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Unleash Prosperity Hotline Issue #1511
05/12/2026
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1) Why Aren't States Suspending Their Gas Taxes?

With gas near $4.50 a gallon, President Trump is right to call for a TEMPORARY suspension of the gas tax as a short-term affordability tax cut for more than 100 million drivers and truckers. He proposes doing this until gas prices go down, then he would phase the tax back in.
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Trump's plan may need Congressional approval, so let's see how those "affordability" Democrats vote on this one. The current federal gas tax is 18.4 cents a gallon and the federal diesel tax is 24.3 cents. This would save drivers about $3 per fill-up.

An even better idea is for states with high gas taxes to slash or temporarily suspend their add-on gas taxes.

You will never guess, by the way, which state has the nation's highest gas tax.

California at over 70 cents a gallon is way on top of the list, which partially explains why gas prices in L.A. and San Francisco are well above $6 a gallon at the pump.

Here are the 13 states that charge 40 cents or more tax per gallon. Most are deep blue states.
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Indiana and Georgia have suspended their gas taxes in full and Utah has implemented a temporary cut in recent weeks. What are the other states waiting for?
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2) Democrats in Virginia May Go Nuclear on Redistricting

We freely stipulate that both parties are guilty of aggravated and repeated gerrymandering.

But Democrats in Virginia are so seething in rage over losing their partisan map in the Virginia Supreme Court that they are contemplating a backdoor plan to remove members of the state Supreme Court and replace them with more partisan liberals. It's a plan reminiscent of FDR's infamous Supreme Court packing scheme (that failed) back in the 1930s.

The New York Times reported the story and calls it an “audacious plan to restore a congressional map voided by the court."

Under the convoluted plan, the Democratic legislature in Richmond would vote to retroactively lower the mandatory retirement age for state judges from 75 to 54, and then remove justices on the Supreme Court over that age. Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger would then presumably appoint new justices, and petition the court to reconsider the constitutionality of the gerrymander referendum.
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Democratic consultant Dan Turrentine, a former chief of staff to now-Governor Jared Polis of Colorado, calls the idea "banana republic-ish."

We think this is both diabolical and far-fetched, but it shows how desperate the Left is to regain power in Washington through hook or crook.

(By the way, we are strongly in favor of a 75 year mandatory retirement age for all lifetime appointed judges, but not retroactively for the sole purpose of gaining partisan advantage.)
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3) Our Favorite New York Times Editorial of All Time

House Democrats introduced a $25 an hour minimum wage bill ([link removed]) earlier this month. Maybe they should read this famous New York Times editorial which ran on January 14, 1987. It's just as correct now as it was nearly 40 years ago.
An article, "New taxes helped cool London's housing market. Could that happen in New York?"

Here’s the editorial’s key insight:

Edward Kennedy, the new chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, is being pressed by organized labor to battle for an increase... But there's a virtual consensus among economists that the minimum wage is an idea whose time has passed. Raising the minimum wage by a substantial amount would price working poor people out of the job market.

The Times has since disassociated itself from that editorial. They say their economic thinking on the issue has since then "evolved." We'd say it has devolved. The inviolable rules of economics aren't changed over time.
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4) Yass Makes the Case for NYC School Choice

Jeff Yass explains in today's WSJ:

The Cost: New York City spends roughly $37 billion a year to educate about 850,000 children.

The Math: That's over $42,000 per child, per year.

The Results: Abysmal. Two-thirds of fourth graders can't do math problems properly, and almost three-quarters can't read at grade level. You don't have to be an expert in fractions to know that is bad.

Let's agree that the political reality is we can't reduce the amount of public education spending at all. Fine. What can we do?

Direct Vouchers: Tell every mom in New York City that the $42,000 currently spent on that terrible education is going to be her money.

The Split: We are going to give her half--$21,000. Every year, she will receive that as a voucher for her child to attend whatever school she chooses.

The Investment: We are going to take the other $21,000 and put it in a real account, for which her child is the sole beneficiary. If it returns a paltry 2% over the next 13 years, that child will graduate high school with $300,000--enough for college, trade school or a down payment on a home. Give $300,000 to a graduate who can read, write and do math, and adios, affordability crisis. No more need for $30 million government grocery stores, free buses or rent control. This solution is such an obvious win that I'm confident Mr. Mamdani, once he hears this, will agree and change the policy.
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5) 90% of Fed Reserve Board Employee Political Donations Go to Dems

The Federal Reserve Board has some 20,000 employees including at least 300 PhD economists. We've argued for a long time that they could do without at least two-thirds of these economic advisors and simply follow commodity prices to gauge inflation and set interest rates.

We've also suspected a leftward tilt inside the Fed's temple and now we have more evidence from the Washington Free Beacon:
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Most don’t donate at all, but it tells you a lot about the political culture at the Fed that 90% of the checks written are to Dems. The author of the analysis, Ira Stoll, tells us that this included hundreds of contributions.

Another reason Incoming Fed chairman Kevin Warsh may want to clean house when he gets over to the new glitzy $2 billion Taj Mahal on Constitution Avenue.
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6) The Democrats' Only Strategy and They're Sticking with It
The democrat donkey talking to uncle Sam. Uncle Same, "Why should I vote for you?" Donkey, "I'm not Trump." Uncle Same, "Ok, but what are you for?" Donkey, "I'm not Trump." Uncle Sam, "I know what you aren't! Tell me what you are!!!" Donkey, "I'm not Trump." Uncle Sam, "Forget it! I'll wait for '28!!!" Donkey, "I won't be Trump them, either."

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