quad

One of the great political moves by the left in recent years has been convincing a large portion of America that the rich don’t pay taxes and it’s all poor people, when the exact opposite is true. The top 1% of earners pay 46% of all federal income taxes. The bottom 50% pay 2%.

Your periodic reminder that the US spends far more on entitlements than defense:

Finally setting some good incentives: Colleges are at long last under pressure to cut prices because last year’s tax bill limits federal loans for graduate students. wsj.com/opinion/colleg…

Western society is currently divided between people who know this is a man and are prepared to say so and those who know this is a man but lie out of obedience to an ideology. There is no third option. Literally nobody on earth thinks "Roxanne Tickle" is actually a woman.

This is such a perfect example of the left-right dynamic. New England (everything east and north of New York) already has zero GOP representation. They already nuked the ground. The GOP in the South is going to severely reduce Dem representation. But this isn't the "opening salvo". It is a response to an already partisan situation. The Dems went first. They are angry that the GOP can also play that game, so they threaten consequences that can't come to pass because they already did their worst.

We could try making the tax code better for everyone rather than very complicated carve outs for certain favored special interests…

The terrorist state continues to play the only card it has left

The spending is out of control: The Great California Medicaid Grift wsj.com/opinion/califo…

Public sector unions are bad. These unions are not negotiating against billionaires or some convenient cartoon villain. They're rent seeking and negotiating against taxpayers, and they'll shut down vital infrastructure if we don't humor their tantrum.

Former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire Breaks with Her Party: “We Have a Spending Problem” A rare Democratic voice calls out Olympia’s tax-and-spend spiral Former Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire, who led Washington from 2005 to 2013, delivered blunt criticism of today’s Democratic supermajority at the Association of Washington Business Spring Summit on May 6 in Vancouver. When asked whether legislative leaders understand how current policies are affecting the state’s economy, Gregoire didn’t hesitate: “No. I really don’t.” The Numbers Don’t Lie: Budget Nearly Tripled Gregoire left office with a state budget of about $33 billion. Today, it stands at $80 billion — a massive increase that has far outpaced inflation and population growth. Yet every legislative session ends with lawmakers claiming a “revenue problem” and reaching for more taxes, rules, and regulations. Gregoire’s assessment was direct: “I would suggest to you we don’t really have an income problem. We have a spending problem, and we’re answering it by stacking one more tax, one more rule, one more regulation. And the one thing that the business community doesn’t need is that lack of predictability.” Estate Tax Reality Check Gregoire highlighted the estate tax hike pushed by Democrats — raising Washington’s already nation-leading 20% rate toward 35%. She confronted lawmakers directly, asking for the fiscal note and warning about the consequences: “Those people are not homeless. They will not pay. They’re leaving. When they leave, they stop paying cap gains. When they leave, they stop giving significantly to philanthropy… Do you understand? Do you see the consequences of what you’re doing?” The response from lawmakers? Silence. No answers, and apparently little interest in finding any. No Business Experience = No Understanding A core issue Gregoire identified: Very few members of the Democratic caucuses have real business backgrounds. “How many people in either of the Democratic caucuses have come from a business past? Okay, so if you haven’t come from it, you don’t know it, you don’t understand it.” This lack of experience shows up in policies like the new 9.9% income tax on households earning over $1 million (signed into law earlier this year) and other tax increases that hit small businesses and their customers harder than intended. Broader Context Washington is seeing an exodus of high earners and businesses amid high taxes, housing costs, and regulatory uncertainty. Recent moves include billions in new taxes passed this session while the state faces projected deficits despite strong tech-sector revenue in prior years. Gregoire’s remarks — delivered alongside former Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna — underscore growing bipartisan concern that Olympia’s approach is unsustainable and damaging the state’s long-term economic competitiveness. Even a longtime Democrat and former governor is sounding the alarm: unchecked spending, layered taxes, and policies made without real-world business insight are putting Washington’s economy at risk. The question now is whether the current majority in Olympia is willing to listen — or if they’ll continue doubling down on the same approach. seattlered.com/economy/gregoi…

I’ve had two classic mustangs for a while now bloomberg.com/news/features/…

It is crazy how much ‘job growth’ in places like California and NY is just people getting paid by Medicaid to hang out with elderly relatives or something similar. This endemic, expanding, low grade, entropic corruption is one of the defining economic and cultural features of our era.

Sad but pretty accurate

In 190 years since 1835, temperatures at the West Point Military Academy were unrelated to CO2 levels. Warmest year on record is 1871, followed by 1925.

Despite huge increases in funding. We need real reform

What happens when the governor goes against the will of the people? Washington voters have rejected a state income tax roughly ten different times over the decades. Again and again, the public said no to taxing income. Yet now the same political class is pushing a so-called “millionaire tax” anyway — despite the clear intent of voters and despite longstanding constitutional questions surrounding income taxes in Washington State. What happens when the attorney general goes against not just the will of the people, but the state constitution itself? Washington’s constitution requires taxes to be uniform, and for generations income has been treated by the courts as property. That’s why statewide income taxes kept failing — not just politically, but legally. Instead of respecting those limits, Olympia keeps trying to redefine income taxes as something else: an excise tax here, a wealth tax there, a “targeted assessment” somewhere else. The issue is bigger than whether someone makes a million dollars. The issue is whether the people still decide the limits of government, or whether elected officials simply keep rebranding the same tax until they finally get the answer they want. If the voters say no ten times and the government keeps pushing anyway, is that democracy — or defiance?

Sweetheart deal for public sector unions, terrible deal for taxpayers (and private sector workers)

Democrats fully ready to pack the court if they get power back. Presumably end the filibuster too

Cathie Wood’s ability to collect management fees will be studied for decades. Truly one of the worst investors of all time, while making tens of millions in fees. Some of the worst trades include: - TDOC: made it ARKK’s largest position at ~$80/sh.; today: ~$7/sh. - Zoom: loaded up around ~$300/sh.; today: ~$110/sh. - Nvidia: sold almost all of it in January 2023 at ~$20/sh.; today: ~$220/sh. Amazing track record.

@BlueBoxDave @chadfelixg Thank Long Island and Westchester

Thank you rural upstate New York!

Less nanny state, more economic growth: Sweden is one of the few countries to cut government spending. Thank capitalism. wsj.com/world/europe/t…