Odds and Ends, But Oddly Entertaining

A new monthly feature of Drew's Diatribe debuts today with this column. It is called, "Odds and Ends, But Oddly Entertaining," a collection of news items which are designed to enlighten, enliven and engage. As the name indicates, there will be the occasional oddball piece of news too. Of course, expect a liberal dose of stinging commentary and reflection sprinkled throughout.

CLOSING IN ON YOUR WALLET : A recent survey by Bankrate.com illustrates the folly of government intervention in private industry. In its survey, the firm found that closing costs on home mortgages have zoomed 37 percent ahead of last year's average. These costs include appraisals, credit reports, settlement fees and surveys. Housing industry executives blame the rising costs on a new government rule which hiked the costs for all those appraisers, attorneys, surveyors and credit companies whose fees make up the closing expenses. The new law, which took effect January 1, requires a more accurate statement of closing costs to borrowers. It sounds like a good idea, but the new requirements are more complicated, which means more workers are needed to meet the government mandate. Lenders too have been impacted. They are having to hire more compliance people to make sure everyone else in the lending chain is producing accurate data for borrowers. No one argues the need for reliable closing cost information. However, as this illustrates, the heavy hand of government regulation usually leads to higher costs, which ultimately are passed on to consumers.

PARENTAL INDISCRETION: A child advocacy group has raised the red flag on the number of kids left in overheated cars. According to its findings, at least 41 children have died this year in enclosed cars on sizzling summer days. It is a tragic issue. However, the group now wants Congress and regulators to compel automakers to install warning systems to prevent parents from leaving children in cars unattended. This is the kind of logic that has led to an tsunami of regulations that add costs to cars. It is easier to punish automakers with added costs than to deal with the real problem of negligent parents. That's why this warning system is a bad idea. Instead, every state should enact legislation that makes it a crime to leave a child unattended in a car. If a few people went to jail for long stretches, a warning light would go off in every parent's brain before leaving a child in a closed car on a 100-degree day.

THIS IS TOO TAXING OF AN IDEA: A report by The Tax Foundation shows the harmful effect of higher tax rates on stock dividends. The expiration of the Bush tax cuts on January 1 of next year and the new Medicare taxes on investment income will push the top effective tax rate on dividends to 68 percent in 2011. That will give the U.S. the distinction of having the highest tax on dividends among all industrialized nations. The new Medicare taxes on investment income are designed to help pay for the bloated health care reform bill passed earlier this year. Economic experts predict the higher taxes will discourage productive capital formation, which reduces wages and living standards. Watch for a massive stock sell-off during the fourth quarter of this year as investors try to take advantage of the current tax rates before January 1.

DEBT BOMB: From 1789 through 2008--a period of 220 years--the United States government racked up $5.8 trillion in national debt. Since 2008, about $4.2 trillion has been added to the national debt, raising the nation's total debt to $9 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office, those folks who are rarely if ever accurate on their estimates, are guessing that the debt will hit a staggering $20 trillion by the end of the current decade. The CBO never errs on the high side for fear of angering its clients in Congress. But even if the CBO has it right, the result will be unprecedented government borrowing. Washington will need to borrow three times more than it did in the previous 220 years combined. The cost of all this debt will saddle taxpayers with heavy levies. By some estimates, the average household will have to pony up $7,000 in 2020 just to meet the government interest requirements on its debt. That's why the national debt is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, destroying what's left of the nation's fragile economy.

JUMPING IN THE GENE POOL: One of the fastest growing professions is something called "certified genetic counselors." There are 2,800 professional counselors working today in the U.S. These people assist clients in deciding whether to be tested for genetic markers for such things as diseases, drug interactions and inherited medical anomalies. Once the tests are done, the counselors interpret the results for clients. The profession has weathered its share of critics, including a congressional subcommittee that conducted hearings on the providers of genetic testing to patients. These tests are at the patients discretion and usually are not ordered by physicians. Perhaps, the government can levy a tax on the certified genetic counselors, as it did the tanning bed industry. Taxes are Congress' way of dealing with those individuals and industries it considers out of the mainstream.

CHICKEN FRIED WEIGHT: Obesity rates have health officials worried as Americans pack on more weight each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 72.5 million obese people in the country. That's roughly 27 percent of the population. The nine states with the highest obesity rates are all in the South with the exception of West Virginia. The highest rate is 34.4 percent in Mississippi. The CDCP had all sorts of explanations for the higher rates in these nine states: diet, exercise, climate and more. Anyone who has traveled to the South or grown up in that region (like your scribe) would not need a federal government survey to tell them why people are fatter in Dixie. It's called fried food. Any culture that eats fried dough for breakfast, fried catfish for lunch and fried green tomatoes at supper has earned every single pound. It's time for the government to stop studying and pass the fried okra.

IMAGINE THE FAMILY REUNIONS: Reuters reports that authorities have arrested a Paris man who claimed to have fathered 55 children by 55 different women. The man, who is 54-years old, was suspected of fraudulently obtaining nearly $1.27 million annually in benefits from the French social system to support his far flung family. In addition, the man is accused of obtaining residency permits for immigrant women who were listed as mothers of the children. No wonder the man opted to take the government dole. He was obviously too busy procreating to hold a regular job. But you have to shake your head and wonder at one point did the father run out of names for his brood of 55?

That's all the news that fits. Tune in next month.