On the day President Bush signed his latest tax-cut bill, astute observers noticed that the increase from $600 to $1,000 in the package’s child-tax credit would not apply to children of the working poor. Families with incomes under $26,625 will remain at $600. By leaving those children at the lower level, did the tax-cut crafters really mean to imply they were worth only three-fifths of richer kids; did someone have an awful sense of symbolism or are they trying to tell the public something?
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In addition to health issues, Maine struggles with drug abuse, a situation that has led to tragic deaths, crime and otherwise ruined lives, so the state might look askance at Canada’s recent decision to ignore those people in possession of small amounts of marijuana and to allow the Cannabis Cafe to open in bordering New Brunswick. A double threat: As if the drugs weren’t bad enough, now Maine will have cross-border pot-induced munchies contributing to its weight problem.
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Karla W. Corcoran, the U.S. Postal Service inspector general, may soon lose her job because, according to news reports, she wanted a happy workplace. Employees, who apparently were happier being unhappy, complained publicly. The accused Ms. Corcoran of stressing “teamwork, leadership, creativity, communication and conceptualization,” saying these counted as much as achieving results. Some workers claimed feelings of humiliation after they had to practice team building by constructing gingerbread houses. Ms. Corcoran’s office is charged with rooting out wasteful activities within the Postal Service. Those gingerbread houses – any chance they were made of glass?
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Finally. after years of allowing women’s clothing sizes to fall even as actual garment circumferences rose, retailers and manufacturers have their tapes out and are ready to undertake the most comprehensive study ever of proper sizing, according to The Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean sizes will become consistent because, it turns out, that’s not good for business. An industry official explained the intentional inconsistency thusly: “Once you find a size that fits, you’re likely to go back and buy the same brand again.” When entering the dressing room: Please, only three items of manipulation at a time.
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One more item from the tax-cut bill: The low-income families didn’t do well, but some owners or soon-to-be owners of SUVs are happier than a roomful of team-building postal inspectors general. Congress included a tax loophole to allow purchasers of extra-large SUVs to count them in the same category as dump trucks, cement mixers and other working or commercial trucks, giving them a deduction of up to $100,000, says the Natural Resources Defense Council, which adds that the new Hummer H2 sells for about $106,000.
A Pinto price and terrible gas mileage too. Hey you poor kids! Get your hands off my tax deduction!
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