Category Archives: Uncategorized

(Community Matters) If you haven’t read this WSJ article on Obama’s tax plan, you should. here

Written by Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee, economic policy director and senior economic adviser to Obama, respectively, they discuss tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 and a roll back of tax rates for those making more than $250,000 BUT at no higher capital gains or ordinary income rates than those of the 1990s. As well, there are tax cuts for small businesses.

Compare and contrast to extended tax cuts in McCain’s plans for the very wealthiest Americans and corporations, tax cuts which further enlarge the national deficit and do nothing to relieve the burden on middle income families.

(Community Matters) Regrettably, Nangini was found floating in the pond this morning, not alive. I fished her out. No obvious signs of injury. No idea what caused her death. We had Steven’s cousins and their three young children over last night for a swimming and pizza party. We looked for her and couldn’t find her. Hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. bummed.

(Community Matters) I’m so with Pelosi on this one. Lieberman left the party, he doesn’t even need to be kicked out. As for chairing the Senate committee, we need +2 then the alliance should be completely done.

(Community Matters) Today’s Ben Sargent cartoon is eery, anyhow . .

Mikhail Gorbachev argues that Russia’s invasion of Georgia is the fault of Georgia for upsetting autonomy and mounting an unprovoked military attack against the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.

Asmus & Holbrooke argue that Georgia was responding to repeated attacks from separatists funded and controlled by the Kremlin.

Bush is sending aid to Georgia and demanding withdraw of Russian troops. Does the pipeline constitute our national interest or is it European interests?

(Community Matters) So, no surprise I am against windfall profits taxes. Nevertheless, I am not a defender of oil & gas companies. I’ve heard the rhetoric that the oil companies pay an extraordinary amount of taxes. After reading this morning’s letter to the editor citing that Exxon Mobil paid as much as the bottom half of all Americans in income taxes last year, I had to check out the numbers.

So what I learned reviewing their 2007 annual report: their financial statements report $30B in income tax expense. And, if I’m reading the cash flow statement correctly, I only show $124 million deferred and in credits. Thus, it would appear Exxon did in fact pay 43% of its net earnings in income taxes (7% of $403B in revenues). Expenses included $1.5B for exploration and $12B in depreciation and depletion (the formulas for depletion are another form of questionable tax break frankly).

Also during the year, Exxon Mobil spent $15B investing in plant, property & equipment, paid $8B in dividends to shareholders and $33B buying back its own stock (effectively another dividend to shareholders). They ended the year with $34B in cash.

Tax credits and special allowances: I don’t know enough about these. Yet intuitively it pisses me off that while oil was selling for $60/barrel, Congress passed tax credits and tax breaks totaling $1.6B (July ’05 Bloomberg here) including waiving certain royalties for deep water holes. When Democrats tried to rescind oil company tax breaks & redirect these incentives to alternative energy earlier this year, Republicans blocked the legislation and Bush threatened a veto. Even though I oppose a windfall profits tax, the GOP and O&G interests might see it as a not-surprising populist response to lavish government treatment over the years & its insidious opposition to green house gas consciousness.

(Community Matters) I hadn’t heard of Senator Byrd’s new book, Letter to a New President: Common Sense Lessons for our Next President until reading this excellent blog posting this morning.

(Community Matters) Gotta agree with Convio’s Gene Austin who, writing as Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Education Chair, urges support for a slight tax increase for AISD to reward teachers and pay for skyrocketing expenses such as fuel and transportation. here

Yesterday, Dr. Forgoine noted that 1) AISD tax assessments were the lowest in Central Texas and 2) every cent of the average $240.00 -ish increase in school taxes this last year was captured entirely by the state, leaving AISD not a dime for escalating costs or teacher pay raises.

(Community Matters) At a fundraising event in Nantucket tonight, former VA Gov. Mark Warner announced he’ll be the keynote speaker at this month’s Democratic Convention.

My friend who attended the event even suggesting he’s the perfect 2016 presidential candidate. Another friend who’s commented on this posting agrees.

(Community Matters) Attended a lunch briefing during by Dr. Pat Forgoine, AISD Superintendent on How to Scale Academic Performance. We reviewed the success of an intensive initiative to improve student performance at Pecan Elementary – from a poor performing elementary school to a recognized school in just three years. Marie (the principal, apologies b/c I arrived a tad late and never caught her last name) described the metrics, frequent student assessment and team put in place. Pat recognized Marie’s talents and promoted her to Executive Principal so she can help principals at 6 other elementary schools similarly achieve. Excellent story and smart of Pat to systemitize this success. We also discussed the recently implemented merit compensation plan which distributed over $1,000,000 in performance bonuses this last school year. The session sponsored by Applied Materials and the KDK-Harman Foundation, both organizations important supporters of Pecan Elementary.

(Community Matters) $2million raised this weekend at the Equality California event in LA, including $500k from the Service Employees International Union, $250k from Teachers and $25k from AT&T. These monies to help fight the anti-gay marriage referendum.

(Community Matters) Hard to imagine Putin’s limits on Russia’s ambitions as a returning superpower. Aside from the world’s third largest army and second largest nuclear arsenal, he controls Europe’s access to natural gas and much of its oil. Flexing the bear’s muscle while all eyes on China – as was the person of our president playing a bit of a clown – doesn’t appear coincidental. Comparisons to German pride & nationalist fever after WWI troubling.

(Community Matters) This AAS story here sounds a lot like what happened to an Asian friend who was sitting on the hood of a car across the street from the Hancock HEB parking lot (finishing a conversation while leaving a party), about mid last semester. A masked man approached & robbed her and another friend.