Third_Way_Idea_Brief_-_A_Taxpayer_Receipt.pdf (application/pdf Object):
What You Paid For
2009 tax receipt for a taxpayer earning $34,140 and paying
$5,400 in federal income tax and FICA (selected items)
4
Social Security $ 1,040.70
Medicare $ 625.51
Medicaid $ 385.28
Interest on the National Debt $ 287.03
Combat Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan $229.17
Military Personnel $192.79
Veteran’s Benefits $74.65
National Parks $ 69.36
Federal Highways $ 63.89
Health care research (NIH) $ 46.54
Thursday, September 30, 2010
PolitiFact | Tim Pawlenty says the U.S. is not undertaxed compared to its competitors
PolitiFact | Tim Pawlenty says the U.S. is not undertaxed compared to its competitors: "Actually,' Marcus wrote, 'the United States is on the low end in terms of the overall tax burden -- 28 percent of gross domestic product in 2007, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, compared with an average of 36 percent in the 30 OECD countries. Only South Korea, Mexico and Turkey were lower.'
By locating the OECD chart -- which is exactly what we would have done -- Marcus ably did much of our work for us. But we still wanted to check with a few tax experts to make sure that she didn't miss anything in her analysis.
Three experts we queried -- Daniel J. Mitchell, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, William Ahern, the director of policy and communications at the Tax Foundation, a tax research group, and Dean Baker, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research -- all agreed with Marcus's conclusion, though Ahern and Mitchell took the opportunity to add some additional context.
Ahern said that tax-burden-to-GDP ratios -- the data that underlies the OECD chart -- should be used carefully because they can obscure deficits. A country with a low tax-to-GDP ratio may have a substantial deficit, and in time, that deficit will put upward pressure on taxes. So nations with low tax-to-GDP ratios may not find those ratios sustainable over the long term.
Mitchell, for his part, agreed with Marcus' point about the overall tax burden, but he noted that in the U.S., the burden from different types of taxes varies. Some types of taxes, such as corporate taxes, are among the highest of the OECD nations. Others are closer to average, such as the top income tax rate and the capital gains tax rate.
'The big reason the U.S. has a lower aggregate tax burden when measured as a share of GDP is that we don't -- yet -- have a value-added tax,' Mitchell said. 'Our payroll taxes also tend to be lower than average.'
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
By locating the OECD chart -- which is exactly what we would have done -- Marcus ably did much of our work for us. But we still wanted to check with a few tax experts to make sure that she didn't miss anything in her analysis.
Three experts we queried -- Daniel J. Mitchell, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, William Ahern, the director of policy and communications at the Tax Foundation, a tax research group, and Dean Baker, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research -- all agreed with Marcus's conclusion, though Ahern and Mitchell took the opportunity to add some additional context.
Ahern said that tax-burden-to-GDP ratios -- the data that underlies the OECD chart -- should be used carefully because they can obscure deficits. A country with a low tax-to-GDP ratio may have a substantial deficit, and in time, that deficit will put upward pressure on taxes. So nations with low tax-to-GDP ratios may not find those ratios sustainable over the long term.
Mitchell, for his part, agreed with Marcus' point about the overall tax burden, but he noted that in the U.S., the burden from different types of taxes varies. Some types of taxes, such as corporate taxes, are among the highest of the OECD nations. Others are closer to average, such as the top income tax rate and the capital gains tax rate.
'The big reason the U.S. has a lower aggregate tax burden when measured as a share of GDP is that we don't -- yet -- have a value-added tax,' Mitchell said. 'Our payroll taxes also tend to be lower than average.'
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
How Popular Is the iPhone, Really? [INFOGRAPHIC]
How Popular Is the iPhone, Really? [INFOGRAPHIC]: "nifty infographic that puts many facts about the iPhone into perspective
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- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Americans Are Horribly Misinformed About Who Has Money - Politics - GOOD
Americans Are Horribly Misinformed About Who Has Money - Politics - GOOD: "The richest 20 percent, represented by that blue line, has about 85 percent of the wealth. The next richest 20 percent, represented by that red line, has about 10 percent of the wealth. And the remaining three-fifths of America shares a tiny sliver of the country's wealth.
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- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Security Lessons Learned From The Diaspora Launch: MicroISV on a Shoestring
Security Lessons Learned From The Diaspora Launch: MicroISV on a Shoestring: "This is what kills most encryption systems in real life. You don’t have to beat encryption to beat the system, you just have to beat the weakest link in the chain around it. That almost certainly isn’t the encryption algorithm — it is some inadequacy in the larger system added by a developer who barely understands crypto but who trusts that sprinkling it in magically makes it better. Crypto is not soy sauce for security.
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- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Support Certificates In Your Apps with the .NET Framework 2.0
Support Certificates In Your Apps with the .NET Framework 2.0
SSL Support
The SSL authentication protocol relies on certificates. Support for SSL in the .NET Framework consists of two parts. The special (but most widely used) case of SSL over HTTP is implemented by the HttpWebRequest class (this is also ultimately used for Web service client proxies). To enable SSL, you don't have to do anything special besides specify a URL that uses the https: protocol.
When connecting to an SSL secured endpoint, the server certificate is validated on the client. If validation fails, by default the connection is immediately closed. You can override this behavior by providing a callback to a class called ServicePointManager. Whenever the HTTP client stack does certificate validation, it first checks if a callback is provided-if that's the case, it executes your code. To hook up the callback, you have to provide a delegate of type RemoteCertificateValidationCallback: Copy Code // override default certificate policy
// (for example, for testing purposes)
ServicePointManager.ServerCertificateValidationCallback =
new RemoteCertificateValidationCallback(VerifyServerCertificate);
SSL Support
The SSL authentication protocol relies on certificates. Support for SSL in the .NET Framework consists of two parts. The special (but most widely used) case of SSL over HTTP is implemented by the HttpWebRequest class (this is also ultimately used for Web service client proxies). To enable SSL, you don't have to do anything special besides specify a URL that uses the https: protocol.
When connecting to an SSL secured endpoint, the server certificate is validated on the client. If validation fails, by default the connection is immediately closed. You can override this behavior by providing a callback to a class called ServicePointManager. Whenever the HTTP client stack does certificate validation, it first checks if a callback is provided-if that's the case, it executes your code. To hook up the callback, you have to provide a delegate of type RemoteCertificateValidationCallback: Copy Code // override default certificate policy
// (for example, for testing purposes)
ServicePointManager.ServerCertificateValidationCallback =
new RemoteCertificateValidationCallback(VerifyServerCertificate);
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Intel's upgradable processor: good sense or utter catastrophe?
Intel's upgradable processor: good sense or utter catastrophe?: "Intel is about to experiment with a new concept in mass-market processors with its forthcoming Pentium G6951 CPU: upgradability."
Instead, the company designs a few processors that can do everything ("real" variations include core count, presence of QPI connections, number of memory channels, and a few other things), and then selectively disables features. Sometimes the decision is made for Intel—a chip might have a manufacturing defect that limits the amount of cache it can use, and not all chips can run at the same frequency within a given power envelope—but a lot of the time, the company is disabling functional hardware. For example, every Pentium G6950 processor has the hardware to do hyperthreading. It's just that it's been permanently disabled at the factory, because Intel's bean-counters have decided that that particular grade of processor won't have hyperthreading
Instead, the company designs a few processors that can do everything ("real" variations include core count, presence of QPI connections, number of memory channels, and a few other things), and then selectively disables features. Sometimes the decision is made for Intel—a chip might have a manufacturing defect that limits the amount of cache it can use, and not all chips can run at the same frequency within a given power envelope—but a lot of the time, the company is disabling functional hardware. For example, every Pentium G6950 processor has the hardware to do hyperthreading. It's just that it's been permanently disabled at the factory, because Intel's bean-counters have decided that that particular grade of processor won't have hyperthreading
eWeek
eWeek: ". “Oracle is an extremely micromanaged company. So myself and my peers in the Java area were not allowed to decide anything. All of our authority to decide anything evaporated.”
That bent Gosling’s resolve like a wishbone in the hands of two eager siblings in mid-pull after Thanksgiving dinner, but even that didn’t break it. What ultimately snapped the wishbone and made Gosling want to holler and throw up his hands Marvin-Gaye style was that “My job seemed to be to get up on stage and be a public presence for Java for Oracle. I’m from the wrong Myers-Briggs quadrant for that,” he said."
That bent Gosling’s resolve like a wishbone in the hands of two eager siblings in mid-pull after Thanksgiving dinner, but even that didn’t break it. What ultimately snapped the wishbone and made Gosling want to holler and throw up his hands Marvin-Gaye style was that “My job seemed to be to get up on stage and be a public presence for Java for Oracle. I’m from the wrong Myers-Briggs quadrant for that,” he said."
Intel + DRM: a crippled processor that you have to pay extra to unlock - Boing Boing
Intel + DRM: a crippled processor that you have to pay extra to unlock - Boing Boing: "This idea, which Siva Vaidhyanathan calls 'If value, then right,' sounds reasonable on its face. But it's a principle that flies in the face of the entire human history of innovation. By this reasoning, the company that makes big tins of juice should be able to charge you extra for the right to use the empty cans to store lugnuts; the company that makes your living room TV should be able to charge more when you retire it to the cottage; the company that makes your coat-hanger should be able to charge more when you unbend it to fish something out from under the dryer.
Moreover, it's an idea that is fundamentally anti-private-property. Under the 'If value, then right' theory, you don't own anything you buy. You are a mere licensor, entitled to extract only the value that your vendor has deigned to provide you with. The matchbook is to light birthday candles, not to fix a wobbly table. The toilet roll is to hold the paper, not to use in a craft project. 'If value, then right,' is a business model that relies on all the innovation taking place in large corporate labs, with none of it happening at the lab in your kitchen, or in your skull. It's a business model that says only companies can have the absolute right of property, and the rest of us are mere tenants."
Moreover, it's an idea that is fundamentally anti-private-property. Under the 'If value, then right' theory, you don't own anything you buy. You are a mere licensor, entitled to extract only the value that your vendor has deigned to provide you with. The matchbook is to light birthday candles, not to fix a wobbly table. The toilet roll is to hold the paper, not to use in a craft project. 'If value, then right,' is a business model that relies on all the innovation taking place in large corporate labs, with none of it happening at the lab in your kitchen, or in your skull. It's a business model that says only companies can have the absolute right of property, and the rest of us are mere tenants."
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The truth about iPad: It's only good for two things | Tech Sanity Check | TechRepublic.com
The truth about iPad: It's only good for two things Tech Sanity Check TechRepublic.com: "I’ve often said, “The iPad is only good for two things: Reading and Scrabble.”"
Monday, September 20, 2010
Official Google Enterprise Blog: A more secure cloud for millions of Google Apps users
Official Google Enterprise Blog: A more secure cloud for millions of Google Apps users: "After entering your password, a verification code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS, voice calls, or generated on an application you can install on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone device"
IBM to acquire Netezza for $1.7 billion | Business Tech - CNET News
IBM to acquire Netezza for $1.7 billion Business Tech - CNET News: "The field is one that has grabbed IBM's attention in a big way. The company said that in the last four years it has invested more than $12 billion in 23 analytics-related acquisitions"
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Pharyngula
Pharyngula: "I really like that last line of hers. This is why she doesn't like masturbation.
If he already knows what pleases him and can please himself, then why am I in the picture?
Because, apparently, her only purpose in the relationship is to provide a little friction, and the only way she can improve on her man's experience is by keeping him ignorant. So yes, why is she in the picture?
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
If he already knows what pleases him and can please himself, then why am I in the picture?
Because, apparently, her only purpose in the relationship is to provide a little friction, and the only way she can improve on her man's experience is by keeping him ignorant. So yes, why is she in the picture?
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
FarmVillains - Page 1 - News - San Francisco - SF Weekly
FarmVillains - Page 1 - News - San Francisco - SF Weekly: "'I don't fucking want innovation,' the ex-employee recalls Pincus saying. 'You're not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers.'
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- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Apple Continued To Lose U.S. Marketshare Despite Spike From iPhone 4 Sales | mocoNews
Apple Continued To Lose U.S. Marketshare Despite Spike From iPhone 4 Sales | mocoNews: "Apple’s iPhone 4 did not give the company the bump in sales it needed to put Android’s momentum in check. Instead, Apple’s smartphone marketshare in the U.S. dropped by 1.3 percent in the three months ended in July while Android’s share grew by an impressive five percentage points"
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Controlling a PC, Straight from an iPad - NYTimes.com
Controlling a PC, Straight from an iPad - NYTimes.com: "You can, for $6.99. Splashtop Remote is an iPad app that pairs with a free Windows application to display your PC screen on your iPad, provided both are on the same wireless network. Splashtop is the name of a small quick-boot program that comes pre-installed on many PCs. You may know it as Lenovo Quick Start, Asus ExpressGate, or HP QuickWeb. Splashtop Remote is made by the same company, Device VM."
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Intel investing $30 million in software companies - Yahoo! News
Intel investing $30 million in software companies - Yahoo! News: "The investment arm of chip maker Intel is investing more than $30 million total into four different software developers.
Three of the companies, Adaptive Computing, Joyent and Nexant provide 'cloud computing' technology, which allows computer users or companies to access software and data storage space over the Web"
Three of the companies, Adaptive Computing, Joyent and Nexant provide 'cloud computing' technology, which allows computer users or companies to access software and data storage space over the Web"
Monday, September 13, 2010
Boxee Box goes Intel, gets priced for preorder
Boxee Box goes Intel, gets priced for preorder: "Boxee and D-Link have announced that the upcoming Boxee Box set-top box is now available for preorder from Amazon and set to ship in November. The long-awaited device for accessing a variety of online video and content directly from a television is also ditching Tegra2 for Atom."
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Man Who Makes Your iPhone - BusinessWeek
The Man Who Makes Your iPhone - BusinessWeek: "The suicides introduced Foxconn to much of the world in the worst terms imaginable—as an industrial monster that treats its workers like machines, leveraging masses of cheap labor, mainly 18-to-25-year-olds from rural areas, to make products like the iPhone at seemingly impossible prices"
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