Hillary Clinton: We Should Be More Like Brazil!

In a speech given to the uber-liberal Brookings Institution, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the rich in America don't pay their "fair share" of taxes.

Of course, she made no mention of what constitutes a "fair share", as she likely believes it is sufficient for her to simply point out their shortcomings in general now, and she'll figure out the appropriate tax rate when she becomes President.

She also mentioned that the US should look to, of all countries, Brazil as an example of a country that is being taxed to death, and yet still manages to grow.

"Brazil has the highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western Hemisphere and guess what — they're growing like crazy," Clinton said. "And the rich are getting richer, but they're pulling people out of poverty."

Yes, the Brazil that is affectionately known as "the country of the future...and always will be!" is now apparently what the greatest country on earth should model itself after.

Clinton unsurprisingly does not point out that Brazil's growth is largely coming from mining vast quantities of iron ore and selling it to the China.

Is she perhaps signaling a newfound admiration and support for US mining companies, and will work to ensure their continued worldwide competitiveness (just like the Brazilian government)? That is unlikely.

What she reveals herself to be time and time again is an opportunistic politician that wants to be able to use more and more of the private property of Americans for her own statist, redistributionist agenda.

Tax Prep Software Favorites

For those too busy to fully sort through their tax prep software models, here are some thoughts on some of the better available options:

1. TaxAct provides free software for filing an individual tax return. I've used it in years past and didn't run into many issues at all. They will charge you for the software necessary for preparing a state tax return however.
2. TurboTax is free for simple returns (1040-EZ), but will cost you around $50 for more difficult returns. Very good software. Pick it up at Wal Mart to save more than a few dollars over what Best Buy charges.
3. H&R Block software (formerly known as TaxCut) is also a good buy, and usually costs a little bit less than Turbo Tax.
   

There are other online tax prep software options available, that can be found by doing a simple search on Google. Of course, visiting the offices of a local CPA or H&R Block is an option too, but count on prices that are 3 to 4 times higher than just purchasing the software and pounding it out yourself.