Friday, July 16, 2010

Meg-o-nomics

Kelly/HuffPo:

""""Okay, so here's what's changed about the justification for the tax cut in the new issue of Meg Magazine.
The first edition read like this:
ELIMINATE THE STATE TAX ON CAPITAL GAINS
California is one of a few states in the country that doesn't tax capital gains at a lower rate than traditional income.

This trick figure comes from the fact that in some states the tax on capital gains can't be lower than the tax on traditional income because they're both zero. Another way to look at this stat: 41 states tax capital gains and traditional income (wages) at the exact same rate. So by "a few" she means 4/5ths.

This is double taxation at its worst.
This is horseshit at its most specious. Everything gets taxed over and over. Meg pays the liar who writes lies for her. That's taxed. He pays the therapist who helps him live with the guilt. That gets taxed. The therapist buys liquor. That gets taxed. Double taxation isn't an economic argument. It's just something Frank Luntz made up one day to mess with Joe the Plumber's head.

California's tax treatment of capital gains is a major impediment to capital formation and investment in new jobs.
For example, if a billionaire didn't have to pay taxes, he could hire you to express his dog's anal glands. And you could pay taxes.

We should align California's tax treatment of capital gains with other competing states.
There's nothing to "align" with. There are no states - not a single one - where they tax income and don't tax capital gains""".

Californians need an update to voting regulations, like a policy altering the vote-day card so as to allow NO notes on any or all candidates: a NO vote should be allowed on e-Meg, and a NO on Jerry Moonbeams, and/or a NOTA vota (Senor NOTA! as in None-of-the-above). When the total NO or NOTA votes outnumber the YES votes, the political process will have been significantly advanced.

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In related news, Chupacabras?.

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