Consumers and Politicians and Taxes

The politicians seems to be very concerned about closing budget gaps all across the country this year. legislatures from Maryland to California are trying to figure out how to get more money to sustain levels of service. It goes to the city level as well, Baltimore City is looking to close a tax revenue shortfall, too.

Sadly, the universal answer seems to be in raising taxes and "fees." 

I hate fees.  We pay a fee with our taxes for garbage collection in Howard County. It used to be included in our taxes until about 15 years ago the county board decided to make it a separate fee.  It was $75 then. The problem with government levied fees? There are few controls on them. The country wants to raise the fee this year from the current $250 to $500 per year. If it was a tax--we could challenge it and even vote on it. Since it is a fee--it can be changed pretty much on a whim.

And the state wants to increase property tax, and gas tax, and alcohol taxes and whatever taxes they can get away with.

Ever wonder who pays those taxes?

I read an article the other day about the giant corporation General Electric. Despite being the fourth largest company in the U.S. and posting a $14 Billion profit, the company paid no taxes.

That is $0.

What a deal!

I sure made a lot less that and amazingly I am paying a lot more than $0 in taxes.

So, let me get this straight. Politicians across the country are pinching consumers and private citizens to pay more taxes--yet the 4th largest corporation in America skates. There has to be a story here somewhere.

Oh, and it gets better. GE is claiming a $3.2 billion refund. Read it here in the Berkshire News.

I need to actually pay something in taxes to get a refund---not pay zero and get additional money.

Politicians are clearly looking in the wrong place for additional money. How many private American's taxes are needed to add up to a $3.2 billion refund? I looked this up--329,301 (with the average individual tax bill in America for the 2009 tax year being $8,157). Check out Tax Stats at a Glance and do the math.

Message to the politicians: Go after the corporations in America who are making a joke of tax laws!  That's where the money is.

Consensus Wine Released

We have finally obtained the winning wine form the Keswick Vineyards Consensus blending weekend.

I described the process and the weekend in my blog earlier.

This past weekend, Chris and I went to the winery to obtain a few bottles so that we could enjoy the wine that we helped to create since even though the direct shipping bill has passed, it is not in effect yet.

Wine is such a team effort to create. Not just the blending, the part of the team we participated in; but the winemaker had to blend it and it had to be bottled and this was after the grapes were grown and picked and crushed.

We tasted the wine while we were at the winery--and it was every bit as good as we remembered. It should be good for many years to come.

It was exciting to taste the wine as it was poured at the winery for others to buy. They made 245 cases of the wine. A very small and exclusive run.  And they told me at the winery that it was selling very well. Over 30 cases were sold on release weekend--which was the 19th of March.

Ah, the memories! 

Projects and Cold Weather

Last evening, Tina was over working on some projects.

It was cold outside--to cold for the paint to dry that she was using for one project and too cold for the glue to set on another.

The operative words here are that it was too cold.

Too cold.

We have moved to daylight savings time--(btw--did you note that Russia has moved permanently to daylight savings time?) to have more daylight in the evening for projects and now it is too cold for the projects.

So can we get someone to turn on the global sunlamp and get temperatures up to normal at least?

The cold weather is a problem for the grape vines in central Virginia--the low there last night of about 27 degrees is right at the point where damage could occur to the new growth. hopefully, the vines are still slumbering.

The cold is also going to make the Aloha Shirt Day I am sponsoring at work on Wednesday seem a bit premature--but we should have fun with it nonetheless.

Alas thought, I too have many outside projects which need to be started--but it is too cold. By the time it warms up enough to work on them I am afraid it will be too hot to work on them.

Well, Opening Day at home for the orioles is Monday--hopefully it will not snow on Monday. It did one year.

Monday Musings - March 28, 2011

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1. March is over this week (amazingly enough--where did it go?) and we launch into April. The weathermen are reporting that April will begin with weather more suited for February.  What a downer for such a promising month. Only 30 days until pool opening day--weather permitting.

2. College basketball is fun and this March the madness has been incredible. Consider this--of the 68 teams in the NCAA Men's tournament, 4 remain to vie for the crown of National Men's Champion. Of the four, there are no Number 1 or 2 seeds left. That, friends is what sports are all about. You have to play every game.

3. We had a great wine weekend. A quick trip to Charlottesville to get some of the consensus wine that we helped to blend, a quick stop at another winery and then back home. Yesterday, we went to look at some homes for sale--just because.

4. Birthday weekends are busy. This week we celebrate with Patrick--and then next up is Ethan. Dinner at On the Border last night was a lot of fun and a good spur of the moment idea. A lot better than pizza.

5. I'm hosting a conference at work this week--so the blog may be a bit late or thin. Bear with me. Conferences drive me crazy.  So many loose ends. Changed schedules and the like. It is far easier to attend a conference than to plan and host one.

6. Japan and Libya are still occupying the bulk of the news from around the world.  Both situations seem not to be showing many signs of improvement.

7. This week we said good-bye to a faithful companion of Mike and Nicole and I grieve with them on the passing of Calvin (or Cal)--the cat that came free with a $10 bag of cat food some 12 years ago. He was a fixture around their house and he was one of those cats who really took charge of things--be they children or yappy dogs. It was both sudden and sad the day he passed and like so many other good friends--he is missed and will be missed. Sadly, I don't think I have any images of Cal to share.

8. Here is a thought. Plans are made to be changed! You knew this of course. But, this weekend really drove that point home for me. Nothing happened that way it was planned or envisioned. That, is the spice of life.

Maryland Wine Bill Passes

Consumers and wine drinkers in Maryland are celebrating the beginning of the end of archaic rules which prohibited legal access to over 95 percent of the wines available in the United States.  The Maryland Legislature, as reported late Friday, passed the long awaited direct wine shipping bill, which while imperfect, will finally allow at least direct shipment of wine from wineries to consumers in the state.

I am excited that my favorite wineries--Keswick in Virginia and Chateau St Jean in Sonoma Valley, California, can finally ship my wines direct to me; but there is still more to do. I still cannot join a retail wine of the month club, nor have wines shipped from retailers.

Why is it important to have wines shipped from retailers?

First, consider this interesting fact that was reported in The Standard Times on November 26, 2005: 95 percent of all wine purchased is consumed within 48 hours.

So, clearly, the idea of ordering wine for expediency or probably even reduced cost is not a factor for direct shipping. It is an issue of access to product. Some wineries do not sell all of their wines on the retail market. I know this for a fact from visiting so many wineries across the United States.

Wine, however, is a world-wide product. Direct shipping of wine from wineries is great for US wine--but how about the South African, or Australian, or you the name it country wines that are not carried by Maryland retailers? I want to support the local retailer, believe me. But the tiered system in Maryland does them a disservice as well and they cannot carry all of the wine available and cannot order the wines I often ask them about.

We, the consumers, should have access to all of the wines available without unreasonable red tape and confusing rules. As I travel the country, I often find wines that I enjoy and want to buy in Maryland. In fact, favorite Chris' Merlot, the Hart & McGarry, is not available in Maryland. That is why we need direct shipping to include the ability to receive wine from retailers.

Retailers in the state feel threatened--but they should see direct shipping as an opportunity--they would be allowed to ship out of state. This then gives them access to compete on a bigger market--especially if they offer a unique or not widely available wine.

Remember, we are looking at 5 percent of the total wine sales here--and there is a good chance the retailers won't even notice the 5 percent because it is possible much of that is already making its way into the state via other means.

And so, I will tip a glass of wine tonight to celebrate success--but continue to push for complete access to the wine available in the world.

Hart & McGarry 2008 Merlot - Review

I decided to review another follow-on vintage wine and this would be the wine listed above. I had previously reviewed the 2005 vintage of this wine, and I raved about the high value for the price that the 2005 vintage was.

The wine is listed as a Napa Valley Merlot but the winemaker's address is Manteca, CA--which isn't in the Napa Valley.

The 2008 vintage has a nice light berry with a hint of plum nose. I found it to be very young, but it improved significantly as it sat in the glass over an hour. The color is light and a bit thin and the wine has a taste which needs time to mature, but I am concerned that there may not be enough structure to provide a basis for improvement with time. The wine does have a finish with lingers a bit and yearns for another sip.

A very easy drinking wine, but not particularly interesting nor complex. Very light tannins. The wine should be good with light foods and summery fares, maybe even burgers and hot dogs--it you want to impress your neighbors.

Recommendation: An easy drinking wine, with similarities to a pinot noir for people who like light wines. At about $15 per bottle, is it probably at or above the optimal price point, but given a few more months in the bottle it may turn out to be a wine which rivals the 2005 vintage, which I enjoyed very much.