Climategate II

It turns out Drs. Jones and Mann aren’t the only ones who pulled end-runs on the peer review process (Daily Caller):

In response to a report that could lead to questions about the credibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is calling for hearings to investigate. The report — from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the EPA — reveals that the scientific basis, on which the administration’s endangerment finding for greenhouse gases hinged, violated the EPA’s own peer review procedure.

In a report released Wednesday (at Sen. Inhofe’s request, dating back to April) the inspector general found that the EPA failed to follow the Data Quality Act and its own peer review process when it issued the determination that greenhouse gases cause harm to “pubic health and welfare.”

It should be noted that said determination was the excuse to open the door to cap-and-trade regulations imposed by the EPA – Virginia and Texas vied with each other for the honor of first state to file suit blocking the EPA’s runaway train (Texas won). At the time, the usual suspects were insisting Cuccinelli was fighting against science.

I wonder what they’re saying now.

Cross-posted to VV

Did Rick Perry back TARP?

Herman Cain’s surprise victory in the Florida GOP straw poll is leading many to move up into the top tier of Republican candidates for president. Whether he belongs there or not is not my call. I will say, however, that I hope more attention is brought to bear on his disturbing defense of TARP. That said, this post isn’t about Cain, who is at least open about his view of the bailout (Romney is similarly open about his mistaken view). This post is about Rick Perry.

A couple of weeks ago, there was whispering that Perry had come out in favor of TARP back in 2008; whispers Perry angrily denied. Jennifer Rubin has the details (WaPo):

I previously reported on a letter that Texas Gov. Rick Perry co-wrote with then-West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin. In the wake of the financial meltdown, Congress was debating the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). On Oct. 1, 2008, Perry and Manchin sent a letter, which as the Austin American-Statesman reported, stated, “We strongly urge Congress to leave partisanship at the door and pass an economic recovery package. . . . If Congress does not act soon, the situation will grow appreciably worse.” It didn’t explicitly mention TARP. But this was certainly the topic of the day.

Now, because TARP was not specifically mentioned, Perry is insisting it was not what he and Manchin meant. However, as Rubin noted, Manchin’s people are nowhere near as categorical on this – and the Fort-Worth Star Telegram of the time makes clear the prevailing assumption of the Perry-Manchin letter: “Perry joins with Democrat to push for bailout”.

In other words, it certainly looks like both (or all if one includes Cain) frontrunners succumbed to the Washington Panic of 2008 – even though none of them were anywhere near Washington at the time. That bodes ill for what any of them would do if they actually get to Washington.

Cross-posted to VV

Greece . . . or how NOT to do austerity

There hasn’t been mch discussion about Greece in the blogosphere. You see endless references to Greece as the poster child for all that is wrong about social democracy, Europe, or out-of-control deficits. Yet no one around here in cyberspace seems to have paid attention to how Greece is trying to balance its books. That’s unfortunate, because the Greeks are showing us all how not to do it – and neatly impugning the IMF and EU as a bunch of fools in the process.

Like most outsiders who didn’t pay close attention, I assumed Greece was going with a combination of crippling tax increase and painful service cuts. As it turns out, I was wrong . . . badly wrong. Here’s the New York Times – of all papers – detailing the missing piece of the puzzle:

Since 2010, the government has raised taxes and slashed pensions and state salaries across the board, in an effort to rein in the bloated public sector that today employs one in five Greeks. Last week, the government announced it would put 30,000 workers on reduced pay as a precursor to possible termination and would cut pensions again for nearly half a million public-sector retirees.

Notice something missing? That’s right, no bureaucrat has actually been fired. They’re hinting about it, but not actually doing it. The Times delves deeper (emphasis added) . . .

Critics say the country has failed to adequately crack down on tax evasion among the wealthiest segments of society — and failed to carry out more focused cuts because it is reluctant to take on some public-sector unions that protect a small, powerful cadre of workers who have deep ties to the governing Socialist Party.

It’s so blaringly obvious that even a Greek government archaeologist demands the government take on the aforementioned unions. When the folks on the public payroll are calling for that, you know something is seriously amiss.

Supposedly, the left-wing Greek government is finally considering letting bureaucrats go (Guardian, UK), but ths is nearly two years into the crisis, with nothing but sky-high taxes, a bloated public workforce with massive pay cuts, and no lightening of the heavy burden of government that helped cause this in the first place.

The lesson is abundantly clear: big government on the cheap is no better than big government high on the hog. So long as the size and scope of government is still huge, it will have the same damaging effects to the economy no matter how much money is “saved” by cutting everyone’s taxpayer-funded salary. Government power and influence must be reduced, not just the budget. Sure enough, the Greek Leviathan – even on half-pay – continues to erode the private sector , while tax increases are strangling it. Suddenly, the continued and unyielding opposition from the right-wing New Democracy Party in Greece makes more sense (although they did nothing do reverse state growth before they were bounced in 2009).

In short, Greece is trying to balance its government books while enlarging government’s role in the nation and its economy. Its repeated failure to make it work should be a lesson to all of us.

Cross-posted to Bearing Drift

The race for the U.S. Senate nomination just ended

Well, after trying to navigate a new job (fine), and two college classes felled by an earthquake and terrible curriculum management (as I’m the instructor on both, that means more headaches for me), I pop my head up just in time to discover that the GOP nomination race for U.S. Senator from Virginia is over. Oh sure, the actual primary is months away, but the race is done.

Why do I say this? I say it because of one of George Allen’s endorsements: Mark Cole.

Fr those who don’t know, you can’t get more anti-establishment than Mark Cole. He began his political career in Spotsylvania County by running for Supervisor against a Republican incumbent who had repeatedly voted to raise taxes . . . and crushing him. Two years later, he moved up to Richmond and the House of Delegates, where he’s opposed every attempt by Democrats and RINOs to raise taxes there. He was such a forerunner to the Tea Party you could call him a S-Partier.

He just endorsed George Allen.

Game. Over.

The Obama plan: less money for charities, higher gas prices, and more plane crashes

While I was starting a new job and working through some health issues, the president revealed his “recovery plan.” I put the scare quotes up because after seeing how he plans to raise the revenue to cover it, it doesn’t look to “recover” anything I’d want to see.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on the tax-hike details:

. . . White House Budget Director Jack Lew said Monday afternoon that the proposed offsets would come largely through limits on itemized deductions for individuals who earn more than $200,000 a year and families that earn more than $250,000, creating $400 billion in additional revenue.

The administration also is recommending closing oil and gas loopholes and changing the depreciation rules for corporate airplanes to cover the difference.

Let’s take this one disaster at a time, shall we?

Limiting itemized deductions for wealthy Americans: Among the many itemizations this backdoor tax hike would hit is . . . wait for it . . . charitable giving (Boston Globe). So, one of the upshots of the president’s plan includes taxing donations to charity. When you tax something, you get less of it. Thus, the president’s plan means less money going to charity.

“Closing oil and gas loopholes”: Actually, the RTD should know better. The “loopholes” are actually standard deductions that every business takes. It’s just that people get angrier at oil and gas companies when they take them. As a result, their taxes will go up, meaning their costs will go up and their production will go down. Less gasoline on the market means higher gas prices.

Finally, my favorite, “changing the depreciation rules for corporate airplanes“: specifically, extending the depreciation schedule from five years to seven for corporate planes. This would be a tax increase on corporations that own planes (faster depreciation means greater tax savings up front and overall), but it also reduces the incentive to buy new planes rather than hang on to older ones. Older planes mean more malfunctions, and more plane crashes.

So let’s recap the Obama plan

• Less money to charity
• Higher prices at the pump
• More plane crashes

I’m not sure what kind of plan that is, but it’s no recovery plan.

Cross-posted to Virginia Virtucon