The Bipartisan Plan to Kill the Economy

Senators Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have teamed up to destroy the American economy. Under their plan, the cap on the payroll tax would end. Right now, all earnings up to $184,500 are taxed for purposes of Social Security and Medicaid.

Moreno and Warren want to get rid of that $184,500 cap.

Anyone self-employed already knows the burden of taxation to fund our social welfare state. If Moreno and Warren are successful, the effective maximum federal tax rate would exceed the highest tax rate since Kennedy was President. Combined with state taxes, some Americans would pay a tax rate of over 65%.

Remember too that you alone do not pay the full tax rate. Businesses split it with you. This is why the self-employed are under a significant tax burden. Since they are both the employer and the employee, the self-employed pay the full rate. Independent contractors would be financially ruined.

Even Bernie Sanders has thought this was a bad idea. So too did Hillary Clinton. Both wanted to raise the cap, but neither wanted to get rid of it.

Moreno, a candidate backed by then U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, has always been left of center on economics. But it is appalling to see just how left-wing he is on this stuff. The country certainly needs entitlement reform, and one of the easiest fixes is just to raise the retirement age and phase out of the program those under forty who could shift into a private system like President Bush long favored.

Small businesses make up over 95% of the businesses in Moreno’s Ohio, and he’d overwhelm them with an increased tax burden. But everyone nationally would be affected.

This is a terrible idea.

As Everett Dirksen said, occasionally the stupid party and the evil party get together in Washington and do something that is both stupid and evil, and the press heralds it as a bipartisan accomplishment. Let’s hope this idea dies.

On A Personal Note

This is not a pity party. I’m doing fine. But you really need to see it.

People can get fabulously wealthy these days by telling lies to those who want to be lied to. You can make a decent living telling the truth to people who want the truth told to them. You’ll go broke telling the truth to people who want to be lied to.

Over the past week, though many of you have disagreed, I have told you the truth about the Iran deal, much of which is only fully coming to light this week. Below is what happened in the past week to the paid subscribers:

Again, this is not me begging for help, but if you want to subscribe, click below.

One of the ironies of this is that as those online might not like the truth, my radio audience keeps growing with strong ratings and audience numbers. The online and offline worlds are different.

The point of this is to point out to you that on a near-daily basis, in the comments, I get attacked for saying nice things about Trump and for saying critical things about Trump. I get attacked for being a partisan Republican. I get attacked for not being sufficiently MAGA. I get attacked for having supported the President. I get attacked for being a founding member of Never Trump.

Through it all, I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not going to try to tickle your ears. I’m not going to try to tell you what I think you want to hear. I’m going to do my best to tell you the truth and tell you honestly what I think about it. Your mileage may vary, but I’m not going to lie to you to make you feel better or affirm you.

You can cancel your subscription. It’s a free country. There are plenty of people who want to believe the lies and plenty who do, from the stolen election nonsense to the Trump is a dictator nonsense.

Both sides have taken to motivating their base through rage generated through manufactured and curated lies. Republicans and Democrats both do it. Right now, Republicans want you to believe if they cannot pass the SAVE America Act, the GOP will never win again. Democrats want you to believe if Republicans are not defeated, our democracy is at an end.

The parties prey on the vulnerable, the emotional, and the uninformed partisans among us.

I was once a rabid partisan who really believed every election was the last election if my side didn’t win. Then the country kept on going, and I realized not only was I wrong, but I didn’t want to contribute to that mindset anymore.

So feel free to disagree, but please do so agreeably. And cancel your own damn subscription if you don’t like me telling you the truth. I don’t always get it right, but I do my best and correct myself when I’m wrong.

But, also, I’m right on how bad the Iran deal is.