1) $4.6 Trillion in Tax Hikes, Zero in Spending Cuts
In years past, even liberals would propose two or three dollars of spending cuts for every dollar they wanted to raise in taxes. At least they pretended to want to cut fat out of the budget.
Neither presidential candidate has offered much in terms of specific spending reductions -- but Trump has endorsed Elon Musk's idea for a federal efficiency commission. The only reductions we have seen from Harris are due to gimmicks like Medicare price controls or revoking patents to lower costs.
We have a $7 trillion budget and a nearly $2 trillion deficit and these politicians can't identify even ONE legitimate way to cut spending? Scary.
We remind you that the entirety of the gaping federal deficit outlook is from overspending:
We're always amazed at how short the memories are of our political class.
Prominent voices on the left are now proposing supply-side housing subsidies for the construction of 3 million new housing units over four years and $100 billion in demand-side subsidies, including up to $25,000 down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers.
This is eerily similar to the subprime lending policies that triggered a housing finance crisis and the economic meltdown in 2008.
Unfortunately, according to AEI housing analysts Edward Pinto and Tobias Peter, these housing policies and the low down payment loan craze caused a 73% drop in housing permits and eventually millions of foreclosures.
An earlier attempt to stimulate housing, the HUD Act of 1968, fizzled out by 1975, leaving behind long-term damage in cities like Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland – areas that remain economically hollowed out to this day.
There is no industry in America – with the possible exception of green energy – that is more over-subsidized than housing. The best way to make homes more affordable is to pursue pro-growth policies that raise Americans' incomes.
3) Likely Tax Increases Are Seeing An Exodus of Britain's Entrepreneurs Overseas
The Labour Party has been in power in Britain for only two months, but it's already causing an exodus of well-off individuals and entrepreneurs who fear tax increases on capital gains and inheritance income.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned that those with the "broadest shoulders" will bear a greater burden of paying for Britain's bloated welfare state.
Tim Stovold, the head of a tax accountancy firm, says people are "so terrified" of a capital gains tax rate hike that their decisions were becoming "entirely tax-driven".
Charlie Mullins, who left school at age 15 to found his wildly successful Pimlico Plumbers in a basement, recently moved to Spain saying, "Any property I have in the UK under my name I will be selling."
The general public is more pessimistic about Britain's future than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis. The Gallup World Poll can find no other industrialized country that's scoring lower for economic optimism than Britain.
Too many politicians in Washington want to follow Britain's lead.
4) Progressives Block Voter ID Laws, Even Though All Demographic Groups Support Them
Progressives talk a lot about the need to preserve democracy, but in practice this seems to involve using tactics to ensure they win elections.
Take Huntington Beach, California, a city of 194,000, whose residents recently approved a requirement for voter ID in elections – a form of which is mandatory in 36 states and almost every industrialized democracy.
But California progressives pride themselves on squelching calls for voter ID to the point of making it illegal for any election official to request ID at a polling place. The state legislature moved with lightning speed to block the Huntington Beach measure in fear that it would spread to other cities.
A bill has just landed on Governor Gavin Newsom's desk that would ban all local governments from enacting voter ID laws. He is almost certain to sign it. "An overwhelming body of evidence proves that voter ID laws only subvert voter turnout and create barriers to law abiding voters," claimed the bill's author, State Senator David Min.
An amendment to Min's bill in the Assembly would have merely made it clear that undocumented immigrants are banned from voting. It was overwhelmingly defeated.
Massive majorities of voters support voter ID laws. A recent Pew Research poll found 81% support for voter ID overall, with Hispanics at 85%, Asians at 84%, and African-Americans at 75%.
5) Michael Jordan's Chicago-Area Mansion Cost $50 Million to Build But No Buyers at $15 Million Price
Another sign that everyone wants out-of-blue states and out of reach of progressive politicians.
The Wall Street Journal reports "Jordan's Mansion Is in Overtime," noting that the 56,000 square foot mansion "cost $50 Million" to build in 1994 when Jordan purchased it, and has been on the market for eight years at $29 million with no buyers. Now the price is $14.9 million with still no buyers.
