Friday at lunch. You know what that means. Time to clean out the news chum links. This has been a busy week, so I only have a few things:
- Going, Going, Gone. In-N-Out has demolished the possible first In-N-Out. This one is in Baldwin Park; the company indicates they plan to build a replica. Of course, this has echoes of the demolition of “Johnie’s Broiler” in Downey; luckily, they did preserve the oldest operating McDonalds (also in Downey). Also in the “going, going, gone” category are the in-store piano players at Nordstroms.
- Tax Day. April 15 is traditionally tax day, although this year you get until April 18. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a nice run-down of tax themed movies. Today’s also the release day for that ultimate anti-government movie, Atlas Shrugged, which is sure to be a favorite with Tea Partiers and Libertarians everywhere. Never mind that it’s not that good of a movie—it plays to its audience. Facts don’t always matter… it’s the emotions and the hatred. One wonders if they’ve read the book—the WSJ has a nice piece arguing the book is actually anti-big-business. Speaking of facts, by the way, here’s an interesting one: new data shows that US taxes are at a historic low. For the past two years, a family of four with the median income has paid less in federal income taxes than any time since at least 1955, according to the Tax Policy Center. All federal, state and local taxes combined are a lower percentage of per capita income than any time since the 1960s, according to the Tax Foundation. The highest income tax bracket is its lowest since 1992. At 35 percent, it’s well below the 50-percent mark of much of the 1980s and the 70-percent bracket of the 1970s. Yet this fact seems to be ignored in the desire to cut, cut, cut. Yes, there are surely inefficiencies in government, and places to cut and restructure. But it is also reasonable to increase taxes, especially on those that can afford to pay taxes.
- Oops. . The USPS issued a postage stamp with the Statue of Liberty… only it was the one in Las Vegas, not New York.
- Eating it Up. The NY Times has a nice article on underground food raves in San Francisco. Would you feel comfortable eating in such a rave: a pop-up Farmers Market that has no inspections, no requirements for insurance, and no requirements for health and safety permits?
