It has been some time since I posted anything on this blog. To say that political dialogue is dead in this country is understatement regardless of what party you support. My colleagues on the Roadshow and in the art world are mostly liberal and firmly entrenched in their political philosophies, so why bother. The answer is that someone just may have heard the tree fall in the forest. In the next few months I am going to take various issues and try to give you balanced arguments on both sides. The fact check business has become just that and pretty much joke geared to tell people what they want to hear. But in politics as well as life integrity does count and I maintain that sooner or later your candidate will tell you indirectly whether he or she is just another dirtbag politician. Example if Harry Reid tells you that Romney didn't pay taxes for ten years without any substantiating proof, you can put him in the dirtbag column. I will give you some more dirtbag profiles on both sides in the coming months.

For now let's like at the case for raising taxes. I am going to give you some links and you can go make up your own mind. But understand the meager increase that Obama is recommending is spitting into the wind and all he is trying to do is break the inertia of the mindset of no new taxes. After WWII and even up to the early 1960's we had taxes for the rich over 90%.. Many economists see a pragmatic middle ground of around 45 to 50 percent on earned income and certainly something greater than 15% for long term capital gains. Clearly for most objective analysts any talk  of raising taxes without significant spending cuts is just a ploy by the left to fuel further expansion of government. I am somewhat cynical now and believe that that is precisely what the left wants to do. So me raising taxes for this purposes is objectionable  as a cheap shell game with no pea. You don't have a chance and future generations will certainly lose. I believe most Americans believe that as well.

So here are your  links with a few notes on each.. have fun.. JB

Raising taxes For and Against

Forbes magazine for the case against raising taxes.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/briandomitrovic/2012/04/24/the-economists-case-for-raising-taxes-is-poor/

The New York Times makes the case for raising taxes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/business/economy/the-case-for-raising-top-tax-rates.html?pagewanted=all

The Wall Street Journal examines whether higher taxes would slow growth
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303425504577353843997820160.html

Washington Post warms that Increasing taxes would kill small business
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/obama-plan-to-lift-top-tax-rates-would-devastate-millions-of-small-businesses-study-warns/2012/07/17/gJQAjfRkrW_story.html

New York Times raising taxes shouldn't discourage philanthropy
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/business/if-raising-top-tax-rates-encourage-charitable-giving.html

Washington Post a rich guy's case for raising taxes reprinted by the Bangor Daily News
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/04/17/politics/a-rich-guys-case-for-higher-tax-rates/

New York Times stating that the math doesn't add up.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/08/16/should-we-stop-taxing-capital-gains/the-math-doesnt-add-up

NPR states that the new French President plans to raise the tax rate from 41% to 75%
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/10/152445464/new-french-president-pledges-to-tax-rich-75-percent

The Economist looks at both sides in taxing the rich
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2012/07/taxes-and-rich

That's probably more information than you have wanted but hopefully it will be a resource for you in the future.