My friend from the Cato Institute, Chris Edwards, outlines some of the areas where Republicans have failed to provide adequate messaging on what will be one of the largest federal tax overhauls in decades. Edwards writes that vague reporting on the bill from various groups who have analyzed it, the bill's "reforms are impressive and promise to lift all boats in coming years with a rising tide of growth." Edwards continues: The Democratic class warfare will continue even after President Trump signs the bill, and that will create two big problems. The first is that the Democrats will probably … [Read more...]
GOP Tax Reform Will Hit Many Wealthy Republicans in Blue States
Yesterday the New York Times published an article about how the elimination of the ability to deduct state and local taxes (SALT) from federal taxable income calculations will hurt many taxpayers in blue states. As the NYT notes, there are even some counties with high Republican affiliations that will take a major hit from the removal of the SALT deductions. Alicia Parlapiano and K.K. Rebecca Lai write: There are a handful of Republican counties, particularly in New York and New Jersey, that claim high amounts of SALT deductions. Many of the 13 Republican representatives who voted against … [Read more...]
Trust in Money, Store of Value, Part II: Bitcoin, Dollars and You
On a recent outing to the Mt. Washington Hotel, I was concerned my car wouldn’t get us home. You can read that story here. But I also had a chance to think about the Bretton Woods Agreement which was signed there in 1944 and another historic event, bitcoin, and what they mean to all of us. The Bretton Woods Agreement, by pegging the U.S. dollar to gold, created a store of value. The system worked well until the 1960s where high demand for reserve currency dollars dwindled the gold supply. The gold window was closed in 1971. The dollar and other fiat currency values have been floating … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy Caught Off Guard Again: Mt. Washington Hotel
You never know when an emergency will strike. As “Your Survival Guy,” no matter how much preparation I do, there always seems to be something that’s unexpected. Like, for example what happened to me on the Friday after Thanksgiving in New Hampshire. We decided to drive from our log cabin in Bartlett, into the Mount Washington National Forest, to the Mt. Washington Hotel for lunch—a drive that one doesn’t take without wondering, “What would I do if I break down?” Earlier that day, my father-in-law, Dick Young, and I drove to the veterinarian to have my dog, Louis, checked out. He had been … [Read more...]
Are Hedge Funders Packing Their Bags in Anticipation of Tax Reform?
As a tax reform bill inches its way through Congress, some of its provisions may have wealthy residents of high tax states considering a move. In states like Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, home to many high earning hedge funders, the state budgets themselves may be under threat if wealthy residents decide to bolt for lower taxes locales. Bloomberg reports: The problem for the Connecticut hedge-fund set -- and, more broadly, for a lot of the Wall Street crowd -- is that Republican proposals in both the House and Senate would drive up taxes for many high-earners in the New York City … [Read more...]
You’ve Read the Last Issue of Intelligence Report: Dave Hammer on WD-40
Turns out you can survive and thrive with WD-40 in your pantry drawer and your portfolio. “During my 14-year run in the institutional research and trading business in Boston, the finest analyst with whom I worked was oil analyst Dave Hammer. Since 1990 Dave has been the managing partner of Hammer Asset Management. We stay in touch to this day,” explains Dick Young. You can see why from his interview in the September 1987 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report (excerpt found below). (Edited for length and clarity) This Month’s Special Guest David Hammer He plays the piano, … [Read more...]
What Does the New Single Day Background Check Record Mean?
On Black Friday, Americans swarmed gun shops across America, buying all manner of firearms. The FBI reported that the day saw a record 203,086 requests for instant background checks (NICS). Background checks aren't a perfect measure of gun sales because some requests are rejected, and some requests are for more than one firearm. But as a measure of intensity for the firearms market, the NICS number is superb. But what does all that gun buying mean? Americans are possibly afraid of future laws restricting gun purchases. But they are also keenly aware of their own survival responsibility … [Read more...]
What do I think of Bitcoin? Part IV
When exactly should you start worrying about bitcoin volatility? Online trading platforms are beginning to get concerned about the crypto-currency's meteoric rise. Hannah Murphy writes for the Financial Times: Bitcoin’s value has risen more than 850 per cent from about $1,000 at the start of the year to a high on Monday of $9,747, an ascent that masks dramatic drops along the way. IG Group, the world’s largest online trading platform, told the Financial Times it had suspended trading of some of its bitcoin derivatives on Monday after roaring demand for the products left the company facing … [Read more...]
Why We Have the Second Amendment
The following was published in the local paper The Conway Daily Sun over Thanksgiving weekend. It was written by Isaac Hadam, a 17-year old Madison, New Hampshire resident who is president of the Constitutional Awareness Pact, which encourages everyone to read and understand the U.S. Constitution. In the wake of the horrific shootings in Las Vegas and Texas, some people are clamoring for classic “gun control” laws. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have led the charge after this recent act of evil in Texas. Others have been more radical by calling for the complete … [Read more...]
What do I think of Bitcoin? Part III
The late great Richard Russell, writing about the third phase of a bull market, called it the speculative phase. The third phase was when the average Joe couldn’t stand missing the boat. The third phase was when momentum would take over, and any reasonable measure of valuation would be kicked to the curb. Bitcoin certainly seems to me to be in a third phase, but it also feels too young to even begin measuring which phase we’re in—the whole thing feels like a speculative third phase to me. Steven Russolillo of the WSJ, an expert on bitcoin writes, “Bitcoin, which started 2017 at … [Read more...]
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