Politics Roundup

“The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare.” - Daniel P. Moynihan

Here are a few news stories that caught my eye yesterday,

Wall Street Journal: A Sucker's Play -- Each $1 in Higher Taxes Results in $1.17 of New Spending
A presidential deficit reduction commission recommends a 6.5% national sales tax to help reduce the deficit. But a study in the late 80's showed that for every dollar in taxes raised, congress increased spending by $1.58. Repeat studies continue to back this up. The most recent results show that from post-WWII to today, an average of $1.17 of new spending is approved for every extra dollar taxed. Economist Milton Friedman said, "Politicians will always spend every penny of tax raised and whatever else they can get away with."

Who's in charge of the State Department? Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor

"For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement. But now, it turns out, Mr. Mansour was apparently not Mr. Mansour at all." ... “It’s not him,” said a Western diplomat in Kabul, “and we gave him a lot of money.”

Irish Debt Crisis Forces Collapse of Government

"The impending collapse of the Irish government after an expensive bailout seemed only to reconfirm fears that the financial crisis was far from contained."

Is California paying attention? Is the US? This can't happen to us, right?

From Instapundit, DOES THE TSA KILL?
According to a Cornell study on risk-shifting and risk-increasing roughly 130 travelers die every three months as a result of traffic fatalities brought on by choosing to drive instead of suffering the inconveniences of flying. That’s the equivalent of four fully-loaded Boeing 737s crashing each year.

Bottom Line

I'm reminded of the theme song from a weekly sketch on Hee Haw, "Gloom, Despair and Agony On Me"