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Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (7687)	1/28/2012 9:48:10 PM
From: Brumar89	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 85487

Why did the self-proclaimed party of compassion kill the DC Opportunity Scholarship program? As far as Buffet, he should know that the DC schools are VERY well-funded. I don't think he gives a damn. School Choice: One Student’s Chance for a Better Life Hannah Sternberg January 25, 2012 at 2:45 pm Joseph Kelley knew something was wrong when his son Rashawn flunked first grade. “I knew he knew his alphabet forward and backward, he knew how to count to 100 forward and backward,” Kelley said. He had taught Rashawn these things himself. Rashawn’s teachers were surprised to find out that he knew how to read; they hadn’t noticed. At the time, Rashawn was attending a public school in Washington, D.C. Kelley decided to sit in on his son’s classes to learn the teachers’ vocabulary and techniques so he could tutor Rashawn at home. Kelley was met with hostility from the teachers. “They tried to make me feel guilty,” he said. “They’d say, ‘What does he want? Why is he here?’” Rashawn’s teachers told Kelley that maybe his son would do better if he backed off. By the end of the year, Rashawn was six months behind his grade in reading comprehension. The school put Rashawn in a special-education class — not for any diagnosed learning disability, just to catch him up. By fifth grade in the public school system, Rashawn was three years behind in every subject. When Kelley found out the school wasn’t fulfilling the requirements to update his son’s individual education plan every year, he had a court order the school to provide Rashawn with a tutor. Kelley visited the public high school Rashawn would attend. Violence and intimidation were so bad that eight police officers patrolled the school every day, yet kids were still scared of getting jumped. Kelley had been bullied as a child, and was determined that his son would not have to face the same thing. That was when Kelley heard about the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), a need-based school choice program introduced in 2004 to provide children with scholarships to attend the private schools of their parents’ choice. Kelley calls the program a “blessing.” “God knows what I would have done without it,” he said. During a visit to Kelley’s house last week, Rashawn was coming home from his first day of classes at the University of the District of Columbia. After switching to a private school with the help of the OSP, Rashawn caught up to his grade level within two years. His father said teachers were welcoming and receptive to him attending his son’s classes. Rashawn graduated high school and is excited for the start of his college career. His eyes shine when he talks about one day running his own business. Now Kelley’s three daughters are attending private high school with the help of the scholarships. They all plan on going to college. Kelley said his father had only a third-grade education. He had insisted that his children finish high school so they could have better lives. Now, Kelley insists, his kids need a college degree to succeed. “Nothing has changed in the public schools in the last 12 years,” he said. He doesn’t understand why the public schools of the nation’s capital are so broken, or why the extremely popular scholarship program was almost shut down due to political pressure in 2010. He visited Congress and asked senators at that time whether they’d ever visited any of the high schools like the one Rashawn almost attended. None of them had. Thanks to the united efforts of parents and their supporters, the scholarship program was reauthorized, but like school choice programs everywhere, it still faces challenges from strong and connected political opponents. Joseph Kelley used the word “blessing” repeatedly to describe the program. If you saw him talk to his son about his first day at college, you’d know why. blog.heritage.org

To: koan who wrote (7687)	1/29/2012 12:42:10 AM
From: Little Joe	4 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 85487

"There is no god given reason why deferred interest or long term capital gains should be taxed at half our rate. You act like it was sent down by Moses." Sometimes you just say the most amazing things with such certainty that I wonder if you are trying to convince yourself. The fact is that there are valid economic reasons for a reduced or form that matter no tax on capital gains. This is why at various times in our history there have been laws in this country and others favoring capital gains. The creation of capital is what drives the economy. It only makes common sense that investment in business is inherently risky, so it makes sense to encourage that investment by favorable tax rates. I will say this the Obama campaign strategists are brilliant, I think this class warfare crap is starting to gain traction. lj

To: koan who wrote (7687)	1/30/2012 12:19:32 PM
From: Brumar89	1 Recommendation Respond to of 85487

Will Buffett Avoid the Buffett Rule? The sage of Omaha is already positioned to shield most of his rising wealth from such a tax. By JAMES FREEMAN Billionaire Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is once again thrilling the political class by volunteering other people to pay higher taxes. Long-time observers recall his opposition to former President George W. Bush's efforts to reduce the tax rate on dividends. Since Berkshire pays no dividends, Mr. Buffett had little at stake but enjoyed the opportunity to pose as if he were a rich guy eager to cough up more dough to Washington. In the current debate, President Obama is pushing the "Buffett Rule" to ensure that high-income earners pay higher tax rates. But even if it's enacted, don't expect the Buffett Rule to have much impact on Mr. Buffett. By an amazing coincidence, the sage of Omaha is already positioned to shield most of his rising wealth from such a tax. Political journalists who don't read the business press are the most likely to be duped by Mr. Buffett's pose as a public-spirited billionaire happy to pay more to support the government. He frequently suggests that tax hikes will have little impact on investment activity. In a New York Times op-ed last August, Mr. Buffett said, "I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone -- not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 -- shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off." But he seems to have concluded that a potential tax bill might have scared off some owners of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad when Berkshire was negotiating to buy it. According to a January 2010 Barron's story, Mr. Buffett "said that, while he's not enthusiastic about issuing more shares, the deal is too large to be all-cash and that he wants to give Burlington shareholders a tax-free option." In another case, it's not clear if Mr. Buffett was scared but he certainly appears to have been angry when Kraft Foods, partly owned by Berkshire, didn't pay as little in taxes as he wanted them to. In another Barron's story from May of 2010, the magazine reported that Mr. Buffett "groused about a tax bill of roughly $1 billion that Kraft incurred by selling its pizza business to Nestlé, the world's largest food concern, for $3.7 billion, to raise additional funds. 'Dumb' was Buffett's word of choice." This brings us to the Buffett Rule, which at its heart is a way to raise taxes on dividends and capital gains. Berkshire still doesn't pay a dividend, and as for capital gains taxes, well, Mr. Buffett has already made clear that he'll largely avoid them by transferring his fortune to the Gates Foundation and to charitable trusts controlled by his family. In fact, at the 2010 Berkshire annual shareholders meeting, according to Dow Jones Newswires, Mr. Buffett urged attendees to "follow my tax dodging example" and give away their wealth. Democrats in Washington may enjoy using Mr. Buffett as cover to raise taxes, just as long as they understand that he won't necessarily be paying them. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204661604577187414062083978.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTSecond