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Killing us slowly

Every so often an economist will come forward with a statement opposing a popular notion that a higher tax rate on the well-to-do is harmful to the country’s economy. Here are two economists who say that the supposed harm just ain’t so:

According to our analysis of current tax rates and their elasticity, the revenue-maximizing top federal marginal income tax rate would be in or near the range of 50%-70% (taking into account that individuals face additional taxes from Medicare and state and local taxes). Thus we conclude that raising the top tax rate is very likely to result in revenue increases at least until we reach the 50% rate that held during the first Reagan administration, and possibly until the 70% rate of the 1970s. To reduce tax avoidance opportunities, tax rates on capital gains and dividends should increase along with the basic rate. Closing loopholes and stepping up enforcement would further limit tax avoidance and evasion.

But will raising top tax rates significantly lower economic growth? In the postwar U.S., higher top tax rates tend to go with higher economic growth—not lower. Indeed, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP annual growth per capita (to adjust for population growth) averaged 1.68% between 1980 and 2010 when top tax rates were relatively low, while growth averaged 2.23% between 1950 and 1980 when top tax rates were at or above 70%.

And it’s one more reference to the good old Reagan days when the wealthy paid much more in taxes.

Posted in Econo.

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By Green April 25, 2012


The demise of facts

Chicago Tribune writer Rex Huppke is mourning the death of Facts:

To the shock of most sentient beings, Facts died Wednesday, April 18, after a long battle for relevancy with the 24-hour news cycle, blogs and the Internet. Though few expected Facts to pull out of its years-long downward spiral, the official cause of death was from injuries suffered last week when Florida Republican Rep. Allen West steadfastly declared that as many as 81 of his fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives are communists.

Facts held on for several days after that assault — brought on without a scrap of evidence or reason — before expiring peacefully at its home in a high school physics book. Facts was 2,372.

Good stuff there, Rex. Thanks for that.

Posted in It's life.

1 comment

By Green April 23, 2012


Corn and climate

What’s ahead for corn prices? The biggest factor in the coming decades is neither fuel costs nor agricultural policy, according to a new study. It’s climate change that will have the biggest effect. New heat-tolerant strains of corn are needed or else production must move further to the north into Canada.

Posted in Ag, Enviro.

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By Green April 23, 2012


Christians are left-wingers

Wait a minute – what’s that? Here’s the entire newspaper headline: “Christians ‘More Likely to Be Leftwing’ and Have Liberal Views on Immigration and Equality.” What newspaper? London’s Daily Mail.

According to an article by David Sirota, the religious people of England are different than those of the U.S., broadly speaking. The newspaper article stated:

religious people are more likely to be politically progressive (people who) put a greater value on equality than the non-religious, are more likely to be welcoming of immigrants as neighbors (and) more likely to put themselves on the left of the political spectrum.”

Sirota’s conclusion: “First, they tell us that, contrary to evidence in the United States, the intersection of religion and politics doesn’t have to be fraught with hypocrisy. Britain is a Christian-dominated country, and the Christian Bible is filled with liberal economic sentiment. It makes perfect sense, then, that the more devoutly loyal to that Bible one is, the more progressive one would be on economics.

That highlights the second reason this data is significant: The findings underscore an obvious contradiction in our own religious politics.”

Posted in It's life.

1 comment

By Green April 23, 2012


Environmental history in the chimney

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Photo by Chris Grooms, Queens University

A rare stash of chimney swift droppings dating back to the 1940s is veiwed as a “unique archive of environmental history and decline.” It’s turned out to be an excellent look at the effects of DDT:

We know chimney swifts, like many insectivore birds around the world, are declining but the data aren’t there to sort out why,” he says. “Well, here is a way of reconstructing data we never gathered but now we realize is important. We can find out what they ate, we can find out what contaminants they had in their food.

Posted in Animal World, Enviro.

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By Green April 20, 2012


Tattoos are next

From the “things never change” department comes this report from a 1972 Observer. There was concern expressed about a federal proposal to assign a Social Security number to all children entering first grade. What’s next, they asked, a requirement to tattoo the right shoulder of every child? To bring the fear up-to-date, you have to talk about implanting chips under the skin and tattooing bar codes.

Posted in It's life.

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By Green April 20, 2012


Do it yourself

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If you lack the $6,000 needed to buy a Segway scooter, you could try building your own. Instructables has some ideas and a video here.

Just don’t hit any big bumps! We only had a few bit of skin missing from our shins and one hole in the wall!

Posted in It's life.

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By Green April 20, 2012


Our Sister City

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Port Huron must be our new Sister City. This is a sewer grating from the new parking lot next to the Observer. I’ll have to check the south lot and see if we have Port Huron sewer tops over there, too. I’m glad to they’re made by the East Jordan foundry. That’s always been my favorite maker of sewer gratings.

Posted in It's life.

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By Green April 19, 2012


Feathers

Posted in Animal World.

1 comment

By Green April 15, 2012


Paper airplane journey

Posted in It's life.

2 comments

By Green April 13, 2012


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