[O]ver the past four decades a mere 18 teachers have been drummed out of the profession for incompetence.

Melanie Phillips on teachers in the U.K.

Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge discusses the Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate that would be needed to erase the budget deficit created by rampant government spending:

Over the past weekend, the Office of Management and Budget released its annual Mid-Session Review of the Budget which projects the administration’s policies over the next ten years. The big news is that OMB is projecting a $1.4 trillion deficit for 2011 (the third year in a row at this level), a $911 billion deficit in 2012, and deficits between $698 billion and $900 billion for the remainder of the decade.

These deficit estimates assume the extension of the Bush tax cuts for families under $250,000 but $639 billion in new tax revenue from repealing the tax cuts for upper-income families. These estimates also assume $702 billion in “other revenue changes and loophole closers” along with some $711 billion in spending cuts, mostly in defense.

Because a Value Added Tax (VAT) has been floated as a solution to the government’s budget problems, we did a back of the envelope estimate of the VAT rates that would be needed to raise enough money to cut Obama’s deficits to zero. Assuming a VAT base of 41 percent of GDP (the average of European-style VATs) , we would need a 22 percent VAT in 2011 to close the $1.4 trillion deficit.

In future years, as the deficit is expected to fall, we would still need a VAT rate of 8 to 14 percent to raise enough revenues to close the budget gap. Of course, these VAT rates would assure that federal revenues stayed above 22 percent of GDP for the next 10 years. Something that has never happened before in U.S. history.

Legislators suffer from a twisted doctrine regarding government deficits: the government’s budgetary “needs” are held as the priority – if citizens want or need lower taxes, they must wait until spending is under control. It is not only liberal legislators who ascribe to this doctrine. For example, Senator John McCain opposed the Bush tax cuts on the grounds that they were not coupled with restraints on spending. So here we have a “conservative” essentially stating that Americans must continue to pay excessive taxes until the government gets around to reigning in spending (and let’s be honest, when has that promise ever been kept?) But it is not the government’s money, it is ours. The individual American citizen should be the primary concern – government works within the boundaries its citizens set, not vice versa. And as the late, great Milton Friedman once remarked:

I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it’s possible. The reason I am is because I believe the big problem is not taxes, the big problem is spending. The question is, “How do you hold down government spending?” Government spending now amounts to close to 40% of national income not counting indirect spending through regulation and the like. If you include that, you get up to roughly half. The real danger we face is that number will creep up and up and up. The only effective way I think to hold it down, is to hold down the amount of income the government has. The way to do that is to cut taxes.

According to ScienceDaily:

In the middle ages of Christianity opposition to the State opinions was hushed. The consequence was, Christianity became loaded with all the Romish follies. Nothing but free argument, raillery & even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.

- Thomas Jefferson

As a Christian, I’ll be the first to admit that ridicule of a deeply-held religious belief can certainly hurt. Obviously religious ridicule is protected by the First Amendment. But from a practical, faith-based standpoint, such ridicule and criticism is invaluable. Any viewpoint, be it political, philosophical, or spiritual, benefits from criticism. Or, more precisely, it benefits from the defense of such criticism. As Jefferson points out, a religion that is not exposed to criticism stagnates. I know many Christians who learn to defend their faith by reading the works of Christian philosophers. Personally, I prefer to read the works of committed atheists such as Ayn Rand (who offers some of the most scathing criticisms of religion I have ever read). After all, isn’t the human immune system most strengthened by actual exposure to disease?

So from a person of faith, to people of faith: give thanks to ridicule and criticism of your religion. Remember that what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger. An unchallenged belief is a weak belief – I prefer my opinions be somewhat battle-hardened.

The full cast and crew, plus other details of the Atlas Shrugged movie are now available at IMDb. The move is, of course, based on the Ayn Rand novel of the same name. With no reputable names, rushed production, and an emaciated budget, I’m somewhat skeptical of how the movie will play out. Plus, the movie will be set in the present day and some of the novel’s key plot points may not make the chronological transition well. For example: the novel’s antagonist is Dagny Taggart, a railroad executive who is one of the country’s most powerful and independent business leaders – but when was the last time a railroad executive fit that description?

For anyone that holds out hope for a successful movie, or just wants the latest Atlas Shrugged movie news, you can become a fan of the movie on Facebook.

Easterly has the answer:

Our image of a medieval king is of somebody with hundreds of servants waiting upon His Majesty. Today, for $99, you commoners can get a much larger and better group waiting upon you. You will even have dead servants working for you – (1) Sumerians from 3000 BC (2) Babylonians from 2000 BC, (3) Egyptians from 1850 BC (4) Indians from 500 BC, (5) 7^th century BC Romans, (6) 18^th century Austrian musicians, (7) a 19^th century professor from Lake Como. Living servants of yours have learned valuable things from the dead servants and added their own service. Your living workers come from (8) New York, (9) Dallas, (10) California, (11) Japan, (12) Taiwan, (13) Singapore, (14) Democratic Republic of the Congo, and (15) China.

This remarkable $99 service plan is contained in a small object called an iPhone.

It has contributions from all of the above, such as (1) the sexagesimal system (60 minutes to an hour and 60 seconds to a minute), (2) the calendar and the 24 hour day, (3) arithmetic, (4) decimal numerals, (5) the Latin alphabet, (6) Mozart and Haydn tunes, (7) Alessandro Volta, inventor of the electric battery, (8) the retail store where I bought my iPhone, (9) AT&T headquarters, (10) Apple, Google, Twitter, Facebook (11) the screen, (12) circuit boards, (13) the chips, (14) the mineral coltan used in cell phones, and (15) final assembly