Defeat or contain

In the seven months since the start of US bombing raids against ISIS the US and allies have carried out 16,000 airstrikes against ISIS. In the first five weeks of the Gulf War the US carried out 100,000 airstrikes. It appears the US policy is not to degrade and destroy as The President stated but rather to contain. I think what we are doing aptly fits the name assigned to this mission,” Operation Inherent Resolve”. Jordan’s King Abdulla was visiting the White House when one of his citizens was burned alive by ISIS and he cut short his visit and returned home. The next day he order the hanging of two convicted ISIS terrorist and today he launched massive air strikes against ISIS. A few months ago a US citizen was decapitated and President left the golf course to make a statement as to how terrible this was and less than ten minutes later was back on the course. On a news program last week President Obama said the US was doing all that it could to fight ISIS and yesterday after the murder of the Jordanian pilot he said we would redouble our efforts against ISIS.

Amnesty

President Obama’s plan to offer amnesty to undocumented immigrants allows them to have social security cards, which in turn makes them eligible for child tax credit, child care credits and earned income credits. A person must be working to qualify for these tax credits. This means that a family of four with an income of $20,000 will receive another $10,000 in credits even though they pay no income tax. They also qualify for free health care under Obamacare. They also qualify for Energy Assistance Program to help pay for utilities, Family Investment Program offers both cash and food assistance, Head Start which is government day care for ages zero to five, free school breakfast and lunch, Special Milk Program, Nutrition for Women’s, Infants and Children, Weatherizing Assistance and Summer Food Service providing free food to children during summer time. This should help to answer the question as to how someone could live on minimum wage but it does nothing to provide jobs. I am all for these benefits but once again how they will be paid for must be explained. Both sides recognize that the president's actions will give a legal benefit to people who are afoul of the law. Undocumented immigrants granted deferred action will also get permanent Social Security cards, despite their temporary, quasi-legal status in the country.

Tax credit for illigals

People who are in the country illegally, euphemistically called undocumented immigrants, do not have a social security number but file income tax using an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). These people are not eligible for the child tax credit which is a government benefit that gives $1,000 to each child under the age of 17. This is a huge benefit to low income people because it pays even if you don’t owe any income tax. The President’s plan to offer amnesty to 5 million undocumented immigrants, who only have ITIN number, will now become eligible for this benefit and they will be able to go back three years and collect. This program is the one that Obama wants to increase to $3,000 per child and last year cost the government 57 billion dollars. This is a tremendous benefit to low income people and there is nothing wrong with helping but how this will be paid for should be explained. It will redistribute wealth but it will not create any jobs.

Unforced errors

In tennis there is a phrase, unforced errors. It means you voluntarily screwed up on your own with no help from your opponent. Republicans seemed to be afflicted with this malady. Recall the congressman who said if a woman is raped her body will automatically compensate and not allow her to get pregnant. Then a couple of high profile republicans said you don’t need to get the measles vaccine and now a congressman from North Carolina says employees in restaurants need not wash their hands after using the bathroom.

Obama ratings

President Obama’s approval ratings are back up to 50% and the administration says it is because the unemployment rate is down to 5.6%, and the deficit is cut from one trillion to one-half trillion. For the average citizen the unemployment rate is either zero or 100% meaning you either have job or you don’t. The average citizen has trouble differentiating between trillions and billions so the deficit has little meaning but when gas drops to two bucks everyone wakes up and takes notice. The gas price is why The Presidents ratings are up and while he was offering tax incentives for wind mills, solar panels and electric cars he was limiting the expansion of fracking on public lands and fracking is the reason gas prices are down.

Higher power

I passed a church today and there was a sign outside that read, you can’t be happy and selfish at the same time, and while I agree, this is an over simplification. Selfishness is generally considered a negative emotion but all emotions in and of themselves are neither negative nor positive. It is in how they are used that they take on morality. Many religious and or spiritual people believe in a higher power and they believe that if they live their lives according to the plan of this higher power they will have a happy life. They can also achieve some degree of happiness by following their own plan but it will not be as great as following the plan of the higher power. If you assume that people prefer the happiest life then by submitting themselves to this higher power they can reach the highest level of happiness in this life. Following this logic using the psychic energy of selfishness to reach the happiest life would lead one to follow the plan of the higher power.

Obama budget

For those not familiar with how our income tax system works allow me to explain one aspect. A tax deduction allows you to reduce your taxable income before you calculate your tax. A tax credit allows you to deduct directly from the tax you owe. Obviously a credit is far better than a deduction. One of the most widely used credits is the child tax credit not to be confused with child care credits. This credit is available to couples whose income is less than $110,000 and who have children under the age of 17. This benefit provides a credit of $1,000 per child and pays even if no tax is owed. It is a huge benefit for low income people and last year cost the government 57 billion dollars. President Obama is proposing that this benefit be raised to $3,000 per child and this would be most helpful to the lowest income families. It is not available to families without income, that is, you must be earning wages to qualify. This along with lowering the payroll tax, (social security) is one of the best ways to help low income families but the cost will be $114 billion dollars per year. In addition the President is proposing a 478 billion dollar public works program for things like bridges and highways. This would be paid for by a 14% tax on money held overseas by corporations and they would be forced to bring this money back into the country. Since there is 2 trillion in these accounts this would generate 238 billion in tax revenue and combined with another 240 billion from a gas tax would pay for the works programs. Infrastructure projects help the lower income people but the tax on gas would hurt the poor and low income people. The President is proposing raising the tax rate on capital gains and using that money for a middle class tax rebate and that will help but he plans to increase taxes on cigarettes and that will hurt. While plans like this will meet The Presidents goal of income re-distribution only the public works program will provide good jobs and those are all temporary.