20 January, 2009

Lest Anyone Think…

…that I do not realize that this is a significant moment in history, or that I somehow resent it, let me state what should be obvious.

I am thrilled that my daughters (now 2 and 5) will grow up in a world where a black man has been elected President. While that is a reason for celebration, a better reason for celebration would be that it’s non-news, and that no one cares whether the President is black or white or green with purple polka-dots. I don’t see that event coming anytime soon, much to my dismay.

Hopefully this does represent a milestone in race relations and a sign that one’s race is unimportant in America. I have my doubts, but will continue to have cautious optimism on that front.

And, since I realize that I never got around to it back in November, congratulations, President Barack Obama (D-USA). Your hard fought campaign and victory has earned my respect and admiration. Keeping them is up to you.

Good Luck, Mr. President

I was going to write a nice little post wishing President Barack Obama (D-USA) good luck for the next four years, but Ed Morrissey at HotAir has already said it much better than I could have.

People have asked me since the election how I will approach the Obama presidency, but it’s really not that much of a mystery.  I’m not going to be rooting for his failure, because I’m rooting for America. I believe most people feel the same way; Obama won the election and for better or worse, he’s our president.  But that doesn’t mean that any of us will sit quietly for the next four years or the next four days.

Best of luck, President Obama.  My prayers are with you, for support and wisdom as you assume the burden of this office and lead our country.  When you fail to provide that leadership or demonstrate wisdom, though, don’t expect me to be silent.  I’m rooting for America, not the coach.

I’ll finish the same way I finished my farewell to President George W. Bush (R-USA).

Good luck, Mr. President. God bless you, and God bless America.

2688

2688.

That’s the number of days since the last successful terrorist attack on American soil. Pardon me for repeating this earlier post, but it does bear repeating in my opinion.

Tell me you believed that possible on September 12, 2001.

President George W. Bush (R-USA) has not been my favorite President. I doubt he’s been anyone’s favorite President.

However, there’s that number. Look at it again, and remember how you felt on 9-12. There’s a lot to find fault for in our outgoing President. But his success in keeping our country safe from terrorism is undeniable. You may not like his methods, but it’s impossible to argue with the results. Try and I’ll respond by just repeating that number over and over.

2688.

I’ve avoided all of the Presidential “legacy” stuff over the last few weeks. I haven’t read a single post/article about it, nor have I written one. There’s no need.

faulkner

Everyone will remember George W. Bush in their own way. This is how I’ll remember him. This, and 2688 are his legacy. Every other point written about him is at best a distant second.

Did I disagree with him? Often. However, there’s no doubt that the man has shown outstanding character and courage over the last 8 years while dealing with an incredibly difficult job with impossible expectations. He has stuck to his core beliefs, and acted on them. I respect that, even though I disagree with many of his core beliefs. I respect it, because that’s what leadership is all about. Or at least the biggest part. The next biggest part is getting people who disagree with you to buy into your vision. He often failed there. Sometimes spectacularly.

But he fought Congress and the media and an increasingly antagonistic public to pursue terrorists his way, and won his battles with Congress on this issue every single time.

The result?

2688.

Thank you for that number, Mr. President. It’s time for you to retire back to Texas. You’ve earned the rest.

Good luck, Mr. President. God bless you, and God bless America.

19 January, 2009

Solving the Economic Crisis In One Easy Step

I’ve been meaning to write this for about a month. I waited long enough and the Wall Street Journal wrote it for me.

Those of you who have kept up with this blog know that I’m no fan of corporate taxes, so my solution should come as no surprise.

Immediately cut the corporate tax rate to zero. Do whatever steps necessary to attempt to guarantee that they won’t be raised again. Ever.

This is far better than any bailout or any “stimulus plan”.

The only thing that’s going to stimulate the economy and keep it moving forward is job growth. The only way to guarantee job growth is to guarantee more money in the pockets of employers. The simplest and most effective way to do this is to stop taxing them.

Then they can hire more people, stay in business, give raises, produce more widgets, cut prices on their widgets, and in general become more healthy.

The WSJ says it better:

The positive impact on corporate-credit markets, the stock market, the attractiveness of the U.S. to foreign investors, and the willingness to take business risk and create new jobs would be immediate. Capital-gains tax collections would rise. Capital flows would be in the hands of those who are driven to build businesses and permanent jobs efficiently instead of pushing that capital through a government pipeline with endless amounts of friction. If the U.S. is to lead the international economic community out of this crisis, this is the place to start.

Yes, I realize there are some problems with this. Everyone in the country would immediately attempt to incorporate themselves. You’d have to make rules on incorporation more stringent, and you might even have to put some kind of a temporary moratorium on new incorporations (I’d hope not). And this is a problem in itself. Who would it hurt most? People trying to start up new businesses. So, there’s definitely a fine line to be walked here.

As the WSJ points out though, it’s not just jobs. It would create foreign investment, and reduce the oversea capital drain.

The AP is reporting today that 83 of the U.S.’s top 100 corporations have oversea tax havens. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s not 100 out of 100. If these companies didn’t have a need to bury their capital overseas, they could reinvest it here locally. And how would they reinvest it? Again, jobs, higher production, lower end costs, more purchases from other companies, etc. All the things that a growing economy needs.

When Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merged, there was considerable debate as to whether the new company would be headquartered in Michigan or Germany. We know the end result. Daimler-Chrysler moved to Germany. The reason? The unbearable corporate tax burden in the United States. If not for that, the company would’ve been Chrysler-Daimler, and might still be a growing concern.

As the WSJ correctly notes above, the corporate tax rate in the U.S. is the highest in the world. This is why companies keep moving overseas. This is why companies don’t want to move here. We have to do whatever is necessary to make the U.S. attractive to businesses again not only to get out of the current economic crisis, but to continue to stay a world leader and to have a high standard of living.