The John Batchelor Show

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Air Date: 
November 27, 2012

 

 

Painting, above: King Narmer of Upper Egypt conquers the Nile Delta [see: Eric Trager, 10PM segment on Morsi's power grab]

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Co-host:  Larry Kudlow, Kudlow Report on CNBC; WABC Radio

Tuesday 905P Eastern Time:  Larry Kudlow, in re: Nobody knows whither the tax/expenditure/budget discussions. No deal yet – after all the jawboning, everyone is still clueless. The VIX is low – the volatility index, a lagging indicator of fear among investors – could suddenly decide that Washington isn't able to solve this and jump up monumentally.  Ninety per cent of the ____ is for:  interest on the debt, Social Security, and mandatory healthcare spending. No one knows what the president wants. What he doesn’t want is a deep recession.   Having no answer today is a hard fact.

Tuesday 920P Eastern Time:  Sudeep Reddy, WSJ economics reporter in Washington, in re: 'Fiscal Cliff' Debate Hits Airwaves  Interest groups are launching ad campaigns to stir up Americans about the fiscal cliff, the tax increases and spending cuts. Once upon a time, the president was elected to raise taxes on the rich, Then suddenly AFSCME and AARP launched TV ads in support of higher taxes, esp in states w a Democratic Senator.  Organizations fear that their interests will be abandoned at the edge of the fiscal cliff. At the end, the deal will be made by a bunch of guys in a back room.  LA Times wrote today that Dick Durban said:  No entitlement reform this year, but yes next year.

Tuesday 935P Eastern Time: John H. Cochrane, The Grumpy Economist, in re: Taxes and Cliffs. The whole tax debate is supremely frustrating to anyone who survived Econ 1. The ill effects of taxation -- the "distortions" -- depend on the total, marginal rate including transfers. If I earn an extra dollar, how much more stuff do I get, or how much more of someone else's services can I receive? That calculation has to including all taxes, federal, payroll, state, local, sales, excise, etc. and phase-outs. And, if you receive a benefit from the government that phases out with income, so every dollar of income above (say) $30,000 reduces your benefit by 50 cents, then you face a 50 percent marginal tax rate even if you pay no "taxes" at all. Taxes and benefits -- both in level and on the margin -- need to be considered together.

Tuesday 950P Eastern Time: Larry Kudlow, in re: the president's legacy moves him to make a compromise deal with the Republicans ahead of the Democrats in the Senate or the House.

Tuesday 1005P (705P Pacific Time):  Eric Trager, Washington Institute, in re: Beyond Gaza: The Foreign-Policy Implications of Morsi's Power Grab / The International Monetary Fund will require that there be no major change in Egypt's policy and economic prospects when it considers approving a $4.8 billion loan to the country, an IMF spokeswoman said Nov. 27, Reuters reported. The spokeswoman made the statement in response to questions regarding President Mohammed Morsi's decree to extend his powers. Egypt needs the loan to stabilize its economic outlook, and the spokeswoman said Egyptian officials have not indicated a shift in economic plans. Stalin exclaimed, "Wreckers threaten my revolution!"  Morsi sounds about the same. But: follow the money. IMF demands there be a much-improved economy if Morsi wants $4.8 bil.   Egyptian stock mkt lost $5bil in the last few days. IMF won’t send funds to a nose-diving economy.   As for last week, Morsi seems to have helped broker a ceasefire; he did not meet w Israelis, he left Hamas stronger than before, accepted no new responsibility for Egypt in stopping arms smuggling into Gaza. He was gearing up for this constitutional declaration giving him total power.  Commitment to a pluralistic society? No sign.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/11/beyond-gaza-the-foreign-policy-implications-of-morsis-power-grab/265608/

Tuesday 1020P (720P Pacific Time):  LouAnn Hammond, DrivingtheNation, in re:

Tuesday 1035P (735P Pacific Time): Steve Greenhouse, NYT, in re:  Nannies in America: wages, benefits, averages, comparisons, and one smart nanny of Brooklyn Heights

Tuesday 1050P (750P Pacific Time): Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal, in re:  Dominican Republic raises taxes on everyone - raises and raises, no end in sight and no benefit.

Tuesday 1105P (805P Pacific Time): The Last Headbangers: NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless '70s--The Era that Created Modern Sports by Kevin Cook; 1 of 2

Tuesday 1120P (820P Pacific Time): The Last Headbangers: NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless '70s--The Era that Created Modern Sports by Kevin Cook; 2 of 2

Tuesday 1135P (835P Pacific Time):  Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack.com, in re: Russian space program's troubles, reorganization, new missions.

Tuesday 1150P (850P Pacific Time):  Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack.com,  in re: Arianespace gets a new customer; trouble with Orion capsule; Boeing building a rival capsule for SLS

Tuesday/Wed 1205A (905 Pacific Time): Larry Kudlow, in re: Nobody knows whither the tax/expenditure/budget discussions. No deal yet – after all the jawboning, everyone is still clueless. The VIX is low – the volatility index, a lagging indicator of fear among investors – could suddenly decide that Washington isn't able to solve this and jump up monumentally.  Ninety per cent of the ____ is for:  interest on the debt, Social Security, and mandatory healthcare spending. No one knows what the president wants. What he doesn’t want is a deep recession.   Having no answer today is a hard fact.

Tuesday/Wed  1220A (920 Pacific Time): Sudeep Reddy, WSJ economics reporter in Washington, in re: 'Fiscal Cliff' Debate Hits Airwaves  Interest groups are launching ad campaigns to stir up Americans about the fiscal cliff, the tax increases and spending cuts. Once upon a time, the president was elected to raise taxes on the rich, Then suddenly AFSCME and AARP launched TV ads in support of higher taxes, esp in states w a Democratic Senator.  Organizations fear that their interests will be abandoned at the edge of the fiscal cliff. At the end, the deal will be made by a bunch of guys in a back room.  LA Times wrote today that Dick Durban said:  No entitlement reform this year, but yes next year.

Tuesday/Wed  1235A (935P Pacific Time): John H. Cochrane, The Grumpy Economist, in re: Taxes and Cliffs. The whole tax debate is supremely frustrating to anyone who survived Econ 1. The ill effects of taxation -- the "distortions" -- depend on the total, marginal rate including transfers. If I earn an extra dollar, how much more stuff do I get, or how much more of someone else's services can I receive? That calculation has to including all taxes, federal, payroll, state, local, sales, excise, etc. and phase-outs. And, if you receive a benefit from the government that phases out with income, so every dollar of income above (say) $30,000 reduces your benefit by 50 cents, then you face a 50 percent marginal tax rate even if you pay no "taxes" at all. Taxes and benefits -- both in level and on the margin -- need to be considered together.

Tuesday/Wed  1250A  (950P Pacific Time): Exeunt. Stephanie Simon, in re:  Jeb Bush's education summit, pros and cons, and is he running for president?