Today's Nuze

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others." Ayn Rand Nobody's listening.

June 11, 2009 Archives WHERE YOUR TAX MONEY IS GOING By webwench @ June 11, 2009 10:00 AM Permalink | Comments (35) | TrackBacks (0) CLEARLY THE GUY IS A LOON By Neal Boortz @ June 11, 2009 7:46 AM Permalink | Comments (51) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday we saw the actions of a crazed lunatic.  James von Brunn, an 88-year-old man whom the media has labeled as a white supremacist and Holocaust denier, opened fire in the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.  He managed to kill one of the security guards.

The guy has a history.  He was convicted in 1983 for running towards the boardroom of Washington's Federal Reserve building with a shotgun.  He's an Alex Jones "911 was an inside job" believer.  He's written a book about "white youth" and the Jews.  He claims that "neoconservative" is a derogatory code word for "Jews."  The guy is a barking moonbat.  It is a shame that his loony ideas will get so much press consider this event.

Two things will come of this ... at a minimum.

One ... some of the left will use this to give credence to the Homeland Security department targeting "right wing extremists" as possible terrorists.  Two ... the anti-gun lobby should be shifting into over drive quickly.  It won't matter that this moron is a certifiable lunatic ... he'll be painted as typical of the right.

The Obama administration has laid out more details on how the government would like to see executives at corporations get paid.  Now keep in mind that this is for all companies, not just bailout companies.  Any publicly traded company.  Here are the guidelines:

• assuring pay reflects corporate performance

• using standards beyond the company's stock price

• basing compensation on long-term performance, particularly by asking executives to hold stock for longer periods of time

• giving corporate risk managers more authority to prevent excessive risk-taking

• reexamining so-called "golden parachutes" and other retirement packages

• promoting transparency and accountability in how compensation committees set pay

Geithner also wants Congress to adopt "say on pay" legislation that would give shareholders the ability to hold non-binding votes on compensation levels.

But now for the "good" news ... Barack Obama has decided that the government will not put a cap on how much executives are paid.  Somehow I'm not buying it.  There's going to be something in the mix that will give the government some sway over what private companies pay their executives.  Even though tax cheat Tim Geithner says, "We do not believe it's appropriate for the government to set caps on compensation.", they'll figure out a way.  One obvious tactic would be to eliminate corporate tax deductions for pay above a certain level. The Obama crowd understands that Americans are getting really weary of all this government intervention, so they're sounding a bit conciliatory today.  With all of these 'guidelines' and 'restrictions' I am sure that the government is going to have a lot more say than any of us would ever imagine.

Meanwhile, Obama has officially appointed his compensation czar.  Kenneth Feinberg will set the pay - salaries and bonuses -- for 175 top executives at the nation's largest companies that have received bailout funds.  These include companies like Bank of American, Citigroup, GM and others.  Then there is a second level of 80 other financial institutions that have received bailout money.  Feinberg will come up with a compensation structure for these companies, but won't set the exact pay like he will for the big guys.  He will also determine "whether it would be in the public interest to force any executives at companies receiving assistance who might have been overpaid to return some of that pay," according to the New York Times.

We want these companies to succeed, don't we?  Do we not want them to get on their feet again and get out from under the government's thumb?  Now maybe it's just me, but if I was calling the shots for a major corporation in deep dog squeeze, perhaps I would see the sense in going out there and finding the best executive talent I could find to help bring things around.  So ... how's it going to work for me when I tell a potential executive recruit that I really, really need their help bringing my billion-dollar corporation around, but that Barack Obama is going to be setting their pay scale?  They're going to go somewhere else, right?  You don't have to be, like, all that bright to figure that one out. 

Sittin' here just diggin' the change. 

Making an issue of CEOs flying private jets is nothing but wealth envy.  Plain and simple.  It is playing into the ignorance of government-educated voters who couldn't make change without a computer.  Here's what brings this to mind.  Private jets are back in the news after a new study found that more private jets were used in 2008 than in any of the previous five years.  Awful, right?  I know ... so just take a look at how ABC presents this story:

As hordes of Americans watched their retirement savings disappear and their home values plunge after the economic crisis started in September, many corporate CEOs rode high, literally ...

So how much do these fancy jets cost each company? In 2008, the median value of CEO travel for the year was $141,477, up from $109,743 a year earlier. Equilar notes that high fuel prices might have contributed to part of that increase.

But apparently, more CEOs took advantage of the jets last year. Equilar said 79.2 percent of those Fortune 100 CEOs got jet benefits last year, up from to 74.7 percent in 2007. Some companies have since announced plans to cut back on jet use.

These big companies often argue that it is necessary to fly executives and their families around on private jets. This is not a lavish perk, they say, but a safety and security requirement as well as a time-saving tool for the busy leaders.

Tell you what.  Commercial aviation only services about 500 airports in this country.  General aviation .. and this includes these private jets .. serve about 5000.   I don't own a private jet, but I am a Marquis Jet Card holder, and I'll jump in that Citation Encore at a moment's notice if I have a good reason to do so.  Those of you who don't like it can drip crocodile tears on your People magazines.

Here's an idea.  Let's tax private business aviation right out of business.  The immediate result would be the loss of over ten thousand jobs in places like Wichita, Kansas and Savannah, Georgia.  That would just be the beginning.  With executives unable to access their facilities in areas unserved by major airports, those facilities would begin to shut down.  A corporate executive is not going to fly commercial from New York to Atlanta, and then drive four hours to get to his plant in South Georgia.  Those out-of-the-way facilities will simply close and relocate closer to major commercial airports.  Tens of thousands of more jobs lost in rural areas.  Sounds like a plan, doesn't it? 

We can say goodbye to the Corporate Angel Network too.  This network of corporate aircraft owners have provided over 20,000 free flights to cancer and other patients needing treatment in faraway places.  Real bad dudes, these corporate executives.  Let's get these corporate jets away from these pigs. 

Isn't it odd that you haven't heard of the Corporate Angel Network?  Now just why do you think that is?

This is an excellent column about how wealth creation in this country is under attack thanks to Barack Obama and the Democrats.

Karl Rove on how to stop socialized medicine. 

A new Rasmussen poll found that 45% of Americans want the government to cancel the rest of the spending under the guise of "economic stimulus."  Now you see why the looters were trying to rush this stuff through.

Another Rasmussen polls found that 44% believe the Constitution doesn't place enough restrictions on the government. The restrictions are there.  They're just ignored. 

Any guesses as to why the unions are in major debt?  You've gotta pay the big bucks to get your man in the White House.  Now they need their payoff. 

According to this Wall Street Journal article, what GM needs is a political strategy, and former AT&T chief Ed Whitacre is going to try and achieve that.  Good luck.  How about making cars we want to buy?

Charles Krauthammer explains how Fox News opened up America by crushing the liberal monopoly over broadcast media.

Personal responsibility is a thing of the past.  The only thing that matters now is how the government can solve all your problems.  I didn't have to tell you that, did I? 

Have you heard about the wild power plays taking place in the New York state Senate?

The United Nations is busy drafting a new resolution to expand sanctions against North Korea.  Yeah, this is really going to show 'em.

You know things are bad when the head of the TARP oversight committee cannot tell you whether or not it is working.  They're spending all this money, and they can't tell us if its working? 

Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan wants the healthcare reform bill to include meditation as a cost effective solution for chronic pain, stress, and other illnesses.

News Corp. is going to form a "diversity council" after the New York Post printed a cartoon comparing Barack Obama to a chimpanzee.

How can American chestnuts solve the climate change crisis?  Perdue University has the answer.

The question of the day: should terrorist be read Miranda Rights?  That's right, my friends.  Obama has ordered our military to read any captured Islamic goon in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East their rights.  "You have the right to remain silent ....... "  How about "You have the right to die."

Now for the real news of the day .. Miss California Carrie Prejean has lost her crown.

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