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The Spectacle Blog
One other response to Dave’s post on the merits of tax cuts versus tax increases. I don’t dispute for a minute that a lot of Bush-era conservative commentary on tax cuts degenerated into an absurd cariacture of supply-side theory (you had people arguing simultaneously that the same tax cuts would increase revenues and starve the beast). This isn’t necessarily any crazier than the belief that you can cut taxes for 95 percent of the American people, including people who don’t pay any taxes, and magically finance a vast expansion of social welfare programs simply by nudging the other 5 percent or less into a 39.6 percent tax bracket rather than a 35 percent bracket. But neither vision is especially realistic.
That said, the following strikes me as an oversimplification: “They [Clinton-era liberals] thought they proved in the 1990s that these were fair tax rates under which the economy could grow wildly, and that Bush proved in the 2000s that lower marginal tax rates for the wealthy didn’t spur real economic growth.” Raising taxes two years after the 1990-91 recession was over isn’t necessarily going to have the same effect as raising taxes as the economy could conceivably be teetering on the brink of a double-dip recession. All the Clinton versus Bush experiment really proves is that a 39.6 percent tax rate isn’t enough to stop the dot-com boom and a 35 percent tax rate won’t avert a mortgage criss or financial meltdown.
The case for the awesomeness of the Clinton tax increases becomes even weaker when you note that the the economy didn’t really begin to “grow wildly” until 1997, after there had been cuts in the capital gains tax similar to the 2003 Bush tax cuts. That’s not to say there were nothing wrong with Bush’s economic stewardship versus Clinton’s — the policies that really brought us to the doldrums were much more bipartisan than either the Clinton tax hikes or the Bush tax cuts. But the overall economic climate was different during both presidencies.
By the way, here’s an example of how Ronald Reagan’s presidency was transformative in a way that his successors’ terms have not been: for all the ridicule of curves being drawn on cocktail napkins to justify trickle-down voodoo, nobody wants to go back to the pre-Reagan tax rates. I wonder why?
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More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/12/06/toto-ive-a-feeling-were-not-in
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CalMark| 12.6.10 @ 6:32PM
The problem with the Bush economic program is all the giveaways, like the "fully refundable child tax credit." Lots of people get a "free lunch," paid for by the rest of us. Not only do they not pay a dime of income tax, they get a "refund" ("free money") from the government.
This sort of thing must be ended. And spending must be cut (cow flatulence studies, "personal hygiene" for backwards nations, etc.).
And cut taxes. Yes, I'm a supply sider: keep cutting until government income starts to go down. By that point, the government should be swimming in money from previous cuts. After that, the government can make do with less. Regular people in the real world have to do it all the time.
cheapairjordan | 12.6.10 @ 9:54PM
thanks your share!
DVD drive Burner | 11.8.11 @ 4:11AM
How to Burn an AVCHD File to DVD
AVCHD is a new high definition standard created by Sony, and used in many of their HD Camcorders. The resulting AVCHD disc is then able to be played in many consumer Blu-Ray players, the Sony Playstation 3, as well as the camcorders themselves. These are capable of producing 1080p and 720p video.
Instructions
1
If you have not done so already, plug in your camcorder to your PC. If an autoplay box does not appear, locate the camcorder's files on your PC. Two folders are needed in order to properly burn an AVCHD onto DVD, and they are BDMV and Certificate. Once they are located, copy and paste these two files onto your desktop. This could take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes.
2
Once they are transferred to your desktop, go to the following web address and download the software:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
Once downloaded, install the software by double-clicking the downloaded file and follow on-screen instructions.
3
Right click the AVCHD folder that you just transferred to your desktop and click on "Properties." On the General tab, locate the size of the file in order to specify how big of a DVD is needed to burn the files. Sizes up to 4.3GB will fit onto single layer DVD's. If the size exceeds 4.3 GB, a dual-layer DVD is needed. Once you figure out which DVD is needed, insert it into your PC's DVD-RW drive.
4
Imgburn Software
Open the ImgBurn program that was just installed. Click the option that reads "Write files/folders to disc." The next screen is where you need to click some options. The image provided locates the options that need to be checked and unchecked. Make sure the "Auto" box is checked and the "Verify" box unchecked. After this is done, add the 2 folders (BDMV and Certificate) into the large open space. This can be done by either clicking on the magnifying glass and adding them, or by simply dragging and dropping them into the program.
5
Once the files are loaded into the program, the settings will verify you want to change to UDF 2.5 burning mode. Click "Yes" when prompted. Next, simply click on the large icon located near the bottom. You will be greeted by a few pop-ups verifying your disc burning session and allowing you to name the disc. Click "OK" and your burning will start.
6
Once the burning is complete, remove the disc and insert into appropriate Blu-Ray players or Sony Playstation 3. If all went well, you will be enjoying your home movies in amazing quality, also allowing you to start a library of HD home movies, instead of storing them on a hard drive
Tips & Warnings
Memorex and Verbatim DVD's have the best success rate. Verbatim Dual Layer DVD's are the best to use when needed. Be patient, burning might take a couple tries.
Depending on your PC's DVD drive and Blank disc, you may go through a few DVD's until one works perfectly. AVCHD does not work on all Blu-Ray players, so check with the manufacturer first. Do not pirate copyrighted material.
http://www.drives-storage.com.au