When Tax Reform Isn’t-What Congress Giveth It Taketh Away-Podcast 676

They call it Tax Reform. A Jobs Bill. That’s what it must be, right? Journalists and commentators are playing the same old game. Argue a proposed piece of legislation on its merits. Time to reset the boundaries in When Tax Reform Isn’t-What Congress Giveth It Taketh Away-Podcast 676.

Freedom Of Choice

While listeners to The Bob Davis Podcasts always have the freedom to choose what they think is right, I want to introduce the concept of marginal improvement. Legislators on both sides of the political spectrum talk big about ‘reform’. Usually though they make what really are marginal changes. This is especially relevant when we’re talking about the tax code.

The Real Football Game Is Congress

Team Red moves the ball back to the Blue thirty yard line. It’s hailed as a great victory. Team Blue moves the ball back to the Red twenty yard line a few years later. These are what both sides call marginal improvements. Meanwhile, as economist Milton Friedman famously suggested, they keep getting elected by making the tax code more complicated.

Budget Neutrality Isn’t A Thing

Enter a legislative concept called Budget Neutrality. The idea every expenditure must be ‘paid for’ with tax increases, or budget cuts. You think Tax Reform means lower taxes. What they’re really doing is taking away tax deductions and loop holes, and increasing our overall tax. The sad part is, it’s not their money, it’s our money. In When Tax Reform Isn’t-What Congress Giveth It Taketh Away-Podcast 676.

What Is Real Reform?

If you want real reform. The end to this kind of corruption? Then the power of the federal government to tax our incomes and our property must be permanently eliminated. Should corporations be taxed at all? Do you have property rights if you pay property taxes? How does government pay for the wonderful things both sides wants it to provide? We talk about it in When Tax Reform Isn’t-What Congress Giveth It Taketh Away-Podcast 676.

Already Socialists

So called conservatives like to argue the merits of capitalism versus socialism. It seems like I’d be on pretty safe ground if I suggested the United States has been collectivist for decades. Our economic system is not so much capitalist as it is a controlled market economy. Our elected Kings and their privy courts control our behavior and our futures with regulation and a tax code so complex, were it to be proposed as a single law in its present form, it would cause a revolution.

(Editor’s Note: While the first actual income tax in the United States was levied during the Civil War, it was later repealed as ‘unconstitutional’. Several attempts were made to establish an income tax through the late 1800’s which were unsuccessful, until the 16th amendment, ratified in 1913.)

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Reliafund

When Tax Reform Isn’t-What Congress Giveth It Taketh Away-Podcast 676

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Podcast 604-We Don’t Need No Stinking Principles

Bob Davis Podcast Radio Show #67

In Podcast 604-We Don’t Need No Stinking Principles. He is known as Milo. A self described agent provocateur. A guy who took it to the left using the left’s tactic. A person who could cause left wingers to spontaneously combust. Taken down by the right. Another personality raised up to do people’s thinking for them. Someone to speak for so called conservatives.

These days videos and articles by personalities suffice as arguments. Someone getting the best of you on FaceBook? Don’t like someone’s tweet? Bam! Throw up the Milo video and the other guy is toast. Want to say something about politics? Post someone’s video or article about what you think. It’s the ‘What He Said’ method of political discourse. Of course the bigger they are the harder they fall.

Suddenly a heavily edited video tape from the near past emerged. Milo allegedly appearing to condone pedophilia, Goodbye Breitbart. See ya later Book Deal. Forget about taking the purple at the Vatican Conclave known as ‘CPAC‘. Post that Milo video now and you’re a pedophile too. There’s a vacuum in the market for ‘What He Said’ videos and articles. Don’t worry. Plenty of future Milo’s into the breech, boys.

Principles Over Personalities

We’re urged to put principles over personalities. What principles? What are the principles of the republican party? Free markets. Oh wait. We’re talking about trade protection. Republicans and so called conservatives are for Freedom too. Oops! Not if you’re taking about increasing NSA surveillance of people we don’t like. The GOP is for lower deficits and ‘smaller’ government. Oh wait. We’re going to have a trillion dollar stimulus package and cut taxes. So. Yeah. Before people can support principles over personalities a political movement has to have some principles. Neither the republicans or the democrats have any. Welcome to Podcast 604-We Don’t Need No Stinking Principles.

Business Unfriendly

Also in Podcast 604-We Don’t Need No Stinking Principles. A new study ranks the most business friendly states. Vermont and Minnesota lead the least business friendly states. Nevada, Texas and South Dakota lead the most business friendly. The biggest problem according to the study is that the least business friendly states seemingly have no intention of addressing the thicket of taxes and regulations that prevent the formation of small scalable businesses. A little principle here might be useful. Of course most of the time its republicans in states like Minnesota that often are the first to propose more government solutions to problems created by too much government.

Taxing Robots

Robots and AI are nothing more than sophisticated tools. People think nothing of using the wheel or a wrench but break out in a cold sweat when confronted with the feared robot. Bill Gates has a solution for all that. Tax Robots. Employees are usually the biggest cost center for businesses. Its natural to want to cut those costs as much as possible. Cutting costs and freeing human capital to do better things is a natural part of human progress. Let’s slow it down by making robots more expensive. Principles? Lots to talk about in Podcast 604-We Don’t Need No Stinking Principles.

Sponsored by Hydrus Performance and Brush Studio in the West end.

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Podcast 534-Bob Davis Podcast Radio Show-38

Podcast 534-Bob Davis Podcast Radio Show-38. Posting this week’s radio show, with new content, from Rapid City, South Dakota. The radio show produced in Wall, South Dakota just outside the famous Wall Drug…which is actually pretty cool. In Podcast 534-Bob Davis Podcast Radio Show-38, a number of topics covered during this week’s podcast with new content added. For one thing, the rumors that somehow the republicans will ‘Dump Trump’ persist. It’s more than pure comedy when people who supported the Republican establishment’s embrace of Trump with full throated enthusiasm are scrambling to distance themselves from the Republican Candidate after his comments regarding the parents of a muslim American Serviceman who was killed in action. Add to that the fact that more and more people are suddenly interested in the political process, and are sending me emails and asking me, “Who should I vote for?”, or “What’s going on”? I share my answer with listeners in this podcast, although some of you won’t like the response. Once again, we have an over stimulated population well informed on the political gossip, but poorly informed on issues; the issues that we’re actually picking a president to deal with. This doesn’t even include congressional elections. With republicans defending some pretty competitive senate races, the potential for Donald Trump’s candidacy to cause a loss of control of the Senate for the GOP, could be devastating. Remember, Trump was ‘the one who can win’, and ‘the one who can take the fight to Hillary’. Has anyone thought about the prospect of Donald Trump as president with a democrat senate? The man who has pledged to ‘spend more that Hillary’ on government stimulus? This prospect, or even worse, the specter of Trump losing the presidency and republican control of the senate has apparently just dawned on the very establishment leaders that so lovingly embraced the New York Developer as their presidential nominee just a few short weeks ago. Only time will tell what the outcome of this election will be, but it could be death knell of the republican party. The republican establishment has already killed the so called conservative movement. In the final segment of this week’s show we come to local elections. Specifically, a local election in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, challenging the current speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Kurt Daudt. An Elk River man is alleging that a local tea party chapter and its associated political action groups has violated Minnesota State Election Law. (Editor’s Note: I am working to validate the allegations made by Matt Stevens of Elk River. In this effort I have already uncovered some discrepancies in the citations of evidence, and some questions as to whether Stevens fully understands how the Tea Party Alliance and its associated PACS are constituted. This is material when considering whether they have violated state campaign laws. Moreover, Stevens has refused any further comment or interviews ‘until the primary’, adding fuel to the suggestion by some that this was nothing more than a dirty trick to derail the campaign against the Speaker. Those involved in the Tea Party and its PACS refuse to comment until after the primary. By law, the State of Minnesota can’t even reveal whether a complaint has actually been filed.) From here it’s on to Sturgis for the big motorcycle rally, and my favorite town in South Dakota; Deadwood. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul.

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