by | BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT
It appears that Bill Gates is going the way of Phil Rizzuto and Ralph Kiner. For those of us old enough to remember, both Rizzuto and Kiner were the absolute pinnacle of professional baseball. They went on to become Baseball Hall of Famers and are regarded as two of the best baseball players of all time.Each then embarked on a subsequent career as a sports announcer – second-rate at best – for many years. Unfortunately, they’ll both be remembered for their longer period of broadcaster mediocrity than for their baseball playing superiority.
Bill Gates is following the same path. Rising to become arguably one of the most important businessmen ever to walk the earth by adding untold trillions to the value of the world economy, he is now venturing on new career in a philanthropic direction. His foundation focuses on education, but has had only mediocre results even by his own admission. And these results follow from an unwillingness to fight for his philanthropy the way he did his business.
Bill Gates and his foundation have intentionally failed to take on the most important detractor from present day education — that being the domination of public schools (or more properly government schools and the unions that run them) as well as the lack of competition in that industry. In fact, Gates provides virtually no funds for vouchers or related programs that might dislodge this cancer of public education, with the explanation that he doesn’t really want to pick a fight with the unions. Such an cowardly attitude would certainly have prevented the successes he saw in his business career. It’s a shame that Gates will likely be remembered as an individual who squandered more hard-earned, philanthropic funds than ever thought possible.
by | BUSINESS, ECONOMY, GOVERNMENT, HYPOCRISY, TAXES
It is truly embarrassing for the businessmen in this country to have a president who makes such economically incompetent statements and gestures. Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce a couple of months ago, our president effectively rebuked business success. He suggested that “if we’re fighting to reform the tax code and increase exports to help you compete, the benefits can’t just translate into greater profits and bonuses for those at the top. They should be shared by American workers”. This is a blatant example of wealth redistribution.
In a free economy, employee wages are such that an employer willingly pays whatever it takes so that the amount paid to an employee is less than what can be earned from them – i.e. they have to be able to produce. Take, for example, someone who sweeps floors. If you are in need of a floor sweeper and the benefit of sweeping is worth more than the sweeping costs, then you hire the floor sweeper. If not, then you leave the floors dirty.
The same principle has always applied – albeit on a grander scale– in the United States. We see this currently in manufacturing which is at an all time high, but the number of manufacturing employees is a lot less. Workers are so productive with technology and capital, they can be – and it’s worth it for them to be – paid more.
On the other hand, if a company pays its worker more than the worker is actually producing, then the worker will become wholly uncompetitive. It is not better for a worker to be paid more than he is worth, because at some point, he loses the capability to independently support himself. The scenario becomes not what his labor is worth – but instead that he has been given a gift. This takes away the incentive to produce and earn. It goes against what has made our country thrive, which is hard work and an investment of time and talent.
By publicly and strongly suggesting that employers unfairly and extraordinarily compensate their workers in an attempt to level the playing field, Obama has effectively shown his true colors regarding his attitude toward businesses and their operation. Private businesses in the country, unlike the government, do not have the luxury of spending without consequences. Attempting to coerce fairness instead of cultivating a free market, Obama has strongly disadvantaged this country to the rest of the world.
by | BUSINESS, POLITICS, TAXES
The truth about Obama’s remarks:
#1) ON TAX BREAKS FOR THE WEALTHY: “And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It’s not a matter of punishing their success. It’s about promoting America’s success”.
FACT: The highest-income earners are the greatest investors. Investment is much more stimulative than consumptive spending; raising the tax margin punishes the earners and the economy – while theat extra revenue will go straight to the government. These top 2% earners also provide nearly 50% of small business income in this country; by targeting them, Obama is also hurting businesses.
#2) ON FIXING THE TAX CODE: “Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world”
FACT: This is purely populist rhetoric. Accountants and lawyers do not eliminate tax liabilities. And it is not so much lobbyists as it is legislators pandering for votes who put in provisions intended to help their own individual special interests. This happened in the 1986 Tax Act under Ronald Reagan, when tax rates from 50% to 28% in exchange for a large number of deductions and writeoffs. However, the ink was barely dry when Congress used that as an opportunity to jack the rates up from 28% to 39.6% — which lasted until the Bush tax cuts pushed them back a little bit.
#3) ON A FEDERAL FREEZE FOR FIVE YEARS: “I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president”.
FACT: Obama’s federal freeze comes after he has increased our spending 25% in two
years. We need to go back to FY2008 and start from there.
#4) ON JOB CREATION: “We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people”
FACT: “Invest” is just code for increased government spending. Here’s an example of the government picking industry winners and losers, something they have no business – or qualifications – doing. This policy will result in a net job losses – taking away from market directed companies in order to subsidize activities that cannot justify investment by the free market. A better and more impacting idea would be to give businesses research credits that companies could use and develop on their own.
#5) ON CLEAN TECHNOLOGY: “Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas”.
FACT: There is no clear consensus on the best type of clean energy. This only means continued uncertainty in the business markets, which will hamper the rate of recovery.
