Lowering Taxes, Learning Manners

Those who want to rip off the wealthy also talk during movies. Churlish attitudes apply universally, which explains why those who feel entitled to grab what belongs to others are so impolitely boisterous about it. Why wait one’s turn to speak when one is convinced one knows what’s right?

Such professional interrupters must speak up if someone points out that, oh, New York would look like a statewide Detroit if we extend high tax percentages on the richest among us. Governor Andrew Cuomo seems to grasp this notion, which endlessly irritates the sort of class acts who interrupt anytime they disagree with a point being made.

Take New York City Councilman and racist commie Charles Barron. He just couldn’t wait his turn or use his indoor voice to tell the governor that he sees things differently:

Barron unwittingly reminded everyone that refusing to behave correlates with being patently wrong. By contrast, those with manners inevitably choose an issue’s right side. Please notice this, thank you.

Nice folks are stuck confronting discourtesy from a conventional radical. For those lucky enough to be unfamiliar with Barron’s repellent body of work, he’s essentially a poor man’s Al Sharpton who blessedly never made himself known past New York’s boroughs.

Of course, Sharpton’s no poor man himself, as he has gotten rich by proclaiming that America is a fundamentally unjust place where people like him can’t catch a break. Unsurprisingly, he’s whining at an excessively high decibel level about Cuomo’s present wise austerity, too.

As for Baron von Barron, we shouldn’t expect much from a former Black Panther, especially one who brags about such an ignoble past. It’s one thing to subscribe to criminally ludicrous beliefs while relatively young. But Barron never got wiser.

What’s especially appalling is that alleged black leaders’ approach to the culture of dependency is to demand more of it. Economic and cultural bankruptcy are both byproducts of expecting the government to coddle its citizens. But maybe another indefinite handout will help. Right, gents?

Thankfully, the race manipulators are losing what once would have been certain allies. Mario’s kid has seemingly been mugged by reality, as he shrewdly recognizes that maintaining high confiscation rates on the wealthy would reduce the number of wealthy people around from whom to confiscate.

Lowering those percentages would be even better for liberty and the economy, but baby steps still count as progress. Of course, the pecuniary climate might not have sunk to Buffalo Bills-style depths if the gubernatorial incumbent hadn’t pushed to loosen mortgage lending standards as Housing and Urban Development Secretary.

His unlimited free housing for everyone approach has turned out unwell, and his minor-league penance won’t reverse the nation’s sorrowful financial course. Still, it might keep his home state from going Greek before California or Illinois do.

But income hustlers don’t appreciate the effort. Even worse, they’re just ungracious. This isn’t some self-righteous college punk wearing a Che shirt and the wretched stink of patchouli heckling a conservative during a speech delivered at some random Ivy League institution: Barron is, at least by age, a grown man who actually has constituents.

It’s not unmannerly to point out what a horse’s ass he is. There’s no wonder why this state is such a mess. Thank fellow residents who keep voting for rude revolutionaries to represent them.

Barron’s foes are too classy to interrupt his speeches with obnoxious shouting. It’s true no matter how much he deserves it.

Fit, Fun, Classless

Chris Lee and Eric Massa could get an apartment together. I smell a sitcom! We may as well get some canned laughs out of the area’s latest politician-generated shame, as Western New York must cope with being known as the home of immoderately randy congressmen. It takes three examples to make a trend, and we’re two too close.

Lee misplaced his career along with his shirt. That said, Lee has quite a core! Um, moving on, it’s sad that a representative couldn’t even figure out how to cheat properly.

Aside from the fact that fooling around being a spouse’s back is so obviously, utterly, repulsively wrong, Lee was stupid enough to put his face in a Craigslist ad photo. Even unelected regular scumbags know to crop photos at the neck.

In his defense, he can use his incompetence as evidence that he’s a novice at disregarding his vows.  That’s unless he has actually been this repulsive, dumb, and sloppy for awhile. Either way, he can now head back to his favorite site and look for his career in Missed Connections.

On the other hand, voters shouldn’t place ads looking for him. We should bid good riddance to bad husbands. There’s no use for a politician who holds the right political positions while looking for to get himself into illicit personal ones.

He has shown that he’s not trustworthy.  Lee can’t justify his worthwhile votes without simultaneously behaving faithfully. He can figure out where he went wrong by spending time with Mark Sanford so they can compare notes and strategies.

Now, what should he do? The first thing is nothing. Lee should disappear for awhile, both for his own good and on account of how nobody wants to deal with him right now.

Ideally, he should pull a John Profumo, with the bright side being that cleaning bathrooms can’t be much worse than being a congressman. What’s important is that he gets modest and acts contritely, if for no other reason than he shouldn’t be heard from him for awhile. He shouldn’t make another public appearance until he can display a genuinely sheepish expression.

By comparison, the attempted cheater doesn’t want to turn into someone even scuzzier, namely a publicity whore. A certain New York ex-governor comes to mind, although sinking to Spitzeresque levels is impossible for most humans. That said, if CNN wants to retool its moribund 8 p.m. hour, Christopher Spitzer could become the most appealingly unctuous program since Jersey Shore.

But give Lee credit for acting in the best possible way after acting like the worst husband. Lee at least had the decency to resign when his scandalous behavior came to light. His acceptance of responsibility is far better than dragging the area through a local Clinton-style ordeal where he kept his job at the expense of losing what’s left of his dignity.

Of course, it would have been infinitely better not to have done something appalling in the shadows where he had to fear being caught in the first place. But it’s better to have standards and fall short than to shamelessly wallow in filth.

Lee is gross, but he at least realizes it. Now, we’d be in much better shape if only some Democrats would resign for carelessly exposing our checkbooks.

In the meantime, Lee has plenty of time to think about whether looking for tail online was worth it. He may conclude that giving up Congress for the pursuit of the most lecherous of matrimonial-belittling indulgences might not be as appealing of a trade-off as it first sounds. Even accepting one of Massa’s invitations to tickle fight won’t help Lee clear his head, although it will make for a wacky episode.

Cutting the Court

Glimpsing inside Charles Schumer’s mind is a disturbing prospect. But, as with an open wound, one is sometimes intrigued to see how gruesome the interior is. Gross things can be informative.

Take his recent CNN appearance, where he offered a moment of inadvertently revealing loquaciousness. Chuck Nasty’s verbal gaffe said more about how he thinks than the garrulous senator would like to reveal:

So I would urge my Republican colleagues no matter how strongly they feel. You know, we have three branches of government: we have a House, we have a Senate, we have a president, and all three of us are gonna have to come together…

Something’s missing.  Not to contradict someone who works for the government, but he may have double-counted something, too.  In New York’s senior senator’s defense, that’s still too many branches for Thomas Friedman’s liking. But until we outsource running our nation to China, we’re stuck with checks and balances.

He may be interested to learn that one-third of them are represented by those nine legal geezers who can rule that the other two actual federal subdivisions are ignoring the Constitution they’re sworn to defend as well as protect or support.

Of course, Schumer just said it wrong. It’s understandable when someone misspeaks on live, unscripted television, even when the verbal error is made by a camera whore who should know what he’s saying.

On the other hand, the howls and head-shaking from liberals would never cease if George W. Bush or Sarah Palin had flubbed in such a Schumeresque manner. Palin would additionally be accused of cleverly disguising words to trigger attacks by lunatics who never pay attention to her.

But Schumer’s history of promoting meddlesome policies makes his honest error interesting. After all, he is known above all for working to seize upon sensationalist news stories and ban anything that could be marginally dangerous, such as products that, say, dopes ingest to get high. In his defense, he clearly doesn’t have anything better to do than hassle budget-minded faux crackheads.

His excessive time and wandering mind also combine to explain why he strove to encourage the obnoxiously annoying Four Loko ban without so much as scheduling a vote. Reducing our options by passing laws is such a hassle. Why else would we have an FDA?

On a related note, it would be easier to dismiss Schumer’s inaccurate statement as an innocuous accident if he wasn’t a supporter of clamping down upon that annoying filibuster. He doesn’t want irksome roadblocks like rules or procedures interfering with his progressive vision.

Schumer’s Supreme Court-excising lapse isn’t the type of government reduction Tea Partiers have in mind. Of course, he would be happy deep down with a single branch of government consisting of one senator elected only by New York State residents. That way, he could be in charge and not even have to bother with making his case on television, although that wouldn’t stop him from appearing at press conferences.

It goes without saying that Schumer merely committed a verbal slip-up, and we can credit him with just possibly actually knowing that the national judiciary exists. But he’s still rueful that it does. He’ll change his opinion if Antonin Scalia retires this year.

Lack of Credit Where Credit Isn’t Due

Who wants tax rebates? And who wants beer and cotton candy for breakfast? My initial impulse is to answer “Yes” and “Yes,” respectively, as this is seemingly one case where I absolutely want to align myself in the common area of the Venn diagram.

But the aftermath of indulging in either option presents long-term downsides despite the initial euphoric buzz. The fiscal equivalent of rotted teeth and an afternoon hangover is a policy that’s currently fashionable in Albany. Specifically, the plan is to offer a tax break that by design comes too late:

New York Senate Republicans approved business-tax cuts and limits on levies that go beyond proposals by Governor Andrew Cuomo, who took office this month.

The Senate’s three-part plan provides tax credits for hiring, a 2 percent state spending cap and a requirement that tax or fee increases receive a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Legislature, rather than a simple majority. The measures must also pass the Assembly, where Democrats hold a majority and haven’t endorsed the proposals.

Capping spending is naturally a commendable idea, especially in a state whose approach to citizens’ money is usually the equivalent of driving it like they stole it. Advocates of economic and personal freedom also approve of any initiative that requires a higher percentage of elected idiots to go along with any plan to raise taxes.

But the credits amount to sugar pills that certainly don’t address the symptoms. It’s not like we have handouts to spare:

New York faces a budget deficit of about $10 billion in the year beginning April 1. Cuomo’s budget for that year is due by Feb. 1. The current year’s budget, which Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said may have a deficit as large as $1 billion, is $135.3 billion.

Cuomo’s “Plan for Action,” published during his election campaign, supported a $3,000 tax credit for hiring unemployed workers, which Republicans would supplement with an additional $5,000 credit over three years for any new hiring.

At least the conversation’s focus has changed. As recently as a few years ago, a Cuomo Plan for Action would have detailed why keeping half of what you make was selfish. Thankfully, today’s lawmakers instead bicker over which taxes are most despicable:

Cuomo also advocated a freeze in state taxes, while Republicans propose to eliminate the higher personal income-tax rates for owners of small businesses, rather than waiting for the higher levy to expire at the end of 2011. The Republicans would also eliminate the corporate franchise tax over a two-year period for businesses with 50 employees or fewer and no more than $2 million of profit, which wasn’t part of Cuomo’s published agenda.

The surprising conversational topic amongst Empire State politicians is another promising sign that both parties are at least still pretending to work for voters instead of plundering from them. But giving a bonus to employers for bringing aboard new staff is pointless if there’s nothing for the new hires to do.

New York would be throwing gasoline upon an extinguished fire. Such a tactic would be as ineffective as, say, letting Washington spend 12 or 13 figures of taxed or borrowed funds to improve the economy. Unemployment will dip below eight percent any decade now.

Jobs aren’t created as a result of government bribes: they’re a natural byproduct of an atmosphere that’s conducive to economic growth. To establish such a financial haven, our politicians ought to be doing next to nothing.

The state’s job is to encourage growth by removing itself from the equation, not play an active role by doling out commercial welfare. The jobs will come only after our default leaders stop thinking that they can successfully prompt employers into staffing action.

Getting out of the way is the only tactic that helps. It’s far easier for the government to manufacture opportunities by removing barriers, especially in contrast to issuing hollow incentives in the hopes payrolls will grow despite economic anemia.

And the money comes from somewhere. Paying companies that don’t have a reason to hire workers to hire workers is why they’re not hiring workers in the first place.

Slaughter Slanders

Louise Slaughter needs to cool down. One of the most embarrassingly partisan House members could start a new career as an expert on how to check a nasty political environment via making unforgivably obnoxious remarks. But she would have to repent first.

Until then, the remorseless sectarian’s response to the Arizona shooting mysteriously included a wholly irrelevant call to not be passionate about politics or use innocuous comparisons. Ignore that the diabolical lie that Sarah Palin is connected to the massacre is as credible as a September 11 truther website:

“Frankly what I’d like to see—is–if we could all get together on both sides of the aisle and really talk about what we can do to cool down this country. Part of that has to be what we hear over the air waves,”…Slaughter said.

I partially agree: all citizens ought to back Slaughter in her efforts to stop saying stupid stuff. By contrast, she’s presently setting a helpful bad example. Her Royal Slaughterness could make this nation better if she only monitored what she says and does. All Slaughter has to do to improve is be less like herself.

For one, the eternal congresswoman got her name known nationally thanks to a manipulatively disgusting sob story about a constituent using her dead sister’s dentures. A woman who makes (not earns) a congressional salary failed to explain why she didn’t help the less fortunate woman with a personal charitable contribution.

Failing that, Slaughter could have directed the alleged fake teeth swapper to a dentist who offered to help, namely her 2010 opponent. It was sad to miss an opportunity for bipartisanship.

Still, the Polident anecdote was trivial compared to her most notorious Constitution-flaunting moment. Specifically, Slaughter’s attempt to avoid a difficult House vote for a widely-despised health care bill through “deem and pass” did more to contribute to a toxic political environment than every Glenn Beck episode ever broadcast.

Despite her thoroughly dubious record, every day is a chance to start anew. On a related note, perhaps Slaughter could improve the present rhetorical tone by not shamelessly using colleague Gabrielle Giffords’s shooting to push her own leftist firearm-related agenda:

A vocal proponent of gun control, Slaughter discussed her concerns about the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, being able to purchase a gun in Arizona. “This is such a glaring case of someone that everybody who knew (the suspect) knew he was not well, and yet he was able to simply go to the store and buy a gun,” she said.

Perhaps it would have been better if a deranged murderer with no regard for the law had driven a car into the crowd. But Slaughter isn’t just under the delusion that limiting access to guns will improve our safety: she wants to reduce your radio programming access, too.

To be precise, her call to limit free speech delivered through radio microphones by calling for the Fairness Doctrine’s revival is as irrelevantly ominous as it is inappropriate. To be fair, Slaughter doing whatever she feels it takes to extend federal control will surprise no one who’s followed her career.

Of course, we could actually cool down this country’s political atmosphere by, say, not blaming an author and television news pundit who doesn’t hold an elected office for the actions of a homicidal madman. O.J. will find the real killer before Palin’s enemies uncover evidence that she was linked in any way to the massacre.

But a dearth of facts won’t discourage the obliviously frothing hypocrites who call for more lukewarm discourse as they simultaneously hurl untrue accusations at their opponents.

Regardless, this isn’t a call for Slaughter to tone down her political language even with her deplorable history of utterances in mind. In fact, she should increase the temperature and say whatever crass and logically indefensible ideas pop in her demented mind.

Don’t moderate yourself, Louise: let us know what you really think, as such delusional bluntness makes it that much easier to shred your positions. Those horrified by the things you say will promise to remain similarly unrestrained, with the difference being that their criticisms will actually have a point.

Indebted to Reality

Nothing snaps prodigal slackers out of their cash-flushing ways quite like the repo man’s arrival. Seeing one’s former possessions lugged out of one’s domicile impacts a spendthriftaholic in ways that a third notice never could. If states were people, New York would be watching helplessly as the flat screen television was being loaded on the truck.

The actuality of life residing under an unfurnished viaduct explains why the new Democratic governor of perhaps the most Democrat-y state still claims he doesn’t want to spend until you’re broke even after he started his new job:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, holding a press gaggle in the hall of governors outside his office this afternoon, repeated his pledge to not balance the budget with new taxes and fees.

Why is he freaking out about paying bills? Oh:

Cuomo faces a $9.2 billion budget deficit and gaps of $40 billion over three years.

That’s enough red ink to make even Democrats stop spending like they’ll win a sweepstakes for wasting taxpayer money, at least the non-Obamanian ones. Still, some will fuss about what mammoth and/or wholly unnecessary state spending will face the woodshed:

It is difficult to parse how the cuts will be made. Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernon, Westchester County, said the state has some obligations it has to meet to receive federal assistance for Medicaid, the largest portion of the budget.

Ah, Medicaid, whereby we cure the sickly underprivileged by injecting them with as much currency as possible. New York is infamous for its fantastically extravagant Cadillac medical welfare plan, although a non-GM luxury brand might presently offer a more appropriate comparison.

But even Medicaid might not be off-limits if Cuomo, yes, Cuomo, follows through and makes the cuts he’s pondering. Of course, that won’t stop other politicians from fretting about slashing a couple bucks from a $438 jillion strillion black hole of a budget:

“Ten billion dollars is a lot of money to cut, and especially in light of the new health care bill in Washington, we’re not allowed to cut Medicaid at all and if we cut Medicaid, we’re going to lose monies there,” Pretlow said. “We’re going to have to do some serious, serious cutting or look into the possibility of doing what (former Lt. Gov Richard) Ravitch proposed and look into some short-term borrowing.”

No, borrowing would be bad. Thankfully and amazingly, our new executive is still at least pretending to concur:

“The point that we are making today and you’ll hear me making for the coming months is that the government’s spending is too high, the state’s spending is unsustainable,” said Cuomo, a Democrat.

He said he would seek a wage freeze on state employees, which is expected to save about $200 million.

Nothing would please members of this state’s private sector more than watching state drones make the same amount by this time next year. But winning an election after a seemingly ceaseless campaign was the easy part. Now, can Little Mario actually be as tenacious on spending as he claims he will?

Bettors would be better served by wagering that the Bills won’t screw up 2011′s third overall draft pick than plunking money on the governor maintaining his fiscal prudence. After all, he is literally a Cuomo Democrat who has never before understood why you say “tax and spend liberal” like it’s an epithet.

Also, he’d be more trustworthy as a financial guardian if he had not spent his time as HUD Secretary encouraging people who couldn’t afford homes to buy homes. I’d trust me to guard your whiskey cave before I’d invest faith in a man who helped trigger our present incessant economic suckage.

But Cuomo is still playing along more than seven or eight hours into his term. Republicans mostly lost in New York during a year when even Russ Feingold and Jim Oberstar lost. Regardless, his words indicate that their principles apparently sort of triumphed.

The governor’s novel thriftiness is the closest the GOP will come to a win in today’s New York. That’s unless he relapses and buries us in even more unsustainable debt, in which case we may as well ask to be annexed by New Jersey. The fact that becoming New New Jersey would be desirable shows how important it is for Cuomo to remain out of character.