Response to a response to a response

We've got a good discussion on the estate tax going, so I wanted to post a response to Dan's response to my response to his original post, and I wanted to do it in a new post to it wouldn't get buried.

First let me say that I know Dan doesn't hate rich people. I was trying to be tongue-in-cheek in a Kanye West kind of way. In actuality, I don't think Dan hates anybody, with the possible exception of Ann Coulter (but he wouldn't be alone in that).

Next, Dan asserts that money is the main thing in taxation discussion. I'm not so sure I agree with that. I think good tax policy and fairness as well as the impact of taxation on the general economy are very important. Money is important in the way it is spent by the government, and I think we both agree that spending has been pretty egregious for a long time.

Next, with all due respect to Dan, the comment that neither Bill Gates nor Warren Buffett opposes the estate tax seems to be a non sequitur. After all, Gates is in favor of spyware, but that doesn't make it right.

Dan says he doesn't care about the study cited. This is odd because, upon further reflection I think it might support the estate tax from his point of view. If the primary purpose of the estate tax is the redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor, this study would seem to indicate that this purpose is being achieved.

Next, I agree that taxation is applied to nearly all economic transactions. My concern is that we'll get to a point where taxation is being applied to non-economic transactions (i.e., dying).

And, Dan has an excellent point that putting tax money into a separate fund isn't workable. Much like the "social security trust fund" myth, all tax money is "fungible." So unless we could put the proceeds from all estate taxes into a super scholarship fund, my plan just wouldn't work. I hereby "take it back".

Dan is also right that we need to take a look at the current estate tax from a tax policy standpoint. My big objection to the current estate tax it that it is an attempt to shift the tax burden to fewer people -- and thus is not "fair."

In fact, I think it might be more fair to do away with the estate tax and institute some kind of inheritance tax (I read an article on this a few months ago, and if I could remember the source I would link it). In this plan, anyone who received inheritance income would be taxed according to their normal tax bracket.

The key difference between the estate tax and an inheritance tax is that with an estate tax, the tax owed is determined by the size of the estate when someone dies. The heirs are responsible for the entire tax bill. With an inheritance model, the heirs only pay taxes on the income that they receive from the estate.

And, if this were expanded to all estates (not just the richest), the rate could be lowered from 60% (or whatever the current level is), to the standard 0%-35%.

The bottom line is that class warfare shouldn't determine tax policy. Fairness and efficiency should.

tagged: death, tax, inheritance, fair, property rights, education, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, economy

YouSued

In yet another entry this YouTube Tuesday we learn from the Hollywood Reporter that YouTube has been sued by the the copyright holder of news footage from the 1992 LA Riots.

When I first started YouTube Tuesdays, I remarked that...

"I think it's about the coolest thing going on the web right now, which means it won't be long before some bastard lawyer with a DRM comes along a puts the kibosh on the whole thing."

Let's hope YouTube is able to fend off this lawsuit. Their defense will likely be that they merely provide the medium and that the content on their sites can be neither copied nor downloaded.

It would be a shame if YouTube is shut down. It's one of the last sources of original video content.

tagged: movie, YouTube, video, TV, consumer generated media, lawsuit, LA Riots, Hollywood Reporter

YouTube killed the video star

Incidentally, on this YouTube Tuesday, a couple of recent developments.

1. YouTube announced this week that it now serves more than 100 million video streams a day. There were 2.5 billion (with a "B") videos watched on YouTube last month and 65,000 videos are now uploaded to YouTube every day.
   
2. The Associated Press reported that the big four TV networks have experienced plummeting ratings. In fact, they recently experienced "their least-watched week in recorded history."

   CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox averaged 20.8 million viewers during the average prime-time minute last week, according to Nielsen Media Research. That sunk below the previous record, set during the last week of July in 2005.

I'm not really surprised. There are no original ideas on TV (how many freakin' CSIs and Laws & Orders do we need!)*. Meanwhile, there is tons of great creativity going on in the "Consumer Generated Media" universe (blogs included).


*Yes, I am aware that today's edition of YouTube Tuesday is from VH1, directly contradicting this statement. Meh, what can ya gonna do?

tagged: movie, YouTube, video, TV, consumer generated media, ratings, CSI, Law & Order

YouTube Tuesday: Breathe in the air

As I posted last week, the music world lost a creative genius with the death of Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett.

Although I obviously didn't know him personally, I suspect that it was a sort of sweet release for Barrett, fell into madness and depression in the late 1960s. Barrett was the Icarus of the British psychedelic scene. Some say he went too far with his experimentation with mind altering drugs. History would seem to support this.

His bandmates, though they couldn't get along with each other, universally loved him. This showed in their recordings over the years, including the magnum opus Dark Side of the Moon.

In this week's edition of YouTube Tuesday, Barrett's bandmates talk about his creative influence on their work.


tagged: movie, YouTube, video, music, Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon, culture

FWD: A puma by any other name

I received this email chain via my Supermodel Wife from CDH, a friend of ours who lives a mile or so away in northern O.P.

RE: Mountain lion in our neighborhood...

Or cougar, puma, whatever they're called in these parts. Maddie chased one out of the neighbor's yard over the weekend, and C. heard one last night (he thinks a small dog was on the losing end of an encounter). Both times have been around 11 pm each night. Keeps your eyes and ears open, and keep an eye on those critters of yours when they go out at night!

I just called OP Animal Control, and they have received several reported sightings, but [no] actual confirmation (by them, police, wild life & parks, etc.).

Family Friend K:

Good to know, but I think Herschel might be able to hold his own - Supermodel Wife can probably vouch for that too! He was talking loud enough to a giant possum a couple of weeks ago that I had to open the door and check out the commotion....

Supermodel Wife:

You're really serious about this? A mountain lion in town in OP??? Not a wildcat but a full fledged cougar?

They say pumas tend to stay away from dogs, so yeah, Herschel should be okay...

Family Friend CDH:

That's what C. described it as...about the same size as Maddie, rounded head, long tail, light tan color. Maddie started barking at it and it ran off. C. thought she was just barking at a dog, but he said the critter ran like a cat, not a dog.

I called OP Animal Control, and the guy said several people have called over the passed few weeks with cougar/puma sightings in Northern OP, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet. All the same, we keep a very close eye on Maddie when we let her out for her last tinkle of the night. She seemed to know something, other than our friendly neighborhood rabbits, was in the neighbor's yard.

So what's new with you? I meant to call you the other night just to chat, but I fell asleep (my Mexico vacation was relaxing but tiring at the same time - thanks to hot temperatures, high humidity, and a rooster named Raul).

tagged: Kansas, Overland Park, puma, cougar, mountain lion, wildlife

Celebrate

It's July 14, Bastille Day, and (at last check) there's an American leading the Tour de France -- again.

There are lots of other reasons to celebrate. It's not snowing in Kansas, college football kicks off in about a month and a half, I'm heading to the golf course this weekend and the beer is cold.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate all this good fortune that to throw a carnival. A blog carnival.

So join me, won't you? Head over to Blog Meridian and submit your favorite blog posts from this week. John B. hosted last week and did a helluva good job.

Be sure to get your submission in by Sunday afternoon, then check back Monday for the best blogs in the Sunflower State.

tagged: Kansas, blog, blogger, carnival, KGB

It's so humid...

Taking a cue from Tony today, we're trying to express how hot, humid and oppressive it is these days.

For one thing, it's too humid to think of a clever blog post. So this is the easy way out. Here goes...

• It's so humid kids are going into Crown Center Plaza fountain to dry off.
  
• It's so humid I just went outside for a drink of fresh air.
  
• It's so humid even the ducks at Loose Park are sweating.
  
• It's so humid the makers deodorants and antiperspirants have seen their stock prices skyrocket.
  
• It's so humid even Mark Mangino's butt crack said "Damn, it's humid!"
  
• It's so humid Salvadore Dali is now considered a realist, not a surrealist.

I know, they're all quite lame. Let's see you try to do better in this heat.

tagged: hot, humid, weather, Loose Park, ducks, Salvadore Dali, Mark Mangino

Dillard's clearance

After a few weeks of clearing away the debris from the parking garage, destruction crews started taking down Mission Center Mall in earnest today.

We should see pretty rapid progress now, and commuters along Shawnee Mission Parkway will have some pretty dramatic views.

The picture above is from the Johnson Drive side of what was formerly the Dillard's store on the west end of the mall.

For those of you who haven't been keeping track, the mall is being demolished to make room for the new East Gateway development which will feature a high-rise condo building, another high-rise hotel and plenty of street-level retail.

Here's a tighter shot.


tagged: Roeland Park, Kansas, City Council, Mission, mall, development, architecture, Dillard's

Conflict resolution

If World Cup Soccer teaches us anything, it's a better way to solve our problems.

Merci Monsieur Zidane!



tagged: Zidane, soccer, World Cup, head butt, humor, video, culture

Dan hates rich people

Dan and I had a pretty good discussion a few weeks ago regarding our differing views on the Death Tax.

Well, he's back on his soap box again. Dan hasn't changed his views (I wouldn't expect that from a political extremist like Dan). If anything, he is more hardened.

On the other hand, I have moderated my opinions somewhat after speaking with some very intelligent people whom I respect a great deal. (Of course, Dan's comments also had an effect, since I like and respect him as well.)

More on that in a sec. First I want to respond to a couple of Dan's points.

Dan said "Wealth may be earned, but real wealth is inherited"

This indicates to me that Dan is too young to have learned what real wealth is. Try watching It's A Wonderful Life a couple more times. More to Dan's point, however, Dan seems to think we're living in a time like the early 20th Century where Vanerbilts and Astors live off the dollars generated by accumulated fortunes.

To be sure, there are some superrich people out there. But unlike Dan's vision, most of the current day elite have earned their riches and actually are still working. They're more like Jay Gatsby than Tom Buchanaan. Think about Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, hell, even Ken Lay who built their fortunes on skill, talent and hard work (and in Lay's case, douchebaggery).

And the current superrich have a lower concentration of total wealth now [pdf] than they did in the early 20th century. In fact, contrary to what Dan seems to think, there hasn't really been an increase in wealth concentration since the mid-90s.

Dan said "It's not double taxation, etc."

I guess in theory this argument is true. But following Dan's logic, nothing should be sacred from taxation. And this is what worries me. Are we in a society like The Beatles imagined, where the taxman wants a cut of every little transaction you make? Am I going to eventually have to pay a "Taking a Dump" tax to help pay for sewage treatment? Come on...

Now, I mentioned earlier that I have moderated my view (that's what we moderates do). Don't get me wrong. I still believe that we all have the opportunity to start poor and end up well-to-do, even (dare I say it) rich.


It's not easy, it takes a long time and it certainly is more difficult at the bottom of the economic ladder than at the top. It's not popular to say it, but inequality can be a good thing. It provides an incentive to climb the ladder.

The important thing is to make sure the rungs on the ladder are solid. That means making sure there is access to the most important asset in climbing the economic ladder: Quality education and skills development.

The way to better your economic status is to acquire valuable skills. Flipping hamburgers, cleaning toilets and mowing lawns are not valuable skills. This is why an increasing the minimum wage is merely shooting at the flames. It won't be long before robots are performing these tasks.

All this is to say that I'm okay with stealing money from the rich when they die, as long as it isn't wasted on paying for enhanced cable television and cigarettes for the poor. Put all estate tax into funds for education, scholarships etc., and make access to those funds a competitive process.

tagged: death, tax, inheritance, fair, property rights, education, Astor, Vanderbilt, economy