IN THE MAIL: From Lewis Dartnell, The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch.
Plus, today only at Amazon: FitDesk v2.0 Desk Exercise Bike, $199.00 (43% off). We have a FitDesk, and it’s quite nice. Helen uses it quite a bit.
And, also today only: Torin T43002A 3 Ton Double Locking Jack Stands (Sold in Pairs). If you’re going to jack your car up, you need these. Never get under a car that’s just held up by the jack.
TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 625.
MEGAN MCARDLE: Uncle Sam Is Coming After Your Savings.
Earlier in the week, I discussed the Obama administration’s proposal to tax earnings on so-called 529 college savings plans, part of a package of tax hikes that will pay for new programs such as his proposal to make the first two years of community college free. This has been touted as a plan to hike taxes on the rich to help the middle class, but in fact it’s more of a plan to redistribute money from the upper middle class to the lower middle class.
As I noted then, this proposal is not going anywhere, not just because Republican congressmen will block it, but because it would be very unpopular with affluent blue-state voters who currently vote for Democrats. About the only people I saw defending this particular idea were blue-state singles who haven’t yet confronted the monstrous expense of shepherding their progeny into the new mandarin class to which they belong.
Everyone else seems to be somewhere between confused and aghast. One comment in particular struck me, as I saw it several times on social media and in writings: “How would you feel if they did this to Roth IRAs?”
Why did I find that particular question a compelling topic for a column? Because it’s a question we may have to ask ourselves. As I observed when I first wrote about the plan, the very fact that we are discussing taxation of educational savings — redistributing educational subsidies downward — indicates that the administration has started scraping the bottom of the barrel when seeking out money to fund new programs. Why target a tax benefit that goes to a lot of your supporters (and donors), that tickles one of the sweetest spots in American politics (subsidizing higher education), and that will hit a lot of people who make less than the $250,000 a year that has become the administration’s de facto definition of “rich”?
Presumably, because you’re running out of other places to get the money.
And spending less is unthinkable. Is this why Dems also want mandatory IRAs? First force the savings, then confiscate!
SO THE BEST AIRPLANE FOR ATTACKING ISIS IS THE A-10, and the Pentagon is scrapping them.
You know, Robert Conquest once wrote, “The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies,” but that statement is striking a little too close to home lately.
THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Failing Up: Company behind HealthCare.gov debacle gets an IRS contract.
CLOSE ONLY COUNTS IN HORSESHOES AND HAND GRENADES, BUT. . . . Asteroid to pass so close on Monday you’ll be able to see it with binoculars – but don’t panic, Earth’s closest call until 2027 poses no threat ‘for the foreseeable future.’
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Law Firm at Center of Silver Scandal Donated Huge Sums to Dems, Including President Obama. “And although no wrongdoing has thus far been attributed to the law firm, it’s at least worth noting that two of the biggest recipients were both involved with the Moreland Commission, which was mysteriously and abruptly disbanded by the governor in March 2014 after less than a year on task of probing public corruption.”
COME ON, CHUCK, YOU KNOW THEY DON’T COVER THINGS THAT MAKE OBAMA LOOK BAD: Chuck Todd Blasts the media for ignoring Yemen in their coverage. “They’re all on Tom Brady. Yemen is actually on fire.”
MORE ON the Disneyland measles outbreak. Vaccinate your kids — but we probably need better vaccines, too.
HOW THE BRAIN STORES TRIVIAL MEMORIES, just in case.
ANOTHER REASON TO KEEP YOUR KIDS OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL: All Your Facebook Passwords Are Belong To Us.
AT AMAZON, Deals on Sports Collectibles.
A PORSCHE 928 disguised as a VW Golf.
THE SCIENCE DOESN’T MATTER UNLESS THE SHIRTS WERE PROPERLY VETTED: Rosetta Finds Out Much About a Comet, Even With a Wayward Lander. Because the most important part of any scientific venture is what people are wearing.
NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Piezoelectric monolayer joins toolkit for nanomanipulation.
AT AMAZON, top deals on Valentine’s Day gifts.
WHY YOUR SMARTPHONE NEEDS AN INFRARED SENSOR.
ROBERT VERBRUGGEN ON Obama’s Plan To Tax Parents Of College Students.
DEEP SCRUTINY: X-Rays Reveal Contents of Ancient Scrolls Buried by Mt. Vesuvius. “Over 260 years ago, archaeologists discovered hundreds of ancient scrolls left behind in an ancient library in Herculaneum, which was covered in volcanic material after the infamous eruption in 79 A.D. Unfortunately, these charred scrolls are next to impossible to open without destroying them, leaving their contents largely a mystery. But a new imaging technique allows researchers to see what’s written inside, without ever opening the delicate artifacts.”
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