At The Station

Not Optimal
Mr. Obama opted out of the public financing program in 2008, breaking a campaign pledge, and went on to outspend the Republican nominee, John McCain, by four to one. (NYT, 4/12/2012)


Obama is a different kind of politician....not.


Lost in Space
On Friday, the satellite disintegrated in a different kind of fireworks. The rocket carrying it exploded midair about one minute after the liftoff, according to American, South Korean and Japanese officials. The rocket and satellite — which cost the impoverished country an estimated $450 million to build, according to South Korean government estimates — splintered into many pieces and plunged into the gray blue waters of the Yellow Sea. 


Hours later, despite the embarrassing setback, Mr. Kim was upheld as the new head of the national defense commission, his country’s highest state agency, during a parliamentary meeting in the country’s capital, Pyongyang, on Friday. That was the last among the top military, party and state posts that have been transferred to him from his father, Kim Jong-il, who died in December. (NYT, 4/13/2012)


As in American politics poor results do not always translate to lack of advancement.


Rated
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama had a combined income of $789,674 in 2011 but paid a lower tax rate the president's secretary, who made less than $100,000, the White House confirmed Friday. (Foxnews.com, 4/13/2012)


Like his billionaire friend Warren Buffett, President Obama refuses to lead by example. Not happy with the amount of taxes you are paying? Show the country you are serious and pay more! We guess that the president would rather "lead from behind."


Absolutes
The Obamas paid more than $160,000 in federal taxes last year. (Foxnews.com, 4/13/2012)


As RedStateVT has reported, Mitt Romney paid over $3 million in taxes in 2010.


Independents' Day
By a 7-point margin, more voters think Romney has the best experience to fix the economy (46-39 percent). Romney’s advantage widens over Obama to 41-28 percent among independents. (Foxnews.com, 4/13/2012)


Democrats want to talk about the women's vote, but the big story is straight up independents.... where Obama is trailing by 13%!


Living Well
It looks like the courts will get to decide whether the controversial "living wage" bill about to be enacted by the City Council is legal. Mayor Bloomberg dropped a bombshell on his weekly radio show today by announcing that his administration intends to file a lawsuit to block the law from taking effect.

"We certainly will go to court and sue," the mayor declared. "Whether you win or not, you never know."

The proposed law requires that businesses accepting $1 million or more in city subsidies pay their workers at least $11.50 an hour, or $10 with benefits. The current minimum wage here is $7.25 an hour.

Bloomberg compared the mandate to communism. "The last time we really had a big managed economy was the USSR and that didn't work out so well," he said. "You cannot stop the tides from coming in." (New York Post, 4/13/2012)


It seems that even New York's Liberal mayor understands a thing or two about how capitalism works.