Make no mistake... a “Debt Jubilee” is coming. Click here to read an American Consequences feature contributor’s take on how to protect yourself from this terrifying “solution.”
Tax cuts? Not so fast...
Last month the Republican-led House of Representatives released more details of its proposed tax plan, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. On the surface, at least, the plan seems like a net positive for individuals and businesses alike. But the bill also appears to include a hidden tax increase on the middle class ... It includes a change to how income thresholds are adjusted for inflation. Under today’s tax code, inflation is indexed via the consumer price index (“CPI”). Now, CPI is a poor measure of real inflation. It only tracks the prices of a specific basket of goods and services. It ignores the prices of assets like housing, stocks, bonds, etc. This is how the Federal Reserve and other central banks can print trillions of dollars of new money, while consumer prices remain relatively subdued. There has been inflation... It simply hasn’t (yet) flowed into the areas that the CPI is tracking. Still, as bad a measure as the CPI is, the new measure – “chained CPI” – is even worse . It measures the same specific basket of goods and services. Then it adjusts for what the government calls “substitution bias,” which assumes consumers will switch to cheaper alternatives when prices surge higher. It’s a bizarre and deceitful argument that only a politician or government economist could make. And if included in this new tax plan, it would likely amount to a stealth tax increase in coming years as real prices rise faster than income thresholds are raised. What could go wrong?
Is the U.S. on the verge of war?
Speaking at a national-security summit in Washington, D.C. last month, Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo said he is “deeply worried” that North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are growing quickly... and warned that the country could be just “months away” from reaching targets in the U.S. “We ought to behave as if we are on the cusp of them achieving that objective,” he said. “They are so far along in that, it’s now a matter of thinking about how do you stop the final step.” Later that day, U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster echoed that sentiment, and went even further. “We’re not out of time but we’re running out of time,” he said. “Accept and deter is unacceptable.” This is a big deal. We now have two of the most senior U.S. security officials in public agreement that North Korea must be stopped... and soon. We certainly hope we’re wrong – but it sure looks to us as if the government is laying the groundwork for war. And with President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un trading insults, it may only be a matter of time. If you’d like to read more... we published “ North Korea’s Inevitable Nuclear Threat Is Here ” in our August issue.
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