An Eye for an Eye? Exodus and Abortion

I am glad that Petrino got more defensive players than offensive players but time will tell if he can develop these three star players like he did in 2008 when that class later turned the hogs into a national contender in 2011. Below is an article from http://www.ajc.com

Alabama (26): The national champs added to their bounty by signing the No. 1 recruiting class, according to ESPN, and No. 2, according to Scout. Highly regarded defensive back Landon Collins, receiver Eddie Williams and running back T.J. Yeldon were expected to sign, but so did top defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson (Henry County) and Korren Kirven, who choose Alabama over Virginia Tech. Including Tomlinson, the Tide signed eight Georgians, including linebacker Dillon Lee (Buford), defensive back Geno Smith (St. Pius) and running back Kenyan Drake (Hillgrove).

Arkansas (24): Bobby Petrino loves receivers, so he signed four, going into Mississippi to get D’Arthur Cowan (6-foot-3, 180) and into Oklahoma to nab Keon Hatcher (6-2, 195), to help make up for missing out on Dorial Green-Beckham, who signed with Missouri, and Courtney Gardner, who signed with Oklahoma. That doesn’t include Jeremy Sprinkle (6-6, 220), who played tight end and defensive end at White Hall, Ark. Defensive back Ray Buchanan Jr., the son of former Falcon Ray Buchanan, signed out of Peachtree Ridge.

Auburn (20): Auburn survived losing both coordinators to sign a class headlined by offensive tackle Avery Young (6-6, 292) out of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., the ninth-rated tackle according to Rivals. However, the Tigers missed on defensive back Ronald Darby, who went to Florida State. Jovon Robinson (6-1, 220) was the only running back the Tigers signed, but they plucked five players out of Georgia, including speedy defensive back Jonathan Jones (Carrollton) and 6-7, 280-pound tackle Will Adams and receiver JaQuay Williams (6-4, 204) of Sandy Creek.

Florida (23): The Gators grew along the defensive front with the addition of Dante Phillips (6-6, 270), Jonathan Bullard (6-3, 263), Dante Fowler (6-3, 261), who had committed to Florida State, and Stephenson’s Jafar Mann (6-4, 293). The Gators also signed defensive lineman Quinteze Williams (Sandy Creek) and kicker Austin Hardin (Marist). Florida is No. 4 in ESPN’s rankings and No. 5 according to Scout.

Kentucky (26): Coach Joker Phillips nabbed linebacker Khalid Henderson (Pebblebrook), who committed to Tennessee in June, and three-star running back Justin Taylor (North Atlanta), who was going to Alabama before being told that he would have to grayshirt. Taylor gives Kentucky three Atlanta-area backs, joining Josh Clemons (Whitewater) and Marcus Caffey (Grady), who were freshmen last season. Henderson and Taylor were two of eight Georgians who signed with Kentucky.

LSU (22): Three players, including Gunner Kiel, the No. 1 quarterback in the nation, backed out their commitments to LSU in the past few weeks, but the Tigers still signed five players in the ESPNU 150. Les Miles grabbed linebacker Kwon Alexander out of Oxford, Ala., signing him despite the fact that Alexander missed most of his senior year with a torn ACL. Buford’s Vadal Alexander (6-6, 315) and Reid Ferguson (6-2, 235) already are enrolled.

Mississippi (17): Trae Elston (6-0, 183), who looked at LSU and Oklahoma State, gives new coach Hugh Freeze a top safety. He wants to build his offense around quarterback Bo Wallace, the junior college player of the year, who threw for 4,604 yards and 53 touchdowns to lead East Mississippi Community College to the 2011 national title. Channing Ward and Issac Gross should contribute on the defensive line, and Freeze likes running backs Jaylen Walton, I’Tavius Mathers and Kenno Loyal (Columbia).

Mississippi State (23): It was a balanced class with 11 defensive players, 11 offensive players and a specialist. Coach Dan Mullen likes versatile quarterback Nick Schuessler (6-4, 190), who led Grayson to the Class AAAAA state title, saying: “He’s going to do whatever it takes to win. As a coach, that’s what you want in the quarterback.” Linebacker Richie Brown (6-2, 225) of Long Beach, Miss., said he wants to play on offense and defense, and Nick James (6-4, 330) is the biggest of eight linemen, a group that includes Jordan Washington (North Gwinnett).

Missouri (19): The Tigers will begin life in the SEC with the No. 1 recruit in the nation and one of the top guards in the country after signing state products Dorial Green-Beckham (6-6, 220) and Evan Boehm (6-3, 290). Green-Beckham’s impressive stats include holding the national career receiving yards mark with 6,447 after a season in which he caught 119 passes for 2,233 yards and 24 touchdowns. Despite Green-Beckham’s presence, Missouri’s class is ranked 33rd by Rivals and No. 20 by ESPN.

South Carolina (25): Steve Spurrier signed Mr. Football in South Carolina for the fourth consecutive when he got receiver Shaq Roland, a 6-1, 173-pound receiver out of Lexington, S.C. The Gamecocks, as always, did well in Georgia, signing 12 players from the Peach State, including safety Chaz Elder (Banneker), running back Mike Davis (Stephenson), who had once been committed to Florida, defensive end Darius English (McEachern) and guard Joe Harris (Lithonia).

Tennessee (21): Derek Dooley didn’t sign any offensive linemen, but got three junior college players — defensive linemen Darrington Sentimore (6-2, 273) and Daniel McCullers (6-6, 380), and receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (6-3, 205) — who should make immediate contributions. Sentimore played 11 games at Alabama in 2010. Dooley on McCullers: “When you see him, he looks like two people. It’s like a circus act.” Four Georgians — including Rivals four-star receiver Jason Croom (Norcross) — are in the class.

Texas A&M (19): The Aggies’ class includes 15 Texans, including Trey Williams (5-8, 175), considered the No. 5 running back in the country, and Thomas Johnson (5-11, 180), the No. 3 receiver, who originally committed to Texas. They provide weapons for first-year coach Kevin Sumlin, who was hired by Texas A&M from Houston in December. Quarterback Matt Davis and cornerback De’Vante Harris add to a class that was hurt when receiver Bralon Addison of Missouri City, Texas, went with Oregon.

Vanderbilt (21): The Commodores were hurt by Tucker defensive end Josh Dawson, who signed with Georgia after committing to Vanderbilt, but they signed versatile Brian Kimbrow (5-8, 170) out of Memphis and Andrew Jelks (6-6, 270), a Rivals four-star offensive lineman out of Paris, Tenn. Linebackers Jake Sealand (Tucker) and Darreon Herring (Stephenson), defensive back Paris Head (Buford), defensive end Stephen Weatherly (Shiloh) and defensive tackle LaDarius Banks (East Paulding) signed.

Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams runs back a punt for a touchdown against Tennessee at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Nov. 12, 2011. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL)

I disagree with the article below that says that Vandy did not do well in recruiting. There is no way they are number 13 out of 14. National Signing Day around the SEC. 247Sports ranked the SEC team’s recruiting in this order: 1 Alabama, 2 Florida, 3 Georgia, 4 LSU, 5 Texas A&M, 6 South Carolina, […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Arkansas can learn from Vols’ mistake in football recruiting

I have noticed that Arkansas never seems to have great recruiting years like Tennessee and Florida and Alabama do. However, the 2008 class that will graduate in 2012 for Arkansas included some great players like Joe Adams and has been re-ranked as the 5th best performing class. That class led Arkansas to a final ranking […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

SEC football recruiting update

It seems to me that there are a few surprises in the recruiting game this year. Below is a rivals article and the one below it is an article from 3 months ago. January 27, 2012 Rivals.com analyst Chris Neereviews recent rising and falling in the 2012 team rankings as National Signing Day nears. Five […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged Arkansas Razorbacks, SEC Football Recruiting | Edit | Comments (0)

Lane Kiffin has put off Judgement Day

February 2, 2012 – 4:23 pm

It is true that USC’s Lane Kiffin has had two great recruiting classes at USC, but that was because he signed 25 players both in 2010 and 2011. He delayed “Judgement Day” by getting permission to avoid the 15 scholarship limits (imposed for 3 years) while the school appealed the NCAA’s decision. Therefore, all these […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Arkansas Republicans don’t like to raise taxes and that bugs Max Brantley

Here’s a brief video for those who want more information about the flat tax.

———-

The Flat Tax: How it Works and Why it is Good for America

Uploaded by afq2007 on Mar 29, 2010

This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video shows how the flat tax would benefit families and businesses, and also explains how this simple and fair system would boost economic growth and eliminate the special-interest corruption of the internal revenue code. www.freedomandprosperity.org

Max Brantley loves the suggestion to raise taxes (because he thinks the government is smarter than us) and on Nov 28, 2011 (Arkansas Times Blog) he wrote:

Roby Brock’s Talk Business has a good report on Republican Rep. Davy Carter’s plan, as chair of the House Revenue and Tax Committee, to hold hearings next year on income tax reform in Arkansas.

Unlike many others in his party, Carter understands sensible reform isn’t all about cutting. He’d like to reshape income tax brackets in a “revenue neutral” way.

That can’t be done through income tax brackets alone, as a practical political matter. It would mean a new higher bracket for the wealthy or dramatic shifting of the overall income tax burden to higher income people. That’s not what Carter has in mind, however.

TAX REFORM TALK: From Rep. Davy Carter.

TAX REFORM TALK: From Rep. Davy Carter.

I am glad that Davy Carter is a conservative and will not consider raising the highest tax rate in Arkansas above 7%. That is crazy for several reasons but I will mention one of the most harmful. In 1970 when Dale Bumpers raised the top income tax rate in Arkansas to 7% it did not affect many people but as time has gone by now many are having to pay that top rate. That will happen again if the liberals are allowed to raise the top rate. It is a bait and switch operation. They promised in 1970 that not many would have to pay the 7% but that is not the case now!!!!

John Brummett wrote on June 4, 2011:

If you start ranking the great governors of Arkansas, you talk about Win Rockefeller on seminal reform and on brave advancements in race relations. You talk about Dale Bumpers on raising income taxes and reorganizing government and advancing free textbooks and child immunizations and two-year community colleges.

Mike Huckabee recently moved to Florida? Why? The answer is easy. Huckabee wants to avoid Arkansas’ high state income tax. Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times wants to call Huckabee a tax fugitive, but who can blame him.

Liberals like Brantley and Ernie Dumas want to praise former Arkansas governor Dale Bumpers for raising the state income tax to 7%, but that is the reason our state has the highest state income tax in the area (all bordering states have either lower state income taxes or no state income tax).

Is it any surprise that during the last census that the seven states that do not have an income tax grew in population?Arkansas has suffered from bracket creep and in 1929 you had to make 5 times the average wage to pay any state income tax at all, but now over 66% of tax payers in Arkansas pay at least some of their income at the 7% level.

Ernie Dumas in his article “Arkansas” A tax myth-maker too,” Arkansas Times, April 13, 2011 asserts:

Until Gov. Dale Bumpers raised income-tax rates and other taxes in 1971, Arkansas had by far the lowest per-capita state and local taxes in the United States. Afterward, we were still 50th but within shouting distance of 49th.

Here are the real facts according to Greg Kaza of the Arkansas Policy Foundation:

(June 2006) Democratic Gov. Dale Bumpers and the General Assembly raised Arkansas’ top income tax rate to “broaden the tax base” in 1971(1). Yet Arkansas’ per capita income, expressed as a percentage of the U.S. total, has barely improved, moving from 71 (1971) to 77.7 percent (2005) over the 34-year period, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The 1971 income tax increase reversed a decades-long strong growth trend and left Arkansas with the highest income tax rate among bordering states (Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas).

Income Stagnation: The 1930s
One has to turn to the 1930s-the decade of the Great Depression-to find weaker income growth than in recent years.

Arkansas per capita personal income was 44 percent of the U.S. in 1929, the first year data was compiled in the BEA time series. The Great Depression started that year, and by the time it ended in 1933 Arkansas per capita income had fallen to 41 percent of the U.S. By decade’s end (1939) it had returned to 44 percent.

Growth Decades: The 1940s, 1950s & 1960s
Arkansas per capita income increased as a percentage of the U.S. in the next three decades.
In 1941, at the onset of World War II, Arkansas per capita income was 47 percent of the U.S. It was 59 percent at war’s end in 1945 and again in 1949. It was 56 percent in 1950, 62 percent a decade later in 1960, and 68 percent in 1969. If this growth rate had continued Arkansas would have exceeded 100 percent of the U.S. average in the current decade (2000-2009).

To summarize, Arkansas per capita income increased from 44 to 71 percent of the U.S. total between 1939 and 1971.

Anemic Income Growth (1971-2005)
The trend in recent decades is anemic growth in Arkansas per capita personal income. Fiscal policy changes affect economic behavior with a time lag. Arkansas per capita income was 71 percent of the U.S. in 1971 and 76 percent in 1973. Income growth stagnated for the rest of the decade, reaching 77 percent of the U.S. in 1979. It fell to 75 percent in 1989, and was 76 percent in 1999. Today, Arkansas per capita income, at 77.7 percent of the U.S., is barely above its high point of the 1970s.

Recently I read the report “A short history and recent trends in the Arkansas income tax,” by Richard Sims, Arkansas Business and Economic Review, December 22, 1993 and here is a portion of it:

Introduction

Since its introduction in 1929, Arkansas‘ statutory income tax structure has changed very little. However, due to changes in the economy and in inflation, the real effects of that tax structure have changed substantially. This report looks at the effects that rising incomes and inflation have had on the Arkansas income tax structure. In addition, the report looks at the changing profile of Arkansas taxpayers in recent years, and provides a brief comparison ofArkansas taxes in relation to other states and the federal tax system.

Arkansas‘ Income Tax Structure: Original and Revised

In 1929 Arkansas became 12th among the states to adopt an individual income tax. The structure contained five rates and net income brackets with a top rate of five percent applying to net income over $25,000. That original structure remained in place until 1971 when a new middle-income bracket was added and the rate on net income over $25,000 was increased to 7.0 percent. The rates and brackets revised in 1971 remain in place today. The 1929 original and the revised current tax structure are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Arkansas Individual Income Tax Structure

 1929 Original Net Income Rate first $3,000 1.0% 
next$3,001 to $6,000  2.0% 
next$6,001 to $11,000 3.0% 
next $11,001 to $25,000  4.0% 
over $25,000 5.0% 
1971 Revision (Current) 
Net Income Rate first $2,999 1.0%
 next$3,000 to $5,999 2.5% 
next$6,000 to $8,999 3.5% 
next$9,000 to $14,999 4.5% 
next $15,000 to $24,999 6.0%
 over $25,000 7.0%

Source: Arkansas Legislative Tax Handbook, 1992, Bureau of Legislative Research.

In 1975, the earliest year for which records on income tax collections by income group is available, only the top 4.0 percent of Arkansas taxpayers would have had any of their income subjected to the top 7.0 percent rate. By 1991, around 66.0 percent of the state’s taxpayers would have had some of their income subjected to this top rate–a rate once reserved for only the highest income earners.

The 1929 tax structure provided for exemptions of $1,500 for a single person and $2,500 for married individuals. In 1947 the state raised the exemption to $2,500 for singles and $3,500 for married persons. In 1957 the personal exemption was converted to a credit of $17.50 for singles and $35.00 for married persons. In 1987 the credits were increased to $20 per person. Finally, in 1991, low income Arkansans were exempted from paying income tax if their gross income did not exceed $5,500 for an individual or $10,000 for a married couple. For most taxpayers, the $20.00 credit remains in effect today.

The Value of Exemptions as a Share of Per Capita Income

Table 2 shows how the value of the personal tax exemption or credit has diminished over time. The figures shown represent the personal exemption or credit for a single individual as a ratio of the per capita personal income in the year in which the credit was first enacted. In 1929, for instance, an individual would have been exempted from any tax until their income reached a level which was equal to 490 percent of the Arkansas per capita income for that year. In 1947 with the first statutory change in the exemption, that individual would have still been exempted up to an amount equal to 340 percent of the per capita income level. By 1957 the value of the exemption (which was changed to a tax credit that year) had declined substantially, falling to 130 percent of per capita income. At the time of the next change in the personal credit (1987), the value of that credit was only 17 percent of the per capitaincome level. For most taxpayers (all those not officially classified as low income) in 1992, the value of the personal credit was only 13 percent of per capita income.

Table 2 Personal Exemptions and Credits As a Percent of Per Capita Income

 Arkansas Year of Value of Per Capita Enactment ExemptionIncome Ratio 1929 $1,500 $ 308 490% 19472,500 737 340% 19571,6001,247 130% 19872,000 11,980 17% 19922,000 15,439 13%

Source: Arkansas Legislative Tax Handbook, 1992, Bureau of Legislative Research; Per capita personal income data is from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, unpublished data, April, 1993.

In other words, whereas in the first year of enactment of the income tax, the personal exemption would have allowed an Arkansan to earn almost five times the average per capita income before paying any tax.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Taxes | Comments (0)

Tennessee is upset at Peters for switching to the Hogs

February 2, 2012 – 3:51 pm

It is nice to be feared by the Vols. They rejoiced when it was announced that they would not have to play the Hogs in 2012.

Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams breaks tackles to return a punt for a touchdown against Tennessee at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Nov. 12, 2011. UT lost the game 49-7. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL) 
” width=”607″ /> 
Photo by <a title= Amy Smotherman Burgess, ©KNS/2011

Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams breaks past Tennessee defensive back Brian Randolph to return a punt for a touchdown at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Nov. 12, 2011. UT lost the game 49-7. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL) 
” width=”607″ /> 
Photo by <a title= Amy Smotherman Burgess, ©KNS/2011

In the article below you can see that the player who lived in Texas that switched to Texas could be explained away and the one that lived in Virginia that switched to VA Tech could also but the Vols don’t have an explanation for why the 4 star linebacker Otha Peters switched from his commitment to the Vols to sign with the Hogs. (I have another post on this too.) Rick Schaffer told me that it was John Adams who wrote in 1992 that the visiting Hogs did not have a chance against the #4 ranked Vols in Knoxville, but it did not turn out that way.

Below is an article from http://www.knoxnews.com :

John Adams: Recruiting reveals state of UT program

By John Adams

Originally published 08:48 p.m., February 1, 2012
Updated 09:18 p.m., February 1, 2012

Tennessee signed 21 football recruits Wednesday. If you want to know what that means to the future of UT football, you have come to the wrong place.

But I can venture an opinion on what the class says about the current state of UT football. The opinion was formulated by recognizing a handful of recruiting hits and taking note of a couple of misses.

Bottom line: UT is more desperate than prosperous.

First, the misses — the most telling of which were linebacker commitment Otha Peters, and defensive tackle Korren Kirven, who entered the stretch run of recruiting seemingly torn between UT and Virginia Tech.

Peters opted for Arkansas the day before signing. Kirven backed off the Vols and Hokies for national champion Alabama.

Those were not-so-subtle reminders that when you have suffered through three losing seasons in the last four years, you can be as vulnerable in recruiting battles with more successful programs as you are on the field.

Losing long-standing linebacker commitment Dalton Santos to Texas wasn’t as significant. He grew up a Texas fan. When the Longhorns finally expressed interest, he couldn’t resist.

But neither Peters nor Kirven had a childhood infatuation with the program they chose. They were out-of-state signees who picked top-10 teams over a team that just went 5-7 and lost six assistant coaches.

As for the hits, the standout signee is obvious. His name is Deion Bonner, a cornerback from Columbus, Ga.

I don’t know Bonner’s 40 time or vertical jump. I just know he was charged with a crime while visiting Georgia’s campus.

How’s that for standing out?

He stands out further since second-year coach Derek Dooley and his staff have talked so much about recruiting “high-character” players in rebuilding UT’s program.

“When I say bringing in high character (players), that doesn’t mean I’m never going to bring in guys who have made mistakes,” Dooley said at Wednesday’s media gathering. “Because I’ve made as many mistakes in my life as anybody.

“We did a lot of diligence on the situation. Deion was incredibly truthful and incredibly remorseful.”

No matter what glowing attributes the Vols might have uncovered in their recruitment of Bonner, does that outweigh a police report? He was one of three people arrested by University of Georgia police following the theft of iPods and iPhones from the unsecured lockers of seven Georgia players.

Recruiting interest in Bonner waned elsewhere after the incident, but not at UT, reminding you that the pursuit of high-character players sounds better in theory than in the reality of back-to-back losing seasons.

Dooley needs a talent upgrade. Fast. So he’s willing to take a chance on a player who can’t resist the temptation of an unlocked locker but might be a lock-down corner.

Given UT’s immediate needs, junior college players are more alluring than ever, which brings up encouraging news for UT fans. When you check out the resumes of this class, three of the most impressive are from the junior college ranks.

Never mind what defensive lineman Darrington Sentimore accomplished at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. I remember him as a backup lineman at Alabama. I also remember that he looked like an Alabama lineman. That’s high praise for a UT signee.

Daniel McCullers looks like a former Alabama lineman. McCullers, who last played at Georgia Military Institute, is in the Terrence Cody weight division at 6-foot-6, 380 pounds. As the 3-4 alignment becomes more prominent in UT’s defensive plans, it’s helpful to have someone towering over center who, as Dooley put it, is like “two people.”

Cordarrelle Patterson is a consensus five-star wide receiver coming to a program that can benefit enormously from a five-star anybody. So even if Patterson falters at the major-college level, his signing flashes neon bright for now — just as Kenny O’Neal’s once did.

UT signed O’Neal as a junior college five-star wide receiver five years ago. He had two career catches at Tennessee.

But the Vols can’t think about potential recruiting busts now. They have to hope that Patterson plays up to his billing, McCullers becomes the next Mt. Cody, and Sentimore plays like what he once was — an Alabama lineman.

That’s the state of UT football.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 oradamsj@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/johnadamskns

Last minute pick up from Vols helps Hogs finish strong in recruiting

I was disappointed that Vandy had a better class than Arkansas but I was glad that we got a chance to get a quality linebacker to switch to the Hogs at the last moment. Otis Kirk’s Recruiting 360: Arkansas’ Peoples Key In Landing Otha Peters by Otis Kirk, Hawgs247.com 2/2/2012 at 1:06pm Arkansas struck late in […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Briefs on all the SEC football recruiting hauls

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Tennessee is upset at Peters for switching to the Hogs

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Articles on SEC football recruiting results

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Arkansas can learn from Vols’ mistake in football recruiting

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

SEC football recruiting update

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged Arkansas Razorbacks, SEC Football Recruiting | Edit | Comments (0)

Lane Kiffin has put off Judgement Day

February 2, 2012 – 4:16 pm

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Using permanently higher tax rates on income to pay for temporarily lower tax rates on payrolls is stupid

The liberal Arkansas Times Blogger Max Brantley wrote on 12-1-11:

Senate Republicans tonight defeated the payroll tax break for working Americans. President Obama’s statement:

Tonight, Senate Republicans chose to raise taxes on nearly 160 million hardworking Americans because they refused to ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. They voted against a bill that would have not only extended the $1,000 tax cut for a typical family, but expanded that tax cut to put an extra $1,500 in their pockets next year, and given nearly six million small business owners new incentives to expand and hire. That is unacceptable.It makes absolutely no sense to raise taxes on the middle class at a time when so many are still trying to get back on their feet. Now is not the time to put the economy and the security of the middle class at risk. Now is the time to rebuild an economy where hard work and responsibility pay off, and everybody has a chance to succeed. Now is the time to put country before party and work together on behalf of the American people. And I will continue to urge Congress to stop playing politics with the security of millions of American families and small business owners and get this done.

Now the Republicans will offer their plan to give a cut by screwing working people.

___________________-

Brantley does not explain why the economy has not been stimulated at all by ANYTHING THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS TRIED SO FAR!!! Then we should this payroll tax holiday be extended?

This article below from the Cato Institute does a good job of showing the Republicans were right to vote against Obama’s plan.

President Obama’s $447 Billion Tax Increase

Posted by Alan Reynolds

In his September 8 lecture to Congress, President Obama promised that “every proposal I’ve laid out tonight will be paid for.” How? By raising tax rates on “the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.” In other words, the President is proposing a $447 billion tax increase.

When the details are revealed on September 19, the President will be proposing large and permanent increases in the highest income tax rates − mainly to “pay for” a small and temporary cut in payroll taxes (which accounts for 54 percent of his $447 billion package). The plan is likely to contain elements of the September 7 proposal of Congressional Democrats to the super-committee — such as a draconian “super-Pease” phase-out and cap on itemized deductions, and a top marginal tax rate of 48.8 percent in 2013.

Temporary payroll tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits are bait the President set out to trap House Republicans with their own debt ceiling demands.

“The agreement we passed in July,” said the President, “will cut government spending by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas. Tonight, I am asking you to increase that amount so that it covers the full cost of the American Jobs Act.” But the $447 billion budgetary hit can’t be spread over 10 years without triggering another debt ceiling calamity. Either the debt ceiling has to be promptly raised by an extra $447 billion or tax receipts somehow raised by that amount in fiscal 2012-2013. Any “modest adjustments to health care” will be too distant and nebulous to help.

Using permanently higher tax rates on income to pay for temporarily lower tax rates on payrolls is no “stimulus” under either Keynesian or empirical economics. Neither is a tax-financed extension of unemployment benefits, which clearly raises the unemployment rate by 0.8 to 1.8 percentage points. Yet the one-year extension of payroll tax cuts and 99-week unemployment benefits is being held out as irresistible bait to gullible legislators.

By inviting House Republicans to stumble into this trap, the president is also hoping to preempt the congressional super-committee’s option of reducing deficits by trimming tax loopholes. President Obama is trying to lay claim to any potential revenues from cutting loopholes (or legitimate deductions) for his own pet projects, which include grants to hire more state and local government workers and extended unemployment benefits for the private sector.

This is no “jobs plan.” It’s a tax-and-spend plan, and a bad one.

Alan Reynolds • September 12, 2011 @ 8:46 am
Filed under: Tax and Budget Policy

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Social Security | Tagged congress president, hardworking americans, payroll tax, senate republicans, small business owners | Comments (0)

Articles on SEC football recruiting results

Briefs on all the SEC football recruiting hauls

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Tennessee is upset at Peters for switching to the Hogs

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Articles on SEC football recruiting results

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Arkansas can learn from Vols’ mistake in football recruiting

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

SEC football recruiting update

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged Arkansas Razorbacks, SEC Football Recruiting | Edit | Comments (0)

Lane Kiffin has put off Judgement Day

Miles: LSU lost some recruits, but met need

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

I disagree with the article below that says that Vandy did not do well in recruiting. There is no way they are number 13 out of 14.

National Signing Day around the SEC.

247Sports ranked the SEC team’s recruiting in this order: 1 Alabama, 2 Florida, 3 Georgia, 4 LSU, 5 Texas A&M, 6 South Carolina, 7 Auburn, 8 Tennessee, 9 Mississippi State, 10 Arkansas, 11 Missouri, 12 Mississippi, 13 Vanderbilt, snf 14 Kentucky.

A list of Auburn’s 2012 football signees

Auburn finishes signing day strong

Spurrier: Gamecocks have more to offer than ever

Mississippi’s 2012 signing class

Mississippi’s Freeze pleased with small class

Mississippi State 2012 signing list

Alabama stocks up on defense, offensive playmakers

Florida signs 23 players to letters of intent

Towles headlines Kentucky’s recruiting class

List of Georgia Bulldogs football signees

Georgia signs 18, awaits word from top prospect

Franklin wraps up perhaps best class ever at Vandy

Arkansas eyes receiving help on signing day

Missouri prep WR Green-Beckham signs with Tigers

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Norquist is right, Brantley is wrong

February 2, 2012 – 4:08 pm

Max Brantley went on another tyrade about raising taxes instead of cutting spending (“How to raise taxes,” Arkansas Times Blog, November 28, 2011). However, spending is the main problem and it appears that Democrats do not want to cut a dime. Instead, they blame Glover Norquist for all their problems.

Does Norquist deserve all the blame? Charles Krauthammer set the record straight below:

The Grover Norquist myth

Charles KrauthammerNovember 28, 2011

WASHINGTON — Democrats are unanimous in charging that the debt-reduction supercommittee collapsed because Republicans refused to raise taxes. Apparently, Republicans are in the thrall of one Grover Norquist, the anti-tax campaigner, whom Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., called “the 13th member of this committee without being there.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid helpfully suggested “maybe they should impeach Grover Norquist.”

With that, Norquist officially replaces the Koch brothers as the great malevolent manipulator that controls the republic by pulling unseen strings on behalf of the plutocracy.

Nice theory. Except for the following facts:

•Sen. Tom Coburn last year signed on to the Simpson-Bowles tax reform that would have increased tax revenue by $1 trillion over a decade.

•During the debt-ceiling talks, House Speaker John Boehner agreed to an $800 billion revenue increase as part of a Grand Bargain.

•Supercommittee member Pat Toomey, a Club for Growth Republican, proposed increasing tax revenue by $300 billion as part of $1.2 trillion in debt reduction.

Leading, very conservative Republicans proposing tax increases. So why does the myth of the Norquist-controlled anti-tax monolith persist? You might suggest cynicism and perversity. Let me offer a more benign explanation: thickheadedness. Democrats simply can’t tell the difference between tax revenue and tax rates.

In deficit reduction, all that matters is tax revenue. The holders of our national debt care not a whit what tax rates yield the money to pay them back. They care about the sum.

The Republican proposals raise revenue, despite lowering rates, by opening a gusher of new income for the Treasury in the form of loophole elimination. For example, the Toomey plan eliminates deductions by $300 billion more than the reduction in tax rates “cost.” Result: $300 billion in new revenue.

The Simpson-Bowles commission — appointed by President Barack Obama and endorsed by Coburn — used the same formula. Its tax reform would lower tax rates at a “cost” of $1 trillion a year while eliminating loopholes that deprive the Treasury of $1.1 trillion a year. This would leave the Treasury with an excess — i.e., new tax revenue — of $100 billion a year, or $1 trillion over a decade.

Raising revenue through tax reform is better than simply raising rates, which Democrats insist upon with near religious fervor. It is more economically efficient because it eliminates credits, carve-outs and deductions that grossly misallocate capital. And it is more fair because it is the rich who can afford not only the sharp lawyers and accountants who exploit loopholes but the lobbyists who create them in the first place.

Yet the Democrats, who flatter themselves as the party of fairness, are instead obsessed with raising tax rates on the rich as a sign of civic virtue. This is perverse in three ways:

1) Raising rates gratuitously slows economic growth, i.e., expansion of the economic pie for everyone, by penalizing work and by retaining inefficiency-inducing loopholes.

2) We’re talking pennies on the dollar. Obama’s coveted Bush tax cut repeal would yield the Treasury, at the very most, $80 billion a year — offsetting 2 cents on the dollar of government spending ($3.6 trillion).

3) Hiking tax rates ignores the real drivers of debt, which, as Obama himself has acknowledged, are entitlements.

Has the president ever publicly proposed a single significant structural change in any entitlement? After Simpson-Bowles reported? No. In his February budget? No. In his April 13 budget “framework”? No. During the debt-ceiling crisis? No. During or after the supercommittee deliberations? No.

As regarding the supercommittee, Obama was AWOL — then immediately pounced on its failure by going on TV to repeat his incessantly repeated campaign theme of the do-nothing (Republican) Congress.

A swell slogan that fits nicely with the Norquist myth. Except for another inconvenient fact: It is the Republicans who passed — through the House, the only branch of government they control — a real budget that cut $5.8 trillion of spending over the next 10 years. Obama’s February budget, which would have increased spending, was laughed out of the Senate, voted down 97-0. As for the Democratic Senate, it has submitted no budget at all for 2 1/2 years.

Who, then, is do-nothing? Republicans should happily take on this absurd, and central, Democratic campaign plank. Bring Simpson-Bowles to the House floor and pass the most radical of its three deficit-reduction alternatives.

Dare the Senate Democrats to vote down the grandest of all bargains. Dare Obama to veto his own debt commission. Dare the Democrats to actually do something about debt.

Washington Post Writers Group

Charles Krauthammer is a syndicated columnist based in Washington.

letters@charleskrauthammer.com

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Social Security, spending out of control, Taxes | Comments (0)

Arkansas gets help on defense in this class

February 2, 2012 – 4:05 pm

I know that many of us are disappointed that Dorial Green-Beckham did not sign with the Razorbacks but we just have to move on. I am not interested in reliving the whole thing and going through all the negative things said about the Hogs during the process. That always happens in every recruiting case and it is old news.

Arkansas got four receivers including one from Junior College, Ray Buchanan Jr. who is the son of former Atlanta Falcoln and Oakland Raider safety. Here is an article by Kurt Voigt below:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino was concerned about how an offseason of coaching turnover would affect recruiting.

The Razorbacks coach liked how the school’s group of 24 signees shaped up on Wednesday afternoon, even after a notable miss earlier that morning during national signing day.

Arkansas signed four wide receivers among its class, but it was the one who got away who garnered much of the attention early in the day.

Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, regarded as one of the top prospects in the country, announced he was signing with Missouri — leaving the Razorbacks at the altar in their quest to replace the top receiving corps in school history.

“We wish him good luck,” Petrino said. “… We’re really fired up about our class and what we’ve got coming back.”

Arkansas has won 21 games over the past two seasons, last year finishing 11-2 and with a No. 5 ranking after a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State. It received two of its biggest offseason commitments last month when first-team All- Southeastern Conference quarterback Tyler Wilson and running back Knile Davis both decided to return for next season.

However, the Razorbacks head into next season without three of the top receivers in school history — Jarius Wright, Joe Adams and Greg Childs. The three combined for 141 catches for 2,009 yards receiving last season.

Green-Beckham was courted by Arkansas, visiting two weekends ago, and was on hand for the Razorbacks’ basketball win over then-No. 20 Michigan. However, after a visit at Missouri last weekend, he elected to stay home — saying his relationship with the Tigers’ coaches swayed his decision.

“This was the place for me,” Green-Beckham said. “All of the Hog fans, I enjoyed being around them, but staying home was the right fit.”

Even without Green-Beckham, Petrino lauded the four receivers Arkansas signed — particularly junior-college transfer Demetrius Wilson. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior transferred from Glendale (Ariz.) Community College, where he had 51 catches for 927 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Wilson was joined by receivers D’Arthur Cowan, Keon Hatcher and Eric Hawkins. Petrino expects the group to compliment an already-experienced unit led by Cobi Hamilton, who had 34 catches for 542 yards last season.

“I’m excited about our receiving corps,” Petrino said. “… We’ve got guys on campus we’re really fired up about. We did feel like losing all that production, between Jarius Wright and Joe Adams and (Childs), that was an area of emphasis and an area we really addressed.”

Offense has rarely been a problem for Petrino, and Arkansas has led the SEC in passing the last three seasons. In order for the Razorbacks, though, to move past Alabama and LSU in the SEC West, they were in need of some key defensive additions on Wednesday.

Petrino felt like the group, with three linebackers and four in the secondary, fit the bill — highlighted by cornerback Ray Buchanan Jr., son of the former Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders safety. Arkansas must replace Jerry Franklin, who led the team in tackles for four years, and linebacker/safety Jerico Nelson.

Petrino acknowledged concern about holding the class together after several staff changes, but he said the Razorbacks’ new coaches blended right in. Arkansas lost four coaches in the last few months, including former defensive coordinator Willy Robinson, offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, special teams coach John L. Smith and linebackers coach Reggie Johnson.

New defensive coordinator Paul Haynes was hired away from Ohio State in December and helped the team prepare for the Cotton Bowl. Haynes said he stepped right into the mix, assuring recruits that Arkansas’ defensive schemes weren’t undergoing radical changes.

“It was hit (the ground) running, just like practice was before the bowl game,” Haynes said. “We hit that thing full-speed, just like anything else.”

Other staff newcomers include Paul Petrino as offensive coordinator and Taver Johnson as linebackers coach.

“You know, when you lose some coaches, you always worry about the recruiting and how that’s going to affect it,” Bobby Petrino said. “But the transition was something I thought we handled really well.

“… Our new coaches went out and hit the ground hard, worked extremely hard to finish the class off, which I thought we did a very good job of.”

Briefs on all the SEC football recruiting hauls

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Tennessee is upset at Peters for switching to the Hogs

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Articles on SEC football recruiting results

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

Arkansas can learn from Vols’ mistake in football recruiting

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)

SEC football recruiting update

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Tagged Arkansas Razorbacks, SEC Football Recruiting | Edit | Comments (0)

Lane Kiffin has put off Judgement Day