Brian Gongol
In the final days of the caucus race here in Iowa, we had an opportunity to talk with Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Duncan Hunter, both seeking the Presidency in 2008.
There's continued talk that Michael Bloomberg might run for President on the Unity08 ticket, a project intended to get a bi-partisan Presidential/Vice Presidential team into office.
Even though microwaving your kitchen sponges could be a good way to sterilize them, isn't it just easier to buy a new set of sponges at the store? Especially when the down-side to microwaving your kitchen cloths is that you might burn your house down?
Among the things we might see happening in 2008: The completion of the new Burj Dubai tower, which could end up being 2300 feet tall by the time it's done.
A caller mentioned the Fair Tax, which would replace our current tax system with a nationwide retail sales tax. It sounds appealing, at least on the surface, to do away with the complicated tax code -- but there's also a chance that switching to a high national sales tax would encourage people to try to cheat.
When the Presidential candidates promise that they'll pay for their programs by taxing the rich, it might be worth remembering who the richest Americans are. Sure, many of us don't feel a lot of sympathy for those who inherited their money, but what about people like the founders of Google, Dell, Nike, and Amazon.com? They're all among the 50 wealthiest people in this country, and they got rich by creating things like websites and running shoes that make our lives better.
On a related note, when you hear a candidate talk about how they're trying to "help American manufacturing", just make sure that you understand what they're promising. The American manufacturing economy is still very large, but most Americans work in the service sector -- about 16.7 million are in manufacturing, and almost 107 million are in the service sector.
What's wrong with the frogs? A campaign is being launched to try to save the amphibians, which are apparently being threatened by a virus. Normally, we might not care much about frogs, but if they go, it could disrupt the food chain.
Keywords in this show:
Bloomberg, Michael •
Burj Dubai •
disinfection •
Dodd, Chris •
extinction •
Fair Tax •
frogs •
Hunter, Duncan •
jobs •
manufacturing •
microwaves •
Presidential candidates •
sales taxes •
service sector •
skyscrapers •
Unity08 •
viruses •
wealth