1) Four Easy Ways to Make the Tax Bill More Beautiful

We are told that either today or tomorrow Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo will announce his draft plan for the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Time to go from good to great.

We would suggest these four amendments to the House-passed bill:

1. Lower the State and Local Tax deduction (SALT) from $40,000 in the House bill to $20,000. (It is currently $10,000 and should be zero.)

2. End the House tax on remittances. This is a punitive double-tax on money earned or invested in the U.S., and will reduce foreign investment in America.

3. Index capital gains tax for inflation. Taxing inflationary gains is unfair and indexing would raise the after-tax value of nearly every farm, ranch, property, and 401k plan in America. The unlocking effect would RAISE potentially $100 billion in tax revenues.

4. Go for the Gold: Lower the tax rates and broaden the tax base by capping ALL deductions for those with incomes above $1 million and cutting tax rates by 10%.

Here's an inspiring life lesson whenever things look bleak:

At about 3:30 pm yesterday, JJ Spaun was having an awful day at the U.S. Open.  (Any golfer knows how he felt.) He was five over par on the day with eight players in front of him with seven holes to go.

Then this astonishing comeback happened:

Spaun's win probability bottomed out at 1.4% at 3:40pm. He was +2, 5-over on the day, and four back of both Burns and Adam Scott. At 6:33pm he was still 4 back (thru 11) and just 1.8% to win. And then... birdied 4 of his last 7 to win the U.S. Open:

Never say never.  

4) Privatize Air Traffic Control

Bob Crandall and Doug Parker have both been CEO's of American Airlines, with their careers spanning five decades starting in 1980.  But in a recent joint podcast both men, while staunch Democrats, say that privatizing air traffic control is the best way to improve air travel.

Crandall says Congress should create a system that pays for itself and operates the way a normal business operates.

"What needs to be done is to create a private enterprise or something that's organized and operated like a private enterprise, but run with shared governance, including the government and commercial airlines and private aviation. But we need a better system and we need it very quickly..... Our friends up in Canada have done an excellent job of creating a system of that type."

5) Quote of the Day

This "open letter" to President Trump from Tom Smith, founder of the Thomas W. Smith Foundation, was published in Real Clear Politics and contains some excellent advice:

Dear President Trump:

I voted for you in all three of your presidential campaigns. The first time, I cast my vote with cautious optimism. The third time, with enthusiasm...

Your first 100 days were extraordinary, but if your presidency is to be remembered not just as bold but also historic, one challenge must rise above all others: - the national debt.

The national debt, currently $37 trillion, is the result of pervasive fiscal irresponsibility, accumulated over many decades. Our annual interest payments now exceed $1 trillion - more than we spend on our national defense...

Mr. President, here are several all-encompassing, culture-changing, deficit-attacking actions you can announce tomorrow:

1. Lead by example: Cut White House expenses by a defined percentage. Report the savings to the public every quarter.

2. Challenge Congress: Ask every member to cut their office and committee budgets. Suggest at least 10%. Publish a quarterly report on every senator and representative.

3. Eliminate pork-barrel projects: Call on Congress to abolish earmarks. Shine a light on every remaining earmarker until they fall in line.

4... Instruct all agencies to focus on rooting out waste, fraud, duplication, and incompetence, and report the progress quarterly. Say explicitly that you will monitor progress and report the bold and expose the complacent.

6) You Dance With the Ones Who Brung You

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