The Cynical Economist

Mega-man: The fast, fabulous, and fraudulent life of Kim Dotcom - Dotcom has gone out of his way since the early 1990s to put himself at the center of media attention. He’s certainly got it now. But who, really, is this guy?

Warren Buffett’s Secretary Likely Makes Between $200,000 And $500,000/Year - Warren Buffet’s secretary, Debbie Bosanek, served as a stage prop for President Obama’s State of the Union speech. She was the President’s chief display of the alleged unfairness of our tax system – a little person paying a higher tax rate than her billionaire boss.

Despite Unfair Tax Burden, Warren Buffett’s Secretary Was Just Able To Buy A Second Home - Despite a heavy tax burden, Warren Buffett’s secretary last year was able to purchase a second home in Arizona, a residence complete with a swimming pool and a “professional PGA putting green,” according to real estate records.

Obama Extols Warren Buffett as Hero, But to Wall Street He’s No Angel - President Obama invokes Warren Buffett as a great icon of Wall Street eager to pay his fair share of taxes, but the industry sees his folksy image as a mask for a robber-baron mentality.

Bill Gates: I don’t pay enough tax - What is stopping him to pay more voluntarily? 

Unanswered Issues on the “Buffett Rule” - So if your income is above $1 million, you have to pay 30 percent of your income in taxes, even if that income came from capital gains or dividends, which is normally taxed at 15%.

How to Avoid Worst of All Worlds: Pay Poorest More - Ha! How is that going to work out for “Apple” for example?

FOXCONN APOLOGISES OVER BOSS’S ‘ANIMAL’ COMMENT: REPORT - Taiwan technology giant Foxconn has apologised over comments by chief Terry Gou allegedly comparing workers to animals, according to a report.

Fed Signals That a Full Recovery Is Years Away - The Federal Reserve, declaring that the economy would need help for years to come, said Wednesday it would extend by 18 months the period that it plans to hold down interest rates in an effort to spur growth.

Forget Greece; it’s Portugal that’ll destroy euro -  Commentary: One default is an accident; two is a systemic crisis

The shrinking private equity world - 

Barack Obama is still driving America towards decline - Two words hardly mentioned in Barack Obama’s 65-minute State of the Union address to Congress: freedom and liberty. President Obama’s fourth and possibly last State of the Union speech was long on big government proposals, but short on the principles that have made America the world’s greatest power.

Davos: World bosses gloomy about year ahead - A survey of 1,258 bosses by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum of the global business elite, found 48 percent expect economic decline and only 15 percent growth.

Google announces privacy changes across products; users can’t opt out - The Web giant announced Tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users acrossnearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including YouTube, Gmail and its leading search engine.

Terence Corcoran: The United States of Envy - Welcome to the United States of Envy, land of the free and home of the brave so long as nobody makes too much more money than the next guy

Obama challenges: Shrink gap between rich, poor - ”The state of our union is getting stronger,” Obama said….what a schmuck 

President Obama’s State of the Union? Hyper-Regulated - The 2012 State of the Union Address ought to address the Mistakes of the Union when it comes to over-regulation of competitive free enterprise.

Mic check! Occupy Wall Street offers a rebuttal to State of the Union - When you treat the people who build your buildings and serve your food and raise your children and patrol your streets without respect, You have not only lost touch with our humanity, You have lost touch with your own humanity

Haven’t We Heard this Before? - The Republican National Committee has compiled this video comparing lines President Obama used tonight in his State of the Union Address with lines he used in previous addresses before Congress

Herman Cain delivers Tea Party response (12:54)

US Post Office Needs to Cut 260,000 Jobs: Rep. Issa - The U.S. Postal Service needs to slash 260,000 jobs and end weekend delivery if it is to climb out of its “financially insolvent” condition, Rep. Darrell Issa said.

Roofing company sends Genesee County money to pay inmates $44 an hour - The rate for a journeyman roofer in the county is at least $26.21 per hour and $17.95 in fringe benefits, according to county documents.

Under Obama, Price of Gas Has Jumped 83 Percent, Ground Beef 24 Percent, Bacon 22 Percent - Here you have it - The State of the Union under Obama

Brazil Stiffs Obama on Oil Deal, Exposing President’s Incompetence - Obama’s policy in regard to oil and gas has been a study in incompetence driven by an ideological mania against hydrocarbon fuel in favor of more politically correct forms of energy production. This has not only led to what amounts to a campaign against oil and gas production in the U.S., but embarrassing scandals such as Solyndra, brought on by unwise federal loan guarantees to dubious green energy companies. If you were wondering why the gas prices continue go up here is a part of the reason

Buffett’s Burlington Northern Among Winners From Keystone Denial - Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.

President Obama approved fiddling with budget numbers, New Yorker reports - The president prided himself on honesty in his first budget proposal, including the real estimated costs of spending, but Obama later shifted his stance and approved the use of budget gimmickry, according to The New Yorker. Is there anyone surprised?

Federal employees owe $1.03 billion in unpaid taxes - About 98,000 federal, postal and congressional employees owed $1.03 billion in unpaid taxes at the end of fiscal 2010, according to recordsprovided by the Internal Revenue Service. The total number of delinquent employees dipped slightly from 2009, but the amount owed jumped by $32 million.

How Much the Rich Pay - 

The welfare state is destroying America - Spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare alone currently account for 46 percent — or nearly half of — federal spending, excluding interest payments. Over the next 25 years, that percentage will explode to 66 percent, or close to two-thirds, according to the Congressional Budget Office..

Numbers associated with the nation’s debt crisis are almost too staggering to comprehend. Last month, total U.S. debt surpassed $15 trillion. But a recent analysis by Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff found that when long-term entitlement obligations are considered, the true fiscal gap is $211 trillion

Mark Landsbaum: Taxpayers getting sunburned again - Despite history – and current events involving alternative energy companies – many Americans buy into the notion that for good things to happen, the government needs to be involved, even in charge.

Boehner: Problem in Washington Is ‘Too Much Spending’—But Since March, There’s No Spending Without GOP Approval - Federal spending bills approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives have increased the national debt by more than $1 trillion dollars in just 10 months.

Online Vendors, Meet The 1099-K - You’ll only receive a 1099-K if you’ve participated in 200 transactions adding up to $20,000. It’s the IRS’s helpful way of reminding you to report income you might have otherwise overlooked. If you don’t receive a 1099-K because sell less frequently, you’ll still have to report your income.

Subculture of Americans prepares for civilization’s collapse - Tegeler, 57, has turned her home in rural Virginia into a “survival center,” complete with a large generator, portable heaters, water tanks, and a two-year supply of freeze-dried food that her sister recently gave her as a birthday present.

Davos elites to seek reforms of ‘outdated’ capitalism - Economic and political elites meeting this week at the Swiss resort of Davos will be asked to urgently find ways to reform a capitalist system that has been described as “outdated and crumbling.” Gee see who say the capitalism is outdated and crumbling – the people that  greatly benefited from it. Capitalism isn’t the problem

Obama to Draw an Economic Line in State of the Union -  President Obama will use his election-year State of the Union address on Tuesday to argue that it is government’s role to promote a prosperous and equitable society, drawing a stark contrast between the parties in a time of deep economic uncertainty.

The Secret Document That Transformed China - This is A MUST READ. Explains exactly why the communism doesn’t work and why you should oppose the Obamas ideas that the government should make us equally poor. 

In theory, the government would take what the collective grew, and would also distribute food to each family. There was no incentive to work hard — to go out to the fields early, to put in extra effort, Yen Jingchang says.

“Work hard, don’t work hard — everyone gets the same,” he says. “So people don’t want to work.”

In Xiaogang there was never enough food, and the farmers often had to go to other villages to beg. Their children were going hungry. They were desperate.

Take take take - Corporations and citizens have become addicted to handouts — turning America into a nation of moochers

If The U.S. Government Keeps Spending Money Like This We Are Doomed And If The U.S. Government Stops Spending Money Like This We Are Doomed - We are living in the greatest debt bubble the world has ever seen, and no matter how it plays out there is going to be a massive amount of pain.

1,000 Days Without a Budget: Facts on the Senate’s Failure - The last time the Senate passed a budget was on April 29, 2009. Since that date, the federal government has spent $9.4 trillion, adding $4.1 trillion in debt

South Carolina’s Attorney General detects voter fraud - In a letter dated Thursday, Wilson says the analysis found 953 ballots cast by voters listed as dead. In 71 percent of those cases, ballots were cast between two months and 76 months after the people died. That means they “voted” up to 6 1/3 years after their death.

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work - Who in US can compete with the Chinese slave labor?

Germany has the economic strengths America once boasted - Germany with its manufacturing base and export prowess is the U.S. of yesteryear, an economic power unlike any of its European neighbors. It has thrived on principles America seems to have lost. The author is wrong. If I find time I will explain why.

Recovery at risk as Americans raid savings - More than four years after the United States fell into recession, many Americans have resorted to raiding their savings to get them through the stop-start economic recovery. Uh-oh!

Third world America: Bodies driven to a pauper’s burial in a U-Haul as tough economic times lead to more mass graves - It’s a practice more closely associated with third world countries, but in bleak times in a Chicago-area suburb, 30 people were buried in a mass grave on Wednesday.

……Money Can Buy

MPAA Directly & Publicly Threatens Politicians Who Aren’t Corrupt Enough To Stay Bought

Reinforcing the fact that Chris Dodd really does not get what’s happening, and showing just how disgustingly corrupt the MPAA relationship is with politicians, Chris Dodd went on Fox News to explicitly threaten politicians who accept MPAA campaign donations that they’d better pass Hollywood’s favorite legislation… or else:

“Those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who’s going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t pay any attention to me when my job is at stake,”

White House Petitioned to Investigate MPAA Bribery

The public has started a petition asking the White House to investigate comments made by MPAA CEO Chris Dodd a few days ago on Fox News. Closing a tumultuous week of wide protest against PIPA and SOPA – two MPAA backed anti-piracy bills – Dodd threatened to stop the cash-flow to politicians who dare to take a stand against pro-Hollywood legislation. Clear bribery, the petition claims, and already thousands agree.

Here is a LINK TO THE PETITION

BTW this is the same Dodd that got mortgage with far bellow market interest rate from Countrywide.  Countrywide gave preferential rates to ‘friends’ of company’s chairman

Why the American people continue to vote in, those crooks in public office? 

U.S. could hit debt ceiling again around election - Based on current deficit rates and borrowing estimates, some analysts say the United States could reach the debt ceiling again before the November 6 vote.

The Dangerous Notion That Debt Doesn’t Matter - WITH little fanfare, a dangerous notion has taken hold in progressive policy circles: that the amount of money borrowed by the federal government from Americans to finance its mammoth deficits doesn’t matter.

Solyndra Caught Destroying Millions Of Dollars Worth Of Brand-New Parts

Obama doubles down on green energy loans, again - ”This funding will assist rural farmers, ranchers and business owners to build renewable energy projects, providing opportunities for new technologies, create green jobs and help America become more energy self-sufficient,”

Unplug electric car subsidies - Taxpayers shouldn’t be asked to fork over $7,500 per vehicle sale for cars most can’t afford themselves

Obama: “I Should Pay More Taxes, … -  Let me be absolutely clear, I should pay more taxes, and folks in my income bracket should pay more taxes, and certainly folks who are making billions of dollars should pay more taxes, not because I want to take their money and just give it to somebody else it is because we got basic investments and basic functions that have to be carried out in this 21st century if we were be able to compete”

Do you see the links above that are showing how is he investing your money. Taxing the hard working Americans and giving away   “loans” and grants to his cronies. Those money will never be repaid and no one will be held responsible for wasting billions of dollars. BTW, who is stopping Barak from paying more taxes?