January, 2009 archive
Broken Circuit 1
I’ve been in the local Circuit City only twice. Neither time could I find anything whatsoever to interest me. It made Best Buy, which I loathe, look good.
This may be to some extent fallout from Republican Economic Theory, but it is just as much fallout from incompetent management, marketing, and product selection.
Wonder if the local store will go back to its roots as a bowling alley?
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens approved the plan to sell Circuit City to a liquidator group, capping a tumultuous year for the specialty chain.
Bonana Fanna Fo Fanna 0
The Booman explains the name game.
Truth. No Reconciliation. 0
Criminal proceedings are not necessary, though, no doubt, deserved.
Truth, though, should be mandatory.
Paul Krugman:
And to protect and defend the Constitution, a president must do more than obey the Constitution himself; he must hold those who violate the Constitution accountable. So Mr. Obama should reconsider his apparent decision to let the previous administration get away with crime. Consequences aside, that’s not a decision he has the right to make.
Vacancies 0
Criswell predicts mass retirements from the Supreme Court over the next year.
Four Days Left (Updated) 0
Read the comments here.
I marvel at the commenters’ restraint.
And, do not forget, it wasn’t just Bush.
It was the whole rotten Republican necon cabal.
It was, in short, conservatism triumphant.
Good riddance, and how much more damage can they do in four days?
We shall see.
No doubt, we shall see.
As I remarked to someone in an email today, I have not yet been disappointed by expecting the worst from George W. Bush and his crew.
Addendum:
Ian Williams in the Guardian:
And his subsidiary achievement? Making Bill Clinton look good. Now that’s impressive.
Timothy Geithner’s Tax Problems 0
Dick Polman analyzes Tim Geithner’s tax problems as regards his nomination for Secretary of the Treasury.
I can’t say I hold a great brief of Mr. Geithner, nor for anyone who has been in any way associated with the Fed or Wall Street, even tangentially, within the past eight years.
I can, nevertheless, request some clarity in the discourse:
Apparently, what Geithner failed to pay was the self-employment tax.
That is separate from the income tax that we all know and love.
Persons who are self-employed or who are contractors who do not have tax withheld must pay the self-employment tax in addition to the income tax. It covers the social security and medicare taxes that would have been withheld had they had employee status, as well as the employer’s contribution to those taxes. For most contractors and self-employed persons, it is equal to or greater than the income tax itself.
I first encountered it about 12 years ago, when I did a little consulting gig on the side of my regular job. I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t just stumbled over the requirement. I had completed my 1040, then read something and realized, gee, there’s a whole nother form I have to fill out. (Technically, it’s the Form 1040 Schedule SE.)
I have a friend, a person of good will, who failed to pay it for several years when he first entered “contractor” status, even as he faithfully paid his income tax. Now he’s in audit hell as a result.
Why? He didn’t get lucky the way I did and stumble over it, and no one told him about it.
Yeah, I know, that’s not an excuse. It is, however, a reason, and, in my friend’s case, a quite legitimate reason. I assure you, he sincerely wishes he had known about, realized about, and paid the self-employment tax.
Especially when his caller ID says, “We’re from the IRS. We need to talk.”
Apparently, IMF considered Geithner to be in a contractor status and did not withhold Medicare and social security taxes.
If Geithner did his taxes himself, he can be condemned for being stupid.
If he had a tax advisor (and at his pay level, he certainly ought to have had one), he needs to see about getting several dozen refunds of his fees. Keeping clients out of trouble is what tax advisors are for.
The point I’m making is this: Some persons are talking about this as if Mr. Geithner failed the file his 1040s.
It’s a little more subtle and a little more complicated than that.
(Aside: When my mother went back to teaching, she learned somewhere along the line that she had to pay social security for the cleaning lady. I remember her stuggling with the forms every quarter. Wonder how many tax evaders out there aren’t paying the social security and medicare taxes for their home help?)
Two-Thirds 0
From the Booman.
Nowhere To Go, Nothing To Do 0
except watch soaps and eat Chee-tos.
The gain in the most recent claims data restarts an upwards trend that analysts had expected. Initial claims had declined in the prior two weeks, likely due to difficulties in accounting for seasonal adjustments.
In other news, no beer to cry in.
Maybe If the Slots Dispensed Books? 2
Brendan points out how Philadelphia, which is looking to close libraries, many in the city’s poorer neighborhoods to save the $8,000,000.00 they have been unable to collect from the Iggles, went to Uncle Sugar to request money for casino development.
And, ya know what? if the Iggles win a championship, I bet Philly will blow more than $8,000,000.00 on the parade.
Via Phillybits.
Man, I Want Whatever She’s Drinking 0
I’m hearing this American church librarian from Pennsylvania on the BBC (I missed her name, but wouldn’t use it anyway) saying
“George Bush throughout his presidency has been the picture of a perfect Christian gentleman.”
Except, I guess, for the lies, the torture, the spying, the duplicity, the deceit, the arrogance, the pointless deaths of tens of thousands of innocents.
Sorry, lady, morality is not something that exists only below the waist.
What planet do these people inhab Oh, never mind.
Dumb must be its own reward.
The Public Trough 1
You can’t make this stuff up:
The possibility of more government assistance is likely to stir new worries about the bank’s health in a city that has already seen its second-biggest bank, Wachovia, acquired by San Francisco’s Wells Fargo. Bank of America is in the midst of slashing up to 42,500 jobs worldwide and Wells Fargo is expected to cut its work force here as well.
In other news, Secretary of the Treasury Paulson et familia wants a cash-strapped city to build them a stadium:
In Portland, Merritt Paulson, the 35-year-old son of the US Treasury secretary, is 80% owner of the Portland Timbers – a second-division professional soccer team that has its sights set on Major League Soccer – and the Portland Beavers, a Triple-A baseball team. His father, who’s reportedly worth $700m himself, owns the other 20% of the two teams.
The Paulsons have agreed to fork over the $40m MLS franchise fee but argue they need $85m in public money to renovate the local PGE Park into a soccer-only stadium and to build the Beavers a new stadium at a separate location.
Legacy 0
Jon Swift writes the ultimate paean epitaph for the Current Federal Maladministrator.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? 0
Andrew Sullivan talks about meeting Mr. Obama.