Government Helping Us - Not Archives - Page 20 of 44

This is Not a Joke: Trial Begins to Answer the Question is Cheerleading a Sport?

New Haven Register: “After 13 months and costs estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the six litigants of the Quinnipiac University women’s volleyball program and Quinnipiac University will be back in United States District Court in Bridgeport Monday to determine whether the university’s elimination of the volleyball program violated federal Title IX guidelines.” One of the issues in the case is whether replacing the 11 lost women’s volleyballers with additional cheerleaders can offset the loss of the volleyball program.

Title IX states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Translation: Colleges and universities cannot have sports programs that have more men than women or Big Brother will sue and force the schools to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers instead of students.

When it dropped women’s volleyball, Quinnipiac also dropped men’s outdoor track and golf. It later dropped men’s indoor track. You might ask why does the federal government care about how many people of each gender participate in college sports? Nobody knows except the politically correct do gooders who see discrimination behind every door.

New Jersey Battles over Tax on Millionaires because Legislature is Unaware that the Tax would Reduce Tax Revenue

We’ve all heard the saying that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately for all of us, politicians who do not know history are constantly repeating history to the detriment of their constituents. Case in point, the Democrat controlled legislature of New Jersey.

The New Jersey legislature passed a tax on millionaires that was vetoed by Governor Chris Cristie. Now the Democrats want to override the veto to impose a 10.75 percent tax on 16,000 residents with incomes above $1 million. The dems claim the tax would raise $673 million that the state would use to pay $1,295 to 600,000 seniors to help them – get ready for this – pay their increased property taxes. In short, NJ wants to tax the rich to offset taxes imposed on the not so rich. It’s also known as redistribution of income.

Alas, the Democrats in the New Jersey legislature cannot remember or refuse to acknowledge what happened in the past when New Jersey raised taxes on the rich. Law makers live in a dream world disconnected from reality. They pass laws based on their beliefs without regard for the consequences of the laws. Democrats believe and have faith that they must tax the rich because it brings in more tax revenue, even when it doesn’t. They ignore the economic facts of life.

The article called “Wealthy Fleeing Tax Happy New Jersey – $70 Billion Lost 2004 – 2008” states”

“The exodus of wealth, then, local experts and economists concluded, was a reaction to a series of changes in the state’s tax structure — including increases in the income, sales, property and ‘millionaire’ taxes. ‘This study makes it crystal clear that New Jersey’s tax policies are resulting in a significant decline in the state’s wealth,’ said Dennis Bone, chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. . . .

“Several years ago,
[an accountant] recalled, one of his clients stood to make $60 million from stock options in a company that was being acquired by another. Before he cashed out, however, the client put his home up for sale, moved to Las Vegas, and “never stepped foot back in New Jersey again,” . . . ‘He avoided paying about $6 million in taxes,’ he said. ‘He passed away two years later and also saved a huge estate tax, so he probably saved $7 million’.”

See “Maryland Raises Tax on Rich Who Bug Out so State Collects Less Tax.” See also “Nike Founder & Chairman Says New Tax Laws Passed by Oregonians Should be Called Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law II,” which discusses recent state tax increases approved by Oregon voters to increase taxes on the wealthy.

California Senate Bill Would Jail Parents if Kid Skips School

Washington Post: “The California Senate just passed a bill that could send parents to jail for up to a year if their kids — from kindergarten through eighth grade — miss too much school.” Wow! This is a perfect example of the blindness of do good legislators to the unintended consequences of their stupid laws. Consider the possible consequences if little Johnny skips school repeatedly and his mommy and daddy go to jail for a year:

Dad loses job
Mom loses job
Family has no money to buy food
Family evicted from home or loses home to mortgage foreclosure
Kids go to foster homes
Kids have no parents for a year
Parents may lose custody of the kids
Kids are ashamed that their parents are criminals
Millions of dollars California does not have spent investigating and prosecuting skip-parents
Violent criminals let out of jail to make room for criminal skip-parents
Little Johnny is proud of himself for the damage he’s done because he hates his Dad and Mom and/or family
California’s unemployment number goes even higher
More money California does not have paid out for unemployment benefits.

Other than those unintended consequences, the new law sounds awesome.

Obama Spends $1.2 billion on Cycling & Walking Initiatives

From the you won’t read or hear this from the U.S. media department. London Telegraph: “The Obama administration more than doubled spending on cycling and walking initiatives to $1.2 billion (£810 million) last year as it seeks to coax Americans out of their cars. . . . In March, Mr Obama’s transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, announced a policy “sea change” that gives biking and walking projects the same importance as automobiles in transportation planning and the selection of projects for federal money.”

California Assembly Passes Law to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores

If there is one thing as certain as the sun rising in the morning it is that the California legislature will pass laws that make no sense and hurt its economy. The Associated Press reports that the California Assembly just passed a bill the would create a California-wide ban on stores putting merchandise in plastic bags. The law would also require stores to charge customers for paper bags if they do not have their own bags. Rather than dealing with the real problems of the state on the verge of bankruptcy that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, the incompetent and dangerous California legislature continues to add fuel to the California fire.

There is a lot of misinformation about plastic bags being tossed around. For facts about plastic bags, go to The Trust About Plastic Bags.

Update: “Those reusable grocery bags meant to replace the thin plastic ones can harbor germs and pose a risk to your health, according to a study by the University of Arizona.”