John Ransom is the Finance Editor for Townhall Finance. You can follow him on twitter @bamransom and on Facebook: bamransom.

Ericynot wrote: Part of what Buffett proposed in the so-called Buffett Rule is raising the tax rate on capital gains and dividends to the level of ordinary income. Re-read my original post from 11:19 AM. You’re confused and so, apparently, is John Ransom.- Obama’s Campaign about Nothing

Dear Comrade Eric,

No, I’m not confused. I think perhaps you don’t understand how tax law actually operates in real life.

Even assuming that the Buffett rule raises taxes on capital gains, there are easy ways for rich people to avoid paying capital gains taxes.

Unlike income taxes, a person can choose when to incur capital gains taxes.

The way Buffett chooses is by buying stocks and holding on to them for a really long time. Until he sells, there is no capital gain event- hence no taxable event. This is a common way that financial advisors routinely minimize the tax burden of people who fall into upper incomes. They buy companies and hold for long periods of time and much more rarely seek to realize capital gains, because the tax makes a big difference in total return.

You may say so what? The “so what” is that by punishing the realization of capital gains you stop the market from being more liquid, thereby not utilizing capital more often. In other words, you need more capital to get the same amount of liquidity. 

LaHood dumbo’s transporation “secretary” made another of his assinine comments regarding the US becoming one big pothole.

While traveling in and around Chicago this weekend we noted the MANY road construction and reconstruction projects in full swing. I88, I90 and I294 just to name a few. If you have ever lived in or around Chicago you know there are only two seasons: Winter and Construction.

Unlike the money pissed away in Dubuque on projects to serve a few by the self-serving few the money being spent on the Interstates and Toll Roads of Chicago benefit everyone.

LaHood being a politician from Illinois knows better but being one of dumbos lap dogs must adhere to the regimes line of manure.

While Dubuque wastes money on boon doggles other cities spend wisely to promote the general welfare of all.

John Ransom is the Finance Editor for Townhall Finance. You can follow him on twitter @bamransom and on Facebook: bamransom.

Obama may go down as the first president in the history of the U.S. to run a campaign based, like Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy, on nothing.  

It’s gotten so bad that the New York Times is appealing to people to “believe in” Obama, like he’s a children’s character or a Vegas magic act, rather than president of the United States.

Talk about bitter clingers who cling to their religion.

But I know what they mean. There is isn’t any good logical reason to vote for Obama even if you are a liberal.          

Let’s take his tax policy.

He wants to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires in an effort to do what?

Nothing really.

With the feeble “Buffett” tax effort Obama won’t pay down the deficit or launch the Great Society. Far from being revolutionary, Obama’s tax plan looks timid to progressives and stupid to conservatives.    

That’s because Obama knows, his economic team knows- and you and I all know- that the proposed Buffett tax won’t raise more money.

Former Bush adviser Karl Rove says president Barack Obama’s re-election bid has had a rough month that suggests the president’s campaigning skills are waning.

“In 2008, team Obama ran a first-rate campaign. They made relatively few unforced errors and capitalized on openings. Things look very different this time,” Rove wrote in an opinion piece Wednesday for The Wall Street Journal.

He said Obama, who formally launched his re-election campaign earlier this month, has had to contend with “lowlights” including disappointing job numbers for the month of April.

Editor’s Note: Get Ed Klein’s ‘Amateur’ Obama Book, Save $23, Cheaper Than Amazon

Rove said Obama had also tried to capitalize on the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death without acknowledging the Navy SEALs who actually carried out the dangerous raid on the terror kingpin’s compound.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Rove: Obama Campaign Looking Desperate

With an approval rating stuck below 50 percent, a sour national mood, and polls showing him tied or trailing rival Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama’s re-election bid faces an uncertain future.

Gallup polls show that Obama’s job approval rating in the first week of May averaged just 47 percent and a May 3-6 Gallup poll found only 24 percent of Americans were satisfied with the way things are going.

A poll released Thursday in the battleground state of North Carolina showed Romney leading the president, and the same day another poll showed Wisconsin — which Obama won handily in 2008 — is a toss-up, with Obama and Romney in a dead heat.

All this signals bad news for the incumbent president.

“Comparing today’s economic and political ratings with those from previous years when presidents sought re-election reveals that today’s climate is more similar to years when incumbents lost than when they won,” Gallup noted.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Gallup Analysis: Obama’s Chance of a Loss Greater Than a Win