The “Gifted,” the “Rich,” the “Clueless,” and the “(Un)trustworthy.”
Friday News Roundup – 26 April 2024
This Week’s News
As of April 24th, here’s how much each candidate is worth (to gamblers/investors):
Biden 54 cents (+2)
Trump 43 cents (-3)
It’s important to keep the popular vote in perspective given that the election is determined by the Electoral College (see my article on it here). Polls showing the predicted outcome do not change much, if at all, on a week-to-week basis but I’m going to keep posting it here anyway:
Tax the Rich! (Canadian edition)
In Canada the recent Liberal budget measure aimed at raising taxes on capital gains in excess of $250,000 ($181,000 USD) is advertised as only affecting “0.13% of the population.” However, recent headlines raise concerns that this may just be Liberal spin and that it won’t just be “the rich” who see their taxes increase. The initial concern came from those owning cottages, which are not primary residencies and so could face higher taxes if sold. More recently concerns have been raised by the Canadian Medical Association which argues that doctors’ retirement savings will be affected as many “incorporate their medical practices and invest for retirement inside their corporations.” As the Trudeau government increases spending, he is “asking the most successful in this country to do a little bit more." Given the recent budget announcement a more accurate statement would be that he and the Liberals are asking the “most successful” to bankroll their attempts to bribe the electorate with “free” stuff.
Tax the Rich! (American edition)
Given the “unforeseen” impact that new capital gains taxes are having in Canada it seems only wise to give it a shot in the US. The Biden 2025 budget proposal includes a proposal that would see “the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends” increase to a maximum of 44.6%, “the highest capital gains tax since its creation in 1922.” Given the complexity of the US Tax Code (6,871 pages) and the budget proposal (256 pages) it’s a little difficult for someone who isn’t a professional accountant to access. However, given the spending habits of the government and it’s history of going after “the rich” and somehow penalizing everyone (see US Alternative Minimum Tax), I’m inclined to suspect that this will end up impacting far more people than the stated target (those with investment income above the $400,000).
How do you know when you’re wrong? Well, if both sides of the political divide think you’re a problem, maybe you should think about what you’re doing. As the “student protests taking place on college campuses across the country in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict” continued, Noah Rothman (Leans Right bias) sees the protestors as tools “of the already powerful, whose primary goal is the acquisition of even more power,” while The Atlantic (Left bias) argues that the students lack perspective and have “allowed the intoxicating language of liberation to blind them to an ugliness encoded within that struggle.” Imagine what they could accomplish were they this concerned about their own country’s problems (homelessness, drugs, poverty, etc.)? Additional evidence that these affluent and “elite” students have lost perspective include:
A recent Gallup poll shows that only 2% of American’s view the Israeli/Hamas conflict as “the most important problem facing the country today.” Other citizens appear to prioritize the economy (30%), immigration (28%), and poor government leadership (19%).
The daughter of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Isra Hirsi, claims to be homeless after being suspended from Columbia University for refusing to comply with NYPD orders to vacate the South Lawn of Columbia University’s Morningside Heights Campus. One would think that someone capable of affording the $90K-per-year tuition could rely on her multi-millionaire parents for a little assistance.
What I’m Reading
“Matt, I have been lonely for as long as I can remember” – Matthew Archer, Editor-in-Chief of Aporia, reminds us that even the “gifted” have problems and that by neglecting these children “many western countries have perpetrated one of the greatest acts of self-sabotage imaginable.”
Just 3% of Journalists Identify as Republican – As the US media becomes primarily a left-wing industry favoring a left leaning bias, the percentage of American with “a great deal of trust” in the institution has plummeted to 7%.
This should come as no surprise given the recent stories surrounding the suspension and resignation of NPR editor Uri Berliner following his criticism of the outlet for liberal bias. Ridiculing NPR’s ultra-woke CEO, Katherine Maher, has become something of a trend recently:
‘What is honoured in a country will be cultivated there’ – perhaps the billionaires amongst us should look to “the de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic Lorenzo de' Medici” for inspiration and become patrons of society’s geniuses. It might enable them to focus on their talents and the betterment of society rather than forcing them to wallow in universities where they beg for funding and teach students who would rather be anywhere else. Or maybe society could create a “genius basic income.”
My Podcast Recommendation(s) of the Week
After a week away from politics my recommendation returns to the subject although from more of a philosophical standpoint than a practical one.
Conversations with Tyler – Peter Thiel on Political Theology
Peter Thiel is “is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist.” He was the first outside investor in Facebook and a “co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund.” He is a self-described conservative libertarian.
In this conversation Tyler and Peter touch on Calvinism, the Old Testament, millenarian thought, and “why everyone just muddling through leads to disaster,” and more.