Smart Girl Talks Corporate Taxes

I was at Bunco last week when my friend the Queen called me smart. This occurred because one of our friends was surprised that I didn't like Barrack Obama.

After the Queen's compliment, I basically biffed the rest of the conversation. I was horribly inarticulate about why Barrack Obama is a terrible President. And I was even less convincing about my single most passionate issue: the beauty of free-markets! I hung my head in shame. I only have a few moments like those to attempt to convince someone of the truth.

But do I? Don't I have a blog? Why, if free market economic principles are so interesting and important, don't I talk about them more often?

I think I should commemorate this tongue-tied occurrence with a weekly post about capitalism, free-markets and how it relates to current events. I'm going to call it, "Capitalizing on Tuesday" or "Capitalism Tuesday", or "Free-Market Tuesday". Do you have a suggestion? I'm terrible with names.

So, today's topic is about how awesome it would be if Arizona slashed it's Corporate Tax Rate. Currently, we have one of larger corporate tax rates. According to the Tax Foundation, Arizona's corporate tax rate is 6.9% on all moneys earned. Whether you earn $1 or $1,000,000, you have to pay the state 6.9%.

I'm bringing this up because couple of weeks ago, California enacted the California Internet Sales Tax. All online purchases, irregardless of if the vendor has a brick-and-mortar store, is now subject to sales tax in the state of California. This is a hit for online merchants based in California. The article ended with an interview, "One affiliate, Ken Rockwell of San Diego, the owner of a 12-year-old photography website, said he planned to move out of state.

"Will it be Las Vegas or Scottsdale or Ensenada?" he said. "It's a question of where, not if."

Dear State of Arizona, I have a few suggestions.

1. Start recruiting businesses from California. They want to move! Arizona is the perfect place for businesses to start over. We have very few natural disasters and shipping interruptions. We are very accessible internationally. Yes, it's a tad hot for a few months. So what? Instead of paying higher taxes, you can afford to take vacations!

2. Slash the corporate tax rate to below 5% . This will entice the businesses. They will bring their existing customers, their employees, and hopefully, they will start hiring new people once their business grows.

3. Watch businesses grow! Arizona's unemployment rate is, preliminary, at 9.1%. (Expect that to be adjusted upwards. That rate has been adjusted upwards for the past 2 years.) The real unemployment is probably at 9.5%. Well, the easy fix for this is bring in more businesses for our people to work in. More jobs available means more people working and lower unemployment.

Anyways, if you know your state reps, I would pass along this information. Encourage them to try and find a way to lower the corporate tax rate. Capitalize on California's idiocy.

What I'm Thinking About Right Now

I was sitting down on a Friday night, not to curl up with my honey because he's out on a 36-hour Nazi Zombie marathon with his guy friends as a birthday present from me to him, but instead I decided to blog about Casey Anthony and my thoughts on her acquittal.

Except, that's not what I'm doing. I'm watching 17 Again with the adorable Zac Effron, and checking my Netflix queue. And that's a weird word: Queue. Say it with me: Queue. And I totally spelled it correctly the first time. Yes! I've still got mad spelling-grammar skillz! So, the movie is cute. But so is Zac. And if you tell my kids I will call you a liar.

So, Casey Anthony is not cute. And she is a liar. However, bald-face lying does not a murderer make. But it sure does make one wonder why she would lie if she had nothing to do with Caylee's death.

I think why I'm so upset about the thing is because my soul cries out for justice. I want to see someone punished in my lifetime for something so tragic. I believe we all have a need for justice. The only way to reconcile this heinous action and the coinciding acquittal of Casey is that I know that nothing is secret from God. There is nowhere that His light does not shine. Things done in the cover of darkness are not hid from him. I also take comfort that God will exact His revenge.

So, I've made peace with the death of Caylee Anthony.

Of course, there's a legal aspect to this that I want to discuss. I am becoming concerned that cases built on circumstantial evidence do not convict. I mean, the woman lied to police over and over. And then what's with the whole Dad issue? Daddy issues are not a license to kill! I'm not a lawyer, so I have no idea how a defendant can use Daddy-issues for a defense. I just know that most women have Daddy issues, and yet still are accountable for their actions. Right?

Well, I'm back to Zac and 17 Again.

Toodle-oooo

Ch-Ch-Changes

I think this song may be appropriate right now. Lots of changes going on at the Wilhelmsen household.

I have decided to home school the girls. I have been convicted about several things. For one, I'm not making seeking the Lord a priority in our daily lives, and I'm not doing a very good job in teaching the girls the importance of such a priority.

Secondly, I am frustrated that I do not know how to motivate Reagan. I feel, essentially, that I barely know her. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we are apart for 8 hours a day, and the remaining hours of her day I want her to play, do chores, and generally get to be a kid. I have long felt that school robs the kids of their free time; now I feel empowered to do something about that.

And thirdly, I have discovered that I am jealous for my kids' time and attention. I'm wondering if this is how God feels about us. The Bible talks about God being a jealous God; I think I'm beginning to understand. In some ways, jealousy can be a good thing. Not jealousy in the sense that I feel bitter or angry at some perceived injustice, but jealous for the short time together while they are home. Jealous because I realize that I will not get to see their faces when they discover something, and jealous that their closest connections are with people I may not want in their everyday lives, instead of with their family and the people that I think are good influences on them.

I am convinced that home school is our solution.

I am unsure about how it will work in our household! I will probably be stressed out, frazzled, and then hopefully, so glad we did it. Erik and I are in agreement, which has been huge. He's been a bit hesitant whenever I've brought it up in the past; but now he sees a lot of potential and he's willing to go for it. I love that about him!

I am busy trying to figure out what curricula to use and how much our budget should be. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself and the kids for August (when we'll start).

I'm Alive...Barely

A few of you have expressed some desire for updates and pictures. And a few of you want to know what I think about what's going on in the world.

So, I'm going to try and do both in one post because who knows when I'll sit down to do it again, right?

Declan is 12 weeks old. He's sleeping 9 hours straight at night which is BEAUTIFUL.

Jack is 19 months and I have put him back on milk under the advise of my doctor. She was concerned about his lack of growth; he's off the charts on the low side. I mentioned that it's quite difficult to feed him since he's allergic to everything. She asked, "What's the reaction to milk?" I told her he gets constipated. She said, "I'd rather treat the constipation and you give him milk." Seems so simple and yet, it was such a relief! No more keeping butter out of things, no more skipping cheese. She told me to give him two Pediasures a day to start with. Then when Erik and I were talking about it, we decided we would just put him on milk and Pediasure. Wouldn't you know it, but his appetite has increased ten-fold. It was like the poor kid wasn't getting enough calories so his body just adjusted down. I feel terrible writing this, but I honestly was doing what the specialist had told us to do. We are very pleased with how Jack is doing. And so far, no constipation! It's wonderful!

Mati and Reagan are doing great considering the huge changes going on in their lives. Two babies in two years has certainly thrown all us, not the least the girls. We are working through lack of focus, highly emotional outbursts, and general disobedience. I know those are all things we would be working through anyways, but they seem a bit more pronounced. And Reagan's teacher mentioned the emotional outbursts, so those are happening all over... :) Over all, they LOVE their little brothers and I'm so blessed by how much love the girls have.

Furthermore, I know it's taken a while, but I'm so happy that God gave me the boys so close together. I'm so glad that He knows me better than I do. Now if I can just get better at the response to people who say, "Wow, you have your hands full!" Something about that comment makes me feel a little guilty, a little irresponsible. I know we didn't purposefully try for Declan, but God brought him around according to His timing. How great that I didn't have to make that decision! How wonderful to be in a place of total trust in Him!

On to other news:
1. Osama Bin Laden is dead! Wow. We are told not to rejoice in the downfall of our enemies, so I'm going with that. There is no joy in the eternal damnation of a soul. But God will have justice, and that's what I can take delight in. God is Just. And it's humbling to be shown that God will exact His revenge on His enemies in His time.

2. Not raising the debt ceiling of the federal government will not mean disaster for the U.S. And we should not raise the ceiling anyways. How about we don't spend money we don't have? I know that's a difficult concept because of what it means for social programs, but we have got to be willing to make serious changes to the status quo.

3. I am getting so excited about the election next year. Does it seem like Obama's been in office forever? This has been the longest two years of my life! And it's only gotten harder. Here's to $4 a gallon gasoline and grocery prices going up, up, up. And why is NO ONE riding Obama like the MSM did with Bush before the 2008 election? I'll tell you why, the liberals rejoice with these kind of fuel prices. It means less travel, less freedom, more debt cause everything else is more expensive. Debt is a form of slavery, you know.

4. Back to the upcoming election: I'm paying special attention to Herman Cain (successful business man), Tim Pawlenty, and my dark horse because I don't think he's running, Bobby Jindal. Bobby Jindal just released his birth certificate so that makes me think he may be considering a run. He's my favorite and I hope he runs.

Are you excited too?

Please Welcome Declan James!

Declan James was born on 2/15 at 8:04 am. He was 8 pounds 6.9 ounces, and 21.5 inches long. I have no idea how a baby that size fit inside me, and I'm so grateful that I got to deliver via c-sections!

Anyways, the birth was smooth and I was home two days later. I'm so grateful to be a fast healer; God surely knows what I need and that is to bounce back as quick as possible.

Dex is now three weeks old so these pictures are already out of date. He's growing very well, already passed his birth weight. I am breastfeeding, but I do not know for how long. I'm longing to get back into shape and lose a lot of weight. And since that doesn't happen for me until after I'm done breastfeeding, well, I'm anxious to get there.

Thank you so much for your prayers. God hears his children.

Word of the Day: Disideratum

The word of the day is desideratum which means something desired or considered necessary.

I have several desiderata (oh yeah! It's a two-for-one post! Desiderata is the plural of desideratum.) right now. First, I can't wait to be able to wear my wedding ring. I have missed it. I haven't been able to wear it comfortably since summer.

I am desiring having my body to myself. I realize that is a completely selfish and self-centered desideratum, but I just can't get over it. The weight gain I hate. The feeling of Declan moving inside is cool, but as this is my fourth, I'm kind of over it. And he kicks at my gall bladder which REALLY hurts. Also, I am a horrible snorer while pregnant, so I'm sure that the oh-so-accommodating Erik is desiring this baby out of me.

Another desideratum I have is to get moving on this adventure of being a mom of four. I'm nervous and the only remedy for that is to just get moving! Well, really the only remedy is to pray for God to take away my anxiety and preoccupation. But I'm also praying that he will move this week along...

My c-section is scheduled for 2/15. Would you please pray for me and the baby? Your prayers are another desideratum!

Book Review: Prince Caspian Part II

The second part of “Prince Caspian” that I loved was when Aslan first appears, but only Lucy, the youngest can see him. After telling her brothers and sister that Aslan wants them to follow a different path than the one they were on, Lucy decides to listen to the "wisdom" of her older siblings and go along with her older brothers and sister and go in the opposite direction than the one Aslan has pointed out to her.

Well, this path leads them wrong. The group followed a path that looked more direct but got progressively harder and then finally lead them practically into the camp of the enemy. It was when the arrows started firing on them that they realized that they need to go all the way back. They sheepishly apologized to Lucy and turned back the way they came. The path Aslan pointed out did not appear to go in the right direction, in fact the path seemed to go away from where the group knew the battle would be. But as they followed the Aslan path, they had easy going of it. And once they were on the right path, one by one, each member of the group began to, at first hear, and then see, Aslan.

While the group slept that night, Lucy was awakened by a voice, "The voice she loved best." So she went to it. When she met up with Aslan, they had this exchange. I'm quoting it at length.

"Aslan, Aslan. Dear Aslan," sobbed Lucy. "At last."...

"Welcome, child," he said.

"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."

"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.

"Not because you are?"

"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

For a time she was so happy that she did not want to speak. But Aslan spoke.

"Lucy," he said, "we must not lie here for long. You have work in hand, and much time has been lost today."

"Yes, wasn't it a shame?" said Lucy. "I saw you all right. They wouldn't believe me. They're all so-"

From somewhere deep inside Aslan's body there came the faintest suggestion of a growl.

"I'm sorry," said Lucy, who understood some of his moods. "I didn't mean to start slamming the others. But it wasn't my fault anyways, was it?"

The Lion looked straight into her eyes.

"Oh Aslan," said Lucy. "You don't mean it was? How could I-I couldn't have left the others and come up to you alone, how could I? Don't look at me like that...oh well, I suppose I could. Yes, and it wouldn't have been alone, I know, not if I was with you. But what would have been the good?"

Aslan said nothing.

"You mean," said Lucy rather faintly, "that it would have turned out all right-somehow? But how? Please Aslan! Am I not to know?"

"To know what would have happened, child?" said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that."

He goes on to tell her to go back to the others, wake them up, and tell them what Aslan has told her. And if they won't believe her, she is to go alone with Aslan.

This exchange is chock-full! But among them is the reminder that it's in our best interest to follow Jesus, no matter who believes us or agrees with us. And yes, things will probably work out just fine, but if we follow Christ first, we could have a better time of things!

In any case, it was a good book and I highly recommend it. Now on to "Voyage of the Dawn Treader."