Rant.

Several notable things happened this past week: Roger Clemens was cleared of perjury charges, and I got paid, finally.

Why should I write about Roger Clemens? Exactly. What the hell should I give a damn about him lying to Congress? Hell, why should he or anyone have to testify in front of Congress about steroid use in baseball?
The United States Congress is the lawmaking body of the country. What business they have in investigating steroid use in the MLB is beyond me. They might argue that because the MLB is related to interstate commerce, and thus under the purview of the Congress, but, I can't stress this enough, it has no bearing whatsoever on the functioning of this country. None. Too much time and money has been wasted on the circus-like hearings of former MLB players while there are so many other national issues to be dealt with. That being said, how long have these investigations been going on? I remember this going back to 2006 or so, though I'm sure it may have come up before then. How come the damn bankers who traded in derivatives haven't been arrested and tried? How come Dick Cheney never had to face major scrutiny because of his private security force or his unwillingness to cooperate with multiple investigations of the executive branch because he claimed "legislative exemption?"
Pitiful. Pardon my French, but fucking pitiful. A country that spends so much focus on a non-issue is disheartening and deserves scorn.

Now, onto a lighter issue, my recent paycheck: A quarter of my money was taken for taxes. A quarter. Out of a minimum wage salary. This is absurd. Minimum wage is not a survivable wage, especially when it is taxed. If Republicans are so big on tax cuts, then cut taxes for those who actually need the damn money rather than people who make over $500K.

There, rant is done.

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Regressive Taxation

I'm all for taxation. No, seriously, if a portion of my money goes towards social services that are both necessary and that I can use later in life, why not support taxation? Sure, there are those people who demand all their money, "they earned it," but without taxation, I'd hesitate to think about what would happen if your house were on fire.

That being said, some taxation is ridiculous, namely a tax on people who earn only minimum wage. Minimum wage, on average, nets a person only ~$15,000 per year. That is, for someone who only goes through the minimal amount of shopping, barely enough to survive. What I find appalling, however, is that some people make that in a month and don't pay taxes at all.

I make minimum wage at my part-time job. Unfortunately, it's not a great job that gives me many hours (even though I would love some more), so I've applied to a second job that will probably also pay me minimum wage if I am hired. I need all the money I can get, seeing as I will be in London this October, studying for my Master's degree. Sadly, I am not on track to make much at all.

What is the point of taking money out of the hands of people who need it the most? I realize that many taxes for lower income-earners are mandated at the state level, but still, it is quite unreasonable to tax those who rely on every single cent. I'd call it class warfare, but it seems that it's only class warfare if people with too much money are taxed.

That's my two cents, now give it back to me since I need to save my money for later.

That's all for now,
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Mmm...Capitalism

President Obama recently spoke in front of the Chamber of Commerce, a notably conservative institution, to many large business leaders, urging them to begin spending their saved money in order to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Many business moguls have a view of the Obama administration as anti-business due to the new health care law and many regulations that businesses say "quell capitalism." President Obama, in his speech, promised to reform the tax code and remove many superfluous regulations.

While I do agree that corporations should be using their money to create jobs, such as those in research and development, manufacturing, etc., I somehow doubt that they will change their business practices drastically. One must always remember that a business does not have a nation's best interest as its own; the best interest of a business is always to have increasing revenue. Why do many manufacturing and low-expertise jobs go overseas? There is less regulation on business and corporations can traditionally pay the workers less, thus ensuring a higher profit margin. To think that a corporation will change its practices without first groveling at its knees and acceding to every demand is naive.

Strategically, the president made a good political move by speaking at a venue that has called his health care law "anti-capitalistic." By going to the Chamber of Commerce, he showed that he is willing to work with businesses to better improve relations between business and government. This may, however, be taken by business as a sign of weakness on the part of Obama, lending to a theory that business has the US in a vice grip.

So, how far does Obama go when attempting to compromise with business? Does he remove environmental regulations? Does he lower the tax rate for businesses? Does he offer incentives to business to create jobs in the US? We shall see, though nothing is certain now with a divided government, and the president knows that.

The word "compromise" can be construed 1 of 2 ways: a willingness to reach an undisputed conclusion by giving up and accepting certain options, or as an abandonment, an extrication of what composed a certain object. The definition that Obama chooses in the coming year and a half may just be left up to history.

That's all for now,
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Taxes, Tea Party, and Totalitarianism

Midterms aren't over yet, but I have a week-long interlude between exams and I figured that I should be faithful to my only reader (you) and write something. I know that you've been dying to read what I have to think; sadly, so have I.

Firstly, you may or may not have heard that President Obama plans on letting the Bush Tax Cuts expire at the end of this year. You have probably also heard all the brouhaha on both sides, arguing whether or not to keep them. The gist of the whole thing is that taxes will be raised for those making over 250,000$ if the tax cuts expire. If they are allowed to continue, they will cost American taxpayers approximately 7 billion dollars. The rich can continue to whine about "class warfare" or "losing their money," but the fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, people making more than 250,000$ a year will still have enough money to send 4 kids to college and live well while doing so. Suck it up.

Secondly, the Tea Party. If you haven't noticed, they've presented some strange candidates in the last few months, the latest being Carl Paladino and Christine O'Donnell. In one sentence, Paladino hates gay people and Christine O'Donnell doesn't know anything about recent Supreme Court cases.

Finally, Kim Jong-il named his successor as his youngest son, further alienating his lazy, overweight middle son who enjoys rap. It almost sounds like a bad sitcom.



That's all for now,
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Sarah Palin, the World Cup, and Jeffster all in one

So, this is going to be a crowded post. Well, suck it up.

Anyway, last night, in my usual pastime of being bored at night and talking to people on Omegle, I happened to start talking to a member of the Tea Party. He asked me of my opinions on the party, and I told him that it is basically the party of Palin, essentially a subsidiary of the Fox network and an uber-conservative party that promotes partisanship; I also may have thrown in "anti-government" and "distrust of Obama" into that mix as well. The guy kept telling me "you could not be more wrong," which, in colloquial English, is extraordinarily incorrect, as "wrong" is an absolute; one cannot be "more" or "less" wrong. He also spouted to me the credo of the Tea Party, which I have heard many times from the exalted queen Sarah Palin herself: government has overstepped its bounds, and the objective of the party is to "reel it in." Just like Palin, the guy wasn't very specific about how the party will achieve anything, and talking to him was giving me a migraine, so I disconnected.

So, brief history of the Tea Party: Obama proposes raising taxes on those making more than 250k, Glenn Beck, in his infinite wisdom, says that this is like the British raising taxes on the American colonies, calls for "tea party" rallies, eventually turns into an organized party spearheaded by Sarah Palin, Palin reads off of her hand in some convention.



Do I have to describe how stupid, obstinate, obtuse, ignorant and arrogant Sarah Palin is? I hope not.

Anyway, World Cup. One of the most memorable moments is the obvious Robert Greene error that caused the US to tie the Kingdom; notably, he didn't play in the next game against Algeria. He should probably change his name to John Red, or Corbin Blue. VAMOS ARGENTINA!

And, finally, Jeffster.



That's all for now,
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