Friday, November 16, 2012

Fiscal Crisis Solution Worksheet

The impediment to solving the fiscal crisis is not a matter of economics.  It is a matter of process management.  Slim Fairview. From The Quotations of Slim Fairview. ©

  

"You can't lead if you can't manage."  Slim Fairview

Therefore, I've composed a worksheet to help Congress.

"Anything a Congressman has to say when the cameras are rolling isn't worth listening to."  Slim Fairview


First of all is the misalliance of ideology 

Some are calling for higher tax rates, others for increased revenues.  This begs the question, "Is this a matter of dollars or ideology?"

A. Tax Rates

How many dollars and from whom?

The Smiths earn $250,000 dollars a year, own their own home, and have a net worth  [Sell the house, pay the mortgage] of $50,000 dollars.

The Joneses earn $200,000 a year, own their own home, and have a net worth [Sell the house, pay the mortgage] of $500,000.

The Smiths?  Taxes go up?
The Joneses?  No tax increase?

Why do I ask? Because Congress didn't say.  And therein lies the problem. The people receive no information from Congress.

Fill in the blanks:


For standard income

Those making less than $20,000 a year:

How many?
What rate?
How much in taxes paid?

Those making less than $40,000 but more than $20,000.

How many?
What rate?
How much in taxes paid?

Continue, up the list until you reach the top.  Do this for the old rate. Do this for the proposed increase. Period! Publish the numbers.

Group 1.         Number of People          Tax Rate         Dollars Paid in Taxes

Group 2          

Get the idea?


Repeat the Process
 
Do this for Capital Gains.  The same process. Publish the numbers for all Americans to see.


B. Revenues

Those who want to close the loopholes.

Repeat the first part of the above for all taxpayers with current loopholes.
Repeat the first part of the above for all taxpayers with the proposed closing of loopholes.

Report the number of dollars that the Treasury will receive.


Now that we know who the money comes from and how much they pay, under the current system, and who the money will come from and how much they will pay under the proposed changes, there is little room for a Congressman or a Senator to hide.


Where will it go?  

The Deficit:  How much we bring in minus how much we pay out.  The government calls this negative earnings.  People call this a loss.  As it stands: How much we pay out minus how much we bring in.

The Debt:  How much we owe.

Whichever plan we embrace, or variation thereof, the people want to know something.  The absolute truth and in detail:

A.  When we increase revenue through taxes (the method notwithstanding) we will pay down the debt.

      Creditor.       The number of dollars.

1.
2.
3.
etc.

B. When we increase revenue through taxes (the method notwithstanding) we will increase spending:

       Programme        Number of Dollars

1.
2.
3.
etc.


Before Congress says another word about the Fiscal Cliff, they should draw up the grid, enter the headings, makes the list, and fill in the numbers.  Until then, they are nothing more than a gang of cigar-chomping party bosses in smoke-filled back rooms and derby hats cutting deals.


Warmest regards, 

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com



PS. If this is helpful, please don't hesitate to send me a really tricked out laptop and to tuck more than a few dollars into the envelope with the thank you note.  The GSA should be able to handle that nicely. Slim

 
Copyright © 2012 Slim Fairview

All rights reserved


 

Monday, November 5, 2012

Misunderstanding China Again


The China Bashers have new data.

  • Exports are down.
  • Domestic Consumption is up.
  • There is an aging population.

Their assumptions? China will

  • Lose competitiveness
  • Watch its labour force dwindle 
  • Suffer economic decline
  • Reel from increasing unrest.

Untrue. 
  
As the world moves closer to the divide: high tech v. growing emerging-nation labour market, China will be in a position to leverage its advances in technology, engage in foreign capital investment, cement diplomatic and economic alliances globally, and prosper.

Aging populations are more conservative and less disruptive.

China lifted 500,000,000 people out of poverty.  (Some will forget. Prosperity does that to people. However, not all will forget.)

Needless to say, it is not improbable that China will modify its one child policy.  This China will do when China sees a need to do it.

China repudiated not only the Soviet Style of Communism, but also the socialist-light style embraces by some of our Pilgrim forefathers.

Recently someone or other mentioned a rise in Chinese nationalism and attempted to define it as looking to the government for assistance.  That is wrong.  Chinese nationalism can be more properly defined as the Chinese people becoming increasingly more concerned with what is in the best interest of China.  This is not unique to China.  Many nations do this.

If the reports are true, and domestic consumption is up, does that not suggest that the Chinese people are buying products made in China?  It would if Chinese exports are down.  Another report.

Would foreign capital investment not benefit China?  [Translation: Foreign capital investment will benefit China.]

Follow the path of the trajectory.  China moves from direct foreign investment (international business model) to the multinational business model.  Some examples would be China's purchase of a Portuguese, government-owned, power company; investments in railroads to bring Brazilian crops to port; and recent talks with Greek shipping companies.  All this has been reported in the news.

What the Chinese appear to have been doing is what I recommended to American businesses looking to do business globally in "Global Management: A shift in the paradigm of corporate America"

In that presentation, I explained to American corporate leaders how to approach the global business community.  But why explain that to American corporate leaders?  They've been doing that for years, right? Right.  However, the world has changed--the American Corporate Paradigm has not.

China recognises the shift in the global economic paradigm and is responding to it.

Regards,

Slim


If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked-out laptop and to put a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note. Slim



Pack it up and ship it off to me, [FedEx]


slimfairview@yahoo.com 

Copyright (c) 2012 Slim Fairview
All rights reserved.