Yearly Archives: 2005

Americans Outside the Tax System

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Patrick Fleenor and Scott A. Hodge:

One of the biggest obstacles facing President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform is the fact that America has become divided between a growing class of people who pay no income taxes and a shrinking class of people who are bearing the lion’s share of the burden.
Despite the charges of critics that the tax cuts enacted in 2001, 2003 and 2004 favored the “rich,” these cuts actually reduced the tax burden of low- and middle-income taxpayers and shifted the tax burden onto wealthier taxpayers. Tax Foundation economists estimate that for tax year 2004, a record 42.5 million Americans who filed a tax return (one-third of the 131 million returns filed last year) had no tax liability after they took advantage of their credits and deductions. Millions more paid next to nothing.

Should Milwaukee Suburbs Pay for City Services?

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AP:

A new study shows Milwaukee residents are way behind their neighbors when it comes to taxable property values, prompting some officials to urge wealthy suburbs to share their tax revenues in exchange for their use of city services.
The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission ordered the study from consulting firm Ruekert & Mielke Inc. to analyze 147 cities, towns and villages in the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha and Walworth.
The study released last week shows that Chenequa in Waukesha County boasts the top “fiscal capacity” rate, a measure of property value per resident, of $600,570, while Milwaukee ranks at the bottom with a rate of $36,507.

Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin mentioned this strategy as well – tax ’em while they are driving in.

Lost & Found at Disneyland

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Anthony Breznican:

“At the end of the day, this dumb woman was so glad to see her little canary she took it out of the cage, and it went right into the trees of the Jungle Cruise,” McFaul says. “I didn’t tell them that hidden in the bushes — and definitely in the Jungle Cruise — are the most beastly cats. I thought, ‘That poor little bird lasted that long,’ ” she says, holding her fingers an inch apart.

Gonzales says his department used a name and number on an expensive camera to contact a family in San Diego about the item. But they had reported the camera stolen three years earlier. “The thief brought it to Disneyland, and we reclaimed it for them,” Gonzales says.

The white-haired McFaul says her matronly appearance allowed her to get away with giving a scolding to some visitors when she returned their valuables.

Via
Cory Doctorow

Teleporting Over the Internet

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BBC:

Professors Todd Mowry and Seth Goldstein of Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania think that, within a human generation, we might be able to replicate three-dimensional objects out of a mass of material made up of small synthetic “atoms”.
Cameras would capture the movement of an object or person and then this data would be fed to the atoms, which would then assemble themselves to make up an exact likeness of the object.
They came up with the idea based on “claytronics,” the animation technique which involves slightly moving a model per frame to animate it.

SBC Seeks Price Regulation Removal

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Thomas Content:

SBC seeks to remove price regulation on basic local phone service in 77 exchanges across the state. The Wisconsin Citizens’ Utility Board, a customer advocacy group, has warned that the proposal could lead to price increases. SBC Wisconsin countered that the competitive landscape in the telecommunications industry means the regulation is no longer needed.

I don’t think we should remove any regulations from SBC. SBC requires local telephone service with a dsl line purchase, which essentially taxes VOIP service on dsl lines.