Wednesday, November 28, 2007

What Do We Get for Our Taxes?

Tax time is coming around again. I’m reminded because I just placed my order for the 2007 version of TurboTax, which is a software application that guides me through federal and Pennsylvania tax return preparation. The damn tax code has become so complex, you really need either a good accountant or a tax package to get it right.

Taxes are everywhere, on everything. Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, federal death tax, Medicaid, state income tax, state sales tax, state death tax … let me catch my breath. Certain cities or counties get you for an income tax or a wage tax or maybe even a sales tax. Then there are the smaller but still irritating levies like federal and state gasoline taxes, the state automobile registration tax, the hotel room occupancy tax (talk about taxation without representation!) and the federal telephone taxes (check out your phone bill for the beloved Federal Subscriber Line Charge and the smaller, but still irritating Federal Universal Service Fee). And if you have a small business, well, I won’t get into that.

They tax you when you earn, they tax you when you buy and they tax you when you die. Whatever you do, the Taxman has his hand in your pocket. If they could figure out how to do it, they’d tax you for bodily functions. Maybe a little meter on the toilet. Two cents per flush. Wireless, of course.

And think about the skillions of hours that are wasted on tax planning, preparation and collection. Tax attorneys, tax accountants, tax return software, IRS employees, state and local tax collectors, they are all working day and night on our taxes. While you’re sleeping innocently in your bed, an IRS computer is selecting you for an audit. And if you are in a hotel, you’re paying tax to sleep while that IRS computer is humming away. Your federal government at work.

I read somewhere that the top half of earners pay 96% of federal income taxes while the lower half pays 4%. The principle that a person with a larger income should pay more in taxes is fair, but 96% seems a bit extreme. Every citizen with a decent income, it seems to me, should pay something in taxes. Even if it’s only a couple of bucks withheld from each paycheck, at least you’re holding up your end as best you can.

My personal choice would be for a flat income tax. No tax on the first twenty five grand, then 15% on everything after that. Or something similar. Allow a few deductibles such as spouse and children, mortgage and medical. Keep it really simple, so that a normal person could file their return without screaming. That’s right, tax prep would become the no scream zone. Maybe even no cursing … okay, I lost my head. Anyway, I enjoy cursing at my return.

It’s interesting that our government has too much money and yet not enough. A duality that would interest a quantum mechanics researcher. Here’s the issue: the government needs more money to fund entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, but a big tax increase might plunge the economy into recession. And recessions are not good for incumbent politicians.

The simple truth is that people should be allowed to keep the bulk of the money they earn. They know what they need better than a government bureaucrat. Plus, the more an entrepreneur can keep, the more likely she is to invest her money in a small business, and that’s what drives the economy. JFK knew that and so did Reagen and Bush 43.

Entitlements are out of control. Already Medicare has more money going out in benefits than tax payments coming in. Social Security is still in the black, but economists predict 2017 as the date it goes into the red. To fund these deficits, the government has to increase its borrowing, raise taxes or divert funds from other programs. These are not good alternatives, so why don’t we actually try to fix these creaky old programs. To put it bluntly, they suck. No rational young person would invest his money in Social Security if he had a choice. Let’s fix the damn thing! Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. Here’s a bold prediction — they’ll eventually put together a bipartisan, blue ribbon, lip smacking panel of old pols and they’ll recommend … hold your breath … raising Social Security taxes.

Let’s face it, we fifty plus citizens are pretty demanding. We coughed up money supporting prior generations, so we want our fair share of the benefits when we get older. Without these entitlements, many baby boomers will have a tough retirement. If you can afford to retire.

But let’s be fair and look at it from the point of the twenty something working stiff. The ratio of retired persons to workers is getting worse year by year. A young guy or gal has forty or fifty years of ever increasing Social Security taxes to pay. They are not happy and I don’t blame them. Especially if the benefits are cut back or the retirement age raised to, let’s say, 112. I’m all for working with these youngsters so that we can cut them a fair deal. Just as long as you don’t touch MY retirement benefits.

So how do we reduce taxes? The government has to find a way to fund Social Security, Medicare and other entitlements. That’s the bulk of the federal budget. We certainly need the Defense and State departments and, to some degree, the regulatory agencies. That doesn’t leave too much to cut, but there are a few items that make no sense.

Take agriculture subsidies. Why the frack do we pay farmers to NOT grow food? (Love the sound of the word frack — got it from Battlestar Galactica)These subsidies go into the pockets of big, rich agriculture corporations. It’s not 1930, with Oakies starving on their little farms. Agriculture is Big Business, just like Insurance, Computers or Finance. Should we pay Microsoft to not develop software? No wisecracks, please, I’m just trying to make a point.

Then there are the natural disasters, like Katrina. I’m all for emergency aid, but the government went way overboard. I read that more than 80 billion dollars has already been committed. Now if you choose to live below sea level or on the coastline, okay, you can take a chance, but don’t expect the taxpayer to rebuild your home if a flood washes it away. At least buy fracking flood insurance. It’s cheap (government subsidized, of course). Can you believe they are rebuilding New Orleans without improving the levies! Who pays when it floods again? Spell it t-a-x-p-a-y-e-r-s.

So we have to find a way to reduce the cost of providing necessary services, while eliminating the handouts. There’s no solution unless entitlement programs are restructured, and I’ll discuss this in future posts.

Fracking A!

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Saturday, November 24, 2007

Have We Achieved Our Objectives in Iraq?

Exactly where are we in this conflict? It’s difficult to cut through to the truth with so much hot air coming from all sides. I decided to go back and read the Joint Resolution approved October 2002 by the President and the Senate authorizing the invasion or liberation (take your pick) of Iraq.

It begins with a bunch of whereas clauses summarizing the then current situation: Iraq had been kicked out of Kuwait and had agreed not to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and Iraq would not support terrorism; weapons inspectors had been forced to withdraw in 1998 and Congress had declared that Iraq’s continued development of weapons of mass destruction threatened world peace; the Iraqi regime continued to brutalize its civilian population; Iraq showed its hostility toward the United States by attempting to assassinate Bush 41 and shoot at US planes enforcing the no-fly zone; members of al Qaida are known to be in Iraq; the regime continues to harbor other terrorist organizations; Iraq might launch a surprise attack on the US or provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.

Therefore, the Joint Resolution authorized the President to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to:
(1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and
(2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.

A review of this document indicates the US had several objectives, at least initially, in the war against the Iraqi regime.
+ To eliminate weapons of mass destruction stockpiled or under development by Iraq as called for by various UN resolutions.
+ To implement democracy within Iraq and eventually throughout much of the Middle East.
+ To free the people of Iraq from a brutal dictatorship.
+ To eliminate a dangerous enemy.
+ To prevent Saddam Hussein from working with international terrorist groups that might threaten the US.


Although not specified in the Iraq War Resolution, it seems clear to me that the US was intent on making sure that control of Iraqi oil was taken from Saddam and turned over to a friendly Iraqi government. Removing Saddam also eliminated his threat to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other oil rich Middle East nations.


As everyone knows, we did not discover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Although there are rumors that these weapons were shipped out of Iraq shortly before the invasion, no hard evidence supports this theory. Therefore, we must conclude that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq during the days leading up to the war. It appears there was a massive intelligence failure not only in the US, but in many other nations as well. Some have claimed that the Bush administration knew all along that there were no such weapons in Iraq, but this claim isn’t justified with evidence. Basically, it was a screw-up of massive proportions.


Iraq does have a democratic government, a parliamentary system where the people vote for their representatives, who join together in political parties and elect a Prime Minister. As described in Wikipedia, a permanent 275-member Iraqi National Assembly was selected in a general election in December 2005, initiating the formation of a new government. The Prime Minister of Iraq is Nouri al-Maliki, who holds most of the executive authority and appoints the cabinet. The current President of Iraq is Jalal Talabani, who serves largely as a figurehead, with few powers. The vice presidents are Tariq al-Hashimi and Adel Abdul Mehdi, deputy leader of SCIRI, the largest party in the Iraqi National Assembly.

Although the government at times seems ineffective, it is an honest democracy. It remains to be seen if additional democracies will be established across the Middel East.


The US-led coalition has freed the people of Iraq from Saddam’s brutal dictatorship, and the new government is not oppressive. However, a violent Sunni/al Qaida insurgency has continued to murder thousands in an effort to plunge the nation into chaos and civil war. The US-led Surge, actually an increase in troops and a change in strategy, has splintered the insurgency and reduced the violence. Although the war is moving in the right direction, Iraq is still a dangerous country, both for the Iraqis and US troops.


The elimination of Saddam’s regime removed a dangerous enemy without question. However, the insurgency is equally dangerous. If our enemies are able to win in Iraq, they may be able to spread their hatred of the US beyond the borders of Iraq and across the region.


There is no hard evidence that Saddam was working with international terrorist groups. There appears to be some contact between al Qaida and Saddam’s regime, but no evidence of any type of alliance. It may be that the US was concerned about the potential for an alliance, given that both Saddam and al Qaida hate us.


Iraqi oil production is about 2.5 million bpd, about where it was before the war. However, the oil is being sold by a friendly government, so we don’t have to worry it will be used as a weapon.


To summarize, we have removed the yoke of dictatorship from the people of Iraq and implemented a democratic, if somewhat ineffective, national government. After years of warfare with extremists, the Surge seems to be leading to a better life for Iraqis. We have also removed an enemy from Iraq, and secured a supply of oil. All good things, clearly. On the other hand, no weapons of mass destruction were found, and the ties between Saddam and terrorists were not threatening. And we paid a heavy price in blood and national treasure.


Was it worth it? Each of us will have to make that assessment.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Piers Anthony praises Unholy Domain


Bestselling author Piers Anthony has endorsed my new book Unholy Domain. This is what Piers said:

"Another fast-action story of vicious extremes, as a powerful religious cult takes on a sophisticated tech outfit. Each means to destroy the other and rule the world, and neither is scrupulous about the means. The protagonist is caught precariously between the two. Top rate adventure sparkling with ideas."

Piers Anthony — author of dozens upon dozens of fantastic novels

Unholy Domain

A deliberately staged IT catastrophe leaves the world sunk into depression and the US government ineffectual. The secretive and powerful Domain, using organized crime to spread its technology, seeks to take humankind to the next level of evolution through artificial intelligence. The fanatical Army of God battles to stop them. Dan Ronco’s fast-paced techno-thriller depicts a world of violent extremes, where religious terrorists and visionaries of technology fight for supreme power.

Click here to pre-order Unholy Domain on Amazon and earn a 5% discount. Books will be shipped approximately April 1, 2008.




Thursday, November 15, 2007

Chapter 21 of the thriller PeaceMaker posted on my website

PeaceMaker, my first novel, was released by Winterwolf Publishing in August, 2004 and Unholy Domain will be released by Kunati Publishing on April1, 2008. Although still available at Amazon and many bookstores, PeaceMaker now appears on my MySpace blog and my website as a serial novel. You can read the complete story FREE OF CHARGE. Twenty one chapters are available and every week an additional chapter will be posted.

If you enjoy Michael Crichton or Dan Brown, you'll love PeaceMaker.

Monday, November 12, 2007

A Place to Dream

I grew up in a tough blue-collar neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. My folks both had to work to put food on the table. Not that we were poor. When I was seven, we moved out of the top floor of a three family home into a house just down the street. Yeah, we moved the sum total of half a block. But it was our own home: three bedrooms, one bath and a screened-in porch. I could reach out a window and touch (well, almost) the neighbor’s house. Could hear them, too. Sometimes.

I could walk to Alexander Street School, which I attended through sixth grade. Three stories high, if I remember correctly, lots of faded red brick, two playgrounds (one for the big kids, one for the little) and a ten foot high chain link fence around the big playground. We played basketball, stickball, or punchball every day after school.

It was great fun playing with my friends, but I always left after an hour or so. Time to go to the library, which was just down the block. Another red brick building, but this one was a place to dream. I could walk down the aisles and pull out another world. My favorites were stories about horses, dogs and baseball. Walter Farley was a special author, bringing the world of Alec and the Black Stallion to my little corner of the world. Racetracks, ranches, the countryside --- these were places way outside my range of experience. Made me understand that Newark wasn’t the whole world.

The baseball stories were great, too. Little morality plays in the guise of sports, where the good guys always won. No matter how bad things seemed to get, the good guys would come through and win the championship game in the last chapter. Something you could rely on.

I loved those books and I looked forward to my trips to the library. It was both safe and exciting. I don’t think the library changed my life, but it sure enriched it.

Every child should have a library.

Visit my website, it's informative and entertaining. We focus on the implications of advanced technology upon society. Order Unholy Domain or PeaceMaker at Amazon.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Win a Free Copy of PeaceMaker!


WIN A FREE COPY OF PEACEMAKER!

Tell me what you like most and least about my website.
The best five answers win a trade paperback.
Visit my website and enter by November 30.
.
Visit my website, it's informative and entertaining. We focus on the implications of advanced technology upon society.





Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Q&A with Dan Ronco

Daphne Hayden, DNS News Anchor, interviewed Dan Ronco regarding his new novel in 2012.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: I've found your biography online at www.danronco.com, and I know you have not one, but three degrees: Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering and Computer Science. Why so many?


DAN RONCO: It's my nature. I'm never satisfied, always looking for the next challenge. My career has been like that, too. First I designed nuclear reactors, next I became a Partner in a huge accounting and IT consulting firm, then President of a small software company and finally a General Manager with Microsoft.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: So how did you go from technology guru to writing a novel?

DAN RONCO: After more than two decades in the IT business, I felt that it was time to do something else. Although I loved working at Microsoft, 70 hour weeks and heavy travel take a toll. Besides, I had been thinking about writing a novel for years, but hadn't made much progress. It was time to choose. So I left my job and concentrated on writing.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: You're much better looking in person. Trash that photo on the cover of Unholy Domain.

DAN RONCO: Well, I was trying to look author-ish. Guess it didn't work.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: In your first novel, set in 2012, PeaceMaker a Windows-like operating system is infected with an intelligent virus, leading to a shutdown of computers across the globe. With Windows computers so widely used, could this really happen?

DAN RONCO: Software terrorism is already a threat, and it will grow over time. Every time a new virus attacks Windows, someone has to detect and report the problem, programmers have to develop and distribute a fix, and millions of users have to apply the fix. A relatively slow process, but it works as long as the virus isn't too destructive, doesn't spread too fast (or secretly) and doesn't evolve too rapidly (the fix won't work if the virus can change tactics). In PeaceMaker, I envisioned a fictional virus attack that exceeded these parameters. At some point within the next decade, a terrorist may be capable of launching such a sophisticated attack.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: PeaceMaker and Unholy Domain have been touted as the first two books of an anti-technology trilogy. Is that true? What are the books about?

DAN RONCO: My stories dramatize the question: how much technology is too much? The first novel, as you know, illustrates the consequences of a runaway, lethal computer virus. My new novel, Unholy Domain, set in 2022, considers the meaning of being human as artificial intelligence begins to approach human intelligence. It takes a hard look at what I believe will be accelerating conflict between science and religion. The last book of the trilogy, set in 2025 and tentatively titled Tomorrow's Children, considers the risks and benefits of genetic engineering.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: You didn't really answer my question. Don't your books warn against the continuing growth of technology?

DAN RONCO: It's clear to me that the exponential growth in technology over the next two, three decades will bring incredible change to our society, possibly beyond our ability to cope. Whether that's anti-technology, well, I'll leave it for the reader to decide.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: Scientists and the clergy are already in conflict over issues such as evolution, homosexuality and abortion. You believe it will get worse?

DAN RONCO: Without a doubt. Consider a few emerging issues. Should we enhance capabilities such as intelligence, athletic ability, beauty or health through gene manipulation or artificial components? If so, who gets the enhancements? Should human cloning be permitted? Should an intelligent robot have the same rights as a human? Does God care if we evolve into a new species? Should we allow artificial intelligence to approach and possibly surpass human intelligence? These issues will shake the foundation of organized religion as never before.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: I see what you mean. Complex issues, no easy solutions. Must the novels be read in chronological sequence? Do you have to be an engineer to understand the technology in the novels?

DAN RONCO: First and foremost, I wrote the novels to entertain a reader who enjoys thrillers or science fiction. If you can use a computer, you will have no problem with the technology in my stories. Although the novels are all consistent with each other, each is a self-contained story. You can read them in any sequence, so just start with the one that most appeals to you.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: How long did it take to write your novels?

DAN RONCO: Including research, I have been working on the trilogy for about eight years. Not full-time, but I try to write three to four hours per day on average. Tomorrow's Children will be complete in a few months, so I have dedicated a big chunk of my life to this work.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: What lessons have you learned as a writer, and what changes would you make if you could start over?

DAN RONCO: When I started, I had no idea how difficult it is to write well. I thought that once you had the concept for the story, the words would just tumble out of your mind onto the page. Man, was I wrong. Every word in your story must have a reason to be present, and it must convey the right shade of meaning. Extremely difficult, but what a feeling of satisfaction when you get it right.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: The women in your novels are highly unusual to say the least.

DAN RONCO: I knew we were going to get into this.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: Don't get alarmed, I think it's a good thing. Your female characters are beautiful, smart, tough and physically strong. I particularly like Darlene Duboski, DoubleD as you call her. How did you come up with this amazing woman?

DAN RONCO: DoubleD isn't really that unusual, if you think about it. She's the culmination of a long-term evolution. Today's females are bigger and more athletic than previous generations. Go to any workout facility and what do you see? Plenty of women. And not just doing aerobics, either. Pumping iron, pushups, building their strength against all manner of exercise machines. They're dropping baby fat and showing off lean, hard muscles. Not that they are becoming bodybuilders (although some do), but they are not the women of your mother's generation either.

Drive around town and you'll certainly come across a jogger. What's the gender most of the time? And she's probably setting a fast pace, too.

Muscles are no longer solely a masculine domain. Check out the ladies playing basketball or tennis, let alone the boxers. Not a wimp in the bunch. Title IX has opened the door for women to excel at sports, and they are succeeding. You want to see Serena Williams or Mary Pierce getting ready to serve a cannonball at you? I don't. That doesn't mean today's women aren't as beautiful or sexy as previous generations. I think they look better, actually, with their lean, athletic figures.

DoubleD---and many of my female characters---are based upon this new model of femininity. They are just as tough and smart as the men, and they don't take a backseat to anyone. Damn sexy, too.

DAPHNE HAYDEN: Kudos to you! I couldn't agree more.

If you're not already fed up with Dan Ronco, learn more about him at his website.

Click here to pre-order Unholy Domain on Amazon and earn a 5% discount. Books will be shipped approximately April 1, 2008.

Click here to order PeaceMaker on Amazon.


Ms. Hayden appears as herself in both PeaceMaker and Unholy Domain. If you're not already fed up with me, you can learn more about me at my website .
Order Unholy Domain or PeaceMaker at Amazon.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Visiting Baltimore's Inner Harbor

I drove from my home in eastern Pennsylvania south to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to have lunch with Paul, a long-time friend. Paul and I worked together years earlier at Microsoft—he managed the Washington DC consulting practice while I had responsibility for the East Coast. We grew to be close friends, and we get together for lunch about every three months or so at the Inner Harbor. Paul also helped with a critique of my novel Unholy Domain, and I thanked him in the acknowledgements.

The Little Italy section is just north (3-4 block walk) of the built-up Inner Harbor. There must be a dozen or more old-fashioned Italian restaurants in a three block square. You know the kind I mean—old brick front, a couple of steps up, long and narrow inside, white tablecloths and waiters who have eaten just about everything on the menu. Places that look like they have been providing Italian food to the residents for twenty, thirty, who knows how many years.

Paul and I have sampled all the Italian restaurants in Little Italy over the years, and we picked one of our favorites. Not to imply that any of these places are bad, just that some are better than others. Fresh pasta, great seafood, the usual delicious food as we caught up with each other’s lives.

Then came the athletic segment of our day, walking around the Inner Harbor. I have to admit that the politicians in Baltimore have done a great job. The Inner Harbor is a big tourist attraction, with people from all over coming to enjoy the aquarium, the stores and restaurants, the lighthouse, the ships and the pier. I stopped to buy chocolates for my wife—always earns me points—and Paul and I enjoyed browsing at a bookstore and a big electronics retailer. Of course, we checked out many attractive women walking around the harbor. We’re old married guys, but we’re still breathing.

Just a simple day enjoying the Inner Harbor with a friend. Not everything has to be a big deal.

Visit my website, it's informative and entertaining. We focus on the implications of advanced technology upon society.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Virus Infects Windows Computers Across the Globe

It’s 2012, and a single computer operating system has established a near monopoly across the Internet. Mankind depends upon the Atlas OS to run its power plants, hospitals, communications, transportation and just about everything else. Sound familiar? Hidden within Atlas is PeaceMaker, an intelligent computer virus. When its master activates the virus, it shuts down all the computers, crashing civilization back to a pre-industrial basis.

Dan Ronco, a former Microsoft General Manager, is the author of PeaceMaker and soon-to-be-released Unholy Domain. Check Dan’s Amazon profile or webpage for his bio.

About PeaceMaker:
PeaceMaker, a start-at-a-dead-run science fiction thriller, is set in the near future, where software revolutionaries are pushing artificial intelligence to the brink of terrorism. The prologue plunges software architect Ray Brown into a life-or-death contest with PeaceMaker, a deadly artificial intelligence that has infected most of the world’s computing devices. Ray's determination to eliminate PeaceMaker leads him into a dangerous conflict with the Domain – a clandestine organization dedicated to a new world order.

About Unholy Domain:
A deliberately staged IT catastrophe leaves the world sunk into depression and the US government ineffectual. The secretive and powerful Domain, using organized crime to spread its technology, seeks to take humankind to the next level of evolution through artificial intelligence. The fanatical Army of God battles to stop them. Dan Ronco’s fast-paced techno-thriller depicts a world of violent extremes, where religious terrorists and visionaries of technology fight for supreme power.

Visit my website, it's informative and entertaining. We focus on the implications of advanced technology upon society. Order Unholy Domain or PeaceMaker at Amazon.