Billionaires Make Plans to Avoid the California Wealth Tax

The latest statistics show the U.S. economy is improving steadily, particularly in the shift from government employment to private-sector jobs and toward new hires going to native-born Americans instead of immigrants. Opinion polls, however, show Americans are displeased with the current state of the economy, and young people are turning toward socialism.The smart course for the Republicans would be to pass major reforms to shrink the welfare state and cut federal spending and regulation instead of mildly reducing scheduled increases.The concerns about the economy reflect three major factors: one, stubborn economic distortions caused by longtime government policies; two, the lingering effects of acute Biden-presidency price inflation; and, three, dishonest media reporting.The average inflation rate during the Biden administration was 5%, nearly double the current rate. Real, inflation-adjusted average weekly earnings in private-sector jobs decreased by 4% while Biden was in office. Home prices rose by 37.4%, sparking a housing affordability crisis. Publicly held federal debt increased by one-third, igniting the price inflation.That has changed dramatically in just one year. “Since President Trump took office, headline inflation has been running at 2.4% (much lower than 3% inherited from Biden) and core inflation has been running at 2.4% (much lower than 3.3% inherited from Biden),” the White House stated correctly last month.Slowing inflation does not lower prices however. It only reduces the increases. The Biden-era price rises were worst in basic necessities, and the only way to moderate that is for wages to rise. Fortunately, that is starting to happen.Employment numbers confirm a positive movement from part-time work to full-time work and away from the government into the productive private sector. “Initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell by 9,000 from the previous week to 198,000 on the week ending January 10,” the second-lowest number of job losses in two years, and initial unemployment claims by federal employees rose by more than one-third, Trading Economics reports.The movement from part-time work to full-time employment in better jobs that pay more and include benefits is of course a highly positive trend. “In December, the number of part-time jobs declined by 740,000, while full-time employment shot up by 890,000,” Unleash Prosperity notes.Labor productivity in the nonfarm business sector increased by 4.9% in the third quarter of last year, with output rising by 5.4% and hours worked increasing by 0.5%. Manufacturing-sector labor productivity and output are rising markedly after declining during the Biden administration. Overall U.S. industrial production has increased, rising 0.4% month-over-month in both November and December, and manufacturing output rose by 0.2% in December.Continued improvements in employment and private-sector productivity are the real solution to the affordability crisis. In light of those trends, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta raised its estimate of fourth-quarter annualized real Gross Domestic Product growth to an impressive 5.3%. In addition, mortgage interest rates are down to their lowest level since 2022.Naturally, the regime media are desperately trying to spin all this good news into a mythical calamity, to cast doubt on the conclusively proven value of market-empowering reforms. “CNN, true to form, immediately tried to make a relatively good report out to be a bad one in a January 13 X post: ‘U.S. inflation remained at 2.7% in December, underscoring persistent cost of living challenges,'” Newsbusters reports.When inflation was an awful 6% in February 2023, CNN characterized it as good news, saying, “U.S. inflation is still high, but it’s falling. Last month’s Consumer Price Index measured 6%, down from January’s 6.4%,” as Daily Wire reporter Cabot Phillips noted in an X post. Coverage by all the regime media has reflected this bias.While just under a year’s worth of economic reforms and (disappointingly mild) efforts to hold the line on inflation are showing real progress, the previous four years did major damage to the private, productive sectors of the U.S. economy. It will take some time for the public to feel the full benefit of the policy changes they voted for in 2024.RELATED: The debt bomb is ticking, and DC spent the blast shield Artoleshko / Getty ImagesAlthough people should hardly be surprised that Trump and the Congress have not yet fully reversed the economic destruction of the prior four years, poll numbers indicate an impatience that reflects the media’s spin: “Most, 64%, say [Trump] hasn’t gone far enough in trying to reduce the price of everyday goods,” CNN reports.Trump and the congressional Republicans understandably feel a strong urge to be seen as doing everything possible to fix the economy, though the only thing that will really unleash American prosperity is a full retrenchment of the enormous federal welfare state that Obama and Biden did so much to expand.Democrats understandably view the economic stagnation that they themselves caused as a terrific political opportunity that could restore them to majority rule in Congress, with a chance to impeach Trump multiple times and block desperately needed reforms to shrink the government.The smart course for Republicans would be to pass major reforms to shrink the welfare state and cut federal spending and regulation instead of mildly reducing scheduled increases. That would accelerate the economic improvements we are already seeing. It would also make the recent reforms permanent, given that a Democratic congressional majority would not be able to reverse them, given Trump’s veto power.Those moves would benefit the American people greatly.The wise course for the Democrats would be to sit back, go quiet, and let the public reject an ineffectual GOP in this November’s elections.Many decades of American politics have taught us what is most likely to happen: Neither party will do the smart thing, much less the right thing.

Democrats and legacy media have put forth several mischaracterizations and even flat-out lies about the GOP's latest election integrity bill. The House passed the SAVE America Act Wednesday with unanimous Republican support and with even one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, joining the GOP. The bill would put in place basic election integrity requirements like providing proof of citizenship and photo ID to register and vote in federal elections. 'If you buy a 6-pack of beer you have to show an ID.'The bill is now in the Senate, where Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is leading the effort to pass the legislation. Although this proposal seems commonsense to most Americans, Democrats have caused a firestorm of hysteria and misconception. Here is the truth behind Democrats' most common rebuttals. RELATED: 4 Senate Republicans evading MAGA's pressure campaign to prevent noncitizens from voting Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images1. 'It's already illegal!'The SAVE America Act aims to protect ballots from election fraud, particularly from illegal aliens and noncitizens. Democrats are quick to point out that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections, and those Democrats who are willing to admit that noncitizens voting does occasionally happen insist it takes place at a negligible rate.This is partially true. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in American elections, and when it does happen, estimates show it occurs less than 1% of the time. But even if the rate is extremely low, it's not zero. And while many elections are decisive victories, some are decided by razor-thin margins, making every ballot count.RELATED: Lone Democrat joins all Republicans to pass landmark election integrity bill barring noncitizens from voting Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesIn the 2024 election, former Republican Rep. John Duarte of California was unseated by Democrat Adam Gray by just 187 votes, chipping away at a historically thin GOP advantage in the House. But it's not just local elections that are decided by such narrow margins. In 2020, former President Joe Biden won several swing states by just thousands of votes, including Georgia by 11,779 votes and Arizona by just 10,457 votes. There's no way to know if any of those votes were cast fraudulently, which is precisely the problem. Americans should have total confidence that every ballot counted in an election is a legitimate vote that reflects the political will of a United States citizen. The SAVE America Act would help do just that. 2. 'Jim Crow 2.0'Democrats are no stranger to playing the race card, claiming that requiring photo ID somehow unfairly affects minorities. Perhaps most notable of them all is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who unabashedly likened the SAVE Act to Jim Crow-era rules. "I have said it before and I'll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement earlier this month. "It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown."RELATED: Stopping the steal: Sen. Lee, Republicans demand Election Day integrity ahead of SCOTUS fight over 'rolling' ballot counts Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesApart from Schumer's soft bigotry of low expectations, his claim is simply inaccurate. The SAVE America Act offers a wide range of acceptable documents to prove citizenship, including a valid U.S. passport, a REAL ID that indicates citizenship, a U.S. military identification card that shows birthplace in the U.S., a birth certificate or other equivalent naturalization documents, and even some tribal IDs like the American Indian card. Presenting a photo ID is also already a requirement to vote in some states as well as for countless other activities and purchases, including boarding a plane and casting a vote as a member of Congress."If you buy a 6-pack of beer you have to show an ID," Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee joked in a post on X. "End this racism."3. 'It's an attack on women!'Another claim Democrats have repeatedly made is that the new requirements disproportionately impact women who have changed their names after marriage. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said that the name change "creates a real problem" for her, implying that the legislation is the GOP's latest attempt to suppress women's votes. The absurdity of Warren's claim is self-evident. Married women often obtain documentation with their new names for other processes that require identification, such as purchasing alcohol or opening a bank account. In addition, women are not limited to producing birth certificates, but also may provide other forms of acceptable ID, such as a passport or a REAL ID. RELATED: Lone Republican defies Trump, votes to tank the SAVE Act Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesEven in the rare case that a woman's ID is not updated with her new legal name, the SAVE America Act explicitly allows for name changes in documentation. The legislation requires states to establish fallback procedures for voters who have changed their names due to marriage, divorce, adoption, or another reason. The reality is that none of the proposed requirements are novel or restrictive. They are simply common sense. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security entered its third day Monday, leaving thousands of Transportation Security Administration agents and other essential workers without pay as they continue performing critical duties at airports nationwide.The funding lapse, which began early Saturday, stems from a breakdown in negotiations between congressional Democrats and Republicans over proposed restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.'This is getting very old, and we’re hoping this is not going to become the new normal.'Even WPRI in Rhode Island noted Democrats' role in the shutdown: “The Department of Homeland Security officially shut down on Saturday after Democrats refused to fund it. They want new restrictions on ICE agents following the deadly shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.”The shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have intensified tensions surrounding immigration enforcement. Democrats have insisted on new limits on DHS funding, while Republicans have accused them of holding up critical funding to secure policy concessions.RELATED: Government shutdown looms after Democrats tank key DHS vote TSA screeners, deemed essential personnel, are required to report for duty despite the funding lapse.Reporting from T.F. Green International Airport in Rhode Island, WPRI’s Sophia Szabo said TSA agents are still recovering from a 43-day government shutdown last year.“That’s a long time to work without a paycheck,” Szabo said, noting lawmakers have roughly two weeks to reach a deal before another missed pay period.The impact on workers is mounting.“This is getting very old, and we’re hoping this is not going to become the new normal, but it does seem that it’s going in that direction,” a union representative for TSA agents in New England said. “A lot of the officers are very anxious because we’re in the middle of winter, and now we’re going to have to choose between paying for heat and paying for food and rent if the checks don’t come through in the next couple of weeks. Because in two weeks, in the next pay period, we’re only going to have half a check, and so choices are going to have to be made — and we shouldn’t be put in this position again.”RELATED: ‘We do not support ICE’: Speedway gas station sparks backlash after booting Border Patrol boss Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Szabo added that staffing shortages have worsened since the previous shutdown.“According to a union representing TSA agents across New England, there has been a significant shortage of these agents since that last shutdown, and they’re already struggling to recruit more,” she reported.The shutdown affects agencies within DHS, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.Congress is currently in recess until Feb. 23, leaving a narrow window to resolve the impasse before broader operational impacts emerge.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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