Level Playing Field of Dreams

Simon Johnson suggests in a post Foreign Money, National Security, And The Midterm Elections that there is a equality among nations in their investment strategies, leading the US to gain significant inflows of foreign investment, while US companies invest outside the US. This is a false equality. There are self inflected actions which are changing this drastically against America. The current Administration, despite campaign promises to create a level playing field for Americans to compete internationally, has continued and intensified IRS persecution of overseas Americans and so-called US persons. . . . → Read More: Level Playing Field of Dreams

War as the solution to our woes

In which David S. Broder suggests it is both politically expedient and economically prudent to foster a war with Iran. I sincerely hope that the war parachute will not need to be used to halt this current free fall. . . . → Read More: War as the solution to our woes

QE2: A Titanic loss?

Rather than steering towards balmy waters, Captain Bernanke has set course towards the iceberg fields. Full speed ahead! . . . → Read More: QE2: A Titanic loss?

Wake up: Jobs and exports are related to tax policy

In the mid 1970s when the US was the world’s #1 exporter with a positive world trade balance for 95 out of the previous 100 years, Sen. William Proxmire (D,WI), proclaimed that Americans living and working abroad served no useful purpose in creating American jobs by selling American exports. To him they were “…swathed in mink spending their tax evasion dollars at the gambling tables of Monte Carlo” and mounted a campaign to exterminate them by also subjecting US citizens living, working and taxed abroad to the same US taxation on their world-wide income as if they had never left our shores. . . . → Read More: Wake up: Jobs and exports are related to tax policy

Toxic Citizens

The U.S. government taxes expatriate citizens on their worldwide income regardless of where it is earned or where they live, making them the only people in the developed world who are taxed in both their country of citizenship and country of residence…these rules are getting tougher and the penalties more draconian by the year… experts see a declining foreign investment in America. . . . → Read More: Toxic Citizens

New class of people: corporations

It seems that we, in the US have now a new class war. There are now two classes of people – corporations and people. People get to vote with their votes once every two years, and corporations get to vote with their dollars all the time.

People get kicked out of their house when they are unemployed and bankrupt, and corporations get bailed . . . → Read More: New class of people: corporations

Chinese top supercomputer ranking

The NY Times reports Chinese will probably top the Supercomputer rankings for the first time, November first, but not the last….

Eclipse of America

Since many of the things I am reading lead me to conclude that the American people are out of touch with what made America great I am starting a new Category on the Eclipse of America. Now most of us know – and fear – that the country that eclipses America in the 21st century will be China. But other countries too are . . . → Read More: Eclipse of America

Stimulating the Dead

Stimulating the Dead – stimulus checks of $250 were mailed to dead and jailed people – about $22million worth. Over half the payments to dead people were returned. Grave error. . . . → Read More: Stimulating the Dead

I thought we’re number 1! Nope, how about 20-something?

The US actually ranks today, sixth in global innovation-based competitiveness; 11th among industrialized nations in the fraction of 25- to 34-year-olds who have graduated from high school; 16th in college completion rate; 22nd in broadband Internet access; 24th in life expectancy at birth; 27th among developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving degrees in science or engineering; 48th in quality of K-12 math and science education; and 29th in the number of mobile phones per 100 people. These are clear areas where we should positively WANT our government to get involved, and to spend money, but if the current climate of political divisiveness endures for the next 2 years in a hung Congress, or even for the next 6 years of a potential Obama second term, the consequences for America’s future will be dire. . . . → Read More: I thought we’re number 1! Nope, how about 20-something?