'Buffett Rule' Strengthens America's Backbone

April 16, 2012

About Tom Harkin:

Tom Harkin is a United States senator from Iowa and the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

As we say in the Midwest, you do not fertilize a tree from the top down, you fertilize the roots. The "Buffet rule" reflects that kind of midwestern wisdom and decency.

[See pictures of Americans searching for work.]

It defies common sense that many middle-class Iowans should pay a higher tax rate than the 400 richest Americans, making over $110 million per year and paying only 18 percent in income taxes. Not only does this fly in the face of the common sense standards of a democratic society, but it also undermines the middle class, the backbone of the American economy, by helping to concentrate wealth among a very few rich Americans, and by denying our country the resources to make the investments that have sustained the middle class—everything from education to infrastructure—that has made America the strongest economy in the world.

The Buffet rule tackles this problem head on and levels the playing the field for America's middle class. It is part of legislation I recently introduced—the Rebuild America Act—and it should become law.

Tags:deficit and national debt, federal taxes, Warren Buffett About Debate Club

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Thomas Jefferson Street Blog

Whoever dreamed the phrase "stay-at-home mom" to update "just a housewife" had a passive-aggressive streak.

Mitt Romney's seemingly contradictory statements on motherhood and the "dignity of work" are not as big a deal as Ezra Klein thinks.

It's not healthy to elect presidents who win because they have come out ahead in a mathematical equation that divides the country along gender and racial lines.

Obama's "Buffett rule" would hurt the women he to whom is trying to pander.

What I learned at George Washington's distillery

Subsidiarity is not a synonym for federalism, as Ryan has it, and it should never be conflated with economic libertarianism or individualism.

Invoking the Kochs is a misdirection that allows the campaign to talk about secretive right-wing conspiracies rather than confronting the truth.

Mitt Romney should talk about creating the kind of economic growth that allows all women choice in terms of work-life balance.

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GOP Blocks 'Buffett Rule' in Senate

Senate Republicans derailed a Democratic "Buffett rule" bill Monday forcing the nation's top earners to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes, using the day before Americans' taxes are due to defy President Barack Obama on one of his signature election-year issues.

By a near party-line 51-45 tally, senators voted to keep the bill alive but fell nine votes short of the 60 needed to continue debating the measure. The anti-climactic outcome was no surprise to anyone in a vote that was designed more to win over voters and embarrass senators in close races than to push legislation into law.

At the White House, Obama denounced the vote, saying Republicans chose "once again to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest few Americans at the expense of the middle class." In a statement issued after the vote, he said he would keep pressing Congress to help the middle class.

"It's just plain wrong that millions of middle-class Americans pay a higher share of their income in taxes than some millionaires and billionaires," he said.

Republicans called the measure a divisive Democratic distraction from the nation's real problems that would not address the economy's real woes.

"This legislation will do nothing with regard to job creation, with regard to gas prices, with regard to economic recovery," said Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Senate GOP leader.

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2010, file photo President Barack Obama congratulates Warren Buffett after presenting him with a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom in an East Room ceremony at the White House in Washington. In his weekly radio and internet address Saturday April 14, 2012, Obama urged Americans to ask their member of Congress to support the "Buffett Rule," named after the billionaire investor who says he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. Obama says the nation can't afford to keep giving tax cuts to the wealthiest, "who don't need them and didn't even ask for them." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Close

Democrats' goal, he said, was "to try to draw attention away from the issues that the American people are most concerned about."

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to join Democrats in voting to keep the measure alive, arguing that it was a way to begin considering a badly needed, broad revamping of the entire tax code.

The lone defecting Democrat was Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, who said making the rich pay a fair share of taxes should occur as part of an overall tax overhaul, "not as a political ploy meant to score points."

Monday's vote was the first time a "Buffett rule" proposal has come to a Senate vote this election year, though Democrats have tried unsuccessfully in recent months to impose modest surcharges on the income of the wealthy.

With presidential and congressional elections approaching in November, it was also a microcosm of the broader battle the two parties are waging over an economy that is still having a tough time creating enough new jobs. And the fight isn't confined to the Senate floor.

On Thursday, the House plans to vote on a plan by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to provide 20 percent tax deductions to all businesses with fewer than 500 workers — a threshold that includes 99.9 percent of all U.S. companies.

Republicans say that plan would spur job creation, while Democrats call it a giveaway to business because firms would not have to hire employees to receive the reduction. That bill is expected to pass the GOP-run House but die in the Democratic-led Senate.

The Senate vote was on a measure by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., that would impose a minimum 30 percent income tax on people making over $2 million yearly and phase in higher taxes for those earning at least $1 million. The measure is nicknamed for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has called for higher taxes on the rich.

The fight has been politically irresistible for both sides.

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Alleged Rape Victim Out After 20 Days

After nearly three weeks in custody at a youth detention center in California, a 17-year-old alleged rape victim was finally released today, with the apologies of the presiding judge.

“I am truly sorry for all that you have been through,”  Sacramento County Judge Lawrence Brown told the teen, who was held as a material witness in the case against her alleged rapist, ABC News affiliate KXTV reports.

The teen had previously skipped court dates in which she was expected to testify against the man she said raped her, inciting authorities to serve her with a warrant and keep her in custody to ensure that she would be available to testify in the future.

“The last thing we ever want to do is put a victim or a witness in custody, but when you have serious crimes of violence and a multiple offenses, you have to balance the protection of the community here,” Sacramento County Assistant District Attorney Albert Locher said earlier this month.

The teen was released on the condition that she would be monitored by a GPS system, but her location would be kept confidential.

Locher told ABC News today that the teen and her defense attorney had reached an agreement with prosecutors to permit her release. The terms of the agreement were confidential, the attorney said.

Prosecutors were forced to re-file charges against the alleged rapist,  Frank William Rackley, after the teen skipped out on a preliminary hearing and the Feb. 28 trial. The new trial has been set for April 23, when the alleged victim is once again expected to testify, Locher said.

Rackley’s DNA was found on teen after she her rape examination, prosecutors said, according to The Associated Press.

Rackley, an ex-convict with a criminal history that dates back to 1992, was previously arrested for rape, though according to court documents, those charges were dropped.

Locher said the teen victim’s testimony was imperative and cited the potential public safety issue if Rackley is let go on the charges.

The teen’s attorney, Lisa Franco, did not return calls for comment. She previously told ABC News affiliate KXTV that the detention of her client was preventing the girl from moving on with her life.

“She needs to be released.  It’s the only way she can start moving on, stop being victimized and move on with her life after what’s happened to her,” Franco said.

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Norway Shooter Pleads Not Guilty, Cries

The right wing extremist who has confessed to murdering 77 people -- many of them teenagers -- in a shooting and bombing spree in Norway cried at the start of his trial today, but not for his victims.

Anders Breivik told the court he acknowledged the mass murder but pleaded not guilty, claiming it was done in self-defense as part of his war against "multiculturalism" in the European nation. He expressed no emotion as he entered his plea but broke down and had to wipe away tears when the court played a portion of a propaganda video he had made in support of his new "crusade" in Norway.

Breivik is accused of carrying out the July 2011 bombing in Oslo, Norway, that killed eight people, followed by a shooting spree at a nearby youth summer camp that claimed another 69 lives.

READ: Norway Shooting Survivor: 'They Just Fell, Lifeless'

Before the massacre, Breivik posted a 1,500 page manifesto online in which he said he was just one operative in the beginning of a violent Christian conservative revolution in Europe led by a group called the new Knights Templar. Breivik had planned on a 60-plus year struggle against mutliculturalism until the Knights would take control over Europe, the manifesto said.

A court official pointed out today that in a picture Breivik had apparently taken of himself, he had digitally altered the image to include a patch that read, "Multicultural Traitor Hunting Permit… Tagging Not Required… No Bag Limit."

Breivik said today that he did not recognize the authority of the court since it got its "mandate from the Norwegian political parties who support multiculturalism."

Breivik: Trial Is 'Stage to the World'

In his manifesto, Breivik said that getting arrested and put on trial was just another part of the overall plan.

"Your arrest will mark the initiation of the propaganda phase," he wrote. "Your trial offers you a stage to the world."

A panel of experts recently found Breivik was sane and fit to stand trial, contradicting an earlier psychiatric report that said Breivik suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Both Breivik and some of the families of his victims objected to the first diagnosis.

The families want Breivik to be legally responsible for his actions, and Breivik said in a 38-page letter to the Norwegian media that he considered the insanity diagnosis the "ultimate humiliation."

Breivik's defense is expected to try to prove his sanity by calling both Islamic extremists and right-wing extremists to the stand to demonstrate that others believe "Europe is the setting for a war of religion" and, therefore, Breivik's belief in such a conflict are not delusional, according to Breivik's lawyer, Geir Lippestad.

ABC News' Randy Kreider and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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6.7 Magnitude Quake Shakes Chile

A strong magnitude-6.7 earthquake shook central Chile late Monday, prompting authorities to order the evacuation of a stretch of coastline and causing hundreds of people in the capital to flee buildings in panic.

There were no reports of major damage, but authorities in the port city of Valparaiso said a 72-year-old man died of a heart attack during the quake. The earthquake was felt for almost a minute in Valparaiso and the capital, Santiago.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the quake's magnitude at 6.5 but later raised it to 6.7. Its epicenter was 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Valparaiso, and it had a depth of 23 miles (37 kilometers). It struck just minutes before midnight local time Monday (3:50 Tuesday GMT).

The Chilean navy's hydrographic and oceanographic service discounted the possibility of a tsunami, but authorities maintained an order for people to move to higher ground along a roughly 500-mile (roughly 780 kms) stretch of coastline running from the city of Constitucion to Tongoy, north of the capital. Thousands of people were later allowed to return home, said Deputy Interior Secretary Rodrigo Ubilla.

The quake knocked out power and telephone service in various parts of Santiago, but the National Emergency Office of the Interior Ministry said that it had received no reports of major damage or injuries so far.

There were reports of rockslides on a highway outside of Santiago, and residents of Valparaiso said the facades of some old buildings had fallen.

Public Works Minister Laurence Golbourne said that that Chile's airports and roadways appeared undamaged.

Chile is highly earthquake-prone. A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck central Chile on March 25, the strongest and longest that many people said they had felt since a huge quake devastated that region two years ago. In 2010, the 8.8-magnitude quake caused a tsunami that obliterated much of the coastal downtown of the central Chilean city of Constitucion.

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Photos: Megan Fox's Tat Gets Brush Off

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Last-Minute Tax Primer for Mutual Fund Investors

Many investors look to mutual funds for their convenience. After all, a manager is doing the heavy lifting of picking stocks and navigating the whims of financial markets.

But are mutual funds convenient at tax time?

For the most part, yes. There are, however, a few important considerations to keep in mind. Investors must ask themselves: Do I want some control over taxable gains and losses in order to minimize my tax bill?

[See Avoid These 10 Common Tax Mistakes.]

For starters, there is some basic tax reporting required of investors for the shares of a mutual fund sold during the year. The taxable gain or loss when you sell a fund is the difference between the amount you receive from the sale and the "cost basis" of the shares you sold. See the IRS page on Capital Gains and Losses for more in-depth information.

What's cost basis? Cost basis is the original value of an asset (usually the purchase price), adjusted for stock splits, dividends, and return of capital distributions. Your capital gain (or loss) is then equal to the difference between the asset's cost basis and the sales price. If you got the shares as part of a dividend reinvestment plan, the cost basis is their price at the time of purchase.

The onus has long been on taxpayers to track and report their cost basis to the IRS. Financial firms supplied a 1099-B, sure, but it was up to the filer to get the information to Uncle Sam. The look of that form is changing, as is the responsibility that comes with it. Increasingly, financial firms are now responsible for cost-basis tracking and reporting to the IRS.

Compliance has gone into effect on a staggered basis. Starting with the 2011 tax year, brokerage firms must begin tracking cost basis for stocks. Beginning with the 2012 tax year, mutual fund firms are required to track the cost basis of funds and report to the IRS, as well as continue their reporting to shareholders for filing purposes.

But many fund firms are stepping up ahead of the deadline, said Jeff Latzer, senior analyst for mutual funds at financial services consultancy Corporate Insight.

Companies offer a variety of methods for tracking gains and losses. One way is with "average cost," in which the cost basis is determined by the average price of all shares within a certain lot. This is the simplest method, and requires the least amount of record-keeping. Many fund companies calculate clients' cost basis using this method. But it can limit investors' tax-planning capability.

[See Take Advantage of These Tax Breaks.]

Investors willing to do a bit more work can opt for the "specific identification" method. For it, investors pick and choose the lot of shares to sell. For example, you might opt to sell your oldest shares first (often called First In, First Out, or FIFO). You could opt to sell the most expensive shares. A tax advisor can provide more help on the pros and cons of each method.

Fund firms are increasing the resources available to investors. Fidelity, for one, has expanded its online service offerings to include specific share identification trading and cost-basis information tracking for mutual funds. The firm's recordkeeping and trading capability track detailed historical information such as buy and sell activity, current tax lot information, and positions for Fidelity and non-Fidelity funds.

As you plan, consider taxes, too. Some of the tax-time legwork can take place well in advance of filing season—at the time you make investing decisions. Some mutual funds are "tax-managed," meaning the investment manager strategically decides which stocks to buy and which to hold based on capital gains and capital losses. It's a tough balance. Tax considerations are obviously not their primary goal. Mutual fund managers need to prove fund returns and would likely sell winning stocks to do so. Greater distributions means potentially higher taxes.

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George Washington Voted Britain's Greatest Military Enemy

Home > News > Washington Whispers > George Washington Voted Britain's Greatest Military Enemy

April 16, 2012 Print

This coming September will mark the 229th anniversary of the end of the American Revolutionary War. In the centuries since that conflict, the United States and the United Kingdom have buried the hatchet, joining forces to fight countless conflicts together, including two World Wars. But this weekend, the Brits revealed that some wounds never heal as the Daily Mail reports that Britain's National Army Museum voted George Washington as the greatest military enemy ever to face Britain.

[See the latest political cartoons.]

George Washington's legacy in American history has no equal, as he is universally recognized as the "Father of his country." As the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Washington led his troops to an improbable victory over the vastly larger and more experienced British Army, which was known then as the greatest fighting force the world had ever seen. Washington is credited with restoring momentum to the floundering patriot cause when he strategized a daring night-time crossing of the Delaware River in an effort to capture New Jersey in December 1776. Victories in Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781 ensconced Washington's status as an American military genius and war hero.

[Read Government Official Fibbed to Politico About Cost of GSA Conference Under Bush.]

According to historian Stephen Brumwell, the American Revolutionary War was "the worst defeat for the British Empire ever," so it's no surprise that the architect of that defeat is still one of Britain's most despised historical figures.

Britain's National Army Museum conducted an online poll of around 8,000 people which produced a short-list of five men to compete for the title of Britain's greatest military enemy. One important criterion for the contest was that each commander needed to have personally led an army on the battlefield against British forces, ruling out potential front-runner Adolf Hitler. Washington won this battle against Irish independence hero Michael Collins, French Emporer Napoleon Bonaparte, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.

Tags:Great Britain, George Washington 2012: 2011: 2010: 2009: 2008: 2007: 2006:

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Ann Romney, 'Stay-at-Home Moms,' and the 'Choice' Trap

"Stay-at-home mom" has entered our political lexicon with a vengeance, and we all know why. The Hilary Rosen-Ann Romney cable brou-haha. I won't belabor the particulars. Whoever dreamed that clever one up to update "just a housewife" had a passive-aggressive streak. The phrase is a conversation stopper, but not for the reasons Clark Judge, my bloleague, gives. At least not for me.

What the term does, in four easy pieces, is throw flowers on the grave of the women's movement—and then give it a good kick. It is a defiant way to say, "Yes, I may have gone to Penn (or some other excellent school) and then law school, but don't you dare question that choice."

[Scott Galupo: Mitt Romney Didn't Flip-Flop on Stay-at-Home Moms]

Choice. No, the women's movement was not so that well-educated women could choose to drive around in their SUVs, sunglasses, and soy lattes. That is not what Alice Paul, who led the suffrage movement to victory (do you know the year?*) had in mind at all when she got force-fed in jail. She did that so that women could break down locked doors to full civic democracy, higher education, and yes, the workplace.

Paul graduated from the excellent Philadelphia Quaker co-ed college, Swarthmore, so she was more privileged than most in her era. She was also fortunate to be born and raised a Quaker, the most egalitarian religion going. Women's voices are heard in Quaker meetings for worship. I tell you all this because women had to fight so hard, take to the streets, just to vote.

Paul felt that with the vote went so much more: equal rights and equal opportunity to excel and lead in their fields. She'd say we need all those women driving all day long for a larger purpose. Society needs their generation's capability, especially after investing in them. Society deserves their training, skills, and leadership right about now.

[Jamie Stiehm: Romney, Santorum, and Gingrich Need a Lesson in Women's History]

To be clear, I'm speaking of my generation, the first to have all the doors open, after the women's movement succeeded in breaking down the doors to the Ivy Leagues, to the military academies, to the professional schools, and other single-sex institutions. They did not admit women lightly; Congress had to order West Point and the other academies to do so. The University of Virginia, a publicly funded school since Thomas Jefferson's day, did not admit women students for the longest time.

I'm afraid we took all that too lightly--for granted. We spent a lot of organizational energy on dream weddings and frequently fell behind at work by taking a lot of time off when children came along, and you know the rest in four words: A "stay-at-home mom" sounds so perky. Why it has to be "mom" not the more dignified "mother," I don't know, but I'm sure there is a reason. Find the guy who made it up.

In a way, Michelle Obama exemplifies what I mean on a scale writ large in the White House. Extremely well-educated with a Harvard law degree she hides, she has taken to more womanly pursuits such as gardening, fashion, and two carefully chosen safe causes.

[See pictures of Michelle Obama.]

Ann Romney, a baby boomer, does not belong to the younger stay-at-home mom generation group represented by Mrs. Obama. Of Mrs. Romney, I will say she is a beautiful, vivacious speaker, talented at horse dressage—not to mention mothering five sons without much help from Mitt. She's very good at her job: being a rich man's wife and a mother of sons in one of the most patriarchal religions around.

So let's not expect Mrs. Romney to plow forward on women's place in worlds outside: the workplace and the government. These are places she has never been before in her own right, by her own choice.

There it is again, that tricky word. Choice is seldom what it seems.

*In 1920, women won the right to vote. Woodrow Wilson, the president, was not a fan.

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Romney-Backer Nugent: Obama White House 'Vile, Evil, America-Hating'

Democrats are crying foul after politically conservative rocker and Mitt Romney supporter Ted Nugent made incendiary comments about President Obama during a weekend appearance at the National Rifle Association convention.

Nugent — who endorsed Romney on Twitter in March after apparently having a “long heart and soul conversation” with the former governor — accused Obama of running a “vile, evil, America-hating administration.”

“Your goal should be to get a couple of thousand people, per person here, to vote for Mitt Romney in November,” Nugent told a crowd of convention-goers, according to a video of the remarks posted by the website Right Wing Watch.

“If you don’t know that our government is wiping its ass with the Constitution, you’re living under a rock someplace,” he said.

Nugent later says, “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”

“Being at the NRA event – god bless you, good indicator – but if you can’t go home and get everybody in your lives to clean house in this vile, evil, America-hating administration, I don’t even know what you’re made of,” he said. “If you can’t galvanize and promote and recruit people to vote for Mitt Romney, we’re done. We’ll be a suburb of Indonesia next year.”

The Democratic National Committee condemned Nugent — referring to him as a Romney “surrogate” — and demanded that he and the Romney campaign disavow the remarks.

“Romney surrogate Ted Nugent’s comments about Pres. Obama are vile & beyond the pale,” DNC chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz posted on Twitter. “The Romney campaign should denounce them immediately.”

“Where’s the outrage?” asked DNC national press secretary Melanie Roussell on Twitter.

It’s unclear what relationship, if any in an official capacity, Nugent has with Romney or the Romney campaign. A spokesperson for the campaign did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Romney addressed the NRA convention on Friday, reaching out to gun owners for their support in his bid to take back the White House from Obama.

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Ill. Mega Millions Winner Claims Jackpot

RED BUD, Ill. April 17, 2012 (AP)

The Illinois Lottery says the final winner of the record $656 million Mega Million jackpot has come forward.

Lottery officials said Monday that the single winner will be revealed Wednesday. The other two winning tickets already have been anonymously claimed in Maryland and Kansas.

The Illinois winner will be presented a check for $218.6 million in the small southern Illinois town of Red Bud, where the winning ticket was purchased at a convenience store.

Maryland and Kansas allow lottery winners to claim their prizes anonymously, but Illinois generally requires winners to publically come forward. Illinois lottery officials say the rules help prove that the lottery is paying out its prizes.

The jackpot was the biggest in Mega Millions history.

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THE RACE: Obama, Romney Nixing Fed Campaign Funds

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press

President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney don't want your three bucks.

Sure, they'll happily take direct contributions. But for the first time since public financing of presidential campaigns began in 1976, both major-party candidates will likely turn down federal subsidies for their general-election campaigns— and avoid the red tape and spending limits that come with the money.

The public financing comes via $3 check-off boxes at the top of tax forms.

[Barack Obama's Rotating Campaign Themes.]

Breaking a campaign pledge, Obama opted out of the public financing program in 2008 and went on to raise $750 million. He swamped GOP nominee John McCain, who was limited to spending the $84 million he got from taxpayers. Romney won't get caught in that trap. Instead, he's on track to raise $600 million.

Both parties, however, will still take $17.7 million each in federal money for their conventions.

Only one Republican took federal matching money for the primaries: former Louisiana Gov. Charles "Buddy" Roemer, who qualified for $285,470 before deciding in February to run as an independent.

[Read: Is Barack Obama a 'Fear and Divison' President?]

By the way, both Obamas checked the $3 yes box on their joint 2011 tax return. The Romneys checked it on their 2010 forms but have yet to release their 2011 returns.

___

Follow Tom Raum on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tomraum . For more AP political coverage, look for the 2012 Presidential Race in AP Mobile's Big Stories section. Also follow https://twitter.com/APCampaign and AP journalists covering the campaign: https://twitter.com/AP/ap-campaign-2012 .

EDITOR'S NOTE _ With 204 days left until Election Day, here are insights into today's highlights in U.S. politics

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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'Buffet Rule' is a Good Start

April 16, 2012

About Isabel Sawhill:

Isabel Sawhill is a fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-directs the Budgeting for National Priorities Project.

To reduce the deficit and maintain critical investments in everything from education to infrastructure, we are going to need some new revenues along with serious spending restraint. The president is calling on those who have benefitted the most from past growth to pay their fair share of taxes. The "Buffet rule" embodies this concept of shared sacrifice. It will not, by itself, reduce the deficit very much, but it builds on the fact that many members of the middle class pay a higher effective tax rate than many of the super rich, and it sends a message to the average voter that the system will no longer so egregiously favor the wealthy.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the economy.]

The Buffet rule is being described as a new 30 percent rate for millionaires. To be clear, it is a new alternative minimum tax that phases in gradually for those with annual incomes between $1 million and $2 million a year. The only people who would be affected are the super rich, especially those with lots of income from capital gains and dividends. Over the next decade, it would bring in about $260 billion more in revenues than we are collecting now. That's not trivial but it's also not enough to reduce the deficit very much, and it leaves most of the tax code riddled with a variety of deductions and preferences that undermine economic efficiency and place unnecessary burdens on individual filers. For this reason, it's only a start on what needs to happen. We need a complete overhaul of the tax system to make it not only fairer but also simpler and more efficient.

[Read what the Buffett Rule Gets Wrong.]

In the meantime, the Buffet rule is a politically powerful way of putting the issue of shared sacrifice on the national agenda. Income inequality in the United States is at virtually unprecedented levels and intergenerational mobility is threatened by large gaps between rich and poor. The president's support for the Buffet rule contrasts sharply with Republican calls for even deeper tax cuts heavily tilted toward the wealthy combined with draconian spending cuts that fall overwhelmingly on the poor and the middle class. Put simply, the voters are being offered a stark choice between a government that looks out for the middle class versus one that favors the wealthy.

Addressing the issue of inequality along with the need for fiscal restraint and comprehensive tax reform will require a lot more than a new tax rule for the super rich. But one has to start somewhere.

Tags:federal taxes, Warren Buffett About Debate Club

A meeting of the sharpest minds on the day's most important topics, Debate Club brings in the best arguments and lets readers decide which is the most persuasive. Read the arguments, then vote. And be sure to check back often to see who has gotten the most support—and also to see what's being discussed now in the Debate Club.

Have ideas about what the Club should be debating? E-mail it to dclub@usnews.com.

You can also join the debate on Facebook or follow Debate Club on Twitter.

Advertisement Cartoons See cartoons on the GOP 2012 hopefuls.

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Thomas Jefferson Street Blog

Whoever dreamed the phrase "stay-at-home mom" to update "just a housewife" had a passive-aggressive streak.

Mitt Romney's seemingly contradictory statements on motherhood and the "dignity of work" are not as big a deal as Ezra Klein thinks.

It's not healthy to elect presidents who win because they have come out ahead in a mathematical equation that divides the country along gender and racial lines.

Obama's "Buffett rule" would hurt the women he to whom is trying to pander.

What I learned at George Washington's distillery

Subsidiarity is not a synonym for federalism, as Ryan has it, and it should never be conflated with economic libertarianism or individualism.

Invoking the Kochs is a misdirection that allows the campaign to talk about secretive right-wing conspiracies rather than confronting the truth.

Mitt Romney should talk about creating the kind of economic growth that allows all women choice in terms of work-life balance.

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'Buffett Rule' Not a Serious Response to Budgetary Problems

By Alan D. Viard

, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute April 16, 2012

About Alan D. Viard:

Alan D. Viard is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

The "Buffett rule's" stated goal of making millionaires pay the same tax rates as the middle class is appealing. Unfortunately, the proposal is based on inaccurate claims about the tax system and its enactment would penalize the investment that fuels long-run economic growth.

Some Buffett rule advocates contend that millionaires typically face lower federal tax rates than the middle class, a claim squarely contradicted by the data. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center reports that Americans with incomes above $2 million (the top 0.1 percent) paid 32.1 percent of their income in federal income, payroll, and other taxes in 2011. Meanwhile, Americans in the middle of the income distribution paid only 12.6 percent of their income in federal taxes.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the budget and deficit.]

The Obama administration admits that "the United States has a progressive tax system" and that "on average, high-income Americans do pay more" tax than middle-class Americans. The administration says that the Buffett rule is not aimed at average millionaires, but at those with unusually low tax bills. Of course, even those millionaires are likely to be paying more than the 12.6 percent paid by the middle class, if not the 30 percent demanded by the Buffett rule.

In any event, the proposal's focus is surprisingly selective. The Buffett rule primarily targets millionaires who earn long-term capital gains, which are slated to face a 20 percent tax rate next year, but leaves completely unscathed those who earn municipal bond interest, which faces a zero tax rate.

[Read what the Buffett Rule Gets Wrong.]

The proposal's focus on capital gains is dubious economic policy. A significant portion of capital gains arise from the reinvestment of corporate profits on which corporate income tax has already been paid. For those gains, the special 20 percent income tax rate mitigates the double taxation of corporate investment and dampens the artificial tax incentive for excessive corporate debt. It would be a mistake to hike taxes on those gains, either directly or indirectly through the Buffett rule's convoluted minimum tax.

The resolution of the long-term fiscal imbalance facing our nation is likely to include tax increases on the rich. But, as commentators across the ideological spectrum recognize, raising taxes on the rich will not be sufficient to close the fiscal gap. Entitlement cuts and more broadly based tax increases will also be necessary. Increasing investment taxes on a small group of millionaires is a political gesture, not a serious response to the budgetary challenge.

About Debate Club

A meeting of the sharpest minds on the day's most important topics, Debate Club brings in the best arguments and lets readers decide which is the most persuasive. Read the arguments, then vote. And be sure to check back often to see who has gotten the most support—and also to see what's being discussed now in the Debate Club.

Have ideas about what the Club should be debating? E-mail it to dclub@usnews.com.

You can also join the debate on Facebook or follow Debate Club on Twitter.

Advertisement Cartoons See cartoons on the GOP 2012 hopefuls.

See cartoons on the European debt crisis.

See cartoons on Barack Obama.

Thomas Jefferson Street Blog

Whoever dreamed the phrase "stay-at-home mom" to update "just a housewife" had a passive-aggressive streak.

Mitt Romney's seemingly contradictory statements on motherhood and the "dignity of work" are not as big a deal as Ezra Klein thinks.

It's not healthy to elect presidents who win because they have come out ahead in a mathematical equation that divides the country along gender and racial lines.

Obama's "Buffett rule" would hurt the women he to whom is trying to pander.

What I learned at George Washington's distillery

Subsidiarity is not a synonym for federalism, as Ryan has it, and it should never be conflated with economic libertarianism or individualism.

Invoking the Kochs is a misdirection that allows the campaign to talk about secretive right-wing conspiracies rather than confronting the truth.

Mitt Romney should talk about creating the kind of economic growth that allows all women choice in terms of work-life balance.

Advertisement Subscribe

An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.

Subscribe today!

See the latest editorial cartoons on President Obama.

Take a look at the potential 2012 presidential candidates.

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Civil Liberties Organizations Launch Protests Against CISPA

On January 17, some of the most popular websites locked their doors, blacking out for hours at a time to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, a Congressional bill that would have censored certain websites if they were found to host pirated content. Three months later, the Internet is at war with Congress again, this time over the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which critics say would allow the government to snoop on private files.

They might have more of an uphill battle this time around—while some of the largest digital companies supported the SOPA protests, many of those have switched sides for CISPA, including Facebook. So while Wikipedia and Reddit are using blackouts to protest SOPA, organizations are trying to create a grassroots movement of Internet users to protest CISPA.

[Photo Gallery: Online SOPA Protests]

The bill would allow private companies to access classified government information to help protect them from cyber attacks that bring down their networks. In return, those companies would be allowed to share users' private information with the government, as long as it constitutes a "cyber threat" or relates to homeland security.

Jim Dempsey, vice president for public policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, says that with CISPA, Congress is trying to "fundamentally change how Americans use the Internet."

Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Tech Freedom have set up a "week of action" against CISPA, starting Monday. A site set up by the EFF allows users to tweet directly at their Congressional representative using the hashtags #CongressTMI and #CISPA.

The EFF keeps an eye on most legislation that could affect Internet users, but Rainey Reitman, who leads the organization's activist team, says they have to be careful about which bills they protest.

[Four Things Americans Have Learned From the SOPA Fight]

"We have to make sure they have a decent shot of passing," she says. As soon as they recognize a bill they find threatening, the organization might blog about it, but "a protest requires all our resources," she adds. "It didn't become apparent that [CISPA] was going to move forward until about a week ago."

There have already been some indications that the bill, sponsored by Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger, might be weakened before it comes to a vote. On Friday, the House Committee on Intelligence circulated a version of the bill that narrowed the language of the bill, limiting the amount of data that could be shared with the Federal Government.

Reitman says this week is an important one for the bill—next week is "Cybersecurity week" on Capitol Hill, so the bill is likely to be put to a vote.

"We knew this would gain steam next week," she says. "So we wanted to make sure Internet users got a chance to have their say before Congress did."

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agoda.com merilis penawaran khusus Musim Sakura!

SINGAPURA (21 Maret 2012) - agoda.com, situs pemesanan hotel global Asia dan bagian dari Priceline Group (Nasdaq:PCLN), hari ini mengumumkan penawaran istimewa untuk hotel-hotel di Jepang selama musim sakura.

Bunga sakura atau cherry blossom adalah bagian dari budaya dan identitas bangsa Jepang yang tidak dapat dihilangkan. Diagungkan sepanjang sejarah Jepang melalui karya seni, puisi dan lagu, bunga yang menjadi lambang nasional ini hanya menampakkan kelopaknya sesaat saja tiap tahunnya. Kemunculan mereka mengubah ranting-ranting yang gundul sisa musim dingin menjadi awan-awan menggembung, yang kemudian menjadi inspirasi sebuah aktivitas yang dinamakan hanami.

Hanami adalah kegiatan menyaksikan pohon-pohon sakura ketika bunganya sedang mekar penuh – tradisi ini diambil dari Cina pada abad ketiga, di saat kaum bangsawan mengadakan piknik di bawah pohon prem (plum) yang sedang berbunga. Di masa sekarang, pesta hanami diadakan di mana saja yang terdapat pohon sakura yang tengah bermekar; bersama sekumpulan teman-teman, keluarga dan rekan kerja berkumpul di bawah dahan-dahan pohon sakura untuk berbagi makanan dan mendengarkan musik.

Hanami mulai berlangsung di taman-taman dan kebun-kebun di Tokyo sekitar akhir bulan Maret, dengan daerah utara Hokkaido sebagai yang terakhir di mana bunga sakura muncul dari pertengahan hingga akhir bulan Mei. Makanan terkenal pada waktu hanami adalah dumpling (dango), dan set-set kotak bento karena kemudahannya dibawa, dan sake sering juga dinikmati oleh pengamat sakura di malam hari.

Ada beberapa lokasi di Jepang di mana bunga sakura sangat bagus untuk dilihat. Di Tokyo, Taman Ueno memiliki lebih dari seribu pohon sakura. Di Kyoto, tepi Sungai Kamogawa dilapisi dengan bunga sakura, dan di Osaka, orang banyak berkumpul di Istana Osaka di mana 4.000 pohon sakura mekar di seluruh kebun.

Agoda.com memiliki tawaran musim semi yang spektakuler bagi para turis yang ingin menyaksikan mekar bunga sakura. Di bawah ini adalah promosi hotel-hotel yang bertempat di lokasi-lokasi hanami terkenal di Jepang – beberapa di antaranya hanya tersedia selama beberapa minggu saja.

Penawaran Hotel Super Sakura dari agoda.com

Tokyo

Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo – bintang 4 – diskon 15%!

Mulai dari Rp 1.255.000 per malam. Pemesanan minimal 7 hari sebelum check-in. Berlaku hingga 31 Agustus 2012.

Shinjuku Washington Hotel – bintang 3 – diskon 40%!

Mulai dari Rp. 710.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 4 malam. Berlaku hingga 27 September 2012.

Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel – bintang 5 – diskon 20%!

Mulai dari Rp. 2.565.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 3 malam. Berlaku hingga 31 Mei 2012.

Narita Excel Hotel Tokyu – bintang 4 – diskon 20%!

Mulai Rp. 528.000 per malam. Pesan sebelum April, menginap sebelum 20 April 2012.

Omori Tokyu Inn – bintang 2 – diskon 30%!

Mulai Rp. 875.000 per malam. Pemesanan minimal 7 hari sebelum check-in. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Hotel Monterey Ginza – bintang 3 – diskon 30%!

Mulai IDR 1.282.000 per malam. Berlaku hingga 27 September 2012.

Hotel Monterey La Soeur Ginza – bintang 3 – diskon 30%!

Mulai IDR 1.282.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 4 malam. Berlaku hingga 27 September 2012.

Hotel Monterey Akasaka – bintang 3 – Bayar 2 malam menginap 3 malam!

Mulai IDR 1.175.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 3 malam. Berlaku hingga 30 Maret 2013.

Hotel Monterey Hanzomon – bintang 3,5 – diskon 25%!

Mulai IDR 1.146.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 3 malam. Berlaku hingga 31 Maret 2013.

Hotel Sun Members Tokyo Shinjuku – bintang 3 – diskon 17%!

Mulai IDR 900.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 4 malam. Berlaku hingga 30 Desember 2012.

Osaka

Hotel Granvia Osaka – bintang 4 – diskon 20%!

Mulai dari IDR 1.237.000 per malam.  Hanya untuk hari Minggu dan Senin, berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Swissotel Nankai Osaka Hotel – bintang 5

Mulai IDR 1.645.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 2 malam.

Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka – bintang 4 – diskon 30%!

Mulai IDR 1.537.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 3 malam. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Osaka Floral Inn Namba -  bintang 3 – diskon 10%!

Mulai dari IDR 773.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 3 malam. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Best Western Hotel Kansai Airport – bintang 3 – diskon 10%!

Mulai dari IDR 585.000 per malam. Pemesanan minimal 14 hari sebelumnya. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Kyoto

Reiah Hotel Ohtsu Ishiyama – bintang 3 – diskon 30%!

Mulai dari IDR 736.000 per malam. Pemesanan minimal 14 hari sebelumnya. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Hotel Granvia Kyoto – bintang 5 – diskon 20%

Mulai IDR 1.627.000 per malam. Penginapan minimal 2 malam. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Kyoto Royal Hotel & Spa – bintang 4 – diskon 15%!

Mulai dari IDR 890.000 per malam. Pemesanan minimal 14 hari sebelumnya. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Hotel Hokke Club Kyoto – bintang 3 – diskon 15%!

Mulai dari IDR 682.000 per malam. Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

Seikoro Ryokan – bintang 5 – diskon 20%!

Mulai dari Rp 2.210.000 per malam.  Berlaku hingga 31 Desember 2012.

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10 Lessons You Learn by Doing Taxes

Most people do not do their own taxes. They throw up their hands, decide it's too complicated, and go to an accountant or visit H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt. A lot of people also use electronic services such as TurboTax. This is kind of like doing it yourself, but the electronic process does hide some details of the tax system and how it affects you.

I usually do my own taxes, except for a couple of years when I tiptoed into an accountant's office and found out they don't necessarily do a better job, and they charge you a pretty penny for the service. I have also used TurboTax, but find that it doesn't always make life easier.

While it does take some time, and the process is not entirely painless, doing your own taxes can be an educational experience. I'm not talking about practicing your arithmetic skills. I mean you find out what the government encourages you to do, and what it penalizes. In short, you find out how the world really works. Here are ten lessons I learned doing my own taxes over the last couple of weeks:

1. The federal tax system penalizes working. Not only do you pay the highest rates on the income you earn by working, but you also pay a Social Security and Medicare payroll tax of about 7 percent. (Last year it was a little less because of the payroll tax holiday.) To add insult to injury, the IRS has gotten rid of the "making work pay" provision which allowed you to deduct up to $400 from your tax bill if you had earned income.

2. The federal government wants you to invest in the stock market. Some of the money you make from capital gains—the profit from selling a stock for more than you bought it for —doesn't get taxed at all. The rest is taxed at a lower rate than the money you make on the job. A lot of dividends are taxed at a lower rate as well.

3. Investing in bonds or savings accounts is not encouraged. The interest rate you receive from a short-term bond or regular savings account is the lowest it's been in decades. It's below the rate of inflation, which means you are actually losing money. The IRS doesn't care. It taxes the little bit of interest you earn at its regular rate, meaning you lose even more money.

4. The government can't make up its mind about real estate. Real estate investors can take advantage of certain tax breaks, such as depreciation, but are excluded from others. Rental income is taxed at the full rate, as opposed to stock dividends, which get preferential treatment. Bottom line: Investing in real estate can be a good deal, but it's not for everyone.

5. Owning a business brings special tax breaks and extra paperwork. Again, many tax breaks are available to people who work for themselves, from generous mileage allowances to deductions for travel and entertainment. But there are drawbacks as well. For one, you have to pay both the employer's and the employee's part of the Social Security tax. And the tax-filing process can be confusing and complicated, requiring obsessive record keeping and mind-numbing calculations.

6. The IRS does want you to save for retirement. The government offers a wide and complicated array of vehicles to save for retirement, including the IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, and 401(k) plan. These accounts allow you to pre-pay or defer the taxes you have to pay on your savings.

7. It’s more tax efficient to get health insurance through your business than on your own. The IRS allows you to deduct health insurance premiums if you get medical insurance in the workplace or through your business. But if you buy medical insurance on your own, there is no tax break for you.

8. The government will cut you a tax break if you're sick. You can deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of your income.

9. Going to college is encouraged. There are several ways to deduct a portion of college tuition on your federal tax form, and many states offer tax breaks for educational expenses as well. The 529 college savings plan is a relatively simple and easy way to avoid taxes on money you put aside for college.

10. It’s difficult to do your own taxes. The federal tax code reportedly runs for some 13,000 pages, and details all kinds of rules, regulations, breaks, and penalties. Plus, there are many more pages at the state level. And if you ever get audited, the government will want to inspect all your records and backup materials. The whole process is way too complicated for the average person. The IRS really wants you to go to an expert who will correctly determine your payment and file it electronically.

Tom Sightings is a former publishing executive who was eased into early retirement in his mid-50s. He lives in the New York area and blogs at Sightings at 60, where he covers health, finance, retirement, and other concerns of baby boomers who realize that somehow they have grown up.

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Coming Soon: New Best High Schools Rankings

On May 1, 2012, U.S. News will publish its new Best High Schools rankings of public high schools in the United States.

To produce the 2012 Best High Schools rankings, which will be available online only, U.S. News teamed up with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research (AIR), one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world. AIR implemented U.S. News's comprehensive rankings methodology, which reflects how well high schools serve all of their students, not just those who are planning to go to college.

With the May 1 launch, U.S. News will significantly expand the number of high schools on which we publish data. The number of high schools we will have information on will rise from around 1,800 to nearly 22,000, a 12-fold increase. The amount of school-specific data on enrollment, ethnicity, location, school type, state assessment proficiency tests, and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests we will publish on each high school will increase by more than three times.

Here's how the rankings will be calculated: First, we analyzed information from nearly 22,000 public high schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia using data from the 2009-2010 school year. A three-step process will be used to determine the Best High Schools on the national level. The first two steps will ensure that the schools serve all their students well, using state proficiency standards as the measuring benchmarks.

For the schools that make it past the first two steps in their state, a third step will be used to assess "college readiness"—the degree to which schools prepared students in terms of both participation in and passing of college-level work using Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests as the standard. U.S. News will then nationally rank the 4,813 highest-scoring schools.

Schools with highest college readiness will be numerically ranked from No. 1 to No. 500 and will be the gold medal winners. The next group of high schools with highest college readiness indexes will be numerically ranked No. 501 through No. 1,971 and will be the silver medal winners. This will be followed by 2,842 bronze medal winners, listed alphabetically.

A high school's position in the numerical rankings, whether they were awarded a medal, or whether they were ranked at all, will be dependent on how high they scored in all three steps of the rankings methodology.

In addition to the main national rankings, there will be other numerical rankings published for the top high schools in each state and for the best charter schools and the best magnet schools on a national level. A much more detailed Best High Schools methodology will be published when the rankings come out in May.

Media representatives: To get access to embargoed Best High Schools 2012 rankings materials, please E-mail Education-PR@usnews.com.

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Tax Dollars and (Common) Sense

April 16, 2012

About Tammy Baldwin:

Tammy Baldwin is a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 2nd District.

Middle-class Americans are struggling daily to find jobs, pay their mortgages, send their kids to college and keep food on the table. Meanwhile, the ultra-rich are reaping benefits unavailable to the rest of us. No wonder middle-class taxpayers have long felt that our tax system is rigged against them. Frankly, it is.

Even billionaire Warren Buffett expressed dismay that his secretary paid a higher effective tax rate than he did. In 2010, Debbie Bosanek, Buffett's secretary in Omaha, Neb., paid a tax rate of nearly 36 percent while her boss, who earned $62 million that year, paid a rate roughly half that—17.4 percent.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the economy.]

Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, our current tax code has been bought and sold by powerful special interests. Millionaires and billionaires hired armies of lobbyists to write tax laws that benefit only themselves. They pushed for loopholes and special provisions that allow approximately a quarter of all millionaires in this country to pay lower effective tax rates than millions of middle-class families.

President Ronald Reagan sought to change these inequities in our tax system. Three decades ago, he said it was "crazy" that a bus driver could pay more in taxes than a millionaire and spoke of closing "the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share."

I agree with President Reagan and President Obama that hardworking, middle-class Americans deserve a fair shake. That is why I have introduced legislation in the House that would put into law what we've come to call the "Buffett rule."

[Read How the 'Buffett Rule' Helps the Economy.]

The Paying a Fair Share Act would ensure that middle-class workers do not pay a higher tax rate than those earning more than $1 million a year. This common sense solution would address the disparity that Warren Buffett decried, and it would reduce the deficit by billions of dollars over the next decade.

It's high time we leveled the playing field between middle-class taxpayers and millionaires and billionaires. The Paying a Fair Share Act will help restore people's faith that if you work hard and play by the rules, you'll have a chance to get ahead.

I am asking all of my colleagues to join me in taking this first step to strengthen our middle class and rebuild our economy with a commitment to shared responsibility and shared sacrifice.

Tags:Warren Buffett, federal taxes, deficit and national debt, federal budget About Debate Club

A meeting of the sharpest minds on the day's most important topics, Debate Club brings in the best arguments and lets readers decide which is the most persuasive. Read the arguments, then vote. And be sure to check back often to see who has gotten the most support—and also to see what's being discussed now in the Debate Club.

Have ideas about what the Club should be debating? E-mail it to dclub@usnews.com.

You can also join the debate on Facebook or follow Debate Club on Twitter.

Advertisement Cartoons See cartoons on the GOP 2012 hopefuls.

See cartoons on the European debt crisis.

See cartoons on Barack Obama.

Thomas Jefferson Street Blog

Whoever dreamed the phrase "stay-at-home mom" to update "just a housewife" had a passive-aggressive streak.

Mitt Romney's seemingly contradictory statements on motherhood and the "dignity of work" are not as big a deal as Ezra Klein thinks.

It's not healthy to elect presidents who win because they have come out ahead in a mathematical equation that divides the country along gender and racial lines.

Obama's "Buffett rule" would hurt the women he to whom is trying to pander.

What I learned at George Washington's distillery

Subsidiarity is not a synonym for federalism, as Ryan has it, and it should never be conflated with economic libertarianism or individualism.

Invoking the Kochs is a misdirection that allows the campaign to talk about secretive right-wing conspiracies rather than confronting the truth.

Mitt Romney should talk about creating the kind of economic growth that allows all women choice in terms of work-life balance.

Advertisement Subscribe

An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.

Subscribe today!

See the latest editorial cartoons on President Obama.

Take a look at the potential 2012 presidential candidates.

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Marine Questioned on Missing San Diego Woman

Brittany Killgore

An active duty marine arrested on an unrelated charge is being questioned in connection with a 22-year-old Fallbrook, Calif., woman who has been missing since Friday.

Brittany Dawn Killgore was last seen by a friend on Friday in Fallbrook around 5 p.m. Police believe the marine, 45-year-old Louis Ray Perez, was the last person seen with Brittany.

Perez, who is based at Camp Pendleton, was booked at the San Diego Central Jail on an unrelated charge of possession of a stolen AR-15 assault rifle. According to the San Diego Central Jail website, Perez was arrested yesterday and is being held on $500,000 bail.

Killgore was reported missing Saturday evening.

“Due to suspicious circumstances, detectives from the Fallbrook Sheriff’s Station and the Homicide Detail were requested and responded,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Police believe there is a “strong likelihood” she is a victim of foul play.

“We recovered her cell phone in the gas lamp district of San Diego,” said Lt. Larry Nesbit of the San Diego County Sheriff’s department.

Police are not revealing the connection between Killgore and Perez. She was last seen wearing a dark purple evening gown with purple floral glitter patterns. She is a white female, 5-7?, 130 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, according to the Sheriff’s department.

The Sheriff’s department is deploying Sheriff’s Search and Rescue units to assist in locating the woman. Anyone with information can call Homicide Detail at (858) 974-2321/after hours at (858) 565-5200 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS (8477).

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Killer Swan Blamed for Man's Drowning

Killer Swan Blamed for Man's Drowning

ABC News’ Ben Waldron and Colleen Curry report:

An angry swan is being blamed for knocking a man out of his kayak in a Chicago pond and then continuing to attack until the man drowned.

Anthony Hensley, 37, of Villa Park, Ill., worked for a company called Knox Swan & Dog which used swans and dogs to keep geese off the condominum’s properties.

Hensley was in a kayak on the condo’s retention pond checking on the animals Saturday morning when one of the swans swam at him, causing him to fall out of his kayak into the water.

Frank Bilecki of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, told ABCNews.com that Hensley struggled to stay above water.  Two witnesses saw Hensley resurface a few times in the pond and called police, but by the time crews arrived he had been fully submerged. He was not wearing a life vest, Bilecki said.

The Chicago Sun Times reported that while Hensley struggled in the water, the swan continued to harass Hensley.

Dive teams pulled Hensley, a husband and father of two, from the water, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after.

Investigators believe Hensley had traveled too close to the swan or swan’s nesting area, prompting the attack.  Family and friends are puzzled.

“Maybe he didn’t fight back enough when the swan attacked him,” said father-in-law George Koutsogiannis. “Maybe he didn’t want to hurt the animal. I can’t understand how this was possible.”

A memorial fund has been established in Hensley’s name, who was a married father of two.  Donations can be sent to Amy Hensley, c/o Steuerle Funeral Home, 350 S. Ardmore Ave. Villa Park, IL 60181.

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Naik Kapal Pesiar Melihat Pemandangan Kota Istanbul

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Photos: Celebs and Crazy Outfits from Coachella

External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. Copyright © 2012 ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News Network

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Senate Democrats Hope to Press GOP with 'Buffett Rule' Vote

Senate Democrats are turning up the heat on Republicans who oppose the so-called "Buffett Rule"—which would require many who earn at least $1 million annually to pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent—by holding a vote on the politically potent measure late Monday.

President Obama, who campaigned aggressively in swing states last week in support of the legislation, is seeking to use it as a wedge between voters and Republicans, framing the issue as one of fairness. The rule is named after Warren Buffett, the billionaire who has pushed for changes in federal tax law. Buffett, who earns most of his money from capital gains—which is taxed at 15 percent—pays a lower rate than his secretary because, like most Americans, her earnings come from wages.

[Debate Club: Should the Buffett rule become law?]

Republicans, including GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, say they move is politically motivated and would harm economic growth in a still fragile economy.

"In fact, the 'Buffett Tax' hike touted by President Obama has been called everything from a 'sham' to a 'hoax' to 'total gimmickry.' Why? Because it won't do a single thing to create jobs, address our debt, or lower gas prices," wrote House Speaker John Boehner in a Facebook message posted Monday morning.

But the trouble for Republicans is that while the Buffett rule and vote may be designed for scoring political points, there's evidence it's a winning issue for Democrats.

A national Gallup poll released late last week showed overwhelming support for the Buffett rule – 60 percent of respondents said they favored the tax compared to 37 percent who said they opposed it. A narrow majority of Republicans said they opposed it – 54 to 43 – compared to large majorities of Democrats and Independents who said they favored it.

[Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy.]

Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief of Gallup, wrote in his analysis that the results that in general Americans think that wealth distribution in the United States is "not fair" and that it should be spread more evenly.

"The current results reinforce these findings and underscore the now well-documented conclusion that Americans in general support various proposals for increasing taxes on higher-income Americans," Newport wrote.

He also acknowledged that Obama's focus on the Buffett rule is mostly symbolic, but serves to underscore his campaign themes.

"An emphasis on millionaires paying higher taxes also helps position the Obama presidential campaign against his very rich GOP opponent, Mitt Romney," Newport said.

Romney, who is worth up to $250 million, has admitted he paid an effective tax rate of about 14 percent in 2010 and 15 percent in 2011 because he, like Buffett, earns most of his money from capital gains.

[See photos of Mitt Romney on the campaign trail.]

The Senate vote is expected to fall short of overcoming Republican opposition Monday. But by putting the vote on record, Democrats hope to press their advantage in closely contested Senate races, as well as the presidential election.

But despite wide public opposition to their stance on the Buffett rule, Republicans do have an effective case they can make against Democrats – that they are failing on the issues that mean the most to voters.

"Americans cite the economy, jobs, dissatisfaction with government and the deficit as the top problems, while very few (1 percent) mention the gap between the rich and the poor as the top problem," Newport said.

Email: rmetzler@usnews.com

Twitter: @rebekahmetzler

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