We Did Not Change Our Mind

We have still moved www.theunknowncitizen.com

This Unknown Citizen is moving…

This is just a little note to tell you that this unknown citizen is moving.  The blog is moving to a new address.  To those of you who enjoy reading this blog we are moving to www.theunknowncitizen.com.  To please navigate on over to keep up with us, you will find it will be like we never moved.

And for those of you who don’t enjoy reading this blog, but continue to just to know what we are thinking, you can come to.

Is Patent Law the key to Tax Reform?

In surveying the news this morning I came across a story about the U.S. Patent System.  Evidently Congress is considering making significant changes to the American Patent System.  According to the story:

The most sweeping, and controversial, change is the transition from a first-to-invent application system to a first-to-file system that is used by every other industrialized nation, but has been opposed by independent inventors. It comes with an enhanced grace period to protect inventors who publicly disclose their inventions before seeking patents.

Obviously issues of global competition and international conformity are important, but this is not the change that flagged my interest.  The change that flagged my interest was more big picture.

I wish Mike Huckabee would stop running for President

I like Mike Huckabee.  Although I don’t agree with his willingness to inject religious issues into government, I think he is a pretty level-headed, interesting leader.  Outside of a presidential race, everything I have read about him has been interesting and encouraging.

This could be a well crafted public persona, but he strikes me as the kind of person who adds value to public discourse.  He tends to be positive and indignation doesn’t really suit him.  Yet, most things that I have seen written about him in context of running for president is discouraging.  He clearly kowtows to the Republican (Conservative) thought police.   In this example, he stands up for Michelle Obama in her attempts to get kids to eat better.  At the same time he makes it clear that Republicans (Conservatives) that have condemned her efforts are not all wrong.  Yes they are.

Wow! Anyone paying attention should read this…

I found this via Professor Krugman’s “Conscious of a Liberal” blog.  Professor Johnston gives a stunning critique of the political reporting in the Wisconsin Public Employees debate.

Accepting Gov. Walker’ s assertions as fact, and failing to check, created the impression that somehow the workers are getting something extra, a gift from taxpayers. They are not. Out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin’ s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers. How can that be? Because the “contributions” consist of money that employees chose to take as deferred wages – as pensions when they retire – rather than take immediately in cash. The same is true with the health care plan. If this were not so a serious crime would be taking place, the gift of public funds rather than payment for services.

If there is a better example of the need for the public to ask questions and be better informed, I haven’t found it.  I had the same belief that he has regarding comparable pay for public employees, but I accepted the Governor’s statements on benefits for no other reason than I was reading them in newspapers and it really didn’t occur to me that newspaper reports would be that widely inaccurate.

I said during two conversations today that, “in the 24/7 news cycle we have the information and technology we need to make decisions.”  Wow, I guess I was wrong about that. 

Which is better?

President Obama recently announced that he has decided that his administration was not going to defend DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act).  This announcement inspired a bevy of statements agreeing with or condemning the decision.

The Obama administration is opposed to the law.  The District  Court has ruled it unconstitutional.  At the same time, the Federal Government is in the middle of identifying massive spending cuts.

So I ask, which is better?  Announcing that he isn’t going to defend another challenge or simply quietly losing the case?

Are we being hypocritical?

David Brooks published a column yesterday that made a significant distinction between public sector and private sector unions.  The difference, he said, is in the interests and desires of the stakeholders they negotiate with.

Public sector unions and private sector unions are very different creatures. Private sector unions push against the interests of shareholders and management; public sector unions push against the interests of taxpayers.

This distinction spotlighted an issue that I have been wrestling with.  Are we as a society being somewhat hypocritical when we demand that our government bring back jobs?  Are we being less than genuine when we criticize corporations for having large cash balances even in the face of large unemployment numbers?