"Tell Mayor Nutter that everyone needs to pay their fair share"

That's the jargon printed on the ACORN handout held by protestors outside of the "upscale" Residences at Two Liberty Place in Philly.

Mayor Nutter's proposed budget would add hundreds of dollars to the property-tax bills of most home-owning Philadelphians - but not all.

For the 9,000 who own new or renovated homes and buildings with 10-year property-tax abatements, the impact of Nutter's tax increases would be negligible: $35 next year, for example, on one typical abated $400,000 home.

A growing number of Philadelphians are fuming over such figures, and they are letting the mayor and City Council know it, in protests, in phone calls and letters, and in angry outbursts at town hall meetings.

My personal opinion is that the City of Philadelphia should be cutting "feel good" programs and hand-outs like there is no tomorrow instead of trying to prop them up with new tax increases...but such is life in the Democrat voting urban centers of the Northeast.

What I find amusing is that ACORN organized a rally to protest the abatement provided and based their complaint on the fact that those individuals with new or newly renovated homes (who already got socked in the mouth with high rates) won't see a huge increase in their property taxes, while those who have been NOT paying their "fair" share all these years are getting the red hot poker. In short, the new proposed increase is assuring that everyone does, indeed, pay their "fair" share.

I'd like to see the City Council listen to these folks (and ACORN). I'd enjoy seeing a whopping increase in property taxes to those in "luxury" housing. I'd like to see it, because Philadelphia would then follow in the footprints of New York City. By this time next year, both cities will wonder what happened to their tax base. A small percentage of residents in both cities have been footing the irresponsible bill for years. When they leave, both urban centers will turn into a virtual cess pool of destitution and squallor. Bring it on, ACORN...you're doing just fine.

PS: check out the article in the Philadelphia Inq. linked above...the photos are priceless and do little to gather any sympathy for these folks.

This isn't going to end well...

“The decisions need to be taken now, today and tomorrow,” Mr. Sarkozy said. “This has nothing to do with ego. This has nothing to do with temper tantrums. When it comes to historic moments, you can’t circumvent them.”

He added that tougher regulation — he has called for a “global regulator” would be able to reach inside the borders of the United States and other large nations to deal with international financial firms — is “nonnegotiable.”

“The compromise has to come from all countries around the world,” he said. Saying he trusted Mr. Obama, Mr. Sarkozy said he did not want to point fingers about the crisis. But then, in a verbal jab he has used before, he added, “the crisis didn’t actually spontaneously erupt in Europe.”

I can't wait to see how this ends. A "global regulator" won't happen. It would play hard against the ego of our president. That's the ultimate deal breaker.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gets a cookie...

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was stunned at a press conference yesterday when Brazil's president told him "white people with blue eyes" caused the world's financial crisis.

"I am not acquainted with a single black banker," the outspoken Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said after greeting Brown in Brasilia.

Let's go to the tape...

I'll be damned...he NAILED IT!!! (not bad for a Socialist nutbag bigot)

"There is nobody there..."

The US-European differences are casting a shadow over next month’s summit in London of leaders from the G20 group of advanced and emerging economies, an event to be attended by Barack Obama on his first visit to Europe as US president.

It also emerged that Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, was struggling to organise the summit. Britain’s most senior civil servant claimed it was hard to find anyone to speak to at the US Treasury. Sir Gus O’Donnell, cabinet secretary, blamed the “absolute madness” of the US system where a new administration had to hire new officials from scratch, leaving a decision-making vacuum.

“There is nobody there. You cannot believe how difficult it is,” he told a conference of civil servants.

No comment necessary...

This is a paragraph of disturbing truth (Mark Steyn)

And that was before Obama made clear that for him the economy takes a very distant back seat to the massive expansion of government for which it provides cover. That’s why he’s indifferent to the plummeting Dow. The president has made a strategic calculation that, to advance his plans for socialized health care, “green energy,” and a big-government state, it’s to his advantage for things to get worse. And, if things go from bad to worse in America, overseas they’ll go from worse to total societal collapse. We’ve already seen changes of government in Iceland and Latvia, rioting in Greece and Bulgaria. The great destabilization is starting on the fringes of Europe and working its way to the Continent’s center.

Mark Steyn takes a 12 pound, hickory handled, double face sledge hammer and nails a thumb tack dead center.

He only mentions Russia ("oligarchic industrial-scale kleptomania") as an aside to show example of Eastern Europe's fragility to economic difficulties...but they are in supreme disarray. They had resorted to arresting protestors as far back as January over something as innocuous as car tax demonstrations in a tiny port town. In short, the Kremlin is running scared of what could develop as the proverbial bread lines return.

Obama needs help getting it up...(votes)

WASHINGTON - Democratic strategists are appealing for help from President Barack Obama's massive grassroots network, created during the presidential campaign, as they try to build support for the president's economic stimulus package.

The strategists on Friday called on supporters to host ``economic recovery house meetings" next weekend, marking the first call to action for the network in support of the White House policy agenda.

Parties and "stimulus packages" don't mix...

The two sides of Capitol Hill appear to be engaging in a bidding war to see who can put more money toward the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases in its version of the economic stimulus bill.

The House included $335 million in its package. But the Senate, not to be outdone, provided $400 million in STD spending in its bill.

Aha...the whole STD thing is starting to make sense. Recovery parties...stimulus packages...

Asked to comment...Bob Dole stated that he wasn't aware that Viagra had come out with a package deal...and would continue to use his medicare supplemented monthly prescription instead.

The Super Bowl Commercial I'd like to see...

(Plain white stage setting)

"Hello…My name is Alan Mulally. I am the Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company. In 1903, Henry Ford incorporated his company and we are still here 106 years later. Perhaps we are a little battered at the present. Just about every major company worldwide is weathering the current economic crisis as best they can. But, we are Ford Tough, and you can count on Ford Motor Company to be here a century down the road.

That…I promise you.

Our competitors are more than willing to accept a government issued “bail out” to cover for their mistakes, and the unpredictability of today’s market. That’s not how Henry Ford would have done business back at the turn of the century. That’s not how we’re going to do business now.

We would prefer to earn your patronage, and allow you the choice of whether you contribute your hard earned money to Ford. Your money is only good to us when we know you get something in return; something you want. That is the philosophy that started this great company all those years ago, and we see no reason to change it now.

Ford Motor Company has chosen to take a pass on this gift from our government; this gift offered without input from any of our customers. Instead, we have chosen to earn your support by concentrating on making vehicles that you desire, can afford, and best fit your needs.

Some of you require rugged pick-ups. We have them. Some of you are more inclined to drive something a bit more stylish. We have those, too. And, as the growing trend continues for more environmentally friendly vehicles, so have our efforts to make these type vehicles available to you. The concept is simple. We will pay more attention to what you want, and do our best to make those choices available to you at an affordable price. Your job is to show us how much you appreciate our efforts.

What we won’t do is take your money and give you nothing for it. We’ll let General Motors and Chrysler do that."

__________________

Related: "Ford Has Its Worst Year Ever but Won’t Ask for Aid"

Pumping Irony...

DAVOS, Switzerland: The leaders of the former bastions of the Communist bloc took the stage here on Wednesday to rebuke their capitalist brothers for dragging the world into crisis but also to assure them that, working together, they can rapidly restore the global economy to health.

Meanwhile…those who study the cause realize that capitalism was circumvented by the meddling of government into private industry forcing sub-prime loans to high risk borrowers. They did so by applying and enforcing legislation, which empowered partisan organizations to litigate a further plunge into the abyss. In short…capitalism was submarined by “communist” idiosyncratic tendencies.

Ironic…no?

Nothing further...from small town USA

Click to enlarge if you don't have the vision of a bird of prey...

Alteration, adjust, modify...amend...

Bucking the disappointing retail sales trend, Amazon.com Friday announced its best holiday season ever, selling 72.9 items per second on one peak day, Dec. 15.

The online retailer, which did not disclose revenues, said that in that 24-hour period, it received 6.3 million orders and shipped to customers in more than 210 countries.

The "big print" media is not the only industry that needs to roll with the times. Retail, in general, is getting its lunch handed to it because so many of these entities have not solidly made the effort to intigrate into the digital community.

Think about the groans and gripes you hear around the holidays when someone asks if another has finished their Holiday shopping. Almost always, there is a complaint of traffic and lines...which plays into the growing apathy, laziness and immediate gratification requirements of today's society.

The simple fact of the matter is that more people are shopping online. It will only grow in the future. The day of the physical retail store is in just as much danger of disappearing as newspapers and magazines.

Also, if you're tall, you've probably noticed that the major clothing retailers rarely have anything in your size anymore. This is directly related to two things:

1. Cutting costs of stocking sparingly purchased sizes.

2. The influx of immigration to the United States has actually lowered the average height of the constituents. Thus, a retailer must play to its most common consumer. The tall sizes are more available online...so guess where tall people shop.

Hmmmm...

SAN FRANCISCO: In a rare bright spot for the U.S. retail industry, e-commerce sites had a strong Thanksgiving weekend, with online sales from Friday through Monday up 13 percent, compared with sales in the same period last year, according to data by comScore.

The Monday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday was the second-heaviest online spending day on record, comScore said, behind only Dec. 10, 2007.

Online sales climbed to $846 million, up 15 percent from the previous year.

I'm still not convinced that main street America is hurting all that much. The housing foreclosures seem to be coagulated (for the most part) in the urban areas. And, then there is this:

Retailers get green returns on Black Friday

U.S. ‘Black Friday’ Sales Rise 3%, ShopperTrak Says

Oregon gun sales soar; Black Friday sets record

Microsoft Xbox 360 Kicks PS3 Butt on Black Friday

US: Take Two encouraged by Black Friday sales

Black Friday sales brighten southern New Jersey stores' hopes for season

Local retailers pleased with Black Friday sales

Surprised? Black Friday sales up in 2008

Yeah...yeah...I'm not gullible enough to think that the sales of one weekend indicate a trend. The question is whether holiday sales will be sustainable. On that same note (and this is anecdotal)...but I still see full parking lots at the local retail locations, restaurants have lines of folks waiting to be seated...and traffic in and around the usual mall haunts (New York, New Jersey, and Philadelpia)is frustratingly busy.

My personal opinion is that the true hurt will arrive in about a year as the new cadre of "change" artists reflect their philosophy by moving the decimal point to the right on your "voluntary" contribution to the Federal/ State/ Local government so that ineptly run businesses and mathematically challenged home "owners" can continue to bask in their idiocy.

Might I suggest using less material?

(Groucho eyebrow thing)

A steep fall in commodity prices and the global credit crunch are affecting much of Latin America. At the Innocenza factory in Buenos Aires, orders for bikinis are down by more than 15 percent..

(cigar wiggle)