Laughing at Laffer Again

George Rebane

Oregon’s sheeple voted to increase taxes on the rich a couple of years back to solve their budget woes.  Their dimwits with the eyeshades figured if nothing changed (the everlasting curse on a mind in stasis), that the higher tax would bring in an additional $180M.  Instead it brought in only $130M, and we're not even counting the loss of business, jobs, and related tax revenues.  At last count Oregon lost over a quarter of its 38,000 wealthy tax filers, and the state is now projecting even lower takes for 2010 and 2011.  In the next decade this tax policy will cause the state to lose 80,000 ‘wealthy’ tax filers.  And so it goes.

California, of course, continues to drive out its high-earners.  And the example of other states like Maryland – where in 2008 one third of its millionaires vanished from the tax rolls – just tumbles off the back of the scumbags who pander to the poorly endowed in order to get re/elected.  The bigger the economic calamity, the more they can pin punishment on the prosperous.  In the end it works out for everyone – the politicians get elected, enough voters remain convinced it’s the rich stealing from the poor, the rich are prompted to leave sooner than later, and the continuing lack of jobs demonstrates once more to such minds that more of the same will fix the problem next time.  The Peter/Paul Principle rules.

‘The eyes of Texas are upon youuuuu, all the livelong daaay, …’

Speaking of Texas, the Census Bureau reported today that there now 308,745,538 of us.  And things have shifted around a mite.  It seems that a lot of people have moved from Democrat areas to those usually voting Republican.  What were those people thinking?  The effect of that has been that 12 seats have shifted from predominantly blue to red, and that’s going have an impact as the new round of gerrymandering takes place.

Not a surprise to RR readers is that Latinos in America seem to be ‘self segregating’ according to the census people.  For some reason those people like to live more and more with people like themselves.  Maybe it really does have something to do with culture and folks being more particular to what they perceive as ‘their own’ culture.  That kinda frosts those who would like to see voters gather instead according to their definitions of class.  Oh well.

And Texas gained four more congressional districts while some of those New England blues gave up a bunch.  All together now, one mo time!

‘The eyes of Texas are upon youuuuu, all the livelong daaay, …’

Comments

[Russ Steele]

An updated study by Americans for Tax Reform compared states gaining and losing Congressional seats in the decennial reapportionment process and found that states gaining seats had significantly lower taxes, less government spending, and were more likely to have “Right to Work” laws in place. Because reapportionment is based on population migration, this is further proof that fiscally conservative public policy spurs economic growth, creates jobs, and attracts population growth. Just in case you wanted to know why California did not grow, only the second time in history that the state population did not grow. Do you think it could be in the next ten years we will be shrinking?

[Todd Juvinall]

A little link to compare why California is a mess.

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?cat=1&sub=10&rgn=6

[Russ Steele]

Golden State of Denial

How hosed is California? This hosed: State Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Stephen Levy of the Center for Continuing Study of Self-Immolation the California Economy have taken to the L.A. Times to deny that they even have a problem.

The headline is the confidence-uninspiring "California Isn't Broken," the argumentation is straight out of the obfuscation/decontextualization school of MarketWatch columnist Brett Arends (down to using the same hidden-ball trick of celebrating increased "share" of a venture capital market whose precipitous decline shall go unmentioned), and the only semi-firm ground the defense can rest on is opposite the straw man of state default.

Rest of the details here

[Dixon Cruickshank]

Where's Homer?

[Bob Hobert]

Homer is in Austin, Texas.