Ikea Monkey. Not chess related.

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  • Ikea Monkey. Not chess related.

    I've been watching the drama of what's become known as Darwin, the Ikea Monkey. The court battle to get the monkey returned to the owner.

    One of the arguments is the monkey is 93% human DNA. I've no reason to doubt that but I figure the other 7% is U.S. politician DNA.

    You have to give those politicians credit. They create a crisis and give it a cute name: Fiscal Cliff.

    It breaks down like this.

    If they agree to a solution now it will be a tax increase for some. The rich will pay more.

    So they wait until the end of the year when tax breaks aren't renewed and cutting spending for programs will occur. Then everyone gets a tax increase and the economy will end up weaker.

    Then they agree to the same solution in the New Year they have now rejected (or something similar). Most if not all will receive tax cuts when the tax breaks are reinstated.

    So these practitioners of modern economics have decided a tax cut is better than a tax increase and wait until the New Year before any resolution. That's the 7% of the missing Ikea Monkey DNA that is not human.
    Gary Ruben
    CC - IA and SIM

  • #2
    Re: Ikea Monkey. Not chess related.

    I still remember back in the 1970s when some brilliant person in the finance department floated the idea of taxing imputed rents. If you owned a home and were thus not paying rent these guys suggested that this extra non-income should be taxed as if you were receiving it as a benefit. Clearly their idea was that the government owned you and all of your income and their job was to come up with creative ways to extract more of it from you.

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    • #3
      Re: Ikea Monkey. Not chess related.

      Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
      I've been watching the drama of what's become known as Darwin, the Ikea Monkey. The court battle to get the monkey returned to the owner.

      One of the arguments is the monkey is 93% human DNA. I've no reason to doubt that but I figure the other 7% is U.S. politician DNA.

      You have to give those politicians credit. They create a crisis and give it a cute name: Fiscal Cliff.

      It breaks down like this.

      If they agree to a solution now it will be a tax increase for some. The rich will pay more.

      So they wait until the end of the year when tax breaks aren't renewed and cutting spending for programs will occur. Then everyone gets a tax increase and the economy will end up weaker.

      Then they agree to the same solution in the New Year they have now rejected (or something similar). Most if not all will receive tax cuts when the tax breaks are reinstated.

      So these practitioners of modern economics have decided a tax cut is better than a tax increase and wait until the New Year before any resolution. That's the 7% of the missing Ikea Monkey DNA that is not human.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Ikea Monkey. Not chess related.

        Originally posted by Vlad Drkulec View Post
        I still remember back in the 1970s when some brilliant person in the finance department floated the idea of taxing imputed rents. If you owned a home and were thus not paying rent these guys suggested that this extra non-income should be taxed as if you were receiving it as a benefit. Clearly their idea was that the government owned you and all of your income and their job was to come up with creative ways to extract more of it from you.
        I'd forgotten about that. The Americans have a different tax deal than we do on home ownership. They have tax deductiblity on mortgage payments. I can't recall if that was part of the reason the imputed rents were to try to claw back some of the tax savings.

        Joe Clark wanted to bring in a tax deduction on mortgage payments in Canada and it was part of the platform in his re-election campaign. He lost the election, although that wasn't the entire reason, and that idea hasn't been floated in an election since that time.

        It will be interesting to see how the current situation plays out. Boehner had a deal with Obama (the way I understand it) and he couldn't deliver the votes. It's a credibility issue and hurts him as a go between the president and Republicans. Hard to imagine that won't hurt his credibility.

        Early in the New Year the Americans politicians will choose a new House speaker. I'd assume Nancy Pelosi will contest the position and be supported by all the Democrats in the House. The Republicans will likely have to decide on only one person contesting the position for them. It will be interesting to see if Boehner steps aside for someone else or if the Republicans will support him.
        Gary Ruben
        CC - IA and SIM

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