God's Word for 4/15/19

For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

Romans 13:6-7 KJV

That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

Romans 13:6-7 MSG

Saturday Morning

This is the first weekend in a month that we haven't awakened to a major snow clean-up, so it's already a good day. :)

It's supposed to be sunny today, but sunrise isn't until 9:10, so that's still nearly two hours away. Meanwhile, the local forecast is filled with news of the dense fog advisory in Anchorage. But we're not in Anchorage, so it's all good.

We'll go out after breakfast to do our usual weekend shopping, but the only other plans for the day involve running our taxes. Traditionally, I've waited until April, because we've had to pay additional funds. Every. Single. Year.

But this year, for the first time, I can answer "yes" to the "Did you buy a house?" question. We're looking forward to a possible refund for a change. It'll be a nice change of pace.

* * * * *

We watch the reports of rioting and property destruction ("protests", my giddy aunt!) with a growing sense of anger. It's about time someone spanked these rampaging Leftist idiots.

I'm going to stop right there, as I can feel my BP rising. And there's no sense spoiling a good morning.

Thanks for stopping by, friends. Have a wonderful, safe weekend!

How Times Have Changed (Edited, With an Explanation)

“I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government, and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.” 

~ President Calvin Coolidge, speaking in favor of a national income tax (before there was one; the nation was a hodge-podge of differing tax rates, and the argument FOR a tax was that the federal government could level the playing field for interstate commerce, and lessen individual tax burdens while still providing revenue for the government to provide its essential services.)



"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much"  

~ President Ronald Reagan, speaking on lowering taxes (and reducing spending)

IRS Code Prohibits Sleeping Pods at Anchorage Airport

Plans to install sleeping pods at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport have been grounded by, of all things, Internal Revenue Service codes.

The pods, which were planned for the airport's C concourse, would have contained two to three bunks each for weary and laid-over travelers to get some cheap rest before boarding their next flight. Their installation would have made Anchorage's airport one of the first in the nation to utilize the so-called "micro hotels" and would have increased the airport's already growing nonflight revenue.

But after going through an IRS audit a few months ago, airport bond managers noticed a prohibition in the tax code covering allowable uses for tax-free bonds against building lodging facilities.

And there's the catch. The main terminal and C Concourse have been renovated (beginning in 1999) with a combination of AMT tax-free bonds and private equity bonds. With more than $500 million still outstanding on the tax-free AMT bonds, the airport is bound by IRS codes that are meant to prohibit public bonds from being used to compete with private businesses.

The restaurants, shops and even a beauty salon that already exist don't violate IRS code because they are for the sole use of airport travelers and employees. It seems obvious that sleeping pods would also be used only by the traveling public, since they would be on the other side of the TSA security screening area. However, IRS code section 142.C.2.a specifically forbids "any lodging facility" from being built when tax-free bonds are still outstanding. There may be a workaround to the problem, but airport officers didn't want to take any chances with the tax man.

"It's complex," said Keith Day, the financial controller for the Alaska International Airport System, which includes the Anchorage and Fairbanks airports. "We made the determination that the most conservative approach was to not take any risk with it."

Follow the link for the rest of the story.

"Couldn't let us profit. Wouldn't be civilized." ~ Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, Firefly

I Don't Wanna Talk About It

Just ran our 2011 taxes. Ugh.

More Tax Dollars at Work

Excerpt from a story in today's paper:

When the covers come off for good sometime in early February, the new "Anchorage Museum Transit Transfer Facility" at the corner of Sixth Avenue and C Street will be bigger, fancier, higher-tech and better-placed than any other People Mover shelter in town:

• 72 feet long, 9 feet wide, open to the air and brightly lit through the night.

• Designed by architects who produced the revamped, expanded museum and embellished by an artist.

• No snow or ice. The walkway in front of the stop will be heated through the winter.

• Electronic signage that tracks buses moving across town. People waiting will be able to see not just when their ride is supposed to arrive, but when it's actually likely to.

• And expensive. At $875,000, plus a couple of change orders, it will have cost around 30 times as much as your average transit shelter. (emphasis added)

Click on the link to read the rest.

Sigh. I have no doubt it is really nice, and that those waiting for the bus will appreciate the amenities. But ... really?

BOHICA - The Global Tax

Excerpt:

While policymakers debate a few million dollars for ACORN and a few hundred billion dollars more for health care reform, those committed to one-world government are moving ahead with plans for a global tax that could extract trillions of dollars out of Americans' already depleted IRAs and stock holdings.

One can't exclude the possibility of such a tax being slipped into a health care or cap-and-trade bill that the Congress or the public could not have time to read before passage.

~~ snip ~~

The "Leader's Statement" endorsed by President Obama and released at the event declares on page 10 that "We task the IMF to prepare a report for our next meeting with regard to the range of options countries have adopted or are considering as to how the financial sector could make a fair and substantial contribution toward paying for any burdens associated with government interventions to repair the banking system."

The term "fair and substantial contribution" is code for a global tax. Other misleading terms for global taxes include "innovative sources of finance" and "Solidarity Levies."

While the global tax would affect the savings of ordinary Americans and be passed on to consumers, it is being packaged by the international left and its progressive allies in the U.S. as an assault on Wall Street and the big banks.

~~ snip ~~

Over at the Huffington Post, a voice of the Obama-supporting left, Kyle G. Brown advises that such a tax is doable and that "a modest fee on every stock, every bond-in short, every financial transaction" could generate $100 billion a year at a rate of just 0.5 percent. He explains, "That would defray health care costs, and help struggling states restore social services that have been axed over the past two years."

And our friends in Congress are all behind it. Don't say you haven't been warned.

Thursday Morning

Good morning. It only got down to 51 degrees overnight, and it's rainy again today. The weather is nothing special at the moment, but nature put on a display for us last night.

The rainbow started out farther away, and drew closer as the sun was going down. This picture was taken about 45 minutes before sunset. You can click for "wow-that's-a-big-picture", if you like.


* * * * *

One of the comments I received yesterday was a request for me to publish what my daughter is cooking this week. Unfortunately, school has started, and she's discovered how much reading material we've given her for her sophomore year. This leaves her not wanting to commit to a regular cooking schedule until she gets used to her studies.

Therefore, my wife & daughter have decided to do much of the prep work on weekends, making ingredients that can be easily combined and cooked in relatively short time. If they're not too complicated, I'll do some of that myself, when daughter is otherwise occupied.

I can cook enough to keep body & soul from parting company, but I eat a much better selection and variety when someone else is cooking. My choices would probably not inspire a magazine article, shall we say?

* * * * *

Anchorage has a fairly large budget shortfall this year, and faces a larger one next year. The new mayor (in office for about a month, now) has been laying off workers, and shortening workweeks for others.

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to not be hearing demagoguery about how high to jack up the taxes. It's because there are no income or sales taxes, here. Property tax is the only thing to be concerned about, and this year's rate was set back in February or so. Next year, there will be plenty of time to jack it up once again, all the while expounding and discussing why the budget must be balanced on the backs of property owners.

* * * * *

Y'all have a good day - and thanks for stopping by.