band.<br />
<div id="story-package">
<div id="series">
<br /></div>
</div>
But it is something that has not happened for at least 800,000 years,
yet something that is likely to be surpassed within a year. For the
first time since humans walked the planet, the average carbon dioxide
level in the atmosphere in the Northern Hemisphere averaged more than
400 parts per million for a full month, according to the World
Meteorological Organization. We first hit this milestone on one day in
May 2013, but April's average establishes a new monthly record.<br />
<br />
Carbon dioxide levels are seasonal. The rate is expected to drop
later this summer, but next spring we could see yet another record
level. Pre-industrial readings of CO2 were around 280 PPM and levels
were approximately 290 PPM at the end of the 19<sup>th</sup> century.
There are still many people in the USA who doubt that we are
experiencing man made climate change. As data accumulates their doubts
are harder to understand.<br />
<br />
This is not a political issue, despite the naysayers who try to make
it into one. 400PPM does not respect doubts - it just exists. 400PPM is
not a theory. 400PPM is a fact. CO2 is a greenhouse gas. That's also
fact, not a theory.<br />
<br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
The ten globally hottest years on record
(since 1880) have occurred since 1998, another fact. And although the 36
billion tons of CO2 being released into the atmosphere each year by man
made activities is an estimate, no one can argue that the actual number
is not at least close to that estimate.</div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="6" style="display: block;">
The America that won WWII and won the race to the moon can't afford to clean up our power plants.</div>
These are real numbers, not theories. That the level of CO2 in the
atmosphere affects the climate is not even in doubt. Man is contributing
to the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. The only questions are
how quickly are we making the climate change and what are the effects.<br />
Yet there are still valid questions - important questions that the
skeptics are raising. The global climate is an extremely complicated
system with more variables than we can encompass in any model. Thus the
models are not a perfect predictive tool of the future effects of the
change we are causing.<br />
<br />
Fortunately the models are constantly being improved as more data is
collected. There is still much to understand, but waiting for a perfect
understanding of the effects of rising CO2 levels is a fool's answer to a
documented problem.<br />
<br />
Do you remember the Tobacco Institute – a tobacco industry funded
group that existed to delay actions to encourage people to stop smoking?
It's scientists prostituted themselves for a paycheck and the result
was more people were lost to lung cancer. They are a deservedly
forgotten lot.<br />
<br />
History is repeating itself as the industries fighting climate change
action fund their own studies to delay action. Ultimately they will
fail and action will be taken, but at what cost to the world?<br />
Many governments are not waiting. They are taking action now. They
have seen the dangers to the well being of their citizens and the
probable damage to their economies by taking no action. Beyond that
though, they see opportunity. They see promise in carbon capture
technology (Alabama is one center for this research). They also know
that the cost of alternative energy is plummeting. Solar power in Italy
and Germany is now being generated as cheaply as power from fossil
fuel.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately many of our Washington leaders don't see this
opportunity. When responding to the President's plan to limit CO2
emissions from power plants they cited heavily inflated cost estimates
and stated that our economy could not afford to meet the standards.<br />
<br />
The America that won WWII and won the race to the moon can't afford to clean up our power plants.<br />
They think that suddenly there is no such thing as American
ingenuity. They bet against us when they said the auto industry could
not afford to install seat belts or to design safer or more efficient
cars. They have repeatedly bet against us when they said we could not
clean up our most polluted rivers, clean up our air, and reduce
chlorofluorocarbons in consumer products (using a free market approach).
They have been wrong every time.<br />
<br />
Meeting problems head on is the American way. Why do we give any
credence to politicians with a can't do attitude? Why do the people who
claim to believe in American exceptionalism not actually show it in
practice? Real conservatives would figure out the best market based
approach to meeting this problem.<br />
<br />
There is nothing magical about the 400PPM milestone recently passed.
It is merely a speed limit sign that we have ignored as we continue to
press the accelerator. But in April a UN climate panel set 450 PPM as
the level required to keep global temperature change under 2C. Real
damage to our world, to our economy is occurring now and it will get
worse.<br />
<br />
400PPM is a marker on the road to bigger problems but we still have time to react before the worst predictions come true.<br />
<br />
The question is, will we?<br />
</div>
</div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-29114318151787655102014-08-01T17:40:00.003-07:002014-08-01T17:40:47.893-07:00I completed a background check to buy a gun in Huntsville; contrary to NRA claims, the hardest part was the waiting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Published on AL.com on January 02, 2014 at 12:28 PM, updated <span class="updated" title="2014-01-02T18:29:24Z">January 02, 2014 at 12:29PM</span></span>
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Tom
Petty was right. Waiting was the hardest part. The line at Larry’s
Pistol and Pawn Shop was long. A sign posted in the store stated that it
could take up to two hours to be waited on. So I got back in my car and
crossed the Parkway in Huntsville and walked into Gander Mountain.
After less than five minutes, I had been waited on and now had to make a
choice. I was looking for a target pistol, something accurate but cheap
to shoot. The accountant in me came out and, having purchased other
caliber ammo at a much higher price, so I settled on a .22-caliber
Beretta. After choosing the gun, I had to fill out the background check
paperwork, and then I waited.<br />
<br />
Oh, what an intolerable wait, almost 15
minutes during which I browsed the aisles. Then I paid for my gun and
walked out, gun in hand, lunch hour coming to a close.<br />
<br />
Tom Petty was right. Waiting was the hardest part. I went online to
get the paperwork, filled it out and drove down to the Madison County
Courthouse. There, I went to the sherriff’s office and delivered the
paperwork. Then the waiting began. This wait time was almost six weeks. I
hope the background check to get a gun carry permit is a little more
thorough than what it takes to buy a gun because the permit allows me to
carry a concealed pistol in public. The Second Amendment grants the
right to own a gun, but the right is not absolute. You cannot carry any
gun you want to any place. You can’t own a machine gun without a special
license. And of course, you can’t own rocket launchers or missiles.<br />
<br />
Six weeks later, I revisited the sheriff’s office, decided on the
laminated, picture card version of the permit, paid my money and left,
permit in hand. I had my pistol. I had my permit. Were my rights
violated by this process? Hardly. Yet the NRA argues that requiring
background checks for all gun purchases is a violation of our rights,
government tyranny. Can anyone explain how the process victimized me?
Can anyone explain why they think my rights were violated? Can anyone
explain why a background check should not be completed for every gun
purchase? Background checks are required for purchases from licensed gun
dealers, but not for private sales and transfers. I like to call it the
meth dealer exception.<br />
<br />
Requiring background checks for all gun transfers is now the law in
Colorado. Critics there point out three potential problems with the
requirement. First, some see this as a violation of their Second
Amendment rights. This is nonsense. I went through a background check
and I had my gun by the end of my lunch hour. Subjecting private sales
does not stop anyone who can pass a background check from buying a gun.<br />
<br />
The second objection is that some criminals will not follow the new
law. This is true of all laws. Are there speeders in Alabama? Are
murders committed? By extension, this argument can be used to eliminate
speed limits and to make murder legal. The majority of citizens follow
laws. Why do critics think that Americans will suddenly become scofflaws
when it comes to background checks?<br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
The third objection is that it will
criminalize gifts of guns. Once again, this presumes that law-abiding
citizens will suddenly refuse to follow the law. The gift of a car
requires the transfer of a title. A background check is a smaller
hurdle. Are gun rights advocates too lazy to comply with the law?</div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="5" style="display: block;">
Expanded background checks will not stop all criminals from getting guns, but it is a start, an easy baby step.</div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="5" style="display: block;">
</div>
After four months, Colorado’s experience is that 72 private sales
were blocked because the applicant was under a restraining order or had
been convicted of or charged with a serious crime. The vast majority of
private sales went through despite the check. The impact of 72 sales
that did not occur is hard to know (you can’t measure the number of
crimes that were not committed), but no one can argue that Colorado
would be better off if these sales had been completed.<br />
<br />
Expanded background checks will not stop all criminals from getting
guns, but it is a start, an easy baby step. Rights are accompanied by
obligations, even in Alabama. Is the obligation to prove you have the
right to own a gun too much to ask? Our Legislature has elected not to
act, to continue to make it easy for criminals to skirt the law as they
arm themselves. Not acting, allowing this loophole to continue, now that
is criminal. </div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-26182651705544949012014-08-01T17:36:00.000-07:002014-08-01T17:36:02.027-07:00For those who say government can't get anything right, try visiting another country<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
</h1>
<div id="Byline">
Published on AL.com on November 22, 2013 at 3:04 PM </div>
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<br />
Greetings from rural Udumalpet, India. Business gives me the
opportunity to get to know people and cultures all over the world. It
reinforces the importance of international cooperation and trade. What happens
in other countries really does affect us in Alabama; we have an economic stake
in their success. Travel also helps to remind me of how blessed I am to have
been born in the USA. We take for granted things that many other people can
only dream of. Sitting here, I fully understand the truth of the cliché
"first world problems."<br />
<br />
It also helps me to appreciate the government that we have. Warts
and all, our local, state and federal government somehow manages to be less
wasteful, less corrupt and more effective than most. No one can deny our
problems, but to the many who now think that government can't get anything
right, you are wrong.<br />
<br />
Continuing a theme from a previous column, you have
bought the myth.<br />
<br />
How many times did your power go out in the last hour? Here in
India, we've had power drop at least a dozen times. TVA, an entity created by
the federal government, provides most of the Tennessee Valley with reliable
electricity. Alabama Power, regulated by state government (loosely) provides
reliable power to most of the rest of the state. You drive on roads built and
maintained by all levels of government working together. Did you drink any
clean water from your tap or flush your toilet today? Most of our water and
sewer services are provided by municipal utilities. These are things that are easy
to take for granted until you don't have them.<br />
<br />
My father attended college thanks to GI bill, a program still helping
veterans today. I'd be willing to bet that quite a few
of NASA's alumni here in Huntsville were World War II and Korean War
veterans educated that way as well. Did you hear the news this week that the
number of homeless veterans has dropped 24 percent over the last six years? That's
despite the recession and thanks to Rapid-Rehousing, a program managed by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development. Perhaps those of you who lean
Libertarian would rather these veterans remain on the street waiting for a
private-sector solution. I'd rather have veterans not be
homeless.<br />
<br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
Sent any emails lately or surfed the Internet? No private company
would have taken the risk of creating the Internet, but our government saw
value where there was none. Although it was originally a Defense Department
project, the US government had the wisdom to allow the public to have access. The
Centers for Disease Control, NASA, and the National Weather Service are all
federal agencies. On the whole, they do a good job. If you expect perfection in
government, go find some agency that humans are not involved in. </div>
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
<br /></div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
When someone says they can't fix health care, what they really mean is that they choose not to.</div>
Which brings us, of course, to the terrible rollout of
Healtcare.gov. Let's back up a bit and remember why the
bill was passed. Millions of your fellow citizens live one illness away from
bankruptcy, and medical bills, not lavish lifestyles, are the biggest cause of individual
bankruptcies in the country. Insurance companies abused pre-existing condition
rules, gorged on excess profits and sold many policies in the individual market
that had so many exclusions they were essentially worthless. When Democrats
wrote the Affordable Care Act, they based it on a plan created by the conservative
Heritage Foundation (published in 1989) to try to attract Republican votes.
They were naïve to believe that Republicans would
continue to support this plan if the president embraced it; the plan passed
with no Republican support.<br />
<br />
The plan contains several provisions that Republicans should
embrace. The Independent Patient Advisory Board exists to find cost-savings and
to determine which treatments are effective and which are not. Cutting waste
like this used to be a bipartisan objective, but that was before Obama became
president. The individual mandate exists to prevent people from delaying
coverage until they are already sick, thus freeloading off of the system. This
requirement to accept individual responsibility for your own care was also a
Republican rally cry – but now these same people call it
government tyranny.<br />
<br />
Yes, the rollout was botched. But I have a response to those who
say it can't be fixed, who say that the bill is unworkable. I grew up
in Huntsville. I grew up in a town where the impossible became reality when a
man landed on the moon. The space program experienced failure and setbacks, but
no one ever seriously talked about quitting. They assessed the situation,
planned and tested solutions and made it right. When someone says they can't
fix health care, what they really mean is that they choose not to. When they
say we can't afford it, what they mean is that they are not motivated
to try; their priorities do not lie in making people's
lives better. We are smart enough to figure this out, and this was a common
goal before politics intervened.<br />
<br />
If you still complain
about government tyranny, please, take a vacation in Somalia or Haiti. There,
you'll find out what it means to live without big brother; you'll
find what it is to be truly free. Once you get home, perhaps we can start to
work together to find common ground. We can make things better together, but
you have to want to try. </div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-42026301259648060002014-08-01T17:32:00.001-07:002014-08-01T17:32:35.958-07:00Could West Virginia-like water contamination happen in Alabama? Unfortunately, the answer is yes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
</h1>
Posted on AL.com on February 03, 2014 at 9:14 AM, updated <span class="updated" title="2014-02-03T15:16:24Z">February 03, 2014 at 9:16 AM</span><br />
<span class="updated" title="2014-02-03T15:16:24Z"> </span>
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By now you have heard that Freedom Industries, the West Virginia company whose <a href="http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/01/west_virginia_company_ordered.html">10,000-gallon chemical leak poisoned much of that state’s drinking water </a>has filed for bankruptcy protection. <br />
Three
hundred thousand people were without water for several days, businesses
were forced to shut down during the outage, and now the owners of
Freedom Industries have petitioned the courts to allow them to walk away
from the damage. Could that happen in Alabama? This is actually a
question with two parts but unfortunately, the answer to each part is
yes. <br />
<br />
The
first issue is one of regulation. U.S. House Speaker John Boehner
stated that this was a failure to enforce existing regulations, not a
lack of regulation. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Federal regulations
cover oil storage tanks, not chemical tanks. There are recommendations
for proper tank maintenance and spill containment in the federal rules,
but they do not have the weight of law. <br />
The Freedom facility is
reported to have had spill containment walls, one of the federally
recommended practices. Unfortunately, the walls were also reported to
have been cracked. The State of West Virginia has no regulations
requiring the inspection of chemical tanks, even those containing toxic
substances near water supplies. The state prides itself on being
pro-business, with few regulations to hinder business, just like
Alabama. After all, all business people are trustworthy; all
businesspeople follow good maintenance practices and would never delay
fixing a problem to make more money, right?<br />
<br />
<br />
This is the point in
this column where I defend most businesspeople. I work in the corporate
sector. I believe that most businesspeople do their best. Most want to
do the right thing. But it only takes one bad tank to poison a river.<br />
<br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
Step
back a moment in time and imagine that West Virginia did have effective
regulations in place. Yes it would have cost Freedom Industries some
money, but this would have been money well spent, an insurance policy.
It would have saved not only the people and other businesses of West
Virginia time and money, but it would have kept Freedom Industries out
of bankruptcy. </div>
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
<br /></div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="" style="display: block;">
Most (businesspeople) want to do the right thing. But it only takes one bad tank to poison a river. </div>
Bankruptcy
is a complex process under federal rules, but Freedom Industries will
more than likely be able to leave the people of West Virginia on the
hook for the damage it caused. You need only to look at Perry Uniontown
Ventures LLC. (Perry County, Alabama – damage lawsuits dropped due to
bankruptcy) or Interstate Lead (Leeds, Alabama –superfund site,
estimated cost $60 million) to see that bankruptcy often allows
companies to walk away from the environmental damages that they cause,
leaving taxpayers on the hook.<br />
<br />
Alabama has more miles of
navigable rivers than any other state; 10 percent of the fresh water in
the United States runs through Alabama. Alabama, with its water,
minerals, forests and beaches is a natural wonder. Are we being proper
stewards of this god given bounty? Do we have the rules in place to
require tank inspections, particularly those near our precious water?
No.<br />
Unfortunately we Alabamians have a reflexive response to
government that doesn’t serve us well. We chafe at the imposition of
rules and regulations, even those that benefit and protect us. Our
politicians lack substance; they run with a promise to turn back the
clock to a simpler time that never existed. Their currency is the empty
promise and they attack anyone who speaks up for change. <br />
For
proof you need to look no further than the name calling that accompanied
calls for the Public Service Commission to conduct formal rate
hearings. Anyone promoting hearings was labeled an environmental
extremist. It didn’t matter that environmental issues were not the topic
to be discussed. It didn’t matter that transparency in government is a
virtue and that the Public Service Commission was merely being asked to
do its job in the open. It didn’t matter that keeping utility rates low
(while guaranteeing utility companies a fair rate of return) is good for
the people and for Alabama’s business community. The PSC chairperson
ran on the promise of jobs, jobs, jobs but attacked others when she was
asked to do hers.<br />
<br />
Imagine then the firestorm over someone
proposing common sense rules to regulate chemical storage facilities.
Well, let the name-calling begin. It is time to be better stewards of
Alabama’s natural resources. It is time to protect the businesses that
would be shut down by other’s recklessness. It is time to protect poorly
run businesses from themselves. West Virginia showed us why it is
needed.<br />
<br />
Let’s not wait for our own disaster. </div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-1951318988213881442014-08-01T16:58:00.000-07:002014-08-01T16:58:30.884-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
War on Christmas is a civil war as Christians try to remake Jesus into their own image </h1>
<div id="Byline">
Published on AL.com on December 18, 2013 at 10:30 PM, updated <span class="updated" title="2013-12-19T04:31:44Z">December 18, 2013 at 10:31 PM</span></div>
<div id="Byline">
<span class="updated" title="2013-12-19T04:31:44Z"> </span></div>
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There
is a war on Christmas. Fox News’ annual declaration of the war is as
regular and predictable as reruns of “Frosty the Snowman” or “A Charlie
Brown Christmas.” This is not the war I’m talking about. Yes, there are,
and always will be, loud disagreements between committed, in your face,
activist atheists and equally committed loud and in your face activists
Christians over the placement of a crèche on a courthouse lawn, or the
selection of Christmas carols in a public school pageant. These are mere
skirmishes in the broader culture war, but both sides want to pretend
that it matters so their victories will seem important.<br />
<br />
In Texas,
the legislature has protected teachers’ right to say “Merry Christmas.”
It doesn’t appear that there was a large-scale movement in Texas to ban
wishing a Merry Christmas, but big government conservatives feel the
need to legislate, so feel free to shout “Merry Christmas” from Texas
rooftops. In Chicago, atheists erected a lighted 8-foot-tall red and
white “A” as a counter to a life-sized nativity scene there. Around
here, the atheist meaning of a giant lighted red and white “A” would be
lost – can I get a Roll Tide?<br />
<br />
While many enjoy decorations of
the season, I doubt that anyone will be converted simply because that
lighted crèche is on the courthouse lawn instead of at a church, and I
certainly won’t start seeing life the way the atheists want me to
because they lighted their A.<br />
<br />
I see a different war on Christmas,
a civil war; Christians trying to remake Jesus into their own image for
political or financial gain. The effect is to corrupt the image of
Christianity, in particular to young Americans. “unChristian: What a
New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity ... and Why It Matters”
is a 2007 book that reports the results of surveys of young people about
why they do not attend church. In summary, they don’t go because they
see church as the refuge of hypocrites, of people who are quick to find
fault with others, quick to condemn behavior that many young people do
not see as being wrong and slow to defend or help the poor and the
powerless. But this sort of behavior is as old as the Bible itself. This
Christmas season, many churches celebrate Advent by reading the words
of Isaiah prophesizing the coming of the Messiah, but I offer you this
from Isaiah 1: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”<br />
<br />
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
How
many Alabama politicians run on a God plank? From local offices to
State Supreme Court races, candidates fall all over themselves to up the
God ante. So this Christmas season, think of all of those politicians,
then celebrate the birth of the Jesus that said in Matthew 6:5 – “And
when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by
others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” </div>
<div class="PullQuoteAfter">
<br /></div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="5" style="display: block;">
Do our politicians show the love of God in the policies they pursue, or are they using religion as just another prop? </div>
<div class="PullQuote" data-position="5" style="display: block;">
</div>
Do our politicians show the love of God in the policies they pursue, or are they using religion as just another prop?<br />
<br />
In
this Christmas season, celebrate the coming of the Jesus who confronted
the rich and the powerful. Celebrate the Jesus who warned them they
would be judged for how they shared with the poor. Celebrate the Jesus
of Matthew 25:34-46.<br />
<br />
It is Christmas; not the Christmas of Black
Friday sales, not the Christmas of inflatable snowmen. It is Christmas,
not the celebration of an unrecognizable selfish Jesus who would have
complained about the takers in society, the 47 percent, but a
full-strength Jesus who confronted the rich, the powerful and the
religious leaders of his day; a Jesus who partied with the sinners and
called the “good people” hypocrites.<br />
<br />
When you celebrate Christmas, which Jesus will you welcome into the world?</div>
Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-2436741339948907752013-09-07T08:21:00.005-07:002013-09-07T08:21:58.998-07:00Max's Devotional<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last Monday it was my 54<sup>th</sup> birthday. I can’t say
that I enjoyed the day because it was also they day that we euthanized our dog
Max. This was the hardest decision we have ever made. Perhaps I am lucky, but
big decisions have always been easy until this one. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Marrying Libba? That was a no-brainer. The miracle is that
she wanted to marry me. Kids, jobs – these were not hard decisions. Looking
back, I put too little prayer and thought into the jobs I have taken. You often
won’t get God’s counsel if you don’t take the time to listen.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But letting go of my dog, my friend, my family member; that
was a long and painful process. Prayer helped, but prayer did not stop the
tears. In the end, we knew that it was selfish of us to make her endure pain
and starvation as her 18-year-old body gave out. I have had pets, cats and
dogs, throughout my life. There was something different, special about our dog
Max and I’ll tell you a little bit more about her in a minute. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this is not a devotion meant to bring you down, this is
a celebration of the example God gave us in the life of Jesus, and how if we
open our eyes, we can see that example in the lives of the people and even pets
that we love. </div>
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<br /></div>
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These are the words of Matthew 22: 34-40 </div>
<span class="text"><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">34 </span></sup></span><span class="text"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hearing that Jesus had silenced the
Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="text"><sup>35 </sup>One of them, an expert in the law,
tested him with this question:</span> <span class="text"><sup>36 </sup>“Teacher,
which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”</span></span><br />
<span class="text"><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">37 </span></sup></span><span class="text"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus replied<span style="color: red;">:
</span></span></span><span class="woj"><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">“‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’<sup>[</sup></span></span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022&version=NIV#fen-NIV-23910c" title="See footnote c"><sup><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">c</span></sup></a><span class="woj"><sup><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">]</span></sup></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="woj"><sup>38 </sup>This is
the first and greatest commandment.</span> <span class="woj"><sup>39 </sup>And
the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’<sup>[</sup></span></span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022&version=NIV#fen-NIV-23912d" title="See footnote d"><sup><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">d</span></sup></a><span class="woj"><sup><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">]</span></sup></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="woj"><sup>40 </sup>All the
Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We are all familiar with this
passage, but applying what we know from this is a lifelong struggle, one that I
too often fail. What does it mean to love the Lord? What does it mean to love
your neighbor? Rather than try to answer these questions directly, I’d like to
look to the life of Jesus to talk about three of his traits; anger, love of
learning, and caring for others. And I’ll tell stories about how even a dog can
teach us, by example, these traits. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Anger is a dangerous emotion.
It can destroy. Yet Jesus showed anger in clearing the Temple of the
moneychangers. Was he doing this because he hated the moneychangers? No,
throughout his life as told by the Gospels, he showed love to sinners. But this
practice was an affront to God, and worse, this could lead the people away from
an understanding of God. Jesus called the Pharisees vipers – hardly a
complement. But this too had a purpose, not to hurt the Pharisees but to show
them that their religious practices were separating people from God rather than
showing a love for God. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So how in the world can a dog
remind us of Jesus’ use of anger? Max never truly got angry, but in a very few
cases, she did display a ferocity. Max was a friend to all people and animals.
She loved cats. But on a couple of occasions she chased cats from our yard,
barking and showing her teeth. These cats had attacked our cats and she would
not allow our cats to be hurt. After the attacking cats were out of the yard,
she immediately trotted back to the house and displayed no more aggression. </span></span><br />
<span class="woj"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">How long did Jesus hold on to
his anger? How long do you?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus was fully human. It is
hard for me to really understand all that means. Jesus was a carpenter. From
the parables we know that he knew something about fishing and farming. And of
course, he knew and interpreted the scriptures. For me to accept that Jesus was
fully human, I can’t imagine that he was born with this complete knowledge,
because learning is a very human trait. My belief is that he was born with a
thirst for knowledge, a thirst that we see in many children. The fully human
Jesus was a sponge, soaking up the lessons that life presented him. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="woj"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Our dog Max was unusual. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We never house trained Max, or taught her commands.
She just knew what to do – sometimes doing what you wanted her to do even
before you called out a command to her. She was a learning dog. When she got
very old, she lost her hearing, but then started to respond to hand gestures.
This too we did not teach. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Are you a learner? Do you thirst for
knowledge? What lesson have you learned today that brings you closer to God?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus cared for others. This is obvious in
all that he did, even in how he displayed his anger. Jesus loved sinners. He
showed kindness. He healed. He fed. He showed us a better way and he gave us a
way out. He is our intercessor. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Max was a loving friend to every person and
animal. She never met another dog she did not like. More surprisingly, she also
never met a cat or any other type of animal that she did not want to make
friends with. She always tolerated the sometimes-clumsy petting that she got
from small kids and never tried to bite even when someone would get a little
too rough with her. She never tried to bite, even when protecting her cat
family members. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you try to bite? How do you show your
love? Jesus gave us two laws on which all of the laws are based. Then he gave
us his life, by example and through the cross to demonstrate application of
those laws. We humans fall short, but if you look around, you can see glimpses
of Jesus, in the love shown by others, in the things they do, in the things
they find important to learn. And yes, you can even see examples on four legs.
God has surrounded us with lessons. We just need to see them to learn them. </span><br />
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Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-44678147721407285432012-02-19T18:44:00.000-08:002012-02-19T18:44:45.261-08:00Jesus gives the Leper a Band-aid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">This is part 2 of a series on religion and politics. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part one can be read at <a href="http://bobnbama.blogspot.com/2011/12/jesus-is-born-so-what.html">http://bobnbama.blogspot.com/2011/12/jesus-is-born-so-what.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Do you remember the passage in the Bible where the leper walked up to Jesus and asks to be healed, and Jesus gave him a Band-Aid? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or how about the time the blind man asked Jesus to restore his sight, and Jesus offered him a seeing-eye dog? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Weren’t you moved when Jesus commanded us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, give the thirsty something to drink and to welcome the stranger, using free market principles in an unregulated market that prove the profit motive leads to greater efficiencies and that market pressures alone will lead businesses to operate in an ethical manner? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Me neither. First of all, Jesus was not interested in half measures. The blind could see again, lepers were cured. And Jesus commanded his followers to care for the sick, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe those who need it…(Matthew 25:31-46). We were not told how to do it, just to get it done. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So if you are a believing Christian, the question is not if we, as a society should do these things, but how do we try to get it done. Anything less is a step away from Christ. And this is where religion and secular society meet. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The current Republican presidential primary selection race leaves me confused. Every candidate (except perhaps Ron Paul) flaunts his religion and they seem to compete to be the holiest. Yet they condemn “Obamacare” and offer no alternative, government or private. Heal the sick? Not on their watch. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Feed the hungry? No, attack food stamps. Newt Gingrich’s plan is for the needy to cinch in their belts until they have good paying jobs. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Welcome that stranger? Each candidate tries to outdo each other to be harder on undocumented aliens. I’m not arguing for open borders, but haven’t we lost some of our own humanity when we are cheering the breaking up of families? Haven’t we given up on Christ?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Government is not the answer, nor is it the problem. Government is a tool that the people can employ to solve problems that are beyond us individually. What matters are results. Are we fulfilling all of Jesus’ commands through our churches? No one could argue that we are. While churches work to bring the commands of Christ to the world, the job is bigger than churches can do alone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will the private sector do the job? The profit motive does not willingly provide products and services to those who cannot pay. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So if you don’t want government to heal the sick, and feed the hungry… please, fellow Christians, tell me your plan. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Part 3 – Why should the rich pay more? Coming soon.</div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-21712591649388470402011-12-26T12:48:00.000-08:002011-12-26T12:59:10.699-08:00No papers please – a Food Ministry Christmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">They came from all over North Alabama and southern Tennessee, black, brown, white and all shades in between. They were the volunteers on Thursday, December 22. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">They came from all over North Alabama and southern Tennessee, black brown, white and all shades in between. They were the hungry, those who needed clothes or toys for their kids for Christmas. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It started off as a food ministry, but now it also fills other needs as well. English was the main language, but Spanish was often heard as well. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the food line we were given strict instructions; two cans of green beans, two cans of carrots, two of pears, a bag of frozen sweet potato fries and two pounds of rice for each person. No more. Unless someone asked. Our customers in turn would not only tell us if they needed more, but when they had enough at home. “No rice today, I have enough and I don’t want to take it when someone else needs it more”. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The toy line was long. Each person got a ticket for two toys. The supply was limited, but no one complained. Shoppers were let in 15 at a time because the space was small and the demand was large. Hundreds were served by the end of the evening.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The toys were donated, as was much of the food. All of the help was by volunteers; an odd mix of individuals, a middle school basketball team, an alumni group from a fraternity and many different church and civic groups. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You heard Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, and God Bless you often. But what you never heard in this ministry the week before Christmas was, “your papers please”. This ministry answers to a higher law. </div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-77835175407514118422011-12-23T07:39:00.000-08:002011-12-23T07:39:25.061-08:00Jesus is Born – So What?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Christmas is here and Christians around the world are celebrating Jesus’ birthday. So What? You say you’re a Christian? Jesus is born! So what are you going to do about it?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you respond and say you show your love of God by going to church, my response is again – so what? To quote the bumper sticker, “Going to Church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car”. You say you give to your church. That’s nice but if it is all you are doing it is not enough. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">First, let’s start with your church. Is it inviting to all? Do you welcome the rich and the poor equally? James 2:1-4 teaches us that if we show favoritism, we are committing a sin. James continues in 2:5-7 “<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5</span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? <sup>6</sup> But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?” James’ work was deemed important enough to include in the Bible. Now we would dismiss him as being a radical in the Occupy Movement. What does that say about us? Why is pointing out social injustice threatening to many US Christians?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The prophet Isaiah had this to say about good, church-going folk who make offerings and pray, but stop there. “<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">15</span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening” Isaiah 1:15. Isaiah explains why God does not listen to their prayers in verses 16-17: <sup>16</sup> Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. <sup>17</sup> Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.<sup> </sup>Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow”. Yes Isaiah knew that God would not hear their prayers if they did not practice justice. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah’s time was much like our own. Here is what he had to say about the leaders of his time in 1:23 “Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts”. It sounds like money has always corrupted politics and power too often attracts scoundrels. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you think that perhaps Isaiah is an anomaly in the Bible? Listen to the words of Amos: “<sup>7</sup> There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">12</span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. </span><sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">21</span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. <sup>22</sup> Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. <sup>23</sup> Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. <sup>24</sup> But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Amos 5:7, 12, 21-24. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But let’s assume that your church is inviting to all and is interested in social justice. It’s time to get more personal. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">James continues in chapter 2 “<sup>14</sup> What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? <sup>15</sup> Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. <sup>16</sup> If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? <sup>17</sup> In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James is clear – faith requires action. To those who are wondering where Grace fits in here, yes, you are saved by Grace, but if you are saved, won’t there be evidence? If your heart is changed to love God, that love will leave tracks for all to see. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">James gives us a hint on one of the things we are to do: feed the hungry. But why don’t we hear from Jesus himself on what we are to do: </span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. <sup>35</sup> For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, <sup>36</sup> I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <sup>37</sup> “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? <sup>38</sup> When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? <sup>39</sup> When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <sup>40</sup> “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” Matthew 25:34-40.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus goes on to promise condemnation to those who do not heed this call. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To be a Christian is a call to action, a call to loving others with more than good intentions and good feelings. A call to feed, clothe and provide medical care to those in need. A call to question the world as it is and to demand, not middle class comfort, but justice. A call in all ways to love one another as you love yourself. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So there you have it. Jesus is Born! So what? So get moving. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Coming at the New Year: Part 2 – Jesus gives the leper a Band-Aid, or does government fit into this call to action? </span><br />
</div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-76832068240302195752011-11-18T10:54:00.000-08:002011-11-18T10:54:27.295-08:00Mo Brooks endorses single payer health care (well not really…but)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">At a recent town hall meeting at Grissom High School Mo Brooks made an offhand comment praising South Korea’s freedom loving people, contrasting them to the North Koreans. He stated that he believed that their economic miracle was directly related to their love of freedom. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I could not agree more. The people of South Korea are a democratic society that has experienced an economic miracle over the last several decades. While part of that miracle is due in part to the defense assistance we provide them, the majority of their advances are due to their own hard work and commitment that they have made to the betterment of their own society. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Koreans enjoy one of the best public school systems in the world, in part due to strict federal standards and high teacher salaries that attract high achieving applicants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Koreans enjoy the fastest broadband Internet speeds in the world, thanks to strict an energetic federal regulation of the telecom industry. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When automaker Kia went bankrupt in the late 1990’s, the government took over the firm (bailout) until the eventual takeover by Hyundai was arranged. Jobs were saved and the company now thrives as a part of the larger Hyundai Company.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Koreans also spend only 6.4% of their GDP on medical care (2006 -according to the CDC) even though they have universal single payer medical care. We in the 15.3% US spent that same year even though we have gaping holes in our medical system. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So Mo was right. There is definitely something to admire about these freedom loving people. Perhaps one of their most admirable qualities is that the people make the system work for their own good.</div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-7286648634866840342011-11-02T09:20:00.000-07:002011-11-02T09:20:04.294-07:00House reaffirms 'In God We Trust' as official U.S. motto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 class="diaryTitle"> </h1> Yes, the House determined that reaffirming "In God We Trust" as our national motto was the most important issue facing our country today. <br />
<br />
If we do indeed trust God, why do we need so many weapons? <br />
<br />
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-house-motto-20111102,0,4529006.story </div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-14619839494699053692011-10-28T19:31:00.000-07:002011-10-28T19:31:08.478-07:00Why Wall Street should pay attention to Occupy Wall Street<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Occupy Wall Street is now a favorite subject for the media. They seem to vacillate between admiration and disdain. Certainly Fox News leans more towards disdain while MSNBC is more open to examining their complaints. I hope that Wall Street is paying attention. Whether you like them or not, Occupy Wall Street is one symptom of a greater issue – falling confidence. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Each month consumer confidence is reported as an indicator of expected future economic performance. Confidence in the value of the dollar is evidenced by foreign currency exchange rates. Confidence in the Federal Government is reflected in surveys with the general public and by investors with the yield rates on treasury bills. Confidence is a valuable indicator and positive economic outcomes in the long run require confidence – the confidence to spend, the confidence to borrow, he confidence that you will have a job and the confidence to invest. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Occupy __ (fill in your city) movement is, fundamentally, about fairness; the belief that the economic system is not fair to most people in the United States. Protestors believe that if you work hard to get an education and a job, that you should be able to prosper. The reality they see is that people in finance who game the system have prospered enormously while following the rules may leave you jobless and in debt. They believe that if you should start to get ahead, the financial system is set up to fleece small investors while the powerful prosper at the rest of society’s expense. That is, they have lost confidence in our economic system. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As long as that loss of confidence is limited to scattered encampments in large cities around the country (and world) the protestors are merely a noisy distraction to Wall Street, and perhaps a tourist draw for the curious. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But surveys taken since the beginning of the protests indicate that the OWS movement is the true cutting edge of a wave of dissatisfaction with the direction of our country. TEA Party groups blame the government for their dissatisfaction, while OWS blames greed and the influence of money on the political process. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both groups know something is wrong, and the OWS movement has been growing in influence. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our stock markets require investor confidence to attract capital. No investor will send money to his broker with the expectation that he will be fleeced. As more investors examine the arguments of the OWS movement, they may come to agree that the system is rigged against them. If this results in dollars slowly being pulled out of the market, then Wall Street ignores the complaints of the OWS movement at its peril. This loss of confidence will likely not result in a run on the markets, rather is would be evidenced by a slow decline as individuals come to the conclusion that the American dream does not flow through Wall Street. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Is Occupy Wall Street the tip of the iceberg or an annoyance to the wealthy? The public is now focusing on the growing income gap and time will tell. </div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-77967329000415694612011-10-19T19:58:00.001-07:002011-10-19T19:58:57.223-07:00They wonder why we don’t like them<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">With the ongoing Occupy demonstrations going on around the country, I’d like to tell two stories about working with banks. Neither of these stories involves large sums of money or great issues, but it is the little things like this that leave us with a negative attitude towards financial institutions. Issues of substance are now magnifying that attitude. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The refinancing</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">About a year ago I decided to refinance my house to take care of lower interest rates. I was not taking any cash out, nor was I lowering my payments. The only objective was to cut down the repayment term to pay the house off faster. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I immediately locked the interest rate for 90 days and sent the requested document dump to Bank of America. Then I waited. After a couple of weeks I got an additional document request from a new loan officer. My first contact was no longer on the transaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My second loan officer only lasted one day, having apparently left the company about the time that my folder landed on her desk. There was a mix up with the third loan officer, and my refinancing ended up on the desk of a fourth person. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">By this time the bank had lost many of the original documents and I was asked to resend them. Several times. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The fourth loan officer was not on the scene long, nor was number five. Because of the churning of the loan officers Bank of America had to extend the 90-day rate lock. Upon the extension I had to update all of my documentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After four months and six loan officers we closed the loan. The final insult of this story is that at the closing we were given the option to have our checking account automatically drafted each month to pay for the loan, and the bank would only charge us $4.00 extra per payment for the honor. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m an accountant. I know that the ACH transfer that the bank would use to draft our account is much cheaper for the bank to process than the paper check we would be sending. Yes folks, the bank was charge us $4.00 per transaction to save THEM money. We declined their generous offer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The checking account</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Until last week I had a checking account at Citibank. Two weeks ago I received a notice in the mail that Citi was raising its service charge on checking accounts to $15 per month. The letter also let me know that as long as I maintained a minimum savings balance, I would not be charged – and congratulations I had that minimum balance. After a checking account is set up maintenance on the bank’s mainframe has a negligible cost. I could understand a per check charge – processing checks costs money. But $15 per month just to maintain the account is unconscionable. Although the account would have cost me nothing, I have now closed my Citi checking and savings accounts and am one of the newest members of my local credit union. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We all have a choice. Don’t let yourself be treated like a sheep to be sheared. Don’t do business with companies that don’t value you as a customer. </div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-5920044695519469672011-08-25T12:55:00.000-07:002011-08-25T12:55:42.993-07:00The Conservative belief in American Unexceptionalism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Conservatives seem to revel in the idea of American Exceptionalism. Within the last year John Boehner and Kathleen Parker have criticized the President for not using the term, even though in fact he has (April 4, 2009). President Obama frequently invokes the concept of exceptionalism, even when the phrase is not uttered. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the right, the phrase has become a litmus test of patriotism, as if mere words were enough to prove one’s love for country. But, as in all things, actions are the real proof of one’s beliefs, and it is in actions that the conservative movement in this country shows their belief in American Unexceptionalism. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I live in Alabama’s 5<sup>th</sup> congressional district. Mo Brooks can’t exhale without uttering the need for budget cuts. We can’t afford universal health care (and according to Mo, requiring the purchase of private insurance is a government takeover of health care). We can’t afford to help the poor- the social safety net is a luxury in a time of slow economic growth. He, along with the other Republicans in the house, have voted to cut funding for nutrition programs for pregnant women, food programs for children, job training environmental regulation enforcement, food safety inspection, updated weather satellite systems, aid for police departments, and foreign aid (except for Israel and Pakistan). Should the Ryan budget plan pass, the magnitude of the proposed cuts would dramatically increase. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">By votes and rhetoric, Republicans believe that Unions hurt business and competitiveness, protecting the environment cannot be accomplished without destroying jobs and that drilling for more oil domestically will significantly reduce our energy prices. And of course, they reject the science that shows us that global climate change is being accelerated by human activities. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, countries as diverse as Germany and Taiwan prove that universal health care is a realistic idea that society can afford. China is sprinting to be a world leader in the alternative energy industry and much of Western Europe is proving its commitment to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel with investment and action. Germany requires Union representatives on corporate boards, and requires employers to provide generous benefits. It invests in worker training and strongly protects its environment, yet its economy is the strong man of Europe and unemployment there is much lower than in the US. Yes, Germany has its own economic problems, but it has not had to abandon its social safety net even under our current world economic duress. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So what does it say about our belief in ourselves that other countries can do what our conservative leaders say we cannot afford to do? Do conservatives believe that Americans are lazier than Germans? Are the Taiwanese smarter or richer or more moral than us to be able to afford universal heath care when we are told we cannot? Are the Chinese more farsighted, investing in the energy technologies of the future while we wrestle with crumbling infrastructure? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">By word, conservatives proclaim the greatness of the USA. They proclaim our superiority in most, if not all things. Yet in their words and actions, they betray those statements of American Exceptionalism. They tell us what we can’t do, can’t afford – even while other countries pursue and achieve what we are told is unattainable. They have chosen shortcuts and callousness as the direction we must take to compete in the world. When we accept second best, when we accept that our future is only a diminished version of what we were, that we must turn away from a commitment to each other as a society to pursue our own selfish goals, that we cannot attain what others countries can, that our children must accept less and live in a world of fewer rights and more pollution, then we will truly be the unexceptional people, the unexceptional nation, that they are telling us we must be. </div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-49580886549342935412011-08-16T20:02:00.000-07:002011-08-16T20:02:47.363-07:00Estate Tax - a Question and a primer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Just before the April tornados, I posted some information about the Ryan tax plan. My focus was on the income tax provisions, including examples of how the plan would exempt investment income from taxation while eliminating most income tax deductions. In that post I mentioned that the plan would eliminate the estate tax completely. I received the following comment/question from a friend. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If I work hard, and save money, after paying the requisite taxes on that income myself, and then also paying taxes on the dividends and interest as I invest that money, do you think it's reasonable that if I want to give some or all of that money to my kids to supplement their lives, that they should then be taxed on that money as income? Generally speaking, I think one layer of taxation from an "income" standpoint (the taxes I paid) should be reasonable. In addition to what I paid as income tax, the kids are likely to spend some of that money, and when they do, aren't they being taxed as well - via consumption (sales) tax? </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Since then I have taken a hiatus from writing the blog so I am finally cleaning out the in box. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course, implicit in the question is that the Ryan tax plan would not pass (Under the Ryan plan, not only would the estate tax be eliminated, but all taxation on dividends, interest and capital gains would cease). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Before I offer my opinion, let’s look at where the estate tax currently stands. For 2011, estate tax is due on taxable estates of more than $5,000,000 (or $10,000,000 for married couples). For the first time in history, the joint marriage total survives the death of a spouse – but this provision has many qualifications and a qualified estate tax expert should be consulted to understand this provision and its planning implications. For taxable estates, the maximum rate is 35% of the taxable estate. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This limit is set high enough so that most estates, including most family owned farms and businesses do not trigger an estate tax upon transfer at death. In 2007, estates over $2,000,000 were subject to tax, yet only 38,031 returns were filed (at a time when time when the number of deaths in the year was approximately 2,400,000). While no statistics are available for 2011 yet, it is safe to assume that far fewer estates are subject to tax than in 2007 since the size of the minimum estate subject to tax has more than doubled. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the past, the estate tax rate has been much higher. As recently as 2001 the maximum rate was 55% on estates larger than $3,000,000. Yet this seemingly punitive tax rate did not result in the ruination of many estates due to the many planning strategies available (family LLC’s, life insurance programs, trusts…). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Indeed, we have yet to see any of the Walton family (Wal-Mart) in bread lines due to the burden of estate taxes. In fact, last time I checked, the family still held on to one of the world’s great fortunes. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, what were some of the reasons the estate tax was established and are those reasons still relevant? Of course, raising revenues is one of the most obvious reasons for the estate tax and in times of record deficits, any reduction in estate taxes would exacerbate the deficit. The other reasons in favor of the estate tax are more interesting – to prevent the corrupting influence of wealth concentration on democracy and to help capitalism. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thanks to Koch Industries and the Koch brothers, we can see how concentrated wealth can be used to influence government. Through the financing of right wing think tanks, false grass roots political organizations, direct lobbying and lavish entertaining of politicians (including judges) as well as direct campaign contributions they have fought to reduce the influence of unions, loosen environmental laws, reduce worker safety rules, and reduce worker job rights. They have been effective. With the recent Citizens United Supreme Court decision, their ability to more directly assert their influence on policy has been magnified. Whether you consider this to be a corrupting influence or free speech is a matter of opinion. My opinion is that speech is free, but the megaphone through which they can amplify their opinion is very expensive and even Unions cannot match their influence, thanks to the money they use to buy influence.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">How is capitalism helped by an estate tax? The reason for this position is the same that led to the creation of anti-trust laws. Concentrated wealth can be used to crush ideas in the marketplace. Without protection can large companies (and large fortunes) be used to crowd out new and better ideas? Obviously.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Does the estate tax result in double taxation of accumulated income? Yes, it can. But there are several situations where appreciated property is inherited without ever being subject to tax on the appreciation, so there are no absolutes on this subject. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Are the reasons for the imposition of the original estate tax still valid? I believe that they are, and for that reason I do support an estate tax. With estates under $10,000,000 (for married couples) being exempt from tax, and planning strategies available to larger estates, the burden on the wealthy is not too high. </div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-68265471972752844902011-07-02T15:32:00.000-07:002011-07-02T15:32:25.763-07:00Michelle Bachman’s 9th Commandment problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Exodus 20:16</span></b><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> <i>"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I welcome Michelle Bachman to the presidential race, but I am confused about something. As she lets everyone know, she is an evangelical Christian, and that is the source of my confusion. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Although we all fall short, I would expect most Christians to at least attempt to follow the 10 Commandments. That brings me to the 9<sup>th</sup> Commandment, which is printed above. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A very strict interpretation is that this means that you should not offer false testimony in court, but most modern interpretations expand this to simply mean “do not lie”. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now a lie and a gaffe are two different things. A gaffe is a mistake, like mixing up the birthplace of John Wayne with John Wayne Gacy ( the serial killer) (<a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/06/michele-bachmann-confuses-john-wayne-gacy-with-the-duke.html">http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/06/michele-bachmann-confuses-john-wayne-gacy-with-the-duke.html</a> ). Certainly this gaffe could have been prevented with, say, 30 seconds of research, but it is an unintentional mistake. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lying is intentional, like saying that you never benefitted from government subsidies when your own financial disclosure forms show otherwise (<a href="http://www.politicususa.com/en/bachmann-dairy-farm">http://www.politicususa.com/en/bachmann-dairy-farm</a>). Unfortunately this is only one of many documented lies from the Congresswoman from Minnesota. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You may be saying to yourself that all politicians lie. Perhaps so, perhaps not, but that is not the point. Someone who campaigns on the strength of their faith should be held to a higher standard – that of the faith they profess. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Family values candidates should not cheat on their spouses, anti-government spending candidates should not be taking government money, and people who run as Christian candidates should at least make every attempt to tell the truth.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s really not a lot to ask, now is it?</div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-30203161363842588472011-06-06T06:14:00.000-07:002011-06-06T06:14:23.659-07:00Bond pop quiz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"> Pop Quiz. As of June 5, what was the yield on a 10 year U.S. Government bond? Here’s a hint. When voting against raising the government debt limit, Rep. Mo Brooks said “We face national bankruptcy and insolvency”. Another hint – the current yield on Greek 10 year government bonds is 16.25%. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The answer to the pop quiz is that US 10 year bonds yield is 3.125%. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The answer means two things. First, those people who invest for a living continue to believe that US obligations represent one of the safest risks on earth. Second – Mo Brooks is exaggerating the mess we are in. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Certainly, our debt and deficit problems must be addressed, but the confidence that the financial markets continue to place in the US give us the time to address our deficit issues smartly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What would not be smart? Lowering income taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest to ZERO when we are facing historic deficits. How about supporting a deficit reduction plan that, by its own questionable accounting, does not balance the budget for several decades? Yet these are the policies that Mo Brooks voted for in his support of the Ryan budget plan. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Rep. Brooks talks tough about deficits. But his voting record so far shows that more tax cuts for the wealthy are really at the top of his agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do you call someone who says one thing and does another? I’d call him Mo.</div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-19798891700253912842011-04-24T14:35:00.001-07:002011-04-24T20:36:59.300-07:00And Hop is a documentary - How the Ryan bill makes the income tax system fairer.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">I want to do away with the myth that the Ryan budget plan balances the budget on the backs of the poor and middle class. It does nothing of the sort. To be sure, it does make draconian cuts in the social safety net, cuts that will result in more hunger and untreated illness in the US. It does change Medicare into a voucher plan from a comprehensive insurance program. But it does not make a serious attempt to use these savings to balance the budget. By the plan’s own questionable accounting, the federal budget under the plan will not be balanced until 2063. By using more objective assessments of the effects of the tax cuts contained in the plan, it expands the deficit to even more unsustainable levels, even with the savings we gain by turning our backs on the needy. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What the plan does is redistribute wealth from the middle class and needy to the wealthy. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m a CPA, so I was particularly interested in the estate and income tax provisions of the plan. Most of what has been written about the Ryan plan has focused on the Medicare changes proposed, or the ridiculous assumptions used to cook the numbers (2.8% unemployment by 2021, tax cuts with no negative revenue effect). As a result, the press has not highlighted the changes in income tax laws. Since I did not find that summary, with examples, I have prepared it below. Warning – some of this is pretty dry. I have not tried to make many witty comments or jokes (assuming you have found some of my previous posts to be witty or funny). I think the examples will entertain (shock, scare…) you though<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. If you have any questions or would like more details or examples, please email me with your requests.</b></div><h2> </h2><h2>Estate taxes</h2><div class="MsoNormal">The plan eliminates the estate tax. Thanks Dad (no, not really – I am not a member of the lucky sperm club).<br />
</div><h2>Corporate income taxes</h2><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Corporations would see their income tax eliminated entirely; to be replaced by an 8½% business consumption tax (essentially a Value Added Tax – VAT) . The tax is calculated by subtracting purchases (non-wage expenses) from income. For tax purposes, investments made by businesses would be immediately expensed. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The VAT tax would apply to businesses that are now pass-through entities (partnerships, S corporations, sole proprietorships).<br />
</div><h2>Individual income taxes</h2><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Individuals would get to select from two tax codes, the current code or an alternative simplified code (a reduced IRS would have to administer this two-code mess). Under the new code, wages would be fully taxable as they are now. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Interest, dividends and capital gains would be completely exempt from taxation. Deductions from income would be eliminated. </b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Since wages are taxed under the Ryan plan as ordinary income business owners have a tax planning strategy available to them under the Ryan plan.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A business owner makes $500,000 from her business. The business owner, a single taxpayer, takes a salary from that total that results in taxable income of $50,000. The wage income is subject to an income tax rate of 10%. She pays herself the remaining profits as a dividend, which are not subject to income tax (yes - a rate of 0%). Pretty slick, eh? Fair? Not so much.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">As the plan advertises, your income tax return would fit on a postcard. Taxable income is gross income less<span style="color: black;"> a standard deduction and personal exemption. The value of the health insurance provided to employees by employers will now be a part of that employee’s taxable income. If your salary is $50,000 and your health insurance cost your employer $10,000, your gross income on which income tax and social security is computed is $60,000. You would receive a tax credit for your health insurance cost to partially offset the effect of taxing the value of your health insurance. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">To demonstrate, assume that a single taxpayer has $60,000 in taxable income (after standard deduction and personal exemption). His taxes, before health care credit, would be $7,500 (10% of the first $50,000; 25% on the rest). Compare that to someone who inherited wealth and does not work. He earns $1,000,000 per year from interest and dividends. His tax is $0 because all of his income is exempt from taxation. The winners and losers under the plan are clear.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Does anyone want to argue that this is fair or even makes sense?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My congressman, Mo Brooks, voted for this bill. Did he read it before he voted, or did he expect us to not read it?</div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-3511600759650232802011-04-23T14:34:00.001-07:002011-04-23T14:34:54.016-07:00Jump frog Jump – my Head Start experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Jump frog Jump, that’s what I shout, in unison with thirteen four and five year olds at the Toney-Harvest Head Start Center. Several times a year my Kiwanis Club reads to the kids at the center as part of the RIF (Reading is Fundamental) program. At the start of the year, the kids could not sit still. They didn’t know their numbers or letters. Now, when I point to a number they can tell me what it is. They can count up to 100 (at least most of them). They know their letters. They sat still as I read five books. And I am impressed with their progress.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the programs that Republicans in Congress want to slash funding for is Head Start. They say it doesn’t work. They say they have studies that show that the kids do not do better in school. I don’t know how good their studies are. I don’t know if they were conducted properly. I do know that many of these kids start out life with two strikes against them. They come from poor families. Many are raised by single parents. They don’t read at home; don’t even have books. But at the Toney-Harvest Head Start Center they learn to sit still and listen. They learn to raise their hands to be recognized. They learn their numbers, colors and letters. And when they leave to go to kindergarten next year they will be ready. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Jump frog jump, indeed.</div></div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920146316135207892.post-8216185593915953842011-04-15T12:47:00.000-07:002011-04-15T12:47:01.526-07:00Paul Ryan's Safety Thong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Paul Ryan wants to keep the safety net for the poor from becoming a hammock. This just shows how out of touch Mr. Ryan is. If you look at the benefits available with the safety net and consider the cost of living, I think you will agree that the net can hardly be considered a net anymore.<br />
<br />
A hammock cradles you, and a net catches you. Mr. Ryan would shrink it more, so we should think of something smaller than a net. Much smaller.<br />
<br />
So let's start referring to the social programs that remain if Mr. Ryan gets his way as the Ryan Safety Thong. Like a thong, Mr. Ryan would leave some very important things unsupported. Like a thong, it would not cover nearly enough. And like a thong, it would become very uncomfortable at precisely the wrong time. And for average American a thong is just not a good idea.<br />
<br />
I would not even wish Mr. Ryan's Safety Thong on Mr. Ryan himself. That's just something I really don't want to picture. </div>Bob Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14909239777821531150noreply@blogger.com0