01-05-09
- Big-Brother capital of the West, the UK has become even more snoopy (independent). Police have been given the power to hack into personal computers without a court warrant. What an idea! How long will it take before the US imports Britain's great snooping ideas? Whoa there, Trigger! It's already happening where major cities like Chicago are setting up vast video surveillance networks. Time to watch Enemy of the State again and multiply it times - - - 20?
- Two-Thirds of US Companies Avoid Paying Federal Income Taxes (abcnews). As part of his weakening stimulus plan, President-elect Obama plans to give yet more tax breaks to those remaining businesses that still do pay some US taxes (bloomberg). One of those breaks is geared toward rewarding those companies that hire new employees. Something tells me, however, that few companies are going to hire new employees--with all their attendant costs--only for Obama's tax break, though I'm sure for some it will be enough to tip the scale. When times improve, yes, they'll do it then, take the tax break and perhaps some few will thank him for his generosity. His other business tax cuts do not directly relate to hiring new employees, but merely give businesses a little support in this troubling time. Obama figures his tax reductions should come to about 40% of the stimulus package. [See update 01-22-09 (Obama scrapped funding . . .)] Ouch! is Obama going Republican-Lite on us? I sure (was hoping for more infrastructure projects and the new jobs and essential end-products they would produce. Nobel-prize-winning economist Paul Krugman questions Obama's judgment on this plan (nyt). (See also my comments 12-30-08 (Obama is considering . . .) - Oh, and by the way, President-elect Obama, isn't there something you could do to force more US companies to pay their fair share of federal income tax? What they don't pay, the middle class has to offset. How else could the US Department of War have enough money to bomb to smithereens all those innocent "collateral-damage" men, women and children in countries where the US has strategic interests?
- Comet Lulin and Meteor (apod)
