Mike Brownfield at The Foundry:
The IRS won’t speculate on Lopez’s tax liabilities, but it looks like there’s a good chance Lopez could face some liabilities, just as if he’d won the lotto or the Yankees handed him a check. Taxes are everywhere, and unfortunately, this episode shows that you can get hit with a big bill even for catching a home run ball.
Don’t forget to tell the IRS next time someone buys you a hot dog at a baseball game.
Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy:
In the wake of a terrible tragedy, it’s much more emotionally satisfying to call for decisive action to save the next Caylee Anthony than to hold back on the grounds that there may be nothing we can do.
Indeed.
Corbett B. Daly at CBS News:
“I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven’t resolved [the debt] issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley.
This is a blatant lie for the following reasons:
First, stopping payments by August 3rd is logistically impossible. We’re talking about ~70 million checks being issued. A private company could not pull that off, much less the Social Security Administration.
Second, these funds are not on the table. There is absolutely no way either party is going to allow social security checks to not be payed out. We will have to cut spending if a deal is not reached by August 2nd, but social security is not going anywhere. The US Government will rake in about $180MM in revenue for August. Servicing the debt is “only” about $29MM, and social security payouts account for almost $50MM. Our total expenditures for August are about $310MM 1. Much more likely to be cut are things like departmental and agency funding (DOL, EPA, etc).
Lastly, when social security was implemented, we were promised that the funds were in a “lock box”. Isn’t suggesting that we need to raise the debt limit to service social security tantamount to admitting there is no money in the lock box? Obama is admitting that we are borrowing money to pay social security benefits. Social security is a system that you pay into your whole life, and collect on when you retire. What happened to the money in the lock box?
Eric Scheiner at CNS News:
Obama was responding to a question from CBS News Reporter Chip Reid. “The latest CBS News poll showed that only 24 percent of Americans said that you should raise the debt limit to avoid an economic catastrophe,” said Reid. “There’s still 69 percent who oppose raising the debt limit. So, is it the problem that you and others have failed to convince the American people that we have a crisis here and how are you going to change that?”
Obama responded: “Let me distinguish between professional politicians and the public at large. You know, the public is not paying close attention to the ins and outs of how a Treasury auction goes. They shouldn’t. They’re worrying about their family, they’re worrying about their jobs. They’re worrying about their neighborhood. They have got a lot of other things on their plate. We’re paid to worry about it.”
Mr. President, plenty of people are paying attention (and everyone should be paying attention). In case you forgot, the “public at large” consists of hardworking individuals who are bright, educated, motivated, and are sick of being treated like cattle by the people who are supposed to represent and serve them. Setting aside your condescending tone—which I can only assume is a revelation of your true belief about the American people—you’re actually quite wrong. The Bipartisan Policy Center just concluded that the US will not default on its debt if the debt ceiling isn’t raised—but we will be forced to cut our spending.
So, let’s get a quick recap: Over the past 25 years, both spending by and revenue to the Federal Government have been increasing rapidly, but spending is outpacing increases in revenue by an incredible margin (yes, both sides of the aisle are to blame). Currently the Republicans are attempting to do the right thing by forcing cuts to spending, because our current addiction to it is unsustainable. You, Mr. President and your liberal cronies are attempting to scare the american people into borrowing more money and now, telling us we are just too stupid to understand the “ins and outs of how a Treasury auction goes”.
This stupid American is calling your bluff.
John Lott at Newsmax:
A new gun law proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer would ban people with arrests for drug violations from buying guns. Forbidding people from owning a gun without even requiring that they have been convicted of an offense?
This one hits close to home for me. Chuck Schumer has been demonizing the law-abiding firearm-owning citizens of this state for years. Since the second amendment has been deemed by the US Supreme Court an incorporated amendment, I’d like to think this law—if passed—could be easily overturned, but it still makes one a little sick to the stomach.
UPDATE: Mulling over this I am even more disgusted. This opens up an entire avenue of attack against gun owners. Gun-control advocate? Just find a vehicle of your liking displaying an NRA sticker. Plant a bag of oregano in the spare tire or the frame and call in an anonymous tip to the police. Second amendment rights instantly denied.