1) Non-Surprise Headline of the Month

We were assured that if Mamdani won the mayor's race, don't worry, he wouldn't have the power to raise income and corporate taxes. Governor Hochul would never let a bone-crushing tax increase on New York businesses happen.

Oops!

This just in from Reuters, one week after the election:

If Hochul implements the Mamdani tax plan, the state corporate tax rate would rise from 7.25 to 11.5%. This is on top of New York CITY's corporate tax of up to 9% on financial corporations and 8.85% on non-financial businesses.

Throughout the Mamdani campaign for Mayor, Hochul had pledged not to raise business taxes. Now, she's open to it. Turns out that promise was made during the campaign and appears to be well on the way to being rescinded. We know you're shocked.

If this plan goes forward, New York State would move from the #17 highest corporate tax rate in the country to #1, tied with New Jersey.

But businesses in New York don't just pay the state corporate tax.  As EJ McMahon points out, they already pay the highest combined taxes in the country, even before the proposed hike, which would take the NYC combined rate to north of 20%:

Did we mention that New York City also has the highest state plus local personal income tax rate too?  

2) Fed Interest Rate Policies Have Backfired

In this chart, the pink line shows how the 10-year treasury moved in the three days before, and after Fed interest rate announcements.  The light blue line - which moves sharply in the opposite direction - is the 10-year treasury at all other times.

John Mauldin notes:

The Fed is slowly losing control of the narrative. They lost it when they allowed inflation to get out of control and the market started asking for extra term premium. Inflation is not under control and that extra term premium is still there.

3) Merchants and Credit Card Companies Settle Their Differences - No Legislation Required

After 20 years of disputes, Visa, Mastercard, and their issuing banks have reached a historic settlement with U.S. merchants to limit credit and debit card interchange fees. Merchants project savings of more than $200 billion, with small businesses benefiting from lower fees, the ability to pass on card processing costs, and more flexibility in card acceptance.

This agreement resolves the nationwide litigation that began in 2005 and eliminates the rationale for the proposed Durbin-Marshall price control bill.

The market, not politicians, should set prices.

4) The Climate Is Getting Worse - For Radical Environmentalists

We noted the other day that some 70,000 climate change activists are gathered for the annual climate change party in Brazil. But every day brings more bad news about the future of their movement.

Following up on last week's International Energy Agency prediction that fossil fuel use will increase over the next 25 years, came two new blows.  

Pennsylvania passed a budget that kills the state's entry into a regional greenhouse gas program. One environmental leader referred to the deal as "climate infamy."

And across the Atlantic, the European Parliament in Brussels took a dramatic step by slashing rules that required companies to monitor and report on their environmental practices. Over 90% of companies will be exempt from red tape that stifled growth, made trade between Europe and other nations more difficult and deindustrialized the continent.  Politico dubbed the move "Parliament's defining meltdown," because it may usher in a new governing majority in parliament dominated by conservatives.

In Brazil, the climate change party still has a few days to go but the atmosphere is looking more like a funeral.  One reporter covering the event recalled a 1970s movie about a forsaken Texas town called "The Last Picture Show" in asking "Is This The Last COP Climate Show?"

None of this prevented Shelly Whitehouse from going to Brazil and embarrass himself:

5) Bill Maher's Epic Take Down of Mamdani Socialism

Zohran Mamdani's most effective adversary as he becomes New York mayor may be comedian Bill Maher.  

After Mamdani's victory this month, Maher took off the gloves on his HBO show and brutally attacked the democratic socialist's agenda.

Democrats must recognize that Zohran Mamdani is the future of the party. Unfortunately, it's the Republican Party. Get it?

And if you missed his victory speech in last week's mayoral election in New York, don't worry, you'll see it in every attack ad for the next two years...

Thing is, socialism will f*ck you because socialism, to put it simply, just doesn't work and has never worked... We've run this experiment many times and the results are always obvious...

In 1990, Venezuela was wealthier than Poland. But then Poland, finally free of Soviet-style economics, went all in on capitalism. And now their economy is as big as Japan.

And people there have high wages, low inflation, cars, vacations, homes. Meanwhile, Venezuela traded capitalism for Hugo Chavez's socialism for the 21st century, which turned out to be like socialism in the last century or any century. A f*cking mess...

Bernie, AOC, Mamdani are not Democrats. They'll be the first to tell you that. They're Democratic Socialists. And that's a very different thing. And I don't think people know that yet. I don't think people realize we already have a lot of socialism...

You think you're going to win an election on that? This just seems like more extremism at a time when Americans are begging both parties, please, could just one of you act normal? ...

The rant went on from there until, deadpan, he told his studio audience:

"You may now clap in the traditional way."⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠

6) Great, Even More Debt Passed on to the Kids

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