Yesterday, it was the proposal to grant internet omnipotence to the FBI that bunched my panties. Also, in a separate but equally nefarious announcement, the Obama administration wants banks to monitor each and every international money transfer great and small because the terrorists are skirting the existing snoop laws by making several apparently undetectable small transfers. Back in June, Team Obama said it would be a good idea to have an executive kill switch in an internet attack. So, when the terrorists want to take down Facebook once and for all the Prez can beat them to it, I guess.

I want to believe that all of this liberty leaching crap, which comes consistently from each party, is well intentioned and our elected class really cares about the little people, but we still haven't held our pols accountable for the problems they've created while trying to solve our problems. These proposals are trying to solve problems before they happen like when Bush II wanted to get ahead of the Saddam situation. What happened next wasn't exactly surgical. Uncle Sam doesn't do neat.

What will be the unintended consequence if there is a law raising the taxes of companies that eliminate jobs in the US and move them to another country? If I'm in business and want to stay that way, yet foreign competition is eating my lunch because of their lower wage structure then I need to squeeze out those labor costs. I suppose I'll use more automation and fewer people wherever possible. I'll outsource as many functions as I can to third parties. The net effect being fewer and lower paying jobs. The spawn of a job-protection law.

Various feeds that cross my stream are here.