What is the purpose of the hearings that are the culmination of 18 months of investigation of the events around the insurrection on January 6th by the special commission. How much does bias play into the investigation? Are there similarities between the 2016 election and the 2020 election. Is it just a Democratic assault or are there Republicans working with the commission.
If you are interested, you can watch the video about the attack on the capitol that Brian and Colin referenced, here.
Life can be busy, so this week, we don’t spend the time talking about one subject, but address a few topics related to previous or upcoming conversations. The first topic we discuss is a meta-topic, namely that we may feel that our perspective is not landing with the person we are talking with, but often they assimilate and incorporate our perspective. Cryptocurrency is back in the news and not for anything good. Value is plummeting and we spend a few minutes discussing some risks and concerns. The January 6th Commission is in the midst of presenting its conclusions, Brian & Colin discuss the concerns from both sides. The Federal Reserve increased base interest rates 0.75%. We spend a moment looking at biased language from the right and from the left and how we accuse the right of prejudice and overlook the same from the left. Lastly, we spend a moment talking about the difference in talking points of Ukraine from the right and the left which transitions into the financial cost of war and the risks of intervening.
Brian & Colin discuss variations on our existing tax system. We look at how complex our existing system is and how we could massage the existing system that would be more beneficial to the citizens while ensuring that the government is funded to do the necessary business. We discuss progressive tax systems vs proportional tax. We discuss income tax vs sales tax. Instead of offering tax breaks, offering a guaranteed income at lower income levels. How does the tax system in the US compare to other countries.
Do high taxes will disincentivize high income earners? There are examples that serve both arguments. At times, high tax rates were decreased and that increased tax revenue and there are other examples of increasing tax rates and that also increases tax revenue so it is a difficult problem to assess. Are tax-free municipal bonds a reasonable alternative? What are the unintended consequences of a high tax rate? Where will investors put their money in order to avoid high taxes? Are entrepreneurs motivated by the money or by the challenge of the business and the money is an indicator of that success?
Tax revenue generated by the highest income tax bracket and corporate tax after World War II.
First we address what is the purpose of taxes. The obvious answer is that we use it to fund the government and provide service for tax payers. There are some out there that believe taxes can also serve a purpose of redistributing wealth. There are some people that speak clearly and often about taking money from certain very wealthy individuals. Others looks at idea of taxing the very wealthy as a method to compensate for an unfair tax system. We move the discussion toward different tax structures such as the fact that stock investments are taxed at a lower rate than regular income (capital gains tax). Does the company and the economy benefit by the lower tax rate? We also spend a bit of time talking about tax brackets and how a very high tax rate doesn’t always coincide with low tax revenue. In the last few minutes we talk about the disincentive of high taxes toward earning money.
