Bert's Thoughts

 Some numbers to think about. In 2024 Russia’s federal government collected revenues of $360 billion and spent $390 billion (Source Wikipedia, Centre for Eastern Studies & Statista).A substantial portion (over 20 percent?) of the expenditures were for financing the war with Ukraine.   The total expenditures work out to $2,700 per Russian.   In 2024 our federal government collected revenues of $5,082 billion and spent $6,941 billion. National defense consumed 13.1 percent of the expenditures. The expenditures work out to $20,700 per US resident. Why do we need 7.7 times as much federal government as the Russians?   In 1964, before President Lyndon Johnson started the War on Poverty, federal expenditures were $5,700/resident, in inflation adjusted dollars. Why do we need 3.6 times as much federal government as we got by with in 1964? The War on Poverty has cost taxpayers over $20 TRILLION.   Since 2014, when Obamacare took effect, the inflation a...

 I recently read a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) article touting Norway’s progress in switching to electric vehicles (EV). One third of cars on Norwegian roadways are EV’s. In 2023 82 percent of new cars sold were EV’s. The EV craze has been created by massive government incentives favoring EV’s over conventional vehicles. Prior to 2023 Norway waived their Value Added Tax (VAT) on electric vehicles. In 2023 it started phasing them back in but still the penalty to buy a conventional vehicle is onerous. A new BMW iX costs about $61,000 in Norway, before fees and taxes. After 2023 fees and taxes are added the cost is about $73,000. An equivalent priced non-electric car would cost $87,400 after the fees and taxes are added. Basically Norway forces non-electric car owners to heavily subsidize the purchases of electric cars. During the 1970’s Norway realized that its North Sea oil and gas represented a source of untold wealth waiting to be extracted. They instituted a policy...

  President Biden recently signed into law a bill known as the Social Security Fairness Act. The White House touted the law as the first expansion of such benefits in 20 years. The Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, both of which reduce Social Security benefits for people who received pension benefits from their work but neither they nor their employer had to pay Social Security taxes on their earnings (police officers, firefighters, postal workers, public school teachers, etc.).  According to the President nearly 3 million public workers will get an increase of an average of $360/month. The WEP was enacted in 1983 with bipartisan support.   As I understand it, 40 years ago legislators didn't think it was fair for someone to shield the bulk of their earnings from Social Security taxes and still qualify for the full benefit if they did a little moonlighting and paid Social Security taxes on the moonlightin...