Economic Facts: Lost In The Debate

The wrangling between Capitol Hill and the White House over raising the nation’s debt ceiling can be distilled down to a classic difference in philosophy: namely, the choice between “big government” and the taxes that are required to support it---and the notion that less government is better, complete with the argument that raising taxes on ANY segment of the population is the worst thing to do in a recession.

No one advocates big government for its own sake. Rather, it’s the services and benefits that are provided by the Federal government that politicians (mostly Democrats) support.
No one wants Granny to have her Medicare slashed.

Each camp cites statistics to back up their arguments. Both claim their data to be factual—and yet both cannot be true—they contradict each other, no?

It’s easy to side with President Obama’s contention that loopholes protecting a tax break for the owners of private jets should be closed (and that Republicans look hopelessly beholden to the wealthy by trying to protect them), but this political maneuver is just clever showboating by the Administration—and completely inconsequential to the real dollars needed to make a difference.

Both sides, if their statistics were to be believed—would have a compelling argument to support their positions.

But how can both sides be correct?

I’ll present both to you—and then you can decide for yourself.

First, consider a couple of possible missing “facts” that are getting little attention—yet the implications of their reality may be profoundly telling:

FACT ONE: Business is doing quite well, thank you. This is evidenced by record profits,
solid earnings reports and massive gains in the stock market.

FACT TWO: Despite the growth, unemployment remains at over 9 percent, with many
companies citing “uncertainty” as their reason for not hiring.

How can this be?

Well, it’s widely believed that both markets and economies go through “corrections”. When the stock market rises TOO much (stocks are valued too high for the P/E ratio or assets and earnings), then a “crash” of some sort occurs.

Is it possible that American business was “overemployed” before the recession? Workers hired during boom times and then retained despite relatively low contribution to their company’s success?
A number of CEO’s are saying yes—off the record, of course. On the record are “fears” connected with “Obamacare” or looming tax threats that suppress the urge to hire and grow.

It’s a fact that computer firepower and other advancements in technology have increased productivity so much that fewer workers are needed. Anyone who survived the layoffs of 2008 by absorbing the workload of at least one other person can attest to their company’s unwillingness to add expense (new hires) to a scenario where firms are heaping unreasonable workloads onto stressed out surviving workers—and seeing no adverse effects using the only metric they care about—profits.

Why do these workers put up with it?

The knowledge that there are dozens if not hundreds of people waiting to take their place, coupled with a lingering unemployment/bleak job picture keeps them on the job.

General Electric recently released a “good news, bad news” announcement to Charles Schumer (D-NY). The good news was that GE planned to re-open plants in upstate New York. The bad news was that these plants would be staffed by hundreds of workers, not the thousands previously employed there.

The difference? Robotic automation requiring fewer human resources. This scenario is no doubt being played out in many other corporate environments. It’s really not good or bad.

It just IS.

So…back to taxes.

Google the term “Who pays taxes?” and you will get a list of sites, with the following one near or at the top:

http://ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html


I invite you to go there, but the most prominent table of this “non partisan” site is below:

Percentiles Ranked by AGI
AGI Threshold on Percentiles
Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid

Top 1%
$380,354 AGI
38.02% of all taxes

Top 5%
$159,619 AGI
58.72% of all taxes

Top 10%
$113,799 AGI
69.94 of all taxes

Top 25%
$67,280 AGI
86.34 of all taxes

Top 50%
$33,048 AGI
97.30% of all taxes

Bottom 50%
<$33,048 AGI
2.7 % of all taxes

Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross IncomeSource: Internal Revenue Service


Using this as a reference point, it’s easy to see why Republicans are touting the “fact” that it’s the poor and middle class who are not paying their fair share. Scroll down the list of Google output, however---and you’ll get a different perspective, including this well researched article: “The 9 Things The Rich Don’t Want You To Know About Taxes”

http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17350-9_things_the_rich_dont_want_you_to_know_about_taxes.html


Seems that maybe BOTH sides can be factually correct and yet the picture is more complex than the political sound bites we use to determine our opinion.

No, instead of taking the time to read and educate ourselves on the many factors that comprise taxes, revenue and how they relate to our economic health, we gravitate to those politicians who spout the simplistic opinions that we already hold---essentially aligning ourselves with those whom already agree with.

We are all guilty of this.

If there is one thing we can all agree on, it may be this. Unlike chemistry or physics, there are no real “laws” of economics, maybe because human behavior is factored into the outcome—and we humans are unpredictable.

The Bush tax cuts were supposed to spur unprecedented investment and growth.
They did nothing of the sort. They helped lead to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Conversely, the ‘60’s—one of the greatest eras of growth and investment—occurred with income tax rates sometimes more than double what they are today.

I urge you to link to both of the sites above----read both and then decide for yourself where you think public policy should reside.

Our own ignorance of facts---not opinions, but FACTS--- leads to our willingness to allow the knuckleheads in Washington to decide things for us.

It seems clear that many of them are no better informed—and that’s scary.



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Bobby Sherman: The Definition of Cheesy

Warning! Those with a weak stomach may not be able to watch the following video without losing their lunch.
Uncontrollable laughter is another likely outcome.

Every generation has at least one:

THE TEEN IDOL.

This contrived product of mass media is designed to delight young girls—and ring the cash registers of those who prop up these young handsome men. The “tweens” who are currently enthralled with the likes of Justin Bieber probably believe that he is an original, not just the next embodiment of a money-making machine that preys on the emotions of pre-teen, teenage and even 20-something young women.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, that guy was one Bobby Sherman-who is 68 years old today.

My sister had posters of Bobby Sherman in her room. Tiger Beat and every other teen magazine had Bobby on the cover—and the pages of each mag were riddled with copious photos of Mr. Sherman.

Perfect hair.
Tight pants.
No zits.

What girl wouldn’t squeal at the mere mention of his name?

Check out this video of Bobby Sherman, shaking his groove thing and singing his smash hit, “Easy Come, Easy Go”:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOuTr0BXb4

Laugh if you will (I did), but the performer you just witnessed compiled 6 gold singles, 1 platinum single and 5 gold albums. He was a guest star on MANY sitcoms and drama shows, virtually guaranteeing huge ratings. The screaming of the girls at his many sold-out shows is primarily responsible for the hearing loss he suffers today.

TV Guide ranked him #8 in their list of the “25 Greatest Teen Idols”

What’s he up to now? He left show biz to become and Emergency Medical Technician and is a grandfather of five. I haven’t seen a recent photo, but I’ll bet his hair is still perfect-----that is, if he has any left.


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The Moon, The Shuttle…..Now What?

THE FOLLOWING IS AN UPDATED ENCORE TIM MOORE BLOG

If you asked ANYONE in 1969 after they witnessed Neil Armstrong cavorting on the lunar surface exactly what we’d be up to in the year 2011, it is likely the answers would have been a variation of one of the following:

a) Americans will be making regular trips to the moon as a vacation destination
b) We would have landed a man (or woman!) on Mars by now
c) We would have a space station/city in orbit
d) All of the above

So…..what happened?

The Space Shuttle has made it’s last voyage and we are in a sort of “space limbo”—a combination of not really knowing what to do next coupled with the inability to pay for whatever we decide.

National priorities change. In the early 60’s, the Cold War fueled the race into space. We had security incentives to conquer the upper atmosphere and beyond. The wartime potential of supremacy in space was obvious. This sense or urgency, articulated by President Kennedy in his “deadline” to get us to the moon “before this decade is out” helped to crystallize the mission ahead of us.

After we arrived, there was euphoria, a sense of relief, of pride----and a heavy dose of “NOW WHAT?”

The Space Shuttle program-to design, build and fly a reusable spaceship made sense, but once we did it, what were we going out there for anyway?

I was a HUGE fan of the space program-and I distinctly remember gathering with my family around the TV 42 years ago today. It was SO surreal-that a part of me can understand those people who STILL believe it was all staged by NASA-that we never actually landed on the moon. It was all an elaborate deception.

The question of “what’s next”? still haunts us. At a time that when dollars are scarce-and no clearly defined reason for being in space exist, it is hard to justify the fact that more is spent yearly on the U.S. Space program than on the search for alternative energy sources, clearly a higher priority.

Maybe there is an energy source out there that we can harness. It will take something of that magnitude to galvanize American sentiment that we should re-direct the Space Program to new “heights” (sorry)

A new mission is in order. What is the nature of that mission? What is the end game? The space program of the 60’s created an explosion in advances in technology from computers to consumer electronics. This time, it will take more than commercial leaps in technology to justify the expenditure of our national treasure.

I hope we can define a new focus—one that captures the imagination of the entire world, not just the United States.

If you want to get the goosebumps all over again, watch the video clip below-historic 40th anniversay footage of the mission 42 years ago today that defined our supremacy as a superpower:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCp2jTtay0w

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Elvis: The Song That Started It All

It was a rather uneventful recording session at the now –famous Sun Records in Memphis. The date was July 5th, 1954.

A young singer by the name of Elvis Presley was taking a break between sessions when he started fooling around with an old R&B song called “That’s All Right, Mama” by Arthur Crudup. Studio musicians Scotty Moore and Bill Black joined in and before long, it appeared that some sort of musical magic was happening. Producer Sam Phillips was impressed enough that he asked the trio to start over—this time taping the whole thing.

There were no drums on the recording—just the upright bass of Black and Moore’s guitar. According to some reports, Black remarked after hearing it played back: “Damn. Get that on the radio and they’ll run us out of town!”

Well, Sam Phillips DID get it on the air. He handed copies to Dewey Phillips (no relation) of WHBQ and couple of other prominent Memphis DJ’s. Elvis, upon hearing that his song would be played on the radio—had to go to a local movie theatre to calm his nerves!

Dewey played the song on his radio show on July 7th—and reaction was so intense that he played it another 13 times and asked Elvis to come to the studio for an on-air interview that first night. Among other things, Dewey asked Elvis which high school he attended in what was thought to be a roundabout way of informing his audience that his guest was white—after hearing a song which listeners might have assumed was being performed by a black singer.

That song was released on this date in 1954, with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” on the B side.

Here is that original recording in a collage of early Elvis pics:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIWlWA1YTBw

Although the song never charted nationally, it sold about 20,000 copies locally, pushing it to #4 on the local Memphis sales charts. The title dropped off the original “mama” to read simply “That’s All Right”, but Arthur Crudup was given songwriting credit. Despite this, it’s widely believed that the composer never received royalties for his work.

Rolling Stone magazine argued in an 2004 article that “That’s All Right” was really the first rock and roll record. It lands at #112 on their “500 Greatest Rock and Roll Songs Of All Time”

For Elvis, it’s the song that started it all.

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The First Mickey Mouse Operation

THE FOLLOWING IS AN UPDATED ENCORE TIM MOORE BLOG:

Yesterday was the 56th anniversary of the opening of the original theme park—Disneyland! Located on 160 acres of what used to be orange groves in Anaheim, California, it cost $17 million dollars to build the entire park, but back in 1955, that was an enormous amount of money!

Parlaying the success of Mickey Mouse and the other Disney cartoon characters into an experience for families, the original Disneyland was less than an absolute success on Day One.

First of all, thousands of counterfeit passes were printed-and Disneyland admitted hordes of uninvited people. The food and drink ran out and the Mark Twain steamboat nearly capsized from too many passengers. A woman’s high heel shoe got stuck in the still-wet asphalt of Main Street USA—and a gas leak forced a partial evacuation.

Needless to say, the bugs were worked out-and Disneyland became enormously popular-and successful! So much so that Walt Disney began a project even more ambitious-the construction of Disney World in Orlando, Florida, which began in 1965. Disneyworld opened in 1971, five years after the death of its namesake. The addition of Epcot,Disney-MGM have helped make Disneyworld Florida’s number one tourist attraction. Disneyland Tokyo opened in 1983 and EuroDisney opened in 1992. The newest Disneyland-in Hong Kong-opened in 2005.

Below is a clip of the opening day in 1955 of the original! Notice one of the young MC’s to come on camera with Art Linkletter-a guy by the name of Ronald Reagan!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rHjoimz5XI

An entirely new category of business was pioneered—the “theme park”—and once again, Walt Disney was at the epicenter of innovation and vision. As is the case with most creative geniuses, Disney’s motivation was never money. It was all about creating the experience, all about taking his audiences on excursions of imagination. Having achieved the on-screen goals of taking both young and old on incredible escapes of fantasy, Disney was now ready to bring those experiences to life-literally!

He did it—and paved the way for other operators to follow suit!

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Have a great weekend!

Camping: Just For Laughs

Lazy man’s blog today, but thought you’d get a chuckle out of comedian Jim Gaffigan’s outlook on camping! He is one of the funniest comics out there—a bit irreverent and sarcastic, but still darn funny…enjoy!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdqIpYhM6PE

Jim played the Hampton Beach Casino last summer—did you go? Would love to hear your feedback on Mr. Gaffigan’s live act.

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Dueling: The Old Fashioned Way To Settle Things

THE FOLLOWING IS AN UPDATED ENCORE TIM MOORE BLOG:

With the showdown between Democrats and Republicans over raising the debt ceiling coming to a head, it sometimes seems as though our government is fundamentally flawed. Ideologically “locked in”, Republican lawmakers have made too many promises to the Tea Party to retreat into a compromise position.

What does it all mean?

Well, today's drama has yet to be played out, but some would argue that our forefathers had it right when they simply dropped the rhetoric and pulled out the pistols! That’s what happened on this date in 1804, when the famous Burr-Hamilton duel took place.

Alexander Hamilton had it coming to him, they say.

In a time where dueling was legal—and a somewhat accepted means of defending your honor, Hamilton should perhaps have known that his libelous and slanderous comments regarding Aaron Burr would not go unpunished. Unlike today’s cable news networks, where insults abound, back at the dawn of our nation, one’s honor needed to be defended against those who spewed verbal indignities.

The story of Aaron Burr’s life and political career is fascinating. This is truly a man who was VERY close to becoming one of our Presidents. Back then, there was no “running mate” per se. Yes, they were chosen, but the top vote-getter was elected President—and the runner up was Vice President.

A House of Representatives tie-breaking vote gave Thomas Jefferson the victory in 1800, paving the way to Jefferson becoming our third President. Burr became Vice President, but Alexander Hamilton , who despised Burr— did all he could to derail a presidential bid in the future.

This led to statements against Burr that were, shall we say…inflammatory.

So, Burr called Hamilton out.

Interestingly, most duals—or “Affairs Of Honor” as they were referred to—didn’t result in death. Sort of like rap stars, who must be the worst shots in the world, behind the Founding Fathers. Rap stars get “hit”, but usually only enough to sport the scar that says you have ARRIVED.

So too, apparently, with politicians back in the day. Most “duels” were actually resolved peaceably. A complex set of rules were followed and both sides usually walked away with their “honor” intact. There were, however, real shots fired at some duels—and Alexander Hamilton knew intimately of the danger.

The Hamilton-Burr duel occurred 207 years ago. On July 11, 1804 at 7am, the two met at dueling grounds in Weehawken, New Jersey. It was the same spot where Hamilton’s son had died defending his father’s honor two years prior.

There are conflicting reports of what happened next.

According to Hamilton’s “second” (his assistant and witness), Hamilton decided the duel was “morally wrong” and deliberately fired into the air. Burr’s second claimed that Hamilton did indeed fire at Burr—but missed. What is clear is that Burr shot Hamilton in the stomach, with the bullet lodging next to his spine.

Hamilton was taken to New York, where he died the next day.

Since few duels became deadly—and because of the prominence of the combatants, the nation was outraged at the killing of Hamilton. Charged with murder in New York and New Jersey, Burr returned to Washington to serve out his term-immune from prosecution.

Here is a short video clip of historian Gore Vidal, discussing these two complex men:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPlw5RK0e5Q


By 1805, Burr was completely discredited—and actually concocted a plot with the Commander-In-Chief of the U.S. Army James Wilkinson, to seize the Louisiana Territory and establish an independent empire—which Burr presumably would lead. He contacted the British government to enlist their support in the scheme—which was rejected. When Burr led a group of well-armed colonists toward New Orleans, the U.S. Government investigated. In an effort to save himself, General Wilkinson turned against Burr, accusing him of treason.

Although arrested in 1807 and tried for treason, he was acquitted on a technicality. Still considered a traitor however, he fled to Europe. Later, he returned to private life in New York, the murder charges for Hamilton’s death forgotten-and died in 1836.

From Founding Father to almost President to Vice President to Traitor. That was Aaron Burr’s resume.

Almost makes today’s politicians seem harmless.

Almost.



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3-D Copiers: No Longer Fantasy, They’re Here Now!

Watch an old Star Trek episode and you’ll see technologies that existed only in the mind of creator Gene Roddenberry at the time—now commonplace.

People running around with hand-hand gizmos that did everything?

Today’s cellphones.

And while we haven’t perfected the transporter yet—you know, that platform that reduces people and things to the molecular level and then reassembles them in another location, I am beginning to think that we’ll lick that one too.

Why?

Because of the following video.

The photocopier is amazing enough---a one-dimensional picture of whatever is scanned. The newest technology is 3-D copying---or the quite literal FABRICATION of complete objects in a machine following scanning. Thanks to good friend and faithful blog reader and contributor Rick Cooper for sending this to me.

Make sure you are sitting down while watching this!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZboxMsSz5Aw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Unbelievable!
The minds that create these contraptions are beyond my feeble comprehension. The combination of scanning technology, computer –assisted design and material science that allows the formation of objects out of resin/powder/whatever is completely off the charts.

Videos like this one shake the foundations of what is possible—and while it may be hard to imagine (for instance) a world that can exist without reliance on oil for energy, incredible advances in technology will surely move us into a new era of discovery.

And how exciting is that?If you’d like my blog in your box daily (through the miracle that is e-mail), just let me know! tim.moore@citcomm.com

Casey Anthony Verdict: A Miscarriage of Justice?

Not since the O.J. Simpson trial has a court proceeding captured the attention of Americans like the Casey Anthony trial.

I think that many of us assumed that the mother of slain toddler Caylee Anthony would be found guilty and perhaps sentenced to death. The shock and anger following the “not guilty” verdicts have only strengthened the argument that Anthony was already presumed guilty in the court of public opinion.

Reasonable doubt.

Those two words are the cornerstone of our American justice system. They have undoubtedly protected many falsely accused defendants from serving prison time or from facing death row.

They may also be the powerful tools of shrewd defense attorneys to gain acquittals for their guilty clients. The ones that really “did it” whatever “it” happens to be.

Who knows which is the case with Casey Anthony?

Clearly, she is a liar and walking head-case on many levels. The public has equated the evidence of her wild partying in the time period her daughter was “missing” as a clear indication of her guilt. What mother would be drinking, dancing and getting tattoos while her little girl was missing? Her false statements leading law enforcement authorities in the wrong direction on multiple occasions is also credible evidence of guilt.

But, a smart defense team with an alternate theory can craft a possible scenario that both confirms the jury’s predisposition to negatively judge the defendant’s guilty behavior with enough reasonable doubt as to its reason—to elicit the verdict of acquittal.

Here is the video of the verdict being read:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_PyXYscAqs

Imagine the daunting task of the attorneys representing Casey Anthony. Portraying her as a saint is out of the question. Framing her as an “innocent” is beyond believability too. So, constructing a picture of Casey as the victim in a dysfunctional family, where she was abused, lied throughout her life and concocted a false story after Caylee’s “accidental” death was the perfect solution.

Reasonable doubt.

Seems that is this day and age, any behavior short of that caught on video can be explained away. Sometimes, graphic video won’t even work (see “Rodney King beating”)

Lost in all of this is the life of a little girl who didn’t deserve to die—and whose demise will not result in justice for whomever was responsible.

As I write this, the judge has just passed sentence on the four misdemeanor charges of lying—a one-year sentence for each charge. So, four years in prison, minus nearly three years already served minus time off for good behavior and we are looking at probably less than a year more in the slammer.

What’s next?

Well, after a near certain move away from Orlando (Hollywood, perhaps?), Casey will be free to sell the rights to her story, clearly a gold mine for books and movies. She has already received offers to pose naked, make porn movies and there’s no doubt that other employment opportunities will come her way.

Millions of dollars will flow to Casey Anthony, the mother of a murdered little girl.
Plenty of dough ---for buying tattoos and partying until the wee hours.


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Remembering The Wolfman

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ENCORE TIM MOORE BLOG, UPDATED WITH NEW VIDEO:

Maybe this one is just for radio geeks like me.

Whether you are now or ever have been “on the air”, you cherish disc jockey Wolfman Jack’s reverence for his craft, for his listeners-and for the music that surrounded him. His crazy howl, high-pitched laugh and “ya understand” tag on virtually everything were his trademark, one that endeared him to generations of fans. Radio people may not have imitated him—there was simply no way to accomplish that. They did-and still do try to establish that intimate bond and playful vibe that made him an icon. If you are or were an avid listener to this incredible medium called radio, you know all about Wolfman Jack. This legend in the business passed away on July 1,1995.

Born Robert Smith, the Wolfman became famous in the 60’s broadcasting from Mexico. The stations there-not subject to the power limitations of U.S. stations-broadcast over much of the States. Wolfman Jack combined his antics-with an “illicit, we’re breakin’ the law” attitude that was just right for America’s youth in the rock and roll sixties.

It was his appearance (as himself) in the 1973 movie “American Graffiti” that propelled him to “household name” status. Here is that classic scene:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1vBKOi3xqk

He also inspired a hit record “Clap For The Wolfman” and hosted the TV show “Midnight Special”

Here below is a video of stills w/ audio from his very first show on WNBC in New York in 1973. Highly entertaining!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtNa9v9d5v4

I love this business, love being on the air-and although I am no “Wolfman”, I too revere the medium, it’s power to connect-and to spread positive vibes!

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