In which an angry consumer demands tighter regulation...

I was reading that eBay has just announced their first quarter earnings:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080416/earns_ebay.html

The e-commerce company reported net income of $460 million, or 34 cents per share, on revenue of $2.19 billion in the quarter that ended March 31. In the year-ago quarter, eBay earned $377 million, or 27 cents per share, on revenue of $1.77 billion.

So, I'm bad at math but $460M profit on $2.19B in revenue looks like a 20% profit margin. Not bad. Well, remembering all of the talks of "obscene profits" that the oil companies are making, I wanted to see what kind of profit margin Exxon-Mobile (the evilest of the evil) was generating. They haven't released Q1 earnings yet so I'll have to base it on last year's Q4 earnings. Looking at the numbers: it looks like $11.66B profit on $116.642B in revenue...or a 9.99% profit margin. So, eBay's profit is more than double Exxon-Mobile's and Exxon is the one with obscene profits? I love how we are calling for a special "wind-fall profits" tax on oil companies and they aren't even generating a double-digit profit margin. I can't wait to hear a proponent of these taxes describe what a "wind-fall profit" is. Because if a 9% profit margin is an obscene profit then just about every company in America is producing obscenity.

IRS and Ownership Society (Continued)

At least those of us who believe in individual accountability will have a perpetual ally in the IRS. When mortgage brokers and home buyers collude to cheat mortgage buying banks and investors ("You give me money I can't pay back so I can live in a home I can't afford, and I'll trash my credit so you can sell a junk loan and make a huge commission.") somehow the individual can plead "ignorant". Not innocent or guilty, just ignorant. It's predatory lending, not predatory borrowing, though ironically the bank is the one left holding the bag, and I'm at a loss to understand how the bank violated it's contractual agreement - as stated in writing. By failing to make payments, the borrower certainly is in breach of contract...although excuses abound.

If you don't buy this logic of guilty, innocent and ignorant, you're not alone, the IRS sees only black and white as well. A recent form of tax fraud is an email offering tax preparation services with abnormally large tax savings. Does the IRS take mercy on those duped by these predatory tax preparers? Not a chance. From the IRS:

Return preparer fraud generally involves the preparation and filing of false income tax returns by preparers who claim inflated personal or business expenses, false deductions, unallowable credits or excessive exemptions on returns prepared for their clients. Preparers may also manipulate income figures to obtain tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, fraudulently.

In some situations, the client (taxpayer) may not have knowledge of the false expenses, deductions, exemptions and/or credits shown on their tax returns. However, when the IRS detects the false return, the taxpayer — not the return preparer — must pay the additional taxes and interest and may be subject to penalties.

...

Tax evasion is a risky crime, a felony, punishable by five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

It may come as a hit to your self esteem that the Gov't doesn't trust you to understand 10 pgs. of mortgage documents and elementary household budgeting, but take courage, the 16,845 pgs. of the U.S. tax code can be mastered by even the lowliest American.

Liberal Yankee Arrogance - Colombia

Pelosi Announces that toward the end of the game...she's changing the rules.

How would the NBA National Championship be if toward the end of a series, during a tie breaking game, after the players have delivered a blockbuster performance with 12 3-point shots, the ref decides during the 4th quarter that 3-pointers will now be counted as only 1 point each, and delivers the victory to the underdog? Sound outrageous? Inconceivable? Well that's basically what we've done to our good friends in Colombia.

Let's get one thing straight: The success of nations is based on long term adherence to the rule of law. Let's get George Washington's view on the matter:

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. ~Farewell Address 1796

Throughout the address Washington discourages political engagements with other countries, yet despite his disapproval of them he clearly states that we should honor existing agreements with perfect good faith. Even if you oppose an agreement, you should still act in good faith. By the way, he was in favor of commercial relations...a free trader.

In this case we started down the negotiating road with Colombia and Democrats asked for countless concessions, with which the Colombians have complied. All of this is done in the good faith that a deal will eventually be consummated if the demands are met. Then at the end of this exercise the Democrats grow weary with Colombia's accommodations and kill the deal by demanding things that are outside of Colombia's control like, "All labor leaders in Colombia must be exempt from death by killing or natural causes."

Is the Colombian gov't killing their labor leaders? No. Who's killing them? Does it have anything to do with the billions in drug money that America pumps into Colombia's illegal trafficking market?

Extreme Circumstances
You could argue that under extreme circumstances the U.S. can renege on its promises and throw our allies under the bus. What are the extreme circumstances in this case? Does the agreement mean that we'll be flooded with exports and lose jobs? No, 90% of Colombia's exports to the U.S. are not charged a tariff. It would mostly amount to us being able to export more goods and equipment...you know, like dump trucks and mining equipment...made in the U.S.A.

What amazes me is that if Colombia bombed Cape Canaveral, the liberals would be in favor of sitting down with them to talk and work things out. Heaven forbid we should be perceived as a bully, rogue nation, or of acting unilaterally. But under the circumstances where Colombia has made excellent progress over the last decade, and wants to be our friend and economic partner, and already made many concessions to work with us, we decide that dialog is fruitless and walk away from the table?

Sovereignty
Also at issue here is the question of sovereignty. Why shouldn't we have attacked Iraq? "We can't just go into a sovereign, self-governing nation because we disagree with the way they're doing things? If the Iraqis want change, let them fight for it." Got it. When it comes to crazy, whacked-out countries with despots, recognize their sovereignty.

Genocide, economic interests (such as oil), unequal rights for women, and the violation of treaties are not a basis for interfering with another country's sovereignty. But the moment you want to be our friend, the moment you want to clean up your act, fight for change, reduce crime, provide freedom for your citizenry and approach us with the hand of friendship your sovereignty is finished. We will reach into you and fiddle with your entrails. We want the final say on what you will and will not do within the borders of your own country. If you want to be our friend and trade with us, we will scrutinize every aspect of your behavior, demand that you do things our way, and then after all is said and done, we'll stand you up like a dolled-up prom date.

Hurricane damage regulation

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0442295420080406?sp=true

Devastating hurricanes like 1992's Andrew and Katrina of 2005 have failed to put a dent in massive construction along the hurricane-vulnerable Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where millions of people face evacuation when a storm threatens.
...
Despite the huge damage toll of recent storms -- $26 billion for Andrew and $20 billion for Wilma in 2005 on top of Katrina's $80 billion, several vulnerable coastal states have no statewide building codes. Louisiana only enacted one after Katrina. "You would think with Andrew and Katrina that would be enough to make something happen but it hasn't," Mayfield said.

Wait, why are people still building like crazy on the coasts even after Katrina? Oh yeah, because all of the Katrina victims got bailed out. If you get all of the benefits (sun, beach, culture) but none of the risks (losing your investment in a disaster) then you become an irrational person not to live on the coasts.

Miami-Dade County's post-Andrew building code, considered one of the nation's toughest, only requires construction to meet a Category 4 hurricane, one step below the maximum Category 5. Less than 10 percent of the county's buildings are new enough to have been built to that standard.

Why would anyone build to a Category 5 level? It is a lot more expensive and it doesn't give you any benefit. If your building blows down, the government pays to build a new one. So, why build a more fortified one when it cost you extra when you can have the government pay for the replacement.

Now, we have Florida governor Charlie Crist pushing for national hurricane insurance. You think you have massive growth on the coasts now, wait until you start charging people extra to live in the interior of the country...