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02/03/2012 - 10:08 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
Conservatives are up in arms over the fact that only
approximately one half of the population pays income taxes. I notice how
this has become a mantra of Republicans. It is a mantra of alienation rather
than of building support.
This is a well intended distortion of the truth. It is designed to make us angry over the fact that a huge number of Americans do not contribute to the government pie. But it is a distortion. Everyone pays income taxes, even if it is not their own. Instead, they should be angry over the way we get that revenue. The income of businesses is generally taxed heavily (on average,
the second highest in the industrialized world) and this is a fixed cost of
doing business. Like rent, insurance, phone service and other necessary
elements of a business, income taxes are a fixed cost of running
companies. Like all these other items, businesses simply add the costs to
the products or services we buy. Therefore, everyone pays income taxes... |
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01/28/2012 - 6:19 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
The media has been up in
arms recently over the move by many concerned Americans to try and require
improved voter ID requirements in order to fulfill one of the most sacred
aspects of government. It is simply
unfair to have elections stolen by ghosts (AKA “dead people) and gangsters (AKA
“community organizers). The United
States government has, for years, put a premium on the act of voting. The
idea has become, the more people voting, the better. Are you getting your
license renewed? Apply for a voters registration! Are you
applying for Food Stamps? Go ahead and register to
vote! This idea, however, goes completely against the grain of trying to
maintain a responsible government. Our Founding Fathers believed in the idea
of "quality of vote" versus "quantity of vote," which is
the mantra we seem to live under today.
If the left is incensed over voter ID, imagine how they would react to
voter integrity? If we fought for voter integrity, ID might be an easy “given.”
<... [Read More] |
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01/22/2012 - 6:48 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
ABC’s popular reality show, “What Would You Do?” (with
John Quinones) took a jab this week at GOP Presidential candidate Newt
Gingrich. This came just a couple of days after the network’s interview
with Gingrich’s ex-wife, which included a claim that the former House Speaker
wanted an “open marriage.” The “What Would You Do?” episode didn’t take a cheap
shot at Gingrich’s personal life, but instead attempted, in this writer’s
opinion, to embarrass the candidate when it comes to a policy that the
candidate holds dear and seems to resonate well with conservative audiences.
If you have watched Speaker Gingrich for long, you know about his
views regarding breaking the cycle of poverty and instilling an excellent work
ethic in young people. He says things such as “we should shut down the
public janitorial unions around the country that are busting the budgets of
schools and replace them with students who would work... |
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01/13/2012 - 11:50 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
Let me preface to say
that in no way, shape, or form am I endorsing Ron Paul. However, there is a
phenomenon going on in the mainstream media where they watch the Texas
Congressman, see his rise, and they are clueless as to why it is happening. The
reason for his growing popularity is obvious, in my opinion.
In 2008 Ron Paul was
something of a laughing stock. Supporters of him would immediately go
into a lengthy defense of their position which would include a case for
their own mental health. In 2012, people are beginning to take Ron Paul
seriously. Pundits and journalists are scratching their heads in
amazement, but the reason for Paul’s rise is simple, regardless if you believe
in his philosophy, he is, without a doubt, the “genuine article.” When
you look at the Texas Republican Congressman’s positions — and record — there
is virtually complete congruity. Unfortunately, many of those
positions stand way outside of the mainstream. The best of examples of... |
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10/04/2011 - 5:17 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
Recently I had coffee with a friend of mine and we discussed the economy. This particular associate has some years on me and we both agreed this is the worse economy that either of us had ever witnessed. However, as we concurred, we were also both surprised by this reality, because we had witnessed terrible economies. I remember as a high school student when Jimmy Carter was president, standing in a line that went completely around a building to apply for only two cashier jobs that were available. I also remember gas rationing and all the other policies that made the 70s a very challenging decade in US economic history. However, I also remember that there were many in the work force at the time
that actually lived through and remembered the Great Depression. My dad
told me that, when he was a boy, he use to carry his shoes to school so they
would not get worn out too quickly. “Even in the winter” I would ask (he grew
up in Illinois)? “Yep, even in the winter, a... |
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08/11/2011 - 5:11 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
The late Tim Russert, the much beloved political and news broadcaster, was often described as a genius for developing the simple idea of "Red state" versus "Blue state" in summing up the results of elections in general and Presidential elections in particular. I think he had the best of intentions -- develop a simple way to explain election results through a clearly defined color scheme. However, the result has been that fewer American than ever understand whycertain geographic areas vote in one way while you will find completely different results elsewhere. A closer examination shows that, generally speaking, it is not "red state versus blue state" as much as rural values (Red states) versus urban (Blue states). With rare exception,
Blue States have a huge portion of its population represented by urban
areas. These urban areas swing final election results in a significant
matter. They vote "Blue" or Democrat. Interestingly, I
never... |
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08/08/2011 - 6:39 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
American.com, the Journal of the American Enterprise Institute has noted a recent effort to end one of the most important parts of the US Senate's abilities to protect the minority from a majority that is quick to spend more in order to garner votes. This type of spending adds to a $14 trillion debt that is booming out of control and it takes away the freedom of individuals to control their own dollars. Furthermore, this same Senate passes bills that add more regulations and laws that only further hampers individual freedoms. The filibuster is an important tool in protecting the minority from the majority. The Journal notes,
"The usual 'coalition' (another dead giveaway term) of labor and
Left-activist groups has organized around the banner 'Fix The Senate Now' to advocate
changing the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold that currently allows the
minority party... |
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08/03/2011 - 6:20 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
Obamacare: the mere idea of a bill that would move1/6th of the economy under government control has brought fear among businesses around the nation. Since Barack Obama's ascendancy and his jamming of his healthcare proposal through Congress, the US has experienced the longest period of near double digit unemployment since the Great Depression. In fact, his job record makes Jimmy Carter look like a president of accomplishment. The reason for the drop of jobs being linked to government healthcare is simple. This bill is already putting a financial drain on businesses in new taxes and in a dramatic increase in the cost of their health insurance programs. Furthermore, the uncertainties that come from the bill makes companies reluctant to hire employees because of the potential reach in regulations and further taxes that the bill might have on the economy. The National
Center for Policy Analysis, citing resear... |
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08/01/2011 - 6:00 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
On a recent Price of Business show I interviewed an interesting guest who provided some profound insights on the massive loss of jobs we are experiencing in this country. The US has had the longest period of near double digit unemployment since the Great Depression. With more than 14 million Americans unemployed, people read horrific news stories about more jobs being exported to other parts of the world. Gary Young, President of
a company called Avela (http://Avela.com), works with medium to large sized companies
interested in doing business with the Chinese. Instead of a sense of
guilt, like many in government and the media would expect him to feel, he
believes he is helping fellow citizens pursue the American Dream.
Unfortunately, they are finding it in the largest Communist country in the
world. A country that, in spite of its to... |
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07/31/2011 - 6:43 a.m. CST -- by Kevin Price
People are making comparisons between the current debt crisis – in which the US is going to tell the world it will no longer be paying its bills – with the ones in 1995 and 1996, in which then President Bill Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich were involved in a stalemate over the budget. In the earlier cases we had a scenario in which the federal government had a forced “shutdown” in which all but “essential” government programs were brought to a temporary halt. It was bad PR for both sides, but had little long term impact on the ability of the government to conduct its business. That is NOT the case in 2011. Early this year Speaker Boehner and
his Republican majority in Congress had their opportunity. The 112th Congress, which the GOP majority was propelled to
power because of untold numbers of Tea Party activists, was only able to obtain
$80 billion in cuts in the most recent budget. In the opinion of this writer,
the Republicans who voted for ... |