WSJ « POWIP

1Nov/096

And they came in…Golf Carts ?

More evidence of the Brilliance! and Judgement! of the Obama administration.Â From the Wall Street Journal comes the report of a boom in the golf cart market owing to a generous tax credit being given for their purchase:

The golf-cart boom has followed an IRS ruling that golf carts qualify for the electric-car credit as long as they are also road worthy. These qualifying golf carts are essentially the same as normal golf carts save for adding some safety features, such as side and rearview mirrors and three-point seat belts. They typically can go 15 to 25 miles per hour.
[snip]
The IRS has also ruled that thereâ€™s no limit to how many electric cars an individual can buy, so some enterprising profiteers are stocking up on multiple carts while the federal credit lasts, in order to resell them at a profit later. We should note that some states, such as Oklahoma, have caught on to the giveaway and are debating whether to cancel or limit their state credits. But in Congress theyâ€™re still on the driving range.

This golf-cart fiasco perfectly illustrates tax policy in the age of Obama, when politicians dole out credits and loopholes for everything from plug-in cars to fuel efficient appliances, home insulation and vitamins. Democrats then insist that to pay for these absurdities they have no choice but to raise tax rates on other thingsâ€”like work and investmentâ€”that arenâ€™t politically in vogue. If this keeps up, itâ€™ll soon make more sense to retire and play golf than work for living.

[emphasis-ed.]

The best modern comedy writers couldn't make up stuff like this; it's absurdity is like something from Monty Python.Â Read the whole thing, and then you too may decide to go into the golf cart business.

(H/T the Daily Capitalist)

Rocketman

Tagged as: Crazy Tax Policies, Obama, WSJ 6 Comments

29Oct/0914

Hope-n-Change futures are down across the board

When asked how all that hope-n-change is working out, the answers that Americans are giving should give Mr. Obama and Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill cause for concern.Â In fact according to the latest WSJ/NBC poll, for the first time in the Obama presidency, a majority of Americans say the US is headed down the wrong track. The wrong track/right track split is 52/36, and the same poll indicates that an overwhelming majority of 80 % of the public is at least somewhat dissatisfied with the state of the economy.

Another poll, conducted by Gallup/USA Today, which compares fundamental attitude and issue questions asked a year ago to the same asked recently, clearly shows erosion of both support and confidence in the President.Â For example, in November 2008 the question of, "Will the country be better of 3 to 4 years from now", the split was 65/25 (better/worse), but the same question recently split 58/37 (better/worse).Â When asked about Obama's policy agenda, in November 2008 the responses split 43/45 (Liberal/Moderate) while recently the split was 54/34 (Liberal/Moderate).Â These are just a couple of highlights of the questions and I encourage you to check out the interactive data for the suprising shifts in the publics attitudes, especially the priorities and the policy expectations.Â But based on the results it's becoming clearer that the public perception of Obama 1 year ago is vastly different from the President the public has come to know.Â In fact, to use the formula of the President himself, the public thinking is, "This is not the Obama we thought we elected."

And of course, what would a poll results post be without citing the Rasmussen daily Presidential tracking poll.Â Overall his approval/disapproval is at 48/52; but the Presidential approval index, at -11 today, has been negative since the beginning of the summer and shows no outward sign of reversing.

Â I'll bet if he announced tomorrow that he was scrapping the public option and concentrating on a truly bi-partisan Health reform bill that focused on curtailing medicare fraud, tort reform, and did away with the restrictions on insurance companies working across state lines Mr. Baucus could write a bill that would pass the Senate in a week.Â If he did this, sent McChrystal his requested reinforcements, and took a strong stance with Iran, the Presidents numbers would probably increase by 15 points in what seemed like overnight!Â I hope that he has the good sense to realize what's good for the country and his popularity, and that he has the will to make it so!