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    Open – A Tape from California

    Open – A Tape from California

    Traveling all day, now in Palm Desert, CA.  Because there’s almost no way to get there from central New York, we ended up flying into Orange County airport and driving.  Along the way we saw these windfarms — Obama would so proud:

    From some sneak peeks at the internet when not in the air, here’s what caught my eye:

    Waaaah – This is what happens when politicians play the rape card:

    Joe Biden’s office has complained to the Senate press gallery about a confrontation the vice president had with a conservative journalist last week on Capitol Hill.

    No time to analyze Perry’s flat tax plan.  What do you think?  (added: Mark Levin likes it)

    Things are not looking good in Ohio on the collective bargaining bill.  Hope for the best, but prepare for massive media spin about a rebound for unions.

    WaPo, with the help of NPR, is still going after Rubio on the dates 50 years ago when his parents left Cuba.  Still waiting for them to get leaked copies of Obama’s college record, and some gap filling on an amazingly unexamined life.

    Oh, and one last thing, can we stick a fork in Socialist Europe yet?  And if we can, will it stop Democrats from trying to turn us into Socialist Europe?

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    Comments


    I like Perry’s tax plan but the part I like best it that he has some good ideas on entitlement reform. That and the regulatory roll-backs he proposes are huge — bigger than the tax changes themselves.

    On the whole, he articulated a good comprehensive strategy that is doable: tax reform, entitlement reform, regulatory sanity, real reductions and limits on gov’t spending. It is better (so far) than anything else I’ve seen.


       
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      Aridog in reply to Owen J. | October 26, 2011 at 9:36 am

      Perry has a “tax plan?” Who knew … what I’ve heard him say is a dual track “plan” for those earning under $500K per year…in other words, no plan, just another huge layer.

      Next, the flat tax consumption tax folks claim they’ll eliminate the IRS? Pardon me if I laugh out loud. Collecting retail consumption taxes is more complicated than income tax, and anyone with experience with both knows that. There’s no withholding under a consumption tax….unless, of course, we’re all obligated to pay up front for an estimated consumption value, then be prepared to prove every dime of it to get any refund or avoid more tax annually. Less IRS? Bwahahahaha.


     
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    zplantman | October 25, 2011 at 11:04 pm

    The wind farms have been in the North Palm Springs area for over 30 years. There is no way he can claim these as “his own”. 1-10 through Whitewater Canyon where the wind blows 24/7 is an ideal place for the farms.

    One thing to keep in mind if you see a wind farm: just because the blades are spinning, that does not mean the turbine is running.

    I’ve been told by people who have windmills that it is fairly common to let the blades free-wheel when the gears are disengaged — I suppose because it reduces stress.

    So it’s very possible that a busy-looking wind farm is actually doing quite a bit less than it looks.


     
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    LukeHandCool | October 25, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    I always loved the windmills because it meant we were almost at the end of our drive from Santa Monica to Palm Desert, where my parents lived.

    What are you doing in Palm Desert, Professor? I hope you like to golf. There are a million golf courses out there.

    Greece is a dead country walking. It’s bonds are worth, maybe, 25% of face value. That means anyone holding these bonds – Europeans banks, Greek pension plans, investment funds – will see 75% of their capital evaporate.

    60% Greek Bonds and 40% Greek Equities
    Plan value is down 70% since 2008

    60% Greek Bonds and 40% European Equities
    Plan value is down 58.85% since 2008

    Virtually every citizen of Greece is due to be impoverished.

    http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/10/greece-pension-plans-insolvent-no.html

    “With talk of 50% or 60% haircuts on Greek bonds, already mistrustful Greek citizens have queued up to pull deposits.”

    http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/10/lines-to-withdraw-deposits-queue-up-as.html

    After Greece comes Portugal, then Spain, then Italy.

    Is Rhode Island Greece?

    “Rhode Island is looking more and more like Greece, and not in a good way.”

    “Because Rhode Island listened to timeserving blue politicians too long, and union leaders and public sector workers lost their grip on any mathematical realities beyond the numbers at the ballot box, the pension system grew more and more out of control. State and local governments lurched into a crisis. Vote yourself a raise, vote yourself a pension: why not?

    But there is financial math as well as political math and in any war with financial arithmetic, the money numbers win. If there isn’t any money, the checks won’t clear. Ultimately, you will have to fire existing workers, stop paying pensions or a mix of both. That is where Rhode Island is now: its economy can’t generate the revenue to support its existing governance system and to pay its pension obligations.”

    http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/10/23/rhode-island-athens-of-america/


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