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June 4, 2010

It’s Friday!

 Quotable

- "Unlike most of today's politicians, [President Grover] Cleveland had great respect for the Constitution and the limits it placed on both the president and on the federal government. In vetoing a bill to provide federal aid to drought-stricken Texan farmers, Cleveland explained, 'I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution.' Today, such principled adherence to the Constitution would be considered archaic." – Jerry Kohn, Illinois Taxpayer Education Fund

- "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." – Mark Twain

Education

- The Foundation's 2010 Report Card for Parents, available at http://gppf.org/pub/edrc2010.htm, ranks all the public schools in the state based on their 2009 academic achievement and presents several other criteria including per student spending. Read the Report Card to see how your child's school fared.

Taxes

- According to the latest figures released by the Georgia Department of Revenue, about 418,000 Georgians filed tax returns on incomes over $100,000 in 2009. They account for 9.78 percent of returns filed in Georgia. Their taxes account for 57 percent of those paid.

- "Recently released IRS data for 2008 shows how progressive the U.S. income tax system has become," according to the Tax Foundation. Taxpayers earning under $50,000 collectively earned 22 percent of total adjusted gross income (AGI), but paid just 8 percent of all income taxes at an effective tax rate of 5 percent. Meanwhile, taxpayers earning over $200,000 collectively earned 29 percent of total AGI but paid more than half of all income taxes at an effective rate of 22 percent.

Health care

- While "repeal and replace" is a very politically appealing mantra, "debunk and defund" may be the best short-term option for derailing the federal health care legislation, Dr. Merrill Matthews points out in a commentary for the Institute for Policy Innovation. For example, "The legislation creates more than 100 new agencies and boards and commissions. Most of these efforts will prove fertile ground for mischief making – especially the new Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which has significant new powers to impose price controls on Medicare. Congress can refuse to fund most or all of these new boards. No money, no mischief."

Economy

- The United States' share of global manufacturing is 21 percent, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. Japan is responsible for 13 percent and China has 12 percent of the global manufacturing share.

- Georgia's exports of $1.8 billion to China in 2009 ranked it among the top 10 states, the United States-China Business Council reports in its annual survey. 

Regulation

- First soft drinks, now country ham: The Carolina Journal reports that federal regulators are now targeting foods with high salt content, putting foods like country ham under scrutiny. What's next, sweet tea? Source: Carolina Journal

Transportation

- In search of mobility: Move over Yugo. The world's cheapest car began rolling off the production line in India this week. The Nano, which will cost about $2,150, is aimed at India's middle class, most of whom get around on two-wheelers in that emerging nation of 1.2 billion people. There are 13 cars per 1,000 people in India, compared with 593 per 1,000 in Europe and 841 per 1,000 people in the United States. Source: Industry Week

- Visit www.gppf.org to read the Foundation’s latest commentary, “A Case Study in How Consumerism Loses in European-style Health Care," by Ronald E. Bachman.

Have a great weekend.

Kelly McCutchen

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