Hot Air » Blog Archive » The unsustainable federal income tax gap.

According to the Tax Foundation, this year the top 10 percent of earners are on the hook for around 73 percent of all the income taxes collected by Washington.

On the flip side, nearly 50 percent of households — because they don’t make enough or have various deductions — do not pay any income tax whatsoever. (Your payroll taxes “fund” your own stake in Social Security and Medicare.)

IRS chief: Buy health insurance or lose your tax refund | The Daily Caller – Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment.

Individuals who don’t purchase health insurance may lose their tax refunds according to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. After acknowledging the recently passed health-care bill limits the agency’s options for enforcing the individual mandate, Shulman told reporters that the most likely way to penalize individuals that don’t comply is by reducing or confiscating their tax refunds.

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Porkulus Follies: Weatherization program a flop.

When Barack Obama signed Porkulus over a year ago, one of its signature programs promised an explosion of jobs in the construction and contracting industries thanks to federal subsidies for weatherizing older homes.  In fact, as early as April 2009, Obama began bragging about the new jobs that his tax credits on weatherization and energy-efficiency remodeling would bring.  Eleven months later, the Associated Press reports that the explosion has turned into a multibillion-dollar implosion (via Fausta and JWF)

Subcommittee on Oversight ranking member Charles Boustany R-La. said the IRS provision in the bill “dangerously expands, in an ominous way the tentacles of the IRS and it's reach into every American family,” he said today during a press conference. “This is a vast expanse of power,” he said. Boustany said the bill would allow the IRS to confiscate refunds if there are penalties for not buying health care.

via Republicans assail IRS provision in health care bill – The Hill’s On The Money.

Hot Air » Blog Archive » What’s taking the CBO so long for its analysis? Update: $940 billion?.

You see, they chose that number because it puts it just under the TRILLION dollar(s) figure that we know will be scored by the CBO..

I didn’t get a chance to post this, but out of the all the crap spewed by NoBama yesterday, this was the most honest portion:

Obama on Slaughter strategy: “I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what the … rules are”; Update: “Combative” video added

A Simple Gulfstream III Wasn't Good Enough for This Witch. Let Them Eat Cake!

This is QUEEN PELOSI’S  JET!!!  And the Democrites talk about Palin’s dresses???

Queen Pelosi wasn’t happy with the small USAF C-20B jet, Gulfstream III, that comes with the Speaker’s job … OH NO!  Queen Pelosi was aggravated that this little jet had to stop to refuel, so she ordered a Big Fat, 200-seat, USAF C-32, Boeing 757 jet that could get her back to California without stopping!  I understand that a former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, flew commercial most of the time.

Many, many legislators walked by and grinned with glee as Joe informed everyone of what Queen Nancy’s Big Jet costs us, the hard working American tax payers, literally thousands of gallons of fuel every week.

“When reminded today of his past comments, the treasurer said he would have to check his past statements before saying any more because he doesn't want to give inconsistent answers.”

via Clout St: Giannoulias seeks to blunt damage, says family bank likely to fail.

FT.com / Companies / Automobiles – GM blames recall on Toyota supplier.

General Motors has blamed a supplier partly owned by Toyota for a faulty car part that led to the recall of 1.3m Chevrolet and Pontiac cars in North America.

Bob Lutz, GM’s vice-chairman, on Tuesday told the BBC in Geneva that the supplier – separately identified as JTEKT, a joint venture between Toyoda Machine Works and Koyo Seiko – had not met “all requirements for reliability and durability”.

If they didn’t meet  “all requirements for reliability and durability”, why were they put onto the automobile?

This is by far, the biggest load of crap that I have seen today…In other news, FORD sales jump; outsells GM...

UPDATE 1-Winter storms to distort US jobless figures-Summers | Reuters.

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) – White House economic adviser Larry Summers said on Monday winter blizzards were likely to distort U.S. February jobless figures, which are due to be released on Friday.

“The blizzards that affected much of the country during the last month are likely to distort the statistics. So it’s going to be very important … to look past whatever the next figures are to gauge the underlying trends,” Summers said in an interview with CNBC, according to a transcript.

Construction activity was hit particularly hard by the storms, but many restaurants and stores also had to close, putting the brakes on hiring plans and temporarily throwing some employees out of work.

Liening on NY homeowners – NYPOST.com.

WOW!

In a “This Week” interview with ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas, Pelosi said,

“We share some of the views of the Tea Partiers in terms of the role of special interest in Washington, D.C., as — it just has to stop.  And that’s why I’ve fought the special interest, whether it’s on energy, whether it’s on health insurance, whether it’s on pharmaceuticals and the rest.”

Pelosi held to her skepticism about what is behind the movement.  “Some of it is orchestrated from the Republican headquarters,” Pelosi said.  She also added that, “Some of it is hijacking the good intentions of lots of people who share some of our concerns that we have about the role of special interests.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Man who broke the Bank of England, George Soros, ‘at centre of hedge funds plot to cash in on fall of the euro’

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Rangel: Yes, I’m being admonished for ethics violations, but it’s totally not my fault.

It’s worth noting, too, that Pelosi received some quiet help when she moved on [William] Jefferson from Rangel and several of his CBC allies. Jefferson was something of an outcast in the group. Out of principle, most CBC members stood with him. But some of the group’s most important leaders – like Rangel – quietly assisted Pelosi (hoping, no doubt, to gain a chit from a future Speaker).

But when it comes to Rangel now, Pelosi won’t find similar help at the top of the CBC. The Harlem Democrat is a CBC lion, a founding member who inspires deep reverence from its members. If Rangel asks them to fight for him, they will.

Or as Newsbusters pointed out, WaPo Blog Compares Black Conservatives to Genocidal Dictators.  How very sad and ignorant.  But TheRoot.com, a blog owned by the Washington Post, seems to have no qualms about doing so, as evidenced in its list of 21 “Black Folks We’d Like To Remove From Black History“.

On Clarence Thomas:

Although he’s only the second man of color to serve in the Supreme Court, the Backstreet Boys have more standing in the black community than Clarence Thomas. That’s because he looks to the Constitution as “colorblind,” says he’s a man who just happens to be black and opposes government programs intended to help minorities. I’m not sure if the late Thurgood Marshall would want to pop Clarence ’side his head with his gavel, but there are plenty of blacks who would volunteer to do it for him.

Hot Air » Blog Archive » WaPo columnist: That insane pilot sounds kind of like a tea partier, huh?.

Here’s how Stack’s manifesto actually ended:

Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)

02/18/2010

And here’s how Capehart quotes the ending:

Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)

02/18/2010