While there are times where I find myself “tacking on” my thoughts on something to my articles, as a rule, I always have a specific main subject — one main point to bring to the table. This week, however, I feel the need to bring more than one, in the tradition of Ronald Rowe’s excellent “Winners & Losers” column. Of course, I’m not one to plagiarize — and besides, for one of these subjects, the winner and the loser will be unknown until June. So — without further ado…
We’re Number One!
Sounds good, I know…but of course, there’s a catch. In this case, as of this past Sunday (April 1st — what do you know?)…we’re number one in a bad way. Thanks to Japan doing the smart thing and cutting their corporate tax rate, we now have the highest rate of them all.
You know… I always find it bitterly amusing when I hear the self-righteous Leftists, Occupiers, and Populists slamming Evil-Greedy-Corporations for shipping jobs overseas. Really? We impose the highest tax rate on businesses in the world — to say nothing of all the burdensome, gruesome, confusing, and ever-increasing regulations … and they wonder why companies don’t want to make their money here? Say what you will about Rick Santorum — or Mitt Romney, for that matter — but at least they’re talking about doing something about that garbage!
In the meantime, though … we have a class-warfare president who doesn’t dare cut taxes on The Evil 1%—and so, we’re stuck with a mostly jobless “recovery” until, God willing, the first Tuesday in November.
Got Gas?
Gas prices are now crossing the $4 mark — and counting. In part, we can blame world events: Iran’s nutcase leaders figure if the world won’t let them go nuclear, they’ll just pressure the oil market upward, or something. Still, the OPEC embargo didn’t deter Ronald Reagan, back when he did the one thing that apparently had slipped the mind of Old Jimmy: roll back government interference in our oil industry — and let them do their jobs. Gas prices plummeted back then, and we said goodbye in the ’80s to the long gas lines of the ’70s.
And yet … leave it to Barack Obama, to conveniently forget history. No … he won’t get out of the way. Those evil oil companies are gouging people and making record profits, don’t you know? We must tax them even more — regulate them even further! And so, prices go up … and the Left refuses to allow for a perfectly good pipeline from our friends up north — which would also have created a LOT of jobs. Of course … now Canada’s PM — a stand-up conservative fellow, by the way — feels forced to deal with China, instead. We can only hope and pray that those talks will be delayed long enough for Obama to be defeated — and for our guy to get that deal rolling again.
Nine Angry Men and Women:
Well, at long last, the Health Care Law was argued before the Supreme Court, last week. Of course, the Administration’s solicitor general had to defend one of the most absurdly complicated — and tyrannical — pieces of legislation in American history… and it seemed like he knew that. He stumbled, stuttered, and made error after error — to the point where Justice Stephen Breyer (one of the “Liberals”, mind you!) started teasing him about his apparent indecision on whether or not the darned mandate is a tax or not….
Interestingly enough, guess who tried her best to bail the guy out with “clarifications” of her own? Why, no one except— oh! — Justice Elena Kagan…Obama’s previous solicitor general. She wouldn’t recuse herself, apparently … and now, her clear conflict of interest is on display for all to see … and she couldn’t really care less.
Still, my biggest nod goes to the great Justice Antonin Scalia, who managed to keep his cool as he pointed out the various flaws in the arguments one by one … while maintaining a sense of dark humor about the whole thing. When it seemed as if the solicitor general wanted the judges to read the long and drawn-out hodgepodge (that apparently was too complicated for Congress to read before voting), so as to look for things to salvage if the worst should happen and the bill should be overturned … Justice Scalia gave the line of the week: “Mr. Kneedler, what happened to the Eight Amendment?”
It looks pretty close, folks. Stay tuned.
(Photo: USDA)