by Richard Rider UPDATED: November, 2014

In 2011 the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat for the NBA title. The next year the upstart Oklahoma Thunder lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA finals. In 2013 the Miami Heat repeated, defeating the aging San Antonio Spurs. In 2014 the ageless Spurs avenged their loss from the previous year, beating the Heat in the finals.

What did these VERY different teams have in common? With the exception of the Thunder, all the finalists are “housed” in states with zero state income tax! Moreover, Oklahoma’s top state income tax is a rather modest 5.25% — and there are proposals to further lower this top OK tax bracket.

Coincidence? Maybe. Was this factor the ONLY reason these teams made it to the finals? Definitely not!

But because of a little-known change in the 2013 federal income tax law, this match-up of low/no tax income state finalists in pro sports playoffs may become more and more common. This change is particularly bad news for California sports fans.

State income taxes has always been a consideration for the truly wealthy. But starting in 2013, for income above $2 million,… Read More

http://riderrants.blogspot.com/2014/11/amazing-chart-texas-employment-success.html

An amazing chart of an amazing job-creating state; we owe a debt of gratitude to ‘Saudi Texas’ and the shale boom

Carpe Diem The chart above shows a most amazing economic phenomenon: Since December 2007 when the Great Recession started, Texas civilian employment has increased by 12.4% and by more than 1.36 million jobs, from just over 11 million jobs in December 2007 to 12.37 million in October of this year (see blue line in chart). In contrast, civilian employment in the other49 states without Texasis still 0.26% and more than 350,000 jobsbelow the December 2007 level(see red line in chart) — … Read More

The feminists’ bogus “war on women” took a beating in the November elections. That’s why they’ve been so quietly lately.

The phony war on women narrative was only ever really a war on those who believe women should have to pay for their own birth control, and those who are opposed to abortion. But the war was ginned-up with thenon-existent pay gap,and thephony campus rape crisis.

The beat-down is largely because feminism does not live up to its definition. And it does not represent most women.

Today’s feminism is victimization; it encourages blaming other people for mistakes, bad choices, and failures. The problem today is that feminists now push public policy.

Last week a feminist professor said that America should stop putting all women in jail, for any crime.

Campus Reform reported, “Patricia O’Brien, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois’s Jane Addam’s College of Social Work, contends that the majority of women in prison are merely non-violent, poorly educated, unemployed, and abused, according to her op-ed in… Read More

“The ‘recovery’ is largely an illusion created by the effects of zero percent interest rates, quantitative easing, and deficit spending. The asset bubbles that have been created as a result of these policies have primarily benefited the owners of stocks, bonds, and real estate (the rich), while simultaneously deterring the savings and capital investment that is needed to actually create good paying jobs and increased purchasing power.” – Peter Schiff,EuroPacific Weekly, November 6, 2014

The question everyone should be asking, especially the managers of public employee pension funds, is how much longer can our economy run on zero percent (adj. for inflation) interest rates, quantitative easing, and deficit spending.

When askedhow we unwind all of this debt and deficits in a manner that doesn’t trigger a collapse of collateral and potentially catastrophic deflation, i.e., how do we create the preconditions for sustainable economic growth, respected economics bloggerCharles Hugh… Read More

With the support of my family, friends, and numerous community leaders, I am excited to announce my candidacy for the 37th State Senate District seat here in the heart of Orange County.

Congratulations to Sen. Mimi Walters on her election to Congress. She has been a fierce advocate for pension reform, a strong ally to small businesses, and an eloquent conservative voice in the State Legislature. Her experience and insight in Washington will benefit Orange County and the entire country.

Sen. Walter’s election to Congress leaves a vacancy in her 37th State Senate District seat. Under our Constitution, that vacancy will be filled shortly by a special election. Because of term limits, my opportunity to continue serving in the legislature beyond the next election requires that I seek this Senate seat. That is why I today announce my candidacy to succeed Sen. Walters.

I am sincerely grateful to the voters who have sent me to Sacramento for three consecutive terms in the legislature from two separate Assembly Districts encompassing most of the new Senate seat. I turn to them again for their support to continue delivering the… Read More

Californians have abysmally low levels of civic engagement as evidenced by the recent election where voter turnout set an historic low. And the widespread disengagement of California’s younger voters is even worse.

True, in 2008 California’s youth turned out in large numbers to elect Barack Obama as President. And in 2012 they turned out again because, in addition to Obama being up for reelection, Proposition 30 was on the ballot. Proposition 30, which gave California the highest income tax rate and highest state sales tax rate in America was, ironically, entitled Temporary Taxes to Fund Education.

During the Proposition 30 campaign, Governor Brown traveled to several university campuses to push the massive tax hike promising that passage would prevent tuition hikes. California’s college students, being as gullible as they are idealistic, believed the promise hook, line and sinker. So much for critical thinking.

But perhaps California’s younger voters are finally getting wise to all the broken promises of tax-and-spend politicians and that might explain, in part, why they stayed home in this last election. And sure enough, their increasing cynicism… Read More

Someone recently asked me what Cap and Trade and Carbon Trading is. The simple answer is the State of California is taxing the air we breathe. However, it is also one of the biggest taxing schemes perpetrated on Americans, Californians, and businesses.

The beginning

Carbon trading is actually emissions trading by businesses forced into these “agreements.”

When California’sGlobal Warming Solutions Act,AB 32, was passed in 2006, it was sold to the public as a necessary step to reduce dangerous carbon emissions. California politicians gloated over being the first state to enact such an aggressive policy.

The state’s unemployment rate was very low at the time at only4.8 percent. It… Read More

Kudos to billionaire T. Denny Sanford! This successful South Dakota businessman has decided to give most of his wealth away BEFORE he dies — to causes he favors. While many wealthy people end up donating most of their wealth to charities, Sanford’s “give it all now” philosophy is far less common.

But in alaudatory U-T interview, there’s one fact mentioned in passing that bears note. In the interview, Sanford says “I live about six months a year in the Scottsdale area.” Actually, a more accurate statement would likely be “I live LESS than 6 months a year in Scottsdale.”

The reason? His business is in South Dakota, employing thousands of people. He still resides in South Dakota FOR INCOME TAX PURPOSES. While Arizona has only a 4.54% top state income tax bracket (about 10th lowest in the nation), South Dakota has NO state individual or corporate income tax. ZERO.… Read More