From BusinessInsider:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Senate Democrats will put forward a plan to extend the payroll tax cut into 2012 this week paid for by a surtax on those with incomes greater than $1 million.

The tax cut provides the average American family with an extra $1000 in their pocket each year — and President Barack Obama has said failing to extend the tax cut and unemployment benefits would cost the economy 1 million jobs and 0.5% off GDP.

Schumer described the revenue increase on Meet the Press as a “small surtax on incomes over $1 million,” a measure certain to draw opposition from deficit-hawk Republicans opposed to any tax increases.

Schumer added that Democrats would keep introducing the payroll tax cut if it fails this week — but indicated his party is willing to negotiate other “pay-fors” with Republicans if necessary.

Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist said on the same program that he is not opposed to extending the tax cut, but he indicated he would be opposed to a new tax on millionaires to pay for it.

Read more here.

There’s been a buzz the last few months about the possibility of Donald Trump running for President. You’d pretty much have to be living under a rock not to know that, or know that polls show there is at least serious curiosity about a Trump candidacy, and genuine interest amongst the GOP. The buzz has been fueled mostly by The Donald himself, but others have helped.

One “helper” is Michael Cohen, an employee of the Trump Organization who ABC News described as “Trump’s ‘pit bull.’” But that “pit bull” runs the risk of biting his master, and Trump would do well to muzzle him.

Cohen is a Democrat, a former supporter of President Obama and clueless to the ways of politics. He told ABC about his role in the Trump Organization:

“It means that if somebody does something Mr. Trump doesn’t like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr. Trump’s benefit. If you do something wrong, I’m going to come at you, grab you by the neck and I’m not going to let you go until I’m finished.”

This interview was this year in a story about his desire that Trump run. While loyalty is to be admired, this is not exactly the smartest choice of words, to say the least.

Being loyal is one thing, being principled is another.

Cohen’s past as a liberal supporter of Obama and other Democrats (he’s donated to Senator Charles Schumer, for example) is not the best, or even a remotely smart way to endear yourself to conservatives.

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At the end of 2007, hedge fund billionaire John Paulson invested $15 million in the leftist non-profit, Center for Responsible Lending, their largest single donation ever. Around the same time, Paulson and his employees contributed over $100,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, headed, at the time, by Sen. Chuck Schumer. Roughly six months later, CRL and Sen. Schumer both launched a highly public attack on the California-based mortgage lender, Indymac. The lender failed, wiping out the investment of thousands of people. Roughly six months after that, John Paulson, in partnership with George Soros, bought up the remnants of Indymac for pennies on the dollar.

It is a drama that no longer surprises us, unfortunately. Wealthy investors use their access to elected officials and their checkbook to advocacy groups for private profit. But this story has a twist; a top executive of CRL when this deal went down, Eric Stein, is now working at the Treasury Department,  heading up the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Mr. Stein will be the chief federal official designing regulations to protect consumers. Right.

This is that story.

Financial crises create opportunities. Prudent and discerning entrepreneurs who save their capital for a rainy day are able to acquire assets at firesale prices and put these assets to higher and better uses. Market forces cleanse wasteful malinvestments, innovative business models make existing ones obsolete and the economy roars forward all the stronger for it.

But while market entrepreneurs generally prosper during times of great dislocation, ultimately to the benefit of all participants in the economy, today political entrepreneurs have hijacked the economic system. The politically connected elites have used this downturn to carry out a massive wealth transfer from the people to the public and private sectors, fleecing the middle class for their own enrichment.  In their hypocrisy, the long ago small businesses that grew large because of free markets have helped chain these markets through lobbying for regulations and subsidies to shield themselves from competition and their own errors.

This has occurred most egregiously in the financial sector, where there has been a veritable free-for-all in legalized political plunder.  Those who understand the illusory nature of our monetary and symbiotically related political and financial systems have clamored to profit as much as possible before the house of cards falls, with the sanction of our supposed representatives.

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As Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are working on a Senate version of comprehensive immigration reform and it includes a very controversial idea.  There is a provision in the draft bill to force all Americans to possess a biometric ID card.  Sources on Capitol Hill confirm to Big Government that the idea of a national ID card is part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill being negotiated between Graham and Schumer.

Laura Meckler of the Wall Street Journal reports:

Lawmakers working to craft a new comprehensive immigration bill have settled on a way to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants: a national biometric identification card all American workers would eventually be required to obtain.

Under the pre-text of halting illegal immigration, Congress may consider forcing citizens to carry an ID card as a condition of citizenship.  For those who mistrust big government and treasure freedom, this idea should be revolting and a shocking example of a bad idea run wild.  American citizens’ freedoms have been eroding over the past few years, yet this idea is much more than an erosion of rights.  It is an all out assault on the idea that Americans have a natural right to be free of government monitoring. (more…)

Wade Radthe, who admits to helping cover up his brother’s alleged million dollar embezzlement and tax evasion, must be very pleased with Barney Frank and Chuck Schumer’s universal voter registration plan:

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, and Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, have plans to ram through legislation that will produce universal voter registration. No matter what they claim, the rule changes will make it possible for illegal aliens to register to vote and for others to register multiple times. [LINK]

Why does this please Wade? Because it’s his plan!

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The Bruno jury in Albany is hung. After six full days of deliberation, the Jury has passed notes to Judge Gary Sharpe, a hard-drinking former U.S Attorney for this district, with questions that are all arguably favorable to the 81 year old Former Majority Leader in the New york Senate.

Joe Bruno the legendary longtime leader of the New York Senate Republicans stands accused of ” the theft of honest services, ” but the Feds never proved a crime at trial. New York’s political class is waiting with bated breath for a vedict.

Joe Bruno: Target of Political Hit Job

The Judge  in the Albany trial wanted to give the Jury an “Allen charge” – meaning a directive that they MUST reach a consensus when the have failed to do so. It gives juries the impression they cannot come back and announce they are deadlocked. It is a wicked pro-prosecution tool- after the first note requesting clarifications of the “reasonable doubt” standard- a true jump of the gun.

Supported for his job by Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sharpe has a son who is an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the same office and jurisdiction where Bruno is being prosecuted . Sharpe should have recused himself on that basis alone.

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Think big. Gigantic. This is the latest from Charles Shumer, the Democrat from New York:

When he found out that Adidas was planning to outsource manufacturing of NBA jerseys he “called on the league to terminate its contract with the German-based sportswear giant unless it halts plans to transfer production of game-day jerseys from an upstate New York facility to Thailand.”

Great idea! Let’s make sure that we force companies to produce stuff at the highest possible cost in the name of some lame “buy and make American” nonsensical theory. I am sure that forcing Adidas to give up on the possibility to reduce its production costs will do wonders for this economy.

Besides, as George Mason University’s Don Boudreaux noted in a still unpublished letter to the editor of the New York Daily News yesterday:

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