Biden Contra Mundum

Joe Biden forgets his lines again in his most recent gaffe. What number are we up to? Excerpt:

Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday ripped into congressional Republicans for not passing a gas tax increase to shore up the Highway Trust Fund.

The only problem? The White House doesn’t support a gas tax increase, either.

"Hell, Congress can’t even decide on a gas tax to keep the highway system going,” Biden said during an event Wednesday on ensuring unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S-Mexico border have access to lawyers.

But here’s what White House press secretary Josh Earnest said when asked about a gas tax hike in June: “I believe that’s something that we’ve said a couple of times that we wouldn’t support.”

Not surprisingly, an increase in the gas tax would be a difficult position for vulnerable Democrats to take ahead of the November midterms.

Like I've said before, Joe Biden remains one of the biggest "non-political" reasons not to attempt to impeach the current president.

Great Idea: Max Tax

Alternate MAXIMUM Tax? I like it. No, I love it! Here's an excerpt from John H. Cochrane's excellent piece:

I like half, but the principle matters more than the number. Once the country settles on a number, each of us gets to add up everything we pay to government at every level: federal income taxes, yes, but also payroll (Social Security, Medicare, etc.) taxes, state, city and county taxes, estate taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes and unemployment insurance for nannies, household workers, or other employees, excise taxes, real-estate transfer taxes, and so on and on, right down to your vehicle stickers and those annoying extra taxes on your airline tickets.

On April 15, once this total hits the alternative maximum tax, you've done your bit and federal income taxes can take no more. You compute federal income taxes as usual, but then you get to reduce the "tax due" that the total is less than the alternative maximum.

The zombies howl that the top federal tax bracket is still "only" 40%. Surely "the rich" can contribute a bit more? They forget that the economic damage of taxes comes from the total tax bite, not just the federal income tax.

I would leave

Everybody with sense is leaving New York. This article explains it. Favorite paragraph:

Then there's the cost of living in New York City. A 2009 report by the Center for an Urban Future found that "a New Yorker would have to make $123,322 a year to have the same standard of living as someone making $50,000 in Houston. In Manhattan, a $60,000 salary is equivalent to someone making $26,092 in Atlanta." Even Queens, the report found, is the fifth most expensive urban area in the country.

I remember a DBA from New York back about 10 years ago who wanted $250.00/hour. Real fat guy. Too bad for him the internet got fast. Someone in Mumbai probably has his job now. Or maybe even Houston or Atlanta.

Here's a good comment from an honest New Yorker.

I was born in Brooklyn more than 50 years ago, and have lived on Long Island nearly all my life. I LOVE New York and had really hoped so spend my whole life here, die here, and be buried in Brooklyn a short distance from my place of birth. But taxes have driven me out. I just returned this week from a trip to New Mexico looking for a place to live there. If the damn politicians do not lower taxes, the only people who will be remaining in New York are those that cannot afford to move elsewhere. It's the damn politicians fault for the sky-high taxes, and poor economy. God help New York because the damn politicians certainly won't.

It would have been nice if the Repub candidate for Governor up there hadn't been kind of a nut. Imagine what a Chris Christie could for the Empire State.

FYI: Cuyahoga County Tax Relief

The Cuyahoga County Board of Revision Complaint site is a good resource for those in Cuyahoga who bought houses recently and the assessments are way too high. I just filled it out and all you really need is the parcel number of your property which you can find here if you need it. (Frank Russo's pic, aye-yai-yai...)

I've been told that it's a good bet that they will lower the assessed value if you can demonstrate a lower market value. There's even a spot where you can state that you will have a professional appraiser present testimony if the house hasn't been sold recently. I have to still get the thing notarized, but I'll let y'all know how I do.

Equity Seat Rights

The more I think about this concept, the better it sounds.

For the price of a three-bedroom home with a pool in a leafy suburb, you can now buy something really and truly invaluable. Your own stadium seat.

Earlier this month, the boards of regents at the University of Kansas and the University of California-Berkeley approved plans to fund stadium expansions and renovations by selling something called "equity seat rights." Fans who are approved for financing can buy their seats and pay for them—with interest, of course—over as long as 50 years. Once the seat is paid for, it's yours, just like a house.

If this "mortgage" model catches on, it will mark a radical departure from the past, when most new stadiums were financed with a combination of taxpayer dollars, private loans and corporate sponsorships.

Cal plans to sell about 3,000 seats under the plan and hopes to raise $270 million. The school's best seats cost $175,000 to $220,000 apiece over a 50-year term, while the cheapest sell for $40,000 per seat for a 40-year term. "Without this program, I don't see any way we could secure the funds," said Cal associate athletic director David Rosselli. "We needed a different approach."

Back in the mid-nineties when I lived in Pittsburgh, people were trying to get tax levies passed to fund two new stadiums. The strategies I remember being deployed to talk the voters into passing the levies were having hometown media heroes cry on television about how awful Three Rivers was and radio DJ's prophesying economic catastrophe if we didn't vote to start paying higher retail prices. It was amusing to hear residents living in the buckle of the Rust Belt being preached to about financial collapse seemingly two decades after the fact. The resounding NO from voters didn't keep the sports industrial complex down for long, and ketchup and bank people stepped up to the plate several years later. Plus a bunch of people bought rubble from the demolished hallows of the immaculate reception. I'd say they were trying to lend credence to the famous saying about suckers, but I clearly remember spending $10 or so on an undersized screen-printed hand towel at one point in my life.

This incident reminds me of another which took place in Pittsburgh at about the same time. I recall a small crowd at the software office where I worked gathered around a sales guy who was pulling up his pant leg, accompanied by hushed "oohs" and "aaahs". As I moved closer, a 4-inch diameter, full color Steelers logo was revealed to be tattooed on the outside of his semi-shaved calf. Proud of his permanent, coaster-sized branding he announced, "Now they'd better win, dammit!" Was he a season ticket-holder? Stupid question.

Looking back on this it's fairly obvious that this guy and his cronies should be paying for sports stadiums. And this "Sports Mortgage" idea seems to be just the thing to facilitate their love and devotion. I know that I benefit from the stadiums whenever I get around to watching a game. But since I've bought several nice overpriced Steelers shirts in my time, methinks I can say honestly say that I "gave at the office", at least enough to cover my small slice of entertainment taken.