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-- Posted Friday, 3 October 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com

Rick’s Picks

Friday, October 3, 2008

“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”

Congress has once again come up with a new way to leapfrog the President in unpopularity.  For inspiring the unmitigated scorn and derision of Americans, how could Mr. Bush ever hope to top the $150 billion of pork that lawmakers on Capitol Hill have added to the $700 billion bailout package soon to be enacted chiefly for the benefit of bankers, hedge fund managers and other favored patrons of Big Government?  Take a look at some of the bill’s tax provisions:

• A 7-year recovery period for motorsports racetrack property
• Reduction of imported duties on some imported wool fabrics
• Exempting children’s wooden arrows from excise tax
• Increasing cover of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
• Economic development credit to American Samoan businesses

Adam Smith, for one, would be jazzed about this list, since it represents the triumph of the kind of free enterprise that this country so desperately needs to get back on its knees. In a time of extreme crisis, just when we might have thought Congress would be too busy to concern itself with the niggling details of the 40,000-page tax code, lobbyists have carried the day for those stalwarts of the U.S. economy: sellers of certain woolen goods, and of wooden arrows. We toast the victory of our Samoan friends as well, since it may be a while before Hawaii’s secessionist proclivities are given full vent and Native Americans can install crap tables in a Hilo laundromat if they so choose.

There is speculation the bill could be rejected by the House if it fails to win over the 12 votes that killed the first attempt. We’d bet against this, however, since it seems doubtful lawmakers would want to risk being associated with a bailout measure that butts up against the $1 trillion threshold. An $850 billion package, on the other hand, can fail somewhere down the road and no one will even remember the dollar figure associated with it. But $1 trillion?  That’d be one for the history books, and were it to fail -- which it would, much as the $850 billion version will – the name of anyone associated with it would live on in infamy. Let’s enact this rescue package NOW so that the good times can roll once again!

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Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2008, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com 

-- Posted Friday, 3 October 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com

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