ch.annel2-i.s-n.ow-a.ngry

First, a truism that NO ONE gets: The only easy money being had is the money going to the guy selling you the plan to make easy money.

Second, a Newsweek quote via the Mishblog:

The federal agency charged with backstopping pension benefits for 44 million Americans has understated the risks of its new investment policy, a congressional watchdog said Monday.

The PBGC said earlier this year that it would take a more aggressive investment approach by investing more in stocks and adding new alternative investments, such as real estate and private equity funds.

The agency, which has assets of $68 billion, hopes the strategy will help it close a $14 billion gap between those assets and its liabilities. Otherwise, taxpayers could be called upon to pony up extra funding, the director of the PBGC has warned.

As a well-educated taxpayer, I would like to call bullshit on this: taxpayers will not be ponying up the extra funding, foreign sovereign wealth funds will be loaning America money to pony up the extra funding. Taxpayers will be ponying up extra debt without any recourse or way to say no.

I say no taxation without at least a kiss on the back of the neck when we are being royally screwed in the asshole.

Remember how I said the fiscal stimulus was going to be absolute bullshit, not do a drop of good for our economy, and just put our nation further in debt, meaning that the 160 billion dollars will actually cost us around 200 billion in future taxes? From the Wall St. Journal:

Congress enacted the tax rebate program earlier this year because it perceived a growing risk of recession. In addition, it feared monetary policy alone would not be effective because of the dysfunctional credit markets. As American taxpayers know, most of the rebate checks have now been mailed and cashed.

Those of us who supported this fiscal package reasoned that the program would boost consumer confidence as well as available cash. We hoped the combination would cause households to spend a substantial fraction of the rebate dollars, leading to more production and employment.

The evidence is now in and that optimism was unwarranted. Recent government statistics show that only between 10% and 20% of the rebate dollars were spent. The rebates added nearly $80 billion to the permanent national debt but less than $20 billion to consumer spending. This experience confirms earlier studies showing that one-time tax rebates are not a cost-effective way to increase economic activity.

That’s right, our government is as fucking clueless as ever. And it wants to do more ‘good’ for us.

Well shit, even Iraq was invaded ‘with [stated] good intentions’  - and you see where that’s gotten us.

To paraphrase MC Hawking, “fuck, fuck, fuck the electorate.” And yes, I do mean electorate as in you and I the voters, because we’re the dumbasses that snoozed while electing C students (and that’s a gentleman’s C ) as the most powerful man in the modern world.

The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million, IRS spokesman John Lipold confirmed.

Which means, of course, that it will cost another $41.8 million to print and send all those checks out.

“There are countless better uses for $42 million than a self-congratulatory mailer that gives the president a pat on the back for an idea that wasn’t even his,” Sen. Charles Schumer said Friday, arguing the IRS could more effectively spend the money to catch tax cheats.

At least someone noticed.

Keith Hennessey, director of the president’s National Economic Council, said the letters are being sent to explain how the tax rebates will work.

“Any time you do something as a government tens of millions of times, there is ample room for people to get confused. And so if you’re going to have tens of millions of taxpayers getting checks, you want to get the information out so that you have as few people as possible confused about what’s happening, they understand what’s coming, and it reduces the number of incoming requests that IRS and Treasury have to figure out how to deal with it,” said Hennessey.

Uh, hey, guys, if you’re that worried about people not understanding this phony-baloney tax redux that you’ve been fellating yourselves about in the media for the last 6 months or so, why not just put it in the envelope with the check?