Thoughts on a Taxastrophe

Our tax system is enormously complicated. I'm not sure Geithner's woes were brought on by this complexity, though I'm inclined to think Daschle's were...

All of this makes for great political spectacle.

It makes me think that when you design an intensely complex system to reward some behaviors and discourage others, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that errors are common.

It also suggests that a simplified tax code would do a lot to promote fairness, ease an enormous amount of frustration felt by individuals all across this country, save money that would otherwise be spent on lawyers, increase the overall compliance rates, and generally make the world a better place.

Except, what would our politicians and lobbyists do? (Not to mention the lawyers...)

Seriously, though, the tax code is the place where government tries to coax individuals and businesses into making certain decisions. It's much easier politically to give a business or a group of individuals a tax break than it is to actually give them direct assistance. And once a tax break gets in the system, it's tough to ferret out.

No Love for Sen. Bunning

I just enjoy this too much to ignore it. Sen. Bunning (R-KY) is up for reelection in 2010. Time Magazine named him one of the five worst Senators. (Since that article was written, Bunning and Sen. Akaka (D-HI) are the only ones who are still in office.)

So, last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is also a Republican from Kentucky, tells the National Press Club that he doesn't know if Bunning will run for re-election.

Bunning gets pissed and tells the national media that he doesn't know why McConnell would say that. He says that he made it clear to McConnell that he will run for reelection.

Now, just a couple days later, the Senate Republican who oversees all Senate races, John Cornyn (R-TX), says "I don’t think he’s made a decision on whether to run," adding "We’re working with Sen. Bunning now to provide him all the information he needs in order to make that decision."

Too funny.

The Change-o-Meter

Can I just say that I hate this new feature by Slate?

Could it be any more arbitrary than this? On a day when the President goes to Congress to meet with the opposition party, and after Obama gives a very sympathetic, high profile interview to an Arab TV station, he apparently loses five "points" on the Change-o-Meter because... there were job losses announced by major American companies.

I don't get it. At all.

The New Bureaucracies

These three stories really just make me smile. Even if you argue that the Education Department, State Department, and the Interior Department are all filled with a bunch of liberals who would never like being led by a "republican", how important is it for the leaders of these bureaucracies to have a good working relationship with the staff in order to be successful in what they do?

Senator Whitehouse: We Must Look Back

This is a great piece of oratory. Not perfect, but good, thoughtful, and provocative.

Biden's Goodbye

Some may say Joe's the ultimate politician. I don't know. I think this is an excellent, straight-from-the-heart speech.

Full speech is here.

The Oval Office By 43

YouTube - Oval Office Tour By Mr. Bush 20081111



Wow. Three thoughts:

1) Obviously Bush thought they would edit his presentation to make him sound better.

2) Whoever should be crafting the President's image hasn't seen this video and demanded that it be edited. (It is still available on the White House's website as of 1/9/09.)

3) It's hard to imagine anyone other than the President giving a meaningful tour of the Oval Office, yet in this case, they probably should have gotten a historian to lead the tour...

As for A Charge to Keep? Well, it turns out the President didn't get his facts right...