Just a Couple of Things.

NEW TAXPAYER FINANCED JOBS IN ST. LOUIS

So, did you hear that 500 million dollars in stimulus money was used to create 200 new jobs here in St. Louis. That means that it cost the government $250,000 per job to create these new positions here locally. And you will love this, these are not private sector jobs. No, these are Federal Government jobs and are a part of Social Security. You can find more on this story HERE

Isn't it amazing that the government can spend $250,000 per person to create 200 new jobs. While I understand they had to renovate an empty building to create the offices, it took 500 million to do so? Really. I would think that they could outsource this to a qualified company for a lot less money. Don't you.

And I love Lacy's quote

“Any time we can do a better job at serving and saving taxpayers money at the
same time, that is a double win,” said U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay.

It's a shame that he does not know anything about budgeting money and such. I think a regular business student from UMSL would realize that the private sector could probably do this job cheaper and just as efficiently as the Federal Government. That said, people like Lacy only know how to make the government bigger and make more people dependent upon the government for their livelihood.
NEW PICS

As I drive around St. Louis, I like to take pics of things that I find amusing. Here are a couple from the past few days.

I really hope to start seeing more of these soon.

In case you cannot read it, it says - FREEDOM LIBERTY NOT MORE GOVERNMENT
Even though it is out of the way, I make sure I patronize this establishment.
They are located on Howdershell near 270

If you have any pics from the 1st District you would like to share, send them my way.

FACEBOOK

I am now on Facebook. If you want to friend me please do. You can of course find me as MiddleClass Joe. I will be posting pics, links etc.

A Message From Candice

Candice Britton contacted me and asked that I pass the following message on to all of you:

Thank you to all that cast your vote for me on August 3, 2010.
I am sorry I did not get the job done for you.
The people spoke and they hired Mr. Clay.
I respect their vote.
Congratulations’ Mr. Clay.
God Bless to all,
Candice “Britt” Britton
http://www.candicebritton.com/index.html

The Bush Tax Cuts and You

A lot has been made about the Bush tax cuts. Paul Ryan, God love him, has been on just about every pundit show expressing and emphasizing the need to extend the Bush tax cuts. Although he has not said so lately, to my knowledge, Lacy Clay voted against making the Bush tax cuts permanent in April 2002 (107th Congress (2001 - 2002) H.R.586).

We all know that President Obama promised not to increase taxes for anyone making less than $250,00 a year. So I had to find, how do the Bush tax cuts effect MO 1st District.

Here are the parameters I set for this exercise. I assumed I am dealing with a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 children under 17 who make whatever the median household income is for the 1st district. I also assumed that they filed using the EZ form and did not take out advanced deductions.

To start, I had to find out what the average income was for all of the first district. For this, as I do not pay for the latest and greatest information, I referred to CQ Politics and their page on MO 1st. Their information was all based upon the 2000 census. Based upon their information, the median household income was $36,314. Assuming that the range would be the same, I adjusted for inflation and came to a 2010 median household income of $44,796.

Taking, that $44,796 I calculated the MO income tax using the MO Dept of Revenue page. Based upon the calculator, this family would pay $1,272 in income taxes each year.

Using this information, I plugged these figures into the calculator at MyTaxBurden.org and here is what I found. (CLICK THE PIC BELOW TO ENLARGE)

As you can see, a family making $44,796 would see them owe $2,000 in taxes , while they would pay nothing in and get a $93 return should the Bush tax cuts continue. The proposed Obama proposed budget would give this family a over $1,000 tax return. That said, the Obama proposed budget has not been passed, therefor it is truly difficult to assume that these figures would remain the same once put in place.

Focusing back on the difference between the expiring cuts and extending them, we are looking at some pretty substantial changes should these cuts not continue. This includes

1. Tax Rates. The top tax rate will go from 35% to 39.6%. In addition, if nothing is done, it will mean higher taxes across the board. See the proposed 2011 tax rates for more information.
2. Capital Gains. The 0% long term capital gains rate will go away. Capital gains rates will go up to 10% for lower tax brackets and from 15% to 20% for higher tax brackets.
3. Dividends. Dividends will be taxed as ordinary income, with the new higher rates. Right now the dividend tax rates are 10% and 15%.
4. Child Tax Credit. The child tax credit will return to $500 from the current $1,000 per child. In addition, it may not be refundable for some taxpayers.
5. 529 Plans. 529 plan withdrawals will not be allowed tax free for computer or Internet access.
6. Business Taxes. In addition, various business taxes will change including the payroll tax credit and section 179 expense deduction.
7. Estate Taxes. Without any action, the estate tax (or death tax as some like to call it) exemption will go back to a $1 million exemption.
8. Other Tax Credits. The tuition credits will be limited, as will the earned income tax credit.
9. Mortgage Premiums. You will no longer be able to deduct mortgage insurance premiums after December 31, 2010.
10. Return of the Marriage Penalty. Married couples filing jointly will no longer get equal tax breaks compared to non-married couples who file separately.

Based upon these facts, expiration of the Bush tax cuts will have a dramatic affect on many of the people in the first district. Looking at the 2000 census statistics alone, you see that 42.2% of those living in the first district will see an increase due to the return of the marriage penalty. Using those same numbers, 62% live in owner occupied housing. You would have to assume that at least 5% of that 62% (3.1%) pays some sort of mortgage insurance which would increase their tax burden. Additionally, 26% of the total population of the first district is under the age of 18. This means that a good chunk of the taxable population would lose the additional child tax credit. The amount of people is difficult to estimate due to not knowing how many children there are per household and whether or not those children have both parents living at home. That said, even if somehow every household had just 2 children per household, this would affect 91,109 households or 14.7% of the district.

The numbers I have put up here are staggering. In this day and age, $2,000 can still mean a lot of money. It can mean being able to afford sending your kids to private school or even homeschooling your children. It can mean being able to afford a home improvement. Or it could just mean padding your savings account for a rainy day.

Without a budget in place, it is imperative for the first district and the country that the Bush tax cuts continue.

Run the numbers for yourself using the calculator. It WILL scare you.

Now is the time to educate your friends and family. Don't trust that the Congress will do something. Get on the phone and demand to know what your representative is going to do. Demand to know if they are going to push to extend the tax cuts or what their plan is. Let them know that you WILL hold them accountable come November if they do not take care of you, their constituent.

Now On To November

First off, I want to congratulate Robyn Hamlin on winning the primary to run against Lacy Clay. She and Martin D. Baker both had good primary showings. I talked to Martin earlier today and he wanted to "thank all of the wonderful people who helped through this adventure and will continue to support the conservative movement and true conservative candidates". Martin had more to say which I will discuss in an upcoming post

I also want to take a moment and congratulate Candice Britton on a well fought race. Candice had the tough challenge of taking on an incumbent within her own party. Candice was able to secure 19% of the Democrat vote during this primary. With few funds and a lot of hard work, she was able to do a lot. I think this shows the level of dissatisfaction voters have with the current Congress.

With that said, it is now on to November. Robyn Hamlin vs. Lacy Clay will be on the ballot for the November election in the first district. Not to be a wet blanket, but we need to now talk facts. Here are the numbers being reported for Tuesday's vote.

Name	Party	Votes	Vote %
Clay, Lacy (i)	Dem	36,762	59.549%
Britton, Candice	Dem	8,488	13.749%
Hamlin, Robyn	GOP	10,231	16.573%
Baker, Martin	GOP	4,509	7.304%
Works, Marshall	GOP	1,457	2.360%
Stone, Julie	Lib	149	0.241%
Cunningham, Robb	Lib	138	0.224%

As you can see, Lacy has a commanding lead in the vote totals. He took nearly 60% all votes coming in. I know he is the incumbent, but that means we are going to have to work harder and be even more diligent.

The public needs to be made more aware of how he is not working for the people, but instead for special interests and himself. There is enough out there to show his ineptitude. Simply look at:

• his convienent relationship with the rent to own and cash advance companies
• his desire to not be held accountable by the Congressional Ethics Committee
• the documented waste of money in this years census of which Lacy is the Congressional chairman of the committee in charge
• His support of the Federal Health Care
• The mysterious campaign payments to his sister
• His lake of ethics when it comes to taking corporate campaign contributions from companies he rallies agains.

My friends, now is the time to unite and bring down Lacy. We can bicker with one another about certain policies, fiscal reform, etc. I welcome those debates. I encourage those debates. But now is not the time for people to take their ball and go home. We have a candidate in Robyn who has the potential to bring Lacy down. We are all responsible adults who love our country and want to see it prosper. We want everyone to have the chance to succeed and fail. Lacy wants everyone to have guaranteed success by making those that have succeeded fail. We can't afford that. Let us all stand together to help and support Robyn.

Let me tell you a quick story. At my work, there is a small group of us that are all varying degrees of right of center, some more than others. On the day of the elections, a couple of people were talking about voting for Ed Martin. I was asked if I voted for Ed and I explained that I was in the 1st district. Both of them basically sighed and said," ooooh, that's Lacy Clay. You will never be able to get rid of him."

That statement right there is why Lacy continues to win. The perception is that he is a guaranted win for the Democrats. In Robyn, we have a politically active, small business owner, who can step up and talk about everyday scenarios. She can talk to the issues everyone is facing because she is facing them too. Lacy wants everyone to think he is unbeatable, so no one tries. Those that do are not able to get the support needed because everyone thinks it is a no win situation.

So, here is what we need to do.

1. Everyone needs to call Lacy Clay's office and ask for debates between him and Robyn.
2. Everyone needs to start talking up Robyn as the alternative to Lacy
3. Donate. Donate. Donate. We all need to donate either our time, our money or both. Pick up a yard sign, a car magnet or something.
4. Stay alert to what is going on. Lacy and his team will be out there robo calling or making statements about Robyn. If you hear these things or see them, pull out your cell phone and take a picture/video. Email me and we will get it out among the people.
5. Host a get together and invite Robyn or one of her staff. If you are having a big enough get together, call a Jamie Allman, Dana Loesch or Gina Louden and talk about it on one their shows.

These are just a few things that we all can do. This is our district, not Lacy's. Let's take it back for all of the people and not just a select few.

So, what do you think? Are you in?