An article in the WSJ yesterday gives some specifics on why gas prices have gone up, and how the U.S. Government has contributed to the rise without the citizens being aware of the hows and whys.  It states “U.S. retail gasoline prices are around the highest they have been in three years, according to data from GasBuddy. Gasoline cracks—or the difference between the price of crude oil and the price of gasoline—touched multiyear highs in recent weeks, according to a recent report from BofA Global Research.”  What would cause the difference between crude oil price and gasoline to increase?  The article goes on to state, “Compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets annual quotas for the quantity of ethanol and biodiesel that must be blended into fuels, has been the main driver of that price surge.”  It points out the fact that “so much of U.S. refining capacity in the U.S. is concentrated on the Gulf Coast. The region accounts for almost half of U.S. petroleum refining capacity.”  Why is this? Because, “Practically no new major refineries have been built since the 1970s, in part because of stringent environmental rules.”   And, “On top of that concentration, other existing rules such as the Jones Act (which bars foreign-flagged ships from moving between U.S. ports) create needless bottlenecks for alternative modes of fuel transportation, while the Renewable Fuel Standard adds a layer of cost and complexity for refiners that is ultimately passed down to consumers.”  So, decades and decades and layers upon layers of government mandates and special interest influence add up to higher prices, inefficient infrastructure, and less fuel processing and delivery flexibility which is sold piece by piece to some constituency group, but which ultimately hurts us all.

Sex addiction…missing the Elephant in the room

 

Sex addiction…missing the Elephant in the room…missing an opportunity:  The March 16, 2021, eight people were killed in shootings at three Atlanta- area spas. Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Ga., was arrested in the attacks.  Six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent.  Hundreds of people gathered Saturday near the Georgia Capitol, with some demonstrators carrying signs declaring “Stop Asian Hate.”  Protests and vigils calling for an end to violence against Asian-Americans were held around the country over the weekend as lawmakers pushed for better tracking of hate crimes following the deadly shootings.  But, the killer did not appear to be racially motivated.  Law-enforcement officials in the suburban county where the first shooting occurred have said that Mr. Long told them he was lashing out at his sexual addiction in the attacks. Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told NPR last week it did not appear that the attack was racially motivated.  The elephant in the room being ignored is sexual addiction, pornography, and the open sex industry and the opportunity being squandered is to call attention to this serious issue that destroys so many lives.  A WSJ article reports that “Wayne Huang, 42, who was born in New York City and lives in Chinatown, brought his two boys to the demonstration. “It’s hard to explain the hate to them, and the evil, but they have to have that awareness that it is time to support the community,” Mr. Huang said.”  Mr. Huang had a golden opportunity to begin teaching his sons about the dangers of sexual perversion, and educating them on a heathy attitude and healthy guiderails regarding sexuality.  Instead, he (along with all the other protesters) went with the false narrative that because many of the victims were Asian the killings were racially motivated.   That is a shame because sexual perversion destroys more lives than Asian Hate.

Wealth Tax

 

Elizabeth Warren is proposing a “Wealth Tax.”  It would be more descriptive to call it a “Property Confiscation Tax,” because your property, what you own, is your wealth.  That is a new ball game…a totally different concept than taking a portion of your income to finance your government.  Once the citizens agree with the concept of the government taking your property, which you acquired with after tax dollars, the only question will be how much property will the government determine you need to keep?  There is also a hidden tax due.  Consider someone subject to a $10,000. wealth tax bill.  They probably do not have that in cash, but have investments which they will have to convert to cash to pay the tax.  For example, they may have Microsoft stock they bought and held which is now worth 10 times what they paid for it.  After the Biden administration changes the capital gains laws to the rate of ordinary income, figuring federal and state taxes, you will have to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of 40% tax on the gain.  To illustrate, if you sell $1000. of Microsoft stock, your basis is $100, so you pay a gain on $900, or $360 in tax, leaving you with $540 after tax on the gain and your $100 basis, or $640.  So, you keep 64% of what you sell, with which you can pay your wealth tax.  So, you must sell $15,625. ($10,000 divided by .64) of stock, and pay it all in taxes, $5,625 in capital gains taxes and $10,000. In wealth taxes.  You have reduced your “wealth” by $15,625.  Sneaky government gets money from you coming and going.  And remember, you bought your original Microsoft stock with after tax dollars.  Just know that the confiscation tax threshold will not stay at 50 million dollars.  With the government handing out money in chucks of $1,900,000,000,000. to buy your votes, the confiscation tax threshold will continue to drop, and the government doesn’t care if you are a Democrat or Republican…they just want your money so they and not you can decide how to spend it.