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Change is in the air.......Or maybe someone farted

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Monday, December 29, 2008 11:05:02 PM

I keep wondering what that knot in my stomach is. It burns, makes me belch at weird times and has even given me a case of heartburn. Could it be the looming presidency of Barack Obama? That's what Web-MD has diagnosed me with. They call it "normal," whatever that means. Anyway, my health behind us all now, let's talk about yet another way that Barack Obama will make you feel like he is looking out for you. This trick will come at the expense of hedge fund managers. Currently, the manager of a hedge fund is able to get away with paying only fifteen percent of their income in taxes, while the rest of us are forced to cough up as much as thirty five percent of our income into the government coffers. The way they do it is pretty simple. Since the manager of a hedge fund is in charge of investing other people's money, they are able to claim their piece of the pie as capital gains. Even though this is their main source of income and the capital gains are not theirs, they are still able to climb through the massive hole that is in the tax code. They claim that they should be able to claim their income as capital gains because of the fact that capital gains are taxed at a lower rate because of the risks involved in investing money. What they forget to tell you is that the risks involved in their investments are the risks of their clientele, not their own. The Democratic party has had the past several years, as they had control of the congress, to get legislation in place that would require hedge fund managers to pay the normal tax rate on their income. The problem is that hedge fund managers have donated more than five million dollars to federal lawmakers, just during this election cycle. You do the math. Hedge fund managers donating millions of dollars to lawmakers + loophole in the tax code that congress refuses to close = billionaire hedge fund managers paying a paltry fifteen percent income tax. It simply doesn't add up to me. Barack Obama will close this loophole at some point during his presidency and will let the media display all of the anger that this will cause on the part of billionaire hedge fund managers. The common citizens will see these billionaires upset at Barack Obama and will assume that the republicans must support these billionaires who have ripped off the country. They will not realize, nor will the mainstream media tell them, that the democrats refused to close the loophole sooner because they were too busy receiving two thirds of all the money that the hedge funds were spending on the political campaigns. The democrats loved the money and didn't care how they got it. Now that the election is over, the Barack Obama camp will try to deceive people who get all of their information from the internet. They will think that Barack Obama is the modern version of Robin Hood. He is simply taking from the rich and giving to the poor. The only bad thing is that these rich people that Barack is demonizing paid for the seat that he will be sitting in come January twentieth. Hope you're comfy Barack, that's a pretty expensive seat. Man, you gotta love all the change that's in the air! Oh, in case you were wondering, to get over my case of the "normals," Web-MD reccomends two hours a day spent watching CNN, MSNBC and some guy named Keith Olbermann.

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Don't Let Him Fool You

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Monday, December 22, 2008 6:04:35 PM
The historic time is almost here. We are soon going to witness the swearing in of Barack Obama as the forty fourth President of the United States. Right behind the historic swearing in will come another historic moment in the history of the United States. Barack Obama will preside over one of the largest increases in taxes in our nations history. He will try to package these tax increases as "tax breaks" for the middle class. Let's examine how he comes up with this historic rise in taxes.
 
1. Barack Obama is going to increase the top tax bracket from 35% to at least 39.6%. The top tax bracket is comprised of those who make 200,000 or more.
 
2. Impose the social security tax on all of your income. Currently, you only have to pay social security taxes on the first 101,999 dollars.
 
3. Raise the capital gains tax from 15% to 28%. Man, this plan will really help the economy and convince people to invest in the stock market.
 
4. Double the tax rate on dividends from 15% to 30%. Any dividends paid to you for making wise investments will be gobbled up by Barack. Sesame Street should portray Obama as a new character called the Money Monster. YUMYUMYUMYUM
 
Negative consequences from these tax hikes are;
 
1. By raising the tax rate on the highest earners in the country, we will be promoting and "paying" people more money to remain in the middle class. This will lead to a decrease in productivity, a feeling of contentedness that we currently do not have and will help to perpetuate class warfare. All Americans want to move up the corporate ladder so that they can make life easier for their kids and grand-kids. If the government takes almost forty percent of your earnings, what is the incentive to move up?
 
2. By subjecting all income to the social security tax, Barack Obama is trying to pay back the trillions of dollars that the government has borrowed from the social security trust fund. This would be one of the ways that Barack will raise our taxes, without actually raising the tax rate. We will have to pay the social security tax on all of the money we make., There will be no cutoff point. We love you Barack!
 
3. By raising the capital gains tax to 28%, Barack will be adding fuel to the fire that is our economic system. This will cause a sell-off on walstreet as well as a sell-off in the housing market. People will sell at bargain prices to keep from paying the government 28% on all of their capital gains. This will also prevent people from investing in the stock market and real estate or will promote investments in foreign systems. Why would anybody want to invest their money in the United States system if they could do it in another country and avoid shelling out 28% of their earnings? This will make walstreet plunge even further!
 
All of these tax raises will be packaged as tax cuts because Barack will do a couple of things to fool Americans. He will extend some of George W. Bush's tax cuts. This would make people in the middle class believe that they are getting a tax cut when, in reality, their tax rates would stay the same as they are now. He will also try to repeal the alternative minimum tax. The AMT was designed to make sure that wealthy people could not hide behind tax break loopholes. The problem is that the AMT was enacted in 1969. Incomes have rose drastically since then, but the amount you make in order to have to pay the AMT has not changed. In 1969, the AMT affected 155 people. Today, the tax would affect 23 million people. Thanks to George W. Bush, the tax has not had to be paid by Americans because he has pushed back it's effective date annually. The problem is, the tax is still on the books. When Barack Obama repeals this tax, he will trumpet it as a tax break for the middle class, even though the middle class has never paid this tax! It is an illusion of tax breaks, people, don't let him fool you!!
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Hope You Invest Wisely

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Saturday, December 20, 2008 11:28:59 PM
They got a pay raise and all I got was this lousy recession. Congress should mail every American a T Shirt with that phrase screenprinted on the front, after they accepted a 4,700 dollar pay raise. That's right, every member of congress will make 4,700 dollars more next year. That adds up to a 2.5 million dollar expenditure for the tax payers in 2009. Isn't that nice? I am glad we can make the lives of those in congress a little easier. Now, if my thinking is correct, and the democrats are concerned with sharing the wealth, I am sure we will all be receiving a share of that raise in the mail. I can't wait to get mine! The fact that the "leaders" of our country would take such a substantial raise in pay amongst such horrid economic times should make you shudder. It takes all th talk of "change" and throws it out the window. For those of you that voted for "change," you've been duped. Congress has done absolutely nothing for the past four years and deserves a pay decrease, not an increase. Half of them should be fired, not receiving a "cost of living raise." This is just another sad example of how our leaders think. They could care less about getting the country back on the right track, but instead worry only about themselves! Kudos to Harry Mitchell, the Democratic Representative from Arizona, Dan Burton, the Republican Representative from Indiana and Gresham Barret, the Republican Representative from South Carolina for fighting this bill. They all fought the pay raise until the very end. However, with leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, along with their band of yes men congressman and women, three honest congressman can only do so much. Thank you to those three and any others who spoke up about the injustices of such a pay raise. To those who advocated the raise, we will remember this when your election rolls around. Hope you invest wisely!
                             Congress.org A Look Back at 110th Congress           
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I Pray There Are No Shoes In Hell

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Thursday, December 18, 2008 6:45:46 PM
It is an image that makes me angrier than I have been in a long time. Muntadhar al-Zeidi, an Iraqi "journalist," stands up and throws his shoes at the President of the United States. That's right, he took his shoes off and threw them at  a foreign leader during a farewell press conference. A couple of things that Mr. Muntadhar al-Zeidi may be interested in remembering; The person that you just threw your shoes at is the same man that made sure your country was freed from the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. Had President Bush ignored and appeased Saddam, as his predecessor President Clinton did, you would not be writing your personal opinions in a newspaper. You would be writing exactly what the Iraqi government wanted you to write. President Bush sacrificed public approval to make sure that your country had a fighting chance in hell to achieve a democracy in which you could bask in newfound freedoms and civil rights. The action of one "man" takes all of the American sacrifices and stomps them into the mud. Several liberal leaning talking heads are comparing this ignorant journalist to Joe the plumber. Comparing a man who decides to throw their shoes at a person who presided over the freeing of a terrorist nation, to a person who calmly and politely asked a pertinent question on the campaign trail is quite a stretch. Even for the likes of Keith Olbermann. I guess, in the liberalist media's minds, the comparison is well deserved because they view Joe the plumber as a man who challenged what the media was spoon feeding us. He was a problem for the Democratic party. They view a shoe throwing journalist as a problem to the Republican party. The sad thing is the fact that the anger I feel when I watch this dispicable act replayed on television is not shared by all. I was not angry that the shoe was thrown at George W. Bush, but am angry that the shoe was thrown by an Iraqi journalist at an American. I guess that is the difference between our country and many other countries around the world. Our citizens will throw their lives at terrorists to try to make the world a safer place and in return citizens of those countries we are trying to make safer throw their shoes at us. The only gratitude that I get out of this story is the fact that I know there is a special place being reserved for Mr. Muntadhar al-Zeidiand and I pray that there are no shoes in hell. Have fun Mr. Muntadhar al-Zeidi, it has been nice knowing you!
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Social Security Bailout Coming Soon.......To A Taxpayer Near You!!

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 12:47:10 AM
The writing is on the wall, but the sad fact is that nobody seems to be reading it. Our current social security system is broken and none of our elected officials seem to be very serious about fixing the problem. For those of you who do not realize the current crises that our social security system is taking us into, let me explain it to you.
 
Our social security system currently takes in more money than it spends in benefits. That is the good news. The bad news is the fact that by the year 2017, just nine years from today, the system will be spending far more than it is taking in. The common sense question is as follows; If social security currently takes in more than it spends, and has since the inception date of 1935, surely the government has saved all of this extra cash so that we may avoid financial turmoil in the future, right? The common sense answer to that question would be, yes. However, as with most things entrusted to the federal government, common sense does not always prevail. This case is no different. The government, instead of saving all of this extra cash generated by yearly increases in the social security tax rate, chooses to spend the extra money on other government expenditures. That is right, you are paying taxes into the social security fund, but the government is taking the extra money out of that fund and spending it elsewhere. By the year 2014, the government will have "borrowed" three TRILLION dollars from the social security trust fund and not a single dollar will be left to pay for the benefits that the people are owed. Scared yet? You should be!  The only way to avoid the crises that inaction will bring is to allow individuals to invest a portion of their social security taxes into private accounts. These accounts would be held separate from the general social security fund and would be exempt from government borrowing. No one would be able to touch your money but you!  These private accounts would generate more wealth than the current retiree will benefit from, would generate guaranteed benefits and would allow the account holder to pass excess funds to their beneficiaries. Under the current system, returns are minimal, benefits are not guaranteed and funds cannot be passed down to future generations within your family. If we choose not to take this path of privatized accounts, there are three other options that we will have. These options are:
1. Cut federal spending by three trillion dollars. That idea was probably not even worth the time it took me to type.
2. Increase the national debt by another three trillion dollars. Our grandkids would be proud of us for that!
3. Increase the tax burden by 43,000 dollars on every American family. Yes, it is that serious!
 
The option is ours, and the least painful, most common sense approach would be to let the American people invest a portion of their tax dollars themselves. This crazy idea of a common sense solution was applauded by President Bush, which immediately led to the democrats opposition of such a simple solution. Had Barack Obama came up with the idea, he would have been a humanitarian. However, given the fact that I used "common sense" in the same sentence as "solution," any reasonable person would know that he did not come up with this idea. It is far too "common" and involved too much "sense" for him to comprehend, let alone devise this plan. Although this solution would entail the federal government biting the bullet and paying promised benefits to current and soon to be retirees, it would ensure that every working American would have a nest egg that the government could not touch. The up front costs of revamping the system would be far less than the price of doing nothing. Every year we wait, we make the fix that much more expensive and difficult to achieve. Failure to act swiftly will result in higher taxes and prolonged working years coupled with lower benefits upon retirement. Ahhhhh, our federal government at work, aren't you proud?
 
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They forget to say thank you.......

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Saturday, December 13, 2008 12:07:18 AM
It's hard to believe, but it has been exactly five years, as of today, that Saddam Hussein was captured by American military personnel. We have President Bush to thank, and left leaning ideologues to laugh at. The left was quick to pint out that we did not discover any weapons of mass destruction. They were furious that we were "lied" to by President Bush. They forget the fact that Saddam oversaw the murders and executions of millions of innocent people. Whether he was gassing the Kurds or killing Iraqi citizens for speaking out against his regime, Saddam would not tolerate those with opposing viewpoints. He would, literally, kill you! They forget the fact that he had plotted to assassinate former president Bush. Imagine the voices of the Democratic party if it was revealed that a foreign leader had plotted to assassinate Bill Clinton. There would be no patience or time for negotiation. They forget the fact that Saddam defied the United Nations weapons inspectors for years. We, mainly under Bill Clinton, would continue to give Saddam another chance. But this one is the last one, we mean it! They forget the fact that Saddam ruled his country through fear and intimidation. His forces raping wives in front of their husbands, killing children in front of their parents and denying any form of free speech. The citizens of his country were prisoners. Plain and simple. They forget the fact that the man was convicted of war crimes that resulted in him getting sentenced to death. Yeah, other people thought he was that bad as well! They forget all of these facts and many others as well. I simply do not have the time to write about all of the atrocities that Saddam Hussein was responsible for. Oh, and they forget one other thing. They forget to tell President Bush thank you. Thanks for ridding the world of a dictator who ruled by the sword. Thank you for making the world's future a little safer. Thank you for administering a major blow to the terrorist community. And, thank you for having the cahones to do what Bill Clinton was scared to do. Someday, when my grandchild  is sitting in history class, she will read about an American president who stood up to terrorists around the world and did what he had to do to make the world safer, regardless of what his political opponents said.  She will read about this president and will appreciate what the man did for us. Thank you George Bush. Our country and the world owe you!
 
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Unfortunate Reality

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 12:44:10 PM
Make your plans now. Make sure that you reserve a date, in the near future, to visit Governor Rod Blagojevich in federal prison. It would be nice for everybody who has been "served" by Roddy, as the governor of Illinois, to show our appreciation to the man by stopping by his cell on our next visits to the federal pens. The only unfortunate reality of his almost certain prison time is the fact that the taxpayers will continue to pay the bill for his comfort food and recreational yard time he will receive in the prison. The fact that he is being accused of trying to sell a senate seat, reports are coming in that the highest bidder was probably going to be Jesse Jackson Jr, is only paled in comparison to the fact that the American citizens have let this type of crap happen. We continue to hold our elected officials to a low standard of productivity. We continue to allow a non transparent government to shape our laws and regulations. We continue to let the greedy spend our tax dollars without justification and we act like we are surprised when stuff like this happens. It scares me to think that this corrupt act by Governor Blagojevich will pass, with time, and no new standard will be set by the American people. We have to tell our officials that we are sick and tired of this "same old political" circus. If you watch the news programs, read the newspapers and listen to what is happening in our very own government, you have the duty to call and write your officials to tell them what you think. To do anything less than that is to tell our leaders that the issues are not a big deal to you. When will we, the people, realize that things like this are happening because we are letting it happen. We must stand up and stop them in their greedy tracks. We must voice our opinion, no matter how many people disagree with us and must continue to pressure our leaders to adopt a more transparent form of governing. THEY WORK FOR US. We are their bosses and can fire them from their positions every time we walk into that voting booth. If you acted in such a greedy, dishonest way at your current place of employment, you would not be the least bit shocked when you were summonsed into the bosses office to sign your pink slip. We should hold our government officials to the same standard of accountability. It's the only way we are going to get ourselves out of this free for all, pay to play form of government we have gotten ourselves into. Mr. Blagojevich says that he has no plans on resigning his position of governor of Illinois. To him I say, that's fine, we have made the plans for you, sir. Here is your pink slip!
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Reflection of George W. Bush

Posted by Brandon O'Neal Wright on Monday, December 08, 2008 1:03:49 PM
It's hard to beleive that it has already been eight years. Many look back upon the past eight years and scoff at the results of President George W. Bush. I, however, take a look that is a bit deeper and more appreciative of what he has done for our country. Aside from a couple of disagreements and disappointments in what he has done for us the past eight years, most of my reflection is positive.
 
What George did wrong:
1. Creation and enactment of the U.S Patriot Act. Although the Patriot Act seemed like a necessary evil in our war on terror, I think that this act went a bit too far in granting the government power over the people of the United States. This act paves the way for increased surveillance and an increased access to our communication and financial records. This act even gave the government the right to access your library records. The main thing that conservatives say is "if you have nothing to hide, then what is the big deal?" While I maintain the position that I would not mind such intrusion into my communication and financial records, the door has been opened for a more oppressive United States leader to take advantage of this "necessary evil." The government, if they wanted to, can now monitor your bank statements and library records on a daily basis. They could, in essence, know everything that you are reading and buying. We have given them the "right" to erect cameras on nearly every street corner and are being videotaped nearly everyday, at some point. The thing that scares me the most about the passage of this act is how quickly the American people were forced into giving up many of their civil liberties and their freedom of privacy. There was very little debate preceding the passage of the Patriot Act. In fact, the House of Representative passed the bill in less than forty-eight hours after it was proposed. The American people knew little, if anything at all, about the bill before it was passed. Bad boy, George, bad!
 
2. Lost passion for restructuring of Social Security. While he was running for the highest office in the land, George W. maintained that social security needed reforming and he was the man to do it. He supported privatizing portions of people's social security to ensure that everyone who paid into the system would have at least a little nest egg to fall back upon during retirement. This was one of the biggest reasons that I initially voted for Bush and continues to be one of the most disappointing aspects of his Presidency. Even if it would not have passed in congress, I expected President Bush to continue to educate the people of this country on the negative points concerning Social Security. You know, something like, our current social security system will be insolvent by the year 2041. Or, the number of taxpayers per retiree is currently three to one, but by 2030, that number will shrink to 2-1. The number will continue to shrink until the number of retirees exceeds the number of taxpayers. The system is broken and George vowed to fix it. Mission Unaccomplished. Bad George, Bad!
 
What George did right;
 
1. Kept us safe from additional terrorist attacks on our home soil. This is a fact that most people fail to recognize and appreciate. I do not think that the American people recognize how hard this probably was to accomplish. Unfortunately, we may soon realize the difficulty of this task. After 9-11, we were at risk for a complete destruction of our country and democracy. George W. stood up and showed the world what the United States thought about terrorism. He took action that shocked the world and sent a very strong message to any terrorist organization that contemplated attacks on Americans. You hit us, we will hit you harder and for a longer period of time. I admire the fact that President Bush held his opinions and beliefs of American protection to a high standard and would not let the naysayers  talk him down. I think that history will reflect the fact  that had Al Gore or John Kerry been in office from 2000-2008, we could all be living in a very oppressive, terrorist ruled country. George Bush didn't care what the news media had to say. He was going to protect our country, no matter what! That a boy George!!
 
2. Defining the countries of Iraq, Iran and North Korea as the Axis of Evil:
 
During his state of the union speech, on January 29, 2002, George Bush told Iraq, Iran and North Korea that they had just been enshrined into a new club. The Axis Of Evil. To the average person, this was probably just George Bush talking through his cowboy mouth. To me, it sent a different message. To me, this remark relayed the messgae that I had voted for a person that was not afraid to say what was on his mind. He did not care about being politically correct, if it meant bringing terrorist dictatorships to the forefront of the American people's minds. He wanted to let the American people know that even after our current battles had been won, there were still other countries that threatened our freedoms and safety. To the three countries that he labeled as the axis of evil, President Bush was saying that they were on our radar. Shape up or we will shape you up. He hated that fact the a few countries could threaten the world and was letting them know that he and his administration were watching, very closely. His brash, unapologetic language went a long way in solidifying his tough stance on terrorist countries. I think it is no coincidence that this brash language was accompanied by the fact that we have not been attacked since 9-11. The terrorist know where the United States stands on the terrorism issues under George W. Bush and dare not cross the line. Let's hope that future administrations will keep that line in the sand. If not, the crossing of that line is inevitable!
 
Summary:
The past eight years have not been perfect. We have had a roller coaster economy, bankruptcy of major companies, skyrocketing oil and gas prices and an overall hatred of the war in Iraq. That being said, isn't it marvelous that we live in a country whose leader will stand up for what is right and will let dictatorships and terrorists know that they are not respected in our country. Neither they nor their terrorist ideas are welcome here and if they dare attack us, we will defend. Thank you, Presdient Bush, for instilling moral and ethical standards back into the White House. Our country is safer because of you. Someday, we will all recognize that fact!
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