Evading Taxes by Renouncing Citizenship? Really?

I think that, for some, being a citizen of the United States is all about greedy entitlement and has little to do with being a responsible member of our society. Sadly it seems that the richer you are the more ways that you have to hide your income from paying taxes - and some go even farther. Consider what David Gerwitz writes in his ZDNet article titled
"Why Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is a schmuck". Here are a few excerpts:

"Writing this article without profanity has been almost physically impossible. But we’re a family site, here at ZDNet, so I’ll just let you insert whatever invectives come to mind.

In this case, I’m talking about Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, who — in order to avoid paying taxes on his multi-billion dollar IPO windfall — is renouncing his United States citizenship.

There’s a truth about life that’s often difficult to accept. Justice doesn’t always happen. Some people, usually because of their great wealth, get away with doing reprehensible things. It’s not fair, and it’s not right, but it’s what happens."
...
"What he’s done is played a system and gained tremendously for it. A case could be made that that’s fair. One of the first things they teach you in B-school is to pay the least amount of taxes you can within the bounds of the law, and even the IRS accepts this as a reasonable strategy.

But going so far as to renounce the incredible gift of citizenship we gave to this man, and by doing so, saved him from kidnap gangs in his native country — that’s below reprehensible.

Justice would be to take away his stock benefits if he renounces his citizenship. Justice would be to block him from raking in all that cash if he’s not willing to pay his fair share. But justice doesn't work that way.

Instead, Saverin is running away to Singapore, a very small country with a very low crime rate."
...
"By not paying his fair share of taxes in the United States, he’s essentially stealing from all of the rest of us taxpayers who supported his education and his business venture. If it weren’t legal, it’d be a crime."

I think that people like Saverin and people who hide their money offshore give wealthy people a bad name. Thankfully the USA is filled with generous philanthropists who do wonderful charitable things with their money. And in that I rejoice.

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Dumb Wheelchair Ramps!

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This morning I spent a few minutes trying to share with a new friend what it is like living life with the limitations imposed by a wheelchair. I felt like I was not communicating what it was like very well at all. Perhaps it is something that you have to be involved with on a day to day basis to really understand. Or maybe I need to work on my story. :)

That said, I do think that this image of a wheelchair ramp dead ending into a column tells a bit of a story. You can see more dumb wheelchair ramps here.

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Is it really possible to make Congress work?

These days it seems that a new "movement" (grass roots and otherwise) pops up a few times a year. The Tea Party rose up a few years ago and have (for the most part anyways) given us the high level of congressional dysfunction we see in DC today. Other "movements" like the Coffee Party and Occupy Wall Street have arisen with more moderate and left leaning messages - if there is really a message in such "movements".

Today I once again became aware of the No Labels "movement". I like some of their ideas but am doubtful that they will go anywhere. Here are a few of them that supposedly will "Make Congress Work":

• No Budget, No Pay
  If Congress can't make spending and budget decisions on time, they shouldn't get paid on time either.
• Fix the Filibuster
  Require real (not virtual) filibusters, end filibusters on "Motions to Proceed" and allow more issues to be debated and voted on
• Empower the Sensible Majority
  If a bipartisan majority wants to get something done, they shouldn't be held back by party leaders who prefer to organize Congress into warring clans.
• Make Members Come to Work
  Most Americans put in a five-day workweek. So should Congress.
• Bipartisan Leadership Committee
  Republican and Democratic leaders have allowed virtually every meeting to turn into a partisan pep rally.

There are twelve of these in all. I suggest that you check them out at the No Labels website.

Not sure what you think but I am appalled by the dysfunction in Congress. Thinking about how they profit from insider trading information and lobbyist money makes me ill. Looking at this list reminds me of how pitiful these slackers really are. I mean really! They need new rules to tell them to work five days? Give me a break!

I do not think that it is possible to make these fools work. The system is broken. What do you think?

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Is Warehouse Shopping a Scam?

When I was younger and shopped for a family of four these kind of places seemed like a good idea. Then I started comparing them to Walmart prices and found them lacking. I checked one of them out this afternoon and my mind was not changed.. especially when the membership is over $50.

Do you warehouse shop? If so, what do you like about it?

Crony Capitalism: Socialism for Tycoons

Many of my libertarian and conservative friends often regale the virtues of capitalism and free markets. Some of them however understand that much of what our system looks like these days is an example Crony Capitalism. Here is how Wikipedia defines it:

Crony capitalism is a term describing a capitalist economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, and so forth.

Nicholas D. Kristof shares this about it in his New York Times opinion piece titled "Crony Capitalism Comes Home".
Here are a few of his thoughts:

I’m as passionate a believer in capitalism as anyone. My Krzysztofowicz cousins (who didn’t shorten the family name) lived in Poland, and their experience with Communism taught me that the way to raise living standards is capitalism. But, in recent years, some financiers have chosen to live in a government-backed featherbed. Their platform seems to be socialism for tycoons and capitalism for the rest of us.
...
Capitalism is so successful an economic system partly because of an internal discipline that allows for loss and even bankruptcy. It’s the possibility of failure that creates the opportunity for triumph. Yet many of America’s major banks are too big to fail, so they can privatize profits while socializing risk.

The upshot is that financial institutions boost leverage in search of supersize profits and bonuses. Banks pretend that risk is eliminated because it’s securitized. Rating agencies accept money to issue an imprimatur that turns out to be meaningless. The system teeters, and then the taxpayer rushes in to bail bankers out. Where’s the accountability?

The lack of accountability in Crony Capitalism is troubling. The lawmakers in DC do not seem to have it. The executives in Corporate America do not want it. And the rest of us seem powerless. Small wonder that some feel a need to protest.

Viral Misinformation

It seems like I get a viral email message forwarded to me every week. The latest message of misinformation ends saying "If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message".

Small wonder that people are so sadly and badly misinformed these days.

Ridiculous Religulous

Hard to know where to begin. Caveat first: I did not watch the entire movie.. I could not stomach the way that Bill Maher edited conversations with any credible religious people to make his ridiculous points. The movie, the 30 minutes I viewed of it, was all about Maher and his atheistic bias. I did fast forward to the end trying to get a glimpse of any credible theologian.. and of course none were to be found. In fact, I did not see him talk to any religious scholars at all. Instead he preferred to ridiculously pretend to want to know what people really thought. It was sad - even for Maher. He is not a stupid man and really should not be making incoherent drivel such as this so-called movie.

Bragging About Rejected Super Bowl Ads

A week from Sunday the nation will sit mesmerized by muscular men duking it out on TV.. and in between those commercials they will also be watching the Super Bowl.

A few days a go the Business Insider asked Can We Please Put An End To The Fake "Rejected" Super Bowl Ads? Here are a few clips from it:

Ashley Madison doesn't want their ad on the Super Bowl. They deliberately made one that they knew would get turned down so that they could brag to the world that they are "controversial" and "too hot for TV." It's much cheaper that way.
...
Companies figured out years ago that the best brand strategy isn't spending all your seed money on a Super Bowl ad. It's manufacturing a non-existent controversy around your Super Bowl ad, so that you get just as many people watching it at a fraction of the price.

(That also happens to be GoDaddy.com's entire business philosophy.)

Yes, it worked. We just wrote a post about Ashley Madison and JesusHatesObama.com, right? But guess what? Women in lingerie and political humor isn't too hot for TV or the Super Bowl. It's also not funny and it sure isn't clever.

Fake "Rejected" Super Bowl Ads? You gotta love this sort of ingenuity. Looking back on these "controversies" I have to admit that it never crossed my mind that it was all a ruse. Color me gullible. How about you? Were you duped?

Entitled Lawmakers

I think that most people really are suspicious of our leaders in congress.. news about the perks they get from lobbyists.. the pensions they receive after working for just a few years.. I mean really - who else gets these kinds of perks. Even so, this Associated Press article grossed me out even more. Here is an excerpt from it:

California lawmakers enjoy a perk that seems like a luxurious amenity in a state that has been slashing billions of dollars from its budget: taxpayer-provided cars. The state purchases cars for lawmakers to drive around their districts and the capital under a decades-old program, spending more than $5 million for the latest suite of vehicles that includes a $55,000 Cadillac sedan and a $52,000 Lexus hybrid.

It is so utterly revolting that "public servants" would act this way. I mean really, how do they sleep at night? They act like they are entitled to the perks of kings and queens. Ugh!

$11,000,000 Christmas Tree

A 43 foot Christmas tree has been decked out with 131  gold and precious stone ornaments costing $11 million (US) and stands in the lobby of the Emirates Palace hotel, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The $11 million symbol of the season has become the latest extravagance at the hotel, which boasts its own marina, heliport and a vending machine that pops out small gold bars.

I am thinking that these folks might have more money than sense. I wonder what the security detail looks like? 10 guards a guarding 50 golden rings!!

St Barts is calling..

Anybody up for a few nights in St Barts?
I got an email inviting me to stay in the $25k per night Royal Suite at Hotel Carl Gustaf. I think we can do it if only 249 of you would agree to meet me there.

Just thinking about the cost of this suite.. not to mention the ones in Miami and Paris.. reminds me of the huge wealth gap that exists in the world. I mean really - how much money does one have to have to spend this much on a hotel room?

Nanny State

I found the subtitle of this book to contain interesting descriptions of the people who would like to control what we eat and drink - food fascists.. teatotaling do-gooders.. priggish moralists.. boneheaded bureaucrats.

I woke up this morning to the news that the mayor of New York City wants a new rule for the folks who receive food stamps. The mayor say that stamps should not be used to buy sugary drinks like Coke and Pepsi. Folks have also said that drinks like these should have extra taxes levied because of their effects on our health.

I am wondering how far this sort of stuff will go. What will the next food police target be? Barbecue? Yikes!

Stephen Hawking's Spontaneous Creation

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The Twitterverse is all abuzz these days with chatter about Stephen Hawking and his new book in which he purports that the universe came to be apart from divine creation. Here is a short clip from his book as presented in a Wall Street Journal article titled Why God Did Not Create the Universe:

Many people would like us to use these coincidences as evidence of the work of God. The idea that the universe was designed to accommodate mankind appears in theologies and mythologies dating from thousands of years ago. In Western culture the Old Testament contains the idea of providential design, but the traditional Christian viewpoint was also greatly influenced by Aristotle, who believed "in an intelligent natural world that functions according to some deliberate design."

That is not the answer of modern science. As recent advances in cosmology suggest, the laws of gravity and quantum theory allow universes to appear spontaneously from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.

Now I am not, as they say, a "rocket scientist" and do not possess the brain power of Professor Hawking.. but I do think that when someone uses a term like "spontaneous creation" they are in effect saying that they do not know how the universe was created. Sad that such drivel gets passed off as science.

Really, does Mr Hawking actually believe that the invisible aspects of the universe like love, hope, and other human connectedness came without divine influence? Can the transcendent nature of man accompanied by self-identity be explained away by some silly "scientific" drivel? Are humans merely a higher evolved level of animal?

Give me a break!

Sad that such postulation gets passed off as science. And if one considers that everything that is came into being in an instant of time why not even consider.. I mean even for an instant ponder.. the notion that God, who exists outside of time, created all that is visible and invisible.. and He created humans unique and apart from everything else.

In a sense God is the only rational explanation for the universe. Now I know that saying God created all things might seem a bit narrow minded but I believe that for some it is not possible for such an idea to be considered because their thinking is too dogmatically narrow. And that narrowness is often passed of as science. Give me a break.

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.XXX Domains

Are you aware that some folks are advocating a new internet domain extension? The ".xxx" domain would denote websites that are explicitly pornographic. Here is a blurb about it from a NY Times piece titled For X-Rated, a Domain of Their Own:

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers on Friday agreed to move forward on a long-standing proposal from a Florida company to create a specialized dot-xxx suffix for adult entertainment Web sites. But the plan upset much of the adult entertainment industry. It joined hands with religious groups in lobbying against it, arguing that the new domains would lead to regulation and marginalization.

Are you, like me, a bit confused by this? Is there really a need for a dot-xxx suffix? Think about it? The new domain will simply be an extension of existing dot-com domains.. which by the way will still exist and still contain objectionable "material". The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is not a policing agency and will not force existing pornographic dot-com domains to convert to the new dot-xxx suffixes.

So I have to ask - what is the point? Anyone have a clue? Should I do kansasbob.xxx?

i-Fairy Pastor

Do you ever wonder where our high-tech world is heading? Look no farther than this Reuters article titled "I do" goes high-tech with Japan robot priest.. it may be just the ticket for those folks that are unhappy with the "institutional" church. Consider these outtakes from the article:

The groom looked dashing, his bride resplendent in white, but all eyes in this Japanese wedding were on the priest, a four-foot tall robot with colorful, flashing eyes called i-Fairy.

The robot is usually used in museum and exhibitions to direct visitors, but with the help of a flower headpiece, and a new programme, it pronounced Satoko Inoue and Tomohiro Shibata man and wife at a Sunday ceremony.
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The bride, Inoue, works for the company that makes the i-Fairy, and her husband, Shibata, is a client.

"It's true that robots are what caused us to first begin going out, and as suggested by my wife, we decided that we wanted to try this sort of wedding," Shibata said after making his vows.

After saying "I do," the bride said that she wanted to use her wedding to show people that robots can easily fit into their daily lives.

"I always felt that robots would become more integrated into people's everyday lives. This cute robot is part of my company, I decided that I would love to have it at my ceremony," Inoue said.

I have to say that this is just plain weird.. first because Japan allowed the i-Fairy to officiate the wedding and secondly (and more importantly) that the couple wanted it to.

As a person who has done a bit of premarital counseling I believe that marriage is something not to be taken likely. I do hope that this couple somehow found a way to involve people in their marital preparations.. and I do hope that they will not one day need an i-Fairy lawyer.

Gossip Casters

Can anyone else relate to this? Is anyone tired of Brangelina making the "news"? I think that local news can sometimes be the worst as they often "report" about "news" from the east or west coasts. Everything negative from court room dramas to all sorts of bad behaviors seem to make the 5pm, 6pm and 10pm broadcasts - sometimes for days. Even the sports news seems to get into the extracurricular activities of football players. Maybe they just need to fill the empty air? They do seem to have a lot of it.

Bleeping Politician

US Vice President Joe Biden's bleeped out comment to President Obama yesterday once again reminded me of the crassness of the dialog in the world these days. Interesting how I have not heard anyone rebuke the Vice President.

I am not saying that someone cannot use this kind of swearing in private.. not that I think it is a good idea.. but really.. can't keep a lid on it before a national audience? Give me a break!

Taxing Sugar? What a Joke!

Recently a state representative sent me an email message titled "A request for feedback".. sigh.. these folks just never learn do they? Here is the way that he ended his note:

The tax to which I am referring is described in Senate Bill 567. The legislation proposes a tax on sugar drinks such as soda pop or soft drinks and fruit or vegetable beverages containing 10% or less natural fruit or vegetable juice. The tax would be equal to one cent (1¢) per teaspoon of sugar contained in the drink or approximately ten cents (10¢) on a 12 ounce can or bottle of soda. It would be levied much like the gallonage tax placed on liquor, that is, the tax would be placed on the product at the distributor – before the beverage is forwarded to the retailer. It is projected to raise approximately $90 million a year, which would be a significant step toward meeting the shortfall.

I would appreciate your constructive feedback. If a tax on soda is not palpable, then what alternatives do you suggest? What other sources of revenue are you willing to support?

Sigh again.. asking somebody like me to bless a new tax.. he certainly does not know me. Here is the way that I responded:

Thank you for inviting me to provide feedback on this issue. I do not support hiking taxes at all and especially taxing sugar products. I suggest that you take a look at the salary and compensation structure for state employees/representatives and make cuts there. This Bureau of Labor Statistics comparison indicates that government on average pays more than the private sector for similar jobs ($40k/yearly more on average for health, pension and other benefits). It is time for legislators to get serious about cutting these kinds of expenses and bringing them in line with the private sector.

Seems that once upon a time in America folks revolted because of a tax on tea - maybe we need a new "Sugar Party" to protest this tax.. anybody interested?

And I am interested in what you think. Does anyone support this kind of taxation?

Nepotism and other Abuses of Power

The recent story of Democratic Montana Senator Max Baucus nominating Melodee Hanes, his live-in girlfriend, for a U.S. Attorney position reminded me of how power can often blind people and cloud their wisdom. My hometown Kansas City has been embroiled for a year or so in a weird battle over the mayor's wife and whether she should have the sway she seems to have at city hall. I do think that it can be a rough call at times.. people want to help and promote the ones that they trust the most.. but really.. nepotism is.. generally speaking.. not a good idea.

Over the years I have witnessed this phenomena inside of religious circles.. it is often said that one of the most powerful people in the church is the pastor's wife.. sometimes other family members are on church boards or placed in ministry positions of the church.. sometimes churches can look a lot like the family business. Again I think that mostly these people simply want the people they know the best to be involved in the things that they are involved with and have influence on.. but sometimes people in power are simply not wise when their decisions appear to be influenced by nepotism.

A search of the word "nepotism" in Google News for the last week produces 1,157 results.. seems that charges of nepotism have been leveled against all layers of power.. from UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliot stories abound of how people are involved in nepotistic activities.

An interesting aftermath to the Melodee Hanes appointment was that she withdrew her name earlier in the year but in June she became acting Deputy Administrator for Policy in the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.. of course both Senator Baucus and the Department of Justice said that she got the job solely based on her qualifications.. hmmm.. gotta wonder.

Guess I am wondering.. wondering if you have any experience in this area of nepotism. Have you ever been affected positively or negatively by this phenomenon? Care to share?

Botoxic Pastor

I grew up Episcopal on Staten Island in New York City.. mom, my siblings and I attended services every Sunday. I have some pretty good memories of church back then. So when I saw this Fox News story below I was a bit surprised:

NEW YORK — A New York pastor accused of using church funds to pay for plastic surgery has been ordered to serve five years probation.

The Rev. William Blasingame also must pay back $84,537 to St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church on Staten Island.

Prosecutors say he paid for personal luxuries, including tens of thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgery and Botox treatments, with money earmarked for the needy and the upkeep of church grounds.

Defense attorney James Hasson said Wednesday that Blasingame plans to sell land he owns in Georgia to cover the restitution, the Staten Island Advance reported.

Blasingame pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny in September. He could have faced 15 years in prison if convicted at trial.

His lawyer says Blasingame is "very sorry."

Yet I have to admit that I was not too surprised about a story of a pastor feeling entitled to people's offerings.. I have been involved in church finances for many years.. but using donations dedicated to the poor for Botox.. now that is low.