I Know It’s Hard But You’ve Gotta Deal With It
Posted on February 4, 2012 in Videos
Comeback Kid by Sleigh Bells off of Comeback Kid.
The Costly Effects Of Capital Gains Tax Rates
Posted on February 4, 2012 in Articles
The Article: Capital Gains Tax Rates Benefiting Wealthy Are Protected By Both Parties by Steven Mufson and Jia Lynn Yang in The Washington Post.
The Text: The K Street office of Mark Bloomfield, president of the American Council for Capital Formation, is full of knickknacks collected in three decades of lobbying for cutting the capital gains tax.
The coffee table has campaign buttons that read “Capital Gains = Better Jobs.” One wall displays a blown-up cartoon retracing the steps that led President Jimmy Carter to reluctantly sign a cut in the capital gains tax rate. On a shelf sits a framed, handwritten note from President George W. Bush in December 2003 that says: “Dear Mark, I got your treatise on taxes — many thanks. I will look it over with keen interest. Merry Christmas.”
For the very richest Americans, low tax rates on capital gains are better than any Christmas gift. As a result of a pair of rate cuts, first under President Bill Clinton and then under Bush, most of the richest Americans pay lower overall tax rates than middle-class Americans do. And this is one reason the gap between the wealthy and the rest of the country is widening dramatically.
The rates on capital gains — which include profits from the sale of stocks, bonds and real estate — should be a key point in negotiations over how to shrink the budget deficit, some lawmakers say.
“This is something that should be on the table,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), one of 12 members on the congressional “supercommittee” tasked with reducing the deficit. “There’s no strong economic rationale for the huge gap that exists now between the rate for wages and the rate for capital gains.”
Bring Me Back Home!
Posted on February 3, 2012 in Videos
07:45 by We Are Standard off of Great State.
ESPN’s Social Media Win On Super Bowl Media Day
Posted on February 3, 2012 in Articles
On Tuesday morning, SportsCenter’s Twitter account asked for followers to submit questions that they would want answered by Giants and Patriots players during the Super Bowl’s media day. I replied with a insightfully silly question: Who is your favorite ninja turtle and why?
I wasn’t expecting an answer, let alone an acknowledgement, but it turns out the social media folks at SportsCenter and ESPN were listening dutifully to the social conversation. Within an hour and a half of my Tweet, my question was chosen, a reporter on the ground asked the question to Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and the answer was taped, put online, and Tweeted out to me and the general public.
Think about those dynamics for a moment. Through following a brand on Twitter, I was able to connect with a major athlete about to play in the Super Bowl about a show we both watched as children. Now that’s successful social engagement.
And it certainly didn’t hurt the answer was pretty good (though the right answer is Leonardo – sorry BenJarvus):
