+ Don’t forget to check out the NOVEMBER issue of LOIS.
+ The idiots in Congress have proven beyond
a reasonable doubt that they are not just idiots but totally f**king useless as
well – they can’t get a damned thing done (except, as John Stewart pointed out
on a recent DAILY SHOW, vote to make school lunches less healthy).
The failure of the “super-committee” –
unable to agree on anything after three full months of “talks” – is the latest
example of the uselessness of the idiots in Congress.
The consequences have already begun. BANKS.COM reported that –
“The
failure of the congressional debt committee to reach a deficit reduction
agreement sent the markets into a nosedive with the Dow collapsing 300 points
to 11,495. Nasdaq sank 59 points to 2512.”
Alan Silverleib provides a good review of
the situation at CNN.COM in “Analysis: Super Committee Reflects Our Own Super Failure”
(the highlight is mine) -
"The
failure of the super committee is not just a failure of 12 members of Congress,
who I believe genuinely tried to cut a deal but were rebuffed by their party
leaders. It is a failure of political leadership on both sides of the partisan
aisle," said Brown University political scientist Wendy Schiller.
"Both parties
chose their own electoral livelihoods over the good of the country, and it is
outright shameful. ... This might be the
most self-serving, mediocre and uncaring set of legislators in Congress in the
last 50 years."
Might?
Alan adds – “don't forget to leave room on the bus for the American public.
Americans voted them into office”.
I would suggest that the American public join
together next November to vote out every single idiot in Congress who is
running for re-election. But we must
also vow to make sure that we do not
vote in any Tea Party members or supporters.
When it comes to the idiots in Congress Kay
Bell has the perfect bottom line in her week-end post “Death of Super Committee Deficit Deal Expected as Soon as Monday“ (highlight is mine) –
“To
paraphrase a line from another classic holiday tale that gets replayed year
after year, God help us everyone.”
+ Trish McIntire has some insight on the
method for the madness of the idiots in Congress and offers a good suggestion
in “First Things First” at OUR TAXING TIMES.
+ Howard Gleckman lists “Five Reasons Why the Deficit Super Committee Failed” at the Tax Policy Center’s TAXVOX
blog. I especially like reason #5 (the
highlight is mine) -
“There
was never a serious penalty for failure. If lawmakers really wanted to force
action by the super committee, they would not have delayed the consequences of
inaction ($1.5 trillion in automatic cuts) for more than a year. Imagine telling your teenager that if she
doesn’t do her homework tonight she’ll be grounded—in 2013. As it is, weeks before the deficit panel
flopped, powerful lawmakers were already talking about how they’d defuse those
spending reductions—especially those targeted at the Pentagon.”
And Howard hits the nail on the head with
his bottom line (again highlights are mine) –
“Much
like the European Community over the past few years, Congress’ goal when it created this panel was not to resolve a fiscal
mess, it was merely to buy time so
it could avoid painfully tough choices.
And it wasn’t looking to stall only until this Thanksgiving. It wanted
to delay though the 2012 elections.
And in that, at least, Congress succeeded gloriously.”
The members of Congress may be idiots, but
they ain’t necessarily stupid.
+ Now here is an interesting tax question –
another one that I have never been asked in my 40 tax seasons in the biz – what
about “The Tax Consequences of Exorcism”?
Prof Jim Maule gives his answer at MAULED AGAIN.
I agree with Jim’s analysis – including the
possibility of a deduction for the cost of an exorcism along the same lines as
was allowed for “a Navajo medicine man
sing”.
As I say in my report “Itemized Deductions: A Complete Guide to Schedule A" –
“Neither
the medical practitioner prescribing the treatment nor the method of treatment
prescribed has to be American Medical Association approved or sanctioned to
claim a tax deduction, as long as the practitioner and treatment are valid
within the patient’s religious or cultural context.”
I wonder if an exorcist would help remove
the “demons” within the idiots in Congress?
+ Over at the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE
BLOG Joe Kristan tells us "President Signs Into Law New Tax Breaks For Hiring (and Replacing) Veterans” and gives a good overview of the new credits included
in the bill.
Joe also asks the question “Are these
credits good tax policy?” His answer,
the correct one, is (the highlight is mine) –
“No.
Their inherent complexity and paperwork make it likely that many taxpayers will
fail to claim the credit; it rewards having a good human resources function as
much as it awards hiring veterans. I doubt that veterans need special help
finding work -- their successful service alone is often a good signal to
prospective employees. It seems insulting to lump veterans in the same code
section as "qualified ex-felons." And Opportunistic taxpayers with good HR departments can even fire existing
veterans and use the credits to hire their replacements.”
The above highlighted FU just adds to the
proof that the members of Congress are idiots (are you sensing a theme to this
BUZZ installment?).
Before I leave Joe – let me thank him for
plugging my post on charitable contributions!
THE LAST WORD:
I do believe I have said enough about the
idiots in Congress above. Something
non-tax this installment.
The latest TWOT (total waste of time) from
Adam Sandler was recently released – JERK AND JILL I think.
An excellent rule of thumb is to avoid any
comedy that stars Adam Sandler.
The only thing that I can recall from Adam
Sandler that was anywhere near actually being funny is his Hanukkah song. I do believe it is the only thing he has done
that does not excessively reference bodily excretions and secretions.
Sandler’s films are, for the most part,
targeted to 5th grade boys, or those whose mental development has
not passed that of a 5th grade boy.
He actually had the “stones” to remake two
iconic films of their time – MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN and THE LONGEST YARD. In reviewing DEEDS one critic rightly
observed, “Adam Sandler is to Gary Cooper what a gnat is to a racehorse”. And he is certainly no Burt Reynolds (I hear
the only good thing in the remake was Burt Reynolds performance).
Actually a good rule of thumb is to avoid
any movie that stars anyone from any SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE cast, except for those
who appeared during the first two years and the early films of Eddie Murphy.
TTFN
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