The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) released new polling and analysis on Wednesday highlighting the severe economic cost of ongoing uncertainty surrounding tax policy in the United States. As debate rages in the halls of Congress about whether to extend the tax cuts enacted by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, businesses across the country are awaiting guidance from lawmakers on how their operations will be impacted. These impacts could prove significant – perhaps devastating – should certain provisions not be renewed.  A few highlights: 1. More than 75 percent of respondents stated that there is at least some tax policy uncertainty facing their business and one-third of respondents stated that there is substantive or very high tax policy uncertainty. 2. Complete elimination of this tax policy uncertainty is estimated to increase US jobs by 2.9 percent (4.7 million jobs), on average, in each of the next 5 years, and by 1.1 percent (1.8 million jobs) in each year thereafter. 3. Even a slight move from “some” tax policy uncertainty to “a little” uncertainty would create an average of 2.6 million new jobs. These results speak for themselves. Nobody at TPA was surprised by these results and we suspect nobody outside of the organization will be surprised. Businesses around the country need to know the path forward. Tax uncertainty creates risks and harms for businesses and consumers. Uncertainty threatens investment and innovation in the American economy. Congress should act swiftly to renew the expiring tax cuts, making America more competitive, bolstering economic growth, and delivering tax certainty for families.
 
Profile in Courage - Atlanta Inspector General Shannon K. Manigault
Atlanta Inspector General (IG) Shannon K. Manigault has a lot on her plate. Corruption runs rampant in Atlanta City Hall, and the rot runs deep. The April conviction of former city Chief Financial Officer Jim Beard for federal program theft and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit obstruction is just the latest in a string of scandals plaguing the city’s leadership. Corrupt city officials are unwilling to go without a fight. Manigault took the podium during an Atlanta City Council meeting in May to discuss the IG’s continuing battle against corruption. Alarmingly, IG Manigault uncovered efforts by city officials to derail the watchdog’s work by creating, “[h]urdles…to delay, impede, and disclose our confidential investigations.” Despite these shenanigans, she continues to fight for transparency and accountability. For continuing to fight the good fight and remind everybody of the importance of an independent IG, Shannon Manigault is a Profile in Courage. Atlanta residents understandably have a jaded view of local leadership. In 2021, a local NPR news affiliate highlighted promises by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to pass ethics and transparency reforms. This has unfortunately not come to fruition. In 2022, former Atlanta city official and pastor Mitzi Bickers was sentenced to 14 years in prison for using her position as city director of human services to steer $17 million in city work to local contractors in exchange for bribes. A sprawling, eight-year federal investigation has nabbed numerous other Atlanta officials for fraud, bribery, and misuse of taxpayer dollars, including Jim Beard. The IG’s office is working to sniff out these schemes and expose city officials making a mockery of public service. According to one recently released report by IG Manigault’s office, one senior city employee actively tried steering solicitations for taxpayer-funded projects to a friend who worked for a bidding company. The employee would inappropriately share project details and granular budget information with their friend, would then use the information to increase proposed costs for task order services. The IG found, “On the identified task orders, quotes increased at least $850,000 following the disclosure of budget information.”
 
Another recent report by the IG concluded that the commissioner of the Department of Human Resources “abused her authority in creating a [city of Atlanta job] position for her daughter and attempting the termination of…[her daughter’s] supervisor” after the supervisor pointed out the daughter’s absenteeism. The IG deserves praise from city officials for bringing attention to this unacceptable conduct. Instead, she and her office have been targeted and obstructed every step of the way. Manigault notes that, lately, “there have been processes and procedures put in place that have made it harder for us to do our jobs, harder for us to get access to necessary records… City departments have been given an instruction — and we have multiple cases that can speak to this — where they were told to treat the Office of Inspector General requests like open records requests.” Meanwhile, city council members such as Rep. Marci Collier Overstreet (Dist. 11) have lambasted the IG for not going through “proper channels” nor being consulted about the corruption crisis. Overstreet should be more concerned about widespread criminal activity in city government and less concerned with how the news is delivered.
 
Unfortunately, Manigault is not the only IG who has faced pushback for doing her job. Baltimore city IG Isabel Cumming has taken considerable heat for standing up to Charm City’s corruption-plagued government. Cumming investigated then-Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, known for her lavish international trips on the taxpayer’s dime and problems accurately reporting her finances. Following the release of a report detailing Mosby’s many ethically dubious travel expenditures, Mosby’s lawyers pressured the IG office to revise the report to make the embattled attorney look better. Cumming stood firm, responding, “[n]o. I’m standing behind my report.” And, now that Mosby has been convicted for fraud and perjury, Cumming’s decision to not waver in holding her accountable looks all the better. Neighboring Baltimore County has also had more than its fair share of hostility against government watchdogs. In a battle that began in 2021, Baltimore County officials tried to strip IG Kelly Madigan of some investigative powers and attempted to set up roadblocks for requesting information which would have effectively made the IG’s office toothless. A public pressure campaign forced Baltimore County officials to back off. These IG heroes deserve praise and recognition but are instead greeted with hostility and pushback. IG Manigault and her counterparts across America are Profiles in Courage. Watchdogs need to be able to do their jobs without retaliation or conspiracies against them.
 
Summer Reading – Harm Reduction
 
It’s August and that means it’s time for Summer Reading. For beachgoers on vacation looking to have a good time, it can be hard to prioritize health and put the cigarettes away. After all, cravings can be hard to curb and it’s difficult to defy pervasive peer pressure. Fortunately, products such as e-cigarettes offer smokers the sensation of a cigarette without the significant health risks associated with the deadly habit. Vapes are 95 percent safer than cigarettes and offer users a hit of nicotine without the harmful combustion associated with traditional tobacco products. Despite these overwhelming benefits, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is determined to regulate harm reduction products out of existence through an onerous pre-market review process. Regulators need to ditch the risk aversion and fear mongering and let beachgoers safely enjoy their vacations. It is exceedingly difficult to kick the deadly habit of cigarette smoking.  One critical piece of knowledge is the safety and effectiveness of reduced-risk products for weaning adults who smoke off cigarettes. According to a 2018 National Academies of Sciences report, “There is conclusive evidence that completely substituting e-cigarettes for combustible cigarettes reduces users’ exposure to numerous toxicants and carcinogens present in combustible tobacco cigarettes.” These products are better for families of these adults who smoke too because there is “evidence that second‐hand exposure to nicotine and particulates is lower from e-cigarettes compared with combustible tobacco cigarettes.” Some regulatory agencies have opted to acknowledge the evidence. Public Health England (PHE) famously found in 2015 (and reaffirmed in 2018) that vaping is 95 percent safer than smoking. According to PHE director of health improvement Prof. John Newton, “It would be tragic if thousands of smokers who could quit with the help of an e-cigarette are being put off due to false fears about safety. We need to reassure smokers that switching to an e-cigarette would be much less harmful than smoking.”
 
Allowing more vibrant flavors such as banana and mango are key to getting smokers to kick their deadly cigarette habit. According to a 2022 peer-reviewed meta-analysis of more than 100 studies published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, “E-cigarettes may provide a reduced-harm alternative to cigarettes for smokers unwilling/unable to quit or serve as a path for quitting all nicotine products...Higher nicotine concentrations and the availability of a variety of flavors in e-cigarettes might facilitate complete substitution for cigarettes...Regulation of nicotine concentration and flavors aimed at decreasing naïve uptake may inadvertently decrease uptake and complete switching among smokers, reducing the harm reduction potential of e-cigarettes. Evidence-based effects of regulating nicotine concentration and flavors must be considered for the population as a whole, including smokers.” Instead, the FDA has focused on the supposed risks of flavors for teenagers, who might get “hooked” on fruity vapes. The agency claims it has prioritized “enforcement against unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products that appeal most to kids, including certain candy-, fruit- and mint-flavored products.” Regulators have announced their, “commitment to dramatically limit children’s access to certain flavored e-cigarette products we know are so appealing to them – so-called cartridge-based products that are both easy to use and easily concealable. We will continue to use our full regulatory authority thoughtfully and thoroughly to tackle this alarming crisis that’s affecting children, families, schools and communities.” This commitment has been implicit in the FDA’s many marketing denial orders of reduced-risk products.
 
In kickstarting this crusade, the agency is ignoring its legal mandate from Congress to focus on the overall public health of the population, including adults and teenagers. According to the plain language of the Tobacco Control Act, the FDA must make regulatory marketing-based decisions on whether a product is “appropriate for the protection of the public health” of the overall population. As Georgetown Law scholar Eric N. Lindblom notes, “When FDA evaluates whether a tobacco control rule or order is appropriate for the protection of the public health, only the overall health impact on the population as a whole is relevant. Health impacts on specific subpopulations are relevant only to the extent they contribute to the overall net public health impact...[There is] equal priority given to reducing youth and adult tobacco use and harms.” The exact meaning and legal implications of this mandate will soon be litigated by the Supreme Court. In July, Vaping360 reported, “The Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court decision that found the FDA acted improperly when it denied marketing applications by Texas-based vape manufacturer Triton Distribution. The FDA petitioned the high court to accept the case. The decision to hear the case marks the first time the Supreme Court will consider a challenge to the fairness of the FDA’s vaping regulations... The court will hear oral arguments in the fall from lawyers for Triton and the FDA, and rule on the appeal in 2025. How the court decides will have a profound impact on the future of vaping and nicotine use in the United States.”
 
The Taxpayers Protection Alliance will fight for the rights of adults who smoke to use reduced-risk products and will submit an amicus brief in support of Triton Distribution. This will not only (hopefully) persuade the Court, but also provide enough summer reading material for the next five years. Stay tuned!
 

BLOGS:     

Monday: When the Red Tape Gets All Tangled Up With Itself

Tuesday: Profile in Courage: Atlanta Inspector General Shannon K. Manigault

Wednesday: Watchdog Group Releases New Poll Showing Economic Uncertainty as Tax Cuts are Set to Expire

Thursday: FCC Commissioner Carr fact-checks misguided internet reclassification attempt

Friday: Summer Reading: Harm Reduction

Media:
 
July 25, 2024: WRC News4 (Washington, DC) quoted me for their story about Prince George County’s council member’s residence.
 
July 25, 2024: WBFF Fox45 Baltimore (Maryland, Md.) quoted me in their article, “Baltimore DPW scandal unfolds with no immediate accountability in sight.”
 
July 26, 2024: Newsmax ran TPA’s op-ed, “Global Bureaucracies Must Answer Tough Money Questions.”
 
July 26, 2024: BASED Politics quoted Patrick in their story about KOSA and COPPA.
 
July 27, 2024: Florida Daily ran TPA’s op-ed, “Medicare is a Mess.”

July 27, 2024: Western Standard (Canada) ran TPA's op-ed, "PEI’s proposed generational tobacco ban ignores positive impact of tobacco harm reduction tools."
 
July 28, 2024: WBFF Fox45 Baltimore (Maryland, Md.) quoted me in their story about Congress banning stock trading for political leaders.

July 29, 2024: Real Clear Markets ran TPA's op-ed, "At the Moment, Antitrust is Entirely Devoid of Logic."
 
July 30, 2024: Retailers for the Future (Spain) mentioned Lindsey and Martin in their article, “La propuesta de prohibición generacional del tabaco en Canadá.”

July 30, 2024: National Review ran TPA's op-ed, "Europe Would Rather Regulate Tech Than Innovate."
 
July 30, 2024: Erick Erickson’s Show mentioned Patrick as a speaker for the August 9th date of the 2024 Gathering show.
 
July 31, 2024: The Washington Examiner (Washington, DC) quoted TPA in their article, “Uncertainty about fate of Trump tax cuts holding back millions of jobs.”
 
July 31, 2024: The Daily Caller quoted Dan in their article, “‘Really Bad For Taxpayers’: Health Dept. ‘Ill-Equipped’ To Handle Federal Funds From Biden Admin, Analysts Say.”
 
August 1, 2024: Tobacco Reporter quoted Lindsey in their article, “A Drop in the Ocean.”

August 1, 2024: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “Alaskan Tribes Accuse Government of Trampling Tribal Sovereignty in Broadband Boondoggle.”

August 1, 2024: WBOB (Jacksonville, Fla.) interviewed me about the Inflation Reduction Act.
 
August 1, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, MD) interviewed me about pay for the Baltimore City superintendent.

August 1, 2024: The Washington Examiner quoted me in their article, "Federal court hands blow to Biden administration's net neutrality regulations."

Have a great weekend!