Read This Now - Mitt's Mendacious Tax Plan

Bloomberg has the simplest, most straight forward break down of why Mitt Romney's tax plan won't work...

Mitt Romney’s tax plan has three key planks. He cuts personal income tax rates by 20 percent across the board; he eliminates deductions, exclusions and credits so that the deficit does not grow; and he doesn’t make the tax code any less progressive. Unfortunately, as the Tax Policy Center has shown, only two of these planks can co-exist.

Conservatives have reacted aggressively against the TPC report. It seems that Mitt’s plan should be viable: If you cut tax rates proportionally across the board, and eliminate tax deductions proportionally, it seems progressivity should be unchanged. In fact, if you eliminate tax breaks starting with the wealthy, as Romney says he would, it seems he should be able to make the tax code even more progressive.

The idea is intuitive, but wrong. And it’s wrong because of something people don’t realize: The tax preferences that exist today overwhelmingly benefit people with lower and middle incomes, not the wealthy. While tax rate cuts reduce income tax burdens proportionally, as TPC notes, there aren't enough tax preferences for wealthy people to offset Romney's cuts at the top.

Read the whole thing for the details (you've already read almost half of the original post if you've gotten this far, why stop now).

(via BOTM)

Positive Political Ads

This one is somber, but I'm putting it into the positive category because it's main focus isn't trashing the opponent.  My biggest disappointment with the current election cycle is that it's taking us even farther away from the issues than we often get and mostly degenerating into name calling, speckled with mendacity and outright lies.

This ad made me feel a little bit better about things though...


Maybe it was just Morgan Freeman doing the voice over, he always makes me feel like things are going to turn out alright, I mean he got to fishing after all.

(via TPM)

How They Handle Hypocrisy In Australian Politics

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has had just about enough hypocrisy from the leader of the opposition...



That's on the floor of Parliament no less.  I appreciate that the Aussies, like the Brits, don't dance around the issues, obfuscations, and out right lies in their political dealings, they up and call it like they see it.

The NY'er has the back story for the speech, which is worth taking a look at as well.

(via the NY'er but their video link was broken so I got it here via @FiredBigBird)

Scott Simon Can't Handle The Truth

Teachers work hard and they deserve to be paid well.  An investment in the education system and educators is an investment in our children and the future of America itself.  Unfortunately NPR's Scott Simon doesn't seem to feel that way.

Here is my letter to NPR's Weekend Edition regarding Simon's comment's during last weekends interview with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

To Whom It May Concern,

I was shocked and saddened by Scott Simon’s repeated insistence last weekend that teachers do not work hard nor deserve to be paid better or even well for the work that they do (Duncan On Chicago: 'When Adults Fight, Kids Lose' Weekend Edition, 9/22/12).  Not to mention Simon’s ridiculous insinuation that he has as much effect over whether the Cubs win the World Series as the Secretary of Education has over the state of the American public school system.

Mr. Simon’s tone and dismissal of the incredible work that many of our nation’s teachers do was insulting; he owes the nation’s teachers, and his listeners, an apology.

You can read or listen to the interview here.  A recent study from The Gates Foundation determined that American teachers work 10 hours and 40 minutes in an average day, and research conducted by the Economics Policy Institute has found that American teachers are paid 12% less than other professions requiring a comparable amount of education and training. 

Sarah Silverman Is Not Amused With Voter Suppression (NSFW)

Sarah Silverman got a shout out in the last post for her work in the last election cycle and now she's getting her own post complete with video.

Silverman wants to make sure that everyone can vote, even in the face of new voter ID laws.  One thing to do is to go get yourself a gun (only sort of a joke, you'll see)


(this video is NSFW due to all kinds of language, and no there isn't a cleaned up version thank you very much.)

More on voter suppression and supposed voter fraud here and here.

(via NYer)

Sam Jackson Thinks You Should Vote For Obama (NSFW)

And he's not messing around...



(this video is NSFW due to f-bombs; edited version here)

This video is from the Jewish Council for Education and Research, who put together The Great Schlep project with Sarah Silverman the last time we elected a President.

VOTE

In order to exercise the franchise (as none of the kids have probably ever said, but maybe should have) you need to be registered to vote.  Yes, some states will let you register on election day at your polling place, but why wait.  Get it done today - it is National Voter Registration Day after all.

Rock The Vote will help you out as will the NVRD website.  If you live in the DC area you should check out the great new resource that is metrodcvote.org.  The site will help you check your registration status, get yourself registered, and figure out absentee and early voting as well.

Be sure you're ready to get out there and do your thing, it's your chance to participate in your democracy and you should do it.  Too few people vote in the US these days with only about 60% of potential voters in Presidential election years and less than 40% showing up to vote in the midterm elections.