Recent Comments

1. about 13 years ago on Tom Toles

   To: lontooni – Don’t give up. After 18 months of looking I finally found a solid job that is right in my field. I am 59 and I know the pain. Just remember, it isn’t the government that creates jobs. It is the entrepreneurial, hard-working spirit of America.Good luck.

2. over 13 years ago on Tank McNamara

   Bring on Seven Aside Rugby.

3. over 13 years ago on Jeff Danziger

   My son came out of the Harvard, Tufts and MIT ROTC in 2006. He was ridiculed at Tufts for wearing his ROTC uniform. Tufts was a distance from MIT and he and his group had drive like maniacs in Boston to get to classes on time. If there is anyone to ridicule it is the Presidents and faculties of these so called “great” universities that say how much they admire their ROTC officer candidates and then make them go through hell to meet their graduation requirements.

   All ROTC students have to graduate in four years time and have to take advanced calculus and chemistry. They don’t hide in the “easy” courses. Shame on these faculties and shame on the cowardly University Administration for making it so difficult for these young men and women.

4. almost 14 years ago on Glenn McCoy

   Take a good hard look at how National Public Radio is supported. The NPR website cites revenue numbers from 2009 NPR budget:

   32.1% Individual contributions

   21.1% Business contributions

   13.6% University funds

   10.1% Corporation for Public Broadcasting funds

   9.6% Foundation money

   5.6% Federal, state, and local government funds

   7.6% Other

   The 5.6% Federal and State tax support does not seem large. At first glance, the amount coming from Federal, State and Local tax revenues would confirm that public radio’s support does not come in large amounts from the direct allocation of tax moneys. Look more closely. That 10.1% that comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is 99% provided by – you guessed it – the federal government. Those university funds, whenever they are provided by a public university, represent taxpayer-provided dollars. One can safely assert that three out of four university-supported stations are publicly funded, which means that more than 10% (three-quarters of that 13.6%) is taken from the taxpayer’s pockets.

   Some very thought provoking numbers. The cartoon doesn’t do full justice to the tax payer support for NPR. I like certain NPR programs. The public should support culture.

   Yes, there is a slant at NPR especially over the unanswered criticism of the abrupt firing of Juan Williams. Yet I will continue to support my local station.

5. almost 14 years ago on Stuart Carlson

   Running on Empty…Check your comment carefully. Corporate earnings are increasingly coming from overseas sales. The value of the dollar has been falling for quite a few years on a trade weighted basis. There is no Ponzi scheme in the U.S. equities market. The SEC would be all over it. Investors are reacting to the shift in revenues and the efforts of industry to be more efficient. Look at U.S. productivity gains per Department of Commerce. U.S. industry is perhaps the most productive worldwide industry around. It follows its markets. Too bad Congress makes it so expensive and difficult to repatriate profits that could be used to invest domestically. What everyone forgets is that there are competitive tax regimes elsewhere begging for U.S. investment and the jobs it creates.

6. almost 14 years ago on Stuart Carlson

   Quoted from Feb 8th speech of FRB Dallas President Richard Fisher - Read the last line carefully:

   The Fed does not create government debt; Congress does. Deficits and the unfunded liabilities of Medicare and Social Security are not created by the Federal Reserve; they are the legacy of Congress. The Fed does not earmark taxpayer money for pet projects in local communities that taxpayers themselves would never countenance; only the Congress does that. The Congress and administration play the dominant role in creating the regulatory environment that incentivizes or discourages job creation.

7. almost 14 years ago on Stuart Carlson

   High tech job creation and business investment within the U.S. is thriving. What the sheepish press and the nattering nabobs who produce such editorial cartoons as Carlson’s do not understand is that jobs follow capital and vice versa. Much of the offshore jobs have gone to a) new markets such as the emerging markets where growth is higher than the U.S. b) where there is labor intensive production at low cost. What is staying in the U.S. is the high tech, quality education sensitive jobs. However if we do not continually reform our education process to meet international standards elsewhere we will be uncompetitive and lose market share. Capital flows to the most competitive, growing markets. The U.S. does have a competitive advantage but not for long if the U.S. Congress and our people fail to understand the simple principle of competitive advantage.

8. almost 14 years ago on Pat Oliphant

   Perhaps in his native Australia Pat Oliphant can get away with denigrating women by name calling. While I appreciate good political debate and humor, this cartoon is sadly lacking in both. Clean up your act, Mr. Oliphant. Make the debate more respectful and useful.

9. almost 14 years ago on Glenn McCoy

   EPatte: Actually Wisconsin does have lower tax rates on balance. The new Illinois tax rates compare unfavorably in all but one instance - fuel excise taxes. See http://www.taxadmin.org. These figures are for 2010 and have not been adjusted for the higher rates. Wisconsin does have a graduated individual income tax rate going from 4.6% to 7.6% whereas Illinois had an individual flat tax of 3% in 2010. Sales tax is lower in Wisconsin. That tax is regressive, falling more heavily on lower income earners. Whether you are in California, New York, or Illinois your state budget is in a dire mess after years (regardless of party affiliation) of negligent spending. It is time to own up, pay down the bills, cut profligate spending and raise revenues judiciously.

10. about 14 years ago on Kevin Kallaugher

    This editorial cartoon is very clever. Another way of interpreting it is to conclude that the only person who has access to the White House is the builder of the maze… none other than our Israeli “friends”. Who fashions how the Peace Talk news is presented in America? Sadly, there is little impartiality.