Neff Zone Column -- November 28, 2009

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Print Edition: November 28, 2009

NOTHING BUT THE FACTS

As an avid reader of newspapers I’m drawn to those little nuggets of information called facts. You remember facts, don’t you? They were really popular once upon a time before political talk shows on AM radio, Internet blogs and the Bowl Championship Series.

I was looking through the collection of snippets in the crate under my desk and I came up with a bunch of interesting stuff. So, in the immortal words of Dragnet’s Joe Friday, ‘here are the facts and just the facts.’ Draw your own conclusions.

Americans whine a lot about high taxes, but a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released this week offered new data on tax burdens in its 30 member countries. Denmark had the highest total tax burden followed by Sweden and Belgium. In overall tax burden, the United States ranked 27^th, with a 26.9% rate. Only Turkey, South Korea and Mexico had a smaller tax burdens.

Speaking of taxes, The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has concluded that Michigan’s tax system is horribly regressive when you look at the overall tax burden on families. Earners in Michigan who make between $32,000 and $54,000 per year pay almost 10% of their yearly take on state and local taxes. Those making less than $32,000 per year pay 8.9%. But those who earn between $365,000 and $1 million pay only 8% of their income in taxes.

By the way, if you wonder where a huge chunk of those tax dollars are going here’s the answer. Thirty percent of the state’s workforce is employed in the corrections system (jails and related services) and 20% of the general fund is taken up by this expenditure.

All sorts of claims have been made lately in the debate over health care. One misconception is that if health care legislation is thwarted somehow the money that would have been spent will in actuality be saved. According to USA Today, that’s not true. If the country does nothing at all regarding health care – that means everything stays exactly as it is right now – "…taxpayers will be called upon to spend $13 trillion over the next decade on health care. That’s $80,000 for everyone who files a tax form."

Just being heard during the health care debate may be a bit of a problem. According to CQ Moneyline over 1000 organizations have hired lobbyists since January. Over the last nine months $422 million has been spent on health care lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Geez, the American Beverage Association has hired five lobbying firms and has spent $.7.3 million all by itself!

If this country ever does get some sort of national health care there’s an obvious place to start when it comes to health care savings. According to the United Health Foundation obesity will cost the USA $344 billion in medical-related expenses every year (by 2018). That’s 21% of all health care spending. The group calls the situation a "tsunami for health care."

If that doesn’t give you a reason to pause and think add in that according to the US military, an alarming 75% of Americans ages 17 to 24 do not meet the qualifications for military service. "Obesity and other societal ills would keep three of four young adults out of the ranks," says a report titled "Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve."

Another area of concern when it comes to getting a handle on costs is the fraud that seems to rampant in the Medicare system. The AARP Bulletin reported on one specific area in its November issue. The article dealt with power wheelchairs. Now, all of us probably agree that in terms of independence and mobility power wheelchairs are a good thing for those who need them. But AARP cited an Office of the Inspector General report that found that many suppliers buy the chairs for an average of $1,048 but bill Medicare on average of $4,018. More elaborate chairs are bought for $5,880 and billed to Medicare at $11,507 on average. How can this be? Well, the medical equipment lobby spent $6.3 million in presidential and congressional campaign contributions last year. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is correct in stating: "It’s infuriating to learn that the government is throwing away money…It’s only common sense that you don’t pay more for something than is on the price tag."

At least we can console ourselves by watching some college football, eh? what could be more soothing than that? As Coach Lee Corso might say on ESPN Game Day, "Not so fast my friends!" It turns out that the NCAA recently reported that of the 120 big-time sports universities, just 25 had athletic departments operating in the black. Basically, what this means is that most of those bowl games we’ll be watching are alumni and taxpayer supported vacations for the teams involved.

Aw shucks, "ya can’t take it with you so what’s the big deal" you say? Well, that’s true but did you know even dead people can be big money earners? According to Forbes magazine some dead celebrities are doing just fine in the earnings department, thank you very much www.forbes.com/deadcelebs. Topping the list this year are: 1) Yves Saint Laurent - $350 million, 2) Rodgers & Hammerstein - $235 million, 3) Michael Jackson - $90 million, 4) Elvis Presley - $55 million, 5) J.R.R. Tolkien - $50 million, 6) Charles Schulz - $35 million, 7) John Lennon - $15 million, 8) Dr. Seuss - $15 million, 9) Albert Einstein - $10 million, 10) Michael Crichton - $9 million, 11) Aaron Spelling - $8 million, 12) Jimi Hendrix - $8 million and 13) Andy Warhol - $6 million.

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Comments to neffzone@gmail.com. Read neff Zone columns online at www.neffzone.com/cadillacnews.