Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has a number of different things to do today, so this may be his only opportunity to blog today. As this might be his only post he will touch on a number of different topics. Pay attention.
First off, we are into the budget season in Congress. This time of year always amuses your Maximum Leader. You see the budgets were supposed to be completed last month. Congress (both the House and Senate) appear to have the whole legislative year to talk about the budget and prepare; but they don’t. Instead they wait until after the last minute and the work like crazy to get a budget passed. One could speculate (perhaps quite rightly) that part of the budgetary mess our Republic always finds itself is due in no small measure to the budget writing rush.
Anyhoo… It seems as though tax cuts are the hot topic du jour. As surprising as it may sound coming from your tax cutting Maximum Leader, this is not the time for new tax cuts. Your Maximum Leader is all for keeping the current taxes on everything as is. What is needed is spending control. At this point further tax cutting is diverting attention and political energy from budget cutting.
Your Maximum Leader will suggest to Republicans in Congress (and to the President) that their focus ought to be eliminating waste and cutting smallish programs that could stand to be cut. Outside of the realm of supply-side theory, the other reason that Ronald Reagan wanted to cut taxes was to “starve” the government into spending less. Reagan (and his team) made a logical (but wrong) assumption that if the government didn’t have money to spend it would at least try to stop spending growth. That didn’t happen. There was no outcry. There was no political price paid. So… Now Republicans have learned to spend better than the Democrats in the 1980s. The fiscal conservatives need to rise up and exert more control over the budget agenda in Congress. A strong untied block of Congressmen and Senators could push through a more responsible budget if they had the political will to do so.
And if the Republican Congress doesn’t start showing that it can do something about anything meaningful 2006 will not be a fun year.
Next up… The Smallholder made some fine comments about your Maximum Leader’s post about NH taxes on views in yesterday’s post. Allow your Maximum Leader to clarify a bit. He understands that houses with nicer views will be more expensive to buy than houses without nicer views. That doesn’t bother him. He understands that you will have variation in price based on location, views, and the quality of the neighbourhood. With variation in market price you will have variation in assessed value for property taxes. Neither does that bother him. But what is going on in New Hampshire is tax assessors going out to houses and doing an extra assessment on the view of the house and adding that assessed view’s value to the value of the house. This is done in a fashion completely independent of any market forces. And it also seems to be done only in areas (or to houses) that appear to fit a profile. The profile of “second home for rich Boston resident.” That is what appears to be wrong. Your Maximum Leader will try to learn some more about this and post further.
The Poet Laureate of the MWO made a fine comment about your Maximum Leader’s use of the “Below the Fold” feature of this blog and the placement of his traditional close “carry on” even when there is more below the fold. Very good points. Your Maximum Leader must confess that he likes to see the words “carry on” at the bottom of the main area of the post… Even if there is more below the fold. In the case of yesterday’s post, the paragraphs below the fold were something of an afterthought and inspired by - but not required for the enjoyment of - the main body of the post. In most cases where your Maximum Leader goes below the fold it is with material that he thinks is a nice addition to the post but perhaps not essential.
All that plus he wonders how many people actually click through and read below the fold…
Your Maximum Leader will second Robbo’s suggestion of putting French news babes on to replace Koppel. Frankly she could replace Greta Van Sustern in a better time slot. Your Maximum Leader wouldn’t even make Melissa learn English. She could just talk all she wanted in French. It might acutally make for better viewing.
Your Maximum Leader will also thank his Poet Laureate for his coverage of the French riots. Your Maximum Leader agrees that religion isn’t the major motivating factor, but it probably is a contributing factor. The French need to seriously review their immigration policies (for going forward) and figure out what they can do to assimilate the young disaffected French of North African descent. If assimilation is even possible…
Just like we’d say to Mr. Kotter… Welcome back.
Phoenix… Your Maximum Leader grows tired of waiting for that which he desires. Produce the dreamy Jennifer Love Hewitt immediately!
Lastly… If you happen to be a regular reader of the Worlds Greatest Tabloid you should be familiar with the bosomy ladies of Page 3. Well… Now gentlemen (and ladies who are inclined) you can play the “Guess the Model’s Bra Size” Quiz. The quiz is definately not safe for work. So don’t think about clicking through if you are in danger of losing your job if your boss comes by and sees breasts all over your monitor screen. If you are good with breasts on your monitor then clicky here. Your Maximum Leader got 4 of 6. (For those of you who wonder about these things.)
Carry on.
