State Governments To Share the ‘Death Tax’ Loot If Feds Go Over Fiscal Cliff

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Falling off the “fiscal cliff” is a bad thing, right? Not necessarily for some state governments that could begin collecting more in estate taxes on wealth left to heirs if the United States goes over the “cliff,” allowing sharp tax increases and federal spending cuts to take effect in January.

In an example of federal and state tax law interaction that gets little notice on Capitol Hill, 30 states next year could collect $3 billion more in estate taxes if Congress and President Barack Obama do not act soon, estimated the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.

The reason? The federal estate tax would return with a vengeance and so would a federal credit system that shares a portion of it with the 30 states. They had been getting their cut of this tax revenue stream until the early 2000s. That was when the credit system for payment of state estate tax went away due to tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush.

With the return of the credit system next year as part of the “cliff,” states such as Florida, Colorado and Texas — which have not collected estate tax since 2004 — could resume doing so. California Gov. Jerry Brown has already begun to add the anticipated estate tax revenue into his plans, including $45 million of it in his 2012-2013 revised budget.

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America Has a Brand-New Benedict Arnold

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He single-handedly delivered the swing vote to approve Obamacare and perhaps even crushed the American health system that has been the envy of the world.

WND has selected U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. for its first-ever Benedict Arnold Award.

“There are lots of bad guys out there who would qualify as ‘Villain of the Year,’ but precious few candidates for the ‘Benedict Arnold Award,’” explained WND Vice President and Managing Editor David Kupelian. “Benedict Arnold, after all, was a good guy; he was an American general in the Revolutionary War who fought valiantly on behalf of the Continental Army – that is, until, for reasons yet unknown, he defected to the British side and betrayed the cause he had formerly served.”

Kupelian added, “That pretty much describes Justice Roberts, who gained the enthusiastic support of conservatives and other Constitution-lovers by virtue of his earlier rulings and judicial temperament, and yet betrayed that trust in a devastating way. And we still don’t know why he did it.”

On June 28, 2012, Roberts joined the left of the Court in a dramatic 5-4 decision to uphold President Obama’s signature legislation. The Court ruled that Obamacare’s individual mandate is not constitutional under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, but is reasonably considered a tax valid under Congress’ authority to “lay and collect taxes.”

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Social Security Ran $47.8B Deficit in FY 2012; Disabled Workers Hit New Record in December: 8,827,795

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(CNSNews.com) – The Social Security program ran a $47.8 billion deficit in fiscal 2012 as the program brought in $725.429 billion in cash and paid $773.247 for benefits and overhead expenses, according to official data published by Social Security Administration.

The Social Security Administration also released new data revealing that the number of workers collecting disability benefits hit a record 8,827,795 in December–up from 8,805,353 in November.

The overall number of Social Security program beneficiaries—including retired workers, dependent family members and survivors and disabled workers and their dependent family members—also hit a record in December, climbing from 56,658,978 in November to 56,758,185 in December.

In 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was an average of 112.556 million full-time workers in the United States, of whom 17.806 million worked full-time for local, state or federal government. That left an average of only 94.750 million full-time private sector workers in the country.

That means that for every 1.67 Americans who worked full-time in the private sector in 2011, there is now 1 person collecting benefits from the Social Security administration.

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As Texas Attracts California Companies, Will Texas be Californicated?

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Years ago, road signs at the border proclaimed: “Welcome to Oregon, Now Go Home” and: “Don’t Californicate Oregon,” met California motorists as they crossed into Oregon. Those signs are long gone as the process of transforming Oregon into a liberal blue state, have been completed.

California’s Apple Computer recently announced that expanding their Texas presence will make them central Texas’s largest employer.

Other large California corporations say they are transferring all or part of their operations out of the once formerly golden state. California has been getting deluged with television ads from other states, particularly Texas, who invite them to set up shop in their business friendly environments.

Apple, Campbell Soup, Comcast, Chevron Oil, Google and countless others are just the public tip of the iceberg, as California is engulfed in an economic wildfire burning up its private sector with record high taxes and miles of government red tape.

But will Texas and other business friendly “red states” soon regret what they wished for as they woo California business to their fold?

California’s recessions of the 70’s-80’s saw an outflow of residents seeking jobs and more reasonable living conditions in neighboring states. These new residents established themselves and invited extended families and friends to join them.

Soon these new residents started to outnumber the native Oregonians/Washingtonians and Nevadans. These former “red or red leaning states” with a rural flavor, started to see a distinct transformation of demographics, especially in their larger cities and urban areas. Today these states are reliable blue, or blue leaning states, supplying Washington DC, with an unending stream of liberal politicians who impose their values on the rest of America.

Google, another California company that has had Al Gore as one their senior directors, is a huge consumer of electric energy. Ironically/hypocritically, Google been quietly shifting operations to more energy friendly states/countries; translated: Fossil fueled energy states. Recently Google announced it especially loved Irelands cool rainy climate, which they claim make it a more energy efficient location. Ireland’s energy sector is fueled mainly with fossil fuel.

Last month, George Lucas announced he had sold his Lucas Film operation to Disney for a whopping 4 billion. Lucas had finally given up his decade’s long/multi million dollar battle with environmental zealots of Marin County California to expand his facilities. Eventually these hundreds of jobs will be transferred out of Marin to friendlier business climates. California’s film industry is already producing many of its films out of state where they are being wooed w/large tax credits.

California’s new main export seems to be companies and jobs that it once used to attract like a magnet. But will this export of California prove detrimental to the very business friendly states that are attracting them?
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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

New York Newspaper Faces Backlash After Publishing Map of Gun Permit Holders

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A local New York newspaper is drawing the ire of its readers after publishing an interactive map that shows the names and addresses of thousands of residents who have handgun permits.

The online map was published by The Journal News along with an article under the headline: “The gun owner next door: What you don’t know about the weapons in your neighborhood.”

The newspaper obtained, and then published, the names and addresses of pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The article, in explaining the decision to publish the information, pointed to the school massacre in nearby Newtown, Conn., and the concerns of some residents about which of their neighbors might have firearms.

But readers swiftly condemned the move. They pointed out that the interactive map could make the gun owners a target, but also make clear to would-be robbers which homes do not contain a gun.

Read more from this story HERE.

Glenn Beck: Obama Destined for Prison? (+video)

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As many news sites and pundits break down the biggest stories of 2012, one story too big to miss has been resurrected by the website TeaParty.org, a story at least one national pundit believes could send Barack Obama to prison.

The tea-party site posted a Glenn Beck video from October in which the TV and radio host insisted a case for treason could be built against President Obama for his role in the attack of Sept. 11, 2012, in which armed Libyans captured and killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others at an American diplomatic mission in Benghazi.

“This president is lying to you about Benghazi in such spectacular fashion that I believe people will go to prison,” Beck said on the Blaze TV broadcast of his radio show. “This is impeachable; the president might go to prison for this one.”

Beck cited evidence that Ambassador Stevens had been helping arm Arab Spring rebels in Libya and Syria, rebel forces that included al-Qaida operatives and a heavy Muslim Brotherhood influence.

Yet when those same forces turned on the diplomatic mission and overran it, killing Ambassador Stevens, the Obama administration initially suggested it could have been the result instead of mass, popular protests run amuck over a YouTube video critical of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad.

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Holiday Sales Growth Tanks Amid Economic Fears, Hits Lowest Level Since 2008

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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. shoppers spent cautiously this holiday season, a disappointment for retailers who slashed prices to lure people into stores and now must hope for a post-Christmas burst of spending.

Sales of electronics, clothing, jewelry and home goods in the two months before Christmas increased 0.7 percent compared with last year, according to the MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse report.

That was below the healthy 3 to 4 percent growth that analysts had expected — and it was the worst year-over-year performance since 2008, when spending shrank sharply during the Great Recession. In 2011, retail sales climbed 4 to 5 percent during November and December, according to ShopperTrak.

This year’s shopping season was marred by bad weather and rising uncertainty about the economy in the face of possible tax hikes and spending cuts early next year. Some analysts say the massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn., earlier this month may also have chipped away at shoppers’ enthusiasm.

Retailers still have time to make up lost ground. The final week of December accounts for about 15 percent of the month’s sales, said Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis at MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.

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There’s a ‘Chilling’ Economic Report Making the Rounds Among Top Execs — And Wait Until You See What It Says About Gov’t Programs

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“ . . . The biggest [Ponzi scheme] … is still ongoing: the Ponzi scheme of the developed economies,” the report says near the beginning. “It is not simply that the developed world has borrowed significantly from future wealth to fund today’s consumption, leading to huge burdens for the next generation. It has also reduced the potential for future economic growth, making it more difficult for the next generation to deal with this legacy . . .”

1. “The West was not going to find its way to the right economic path with a little tweaking at the edges, the CEO said. What is needed is a wholesale overhaul of the economic system to tackle record levels of public and private debt.” — from Business Insider

2. A summary of the report’s findings:Mr Stelter and his colleagues do offer some solutions. First, there has to be an acknowledgement that some debts will never be repaid and should be restructured. Holders of the debt, be they countries or companies, should be allowed to default, whatever the short-term pain of such a process.

In social policy, retirement ages will have to increase. People will have to work harder, for longer and should be encouraged to do so by changes in benefit levels that do little – at their present level – to reward work at the margin.

The size of the state should be radically reduced and immigration encouraged. Competition in labour markets through supply-side reforms should be pursued.

Read full story HERE.

Merry Christmas! Here’s a List of Some of Your New Obamacare Taxes and Fees

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Starting in 2014, President Barack Obama’s health care law will expand coverage to some 30 million uninsured people. At the same time, insurers no longer will be allowed to turn away those in poor health, and virtually every American will be required to have health insurance — through an employer or a government program or by buying it on their own.

For the vast majority of people, the health care law won’t mean sending more money to the Internal Revenue Service. But the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans will take the biggest hit, starting next year.

And roughly 20 million people eventually will benefit from tax credits that start in 2014 to help them pay insurance premiums.

A look at some of the major taxes and fees, estimated to total nearly $700 billion over 10 years.

— Upper-income households. Starting Jan. 1, individuals making more than $200,000 per year, and couples making more than $250,000 will face a 0.9 percent Medicare tax increase on wages above those threshold amounts. They’ll also face an additional 3.8 percent tax on investment income. Together these are the biggest tax increase in the health care law.

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Unemployed Single Mother with 5 Kids Gets Makeover and Job Opportunity in Unforgettable Christmas Surprise (+video)

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An organization called “Style Me Hired” is presenting a new twist on the classic “makeover” story. In rough economic times, many women don’t just need a new hairstyle or bronzer– they need an entire lifestyle change.

That’s why Style Me Hired tackles both, giving struggling women a free makeover, and then presenting them with a unique job opportunity.

The most recent recipient was single mother of five Nanette Garvey, who was surprised at her Pennsylvania home by Marc Voci, the owner Marc Voci Salon in Folsom.

Garvey seemed unable to control her excitement, waving and smiling at the cameras as she left.

“I’ve never had anything like this happen to me” she said, emerging in black pants, tennis shoes, and a blue shirt.

Read more from this story HERE.