Death by Taxes...

Death by Taxes...
The Democrats Are Threatening Our Economy's Livelihood
By Trish Regan

Washington, D.C. is convinced that the latest $1.9 trillion stimulus bill just wasn't enough, with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris clamoring for even trillions more in spending. These measures will most likely lead to inflation, taxes, and debt.

Now's the time that we as citizens need to hold our lawmakers accountable.

This American economy is still the world's best, and we need to preserve and protect it while we still can... for our livelihoods and those of our children.

The Dems seem content to take from anyone who's producing capital, only to redistribute said wealth – well, the term for that is socialism. And socialist policies ultimately prevent people from realizing their full economic potential...

The most vibrant opportunity is capitalism with political freedom, i.e., America at its peak. But Biden wants socialism that nearly creeps into communism – and with cancel culture amok and the Left's attempt to tear down our history, this is a dangerous place for our country to be.

On the American Consequences podcast this week, I sat down with economist and returning guest Stephen Moore, co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. Stephen is equally concerned about the country's economic health... and believes thriving states could lead the way, not Washington, D.C.

Indebted to the Democrats

Dems are flexing their political muscles right now (so much for unity) – legislatively steamrolling to demolish the GOP with seemingly no concern over what we're doing to our nation's finances.

On top of the $1.9 trillion that's already in effect, Biden and Harris now clamor for maybe $4 trillion more, which, as we've warned, will lead to raising individual, corporate, and capital gains taxes.

What's the danger of all this proposed tax legislation? The money will leave the U.S. and head to Germany, Japan, and China... Is this a meta pyramid scheme – taxing all this Fed-injected money? Will we witness any real economic growth in its wake?

According to Stephen, "This is a tax plan that puts America last."

Stephen says that instead of trillions of dollars injected by the Fed, the injection of millions of vaccines will prove the best stimulus for America's economy, expediting the reopening of our country's businesses.

At this point, America's $28 trillion national debt has eclipsed our gross domestic product. Since China owns $2 trillion of our debt, future higher interest rates and taxes will ostensibly funnel money to the Red Dragon.

Inflate-Gate

Even though Stephen is optimistic about the second half of 2021 with mass business reopenings and Americans returning to work (he anticipates 5% to 7% economic growth), he worries about 2022.

I've sounded the inflation alarm for some time. While Stephen fundamentally agrees that prices will rise, he doesn't think it'll be runaway inflation a la the '70s. But he does agree with 20th-century economics luminary Milton Friedman: "We have too many dollars chasing too few goods."

We don't have a corresponding goods and services output increase to match all this injected money. At this moment, energy and food prices are already surging. (Pay attention the next time you're at Exxon or Safeway filling up on gas or groceries.)

Listen to Stephen's lead market indicators for rising prices.

Taxation With No Representation

As we've said before, the Democrats never met a tax they didn't like.

Their considered wealth tax would hit citizens making between $400,000 and $4 billion – that's quite a range. And just as the stimulus bills gave money to many Americans who didn't need it, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's proposed wealth tax could penalize people who aren't even part of the much maligned 1%. These are well-off Americans, sure, but many own, run, or invest in small businesses, and taxing them deters job creation and growth.

As Stephen says, "Democrats love jobs but hate employers."

We need an economic system that makes the poor richer, not the rich poorer. And the real oligarchs – Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk – will find loopholes, sheltering their money in tax havens and shell companies if taxation reaches new highs.

The real casualties will be the small-business owners and the ever-dwindling middle class. And with capital gains taxes over a million, how will you incentivize entrepreneurs to invest in new companies?

The new tax on inherited wealth is up 40% with a $3.5 million threshold – the dream is to pass your business along to your children, not have your kids sell your life's work to stave off the IRS. The pulse of America is the family business and the Left's letting us bleed out economically.

According to IRS research, the wealthy pay more in taxes when the economy grows naturally... as they expand their businesses, hire more employees, and make more capital. But the Dems want to steer us into a place where we're shrinking the economy until they've reduced us to blood-lusting piranhas in a fiscal fishbowl.

The Disunited States of America

America, comprised of 50 states, represents 50 showcases in governance. And Stephen claims we should not take our cues from Capitol Hill right now, but rather on the exemplar states leading the charge. Florida, Texas, and Tennessee are thriving... with citizens free to live, work, and pay no income tax.

Meanwhile, crestfallen Californians (and their businesses) bemoan the recall-threatened Gavin Newsom. And the New York nightmare features criminal incompetence from Andrew Cuomo and his team, as people there have lost their financial livelihoods.

On the anniversary of the COVID pandemic, we still have some states that haven't fully opened their businesses and schools. The lockdowns were a failed cultural and economic experiment... They didn't reduce death rates or infection levels, and yet the Fauci progressive parade marches on (double-masked).

These dire economic warnings intertwine with the Left trampling on free speech and keeping the culture wars ablaze. They want to muzzle us right now because they don't want us to point out their wealth power-grab, hiked taxes, hemorrhaging debt, and the welfare state's expansion. And wait until their socialist agenda metastasizes into their ultimate dream: to cancel capitalism.

There's an ideological price paid for all of this, and the Left is losing America right now. It's time we find ourselves again because the direction our country's economy is going isn't sustainable.

Stephen reminded me of the classic political maxim, "A government that's big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got."