SHAME ON VIRGINIA
Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Taxes and Recovery

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It is counter-intuitive, but has been proven time and time again: If the United States federal government has a revenue problem, it can increase its income (over time) by lowering tax rates. This is acknowledged by honest politicos on the left and the right—including Democratic idol, President John F. Kennedy (D) who lobbied during his presidency for lowering taxes to fund government programs and improve the economy. “Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income,” Kennedy said, “as to yield within a few years an increased—not a reduced—flow of revenues to the federal government.”

This works because lowering the tax burden leads people to do one of two things: Some put more money into savings; some spend. Whichever people do, they are helping the economy with that money. Money spent on goods and services enriches businesses, which then can pay their employees more, hire more employees, or buy more products and services from others. As this propagates through the economy, it reduces unemployment and increases incomes, which increases tax revenue for the government. Even money put in savings accounts provides more investment dollars for the banks that fund capital improvements and investment spending across the economy, leading to similar results in a different way.

Read more . . .

NTSB Gives Metro a Well-Deserved Slap

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today released the findings from its investigation of last summer’s MetroRail crash, giving the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, ‘Metro’) a well-deserved slap in the face. According to the NTSB, Metro exhibited systemic problems well before the crash—both technological (a grossly insufficient automatic safety system) and cultural (a management failure to identify and fix safety problems).

There are few surprises, so far, in NTSB’s report. I covered many of these same points in my initial analysis of the June 2009 crash, and several more times in the months that followed. So far I’m only aware of one new piece of information that couldn’t be determined by attentive independent observers before: the report appears to exonerate the operator of the train. Less than three seconds after the stationary train became visible to Jeanice McMillan, she applied the emergency brake . . . but it was already too late. Even if she had somehow applied the break the very millisecond the train came into view, it would not have been enough to avoid the accident. She was a victim of a failed and un-safe transit system, as were the eight passengers who perished with her and the 80+ who suffered injuries in the crash.

So we arrive at the conclusion we expected: Metro’s failure to implement a fail-safe, redundant collision avoidance system, combined with Metro’s failure to follow previous NTSB recommendations and remove ‘1000 series’ trains from service, combined with Metro’s control system failing to detect that a train had disappeared from its grid, combined with probably another 100 or 1,000 irresponsible derelictions of duty are what caused this crash. The leaders of Metro, including former General Manager John Catoe and the entire Metro board, must be held accountable for their criminal negligence.

More importantly, Metro’s leadership—preferably a completely new, responsible leadership—absolutely must implement all past and present NTSB safety recommendations immediately. All ‘1000 series’ cars must be removed from service; a fail-safe, redundant train detection mechanism must be implemented; the tracking system in Metro’s control center must be upgraded to alert when trains ‘disappear’; malfunctioning track circuits must be repaired and all track circuits must be monitored for anomalies constantly. This is not rocket science; it’s Engineering 101. People’s lives are in your hands. No more excuses. No more blather about how expensive it will be (especially when MetroRail is the most expensive transit system to ride in the U.S.). No more pandering to the employee union. No more posturing. Fix the problems, and fix them now . . . before more people lose their lives.

DISCLOSE Act Before Senate Today

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The U.S. Senate will be voting on the DISCLOSE Act later today (Tuesday, 7/27/2010). This is your last chance to make your opinion known to your representatives, and I strongly encourage you to write, call, or visit your Senators right away.

I’ve written about this pernicious act before, and the dangerous chilling effect it will have on legitimate political speech from both sides. President Barack Obama’s (D) administration has characterized this act as an effort to stymie the efforts of ‘special interest’ groups to influence politics. The act will, indeed, stymie many interest groups, but we cannot delude ourselves into thinking this is a good thing.

The problem is that these interest groups, as I stated in my previous discussions of this law, “aren’t some diabolical, nebulous enemy of our democracy; they are democracy.” You and I, whether we fall on the ‘left’ or ‘right’ of the political spectrum, have the right to support groups we agree with. Those groups we support have the right to spend their money on political speech.

DISCLOSE will muzzle these groups—the Gun Owners of America and Planned Parenthood; the ACLU and FRC; GLAAD and Freedom’s Watch alike. It is a blatant affront to Constitutionally protected free speech and free association. Freedom-loving Americans, whether they are conservative or liberal, must oppose it.

Once again, this is your last opportunity to express your opposition to your Senators. I urge you to contact them today and ask them to oppose this unconstitutional power-grab and encroachment on your political freedoms. The Capitol switchboard can be reached at (202) 224-3121.

LTE: In Response to Del. Holmes Norton

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I have just submitted the following Letter to the Editor to the Washington Post in response to a piece by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) on D.C. voting rights. Holmes Norton is Washington, D.C.’s non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives.

Hopefully the Post will choose to publish it tomorrow. If they do, I’ll post a link.

I applaud Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s tireless devotion to the cause of D.C. voting rights. I believe, as she does, that the citizens of the District should have some form of representation in Congress (as, ultimately, should those from other U.S. territories like Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Read more . . .

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.