Politically, there is a lot happening in Washington D.C. and around the country, but I wanted to start the Weekly Update on a congratulatory note to Tim Andrews, Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) Senior Fellow. Tim became a first-time father on Tuesday October 6th when his wife gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. In typical Tim fashion, he managed to combine policy with the birth of his son when he texted the group on Monday, “He also keeps moving to avoid his heart monitor and they have to come in and shift it. Strong opposition to the surveillance state!” I am sure that Tim’s son will grow up to be anti-taxes and pro freedom. Again, congrats Tim, everybody at TPA is super happy for you and Helen!
Congress’ Antitrust Confusion
Before I talk about the antitrust confusion on Capitol Hill, I encourage you to watch
an interview with TPA VP of Policy Patrick Hedger about antitrust. This video is sorely needed considering the antitrust report released by the House Judiciary Committee Majority on Tuesday. The Committee’s report is 449 pages long and is basically a work of fiction. Antitrust has been a recent concern in Congress with the House and Senate holding hearings and criticizing “Big Tech.” You know, the big tech companies that during the pandemic has kept us connected, fed, and entertained. Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple have been critically important to people around the world. If implemented, the recommendations contained in the report will hamper innovation and destroy a flourishing digital economy by restricting tech companies and ultimately limiting the ability of small businesses and online consumers to conduct business. The report also highlights Congressional desires to utilize antitrust as a political weapon instead of protecting consumer welfare.
The report is in and of itself oxymoronic. It essentially accuses four companies that all compete with one another and are barely old enough to vote or buy a beer of being monopolies in a stagnant market. Of course, the evidence supports no such thing under our current understanding of antitrust because prices to consumers are continuing to fall if they aren’t already at zero. Thus, much of the report unnecessarily focuses on changing the rules of the game so Democrats can make their otherwise-doomed case and weaponize antitrust to achieve whatever policy ends they desire without actually passing legislation. For all the talk about protecting consumers, this expansive new approach to antitrust is an elaborate scam and if implemented will hurt businesses and consumers.
The Elephant (and Donkey) in the room at the Vice Presidential Debate
It was nice to see the candidates for vice president talk policy. It was also good to see that the debate was relatively civil. Vice President Mike Pence and vice-presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) sparred for ninety minutes on a wide range of topics including tax reform, healthcare policy, and the coronavirus response. But for all the ground they covered, they kept voters in the dark about a critical issue that looms large over a struggling country. Neither Pence nor Harris touched on the ballooning national debt and the dire implications for taxpayers and future generations of Americans. Voters deserve better than the same, tired tiptoeing around the fiscal issues that really matter. Pence rightly heralded the success of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in December 2017. Pence noted that the landmark legislation cut taxes for the vast majority of Americans, bolstered hiring, and increased wages and benefits for workers. Pence also pointed to the repeated, concerning statements by Team Biden that tax reform would go by the wayside under President Biden. Sen. Harris “assured” voters that the Biden administration wouldn’t raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 per year, even though eliminating the TCJA would do exactly that. The average American individual taxpayer is saving roughly $1,400 in taxes per year post TCJA and $2,900 in annual savings for a family of four.
Harris was on far firmer ground when she criticized the Trump administration for raising trade taxes (i.e. tariffs), all in the name of waging a losing trade war against the entire world. The vice-presidential hopeful could have added that tariffs on everything from washing machines to stuffed pasta to steel pipes have cost Americans roughly $57 billion per year – or more than $400 per household. But in their discussion on tax policy, the candidates failed to mention the elephant (or donkey) in the room – runaway spending. Even in the three years before the coronavirus, an elephant-controlled executive branch and Senate supported record-setting deficits while paying lip service to the idea of spending reform. Despite record prosperity, the federal government spent far beyond its means resulting in a nearly-trillion-dollar deficit for fiscal year (FY) 2019. Without spending restraints, lawmakers and the President are sending a message to taxpayers that they’ll need to pay more money to Uncle Sam down the road even if they’re getting a reprieve now.
While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle reasonably saw fit to help struggling households and businesses stay afloat via temporary relief, much of the $4 trillion deficit accrued this year went to an array of special interests, pols, and politically connected businesses. For example, the taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) wound up benefiting mammoth corporations and wealthy celebrities despite the program’s goal to support small businesses down on their luck. Taxpayers foot the bill for Robert de Niro’s chain of luxury sushi restaurants and hotels, while also having to shell out for Kanye West’s fashion company. And, at least nine lawmakers benefited from PPP loans despite clear and obvious conflicts of interest. This poorly targeted spending has resulted in the national debt skyrocketing from about $23 trillion to more than $27 trillion – more than $200,000 per household – in just over ten months. Neither candidate touched on this pressing issue. Sen. Harris failed to explain how taxpayers are supposed to pay for a Biden administration’s proposed $11 trillion in new spending over the next ten years. And, Vice President Pence failed to make the case that a second-term Trump administration would reverse course from the status quo of trillion-dollar deficits.
It’s surely time for a bipartisan convention to get the debt under control. But until then, the least the candidates could do is acknowledge the debt and champion fiscal accountability.
BLOGS:
Monday: FCC Responds to Court: Net Neutrality is Still Solution in Search of Nonexistent Problem
Tuesday: WHO Peddles More Sham Science, Coddles Chinese Communist Party
Wednesday: Watchdog Slams House Majority Antitrust Report
Thursday: Policymakers Try to Hike Tax Bills at Worst Possible Time
Friday: Top Five Reasons Not to Nationalize 5G
MEDIA:
October 5, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about a potential additional relief bill.
October 6, 2020: The
Galion Inquirer (Mt. Gilead, Ohio) ran TPA’s op-ed, “5G … at the Post Office?”
October 6, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) quoted TPA in their story, “After City Council approves renaming Columbus Day, city priorities called into question.”
October 7, 2020: I appeared on KCOL, 600 AM (Denver, Col.) to talk about Medicare for All.
October 7, 2020:
Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “Policymakers Try to Hike Tax Bills at Worst Possible Time.”
October 7, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) quoted TPA in their story, “Where is Baltimore Mayor Jack Young? 'The people want leadership.'”
October 8, 2020: I appeared on WBOB Radio (600 AM AND 101 FM Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about the vice presidential debate.
October 8, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about the Vice-Presidential debate.
October 8, 2020: Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “Pence, Harris Ignore Elephant (and Donkey) in the Room.”
Have a great weekend, stay safe, and as always, thanks for your continued support.
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
