Ignoring our own

What happened to old-fashioned free market capitalism?

If Bass Pro Shops determined that it would be profitable for them to locate in Tampa, they would, with no incentives.

What happened to Hagan’s Economic Development Task Force recommendation that Hillsborough County incentivize only bio-tech, medical, manufacturing and high-tech businesses?

Adding “destination-retail” to the list to include Bass Pro ignores that few people south of Sarasota or east of Lakeland are likely to visit a Tampa store, with existing stores in Ft. Myers and Orlando; and none of them will stay overnight just to shop here. 

It ignores that most jobs will be low-wage, part-time and no-benefit.  

The County’s math calculates that taxpayers will be repaid in five years, but there seems to be no calculations as to how many existing mom and pop sporting goods business will fall off the tax rolls as a result.

What happened to growing our own?

<IMHO> Fred Jacobsen

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Stop exporting U.S. Gasoline

Gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel are now this country’s largest export.

That’s right.

In 2011, oil refiners in the United States exported an estimated 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products worth $88 billion. 

These fuels are being sold on the “world market” because there is insufficient demand in the U.S. due ironically, to rising gas prices and higher-mileage vehicles being sold.

The Keystone Pipeline, environmental issues not withstanding, would be good for the Canadian oil export companies and good for the U.S. gasoline exporting companies but would have little lasting value to the average citizen.

That oil, once refined in the Gulf states would be sold as gasoline to South America, not North America.

The same issues involve additional oil drilling in the U.S. All that excess gasoline produce would be sold and shipped out of the United Sates, thereby keeping U.S. gas prices high.

Until our benighted elected government representatives ban all exports of U.S. produced oil products, we will have ever higher gas prices at the pumps and see ever higher, obscene profits going to oil companies.

What about it Congress?

Care to pass a law protecting The People of the United States of America instead of the oil companies?

What we have are war-mongering congressmen beating the drums for conflict with Iran, and shutting down their oil production just to further increase the “world market” for gasoline and increase oil companies profits.

<IMHO> Fred Jacobsen

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• CHANGE: U.S. Nears Milestone: Net Fuel Exporter. “U.S. exports of gasoline, diesel and other oil-b… (pjmedia.com)
• Americans brace for higher summer gas prices (cbc.ca)
• Gasoline: The new big U.S. export (money.cnn.com)
• An ominous note in the happy melody of increased gasoline exports (hotair.com)
• Gas Prices Soar To Record Seasonal High (huffingtonpost.com)
• Gas exports soar, keeping U.S. price at pump high (sfgate.com)
• Fuel top US export for first time in 60 years (seeker401.wordpress.com)
• In a first, gas and other fuels are top U.S. export (mysanantonio.com)
• In a First, Gas and Other Fuels Are Top US Export (abcnews.go.com)
• In a first, gas and other fuels are top US export (sfgate.com)

Prisons for Profit

Did the Tampa Bay Times edit out Brad Swanson’s reasons why Florida is spending too much on prisons?

He says we need to do “something different” to cure recidivism, but he doesn’t say how privatizing prisons is the answer.

He says that privatizing prisons will save taxpayers 7%, but doesn’t say how these companies can operate the prisons with less money, and still squeeze out new profits.

He says that existing correctional officers won’t lose their jobs, but doesn’t say what those new jobs will pay, or what benefits they will have to give up.

Without these answers included in his comments, it appears that this plan is designed only to enrich investors at the expense of the rest of us.

Has anyone thought about first trying to fix what we have before we hand off it off to someone else wanting to profit on what we should be able to do better ourselves?

<IMHO> Fred Jacobsen

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• As Private Prisons Enrich Lawmakers, Florida Legislature Pushes Massive Prison Privatization Plan (thinkprogress.org)
• No Private Prisons in Florida (browardsblog.blogspot.com)
• Emotions running high in private prison battle (tampabay.com)
• The cynical world of America’s private prisons | Sadhbh Walshe (guardian.co.uk)
• Rick Scott and Florida Republicans Look to Privatize Prisons (crooksandliars.com)
• Prison privatization opponents take fight to Miami’s Spanish-language radio airwaves (miamiherald.typepad.com)
• The return of prison privatization sets off a furor (tampabay.com)
• Florida’s Private Prisons CorruptionFest 2012 (my.firedoglake.com)

Rescue the poor and needy

My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

Psalm 35:10

The greedy need not apply.

<IMHO> Fred Jacobsen

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• “Trample The Poor; Turn Aside The Needy” ( Amos 5: 12, ESV ) by Carley Evans (lambskinny.wordpress.com)
• How much You have done, Adonai my God! (hisimagenme.wordpress.com)
• God Rescues Us From Sin as a Testimony to His Mercy (codybateman.org)
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Job Creators use Swiss banks to avoid taxes

U.S. authorities, who suspect that tens of thousands of Americans have been using Swiss banks to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes, are investigating scores of Swiss banks and international banks with Swiss operations.

So, not only are the so-called Job Creators in this county “on strike” in the creation of jobs for unemployed Americans, they are illegally taking their profits out of the county in order to avoid paying taxes.

The Job Creators complain that they cannot hire American workers because corporate taxes are too high, yet they pay others to help them avoid paying taxes on their incomes that the rest of us have to pay.

Wonder why teachers, police and firefighters are getting laid-off?

This is just one more example in a long history of abuses by the 1% that ultimately harm the 99%.

<IMHO> Fred Jacobsen

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• Swiss National Bank chief quits amid trades uproar (sfgate.com)
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• DealBook: U.S. Charges 3 Swiss Bank Employees With Aiding Tax Evasion (dealbook.nytimes.com)
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Solidarity with the poor

”There is enough for every man’s need,
but not for every man’s greed.”

- Gandhi -

The sound of three hands clapping

 U.S. Reps Billirakis, Nugent and Young used some variation of the concept of “certainty” six times in their recent short letter to the editor, pounding their collective chests over how effective they see themselves.

 It was Benjamin Franklin, who wrote in a 1789 letter that:

“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

 Let’s compare the nature of taxes individuals pay, vs. what corporations pay.

Corporations pay taxes on profits; individuals on income.

This means that corporations are taxed only on the money that is remaining from income, after all expenses are paid.

Individuals are taxed on all income, before most expenses are paid.

If our Dear Representatives want “certainty” and a “permanent” solution, let them reform the entire tax code so that every individual and every corporation pay fixed percentages of every dollar earned regardless of expenses paid, with no tax incentives for anyone.

If every Job Creator knew, with certainty that say 10% of every dollar that came into their cash register would go to support national defense, health, education and welfare, they could then confidently make business decisions, including hiring workers to run their businesses in the most profitable manner possible in order to hold on to as much of that remaining 90%.

 Business regulations should be limited to those protecting consumers’ safety and well-being.

<IMHO> Fred Jacobsen

Tampa’s Mayor Bob snubs Tampa’s largest Job Creator

I read that the new Tampa Epoch newspaper is providing self-employment for over 200 Tampa residents selling papers who would otherwise be out panhandling.

Why is Tampa’s Mayor Bob looking down his nose at this enterprise? Does Mayor Bob not know what it is like to be homeless with NO money in his pocket?

Earning even $25 from selling papers goes a long way for not only a person’s self-esteem, but also goes a long way to closing that gap of having no money between meals.

Instead of looking for ways to close the “loophole” that allows Tampa’s homeless a way to make their own way in the world, maybe Mayor Bob should dig into his Business Relocation Incentive bag of money earmarked for out-of-town businesses, and see if he can find something more than a lump of coal for the entrepreneur behind the Tampa Epoch and for the 200 plus entrepreneurs out there on the street selling those papers.

“…and bless us, every one.” Tiny Tim

Survey for Job Creators

According to John Boehner, Job Creators are
“on strike”?

You are the individuals who allegedly would create jobs and hire Americans if only you had the certainty of lower taxes and reduced regulations.

Since both taxes and regulations seem to impact bottom-line business profits, the question becomes:

“How much assured new personal wealth would you require for each new employee you would hire?”

To put the survey responses in context, we might want to know how your actual personal wealth fluctuated over the last three years.

From everything we’ve been reading, top CEO compensation has actually increased during that time, yet hiring has not kept pace.

Is there something else we should know that is keeping you from getting on with job creation?

Related articles

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• John Boehner Appears on “Meet the Press” and Is Not ‘Pressed’ to Answer Ohioans Who Accuse Him of Corruption in Keystone XL Pipeline (goodolewoody.wordpress.com)
• Payroll Tax Cuts Are Better Job Creators than the Wealthy (skillsinfo.wordpress.com)
• America’s Job Creators Strike for Better Working Conditions (isoutrage.wordpress.com)
• John Boehner holds press conference to announce deal on payroll tax cut extension (dailykos.com)
• John Boehner: ‘Job Creators Are Essentially On Strike’ (crooksandliars.com)
• John Stossel on Job Creators Who Are Tired of Being Pushed Around (reason.com)
• Harry Reid: Millionaire Job Creators are Like Unicorns (michellemalkin.com)
• “…and others.” (tribuneofthepeople.wordpress.com)

Seeding the Fields

Today’s St. Pete Times (Tampa Bay Times) includes an interesting article in the Business section by Robert Trigaux:
“Seeding the Fields – A regional support system for startups is blossoming”

Perhaps we all could sponsor a regional (or at least a county-wide) one-day forum bringing together all individuals and organizations interested in supporting entrepreneurialism.

Something might grow out of that.

Wouldn’t it be something for Tampa Bay to become known internationally as the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem capital of the world?

Why not? You cannot harvest what you don’t grow.

<IMHO> Fred Jacobsen