The Tax Heist You Never Heard About

Did you hear about the mayoral candidate (of New York) who wants to "defund the police"?

He just had his car stolen... by kids between the ages of 6 and 12.

That's ironic.

But it hasn't swayed his thoughts.

"There's no amount of officers," the wannabe mayor said, "that could have stopped this from happening."

He won't press charges. It's not the kids' fault, he claims.

The system is broken.

He's not wrong.

Another Kind of Felon

Turning back to our real beat (making money), we need to make it clear that we bring up this heinous situation because it's not just felonious preteens who will steal from you in broad daylight... while you're just steps away.

Full-grown adults will do it too.

And not only will they not get charged with a crime... they'll get a pension for life.

Late last week, Janet Yellen said something stunning.

It reflects just how damaged the American psyche is these days... just how far we've strayed from our roots.

From the headline writers at CNBC...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged congressional leaders on Thursday to step up spending, saying that the government is operating on a budget that is more than a decade behind the times. In remarks to a House panel that will have large sway over spending, Yellen said that inflation-adjusted spending has remained stagnant for 11 years.

It's a perverse acknowledgement of a mindset that has been quietly flying under the radar - that it's the duty of the federal government to spend more and more money.

Not only do the feds lack a yearning to spend less of our money... they now act as if they have a mandate to spend more of it.

And the president is obliging them.

He got on Yellen's shoulders and used his new budget proposal to toss fistfuls of freshly printed bills in the air.

Just a day after Yellen begged for more, Biden went to press with a massive $6 trillion budget draft that would take the nation to its highest spending levels since World War II.

There's money in it to fund everything from rural Wi-Fi and pre-K to electric vehicle charging stations and government-funded paid leave programs... you know, all the things our forefathers picked up their rifles for.

But it's not the spending that has us worried. It's the paying for it that brings us back to those felons at the top.

Tax Magic

If last week's proposal comes to light, by 2028, Washington will be collecting more tax revenue as a share of the overall economy than at nearly any other time in history - more than 20%.

That's not good. But the heist doesn't end there. The "carjacking" continues.

Tucked within the proposal is the oh-so-cool assumption that the president's proposed capital-gains tax rate increase took effect back in April.

In other words... it would be a retroactive tax hike.

It's a sneaky move that keeps folks from moving money around in anticipation of a tax hike.

From The Wall Street Journal...

The administration has generally been trying to avoid imposing retroactive tax increases, and many of its proposals would take effect in 2022. But capital gains are different, because the rate increase is so significant, and because taxpayers have so much control over when they report income.

The mayoral candidate from Atlanta was right. Don't arrest the kids.

We've got bigger crooks to worry about. Washington plans to take your money in broad daylight.

For investors, the ramifications are huge.

More on the effects of all this - and what to do about them - later this week...

Be well,

Andy