Biden’s distortion of reality is hurting America. We should be encouraging and incenting work, not scapegoating.
March 31, 2023
Biden Economics Hurt
With the Biden caused inflation and his policies that discourage work and negatively impact business growth we see real incomes still far behind pre-Biden.
https://twitter.com/moxlosllc/status/1641895243669708800?s=46&t=Y4fVsDnz2q8uZ3VNKeco4A
March 26, 2023
Biden’s Fib Gets Bigger
I previously posted (1) that Biden‘s Inflation Reduction Act was a big lie and that it will not reduce inflation, it will hurt the economy, and it will not even help the climate.
I was wrong.
A recent analysis by Goldman Sachs (2) says that the Inflation Reduction Act will actually cost $800,000,000,000, that is 800 billion, more than Biden said it would.
(2) https://www.wsj.com/articles/inflation-reduction-act-subsidies-cost-goldman-sachs-report-5623cd29
March 25, 2023
NPR a Woke religion fanatic
On Friday National Public Radio, NPR, tweeted an article supporting the crazy position that it is unfair to stop transwomen (males) from competing against females in sports claiming “limited scientific evidence of physical advantage.”
It is amazing how much the Woke Religion has permeated society and, with Biden’s support, is attempting to indoctrinate this country.
March 24, 2023
March 20, 2023
Crony Capitalism
Despite what Biden tells you this is not good. It changes the rules for the people that manage the investment for millions of people, including many non-sophisticated, low net-worth individuals.
Now, instead of being required to maximize the expected, risk adjusted financial returns, money managers will be allowed to gain Government favor by backing whatever crazy ideas, regardless of the economic value, activists can get Biden to support.
This includes wasting trillions of dollars of investment today to save a much smaller amount in the future.
Fair Share - Household Income/Taxes Update
Question: if somebody works a little harder, longer or smarter, or becomes more productive or even get's a little luckier and makes another dollar what is the most the government should be able to take?
When I ask this question of people across socioeconomic levels I find wide agreement that something like 25-33% sounds fair.
Now, when you combine state and local taxes and the higher taxes being proposed by the Biden Administration, you see that individuals will be taxed much more than 50%. How much higher should tax rates be, to be fair?
I happen to think that if somebody works a little harder, longer or smarter, or becomes more productive or even get's a little luckier and makes another dollar that it is UNFAIR for government to take more than half.
I also think it is intellectually dishonest and hurting our country when the President claims that people are not paying their fair share. Biden distorts the truth by confusing and conflating income and wealth. He greatly distorts his version of tax rates by taking only capital gains rates, which ignores the explicit effect of corporate tax rates on income generated by investment, and then he counts the increase of wealth of individuals ownership interest in companies, even though this wealth hasn't been recognized and may not even be keeping pace with inflation.
Based on the most recent CBO Report on Household Income, 2019 released November 2022, It's clear that the rich are paying a disproportionate share of the taxes and that there is a progressive tax rate.
I also think that it is crazy that government safety nets actually disincentivize the lower quintiles from trying to make more by actually implicitly taxing increased earning at 100% as benefits are lost as income rises.
Biden Harris Scare Me
This is actually very scary. Equal outcomes for everybody is impossible without constraining everyone to the lowest level.
Our country became the greatest country in the world because of the freedom for anybody to get ahead based on their work, skill and sometimes luck.
March 17, 2023
Ignoring the science
The Biden Administration is IGNORING the science and actively supporting the encouraging of permanent, life altering treatment of children who are incapable of understanding what they are doing.
Instead of limiting puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and surgeries to the minuscule percent of children that have actual biological issues, they are promoting irreversible treatments of the large number of children that may feel pressure or confusion over gender issues as they develop. (1)
This is in direct conflict with the science as demonstrated by Norway, Sweden, UK and Finland severely limited transitioning of children because they have found that it is not supported by scientific data and where counseling is advised for children until they are adults. (2)
How does this help?
NY will lower its standards instead of fixing its schools (teachers union).
How does this help America or the students.
March 16, 2023
Woke - Critical Justice Theory
Meritocracy - Equal Opportunity - advances society through objective truth independent of status, identity or demographics
Woke - Equal Outcome - divides society through subjective truth dependent on marginalization of self-identified victims
March 14, 2023
Inflation-not so transitory
Latest inflation data based on Consumer Price Index shows that inflation continues to run much higher than it did under Biden's predecessors.
March 13, 2023
Bailout not needed + not fair
We do not need to, nor should we, bail out Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) depositors because this is primarily protecting “smart“ sophisticated, venture capital investors.
To prevent contagion, it would makes sense for the FED to announce that GOING FORWARD they will increase the protection for deposits at OTHER BANKS while at the same time they revisit their reserve requirements.
The SVB bailout is estimated to cost $15 billion when all is said and done.
Biden says, “no losses will be borne by the taxpayers, the money will come from the fees that banks pay into the Deposit Insurance Fund.”
This is a lie. Who does Biden think will be paying these extra cost of all of the other banks?
SVB and it’s venture capital partners have publicly and financially supported Biden’s ESG and DEI initiatives then lobbied for looser risk limits claiming they did not present a systemic risk.
They used these less stringent requirements to invest in longer term securities paying higher interest rates.
The used these higher interest rates to offer higher returns to customers attracting unusually large cash deposits from venture capital backed early stage companies
Deposits are always short term, meaning customers can ask for their money at any time.
It is very common knowledge even among those with little financial knowledge, but especially among some of the “smartest“ people in the world managing venture capital, that borrowing short term (deposits) and investing in long-term creates a serious potential risk.
It happened. Interest rates increased, reducing the value of their longer-term investments, while at the same time funding for start ups dried up.
The bail out will primarily go to rich sophisticated venture capitalists.
A much smaller amount of the bail out will go to regular companies that may be caught in a bad situation.
This is a situation where the regulators/supervisors failed to regulate/supervise or even pay attention and the “smart” people managing venture capital funds took advantage of a situation and now we will all be asked to bail them out.
And for those who have heard it is all Trump’s fault, understand that even if the threshold for regulation had not been changed, the 2022 Fed’s stress test requirements only required a 2% interest rate which would not have affected Silicon Valley Bank.
And, for anybody interested, there’s a simple way for a bank to operate in a totally risk free way: Narrow Bank. The regulators just won’t let that happen. (1)
Biden ignores science
The Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board (UKOM) has ruled that national guidelines on the use of puberty blockers and gender-reassignment surgeries need to be revised to reflect the lack of sufficient medical evidence supporting such procedures. (1)
This brings Norway in line with Sweden, UK and Finland, three countries that have severely limited transitioning of children because they have found that it is not supported by scientific data.
In the meantime Biden continues to promulgate his crazy policy to increase children’s access to life altering treatments that the child has no ability to understand. (2)
March 9, 2023
Woke hurting America
The Woke Religion has 3 core beliefs that are tearing this country apart:
- Words are violence
- Truth is subjective
- Fragility over resilience
This promulgates self-identity, fragility, and victimhood
Recent article by Jon Haidt and the currently ongoing podcast “The Witch Trials of JK Rowling” are a window into what is underlying the trend where reasonable people are being attacked and cancelled for sharing views based on facts and logic.
In part based on what was originally labeled the “snowflake” culture, where everyone was encouraged to be able to identify as a unique non-normative self (snowflake - each being unique) and then guards that identity in a very, very sensitive way and reacts in an enraged way when anyone does not respect the uniqueness of their identity.
https://jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/mental-health-liberal-girls
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-witch-trials-of-j-k-rowling/id1671691064
https://x.com/moxlosllc/status/1707004649721528545?s=46&t=Y4fVsDnz2q8uZ3VNKeco4A
March 8, 2023
WTF? Really? Best he could find?
Biden awards the Internatioal Woman of Courage to a biological man presenting himself as a woman. Really? That’s the best he could find? Without much effort I easily found 9 real women of courage and I’m sure there’s many more. Ukraine? Afghanistan?
March 2, 2023
Follow what Science?
Johns Hopkins University professor Dr. Marty Makary discusses information that was propagated by government and main stream media officials as “known” science when in fact there were significant questions at the time and are now known to not be correct.
- Covid was spread through surface transmission;
- vaccinated immunity was far greater than natural immunity;
- masks were effective;
- myocarditis was more common after the infection than [after] the vaccine. (it is 4-28 times more common after the vaccine.)
- young people benefit from a booster; and,
- vaccine mandates would increase vaccination rates.
March 1, 2023
Biden’s CHIPS Act Suboptimal
The CHIPS Act has been hijacked by the Biden Administration and is suboptimal because it adds significant costs to the manufacturing of computer chips. If manufacturing computer chips in the United States is strategically important, why would you make it more expensive?
On Tuesday, February 28, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo rolled out the new rules for chip makers daying: “If Congress wasn’t going to do what they should have done, we’re going to do it in implementation.”
What has she added:
- Mandated daycare
- Davis Bacon pay regulations
- Buy American
- Consult, engage, coordinate with unions
- NEPA compliance
- Source materials from small, minority, and women owned business
- Companies share with the U.S. portion of returns above projections
- No buying back stock for five years
https://twitter.com/modeledbehavior/status/1630621044921843725?s=46&t=5GC4GDmUOFbaBEOSPYmWoA
Biden wrong on Student debt foregiveness
If you think that the below language, extracted from the 2003 heroes act to show the relevant parts in question, was meant to allow the Secretary of Education to do whatever they want to whomever they want when there is a national emergency, then you should support the Biden Administration position.
Note, this means the Secretary of Education could even decide to give away trillions of dollars to any group they want.
However, if you think the below language limits the Secretary of Education from giving $500 billion to a group where many individuals have good jobs (up to $125,000/y for individual and $250,000 for a couple) and where individuals may not have suffered any direct financial losses directly caused by a national emergency, then you should not support the Biden Administration’s position.
Given:
1. the original Heroes Act was written in 2003 to cover individuals involved and affected by their participation in the War on Terror and/or the WTC and Pentagon attacks;
2. many individuals worked hard and paid off their loans;
3. many individuals worked hard, saved money and did not take loans;
4. many individuals avoided taking loans by sacrificing the opportunity to go to college;
5. many individuals have loans from non-federal sources; and,
6. the Biden Administration’s proposal is giving a very substantive amount to a group where many do not even fall within the Heroes Act;
I think:
1. opposition to the Biden position has clear standing under the Major Questions doctrine;
2. the Biden position falls outside of the intent of the Heroes Act; and,
3. the Biden position is arbitrary and capricious; and, therefore think the Court should reject it.
HIGHER EDUCATION RELIEF OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS ACT OF 2003 - 8/8/2003
The Congress finds the following:
(1) There is no more important cause than that of our nation's defense.
(2) The United States will protect the freedom and secure the safety of its citizens.
(3) The United States military is the finest in the world and its personnel are determined to lead the world in pursuit of peace.
(4) Hundreds of thousands of Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard reservists and members of the National Guard have been called to active duty or active service.
(5) The men and women of the United States military put their lives on hold, leave their families, jobs, and postsecondary education in order to serve their country and do so with distinction.
(6) There is no more important cause for this Congress than to support the members of the United States military and provide assistance with their transition into and out of active duty and active service.
Secretary of Education may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs under title IV of the Act as the Secretary deems
necessary in connection with a national emergency to provide the waivers or modifications authorized by paragraph (2)
Affected individual means an individual who: resides or is employed in an area that is declared a disaster area by any Federal, State, or local official in connection with a national emergency; or suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result a national emergency, as determined by the Secretary.