"Dead people don’t need cell phones. That’s the message Rep. Tim Griffin of Arkansas wants to send Congress, after he says a controversial government-backed program that helps provide phones to low-income Americans ended up sending mobiles to the dead relatives of his constituents. Griffin has introduced a bill that targets the phone hand-out program, which has ballooned into a fiscal headache for the government." Continue reading →
"The federal government has taken a chunk of taxpayers’ money and handed it over to Boston’s tax-funded schools. The money will be used to supply free lunches for all students. There will be no means-testing. Rich kids will get free meals. Why? So as to avoid the sense of shame in the hearts of poor kids, who might see their families as charity cases, which of course they are. Reality is painful. Self-awareness is painful. Politicians spend their careers trying to find ways to shield voters from reality." Continue reading →
"Plans for future wind farms in Britain could be in jeopardy after a United Nations legal tribunal ruled that the UK Government acted illegally by denying the public decision-making powers over their approval and the 'necessary information' over their benefits or adverse effects. The new ruling calls into question the legal validity of any further planning consent for all future wind-farm developments based on current policy, both onshore and offshore. The commission declared that the UK flouted Article 7 of the Aarhus Convention, which requires full and effective public participation on all environmental issues and demands that citizens are given the right to participate in the process." Continue reading →
"Even though green-energy programs are a disgusting boondoggle, American taxpayers and consumers should be thankful they’re not in Germany. Our programs may be wasteful and corrupt, but we’re amateurs compared to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic. As is so often the case with government intervention, the promises from politicians about low costs were a mirage. Perhaps the most shocking part of the story is that Germans are being forced to pay $26 billion in subsidies to get less than $4 billion of green energy." Continue reading →
"The real-world results in Australia throw cold water on the claims made by proponents of a U.S. carbon tax. Every single claim they make in their case for a U.S. carbon tax had the opposite effect in Australia. In the year after Australia’s carbon tax was introduced, household electricity prices rose 15%, including the biggest quarterly increase on record. Currently 19% of the typical household’s electricity bill is due to Australia’s carbon tax and other 'green' programs such as a renewable energy mandate. The job market had previously been stable, but after Australia’s carbon tax the number of unemployed began rising rapidly." Continue reading →
"The tax code of Orange County is so complex that the documentation for an useless computer program to run the tax system is 6,000 pages long. The program did not work. The county then hired another firm to produce the needed program. Original bid: $8 million. But there were cost overruns: another $8 million. The county says the second program does not work. The company is part of the Tata conglomerate, the giant Indian firm. Orange County has fired Tata. So, the county is still flying blind." Continue reading →
"Prior Approval: Commercial Activity License; City of Philadelphia Tax Account Number; List of desired locations of the boxes (see license for instructions); Additional Information; Cost: Dependent on the number of boxes (see the license for more information) Less than 50 boxes the fee is $10 per box. Contact: Department of Licenses and Inspections." Continue reading →
"After failing to institute hikes on soda and cigarettes, Philadelphia officials have reportedly slipped a lap dance tax under the radar. Attorney George Bochetto, who represents Club Risque and Cheerleaders, said the move is 'financial desperation' and part of an effort by the city to tax the same thing twice. According to appeal petitions, Cheerleaders owes $486,482 and Club Risque owes $320,538. The city audited the lap dance encounters then 'issued an assessment going back five years,' Bochetto said, plus interest and penalties. 'It’s over the top,' he told the newspaper. 'Unbelievable.'" Continue reading →
"The Census Bureau's official measure of income inequality — called the Gini index — shows similar results. During the Bush years, the index was flat overall — finishing in 2008 exactly where it started in 2001. It's gone up each year since Obama has been president and now stands at all-time highs. It's worth underscoring that the growing income gap under Obama isn't the result of the rich getting fabulously richer. Nor is it any sort of indictment of 'trickle down' economics. Instead, it is the direct result of Obama's historically weak economic recovery, which has left the rest of the country falling behind while the wealthy have managed to make gains." Continue reading →
"So far, 17 states have issued estimates. The exchanges are supposed to be ready for business on October 1. Coverage begins on January 1. Where are the missing 33 exchanges? The federal government must run them. The federal government is staying mute. With three weeks to go, there is no real understanding of what the costs will be for most premium payers. This is going to be an administrative disaster. It is a programming disaster. It is going to prove to millions of voters that the federal government does not know what it is doing. This will become evident on October 1, the day the new fiscal year begins." Continue reading →