To review past posts on this insanity and idiocy, just click on the first few posts in each month listed to the right of this page. After reviewing just a handful of these insanity posts we think you will agree that we are currently being served by the worst set of American politicians ever to hold office in our entire history.
1) We have often discussed how many states (e.g., California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois) and cities (Chicago, New York City) have likely entered into financial death spirals. In this situation, local and state governments continually raise taxes, do not reduce spending but without raising the quality of life for residents and businesses.
As a result, people and businesses move elsewhere where the tax burden is less and the quality of life is better. This reduces the tax revenue stream of the local or state government which, rather than cut spending, or get more efficient, raises taxes even more. This results in more residents and businesses leaving which further reduces the tax revenue stream and thus, a financial death spiral.
The very sad thing about those states and cities that have entered the financial death spiral situation is that they somehow managed to do it after almost a decade of economic growth. It was not like a recession or depression suppressed tax revenue: in fact, I would bet that during the economic expansion, tax revenues were probably running at very high levels.
But rather than spend that time of growing tax revenue to get more efficient and smaller government wise, the local and state politicians continued to expand spending which eventually started to drive people and businesses out of the area.
Now, along comes the coronavirus, which requires unforeseen government expenses, and states and cities are in a financial cash crisis. And what is the first reaction of politicians:
- Recent news article headline: “[New York Governor] Cuomo Suggests Taxes To Close COVID New York Budget Gap.”
- Yes, rather than try to downsize excess government services, make government more efficient, his first reaction is to raise taxes, the very thing that is driving residents and businesses out of the state today.
- And apparently this is not a random thought since he proclaimed it twice in three days.
- The New York state government is facing an $8 billion shortfall and Cuomo claims that unless the Federal government, i.e. the rest of the country, bails him out then tax increases are a real possibility.
- Now, while he did mention taxes first as a priority, he did throw a little shade on other options: “What would we do to try to fill it [the budget deficit]? Taxes, cuts, borrowing, early retirements for government workers. All of the above.”
- But he is in a financial bind since raising taxes increases the velocity of the death spiral since those taxes will not improve the quality of life in New York, state, it will just fill a budget hole.
- Borrowing money fixes a short term budget issue, maybe, but it just pushes the budget fiasco a little down the road.
- Early retirements of government workers usually means a government financial incentive to those workers to retire which costs more money.
- He tried to soften the blow with the typical political ploy, he is only going to raise taxes on the rich.
- But those are exactly the same types of people that are leaving the high tax state of New York because 1) they are already heavily taxed and 2) they have the financial means to easily opt out of a high tax state.
- In fact, the Tax Foundation rates New York City the worst in the nation for its combined state and local tax burden of 12.7%, before Federal income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes.
2) As a result of the George Floyd death in Minneapolis and the ensuing riots and anarchy, the brilliant political minds of the Minneapolis city council declared that they were going to both defund the current police department and restructure law enforcement in the city. All of this posturing certainly reduced the respect and fear that criminals had for the city’s police force since the town leaders were disrespecting it and belittling it. It also soured the morale of police officers.
But something not really unexpected happened in the ensuing months:
- Crime has gone up significantly in those months.
- The ability of the police department to handle that increase in crime has been handcuffed by less of a city police budget and many police officers leaving the job because of the lack of respect from the political class and the inability to properly be prepared to deal with the crime wave.
- Somehow, the idiots on the town council did not anticipate this reality, which is so hard to believe that they are so out of touch with reality.
- And now they are crying out for answers because their constituents are telling them they cannot get police support when needed.
- During a recent two hour city council meeting, council members relayed their concerns to the city police chief, Medaria Arradondo.
- Among their concerns was that carjackings, street racing, robberies and shootings were going way up “Residents are asking, ‘Where are the police?'” asked newly elected council member Jamal Osman, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
- Seriously, are they that stupid?
- You defund and disrespect the police and are surprised that crime goes up?
- For example, there have been more murders in the city this year already than in all of 2019.
- The police chief informed the council that over 100 police officers have left the force this year, 50% higher than normal, which is not surprising when you are constantly getting bad mouthed by the council and losing resources to do your job, people are going to quit.
- The chief explained it to the council members in really simple language: “Do you understand that the word ‘dismantle’ or ‘police-free’ also makes some people nervous, for instance? What if, in the middle of the night, my home is broken into? Who do I call?”
3) Speaking of stupid local city politicians, let’s go out to Seattle:
- Remember how earlier this summer the mayor of Seattle allowed a bunch of anarchists to literally take over a large portion of downtown Seattle?
- For weeks, the city government had actually lost control and sovereignty over a large chunk of its city, a situation that resulted in violence and crime.
- And now, it is possible that the mayor may get arrested and brought to trial for allowing hoodlums and thugs to terrorize whole neighborhoods in the city for weeks and weeks.
- The Federal Department of Justice may bring charges against mayor Jenny Durkin for negligence in losing control of part of her city and the ensuing rioting, looting, and violence that came with this loss of control.
- The New York Times reports that Justice Department sources told the Times that the department’s civil rights division is investigating if Durkin could and should be charged.
- The Justice Department has denied the Times story.
So, the New York state financial death spiral picks up steam as the budget holes grow, Minneapolis politicians show how clueless they really are, and an interesting legal situation in Seattle regarding one of the worst mayors in the country.
Please visit the following sites for freedom:
http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:
Please visit the following sites for freedom:
http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w
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