A Stitch in Haste

Why is Washington State mailing out $1 welfare checks?

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The Prime Taboo of Politics is that no middle class entitlement must ever be allowed to hint of being the dole.

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The "moving" tale of Wilmington, Ohio — a city poised to die.

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Government giving itself other people's money is an enlightened path to universal prosperity, but government loaning itself other people's money is "ridiculous"?

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President-Elect Obama has pledged to "create" 2.5 million new jobs (at an apparent potential cost of $280,000 per job), by "rebuilding infrastructure" — roads and bridges and such.
Maybe I was hallucinating, but didn't we all spend the past two years or so bitching and moaning about taxpayer money being used to build bridges?
But now using [...]

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To review: During the second presidential joint press conference debate, John McCain criticized Barack Obama for seeking a $3 million earmark for what McCain snidely dismissed as an "overhead projector."
Science bloggers have been quick to react indignantly. One example:
McCain repeatedly called the requested equipment an "overhead projector" which brings to mind the simple light projector [...]

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A Stitch in Haste recommends the following report from the Congressional Research Service:
Federalism, State Sovereignty, and the Constitution:
Basis and Limits of Congressional Power
Summary:
The lines of authority between states and the federal government are, to a significant extent, defined by the United States Constitution and relevant case law. In recent years, however, the Supreme Court has [...]

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(Loosely based on a post originally published December 20th, 2004; heavily edited, and some links updated with more recent data. Additional post-Palin thoughts appended.)
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First, some background:
–Alaska has been the top recipient of federal taxpayer dollars per capita every year since 1999, and one of the three most lopsided states in terms of "receipts versus taxes" [...]

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In case there was any doubt about the financing structure of New York City's mass transit bureaucracy, The New York Times assures us:
The authority collects far more revenue from subway, bus and commuter rail fares, dedicated taxes, and bridge and tunnel tolls than it draws from direct government aid.
In a libertarian paradise (or near-paradise, in [...]

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The Internal Revenue Service has released 2003 data on income tax returns. The numbers show that, despite all the histrionics about the phantom "Bush tax cuts," the federal income has become even more progressive than in previous years:

(Click to enlarge.)
Some hasty stitches regarding these numbers:
–The idea that "the rich don't pay their fair share" is [...]

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