The New York Times argues with itself about Biden and taxes

Last Thursday the New York Times reported what should be obvious, but that eludes most in our midst: the rich pay the vast majority of taxes collected. By far.

Article by John Tamny from AIER.

This is a statement of the obvious simply because the “vital few” drive all progress in all walks of life. Think the NBA before Bird, Magic and Jordan, think the PGA before Tiger Woods, think how the rare blockbuster film pays for all manner of small movies without guns, car crashes, and explosions.

Stated simply, what’s great is a consequence of the giants on whose shoulders we stand. The very talented few pull us forward. Politicians ignore this truth at their peril, and to our detriment.

The Times reported that “almost half of the personal income tax that California collects comes from the top 1 percent of the state’s earners.” Yes. What’s true there is also true nationally. See above.

So while it’s true that the rich foot the majority of government bills, this isn’t a happy reality. And it’s logically least happy for those with the least. California shows why. Please read on.

As the Times went on to report, thanks to a surge in tax revenues for the Golden State related to IPOs and a rising stock market more broadly, California has a major budget “surplus.” Translated for those who need it, Gavin Newsom and others in the state will have more dollars with which to plan California’s economy; the latter the world’s fifth largest if it were a country. It’s a reminder that while economic progress and wealth creation are good things, the subsequent increase in tax revenues is not. That which empowers politicians, and that which enables more borrowing by those same politicians, generally isn’t. But that’s not the main point of this piece.

The main point is what’s happening such that California’s richest are largely shouldering the state’s tax burden. They are because they’re either founding tomorrow’s innovative companies; that or their savings are making tomorrow’s companies possible. These are the very companies that continue to push down the cost of communication (who anymore worries about the cost of long-distance calls?), the cost of accessing information (everywhere you look someone is tapping on a supercomputer that fits in their pocket), the cost of market goods (cheap global communications mean we can access the world’s plenty with a click of a mouse or a tap of a phone), not to mention the feverish push by left coast technologists to erase all manner of life-ending disease.

In short, California’s 1 percenters are relentlessly rushing the future into the present, all the while pushing down the cost of everything. They do this all the while elongating our lives. They have enormous amounts of “money” precisely because they’re so skilled at expanding what the dollars (along with euros, yen, yuan, pounds, etc.) in our pockets can be exchanged for.

This rates mention in consideration of Times reporter Jim Tankersley’s rather reverential review of President Biden’s televised speech on the same day. To say that Tankersley was taken by Biden’s promises made with the money of others brings new meaning to understatement.

Tankerley wrote with great enthusiasm about the “centerpiece” of Biden’s first address, which was, is, and always will be handouts for everyone care of government. That government has nothing to give out absent the rich producing enormous wealth (see California, see where the U.S. Treasury gets its funding) doesn’t seem to trouble Tankersley. Maybe he doesn’t read his employer’s business section. Since he perhaps doesn’t, sections A and B were arguing with each other.

In Tankersley’s case, he writes without any irony or skepticism that Biden’s myriad promises “would be paid for by raising $4 trillion in tax revenue from high earners and corporations.” Where does one begin?

Oh well, for the purposes of this piece it’s worth reminding readers why America’s “high earners and corporations” have so much taxable wealth in the first place. They do so because they’re routinely producing goods and services for individuals of all income categories that were previously out of reach. Wealth creation is most often a consequence of mass production, as is corporate prosperity.

Which raises an obvious question: beyond the immorality of politicians using the tax code to penalize a tiny minority in the U.S. (all this time politicians and their media enablers claimed to loathe discrimination…), don’t they understand the sheer impracticality of it? Better yet, don’t they see how cruel their ill treatment of a tiny U.S. economic minority is to Americans more broadly, including minorities? Think about it.

As the California revenue surge yet again attests, the state’s top 1 percent got that way by making life better, healthier, longer, and much cheaper for the 99 percent. How awful then, for California to so heavily tax it’s most prosperous citizens. How awful for the rest of us for Biden to try and rally Congress to back more confiscatory tax rates on “high earners and corporations.” The 1 percent will lose for sure, but the 99% reliant on the fruits of their intrepid investment and creativity will really lose.

Really, how backwards and confused it is to take from the productive in order to hand it to politicians constrained by the known; people who, by virtue of their desire to desperately prop up the economic present, do so by restraining a much better future. Politicians protect the now, investors and entrepreneurs bring us later. Biden wants to suffocate the arrival of what’s presently unimaginable. Not so, accordingly to Tankersley. As he naively puts it, “What the president is promising from the government in the years to come is a long list of tangible improvements in Americans’ daily lives.” No, that’s just not true.

Money’s worth is what it can be exchanged for. Government spending by its very name is the politicized allocation of precious wealth first created in the private sector. In other words, government spending delays the mass production of yesterday’s luxuries and tomorrow’s must-haves by limiting investment. Page B1 in the April 29th New York Times shows us why this is true.

‘The Purge’ by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us

Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.

For the last few months, NOQ Report, Conservative Playbook, and the American Conservative Movement have appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.

It wasn’t just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from “woke” Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. Both of our YouTube accounts were banned. Facebook “fact-checks” everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Medium canceled us. Apple canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss “taboo” topics.

The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can’t say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancellation, but we’d rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media’s lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they’ve convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.

The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an “anti-vaxxer” in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects, including death. One of our stories about the Johnson & Johnson “vaccine” causing blood clots was “fact-checked” and removed one day before the government hit the brakes on it. These questions and news items are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting canceled.

There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ, CP, and ACM readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are on track to be short by about $4100 per month in order to maintain operations.

The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.

During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we’d like to be completely free from them. That doesn’t mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.

We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.

As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.

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