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Showing posts with label @sbalich #tcot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label @sbalich #tcot. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
AFSCME 31 PAC contributes $767,800 to Madigan's Campaign
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Attorney general candidates debate office’s role, conflicts
Attorney general candidates debate
office’s role, conflicts
Attorney general
candidates state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago (right), Republican Erika Harold
(center), and Libertarian Bubba Harsy (left) talk to the Chicago Sun-Times
Editorial Board
Illinois
voters will get a chance to pick a new attorney general in November for the
first time in 12 years and the major party candidates are arguing how far
conflicts of interest laws should go.
The
three candidates, Republican Erika Harold, state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago,
and Libertarian Bubba Harsy, appeared jointly in front of the Chicago Sun-Times
this week.
Attorney
General Lisa Madigan announced in September she wouldn't seek a fifth term,
ending a 16-year stint.
Part of
the campaign Republicans are running across the state targets conflicts of
interest around lawmakers like House Speaker Michael Madigan’s law firm
handling property tax appeals while crafting property tax law.
Harold
said the attorney general should highlight where laws should be changed to
prohibit certain conflicts. Raoul warned such a move could overreach.
“It
hasn’t really been debated in great detail in the legislature, not at all,”
Raoul said. “I chair the [Senate] Judiciary Committee.”
“I
think if he wanted that debated in the legislature he could have had that
debated because he has in fact been in the legislature for 14 years,” Harold
said.
Harsy
said the property tax conflicts are a scheme and corrupt.
The
candidates also discussed the office’s role in providing a check on federal
government overreach.
Harold
said she wouldn't hesitate to sue the federal government where she sees
overreach. Raoul said Harold needs to address specific issues.
“Does
she not support Lisa Madigan and other attorney generals stepping up to protect
the Affordable Care Act?” Raoul said. “Does she or does she not support …
[efforts] to take on predatory lenders in higher education? Does she or does
she not support that?”
Harold
did say she agrees with suing the feds to free up federal law enforcement
grants. The feds are withholding money over the state’s TRUST ACT, something
critics say makes Illinois a sanctuary state.
Harsy
said the feds are the ones that have jurisdiction over immigration.
“We can
have as many AG guidelines as we want [but] unless the federal government gives
us the authority to handle it, we’re not really handling it,” Harsy said. “We
can pretend like we’re handling it but we’re not.”
All
three candidates said they support legalization of recreational
marijuana.
The
election is Nov. 6.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Exposing the Mechanics of the Chicago Machine
Exposing the Mechanics of the Chicago Machine
“You’re being manipulated in a cynical, hateful way.”
Chicago, Illinois - September 19, 2018 - How is it that the people who have led Illinois into one of the largest fiscal and moral crises in the nation have managed to hold on to power?
Yesterday, Deputy Governor Leslie Munger, State Representatives Peter Breen (R-Lombard), Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), Margo McDermed (R-Frankfort) and Tom Morrison (R-Plainfield), and state legislative candidates Alyssia Benford (Will County), Tonia Khouri (DuPage County), Ammie Kessem (Northwest Chicago), Marilyn Smolenski (Park Ridge / Des Plaines) and Dan Ugaste (Kane County) answered that question during a joint press conference.
House Minority Floor Leader Peter Breen discussed the money poured into the Democratic Party of Illinois (DPI) by unions, trial lawyers and other powerful special interest groups in exchange for favorable votes and legislation in the State House.
“All money, messages and members of the majority party are controlled by Madigan,” said Breen. “The people who have been in charge of this state for decades have failed you. But each cycle, they are re-elected... They use the same methods over and over. They lie about what’s happening, because if you knew what they were actually doing, you would ride them out on a rail. They think you won’t figure it out, that you will never connect the dots. That is who they are, that's the character of the people who hold all the power in Illinois. We need to change out the people in Springfield, if we are ever going change anything in Illinois.”
“All money, messages and members of the majority party are controlled by Madigan,” said Breen. “The people who have been in charge of this state for decades have failed you. But each cycle, they are re-elected... They use the same methods over and over. They lie about what’s happening, because if you knew what they were actually doing, you would ride them out on a rail. They think you won’t figure it out, that you will never connect the dots. That is who they are, that's the character of the people who hold all the power in Illinois. We need to change out the people in Springfield, if we are ever going change anything in Illinois.”
State Representative Margo McDermed addressed the DPI's method of attacking opponents. She presented some of the lies told about her and other Republican candidates using women’s issues and other identity-based attacks. Speaking directly to Illinois voters, McDermed said, “You are being manipulated in a cynical, hateful way that you need to stop.”
“I have been on the receiving end of the most ironic mail campaign of this election-cycle,” said State Representative Mark Batinick, referring to the DPI’s “No Budget, No Pay” message.
In 2015, Batinick filed “No Budget, No Pay” legislation. Speaker Madigan refused to call his bill for a vote. When then-Comptroller Leslie Munger moved legislator pay in line with state vendor pay, she was sued by Speaker Madigan’s lawyers on behalf of Democrat legislators. In 2016, Democrat Susana Mendoza ran for Comptroller on the promise of “No Budget, No Pay” and defeated Munger. Once in office, Mendoza moved state legislator paychecks back to the front of the line, and ignored advice from Batinick and others on how to enact “No Budget, No Pay.”
In 2015, Batinick filed “No Budget, No Pay” legislation. Speaker Madigan refused to call his bill for a vote. When then-Comptroller Leslie Munger moved legislator pay in line with state vendor pay, she was sued by Speaker Madigan’s lawyers on behalf of Democrat legislators. In 2016, Democrat Susana Mendoza ran for Comptroller on the promise of “No Budget, No Pay” and defeated Munger. Once in office, Mendoza moved state legislator paychecks back to the front of the line, and ignored advice from Batinick and others on how to enact “No Budget, No Pay.”
Batinick called using “No Budget, No Pay” just to get elected “disgusting and dishonest.” He called on Democrat leaders to pass his legislation immediately.
State Representative Tom Morrison exposed the method by which Illinois Democrats abuse their power in the state legislature to win elections: Not only do Democrat legislators vote through bills favorable to the unions and special interests that fund the DPI, but each cycle Michael Madigan, Speaker of the House and Chair of the Democrat Party of Illinois, calls bills to the floor that he has no intention of seeing signed into law (ie. Martwick’s Elected School Board, Concealed Carry bills in 2013; eighteen votes on a property tax freeze in 2016).
Morrison revealed that Democrat legislators then use their offices to send out legislative updates and other communications that echo the messaging on DPI’s campaign mailers. “It is a con,” said Morrison. “And it needs to stop.”
Morrison revealed that Democrat legislators then use their offices to send out legislative updates and other communications that echo the messaging on DPI’s campaign mailers. “It is a con,” said Morrison. “And it needs to stop.”
“There are a lot of words on these mailers,” said Deputy Governor Leslie Munger. In addition to her work on “No Budget, No Pay, when Munger ran against State Representative Carol Sente in 2014. She was subjected of one of the dirtiest, most dishonest campaigns in the state.
“These words mean nothing if we don’t have people willing to stand up and do what they say they will do… We have to be choosy voters… We need to vote for people who will not support the status quo; who will not continue the empty promises that we’ve had in the past from the leader of the Illinois House - and, frankly, the leadership that we’ve had in the General Assembly altogether. We need to vote for people who will stand up for the taxpayers… Be choosy voters.”
###
Monday, October 1, 2018
Who is Steve Balich
I understand that as taxes increase property values decrease, and more people are either forced to move or figured out that paying rent in the from of Increasing Property Taxes is a good reason to get out while the getting is good. A $6000 Property Tax bill equals $500 per month. People aren't stupid! everyone knows the tax right over the border is much lower. The people in homer Glen where I live have had it with taxes and our ever increasing water bills. Seniors and others on a fixed income see so much of their disposable income taken away (legally stolen) they have to move or struggle to make ends meet. The problem is that increasing taxes erode the home value so people can't sell for what they think their property is worth.
The only people moving to Illinois are those who have to because of their job. The people left that don't move get the privilege of paying higher taxes to make up for those who stay.
I am a Will County Board Member. The first 2 years I was on the Board the Democrats controlled the Board and the taxes were raised to the max. The next 3 years the Republicans gained control and the the tax rate was reduced each year. As part of the Will County Board Republican Majority we did not impose a public safety tax which the Democrats were pushing to pay for building a new Public Safety Building, Health Department, and Court House. The Republican majority made cuts in spending to make the Capital Projects work while reducing the tax rate. As a Board member I was part of the group removing County Board Members from the IMRF Pension program, giving no pay raises to elected County Offices. As a Board member I find it important to spend taxpayer money as if it were my own. Less government, taxes, and regulation are my guiding principals.
Laws or Regulations that are not enforced, make little since, or just a way for government to make money need to be removed or changed. Examples: Getting your money back if you are found not guilty in court for towing, storage, and administration fees is just the right thing to do and is now part of the Will County ordinance. Making it so The County can't use Aerial Photos to initiate code violations and that violations are to be complaint driven so the County is not looking for violations unless there is a complaint. Contractor now get a 2 hour window as to when the inspector will show up to approve continuing construction. This means contractors won't have to pay employees for waiting for an inspector to show up.
It is important to stand for issues that benefit people. Since being on the Will County Board I championed many which can be read on my website www.electbalich.com
As a citizen I championed a tax referendum in 2016 which passed with 87% of the vote. This was advisory but about half of the taxing bodies listened to the will of the people. I go to the schools, fire districts and the Township and demand they do not raise the Levy. I say any person voting a property tax increase has the disease "Raise my Taxitis". Every taxpayer should take the time to go to the meetings and voice their opinion. Every Taxpayer can send emails and make phone calls to stop office holders from getting then dred disease "Raise My Taxitis". I have been fighting raising the property tax Levy since 2008 and will continue. By getting Citizens Utility Board (CUB) involved we were able to get the Illinois American Water rate increase reduced by over 50%. The rate still went up but not as much as it could have. I am a member of St. Joseph Club, St. Bernards Church, Homer Chamber Advisory Committee, Will County Board Republican Majority, as well as donating and sponsoring numerous community groups and associations.
Steve Balich 815-557-7196 sbalich@comcast.net
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
President Trump Defines the Big Choice for 2018
President Trump Defines the Big Choice for 2018
For Republicans to win in the upcoming midterm elections, they must understand – and make clear to the American people – that November represents a big choice election, wherein voters will decide between two competing alternative universes.
If Republicans maintain – or even grow – their majorities in the House and the Senate, America will be operating in a grassroots rebellion-conservative-Republi
If Democrats are able to take the House and gain seats in the Senate, we will be in the media-Left-Democratic Party universe. They will oppose every Trump-Republican plan that is proposed (and likely try to impeach the President at the first frivolous opportunity). Every day will be dominated by scandals and defined by identity politics. Nominated judges will sit in limbo as the federal caseload builds – delaying justice and fair trials for many. They will raise our taxes and reverse the economic gains of the Trump Administration – causing unemployment to rise and our economy to stagnate.
I describe this concept in-depth in a political strategy paper I wrote called The Republican Choice for 2018: Win or Lose. I wrote this paper because I truly believe every Republican candidate, campaign manager, consultant, and political committee member must understand and communicate the stakes of this election. As I explain in the paper:
“A big choice alternative universe campaign requires thinking, planning, and training to make the transition from ‘politics as usual’ to ‘politics as history.’ It is also the only path that will keep a Republican majority in the House.
“The current pattern is a war of district-by-district attrition. The consultants and professionals believe Republicans can outspend Democrats one district at a time and use traditional attack tactics to overcome them even in an unfavorable environment. This explains the number of Nancy Pelosi attack ads and the relatively few big picture, big choice ads. It also explains the constant search for personal weaknesses (DUIs, past business deals, etc.). However, in a potential wave election, this kind of district-by-district effort simply gets drowned by the national messages (see 1974, 1980, 1994, 2006, and 2010 for examples).
“Republicans must move from district-by-district attrition to a national message – and do something unexpected. Republicans need a national brand campaign, so Americans actually hear that there are more jobs than unemployed, we have the lowest level of African-American unemployment recorded, the average American family will have $2,000 more in their budgets, retirement savings have increased, wages have gone up, etc.
“In order to define a big choice, we must ensure that people believe the choice we are defining is real. Right now, there is a lack of belief in many of the accomplishments that have been made.
“We need to be defining the value proposition of the Republican Party to the electorate, so we can break from patterns of the past and propose a compelling future.”
President Trump has already intuited that this is a big choice election, and he has begun using language that defines the two universes from which voters will have to choose.
You saw several examples of this while President Trump was campaigning in Montana last week for Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale, who is seeking to take Democrat Jon Tester’s seat.
Most pointedly, the President defined the immigration fight in clear, big choice terms.
“This election is a choice between Democrats who want to abolish ICE, and Republicans, who want to abolish MS-13. It is very simple.”
President Trump – and every Republican – should continue thinking in these big choice alternative universe terms.
If they do not, the Left and the elite media could get the “blue wave” for which they have been fighting
Friday, September 21, 2018
How people become easily controlled by tyrants
By Brandon Smith
The questions often arises in liberty movement circles as to how we get to the point of full blown tyranny within a society. There are numerous factors that determine this outcome, but through all the various totalitarian systems in history there are common denominators — elements that must be there for tyrants to prevail. When we can identify these common elements in an objective manner, we make it far more difficult for despotic structures to stand.
This is a very complex issue, but I'll break it down as best as I'm able...
The psychology of the tyrant
To come to terms with how tyrants control society, we must first examine how the mind of a tyrant operates, because these people do not in most cases think the way average human beings think. It is one of the few cases in which I would encourage people to "otherize" another group, because tyrants are psychologically abnormal to such an extreme that is is difficult to classify them as human.
I believe the key to understanding the motivations of tyrants and where these people come from rests on our understanding of narcissistic sociopathy. I wrote about this extensively in my article 'Global Elitists Are Not Human,' so I will only give a summary here.
Narcissistic and sociopathic traits, like many psychological traits, are inborn. They are present in about 5 percent to 10 percent of society at any given time. In the vast majority of cases, these traits remain "latent" and do not affect a person's actions or relationships to any great extent. In a minority of cases, however, narcissism and sociopathy become the defining factors of a person's psyche. This occurs in less that 1 percent of a population.
To be clear, not all narcissists are sociopaths and not all sociopaths are narcissists. There are people who are low level narcissists who excel in society and retain a conscience. There are low level sociopaths in society that serve important functions in careers that empathetic people would find difficult, such as certain jobs in the military, or in the medical field. What I am referring to here are HIGH LEVEL narcissistic sociopaths — the kind of people that become murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and yes, tyrants.
A sociopathic narcissist is motivated by personal desire only. They are incapable of empathy for others and see people as a kind of food and fuel source rather than fellow travelers in life. They consider their lack of conscience as an evolutionary advantage; a tool that helps them to survive and thrive by trampling, stealing, manipulating and killing if necessary without guilt or regret.
You would think these creatures would be easy to pick out in a crowd, but it is not always so simple. They have the ability to mimic behaviors of those around them in order to appear more human. Sometimes this does give them away because they can't help but parrot or steal behaviors and mannerisms from those they meet to the point of obviousness. For those inexperienced with narcissistic sociopaths, though, the tactic works for a time, because what people think they see is someone just like them; a reflection. Think of it as a survival mechanism, like a chameleon.
For tyrants, the ability makes them appear endearing to the public. They can be many things to many people, and their ability to lie convincingly is exceptional. They climb the ladder of success quickly, and build systems that allow them to prosper. They do have doubts and weaknesses, though.
They are in most cases cowardly. They prefer to get what they want through subversion and trickery, and they run from direct conflict. They prefer to use other people (useful idiots) as weapons or shields rather than risk facing off with their ideological opponents. As parasites, they focus on the weak minded or the fragile.
They desperately want admiration from the very people they victimize. Therefore, they are constantly forced to play roles in order to appear normal. They do not like this. They feel that it is below their station in life to pander, and they are convinced that they should be worshiped as they are, not worshiped for the fraudulent image they have constructed. They want to "come out of the closet," in a sense, as a narcissistic sociopath, but if they do under a stable social climate they will be shunned or burned at the stake. They tend to band together for this very reason, and are willing to work with each other as long as there is mutual benefit.
Thus, these "people" seek to create chaos, and then to reorder society to act more like they act, or think more like they think. When the masses have been convinced to abandon conscience, then the monsters can come out into the light of day without fear.
Here is how they achieve this goal, and how people help them do it...
False assumptions
Almost all bad situations start with false assumptions based on bias rather than facts or evidence. The most dangerous assumption when it comes to tyranny is "we are in the right, therefore we are not supporting tyranny." The question that needs to be asked, though, is are they really right according to the facts? If the answer is "no," then they are probably fueling a tyrannical system.
First and foremost, many human beings want to be "right" more than they want to be correct. That is to say, they are happy to "win" arguments and conflicts regardless of whether or not the truth is on their side. This bias is the root of many catastrophes in history.
This is not to say that they don't have a conscience. Most people in fact do have a conscience that tells them their assumptions are wrong, but they still commit acts of stupidity and atrocity. This is where tyrannical manipulators tend to help them along.
Tyrants find great joy in creating all kinds of logical fallacies, mental gymnastics and morally relative sales pitches in order to convince a group of people that their wrong assumptions are right. The truth becomes foggy and evidence becomes unnecessary. In this state of mind, when individuals melt together into a mob, assumptions become cult dictates and "winning" becomes paramount. False assumptions and biases can be used to turn normal upstanding people into monsters, all because they refused to accept that their ideological position was flawed; all because they were afraid to feel embarrassed or admit they had been conned.
False sides
The taking of sides in political discourse is natural and normal. Even when people are entirely honest about the facts on hand and agree on basic principles of human decency and freedom, they will STILL disagree on what solutions should be used to deal with the problems in front of them. This creates a spectrum within society that is ever present; it cannot be helped or avoided. Tyrants understand the basis of this spectrum and try to use it to their advantage to manipulate people away from thoughtful discourse and towards mindless discourse.
Tyrants exploit the masses more easily when people assume that corrupt political and social leaders are working for "their side" against the "other side." Often these leaders can be bought or threatened into subservience. Tyrants then use them to drive the spectrum to the furthest opposites, until both sides adopt an attitude of zealotry.
This happens not only in politics, but in geopolitics, as entire nations are driven to war with each other by puppet presidents and governments over engineered conflicts that only ever benefit the cabal of tyrants behind the curtain.
Zealotry and false narratives
I view zealotry as a kind of psychological disease that is actually communicable. That is to say, it spreads like a virus through a culture until everyone is infected. Zealotry happens when a person embraces an ideology to the point that it overrides their personality and their soul, and they are no longer able to think clearly as an individual. This includes considering the possibility that they are on the wrong side of history and morality.
Zealotry on a mass scale depends on a number of dominoes set in succession. The threat of civil breakdown and economic suffering helps. Ideological opponents must be painted as an imminent and vile threat to the very fabric of society. In some cases they are a real and created threat (controlled opposition); in other cases they are a paper tiger meant to drive another group to support tyrannical measures.
Tyrants build false narratives. This is what they do best. They encourage people to unknowingly become villains, or they accuse innocent groups of villainy in order to create divisions. They need all sides to see everyone else either as an ally or an enemy. There is no in-between. If a person does not conform to the views of the zealot, then he must be immediately treated as a threat. This causes an endless echo chamber which destroys all dissent or disagreement, no matter how rational.
Zealots operate primarily on fear, making them easy prey for tyrants. And as some nerd once said, "Fear is the mind killer; fear is the little death that brings total obliteration."
Apathy and false hope
More than anything else, tyrants desire an apathetic population. Apathy breeds complacency and inaction, and it also encourages delusional thinking. Apathetic people tend towards the philosophy of pacifism as a means to vindicate their own behavior, but this is merely a mask designed to hide their fear. They might fear suffering, they might fear loss, they might fear failure, but they certainly have fear, and it stops them from standing in the way of developments that they know are evil in nature and that require an aggressive response.
Apathy can also be bred into a society through the use of false hopes. Tyrants create scenarios in which the public is made to believe positive "change" is about to take place, usually through politics. But, there will be no change for the better beyond the cosmetic. Things only get worse. In this process of conditioning, tyrants raise up the hopes of the masses, and then dash them to the ground over and over, until the public gives up.
The problem is not that things cannot change for the better, but that the public keeps playing by the rules of a game fabricated by the very people that are causing their misery. Stepping outside the constraints of that game requires us to take matters into our own hands rather than waiting around for others to make changes for us. It requires risk. If the farce of tyranny is to ever end, all awake and aware people will have to take many risks.
I have heard it argued that tyranny is a natural and inevitable product of human society. That tyrants cannot be avoided, that they will always exist and any attempt to remove them will result in them only being replaced with other tyrants. This is the pinnacle of the pathetic mindset. It is the dark void of nihilism.
One could also argue that there is no point to washing ourselves because we are just going to get dirty again tomorrow. But these people would eventually die of disease. If tyranny is a human constant, then rebellion must also be a human constant, otherwise, humanity dies or is turned into something unrecognizable.
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Lyft Pushes Ahead for a 2019 IPO
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Wednesday, September 12, 2018
If Republicans Want to Win, They'll Have to Stop Governing Like Democrats
If Republicans Want to Win, They'll Have to Stop Governing Like Democrats
David McIntoshThe Hill | 8/22/2018
“The liberal media keeps beating the drums that President Trump could cost Republicans their majorities in Congress.
“Not so fast. The Club for Growth PAC’s experience in running dozens of races in Republican primaries this year reveals the real problem. Republicans are in trouble because their own base is rejecting moderates who failed to uphold their promises to help President Trump roll back big government.
“We heard the same predictions in 2016 — Republicans would lose the Senate because Trump was at the top of the ticket. Instead, they kept control of the Senate and won 13 out of 18 toss-up House districts. These include the open seat in New York’s 19th Congressional District where Republican John Faso handily beat Zephyr Teachout by nine points. …
“How did they do it?
“They ran on a fiscally conservative platform that wooed many former Obama voters who were sick and tired of the waste, excess, and regulation of Obama’s reign. …
“But with the 2018 midterms less than three months away, the pundits predict that ‘Republicans will lose 40 to 50 House seats.’ Almost all of these seats are represented by moderates who have dragged their feet on implementing President Trump’s mandates. Their average on the Club for Growth Scorecard on economic issues is a mere 64 percent — basically a D+ at best.
“What changed?
“Over the past two years, so-called moderate congressional Republicans abandoned their conservative campaign promises and sided with Democrats. From repealing ObamaCare, to passing a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill that ensures perennial $1 trillion deficits, these Republicans forced the Republican-controlled Congress to break many of its core campaign promises.
“John Faso, for example, ran as a frugal fiscal conservative in his open-seat race, promising to ‘fight to lower taxes to help create jobs.’ …
“After being sworn into Congress, however, John Faso the congressman didn’t look anything like John Faso the candidate. Instead of cutting taxes and simplifying the tax code, Faso voted against President Trump’s signature tax cuts (RC #699, 2017). Instead of living up to his self-proclaimed frugality, Rep. Faso couldn’t muster the frugality to support a mere one percent spending cut (RC #251, 2018). …
“New York’s 19th district is a lean-Republican seat (R+2 on the Cook Partisan Voting Index) that handed Trump a six-point victory, but Faso is voting like a Democrat on fiscal issues. In 2017, Rep. Faso earned a meager 24 percent on the Club for Growth’s scorecard — the worst Republican score in the House of Representatives.
“Republicans like Rep. Faso have a problem on their hands: The GOP is treating voters as if they’re stupid — but they are not. Voters are smart. They know what candidate Faso promised: to change Washington. And they know what he did: jump on the DC swamp bandwagon.
…
“Similarly, take a look at the special election in Ohio’s 12th congressional district, where moderate Republican Troy Balderson who supported funding Medicaid expansion barely eked out a victory over Democrat Danny O’Connor. …
“But this special general election race never should have been this close. The 12th district has an R+7 Cook Partisan Voting Index rating and was easily held by Republicans for 30-plus years.
…
“Republican and independent voters are sending a message — they are rejecting establishment orthodoxy — that it is not OK to run as a conservative and govern as a moderate.
…
“Time and again, Republicans have failed to learn this important lesson. If Republicans want to hang onto their House majority, the single most important thing they can do is start acting like conservatives.
“It’s time for Republicans to learn this lesson before it’s too late.”
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Index Capital Gains Taxes Now
Index Capital Gains Taxes Now
Originally published at Fox News Byn Newt Gingrich
The next big step in President Trump’s economic revolution is to index the capital gains tax. This bold step would dramatically accelerate economic growth, liberate capital, boost investment, and reward those who have had faith in investing in the American economy.
President Trump’s economic policies — cutting regulations and taxes, fighting for better trade deals, pushing American sales overseas, giving small business owners and entrepreneurs confidence — have begun to drive growth beyond the expectations of establishment economists and commentators.
Throughout the 2016 campaign, so-called experts warned that candidate Trump’s appeal for 4 percent economic growth was impossible. Of course, four years earlier, these same people – including President Obama – had derided my proposal for getting gasoline to $2.50 a gallon by expanding production as demagoguery.
Now that President Trump has delivered 4.1 percent growth for the second quarter (along with the lowest African American and Latino unemployment rates recorded and a surge in business investment) these same liberal experts are warning that this growth is unsustainable and is a “blip” on our economic radar.
One way to ensure the supposed blip becomes a long-term boom would be to index capital gains to inflation.
The proposition is quite simple. With inflation, on-paper values go up even if real values don’t. As a result, you can owe taxes based on the on-paper value of your investments – even when their real value has declined. Simply put, inflation is a product of the government’s failure to keep the dollar stable, so Americans should not have to pay taxes on it.
Before Larry Kudlow became the director of the National Economic Council, he wrote that “Former Treasury economist Gary Robbins estimates that indexing capital gains for inflation this year would, by 2025, create an additional 400,000 jobs, grow the U.S. capital stock by $1.1 trillion and boost GDP by roughly $500 billion. That all translates to an additional $3,600 for the average household.”
Furthermore, in a 1993 memo by Charles Cooper, Michael Carvin, and Vincent Colatriano on the legal authority for the Department of Treasury to index capital gains taxes to inflation, they asserted, “[W]e believe that the Treasury has administrative discretion to reinterpret ‘cost’ to take account of the economic reality that a ‘gain’ attributable solely to inflation adds nothing to the taxpayer's real wealth or purchasing power. The term ‘cost’ is subject to more than one reasonable interpretation and is readily amenable to a construction that takes account of inflation.”
Finally, as Kimberly Strassel wrote in The Wall Street Journal, this idea is further bolstered by a 2012 paper by Cooper and Colatriano that argues “the Internal Revenue Code does not require that the ‘cost’ of an asset be measured only as its original price—meaning there is no reason Treasury could not construe it in today’s dollars. More important, [the 2012 paper] noted that since the Supreme Court decision in Verizon Communications v. Federal Communications Commission (2002), regulators have leeway in how they define ‘cost.’”
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist has been leading the fight to index capital gains. He calls it an inflation tax. This is a good label that Republicans should adopt.
In the past, when we have cut the capital gains tax (which we did with the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 when I was Speaker), we have seen an increase in capital gains tax revenue. Lowering the tax promotes more economic activity, which increases the base for government revenue. It’s that simple.
Indexing capital gains to eliminate the inflation tax would be one more step in accelerating the growth of the Trump economy and distinguishing it from the economic decay of the past.
President Trump should act now to end the inflation tax and strengthen our economic growth.
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