Into the Twilight with Honor

George Rebane

San Diego Union Tribune cites (here) that the consumer-driven recession has started in California and nationwide.

Over the past couple years, many economists have said the California economy would not experience a true recession until job losses spread from the real estate and construction industries into other segments of the economy.   That day has arrived.

Regardless of who is to blame (and someone always is because we know that there are no natural business cycles), a major part of our electorate will cast votes that strongly declare our country’s ability to tax ourselves right back into prosperity. 

We were taught by Bastiat, von Mises, von Hayek, … , and life, that when you tax something more, you get less of it.  Tax businesses more, they produce fewer jobs.  Look at the EU countries with almost no migration of small businesses into big business.  There the little guys regularly get waylaid in Tax Gulch as they try to drive their team up Corporate Mountain.  We note the coincidence that unemployment started going up right about when Congress changed party control.

People are beginning to get the idea of the benefits of wealth redistribution.  Both candidates’ recovery package (aka The Big Bailout) includes some form of restitution for those whose financial planning went a little awry.  It’s just neighbor helping neighbor with five to twenty in the federal pen if you try to short your neighbor.  More of liberal cartoonist Wiley’s non Sequitor cartoons here.

Finally, Joe the Plumber did most successfully what McCain/Palin were not able to accomplish on their own.  Perhaps this will open up the debate a bit more in the two short weeks left.  Here is Ramirez’s explicit statement of what the right is finally saying and the left is quietly celebrating while, of course, denying the whole thing.  (Have you noticed how Yahoo! has now joined the MSM.  Take a look at their list of political cartoonists here.  Can you find a conservative cartoonist in the list?)

Comments

[Russ Steele]

George, good stuff. In addition to direct taxes there are the hidden taxes. The new greenhouse regulations are going create a whole collection of hidden taxes. When increased energy cost raise the cost of products and services, those costs are going to be passed to the consumer as a hidden tax. They will not show up as a tax on the bill, but embedded in the cost of the product. These hidden taxes will make California less competitive in national and global markets, resulting in fewer jobs in California, as business move to states with lower cost infrastructure. Alternative power subsidies are another hidden tax. We end up paying for the power twice, once as a subsidy and again when we consume the power, another hidden tax.

[Russ Steele]

Breathing tax: Our Orwellian Future? By Art Horn, Meteorologist

. . . If the environmentalists controlling the policies of Barack Obama have their way we could see some really amazing taxes in the future. Since everything producing carbon dioxide must be regulated than it makes sense that you must be as well. As a human you are producing carbon dioxide by breathing. So in this Orwellian future we will be required at birth to have a “breathing permit” as soon as we enter the world. And it won’t stop there. As you get older and your lung capacity grows you will be emitting more carbon dioxide and therefore your tax will have to increase proportionally as you grow older. Let us not forget the other “polluters” like your dog and cat, they are also guilty of polluting so we’ll need to have you pay for their permits as well. If you have a gas powered lawn mower you better be ready to let that grass grow taller, your permit will only allow so many cuts a year. Don’t even think about grilling food, that fine tradition will spill untold amounts of global warming fuel into the air, you’ll need a permit to cook up that steak in Barack’s American future. Taking the boat out for spin? Don’t forget that the coast guard will be checking for your carbon permit. It almost goes without saying that all cars, trucks any vehicle that spews carbon dioxide into the air will need a permit. Will the EPA be able to process all these applications? Of course not, they will need much more staff.

Read the rest at ICECAP: http://www.icecap.us/ See blogosphere.

[George Rebane]

Good points Russ. Yes, there can be no end to this madness. I wonder if there is some foundation or organization that will start tallying the direct and hidden drag on our economy by various implementations of the climate change hysteria.