Last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) unveiled his “Six Penny Plan,” a proposal to achieve a balanced budget in five years by cutting six pennies for every dollar spent in the federal budget. In times where the deficit and ballooning national debt seems to have fallen low on Congress’ list of priorities, efforts to rein-in irresponsible spending by the federal government ought to be applauded. We commend Senator Paul’s continuing effort to bring common sense back to the table by proposing a flexible, realistic, and achievable plan to balance the budget. Unfortunately, Congress ignored his previous efforts in 2017 which would have balanced the budget without having to cut any spending. That ship has now sailed. The government needs to start tightening its belt after years of reckless and unnecessary spending. This plan paves a sensible way for Congress to right past wrongs and stop burdening future generations with unsustainable levels of debt. The plan provides members of Congress the flexibility of deciding what is the best way to achieve the proposed spending cuts while setting a reasonable yearly six percent reduction goal. We hope Congress steps up to make this plan a reality.
 
 
America’s Economy Continues to Suffer Under Washington’s Tax Uncertainty
 
Next year is set to be an incredibly consequential year for America’s taxpayers. With major provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) already expired or on track to expire, Congress has an increasingly small window of opportunity to reach an agreement on the path forward. Inevitably, lawmakers are going to spar over their competing interests in shaping our tax policy. The interests of the businesses and individuals that actually foot our tax bills should be front of mind.
 
The Taxpayers Protection Alliance’s (TPA) recent survey of 500 business leaders in the United States sought to shed light on the real-life impact of the ongoing uncertainty around our nation’s tax policy. The message from these leaders is clear: the uncertainty coming out of Washington is taking a significant toll on our economy. More than 75 percent of respondents reported that their businesses are facing at least some tax uncertainty, while one-third described the uncertainty as substantive or very high. Businesses also identified key drivers of this trend. Specifically, they pointed not only to upcoming TCJA changes, but also to other major tax policy proposals put forward by the Biden administration as sources of uncertainty. With the latter posing a lingering threat, the chilling effect on businesses’ operations could last for years. 
 
In practice, tax uncertainty means less investment, fewer jobs, and reduced economic activity. Businesses cannot effectively plan when policymakers are sending mixed and confusing signals about the road ahead on their tax liability. For example, an increase in hiring could seem like too much of a risk for many businesses when the administration is pushing plans that could eventually cut deeply into profits. Renewing TCJA provisions and rejecting radical new tax hikes would lower the uncertainty businesses currently face and undoubtedly breathe life back into the economy.
Yet some continue to criticize the TCJA as fiscally irresponsible and only benefiting those at the top of the economic ladder. The results of TPA’s analysis only add to the mountain of evidence showing that these attacks could not be further from the truth. Renewing key TCJA provisions and eliminating some of the existing tax policy uncertainty would create millions of new jobs for average Americans. The analysis shows that the US can create at least 2.6 million new jobs by taking these steps.  On top of this, tax revenues are actually projected to increase through 2027 under the TCJA — $570 billion more according to the Congressional Budget Office than it had projected prior to TCJA’s passage. The relief and certainty provided by the law has empowered businesses to invest and grow, which ultimately leads to higher income growth and a subsequent increase in income and payroll tax revenue.
 
The evidence clearly shows that stability, predictability, and practicality in America’s tax policy benefits everyone. By sticking to these guardrails, lawmakers can truly unleash the potential of America’s businesses, workers, and economy. As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats.
 
Flooded With Stadium Subsidies
 
As Americans prepare for a hurricane season that could have abnormally high levels of activity, policymakers should be ramping up risk-mitigation. Unfortunately, various state, city and local governments in some of the most-hurricane prone areas seem extremely eager to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on stadium subsidies for sports franchises. In a prime example of backward priorities, these governments have even compromised the financial viability of other pressing budget items, like pension funds, to give wealthy sport team owners multi-million dollar handouts. In recent years, professional sports teams have started a rush to tap into public funds to either renovate or build new sports facilities. However, this is not a new phenomenon. About three decades ago, all these teams had a similar strategy. They pressured politicians to use taxpayer dollars to build this limited-used infrastructure with the promise of an increase in entertainment-related revenues. But, as various economists have pointed out, these promises never truly materialized. Stadiums consistently underperformed as sources of revenue, partly due to the fact that they are only used a handful of times a month. Further, some of the estimates relied on unrealistic assumptions on how much event attendants would spend at each game or concert.
 
A closer look into these stadium deals shows that the trend of unrealistic economic projections is not going away. For example, the Charlotte-Bank of America stadium deal assumes that fans will spend roughly $1,000 more per game than they currently do to fulfill revenue projections. An overly optimistic projection, to say the least. These economic miscalculations should always be frowned upon, but they become particularly egregious in areas prone to natural disasters. Areas that are exposed to significant natural disaster risks should not be tying valuable capital resources to fund largely unproductive ventures such as stadiums. This can prove to be a costly, burdensome decision in the unfortunate case in which disaster eventually strikes, leaving cities and municipalities strapped for cash. Especially as federal disaster funding has become increasingly unavailable. Nonetheless, cities like New Orleans, Charlotte, or St. Petersburg, among others, have gone ahead and approved or undergone multi-million dollar agreements to use taxpayer funds for stadium construction or renovations. In a flagship example of misplaced priorities, the New Orleans deal diverted $27 million in federal funds supposedly destined for pandemic aid towards the Caesar’s Superdome renovations.
 
Ultimately, these deals cannot be looked at as anything other than multi-million-dollar handouts to the politically connected billionaires who own these sports franchises. These franchises and leagues do not lack the capacity to raise the necessary capital. They should put the financial burden on their own shoulders and assume the full responsibility of building these stadiums. If they really believe they are as profitable as they claim, there should be no issues. As these leagues continue to tout record viewership and lucrative media deals, they should be investing in their own basic infrastructure instead of relying on taxpayers to subsidize their operations. Stadium subsidies ultimately tie up valuable public resources for long periods of time in largely unproductive enterprises. They also create sunk costs that subject cities to being strong-armed in the future, as Kansas City is experiencing with two of their sports franchises. In the worst case, even cities that acquiesce to these demands are still hung out to dry, as happened in St. Louis.
 
Areas with high risk of natural disasters should be especially wary of these deals. These at-risk areas should prioritize budget flexibility to be able to respond to emergencies, and not be fiscally tied down to subsidies for billionaire-owned sports teams.

BLOGS:

Monday: The Third Circuit Butchers the Section 230 Decision
  
Wednesday: TPA Submits Testimony to Texas Legislature Urging Neutral Approach to ESG Policies
 
Thursday:  TPA Submits Comments to FCC on Proposed AI Disclosure
  
Friday: Opposing the Credit Card Competition Act: A Conversation with the American Bankers Association


Media:
 
September 13, 2024: Tobacco Reporter quoted Lindsey in their article, “Frustration Voiced at FDA Hearing.”
 
September 13, 2024: Blandin on Broadband quoted TPA’s op-ed in their article, “Conservative take on MN 2024 bill to remove barrier to community networks.”
 
September 14, 2024: Vapor Voice quoted TPA in their article, “Frustration Voiced at FDA Hearing.”

September 15, 2024: The Blaze ran TPA's op-ed, "NASA strands astronauts at an astronomical cost."
 
September 16, 2024: RealClear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, “The Third Circuit Butchers the Section 230 Decision.”
 
September 16, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their story on a legal challenge to a ballot initiative on Harborplace.
 
September 16, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me for their story on auditing the Children and Youth Fund.
 
September 17, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me for their story on Maryland’s Safe Streets program.
 
September 17, 2024:  I appeared on WJLA-TV (Washington, D.C.) to talk about D.C. city council corruption. 
 
September 17, 2024: The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me in their article, “City nonprofits decide how to spend opioid settlement funds.”

September 17, 2024: Catalyst ran TPA's op-ed, "Need Bloodwork? The FDA Will See You Now."
 
September 18, 2024: Foreign Affairs (New Zealand) quoted me in their article, “MIL-OSI USA: Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years.”

September 18, 2024: Inside Sources ran TPA's op-ed, "Georgia Department of Health Continues to Undermine Public Health."
 
September 19, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed for their story on a bill to address vacant properties.
 
September 19, 2024: WBOB-AM (Jacksonville, FL) interviewed me for their story on interest rates and government spending.
 
September 19, 2024: National Review ran TPA’s op-ed, “Why Conservatives Are Wrong to Support the Kids Online Safety Act.”

September 19, 2024: Wisconsin Politics ran TPA's op-ed, "GOP stymies excessive broadband spending in Wisconsin."

September 20, 2024: I appeared on KZIM Real Talk with Riggin (Cape Giradeau, Mo.) to discuss the Kroger-Albertsons merger, and our recent survey on the importance of tax policy certainty.

Have a great week!