<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Brandon Staggs .Com &#187; Society &amp; Politics</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.brandonstaggs.com/category/society-politics/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com</link>
	<description>Software, Society, the Bible, Politics, and everything else.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 04 Dec 2011 03:00:27 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Constitution? Not in an Airport.</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2010/12/31/constitution-not-in-an-airport/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2010/12/31/constitution-not-in-an-airport/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Dec 2010 15:17:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[constitution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[utopia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=724</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An amusing bit of news: A man who wrote the fourth amendment on his skin was arrested at an airport. A Charlottesville man who stripped down to his underwear at Richmond International Airport to protest security-screening procedures was charged with disorderly conduct Thursday, airport police said. So, just to be clear. If you&#8230; &#8230;are told [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>An amusing bit of news:</p>
<p>A man who <a href="http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2010/dec/31/TDMET04-charlottesville-man-protests-airport-secur-ar-744888/" target="_blank">wrote the fourth amendment on his skin</a> was arrested at an airport.</p>
<blockquote><p>A Charlottesville man who stripped down to his underwear at Richmond International Airport to protest security-screening procedures was charged with disorderly conduct Thursday, airport police said.</p></blockquote>
<p>So, just to be clear. If you&#8230;</p>
<ul>
<li>&#8230;are told to submit to groping and/or ogling by a TSA agent and don&#8217;t do so, you&#8217;re in trouble.</li>
<li>&#8230;make ogling more efficient by stripping down to your underwear in line without being asked, you&#8217;re in trouble.</li>
<li>&#8230;write the fourth amendment on your body, your first amendment rights will be violated and you&#8217;re in trouble.</li>
</ul>
<p>Half the people behind this guy in line probably never saw the fourth amendment before this guy took his shirt off, so I say he&#8217;s just performing a public service.</p>
<p>Remember folks: Bureaucracy is the art of removing every last vestige of good judgment from every process involved. Don&#8217;t gum up the works by scrawling quotes from the nation&#8217;s fundamental legal document on your skin. You&#8217;re body belongs to the government, and they&#8217;ll have none of it, or didn&#8217;t you know that?</p>
<p>Happy new year!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2010/12/31/constitution-not-in-an-airport/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>NRA members should join GOA</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2010/06/17/nra-members-should-join-goa/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2010/06/17/nra-members-should-join-goa/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:01:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[congress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guns]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=715</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NRA members should join Gun Owners of America. Why?  Because the NRA is okay with negotiating away free speech. I am a member of both organizations, but I will be thinking long and hard before renewing my NRA membership when it is due. Hopefully, before then, the NRA will realize that it represents its members, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.nra.org/home.aspx">NRA</a> members should join <a href="http://gunowners.org/">Gun Owners of America</a>.</p>
<p>Why?  Because the NRA is <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/16/AR2010061604221.html">okay with negotiating away free speech</a>.</p>
<p>I am a member of both organizations, but I will be thinking long and hard before renewing my NRA membership when it is due.</p>
<p>Hopefully, before then, the NRA will realize that it represents its members, not the <em>organization itself</em>. If the NRA is willing to make deals with an anti-First Amendment Congress in order to maintain itself as an institution, who is to say they won&#8217;t do the same for the Second Amendment?</p>
<p>Unlike the NRA, GOA is pro-Constitution, not merely pro-gun. So, if you are a member of the NRA, consider joining GOA as well, and perhaps letting your NRA membership lapse if they don&#8217;t clean up their act.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2010/06/17/nra-members-should-join-goa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What&#8217;s up with California?</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/07/14/whats-up-with-california/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/07/14/whats-up-with-california/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:07:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[california]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liberals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[welfare]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=680</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a good article on why California (where I called home for 19 years) is such a basket case: California Crack-up THE PERFECT STORM CALIFORNIA BEGETS A NATIONAL LOSS OF INNOCENCE ONE-PARTY RULE IN CALIFORNIA THE DISHONESTY OF SOCIALIST ONE PARTY-RULE MUCH OF OBAMA’S AGENDA IS ALREADY IN PLACE IN CALIFORNIA THERE’S HOPE FOR A [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s a good article on why California (where I called home for 19 years) is such a basket case:</p>
<p><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/LarryKelley/2009/07/14/california_crack-up">California Crack-up</a></p>
<ul>
<li>THE PERFECT STORM</li>
<li>CALIFORNIA BEGETS A NATIONAL LOSS OF INNOCENCE</li>
<li>ONE-PARTY RULE IN CALIFORNIA</li>
<li>THE DISHONESTY OF SOCIALIST ONE PARTY-RULE</li>
<li>MUCH OF OBAMA’S AGENDA IS ALREADY IN PLACE IN CALIFORNIA</li>
<li>THERE’S HOPE FOR A SECOND GREAT CALIFORNIA TAX REVOLT</li>
</ul>
<p>Although I am not so sure about there being &#8220;hope&#8221; for a tax revolt.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/07/14/whats-up-with-california/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gun Free Zones: Great for Criminals, Not so Much for You.</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/04/05/gun-free-zones-great-for-criminals-not-so-much-for-you/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/04/05/gun-free-zones-great-for-criminals-not-so-much-for-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:19:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guns]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=653</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[John Lott has a good peice about so-called &#8220;gun free zones&#8221; where he mentions: &#8220;For years I would tell news people about the fact that every single multiple victim public shooting in the US involving more than three people killed took place in one of these gun-free zones.&#8221; Every time I see a &#8220;no guns [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>John Lott has a <a href="http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/04/03/gun-free-zones-are-a-magnet-for-attacks-like-the-tragedy-in-binghampton/" target="_blank">good peice</a> about so-called &#8220;gun free zones&#8221; where he mentions:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;For years I would tell news people about the fact that every single multiple victim public shooting in the US involving more than three people killed took place in one of these gun-free zones.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Every time I see a &#8220;no guns allowed&#8221; sign, I think of other really cool ideas for posted slogans, like perhaps &#8220;no home alarms allowed&#8221; at the entrance to a housing tract or maybe &#8220;locked doors prohibited&#8221; in a public parking lot. Better yet, how about one of those nice &#8220;KICK ME&#8221; signs on your back.</p>
<p>It is only common sense that banning the carrying of guns in any given area means that only criminals will carry guns there &#8212; and assuming they can read, they can do so with the confidence that there probably won&#8217;t be anyone there capable of stopping them.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s an easy mental excersize: put yourself in the shoes of a burgler, driving down the street, trying to decide which house to break in to.  One house has a car in the driveway with a bumper sticker that says &#8220;Gun Control Means Using Both Hands.&#8221;  The next house has a car in the driveway that says &#8220;There is no room for guns in a civil society.&#8221;  Which house do you break in to?</p>
<p>If people having guns with them is such a big problem, when was the last time you heard of a &#8220;crazed gunman&#8221; going on a rampage at a gun show?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/04/05/gun-free-zones-great-for-criminals-not-so-much-for-you/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gun bans in the US to help Mexico?</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/02/26/gun-bans-in-the-us-to-help-mexico/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/02/26/gun-bans-in-the-us-to-help-mexico/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stupid]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=401</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not entirely unexpected: Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban. A couple of short points to consider: The former &#8220;Assault Weapons&#8221; ban did not lower violent crime, and when it expired, violent crime did not increase. There is no such thing as an &#8220;Assault Weapon.&#8221;  It is a figment of a politician&#8217;s imagination; a term [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thekingjamesbibl&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;asins=0936783478&#038;md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&#038;fc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;lt1=_blank&#038;m=amazon&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;bc1=000000&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;float:right;margin-left:10px" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />
Not entirely unexpected: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=6960824&amp;page=1">Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban</a>. A couple of short points to consider:</p>
<ul>
<li>The former &#8220;Assault Weapons&#8221; ban did not lower violent crime, and when it expired, violent crime did not increase.</li>
<li>There is no such thing as an &#8220;Assault Weapon.&#8221;  It is a figment of a politician&#8217;s imagination; a term invented to squelch debate on a subject. Most of the guns banned by the former law were not functionally different from &#8220;hunting weapons.&#8221; Also, ammunition magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds are illegal under the ban. Somehow, according to politicians, having 11 bullets in your hand gun to defend yourself is considered &#8220;too much,&#8221; but 10 is okay. (Arbitrary and illogical.)</li>
</ul>
<p>But this has all been said before. Left wingers have an irrational fear of firearms, and now they are in a position of power to implement policy that appeals to their base. It doesn&#8217;t matter that the policy is emotional and infringes on the Constitutional rights of Americans.</p>
<p>So here&#8217;s the &#8220;funny&#8221; part, if this can ever be considered &#8220;funny.&#8221;</p>
<p>Holder (the Obama administration mouthpeice for infringment of Constitutional liberties) said:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">&#8220;I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum.&#8221;</p>
<p>So, get this straight: Our president wants our Second Amendment rights infringed and one of the rationales is that it will help <em>Mexico</em> &#8212; a country where gun laws are doing nothing to stem rampant crime and corruption. Got that?</p>
<p>On a related note, I&#8217;m reading John Lott&#8217;s book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0936783478?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=thekingjamesbibl&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0936783478" target="_blank"><em>Straight Shooting</em></a>. A nice easy read, it&#8217;s a collection of a bunch of articles he&#8217;s written over the last few years on gun control topics.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/02/26/gun-bans-in-the-us-to-help-mexico/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We can always do better</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/02/04/we-can-always-do-better/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/02/04/we-can-always-do-better/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:25:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guns]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=398</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The dishonest, anti-Constitution &#8220;Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence&#8221; released their &#8220;report cards&#8221; for the various states today. Oklahoma tied for &#8220;last place&#8221; scoring a whopping 2 out of 100. This only goes to show that there is always room for improvement. Hopefully in 2010, OK will get a nice fat goose-egg.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The dishonest, anti-Constitution &#8220;Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence&#8221; <a href="http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=9786895">released</a> their &#8220;report cards&#8221; for the various states today.</p>
<p>Oklahoma tied for &#8220;last place&#8221; scoring a whopping 2 out of 100.</p>
<p>This only goes to show that there is always room for improvement.</p>
<p>Hopefully in 2010, OK will get a nice fat goose-egg.<span style="color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/02/04/we-can-always-do-better/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Obama is President. Deal with it.</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/01/21/obama-is-president-deal-with-it/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/01/21/obama-is-president-deal-with-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:37:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Christianity & Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[society]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=392</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Politics can bring out the worst in anybody. Let me start by saying that I am not happy about Obama being elected President. Not happy at all. But I&#8217;ve managed to turn my unhappiness with the election into the same feeling you get right before you sneeze &#8212; you know, that resignation that this is [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Politics can bring out the worst in anybody.</p>
<p>Let me start by saying that I am not happy about Obama being elected President. Not happy at all. But I&#8217;ve managed to turn my unhappiness with the election into the same feeling you get right before you sneeze &#8212; you know, that resignation that this is simply out of your control and it will happen regardless of your approval, and all protestations to the contrary will matter nary a wit.</p>
<p>And let&#8217;s insert the obligatory &#8220;Omaba is bad&#8221; stuff: He knows <em>nothing</em> about business.  He has no real-world experience in <em>anything</em>. His ideas are bad. He supports the killing of infants recently born because, you know, saving their lives would be too much of a burden on a woman who has chosen to kill her child. And he wants to take guns away from law abiding citizens.  Check. Check. Check. Yadda yadda.</p>
<p>But here&#8217;s the thing: He&#8217;s president. I&#8217;m not going to act like some pipsqueek liberal holding a sign that says &#8220;Bush is not my president.&#8221;  Because he is.</p>
<p>And you know why?</p>
<p>Because God wants him there.</p>
<p>Chew on that. Chew on that real good. (Don&#8217;t swallow as you might choke, but chew for a little while.)</p>
<p>It doesn&#8217;t matter how much you dislike Obama.  It doesn&#8217;t matter how good your reasons are for disliking him.</p>
<blockquote><p>Romans 13:1-2  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.</p></blockquote>
<p>There is just no getting around this. Paul lived under a nation that had both just and unjust laws. The sins of the leadership of the United States aren&#8217;t any worse than those of the Roman government. And yet Paul didn&#8217;t dwell on his government.  He didn&#8217;t intermingle the Gospel with warnings about Caesar. Even when Paul was accused of crimes that would have resulted in his execution, he didn&#8217;t set out on a campaign of reform against his government.</p>
<p>Now back to the first thing I said: Politics can bring out the worst in anybody. I have heard people say the worst of curses against their new President. And it bugs me. Here&#8217;s why:</p>
<blockquote><p>1 Timothy 2:1-2  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.</p></blockquote>
<p>Here Paul tells us what our attitude about our leaders must be. We are to pray for them and even give thanks for them.</p>
<p>Ouch. That&#8217;s hard. I think living up to Old Testament standards might even be easier than giving thanks for Obama.</p>
<p>But there it is, nonetheless. And Paul told us why. &#8220;That we may lead a <strong>quiet and peaceable life</strong> in all godliness and honesty.&#8221; This is God&#8217;s will for us. This is what we should be striving for &#8212; not to get ABC, NBC, or CBS to air the right news. But to live a peacable life. And there is a flip side. Ignoring this exhortation means getting the opposite of &#8220;peaceable life.&#8221;</p>
<p>Yes, it&#8217;s nice to be right. Of <em>course</em> Obama is going to be one of the worst presidents this country has ever had. And, no, of course you don&#8217;t have to be happy about it. And in four years, you will get to vote against him again. <em>Maybe</em> in four years enough of the people in the country will see what&#8217;s right to prevent his re-election.</p>
<p>What do we do in the meantime?</p>
<blockquote><p>Proverbs 29:2  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.</p></blockquote>
<p>Notice the key here: mourn. No rebellion, no railing. Mourning.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m thankful I live in a country where I have freedom of speech and can blog about things that interest me, like economics and the insanity of environmentalism. I am thankful I get a &#8220;say&#8221; in who my governors are. But in the end I know that nothing I do is going to change the fact that it is going to take Christ returning and establishing his own rule in Earth for anything to get better.</p>
<p>So I&#8217;ll deal with the fact that Obama is president.</p>
<p>I hope you will, too.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2009/01/21/obama-is-president-deal-with-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How the no-consequences mentality gave us the financial crisis</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/29/how-the-no-consequences-mentality-gave-us-the-financial-crisis/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/29/how-the-no-consequences-mentality-gave-us-the-financial-crisis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:59:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[responsibility]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=379</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here is a good article that explains why we have a financial problem, who gave it to us, and what should be done about it: http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/09/in_times_of_crisis_trust_capit.html It&#8217;s clear to me that our pathological aversion to personal responsibility has worked itself so far upward that our entire economy has become based on &#8220;no consequences for bad [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here is a good article that explains <em>why</em> we have a financial problem, <em>who</em> gave it to us, and <em>what</em> should be done about it:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/09/in_times_of_crisis_trust_capit.html" target="_blank">http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2008/09/in_times_of_crisis_trust_capit.html</a></p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear to me that our pathological aversion to personal responsibility has worked itself so far upward that our entire economy has become based on &#8220;no consequences for bad choices.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/29/how-the-no-consequences-mentality-gave-us-the-financial-crisis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to solve the USA financial crisis in four easy steps</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/27/how-to-solve-the-usa-financial-crisis-in-four-easy-steps/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/27/how-to-solve-the-usa-financial-crisis-in-four-easy-steps/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:33:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[utopia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=376</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[1. Drop corporate tax rate to 10%. 2. Repeal Sarbanes Oxley. 3. Drop Capital Gains tax to 0.5% and use all of the revenue to pay off whatever &#8220;bailout&#8221; plan Congress approves. 4. Freeze the federal budget &#8212; no new spending, no budget increases, except maybe defense. Why: 1. Corp taxes in the USA are [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>1. Drop corporate tax rate to 10%.</strong></p>
<p><strong>2. Repeal Sarbanes Oxley.</strong></p>
<p><strong>3. Drop Capital Gains tax to 0.5%</strong> and use all of the revenue to pay off whatever &#8220;bailout&#8221; plan Congress approves.</p>
<p><strong>4. Freeze the federal budget</strong> &#8212; no new spending, no budget increases, except maybe defense.</p>
<p>Why:</p>
<p><strong>1. </strong>Corp taxes in the USA are the second highest in the world.  Drop them to the lowest, and watch the foreign investment soar.  Bring money and jobs back to our own country without having to pass more regulation that won&#8217;t work.  Obama bemoans jobs moving off-shore. Duh!  His plan to raise taxes on corporations will only make the problem worse.  McCain&#8217;s plan doesn&#8217;t go far enough.  We want to be the best place for companies to come to and set up shop, not the second or third best.<br />
<strong><br />
2. </strong>SOX is a disaster, not accomplishing its goal and preventing thousands of companies from going public.  Like it or not, we have a public market economy; most of us rely on new and profitable companies entering the public exchange for our retirement plans.  SOX is a massive hindrance.</p>
<p><strong>3. </strong>Removing the punishment of capital gains tax means people will be more likely to <em>invest</em> their earnings, spurning growth, instead of hiding their money away in other areas that aren&#8217;t taxed so high but don&#8217;t benefit the public on a whole, or sending their money overseas where it doesn&#8217;t benefit our economy.  Remember, we need growth and investment to raise the value of our currency and make jobs.</p>
<p><strong>4.</strong> Obviously, we spend too much.</p>
<p>The answer to getting out of debt; to rising unemployment; to revenue shortfalls (not that we have that), is growth &#8212; not more government interference.</p>
<p>Feel free to write my name in for President come November 4.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/27/how-to-solve-the-usa-financial-crisis-in-four-easy-steps/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why left-wing politicians cheer on economic disaster</title>
		<link>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/23/why-left-wing-politicians-cheer-on-economic-disaster/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/23/why-left-wing-politicians-cheer-on-economic-disaster/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:59:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Society & Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liberals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[welfare]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.brandonstaggs.com/?p=372</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The senator said she didn&#8217;t think all responsibility for solving these problems should be vested in the Treasury Department, suggesting that &#8220;once we get through this immediate crisis,&#8221; the country should look at some Great Depression-era type of governmental entity to deal with it. -Article Liberal politicians love these problems, because when things get rough, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><p>The senator said she didn&#8217;t think all responsibility for solving these problems should be vested in the Treasury Department, suggesting that &#8220;once we get through this immediate crisis,&#8221; the country should look at some Great Depression-era type of governmental entity to deal with it. -<a href="http://wcbstv.com/politics/hillary.clinton.barack.2.823496.html">Article</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Liberal politicians love these problems, because when things get rough, people turn to &#8220;security&#8221; in the government.  Rather than take the risk that they might have a rough patch, they will listen to the promise of &#8220;government entities&#8221; set up to protect and provide for them.</p>
<p>It doesn&#8217;t matter that the policies of the 90s are directly responsible for financial woes of today (the media will ignore that), and it doesn&#8217;t matter that the country <em>still</em> isn&#8217;t in a recession (the media will report that people are &#8220;worried about possible recession&#8221; to give the same emotional effect).  What matters is that people will turn to government and vest even more control over their lives in politicians promising to make things easier.</p>
<p>The Great Depression is the perfect example.  A downturn in the economy was turned into a disastrous depression by FDR&#8217;s policies (extending the depression far beyond it&#8217;s natural length) and the scope and power of the federal government was expanded into the private sector like never before.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t worry about recession or depression so much as I worry about the loss of liberty and freedom they will bring as people turn more and more of their lives over to the government for safe keeping.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.brandonstaggs.com/2008/09/23/why-left-wing-politicians-cheer-on-economic-disaster/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

