It appears that the legislation was sparked by widespread reports that Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin renounced his American citizenship before Facebook’s IPO this week, allegedly in order to evade millions of dollars in U.S. taxes. 

The proposal by Casey and Schumer, called The Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy, targets individuals with a $2 million net worth, or an average income-tax liability of at least $148,000, who renounce U.S. citizenship. Under the proposal, such individuals are presumed to have renounced their citizenship for tax-avoidance reasons and, unless they can prove their actions were not based upon tax avoidance, they are:  (1) subject to a 30% capital gains tax; and (2) barred from re-entering the country. …

Last Monday, LightSquared, a firm that wants to build a new, 4g wireless network in order to offer wholesale internet access to commercial clients and other potential users, filed for protection from its creditors in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan. 

In its bankruptcy petition LightSquared, which is based in Virginia, listed assets of $4.48 billion and liabilities of $2.29 billion, as of Feb. 29^th of this year. 

LightSquared’s bankruptcy filing came after the failure of negotiations with the firm’s major creditors, who had demanded that one of LightSquared’s major financial principals, billionaire Philip Falcone, step away from the company. …

So, after more than 3 years in office, how many criminal cases have been brought against the high-ranking bankers on Wall Street, whom the President accuses of causing the worst financial recession in recent U.S. history? 

Uh, none. 

Well then, how many of the financial institutions that President Obama believes are becoming dangerously close to being “too big to fail” have been targeted with antitrust or divestiture actions? 

Uh, none. …

Gowdy, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, proposed the amendment as a response to DOJ’s failure to comply with the Committee’s requests for information regarding its investigation into the ill-advised Operation Fast and Furious, under which the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF] recklessly allowed approximately 2000 U.S. weapons to flow across the border into the hands of Mexican drug cartel members. 

Weapons found near the site where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered were among those that the ATF allowed to fall into the hands of the Mexican criminal syndicates. …

Weapons found near the site where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered were among those that the ATF allowed to fall into the hands of the Mexican criminal syndicates. …

Huh? 

The President doesn’t want to “contain” China, even though the Chinese are currently brutally occupying Tibet? 

China is in the midst of a brutal occupation of Tibet, under which it continues to deny basic human rights to the Tibetan people, such as the freedom of self-determination, the freedom of speech, and the right to assembly. 

And China enforces its brutal reign over Tibet not only by jailing Tibetans who dare to speak out against the Chinese occupation, but also by using lethal force against unarmed protestors. …

The legal issue before the Court is whether Arizona can constitutionally pass and enforce a state law which mirrors specific federal immigration statutes, in light of the Obama Administration’s explicit and tacit policy decisions not to enforce the federal provisions. 

Arizona’s legal brief argues that: 

[t]here is absolutely no conflict between these [Arizona] provisions and federal law because SB 1070 adopts the federal rule as its own,” and that “[u]nless and until Congress expressly forecloses such efforts, Arizona has the inherent authority to add its own resources to the enforcement of federal laws.

…

This year, he must instead run on his record. 

And the two major “accomplishments” of his term to date demonstrate that he doesn’t deserve to be reelected. 

The Stimulus. 

In pitching his budget-busting stimulus plan (total cost now estimated by the Congressional Budget Office: $821 billion) to Congress, President Obama promised that if the stimulus was passed, it would prevent the official unemployment rate from rising above 8 percent. 

Well… 

When Barack Obama assumed the Office of the Presidency in January 2009, the official unemployment rate, in seasonally adjusted numbers, was approximately 7.8 percent. …

—$535 million in taxpayers’ money that DOE Secretary Chu has subsequently admitted that likely will never be recovered.

And last March, Disordered Liberty commented on a report released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [Committee] detailed the continuing, and shocking, fiscal mismanagement by DOE with regard to its loan guarantee program.

In the report’s Executive Summary, the Committee reported, in part: 

After conducting a substantial review of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) loan guarantee program, it is clear that the significant losses absorbed by taxpayers as a result of Solyndra’s collapse is just the beginning.

…

GSA has wasted taxpayers’ money on lavish conventions for years. 

The Committee’s investigation has revealed that the last four GSA Western Region Conference [WRC] Conventions, excluding event travel expenses, cost the taxpayers the following amounts: 

2004–$169,387

2006–$142,535

2008–$234,463

2010–$513,465. 

In addition to the costs above, GSA also wasted money on what it refers to as “other event costs” for these conventions: 

2004–$10,567

2006 –$32,863

2008–$45,859

2010–$188,826. 

So what did these “over event costs” include? 

Well, for example, we know that at the infamous 2010 Las Vegas convention, these costs included $75,000 for a “bike-building exercise,” as well as expenses for costume rentals, and other lavish party-time necessities. …