In the late 19th century, Justice Stephen J. Field noted in an opinion: “If the provisions of the Constitution can be set aside by an Act of Congress, where is the course of usurpation to end? The present assault upon capital is but the beginning. It will be but the stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political contests will become a war of the poor against the rich; a war growing in intensity and bitterness.”
Indeed. For most of American history, taxes were levied primarily on consumption, rather than income, and for good reason. In The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton argued, “It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption that they contain in their own nature a security against excess.”
All that changed in 1913, however, when the central government started taxing income. At that time, federal taxes were equal to 3% of GDP and the entire tax code was two pages. Now taxes are in excess of 20% of GDP and the tax code is more than 46,000 pages (including 481 separate tax forms). Additionally, taxpayers will spend a cumulative 6.5 billion hours complying with that code, and due to its complexity, more than half of taxpayers will rely on “professional preparation,” costing them more than $200 billion.
Yes, flat-tax or federal sales-tax me now. The only reasons we didn’t pay through the nose this year was unemployment on my part, having a nice little deduction in toddler form, and paying the bank so one day we can own the home we occupy.
I especially enjoyed Alexander’s ripping of FDR in his column. Greatest President of the Twentieth Century? For whom? The Communists?
Month: April 2005
Thank God.
Doug Giles:
Now, for all you Backstreet Boys who are wondering if, if, you are one of these metrosexual males from whom women, men and small animals are running, I’ve concocted a little test to help you shed your proclivities toward abnormality and begin to saddle up and ride in a more masculine direction. Are you ready? If you start to hyper-ventilate, just take a break and control your breathing. Here we go.
Now did you think I was going to ruin it by posting Doug’s test? That’s why the article is hyper-linked, for crying out loud. Go. Click. Read. Laugh.
I’ve been using GmailStatus to alert me when I get new mail to my Gmail account (anyone [want an account](mailto:retrophisch@retrophisch.com?subject=Gmail account request)?). On my 12-inch PowerBook, however, menu bar space is precious, and if I can eliminate a menu bar widget, I will.
This may come as old news to some, but Gmail has added Atom feeds. It was really as simple as the article states: I dropped the link in to my NetNewsWire subscriptions, it asked for my login and password to the Gmail account, and that was it. I sent a test message to my Gmail account, and a couple of minutes later, when the feed refreshed, there it was. Aces!
NetNewsWire is one of the applications I always have open, so it makes sense for my usage patterns to keep track of my Gmail account this way. I don’t use Gmail as a primary e-mail account, so there’s no reason for me to keep it open in a browser window, and I’ve yet to get its POP access working with Mailsmith. If anyone’s been able to do this, [please let me know](mailto:retrophisch@retrophisch.com?subject=Gmail on Mailsmith).
I’ve been futzing around with OSXvnc on my Cube and Chicken of the VNC on my PowerBook, and I cannot get the latter to connect to the former. Is anyone out there using this combination, and can offer guidance? Or recommend a different VNC client?
Today’s MDJ provides good background information on Apple’s quarterly financial conference call coming later this afternoon. Matt & Company’s analysis of the stock “analyst” situation is spot on:
If Apple beats its own estimates by 10%, those results are merely “in line with analyst expectations.” If Apple’s estimates were spot on, then the company didn’t live up to those “analyst expectations.” In a sane world, the market would punish the analysts for missing their forecast, but that’s not where we live. The analysts would blame Apple, not themselves, and issue feverish research notes accusing the company of “underperforming” and “bursting its bubble.” The stock price, in turn, would summarily fall.
[Emphasis added. –R]
So like many segments of our society, the “analysts” will play the blame game if Apple’s figures don’t match up with theirs. It’s not their fault their projections were wrong; it’s Apple’s fault for failing to meet the analysts’ expectations, even if Apple’s figures fall in line with Apple’s projections. Much like how a certain Mr. O’Grady and other rumor-mongers blame Apple when new product specifications fail to match up to their caffeine-driven imaginations. MDJ’s taking-to-task of the anaylsts continues:
Still, one shouldn’t ignore the possibility that Apple will post a solid quarter that looks “bad” simply because it doesn’t meet the fantasies of analysts who are busily inventing video iPods, media servers, and Apple-branded cell phones in their feverish little heads. The exuberance has placed Apple in the uncomfortable position of needing to beat its own guidance by 10% or more just to keep up with expectations.
UPDATE, 7:55 PM: It’s all moot, at least this time, as Apple blows away everyone’s projections. [Via Matt D..]
Stephen O’Grady has assembled a good introductory article for those who may not have gotten in to the blog-reading thing. For those of you reading this right now, this site is a blog, so you’re already reading at least one.
[Via Michael Hyatt.]
In what yours truly believes is a huge branding mistake, Mac Design is changing it’s name to Layers. Ick.
Publisher Scott Kelby reasons:
The magazine has grown, changed, and evolved so much over the past few years that the word “design” doesn’t really explain all that we are anymore. If you’ve read us for any length time, you know we’re also a magazine for digital photographers, with digital photography news, tips, tutorials, and camera and printer reviews in every issue. Plus, from the very beginning, we’ve been the only Mac magazine to have an entire section dedicated to digital video editing. But we found that most photographers and video editors didn’t really know that because they don’t generally reach for a magazine that has the word “Design” in big letters on the cover.
I’m not sure how changing the name to Layers is going to draw the digital photography/video crowd that isn’t already reading the publication. I know about the use of layers in Adobe products. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s a pretty stupid name for a magazine that already has a great, all-encompassing name. This will not have an effect on the fact that I am a reader and subscriber. I just think it’s a bad name.
[Via Macsimum News.]
“The Constitution…is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary which they may twist and shape into any form they please.” –Thomas Jefferson
Once again, I am amazed at how prescient our Founding Fathers were, with regard to the present state of government in these United States.
How is it that some people can see the Constitution as a “living, breathing” document, that it must be adapted and interpreted in the light of our changing culture, and that we are able to find new rights and laws in the emenations of the penumbra of the aureola. And yet these very same people would have an absolute conniption if you suggested using the same approach on Roe v. Wade?
[Via Blogs4God, with the above title shamelessly ripped off from one of Roy’s commenters.]
Adobe GoLive CS2 is going to have integrated tools from Six Apart for MovableType and TypePad users. Maybe this will be a way to speed up generation of new site looks.