Changes aren't permanent
I’m up early this morning because of this stupid cold, waiting for some tea to heat. While I wait, I figured I’d try and clear out my links. Today’s:
Sadly, it’s not to me. I don’t have that kind of access. Instead, it’s to Michael Yon (who ought to be on my blogroll). It’s about Wikileaks. An excerpt:
[L]et me just offer some perspective as somebody who’s been at this a long time. Every other government in the world knows the United States government leaks like a sieve, and it has for a long time. […] And this is a quote from John Adams: “How can a government go on, publishing all of their negotiations with foreign nations, I know not.”
I’m still clearing the backlog …
I link to the second more to talk about framing your argument. In paragraph four:
The latest numbers from the IRS – based on 2008 tax returns – show that the top 1% of income earners paid 38.02% of individual income taxes paid. That’s a lot, but it’s actually a smaller share of the total tax bill than the top 1% paid in 2007. That year they paid 40.42%.
The tax rate didn’t change in that period, so the raw amount of money that the top 1% earned actually dropped. You couldn’t tell by the way the article framed the information, however.