Blog Archive

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Immigration wars continue.

WHAT IMMIGRATION POLICY DO AMERICANS SUPPORT?

WHY IMMIGRATION HAS NOT BEEN FIXED




The United States constitution expressly gives Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. While the rules changed from time to time, they usually included a residency requirement from as little as two years to as many as 14 years. Usually these laws required a 5-year notice to apply for naturalization. There were laws passed in the 19th century that banned, and later limited, the number of Chinese immigrants. In the early 20th century there were laws that limited the number of Japanese immigrants. They also passed laws that banned entry of people with mental illness and infectious diseases. In 1901 Congress passed laws to exclude known anarchist agitators. A literacy test was added in 1917.  In 1921 Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, this act limited the number of immigrants based on the proportion of each nationality living in the country. In 1924 the quota of 154,227 was established for immigrants from the eastern hemisphere.

Ellis Island is where immigrants were processed and quarantined before they were allowed to enter the country. My grandparents on my father's side came from Hungary around 1900 and the records of their entry can be still found at Ellis Island. This was a safety measure to make sure people with infectious diseases were not introduced into the general population. Also, my grandparents had to have someone who would sponsor them and take responsibility for them. People were reluctant to sponsor someone that they may become financially responsible for.

Immigration went from 236,000 in 1929 to 23,000 in 1933. This was due to the worldwide financial depression, there were not many jobs available for citizens at that time. As many as 500,000 to 2 million were forcibly repatriated. In the decade from 1930 to 1940 total immigration was 528,000- less than 53,000 per year.

In 1965, the limitations were reversed and new quotas enacted: 120,000 per year from the western hemisphere and 170,000 from the eastern hemisphere was enacted. Family members who sponsor relatives are often outside the quotas.  In 1980 immigrants were limited to 270,000 and refugees 50,000.

In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed creating for the first time penalties for employers who hired illegal immigrants. It also contained an amnesty for about 3 million illegal immigrants already in the United States and mandated increased enforcement of the border. The amnesty was embraced, but the enforcement of the border never materialized.

The Immigration Act of 1990 increased legal immigration to 700,000 and increased visas by 40%.

The last four administrations have not enforced the immigration laws of the country; they have mostly looked the other way as millions of illegal immigrants have entered the country. After the terrorist attack in 2001, it was revealed that most of the attackers were here on visas. Many people enter the country with a visa and are here for years without anyone knowing were they are or what they are doing. This has brought about the call for comprehensive immigration reform, which in most plans would give blanket amnesty to illegal aliens and require enhanced enforcement of the borders and visas. The problem with these plans is history - most of the Republican house members ask, if you have not enforced the laws on the books now, why should we believe these new laws will be enforced? They fear that they will end up with millions of new citizens and the flood of immigrants will continue until the next amnesty is proposed. Most responsible legislators say let's fix the border and visa programs and when that is accomplished, then we can look at what to do with the illegal immigrants that are here now. Many Republican establishment types and Democrats want a comprehensive, all encompassing plan that is implemented all at once - this would not guarantee that illegal immigration would ever be controlled.

While some believe we should not restrict anyone from entering the country, most believe there should be some control as to who and how many immigrants enter the country. In a socialist society allowing many often uneducated, unskilled immigrants to enter the county puts a huge drain on resources, especially in border states. This also depresses the wages of lower and middle class residents. Visas should be limited in the length of time and the authorities should know who the visa holders are and what they are doing in the country. This experiment with open borders is proving to be a serious mistake in the EU countries. How many new people can be assimilated into the country in an orderly way? All these questions will need to be answered before we come to a satisfactory conclusion.


Friday, August 26, 2016

Presidential campaigns hit new lows

WILL 2016 HAVE THE LOWEST VOTER TURNOUT IN RECENT HISTORY?

BIG ON SEMANTICS AND PERSONALITIES SHORT ON POLICY



Yesterday turned out to be a new low in the 2016 presidential race. On one side Hillary Clinton ran adds depicting Klu Klux Klan members voicing support for Donald Trump. Then gave a speech where she indicated that Trump and his supporters are racists and bigots. Trump responded by calling Hillary a Bigot because her and her party's policies have destroyed the inner cities and not provided real opportunity to inner city minorities. While the democrats and elite republicans have been using that approach against Trump for over a year, it seems like that approach has taken on an added thrust. This probably has to do with Trump explaining to minorities that their unemployment levels have risen and quality of life in many neighborhoods has declined in recent years and they should trust him to improve their future. This has mobilized democrats and their surrogates to up the ante on Trump. Trump and his surrogates have been making inroads into Hillary's poll numbers by emphasizing the problems with the Clinton foundation and the use of her private email server. Hillary and her surrogates have been hammering Trump on his demeanor, tone, and they claim, his unfitness for office. While Trump and Hillary have laid out economic plans, there has been very little actual debate about the plans, other than competing special interest groups claiming their candidates plan is the best. I would bet most people don't know what either has offered. Trump has put his plan on line. Clinton has not, other than some talking points.

The new term Alt Right has been unveiled that seems to include anyone who believes that we should control immigration, should have a policy of how many and who is allowed to immigrate into the country  Review trade policies so they would be more beneficial to American workers, and who believe the United States should be an independent country, rather than just a another part of  some global administrative Bureaucracy. Anyone who believes in these things will now be labeled that they are racist, bigots, xenophobes or whatever label can be placed on them to silence them and minimize their arguments. We will see if this will be effective, it may very well silence many who do not like controversy, but may also motivate them to come out and vote. 

Having now reached a new low in presidential politics, if we are now in the gutter with 75 days to go to the election where will we be by election day. How much lower can things get? I guess we are going to find out. Many people are already turning off, they may very well skip this whole election.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Clinton, Powell , private email , private server

COLIN POWELL DISPUTES HILLARY'S ACCOUNT

HILLARY AND SURROGATES JUST KEEP ON SPINNING




The Clinton campaign's attempt to confuse the voters by equating private email accounts with private servers took a hit from Colin Powell, an Obama and Clinton supporter, who finally had enough of the Clinton campaign using him as cover. Clinton has been repeating to anyone who would listen that what she did with her private server was the same as what Colin Powell did as Secretary of State. She went as far as to say that Powell advised her to do this. This is another lie by Clinton to try to cover up what she did with her private server. Powell finally responded that he had no such conversation with her. If she is smart she will drop the whole thing right now, she really does not have any credibility left on this matter.

All federal government appointees may use private email accounts, AOL, Verizon etc. for their personal email, this is the same email that we all have, they are allowed to use this for emails of a personal type with family, friends and non-governmental business. These servers will retain these emails for a very long time even after being deleted on your computer. Colin Powell had a private email account that he used for these matters. He used the government servers for government business.

All federal government appointees are to use government email accounts for government business. This for two reasons, one is they are a high security server that is constantly upgraded and monitored.  Also all communications are to be preserved for historical records and to provide access for freedom of information requests in the future. 

Hillary Clinton did not use either of these types of servers. She purchased her own server which was housed either in her home or in a remote location in Colorado. Actually according FBI director Comey's testimony, she had as many as 4 different private servers, which were periodically destroyed and replaced with a new server. The fact alone that she had intentionally bypassed the requirements of the freedom of information act, and exposed top secret and other confidential information to be compromised should be enough to prosecute her, but that will never happen under the Obama administration because they must have known about this arrangement. In 2014, two years after she left the state department, she printed out 50,000 emails, and erased every thing else on this server. This would apply to the last remaining server, the earlier servers where never mentioned by anyone.

The whole matter is further complicated by the fact that the Clinton foundation has received many millions of dollars of contributions from foreign governments, especially middle east governments, at the same time as she was secretary of state. These contributions were often accompanied by large speaking fees to Bill Clinton by these same governments. While there are indications that indicate favorable treatment to some of these donors by the state department, there has not been solid proof linking these transactions. Some believe that this was the primary reason for the private email server.

But make no mistake, the Clinton campaign's strategy has been to blur the difference between a private email account and a private server. They have been aided by a coordinated effort by their surrogates and media to minimize the importance of the use of these private servers.

 

Thursday, August 18, 2016

NW Lehigh school board meeting Aug. 17

MORE BASEBALL PROGRAM CONTROVERSY

ENROLLMENT DECLINES



The Northwestern Lehigh School Board welcomed the new teachers hired for this school year. Many are former Northwestern Lehigh Students. There also was a vote on the hiring of Bob Fatzinger as the new baseball coach, which seems to have raised questions of favoritism and nepotism in the hiring practices at Northwestern Lehigh. There was a prepared statement from Frank L. Rauscher, who was representing other parents regarding this matter. I will include a statement by Mr. Rauscher  at the bottom . There was some earlier controversy when the Baseball Booster Club was disbanded by the board. This action was recommended by Mr. Zimmerman the athletic director and Mrs. Yadush. The board did vote to disband the baseball booster club. Mr. Zimmerman claimed there were irregularities with the booster club, but they were never disclosed. The vote to approve Bob Fatzinger was 6-2 with Darryl Schafer and Charlene Rauscher opposing the appointment. Former director Ron Morrison, brought out that the School district does not have a formal policy on Nepotism and that such a policy is long overdue. It is reported that in some instances there are as many as 4 members of the same family working at the district and many multiple related employees.

The enrollment for the new year is 2156, this is down from 2203 in September of last year. No explanation was available for why the decline. Enrollment was at its peak in Sept. 2006 at 2404. There has been some speculation that public school enrollment has declined due to the emphasis on controversial social positions being forced on the schools, with some opting for home schooling and private and parochial schools. This is of course not necessarily the fault of local schools districts.

The final vote to approve the charter for the Circle of Seasons Charter School is now being set for October 19.

Below is a statement by Frank L. Rauscher:                                                                               
    

“When administrators in a public school system do things to benefit themselves or their friends by way of cronyism - or their family members by way of nepotism – that will inevitably begin to bring down the perception that people have of those administrators and the school district as a whole.  When people lose faith in our system then cynicism increases and the system becomes dysfunctional.  We need strong board members who do not compromise on the basic principals concerning ethics and conflicts of interest - and who are willing to stand up and do the right thing.  We must take a retrospective look at the hiring practices of not just our coaching staffs - but all paid district positions to ensure that hiring decisions are not made based on nepotism or cronyism but that the very best and most qualified candidates are offered employment.”  Frank Rauscher




Monday, August 15, 2016

World Corporate income tax rates.

ARE U.S. CORPORATIONS UNDER TAXED?

DO WE WANT MORE CORPORATIONS TO LOCATE IN THE U.S.?



Below is a list of the Corporate income tax rates across the world. We often hear that we have the highest corporate income tax rate in the world. It is true! Is it any wonder that corporations are leaving the United States and placing their headquarters in other parts of the world? Many who move are no longer U.S corporations and pay no tax in the United states. In 2015 Corporate tax collections in the U.S. were $341. Billion, this is 11% of federal taxes collected. There is an estimated $3 Trillion in corporate profits made by overseas subsidiaries that will not be brought into the country because of excessive taxation. Looking at these rates we see that the former Communist countries in eastern Europe  have some of the lowest tax rates. Is this because they have learned by experience what many have attempted to get across to policy makers in the U.S., higher taxes, do not end in higher receipts. If we want America to be a growing dynamic economy, we need to entice business to stay here and relocate here, bringing good jobs, that in the end will bring in more tax revenues. If we really want to increase real, high paying jobs we need to make America an enticing place to do business. Lower taxes, reasonable regulations, a cooperative attitude by the government and regulators, not an adversarial relationship that we have now. Remember, government cannot create real wealth producing  jobs, but they can create the environment for business to create jobs.

Location20062007200820092010201120122013201420152016
Afghanistan020202020202020202020
Albania2020101010101010151515
Algeria25192326

Angola3535353535353535353030

Argentina3535353535353535353535
Armenia2020202020202020202020
Aruba3528282828282828282825
Australia3030303030303030303030
Austria2525252525252525252525
Bahamas00000000000
Bahrain00000000000
Bangladesh30303027.527.527.527.527.527.527.525
Barbados2525252525252525252525
Belarus2424242424241818181818
Belgium33.9933.9933.9933.9933.9933.9933.9933.9933.9933.9933.99
Bermuda00000000000
Bolivia25252525252525
Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba00000
Bosnia and Herzegovina1010101010101010101010
Botswana2525252525222222222222
Brazil3434343434343434343434
Bulgaria1510101010101010101010
Cambodia202020202020
Cameroon33
Canada36.136.133.5333128262626.526.526.5
Cayman Islands00000000000
Chile17171717172018.5202022.524
China3333252525252525252525
Colombia3534333333333325252525
Costa Rica
Croatia2020202020202020202020
Curacao34.527.527.527.52522
Cyprus1010101010101012.512.512.512.5
Czech Republic2424212019191919191919
Denmark282525252525252524.523.522
Dominican Republic3025252525292929282727
Ecuador2525252525242322222222
Egypt20202020202025252522.522.5
El Salvador3030303030
Estonia2322212121212121212020
Fiji3131312928282820202020
Finland26262626262624.524.5202020
France33.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3
Georgia15151515
Germany38.3438.3629.5129.4429.4129.3729.4829.5529.5829.6529.72
Ghana25252525
Gibraltar3535332722101010101010
Greece2925252524202026262929
Guatemala3131313131313131282525
Guernsey00000000000
Honduras3030303025353535303030
Hong Kong SAR17.517.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.5
Hungary1616161619191919191919
Iceland1818151518202020202020
India33.6633.9933.9933.9933.9932.4432.4533.9933.9934.6134.61
Indonesia30303028252525252525
Iraq15153515
Ireland12.512.512.512.512.512.512.512.512.512.512.5
Isle of Man00000000000
Israel312927262524252526.526.525
Italy37.2537.2531.431.431.431.431.431.431.431.431.4
Jamaica33.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3333.3325252525
Japan40.6940.6940.6940.6940.6940.6938.0138.0135.6433.0632.26
Jersey000000000020
Jordan2525252514141414142020
Kazakhstan3030302020202020202020
Kenya3030303030
Korea, Republic of27.527.527.524.224.22224.224.224.224.224.2
Kuwait5555551515151515151515
Latvia1515151515151515151515
Lebanon151515
Libya40404040202020202020
Liechtenstein12.512.512.512.512.512.5
Lithuania1515152015151515151515
Luxembourg29.6329.6329.6328.5928.5928.828.829.2229.2229.2229.22
Macau1212121212121212121212
Macedonia15121010101010101010
Malawi3030303030
Malaysia2827262525252525252524
Malta3535353535353535353535
Mauritius2522.5151515151515151515
Mexico2928282830303030303030
Moldova12
Montenegro99999999999
Morocco30303031
Mozambique3232323232323232323232
Namibia343433333332
Netherlands29.625.525.525.525.5252525252525
New Zealand3333303030282828282828
Nigeria3030303030303030303030
Norway2828282828282828272725
Oman1212121212121212121212
Pakistan3535353535353535343332
Panama3030303027.5252525252525
Papua New Guinea30303030303030303030
Paraguay10101010101010101010
Peru30303030303030303028
Philippines3535353030303030303030
Poland1919191919191919191919
Portugal27.525252525252525232121
Qatar35353535101010101010
Romania1616161616161616161616
Russia2424242020202020202020
Samoa29272727272727272727
Saudi Arabia2020202020202020202020
Serbia1010101010101015151515
Sierra Leone303030
Singapore2020181817171717171717
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)34.534.534.534.534.5
Slovakia1919191919191923222222
Slovenia2523222120201817171717
South Africa36.8936.8934.5534.5534.5534.5534.5528282828
Spain3532.5303030303030302825
Sri Lanka32.535353535282828282815
St Maarten24.534.5
Sudan35301515153535353535
Suriname3634.5
Sweden28282826.326.326.326.322222222
Switzerland21.320.6319.218.9618.7518.3118.0618.0117.9217.92
Syria35282828282828222222
Taiwan2525252517171717171717
Tanzania3030303030303030
Thailand3030303030302320202020
Trinidad and Tobago25252525
Tunisia3530303030303030252525
Turkey2020202020202020202020
Uganda3030303030303030303030
Ukraine2525252525252119181818
United Arab Emirates5555555555555555555555
United Kingdom3030302828262423212020
United States4040404040404040404040
Uruguay3030252525252525252525
Vanuatu0000000000
Venezuela34343434343434343434
Vietnam28282825252525252222
Yemen3535353535202020202020
Zambia3535353535353535353535
Zimbabwe30.930.930.930.925.7525.7525.7525.7525.7525.7525.75
Africa average30.8230.5628.6528.7528.3828.5529.0228.2927.8527.9227.46
Americas average29.9729.2728.8428.8228.2829.2828.6728.3527.9627.3527.86
Asia average28.9928.4627.9925.7323.9623.122.8922.0521.9122.5921.97
Europe average23.722.9921.9521.6421.4620.8120.4220.619.6820.1220.48
Oceania average30.630.229.629.22928.628.627272726
North America average38.0538.0536.7536.535.534333333.2533.2533.25
Latin America average29.0728.327.9627.9627.5228.8328.327.9627.5226.8527.29
EU average24.8323.9723.1723.1122.9322.722.5122.7521.3422.2522.09
OECD average27.672725.9925.6425.725.425.1525.3224.1124.8624.85
Global average27.526.9526.125.3824.6924.524.423.7123.6423.8723.63

https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/services/tax/tax-tools-and-resources.html