Category Archives: Cato Institute

Brantley criticizes Boozman’s views on Social Security (Social Security Series Part 2)

January 25, 2011 – 10:30 pm

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Social Security Series Part 2

Glenn Beck on Social Security with Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy, Cato Institute

Max Brantley on the Arkansas Times Blog on Sept 3, 2010 (“Boozman’s aim on Social Security,”) asserted, “John Boozman has indicated he believes Social Security is unsustainable and needs to be changed by opening the door to to privatization measures.” Then Brantley goes on to mock Boozman’s beliefs on this matter.

The facts however are very clear on the matter. Bill Frezza is a partner at Adams Capital Management, an early-stage venture capital firm. His article “Not in 25 years, Social Security is Bankrupt Now,” August 9, 2010, Real Clear Politics sets the record straight:  

This just in from the trustees that issue the annual report on the health of those two pillars of the modern entitlement state: Medicare and Social Security. For the first time in its history the Social Security program will pay out more money than it takes in. This watershed event will occur this year, to the tune of $41 Billion dollars. Under any rational accounting standards this makes the Social Security program bankrupt. And that’s right now, not in 25 years when the so-called Trust Fund becomes insolvent.

You see, most pension programs hold income producing assets in their Trust Funds. Stocks, bonds, real estate, oil and gas partnerships, that sort of thing. A fully funded pension program owns enough of those assets to pay its liabilities even if the company closes its doors and not a penny more of new money comes in from current employees.

Social Security plays by a different set of rules enshrined under the New Deal and Great Society programs. These are the same rules that landed Bernie Madoff in jail. Although the Social Security system has been regularly taking in billions for decades and socking it into its Trust Fund just like a normal pension plan, Congress has just as regularly been draining the money out for current spending. All of the money collected from every American’s paycheck throughout all of our careers is now gone. In its place are not stocks, bonds, real estate, and oil and gas partnership. In its place are IOUs from Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Charlie Rangel, and Barney Frank. $2.5 Trillion dollars worth of IOUs.

Now, imagine if a private company had a pension plan that its executives had completely drained wining and dining Congressmen in return for IOUs. What do you think would become of those executives when word got out that the only way they could make pension payments was to beg a flat-broke Congress for money?

Tar and feathers come to mind.

Max Brantley and other liberals will keep singing the same song because it brings them political points. However, the facts are out there for all to see. Just wait until those baby boomers double the number of retirees in our nation receiving Social Security in the next few years. Even the liberals may come around when that happens.

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Social Security | Comments (0)

Dumas:Republicans opposed Social Security in 1936 through courts(Social Security Series Part 1)

January 25, 2011 – 3:48 pm

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Social Security Series Part 1

Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the CATO institute, explains that the rate of return on social security will be much lower for todays youth.

Ernest Dumas in his article “Back to 1936,” (Ark Times, Dec 23, 2010), notes, “Now the Republican Party has retreated to 1936, when it fought the Social Security law, which required people to buy old-age and survivors insurance and pay for it with a payroll tax and taxed employers to pay for unemployment insurance.”

Ernest Dumas tries to compare the Republicans of 1936 who fought Social Security through the courts to the Republicans of 2010 who are trying to fight Obamacare through the courts. Over and over again Dumas has repeated in the last few years what a great program Social Security has been. I want to start a series today that looks at the history of Social Security and what the future holds for this program.

Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute shed some light on where we are now 75 years later with this great program that Dumas praises (“Social Security Deficits will soon be Permanent,” Aug 16, 2010):

When last we heard from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, he was proclaiming that there was no need to reform Social Security because the program “is on solid ground for decades to come.”

Well, apparently that’s true — if by “decades” Reid, D-Nev., meant “five years.”

Social Security’s trustees this month finally released their long-delayed report on the system’s finances. According to the trustees, who include President Barack Obama’s secretaries of Labor and Treasury, Social Security is actually running a cash-flow deficit today, spending more money on benefits than it takes in through taxes. Most of that deficit has been caused by the recent economic downturn and, hopefully, will be only temporary.

But regardless of how the economy performs in the next few years, the trustees warn that by 2015, just five years from now, Social Security will again start to run deficits — and this time they will be permanent. That’s a year sooner than predicted in last year’s report.

While, in theory, the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay benefits until 2037, the same as in last year’s report, that figure is misleading because the trust fund contains no actual assets. The government bonds it holds are simply a form of IOU, a measure of how much money the government owes the system, $2.6 trillion, according to the report.

Of course, no one is saying that the government will default on its obligations, but one might ask where the government will get the money to pay back that $2.6 trillion. It’s not as though the government has it laying around. To say that Social Security is fine because the Treasury will find a way to pay its debts is like saying you have plenty of money for your mortgage — as long as you don’t eat.

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Social Security | Comments (0)

Are thousands of children in USA dying in gun accidents?

January 10, 2011 – 4:13 am

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Ronald Reagan and others comment on “Gun Control” efforts

Series on Gun Control: Part 6

Max Brantley commented on Jan 8th (Arkansas Times Blog) on the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords getting shot and that led to his comments on the state of Arizona laws on guns: “As I said to a pro-carry lobbyist n the comment thread, the motivation of the shooter has no relevance to a fair question about open carry laws: Does widespread presence of openly carried weapons desensitize people to potential threats from people with guns when they turn up at a grocery store? If somebody strolls into the Kroger in Little Rock carrying a weapon, an alarm would be sounded. In Arizona, not so much. Those with concealed weapons have at least been through a background check.”

These comments by Brantley generated over 120 comments in response to this article.  Today is part 6 of my series on Gun Control.

During this series on gun control, I will be quoting from an article “Gun Control:Myths and Realities” by David Lampo of the Cato Institute.

1. Thousands of children die annually in gun accidents.
False. Gun accidents involving children are actually at record lows, although you wouldn’t know it from listening to the mainstream media. In 1997, the last year for which data are available, only 142 children under 15 years of age died in gun accidents, and the total number of gun-related deaths for this age group was 642. More children die each year in accidents involving bikes, space heaters or drownings. The often repeated claim that 12 children per day die from gun violence includes “children” up to 20 years of age, the great majority of whom are young adult males who die in gang-related violence.

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Today I am profiling the State lawmaker Justin Harris.

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About Justin Harris

Justin Harris is a small business owner of a faith based preschool, Growing God’s Kingdom. Justin, along with his wife Marsha, have created 33 jobs in the small rural city of West Fork, AR. Justin has been married to his lovely wife for the past 10 years. They have three handsome boys Ethan (8), Isaiah (6), and Caelan (5). Justin knows what it takes to persevere and fight hard, even when life can be very difficult.

Justin was born in Muskogee, OK, to Linda Harris and the late Michael Harris. He grew up in a Pastor’s home, where often times the needs of others came before their own. At the age of 15, Justin’s parents divorced, leaving his family torn apart. During his Senior Year at Siloam Springs High School, he was left to take care of himself. He was able to excel, working full time, became class president, and was able to be in the top twenty of his graduating class.

Justin later went on to the University of Arkansas. He maintained a high grade point average, but due to having to work full time and pay his own way, he had to temporarily quit. Justin later came back, after 15 years, and finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Human Environmental Science concentrating in Child Development and Families. He wanted to show his children that nothing in life is impossible, and God is able to finish what He starts. Justin believes we must do the same, finish what we start. During this time in life, of barely making ends meet, Justin remained grounded in his faith. He attended Living Faith Church in Fayetteville for 9 years. During this time, he met the love of his life, Marsha Frederick, at church and spoke at her University of Arkansas class. Four months later they married, and have been happily married for 10 years.

Justin and Marsha soon had the opportunity to direct a church preschool. They took the enrollment from 14 to the maximum of 61. After three years, they felt like God was calling them in a new direction and they opened up their home and created Growing God’s Kingdom, Inc. They converted their garage into a classroom and taught 16 children daily and had a total of three staff, the three including themselves. Justin and Marsha wanted to make a greater difference in Northwest Arkansas, and opened the current facility Growing God’s Kingdom. GGK has over 33 employees, and 150 children in attendance daily. . During this time, Justin has had the opportunity to be on an Advisory Board for Children and Families in Little Rock. Justin and Marsha were also awarded “Professionals of the Year Award” by the NWA Child Care Association.

Justin continued to see a need that wasn’t being filled. People were constantly needing help, but didn’t know how to go about getting it. It wasn’t financial help, but help for getting things done. It could be a parent needing help with insurance claims, knowing what to do in local, state, or federal government, or maybe needing to know the rights for their own children in public school or home based education. I spent time working for them and was able to get things done for them and make a difference in their lives.

Justin wanted to pursue politics at an early age. Running for Student Body President and carrying around a sign for Bush and Quayle were just a part of his activities. He got involved in local government by serving on the Planning Commission, where he soon became Vice Chairman. Justin wanted to make more of an effort and ran for West Fork City Council, where his term ends December 31, 2010. Justin also works on the Budget and Personnel Committee.

Justin decided to run for Arkansas State Representative of District 87, after much thought, prayer, and discussion with his family. Justin is ready to work hard for District 87 and the people of Arkansas. “I look forward to serving the entire district, and taking conservative values to Little Rock!”

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Gun Control, Ronald Reagan | Comments (0)

Correlation between gun control and murder rates?

January 8, 2011 – 1:02 am

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Series on Gun Control: Part 5

Video on Crime Rates in Switzerland

Both John Brummett and Max Brantley have made it clear that they support gun control. They really believe that we should follow the lead of many of the foreign countries that have more strict gun control laws. However, is there a correlation between gun control laws and murder rates?
This is the fifth in a series on Gun Control. During this series on gun control, I will be quoting from an article “Gun Control:Myths and Realities” by David Lampo of the Cato Institute.
6. Lower murder rates in foreign countries prove that gun control works.


False. This is one of the favorite arguments of gun control proponents, and yet the facts show that there is simply no correlation between gun control laws and murder or suicide rates across a wide spectrum of nations and cultures. In Israel and Switzerland, for example, a license to possess guns is available on demand to every law-abiding adult, and guns are easily obtainable in both nations. Both countries also allow widespread carrying of concealed firearms, and yet, admits Dr. Arthur Kellerman, one of the foremost medical advocates of gun control, Switzerland and Israel “have rates of homicide that are low despite rates of home firearm ownership that are at least as high as those in the United States.” A comparison of crime rates within Europe reveals no correlation between access to guns and crime.

_________________________________

Today I am profiling the State lawmaker David Branscum.

Branscum, age 50, is a 1977 graduate of Marshall High School and he earned his BA in Ag-Business from the University of Arkansas in 1982. He is President of Branscum and Harness Lumber, Inc. a hardwood sawmill business in Marshall. He is also owner/operator of Branscum Farms, a commercial cow/calf farm operation.

Branscum has served on the Searcy County School Board since 1997. His service has included three terms as Board President.

Branscum, and his wife of 27 years, Judith have 5 sons. The Branscums are members of the First Baptist Church in Marshall.


Address: P.O. Box 370
Marshall AR 72650		 undefined
Low Resolution
By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Gun Control | Comments (0)

Bill Clinton: Brady Bill’s waiting period saves lives

January 7, 2011 – 12:49 pm

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Series on Gun Control: Part 4

John Stossel on Gun Control (2003 clip)


Bill Clinton asserted, “The Brady Bill [is] a commonsense law that establishes a five-day waiting period and a background check that has already kept handguns out of the hands of some 60,000 felons, fugitives, and other criminals.”
However, what do the studies have to say about this assertion of President Clinton?
This is the fourth in a series on Gun Control. During this series on gun control, I will be quoting from an article “Gun Control:Myths and Realities” by David Lampo of the Cato Institute.
5. Waiting periods lower crime rates.

False. Numerous studies have been conducted on the effects of waiting periods, both before and after the federal Brady bill was passed in 1993. Those studies consistently show that there is no correlation between waiting periods and murder or robbery rates. Florida State University professor Gary Kleck analyzed data from every U.S. city with a population over 100,000 and found that waiting periods had no statistically significant effect. Even University of Maryland anti-gun researcher David McDowell found that “waiting periods have no influence on either gun homicides or gun suicides.”

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I am profiling State lawmaker John Burris today.

John Burris
By Arkansas Business Staff
11/9/2009
 
Change font size

John Burris, 24

State Representative

Harrison

Most politicians establish their careers and then run for office. John Burris has done it backward.

Burris, who grew up at Dirkman and earned a degree in history and political science at Arkansas Tech University, has put his career plans on hold in the year since he became the youngest person currently serving in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

“I was in a spot where I could do it, and that’s one of the reasons I decided to do it when I was young. I knew I wanted to do it, but I wasn’t sure I could win.The same November 2008 election added an even-year legislative session to the state’s Constitution, and that means “it’s very difficult to do anything full time and full faith while being gone four or five months a year.”

Burris, who described himself as “a loyal Republican,” has worked in real estate and as a substitute teacher. “First and foremost, I want to serve my district well. … As a legislator, you can’t change the world, but you can help people one at a time.”

Issues he wants to address during his tenure in the Legislature include education, protecting the rural way of life and “a little finer focus of our tax structure.”

“We’re not competing with Washington. We’re competing with Tennessee and Louisiana,” he said.

By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Bill Clinton, Gun Control | Comments (0)

Could Gun Control stop school shootings?

January 6, 2011 – 2:06 pm

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Series on Gun Control: Part 3

Glenn Beck on School Shootings video clip


Just yesterday another school shooting occurred. This one in Omaha, Nebraska:

An angry online posting from the 17-year-old boy who opened fire at a Nebraska high school, fatally wounding an assistant principal before later killing himself, offers some clues about why the son of a police detective turned violent a couple of months after transferring there.

As authorities sort out what may have led to Wednesday’s shooting, those who knew Robert Butler Jr. are struggling to reconcile his final actions with their memories of the fun, outgoing student who liked to make jokes and sometimes got into trouble for talking in class.

The gunman, who had attended Omaha’s Millard South High School for no more than two months, also wounded the principal before fleeing from the scene and fatally shooting himself in his car about a mile away.

“It’s just unreal,” said Robert Uribe, Butler’s stepgrandfather. Uribe said nothing appeared to be wrong when he last talked to Butler briefly a month ago. He said the polite young man he knew didn’t seem a likely gunman.

“I don’t know what would possess him to do that,” Uribe said.

Assistant Principal Vicki Kaspar, 58, died at Creighton University Medical Center Wednesday evening, hours after the shooting. Principal Curtis Case, 45, was in serious but stable condition.

The Jonesboro school massacre occurred on Tuesday, March 24, 1998, in Craighead County, Arkansas, near northwestern Jonesboro. Four female students and a teacher were killed, and nine other students and a teacher were wounded, by two armed middle school boys. Could have been avoided by strict gun control?
This is the third in a series on Gun Control. During this series on gun control, I will be quoting from an article “Gun Control:Myths and Realities” by David Lampo of the Cato Institute.

3. The tragedy of school shootings illustrate the deficiencies of current gun control laws.

False. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine violated close to 20 firearms laws in amassing their cache of weapons (not to mention the law against murder), so it seems rather dubious to argue that additional laws might have prevented this tragedy. The two shotguns and rifle used by Harris and Klebold were purchased by a girlfriend who would have passed a background check, and the TEC-9 handgun used by them was already illegal. The Jonesboro shooters stole the firearms from the grandfather of one of the shooters.

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Today I am profiling the State lawmaker Lori Benedict.

Don and Lori Benedict have been in the dairy farming
and or beef cattle business for over 30 years.
They were named the Fulton County Farm Family of the Year.
Lori Benedict was named Fulton County Business Woman of the Year. In addition to their farming business, they also operate the fixed base operations of the Ozark Regional Airport in Mountain Home.
Worked under the Direction of NASA utilizing their attack command center to direct 18 helicopters and 300 ground crew assisting in search and recovery of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
 

Appointed by Governor Mike Huckabee to the
Arkansas State Election Commission, Lori played
a key role in eliminating election fraud by
implementing voter ID regulations.
Lector and Member of St. Mary of the Mount Catholic Church in Horseshoe Bend, Lori supports and defends Christian ideals and values. Protector of State Rights, Lori believes the Federal Government
is imposing too much “big government” and power over
individual state rights.
Strong Supporter of “The Right to Keep and Bear Arms”, Lori is a Senior Ladies World Champion Cowboy Mounted Shooter.
 Defend our Constitution and hold all elected offficials to this same standard.
Active in supporting private property rights, Lori would sponsor legislation to help accomplish these goals. Her and her husband own a 1000 acre farm.
Concerned some of our school children are not allowed to pray in public or refer to God and religion in school.

Lori’s Dad, Joseph Klimala, WW II Veteran received a
Purple Heart and Bronze Star from his service at the Battle
of The Bulge.
By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Gun Control | Comments (0)

Bill Clinton: Gun Show Loophole must be closed

January 6, 2011 – 1:33 pm

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Series on Gun Control: Part 2

Glenn Beck’s guest mentions Mike Ross and 65 other Democrats upset at Gun Control bills sent up by White House


“I would close the gun show loophole…” President Clinton on NBC’s Tom Brokaw discusses gun control with the president, April 12, 2000)

This is the second in a series on Gun Control. During this series on gun control, I will be quoting from an article “Gun Control:Myths and Realities” by David Lampo of the Cato Institute.

2. Gun shows are responsible for a large number of firearms falling into the hands of criminals.

False. Contrary to President Clinton’s claims, there is no “gun show loophole.” All commercial arms dealers at gun shows must run background checks, and the only people exempt from them are the small number of non-commercial sellers. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at most 2 percent of guns used by criminals are purchased at gun shows, and most of those were purchased legally by people who passed background checks.

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Today I am profiling State lawmaker Dennis Altes.

Get to know Denny Altes

southside graduationRaised in Fort Smith, Arkansas, I grew up in a modest home. What we lacked in material things, we made up for with discipline and hard work. My parents, Bob and Lucy Altes, worked hard to start and maintain a local refuse hauling service from one old flatbed truck. That business, called Altes Sanitation, has grown strong and is now run by my son and mother.

Education & Military Service
denny altesI was a part of the very first class and the very first person to graduate from Southside High School here in Fort Smith and am a graduate of Arkansas Tech where I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. While I was attending Arkansas Tech in 1969, I was drafted into the Army and served in Korea as an MP Security Guard until I received an honorable discharge in 1971. Following my experiences from the Army, I am proud to be a member of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans and was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Small Business Owner
Denny’s mother and father started in the waste hauling business with just one truck. Denny founded Altes Waste Management in 1974. This successful trash hauling company began modestly with one truck and grew into a leading enterprise serving nine counties with two class I landfills, 17 trucks and over 150 employees. The company was sold in 1989 to what is now Waste Management of Western Arkansas.

In 1982, Altes started another new business called Resourect Recycling and began recycling over 1,000 tons per month. In 1991 the company became Fibresource and steadily expanded, buying a competing wastepaper business in Springdale and adding a new recycling facility in Johnson, Arkansas. In 1995 a new plant was started in Oklahoma City and the business grew to 12 truckloads (18 wheelers) per day and recycled 4000 tons per month. Altes expanded again in 2003 buying another recycling company in North Little Rock.

familyRedirecting his focus to serving the people of Arkansas, Altes sold Fibresource in 2007 to Orange County Container Group.

Family Man
My wife, of over 40 years, Susan and I have been blessed with two beautiful children; Bobby who is currently running the family business here in Fort Smith and Ana who lives and teaches school in Plano, Texas and two grandchildren, Cole and Caroline.

Political Background

political backgroundHaving served one term in the House as State Representative for District 63 prior to being elected to the Senate, I have valuable experience in the Legislature. If elected as your State Representative, I would bring continuity of leadership and institutional memory to the floor; this is a unique situation in the current house as the term limits are such now that current state representatives are short lived and hold little “on the floor” political experience.

I consider myself to be a humble servant meeting the people’s needs and sponsoring bills that I believe positively affect our community. I thank the Lord for where I am in my life today and pray that I may continue to serve Him by serving you as your State Representative.

senate bio
Click here to read the
official State Senate
Biography of Denny Altes.
[PDF]

I am proud to currently serve on the these committees:

  • Joint Performance Review
  • Arkansas Legislative Council
  • Joint Budget Committee
  • Joint Revenue & Tax
  • Senate Rules Committee
  • Senate Transportation & Technology Committee
  • Insurance & Commerce Committees
By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Bill Clinton, Gun Control | Comments (0)

Gun Control working?

January 5, 2011 – 3:55 pm

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John Stossel report “Myth: Gun Control Reduces Crime

Both John Brummett and Max Brantley have made it clear that they support gun control. I am going to start a series today debunking popular myths about guns and gun control.

During this series on gun control, I will be quoting from an article “Gun Control:Myths and Realities” by David Lampo of the Cato Institute.

4. States that allow registered citizens to carry concealed weapons have lower crime rates than those that don’t.

This happens to be true. The 31 states that have “shall issue” laws allowing private citizens to carry concealed weapons have, on average, a 24 percent lower violent crime rate, a 19 percent lower murder rate and a 39 percent lower robbery rate than states that forbid concealed weapons. In fact, the nine states with the lowest violent crime rates are all right-to-carry states. Remarkably, guns are used for self-defense more than 2 million times a year, three to five times the estimated number of violent crimes committed with guns.

Today I am profiling State Lawmaker Stephen Meeks. Here is his story:
I grew up in Springhill and graduated from Greenbrier High School in 1988. The summer following high school I joined the US Army Reserve and attended basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. 

The following spring my father’s job transferred us to Jacksonville, Florida, where I attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville.  I received an A.S. Degree in Telecommunication Engineering Technology and an A.A. Degree. Following college I worked for a number of years as computer technician.

I served  two terms as president of the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society, taught a continuing education class at Jacksonville University and as an adjunct astronomy professor for Fl. Community College. I also served as a subject matter expert at several Space Shuttle launches.

I eventually left the computer field for a chance to teach 3rd and then 4th grade at a Christian elementary school. In 2003 I started what was one of my more enjoyable positions as an operations manager for one of the top 100 movie theaters in the country. By the time I left in 2006, I was responsible for the hiring, training and scheduling of our over 100 employees.

In Sept. 2005 I married Jennifer my first and only wife. In July 2006 we returned to Arkansas and the following year, with help from my cousin, we built our home. In July 2009, we had our first child, Rebecca.
Family Photographs
A few photographs of my family to help you get to know me better.
Jennifer and I visiting relatives in Florida. At the pumpkin patch. Me, sister Kelly, and David
By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Gun Control | Comments (0)

Mark Pryor: We can balance budget in 10 or 20 yrs

January 4, 2011 – 2:06 am

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Mark Pryor said on Arkansas Week in Review which was broadcast on AETN on Dec 24th
“We are in a perpetual debt cycle and a perpetual spending cycle that is unsustainable….We will put together a system or a formula where we will get our debt under control. We will get this ship turned around. We won’t do it overnight, but we get it turned around and in the next 10 or 20 years we will get back to a balanced budget.” 

Liberals do not want you to know this secret: The budget would be balanced in 2016 if the current levels of spending were frozen, and the budget would be balanced in 2017 if a growth of 1% in federal spending was allowed.

Pryor and other liberals do not want to make the hard choices concerning the spending cuts that need to be made. Privatizing Social Security would have to be back on the table for instance.
Dan Mitchell from the Cato Institute elaborates:
Our fiscal policy goal should be smaller government, but here’s a video for folks who think that balancing the budget should be the main objective.

The main message is that restraining the growth of government is the right way to get rid of red ink, so there is no conflict between advocates of limited government and supporters of fiscal balance.

More specifically, the video shows that it is possible to quickly balance the budget while also making all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent and protecting taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax. All these good things can happen if politicians simply limit annual spending growth to 2 percent each year. And they’ll happen even faster if spending grows at an even slower rate.

This debunks the statist argument that there is no choice but to raise taxes.

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I am profiling State Lawmaker Nate Bell today.

Married to
Phyllis Reinhard Bell
Political Views:
Conservative
Religious Views:
Christ follower
Favorite Quotations:
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt.”
~Cicero 63 BC 

He who thinks he knows it all proves how little he knows.
Anonymous

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” ….
John Stuart Mill.

* You cannot help the poor, by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong.
* You cannot bring about prosperity, by discouraging thrift.
* You cannot lift the wage earner up, by pulling the wage payer down.
* You cannot further the brotherhood of man, by inciting class hatred.
* You cannot build character and courage, by taking away men’s initiative and independence.
* You cannot help men permanently, by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.
-found in an essay about Abraham Lincoln

-Anything worth doing is worth catching hell for.
Earl Warren

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

‘Here’s my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.’

‘The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’

‘The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.’

‘Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. Was too strong.’

‘I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.’

‘The taxpayer: That’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.’

‘Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.’

‘The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.’

‘It has been said that politics is the world’s second oldest profession. I’ve come to believe that it bears a striking resemblance to the first’
Ronald Reagan

About Me:
Poultry Farmer and small businessperson from Mena who wants to continue my service to the community by representing District 22 in the Arkansas legislature.
Gender:
Male
Click on people’s faces in the photo to tag them.
By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Taxes | Comments (0)

Dumas:Lowering Capital Gains Tax Bad Idea

January 3, 2011 – 5:16 am

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This video clip gives 6 reasons why the Capital Gains Tax should be abolished

Ernest Dumas in his article “Tax work not wealth,” (Arkansas Times, Nov 25, 2010) asserts, “The (capital gains) tax rate was raised in 1976 under President Gerald Ford and economic growth accelerated. President Jimmy Carter cut the top rate from 39 percent to 28 percent in 1978 and economic growth slowed. President Reagan’s sweeping tax cuts in 1981 lowered the top capital gains rate again to 20 percent, which was followed by the deepest recession since the 1930s. Needing to rein in the growing deficit, Reagan restored the 28 percent rate on capital gains in the tax reform act of 1986 and the economy and hiring sharply expanded over the next two years.”

Sounds like disaster occurred after Bush lowered the capital gains tax. Let’s look at the facts.

I am responding to these liberal assertions with a portion from an article published January 29, 2007 called, “Ten Myths About the Bush Tax Cuts” by Brian Riedl. Riedl is the Grover Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs at the Heritage Foundation and Riedl’s budget research has been featured in front-page stories and editorials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.

Myth #4: Capital gains tax cuts do not pay for themselves.
Fact: Capital gains tax revenues doubled following the 2003 tax cut.

As previously stated, whether a tax cut pays for itself depends on how much people alter their behavior in response to the policy. Investors have been shown to be the most sensitive to tax policy, because capital gains tax cuts encourage enough new investment to more than offset the lower tax rate.

In 2003, capital gains tax rates were reduced from 20 percent and 10 percent (depending on income) to 15 percent and 5 percent. Rather than expand by 36 percent from the current $50 billion level to $68 billion in 2006 as the CBO projected before the tax cut, capital gains revenues more than doubled to $103 billion. Past capital gains tax cuts have shown similar results.

By encouraging investment, lower capital gains taxes increase funding for the technologies, businesses, ideas, and projects that make workers and the economy more productive. Such investment is vital for long-term economic growth.

Because investors are tax-sensitive, high capital gains tax rates are not only bad economic policy, but also bad budget policy.

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I have been profiling State Lawmakers and today is David Meeks. [16680_low.jpg]

About David Meeks

David has a rich Arkansas heritage. He is proud of the fact his mom, grandfather, and great grandmother were all born right here in Arkansas. David himself grew up near Springhill and attended school in Greenbrier. During his junior year in high school, his dad got a job which moved them to Florida. Even though he moved away, he never forgot his Arkansas upbringing and always considered Greenbrier to be his hometown.

Shortly after graduation from high school in 1990, David joined the Army and for the next 5 years proudly served his country. He spent a year in South Korea in 1991. After the year-long deployment in South Korea, he went to Ft. Drum, NY. During his time at Ft. Drum, NY, David took part in the Hurricane Andrew, Somalia, and Haiti Humanitarian Relief efforts.

After David received an honorable discharge from the Army in 1995, he attended college where he earned a Bachelor�s degree in Pastoral Ministries. While attending college, he taught and mentored children which is something he continues to do to this day.

After college, David took a position as an associate pastor and then worked for an inner-city charter school in Jacksonville, FL. During his time at the school, he worked with middle school children to overcome a myriad of problems and become successful high school students.

In 2003, David took a job working as a Customer Service agent with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. It was there he got an insight to the problems that our healthcare industry faced. Because of his hard work and leadership skills, David was promoted to work as a project manger. As a project manager, he was able to help improve business processes saving the company time and money.

Even during this time away from Arkansas, David would come back and visit often with his grandparents and relatives who lived in Faulkner County.

He eventually had the opportunity to return to Arkansas in 2008. It was a great decision as shortly after he moved back, he met his future wife, Naomi. They were married at Bible Baptist Church on February 14th, 2009. They currently reside in Conway and attend Bible Baptist Church. They are both active in the Children�s ministry.

CONSERVATIVE VALUES. CONSERVATIVE VISION.

The Better Arkansas Plan

1) Create Jobs by Cutting Taxes

2) Curb Spending and Government Growth

3) Protect States Rights

For more details and to see where David stands on the issues please visit the issues page.

Endorsements:

  • Arkansas Right to Life
  • NRA
  • Police Benevolent Association
  • State Senator Gilbert Baker
  • Dr Chuck Harding, Fmr Deputy Commander for Diplomatic Security Service, US State Department
    • By Everette Hatcher III | Also posted in Taxes | Comments (0)