1) Wall Street Heads South

We predicted an outward migration on the eve of the election, and unfortunately, the nightmare may come true. Will Texas take the bull from Wall Street too?  

2) Someone Forgot To Tell New Yorkers

Our quote of the day comes from the great Hoover Institute scholar, Thomas Sowell:

3) Trump Tariffs Have Their Day In Court

Unleash Prosperity senior fellow David Simon reported the following concerning the Supreme Court oral argument in the tariffs case this week.

Two issues dominated the oral argument. Does a president's inherent power concerning foreign policy under the Constitution include the power to impose tariffs-taxes? And, does the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the statute on which President Trump relied, allow a president to impose tariffs?

The Justices' questions and comments provide conflicting signals regarding how they will rule.

Chief Justice Roberts suggested that the Trump Administration views the president's inherent foreign policy too broadly, but he, along with Justice Kavanaugh, also suggested that the challengers view it too narrowly. Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson, and Gorsuch appeared more skeptical of the Administration's position.

Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson expressed doubt that IEEPA's power to "regulate" imports includes the power to impose tariffs. Justices Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett indicated that they see arguments for both sides on this issue. Justice Alito showed the most sympathy for the Administration's position.

Our view is that tariffs are, of course, taxes, and so they must require congressional approval, except in extraordinary times. The legal beagles we consult, consider a 6-3 or 7-2 decision against Trump the most likely outcome. Some of the tariffs may be allowed to stand and others will be struck down.

4) DeSantis Scores Again

It's not just lower taxes that are luring millions of people into the Sunshine State. And it isn't just the pleasant climate and the hundreds of miles of sandy beaches.

Governor Ron DeSantis just keeps finding smart ways to cut costs. He's figured out how to slash insurance costs through lawsuit reforms.  

This story explains how he's delivering big insurance refund checks to Florida families:

"If you've been with Progressive this whole time, you're going to get a bigger rebate," DeSantis said. "It might be a check. It might be a credit on your bill. But the average Florida policyholder is going to see about a $300 rebate - and that's just for Progressive."

DeSantis said state regulators are now negotiating similar agreements with other major insurers, including Allstate, Liberty Mutual and State Farm, which have already filed average rate reductions of about 6.5% for 2025.

The governor credited the state's tort reform laws, passed at the end of 2022 and early 2023, with helping drive those costs down.

"[Before these reforms] Florida represented 8% of claims nationwide but accounted for 78% of litigation costs," DeSantis said. "That's something policyholders end up paying. It's basic economics."

When you rein in abusive lawsuits, everyone wins (except the trial lawyers) -- consumers, insurers, the economy. Litigation is a hidden tax. Reduce the tax and prices go down. Simple.

5) Non-Citizen Is Indicted for Illegally Serving as Mayor

The Constitution is pretty crystal clear that only citizens may vote. Everyone who registers to vote has to attest they are a citizen, and it is a crime for someone who isn't to vote.  

But simply trusting people to be honest on this issue is clearly insufficient. Witness Mayor Jose Ceballos of Coldwater, Kansas, who was indicted this week on election fraud charges after it was found he had not only voted but was elected even though he is a non-citizen.  

This year, Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Chip Roy of Texas introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. It would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and have states remove non-citizens from voter rolls. Ohio, which has a list maintenance program, recently found 1,084 noncitizens had registered to vote, including 167 who actually voted.

Election integrity should be a nonpartisan issue, but when the House voted on the SAVE Act earlier this year, only four Democrats supported it. It passed 220 to 208 but it has been blocked by Senate Democrats from a vote. President Trump responded by issuing an executive order requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, but a federal district judge in Washington D.C. has declared it unconstitutional.  

Worse yet, in most states, there is near-zero prosecution of non-citizen voting only encourages more such behavior.  Our UP election security program headed by John Fund is exposing the widespread fraud - and there has been action, but still much work to be done to ensure honest elections.

6) This Time Will Be Different!

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