TEA PARTY ECONOMIST

The TEA PARTY ECONOMIST Ron Paul's original staff economist, Dr. Gary North! Friday, December 28, 2012

Don’t Spend That Tax Refund. Pony Up More for Next Year. Welcome to the AMT: the alternative minimum tax. The AMT will drop down in 2013 to people who make $65,000 a year or more. It presently hits only people making over $400,000. Americans have not budgeted for this. Here are other things they have not budgeted for. No more deduction for state and local sales... READ MORE Senator Feinstein’s Gun Control Bill Is DOA California’s Senator Feinstein puts the jerk into knee-jerk liberal. She introduced a comprehensive gun control bill three days after the December 14 shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. If you think she wrote that bill personally, you’re wrong. If you think it was written from scratch in three days, you’re wrong. If you think the bill will... READ MORE Spending Cuts? Surely, You Jest. Quick. How much money will be cut from 2012's level of federal spending in 2013 if there is no agreement to repeal the Budget Control Act of 2011? Give a ball park estimate. If you answered “none,” you’ve got it right. The so-called sequestration is not a reduction in spending from today’s level. It is... READ MORE Milking the Taxpayers: $7 a Gallon When We Go Over the Fiscal Cliff The price of milk will double if Congress does not pass a replacement farm bill. We will be paying $7 a gallon. That’s because the federal government’s milk producers’ subsidy will go to $7 a gallon. The daily industry will rejoice. “Happy days are here again!” “We’re in the money!” The lapse of today’s farm... READ MORE The Real Meaning of the Fiscal Cliff: “We Were All Lying in 2011.” In August 2011, the House, the Senate, and the President all agreed: taxes on all Americans would rise, and government spending would slow on January 1, 2013. They signed that law in order to get Republicans to agree to an increase in the government’s debt ceiling. They lied. They had no intention of raising taxes,... READ MORE Myth: Higher Taxes Reduce Consumer Spending There is fear that the fiscal cliff will lead to spending cuts by the government. This will reduce consumer spending, we are told. But will it? Why? There will be no spending cuts. There will merely be a slight reduction in the increase of government spending. We are told that higher taxes will also reduce... READ MORE Big Problems and Big Government Gary North’s Reality Check (Dec. 27, 2012) This article is in the Technology Review. It is typical of an engineer’s view of social problems. Each of the big ones has a technological solution, he says. But they rarely do. The article began with the 1969 walk on the moon. That was the most spectacular and... READ MORE Retired Couple Turn into World Traveling Nomads This couple sold their home in Paso Robles, California, and started touring the world. We hear about people like this. These people have done it. The wife started a blog site about their travels: http://homefreeadventures.com. They were worried about old age. They wanted to see the world. So, they are doing just that. They rent... READ MORE 600,000 to 800,000 People Are Expected to Attend the Inaugural. Why? Why would anyone pay to fly to Washington, D.C., pay $600 a night at a hotel, just to see President Obama inaugurated? A staggering 1.8 million people did in 2009. That was then. This is now. The crowd will be smaller this time. There are better deals available at smaller hotels and motels. Still, I... READ MORE