You can download the first 12 minutes of my movie

I’ve installed two clips from my movie on the DVD page
(http://www.thelittlegreenie.com ) but these clips have not generated much if any traffic. So, a few days ago I added a clip of the first 12 minutes or so of the movie (after opening credits) that can be downloaded. It takes about 10 minutes to download with a cable connection. I’m curious to see if it brings more traffic to the site. I like to think of the movie as a thinking man’s or woman’s comedy. No significant violence, no nudity or foul language, definitely not Hollywood. If you have tried making a download of something similar, I’d be interested to learn of your results. If you visit the site, try to leave a comment, good or bad.

If you’re a low budget (really low) video or filmmaker and would like to link to my site, let me know by leaving a comment here or at the site.

It's Time For A Wealth Tax

It is time for a wealth tax.

I believe the U.S. needs a complete reform of the Federal tax system, which will inevitably mean reform of the states tax system as well.

Suppose this was a nation where every family owned a million dollars. Since there are about 106.5 million families in the country, the total personal wealth of the country would be 1 million times 106.5 million, or $106.5 trillion dollars. Actually, the total wealth of the country in 2001 was at least $42.1 trillion (and was about $54.3 trillion dollars if government assets are included). If the personal wealth of $42.1 trillion) was spread equally across all families, each family would have about $395,500. Not very close to a million but within striking distance.

In such a society, every family would be somewhat wealthy and everybody would pay taxes. Since few or none would be poor, most people wouldn't need Social Security. They probably would need less Medicare or Medicaid. Such a society can never be attained but it can be approached much more closely than the society we have now, where we have a few hundred billionaires, several million millionaires, millions doing pretty good, and tens of millions just above or a little below the poverty line.

How could we get to a society of all or mostly millionaires? The only way is a drastic redesign of our tax system. Many of the people who now make $50,000 or more have to pay very substantial taxes, consisting of a combination of federal and state income taxes and federal wage tax (social security), plus local real estate and sales taxes. If the taxes on this group could be substantially lowered, it is certain that it would push their total wealth upward. If the group making $100,000 to $200,000 or more had their taxes lowered, their wealth would begin to approach or exceed one million. One million dollars per family becomes the magic number! When a family reaches this level of wealth, a wealth tax would kick in. It could be based on the idea that the first one million of wealth is not taxed. But all wealth greater than one million would be taxed at 1%. If you had 2 million, you would pay a tax of 1% on the second million, or $10,000. This would be in addition to whatever other taxes you might owe. In 2003 the number of millionaires (plus a few hundred billionaires) is about 3.8 million (NFO Financial Services). The number of households with wealth of $500,000 to $1,000,000 is about 3.6 million.

The total wealth of the top 10% of US families is about 70.9% of $42.1 trillion, which is $29.8 trillion. The total wealth that would not be taxed under the one million exemption rule would be 3.8 million families times one million dollars each, which equals $3.8 trillion. Subtract this amount from the $29.8 trillion and you end up with about $26 trillion subject to the 1% tax. One percent of $26 trillion is $260 billion. Remember, this is a tax of only 1% on the wealth of families who have more than one million.

This is the amount that could be used every year to lower income taxes, reduce the wage tax to near zero, provide universal health care, and do other things.

Do you think this would be a good issue for some Democratic politician who would like to be the next president?

A joke for a change

During world war II many German prisoners were kept in various camps in England and America. An English girl became friendly with one of the German prisoners, who was very discouraged about his situation. She would sometimes stop outside the wire fence where he was kept and try to cheer him. One day he seemed expecially morose. With one last effor to cheer him up as she was leaving, she turned and called back to hm: “Don’t be so sour, kraut.”

http://www.thelittlegreenie.com

Solar Power Possibility?

Solar power is being used more and more in buildings of all types to provide some or all of the energy the building requires. It seems likely that solar power could play a much bigger role in the US energy mix.

A new type of solar cell can produce a peak power of 210 watts per square meter. When averaged over 24 hours and all four seasons, the power available in the continental US would be about 35 watts per square meter. While 35 watts is not very much, compared to what the US uses, solar could nevertheless make a big contribution. A square mile of solar cells, as an example, could generate 0.119 megawatts average, day and night, all year long, with no cost for fuel. A 10-square-mile group of solar cells (about 2.8 miles on a side) could generate a little over a megawatt, which is the equivalent of a small coal- or gas-fired electric generating plant. (Large plants may generate more than 1,000 megawatts.) During periods of strong sunlight, the power generated would actually be closer to 7 megawatts, and drop to zero during darkness.

It is generally not considered practical to devote that much land to a power plant. But what if 10-square-mile islands of solar cells were floated on lakes and oceans? Lake Michigan, for example, covers 28,300 square miles; a 10-square-mile island would not make much of a dent in its capacity for shipping and fishing. A couple of 10-square-mile islands near a small town could supply much of the power it needs.

Reasonably full usage of the solar power would require some method of energy storage. One of the simplest ways would be to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen, which can be done just by passing the electricity through the water The hydrogen could be pumped to shore or stored in tanks for later collection by ships. The hydrogen could be used in fuel cells in cars and power plants, or burned for heat and pure water.

Is such a system economically feasible? The fuel supply is infinite and free. Costing of such a system should consider environmental costs as well as construction, maintenance, and operation. Fossil fuels release carbon-dioxide to the atmosphere, as does ethanol. Sea water also contains dissolved metals, including gold, which might be recovered as a by-product.

Solar islands would float on the surface of the water and would be subject to winds and storms, but the islands could be made submergible during high winds. The islands could be held in place by anchor or by using electrically driven propellors.

http://www.thelittlegreenie.com