Go John Go!

(h/t Seraphic Secret)

Economics Lesson

(h/t Seraphic Secret)

ObamaNomics

I took the liberty of copying this from the website of Dr. John Lott. 

Presidential Candidate Spending Plans

Here the National Taxpayer’s Union estimates for McCain (+$92 Billion/year) and Obama (+$293 Billion/year). A $200 billion difference in spending is pretty big difference.

 

And I just found this over on Extreme Wisdom:

Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.” Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same % amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”

“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

ChicagObama

I’ve copied a couple of posts from a blog I enjoy immensely.  I love the fact that the writer is a Conservative in IL like I am.  The difference is, she’s a much better writer than I.  So my hat is off to you, Backyard Conservative.  I thank you for adding to my education in terms of IL politics. 

 

Change Chicago Style

Thanks to Backyard Conservative.

CHANGE CHICAGO STYLE

Body count. In the last six months 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago, 221 killed in Iraq.

Senators – Barack Obama & Dick Durbin,

Representatives – Jesse Jackson Jr.,

Governor – Rod Blogojevich,

House leader – Mike Madigan,

Atty. Gen. – Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike),

Mayor – Richard M. Daley (son of former Mayor Richard J. Daley) . . . the leadership in Illinois . . . all Democrats.

Chicago is a combat zone. Of course they’re all blaming each other.

Can’t blame Republicans, they’re aren’t any!

State pension fund $44 Billion in debt, worst in country. Cook County (Chicago) sales tax 10.25% highest in country. (Look’em up if you want). Chicago school system one of the worst in country.

This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois.

He’s gonna ‘fix‘ Washington politics?

 

More thank you’s to Backyard Conservative.

Obama & His Chicago Machine

The latest little trouble with "ethics reform" in Illinois (which Obama has claimed as an accomplishment)–the Governor won’t give the tainted money back. McCain campaign ad below, Chicago Machine. David Freddoso nails Barack Obama on his sanctimony in the housing meltdown of today. It’s not just Obama’s raking it in from Fannie Mae, it’s his record in Illinois, (which started with ACORN by the way):

Indeed, it does sound familiar — it sounds a lot like what Barack Obama did to Illinois taxpayers as a state senator in Springfield. Using his elected office and his clout, Obama helped Tony Rezko and other unscrupulous low-income housing developers obtain millions of dollars in state grants, tax credits, low-interest loans, and regulatory advantages.
Taxpayers had no serious chance of recouping these “investments” in Rezko and other developers. And many beneficiaries went one step farther, depriving the public of even the benefits they could have gotten. These developers took government help to build low-income housing, and then let their buildings deteriorate into uninhabitable slums.

It wasn’t just Tony Rezko, it was Valerie Jarrett too, who is a senior campaign adviser, spoken of as slated for chief of staff in an Obama administration. Video:
UPDATE: Obama returning to the Chicago machine for his fundraising needs. Tribune:

The first Chicago event, with minimum admission of $1,500, will be held at The Standard Club. The second fundraiser, at a downtown restaurant, is being hosted by Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and has a $28,500 admission price.

Alexi the Granny Grifter, banker to "Jaws" Giorengo, and Tony Rezko (scroll down past the details of Obama’s own iffy sweetheart mortgage.) Alexi Giannoulias, the guy Barack Obama went out of his way to endorse in the primary, because Alexi bankrolled Barack too.
Bloomberg, Kevin Hassett: "Fannie and Freddie Led to the Meltdown":

Now that the collapse has occurred, the roadblock built by Senate Democrats in 2005 is unforgivable. Many who opposed the bill doubtlessly did so for honorable reasons. Fannie and Freddie provided mounds of materials defending their practices. Perhaps some found their propaganda convincing.

But we now know that many of the senators who protected Fannie and Freddie, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, have received mind-boggling levels of financial support from them over the years.

Throughout his political career, Obama has gotten more than $125,000 in campaign contributions from employees and political action committees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, second only to Dodd, the Senate Banking Committee chairman, who received more than $165,000.

A bloviating Obama. The Politico:

"If we grant the Treasury broad authority to address the immediate crisis, we must insist on independent accountability and oversight," Obama said. "Given the breach of trust we have seen and the magnitude of the taxpayer money involved, there can be no blank check."

Breach of trust. Well, you would know about that, wouldn’t you Barack.