June 23, 2021

There are discussions going on in Washington these days about eliminating the capital gains tax, and making all capital gains subject to ordinary income tax rates. I am of two minds when it comes to the capital gains tax. On the one hand, the Biden government needs to fund its infrastructure proposals. Infrastructure should not be funded by increasing the deficit. Also, the capital gains tax favors the wealthy, and contributes to income inequality. On the other hand, as a practitioner for over thirty years, I saw more bad investment decisions made because of the capital gains tax. Investors would continue to hold on to bad investments rather than pay the capital gains tax, and watch their investments go down.

I propose doing away with the capital gains tax altogether. Rather than taxing capital gains, I would subject all investment accounts to a graduated wealth tax. Investors could buy and sell as as many times as they liked without having to worry about tax consequences. IRA accounts could be done away with. At the end of the year, investors would pay a tax on the size of their accounts. The government would have a vested interest in making sure that investors prospered. Investment firms would benefit by increased trading activity. Taxpayers would benefit from much simpler schedules for filing taxes. The capital markets would benefit with a more effective and efficient allocation of capital. And society would benefit by mitigating income inequality.

Addendum:

“. Previously the city (Florence) had raised a large portion of its revenue from taxes by the estimo system, which was mainly used by those in power to inflict swingeing financial damage on their adversaries. What was estimated in the estimo was income, which meant that the landowners paid little; those with a large income did their best to conceal its full extent, and those with too small an income to conceal bore a disproportionately large burden. This had long been a cause of grievance among those who did not benefit from it – that is, the majority of the population.
It was soon realised there would be difficulty in collecting sufficient taxes to pay for the war. The only answer was to change the tax system, and a new method of taxation was now instituted: the catasto (or register of property), which was to be based on a citizen’s entire wealth, rather than merely on his income. This wealth would be declared in a public register, which would list all possessions, as well as income from these possessions and from any other source;

Excerpt From
The Medici
Paul Strathern

June 21, 2021

Per Wikipedia, “latte liberal” is pejorative political term used to illustrate hypocritical behavior by liberals of upper class status; for example, calling for the use of mass transit while frequently using privately owned luxury transportation, especially by limousines or private jets in the case of the extremely affluent, claiming environmental consciousness but driving fuel inefficient sports cars or SUVs, or ostensibly supporting public education while actually sending their children to private schools. I don’t think I qualify. I am not a latte drinker. I drink espresso as my grandfather taught me, which, I guess, makes me an espresso liberal. This begs the question, “What is an espresso liberal.”

An espresso liberal will drive a Suburu and/or some kind of hybrid or all-electric vehicle. He will take the train and/or subway when visiting New York. He hopes that there will be train transportation to Boston some day. He will not drive a pick up truck unless he is a tradesman or has some other practical use for the flatbed. Having an oversized truck to show off his gun rack does not qualify. An espresso liberal will send his child to public school because private schools are overpriced, and do not reflect real life. Public schools are more competitive, and less nurturing. An espresso liberal supports efforts to remedy income inequality even though it may not be in his own financial best interest. An espresso liberal likes his coffee strong, not diluted.

June 17, 2021

A recent op-ed piece in the Financial Times stated “Biden politely reads the riot act to Putin.” I presume that means that Biden told Putin what we know, what we expect in the future, and what the consequences would be if we are disappointed. Only the future can tell us if this summit was successful. Sadly, Putin was also able to read the riot act to Biden. In a classic case of what about-ism, Putin constantly responded to questions from reporters by citing the insurrection of January 6th. Because Republicans have refused to condemn the insurrectionists in no uncertain terms as well as the “big lie,” Putin was able to claim that the United States was the one suppressing free speech and jailing dissidents. Donald Trump chose Putin over his own intelligence services at the infamous Helsinki press conference. Now Republicans are making Putin’s case for him. Someone should read them the riot act.

June 16, 2021

After four years of an assault on our democracy culminating in an actual assault on our government, Democrats want to move on. They are tired, and want to deal with issues other than the Tweet of the day. However, the Republican Party won’t let the last election go. Democrats feel like they have stepped in quicksand, and are slowly being sucked into the insanity that passes for the Republican Party. Democrats are committed, and Republicans should be. The GOP stands for nothing other than election audits, election “reform,” and trying to cover up what happened on January 6th. January 6th is the one thing they definitely want to move on from.

We need to move on, and there in lies the danger. If Democrats move on, they cede the next election to Republican shenanigans. If Republicans win back the House and Senate with the help of corrupt state government officials and bogus election laws, the will of the majority will be suppressed and we will no longer have representative government. Democrats want to deal with infrastructure, climate change, income inequality and more, but they cannot afford to ignore what Republicans are doing at the state level. Republicans have no interest in moving on, and addressing the needs of the American people. Democrats want to move ahead, something Republicans have no head for.

June 11, 2021

There is some crazy stuff going on out there. Tom Brady’s something or other gets sold for over $3MM. NFT’s, whatever they are, are going for millions. Bitcoin millionaires abound. Billionaires are going to the moon while not paying any taxes. Corporations continue to book billions in profits in off-shore locations. The net worth of the richest amongst us went up substantially during the pandemic while everyone else’s income languished. At the same time, Republicans in Congress refuse to ask those who can afford it to pay for a reasonable infrastructure plan, which is sorely needed. Infrastructure week is really infrastructure weak. The new oligarchy complains that people don’t want to work. The people don’t want to eat the crumbs left by the swells. They want to eat cake, yet the wealthy won’t even let them eat cake. Unless there is a realization that something needs to be done, we will continue to be heading in the wrong direction.

June 5, 2021

Republicans have been very effective at smearing Democrats with claims that Democrats want to defund the police and put us on the road to Socialism. As Karl Marx famously said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” but I fail to see how the road the Republicans are taking is anything but destructive. They know their claims are based on anecdotal evidence at best and are patently false at worse. The question becomes how do the Democrats fight back.

Fortunately, Democrats don’t have to make up fake arguments. All they have to do is attack Republicans with the truth. Republicans may not want to defund the police, but they certainly don’t want to defend the police either. They rejected the January 6th commission, which would have looked into how an insurrectionist mob attacked police, which lead to the death of at least one police officer. Capitol police are devastated that Republican politicians won’t defend them. A Democratic slogan could be “Don’t defund the police, defend the police.”

Most people have no idea what socialism really is, but I do think most people know what authoritarianism is. Merriam-Webster defines it as “relating to, or favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people.” Synonyms like despotism and dictatorship come to mind. Trump attempted an authoritarian takeover of the Presidency. Trump and his Republicans are running roughshod over the Constitution in almost every state in the country as they try to rollback access to the ballot box. Rather than expanding voter participation, they seek to limit it under the guise of the “big lie.” They have no intention of being responsible to the people, who did not vote for them. The Democratic slogan could be “All votes matter.”

Sadly, the Republican Party has become the anti-party, the party of antipathy.

June 3, 2021

Racism doesn’t exist anymore according to the Supreme Court when it ruled to essentially overturn the Voting Rights Acts of 1965. People today object to critical race theory because it has the potential of pitting white students against black students when no problem exists. One line of reasoning goes that children today don’t see color so why are we making such a big deal of it. Tim Scott, a black Republican Senator from South Carolina, said we are not a racist country, and Vice President Kamala Harris echoed those sentiments. Problem solved. How many times have we said or heard someone say, “I am not a racist.”

To be clear, I believe that most people are not racist, but I do believe there is a difference between being actively racist and passively racist. How does one be a passive racist? You vote for someone, who will do the dirty work for you. You vote for someone who will denigrate Muslims, attack Congressional women of color, accuse a sitting black President of being unAmerican, and encourage the disenfranchisement of millions of black voters. You vote for someone who throws paper towels at Puerto Ricans, separates migrant families at the border, and refers to African nations as sh@#hole countries. You vote for someone who discriminated against blacks in equal housing, and said there are good people on both sides. You vote for someone, who encouraged insurrectionists holding Confederate flags to storm the Capitol building. You continue to support that person and would probably vote for him again if he were to run. Fortunately, voting for someone doesn’t make you an active racist.

May 30, 2021

Like many Americans, I have received my vaccinations, and am ready to move on with life. It will be nice to get back to the place where normalcy seems normal. I am still a little suspicious and wary of those who choose not get vaccinated, but no investigation is needed. President Biden has authorized an investigation into the origins of the Coronavirus. Did it come from a Chinese wet market or did it come from a Wuhan lab? Was it human error or was it malicious. Was there a cover up? I guess we need to know, but the answers will not change my life. It will help, however, in dealing with China and future pandemics. Clearly, a lot of people are not ready to move on until we get answers, which is the appropriate public policy.

However, many of the same people who are not ready to move on from the Coronavirus are more than willing to move on from January 6th. The Senate refused to take up the matter even though six Republican Senators sided with the Democratic insurrectionists. In the Republicans’ defense, we already know what happened, and who is responsible much as we already knew what happened to get Donald Trump impeached twice. We don’t need an investigation. In the two impeachment cases, all we learned was that Republicans were more than willing to throw the truth under the bus. Regarding the attack on the Capitol, the issue is not that Republicans don’t want to know what happened. They already know what happened. With their acquiescence, Donald Trump fomented the “Big Lie” about a stolen election, and then ginned up his white terrorist base to attack the Capitol. That’s what an investigation is going to tell us. I am ready to move on once Republicans admit the truth.

May 23, 2021

“Life is old there, older than the trees.” As part of his “Make America Great Again” campaign, Donald Trump said he was going to bring the coal industry back to West Virginia. West Virginians bought the story, and voted for him in overwhelming numbers. Now they are voting with their feet, and leaving the state in droves. It has lost 3.2% of its population since the last census the biggest out migration of any state in the country, and a Congressional seat. It has lost 59% of its mining jobs since 2009, and its teachers are some of the worst paid anywhere. West Virginia needs help.

Yet, with only 1.8 million residents, about twice the size of western Massachusetts, it has two Senators, and the ability to block Congressional action that a majority of Americans want. In a 50-50 Senate, Democrats are getting frustrated trying to figure out what Joe Manchin wants. He wants to get re-elected like every other politician so Democratic priorities may have to get pared back or shelved altogether.

To make the electoral map more representative, we don’t need a Virginia and a West Virginia. We certainly don’t need a North and South Dakota. I would be open to one Carolina. On the other hand, North and South New York, Florida, and California would make sense given the size of their populations. I am not sure I could stand two Texas’. West Virginia, like many states, has an outsized influence on American politics. Progressive policies might hurt them in the short run, but could be a major benefit in the long run. In the meantime, the last one out the door needs to turn off the lights to save energy.

May 24, 2021

While rank and file Republicans spend time agonizing over the faux cancellation of Dr. Seuss, other Republicans think it is okay to stoke anti-semitism. As a general rule, you should never compare anyone to Hitler and any activity to the Holocaust. It is ignorant and counterproductive. However, I think it is okay to compare someone to the most heinous individuals from America’s past. Marjorie Taylor Greene can now take her place next to George Wallace and Joseph McCarthy as she travels the country with alleged sex trafficker Matt Gaetz, and compares wearing a mask to a mass extermination. Republican friends are rightly disgusted by this kind of rhetoric. .

Richard Nixon made the “silent majority” a campaign slogan. Today, Congressional Republicans are the “silent minority” as they sit by watching MTG egg on Democrats in Congress. Conservative pundit George Will calls Congressional Republicans cowards. For anyone who thinks that MTG is just “owning the libs,” ask yourself at what point is it just too much. For most of us, that line was crossed a long time ago.

The incredible insensitivity of using this kind of language as we have outbreaks of anti-Semitism around the country is breathtaking. Donald Trump gave license to this kind of language, and his followers have learned their lessons well. 53% of Republicans still think that Trump is the rightful President. If you still believe this and ascribe to MTG’s hateful comments, you may want to consider putting on a mask.