I think I see a connection here...

According to this article from FoxNews.com, the U.S. government reported an all time low deficit for the month of February reaching $229 billion. They say that the reason for this large deficit (which surpassed last year's low by $6 billion) is a decrease in revenue do to $25 billion in income tax refunds. The reason for this substantially high refund, they say, is because of the extra day in February this year, giving people just enough time to file for tax returns for the month, that they would normally not get in the three years in between. It also reports more depressing news, saying that the overall deficit this year is projected to (once again) be $1 trillion. Sounds like the economy's doing pretty bad right?
BUT WAIT
The article also said that American's wealth increased by 2.1 percent, that stocks were going up, and that household wealth (which is the measure of value on assets like houses, banks, and stocks) has also increased and is slowly approaching its pre-recession peak of $66 trillion (which is a good thing).
So what I'm seeing here is that even though the government is experiencing a deficit, the wealth of the American people is increasing. I think this is saying something about tax refunds and what they're doing for our economy right now. The report spoke of the $25 billion income tax refund like it was a bad thing, but what it I actually see is that it more likely helped the U.S. economy, rather than hurt it. This refund put money back into American's pockets, which they then spent and invested in stocks.
Now let's refer back to the Bush tax cuts. After taking in all this information doesn't it seem like a cut in taxes is a pretty good idea? The government may not be getting as much money, but the economy is still growing.

Taxes in Texas

Texas is a great state to live in because our tax system works differently than other states, and usually it works out to our advantage. A small family living in on a small property does not have to pay any income tax, and will most likely have a low property tax on their land- not, of course, in comparison to other state's property tax, but in comparison with larger land plots in Texas. Our property tax is nearly double that of most other states. This is because we are not taxed on our income, and therefore the government makes up for losses in income tax by doubling the property tax. It's a fairly simple concept to understand. While Governor Perry was still in the presidential race, he said the following in a primary debate in Florida, "because they know there's still a land of freedom in America, freedom from overtaxation, freedom from overlitigation and freedom from overregulation, and it's called Texas. We need to do the same thing for America."
  

The weakness of this model, as explained in this star telegram article, is that our state looks highly unattractive to companies that need vast amounts of land for development, factories or for storage to operate their businesses. While the corporate tax rate is also low, the property tax for running a large scale operation would be astronomical. This article explains that Texas, in reality, actually has a medium to high tax rate. Texas also has the 5th most regressive tax model in the country. 

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/09/25/3395762/is-texas-really-a-leader-in-low.html#storylink=cpy

Cyberterrorists

According to this article, cyberterrorists have made a huge impact on our country by stealing our money and using it to finance their operations. Cyberterrorists not only have the power to attack us online, but also on the battlefield. Officials call it a "cyber one-two punch" in which a terrorist group steals intellectual property, and then uses it to potentially disrupt operations on the battlefield. This type of threat could potentially jeopardize national security. With the internet being such a vital part in every day life, should the government take a Big-Brother action and protect us, even if it means violating our bill of rights? The US tried to pass a bill called SOPA which would take measures towards stopping online piracy, but the American people raised to much cain that the bill was stopped in its tracks. If another bill of this topic were proposed, even if its purpose is towards protecting our people from International online terrorists, Americans might be divided or undecided in their views on the subject. Now my question to you is, would you support this kind of legislation?

The New United Airlines

United Airlines made an agreement with Continental Airlines to buy them for 3 billion plus dollars making them the world’s largest carrier with commanding positions in top countries. The new United Airlines would pass up Delta Airlines in size which would help in attract more high-fare business travelers. The new Untied would travel to 370 destinations in 59 countries. The airlines said that combining the two companies they would save an average $1 to $1.5 billion dollars a year while generation $800 to $900 million but 2013. This would be a new yearly revenue. Before the merge of the two companies, both were losing money due to high fuel costs. Both companies also shrunk in size prier to making the merging agreement. The merge of the two companies will also create more jobs which then people will have more money to inject into the money flow cycle of America. However this new big company will bring even more competition for struggling airline companies like American Airlines.

The Next Big Brother?

Do you ever wonder how much Google actually knows about you? Well, it knows a lot. Once Google Inc. combines 60 different privacy policies into one it will have enough power to rule the world. Not really, but that did sound pretty cool. But in all seriousness, this privacy policy will gather all of the information that is collected when a signed in user with Gmail, YouTube, Google Plus, or other Google Products searches for something. Google will take this information and put up ads in accordance to what you commonly search for. So, say if you always Google search for pictures of Reggie Bush or YouTube search videos for Deadmau5. This privacy policy will make it to where you will have ads on the side of your google browser that targets Reggie Bush paraphernalia or future concert tickets for Deadmau5.

The logic behind this new privacy policy is that people will click ads that look interesting to them. A Deadmau5 head-banger would rather click on an ad that is selling tickets to its next show than say an ad that is trying to sell unique floral pottery. And when these head-bangers start clicking away, Google will begin to bank. (on top of its $38 Billion revenue that it receives annually)

My question to you: Is this an invasion of privacy or merely a way for Google to exploit its information?