Hey Influence Traders,
Hey Influence Traders,
Last time I checked, Communism is 0-for-everything.
Yet in the past week,
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- House leadership sided with the progressive wing of the Democrat party to put bloated social spending over stimulus infrastructure spending.
- President Biden nominated a candidate to lead a critical banking agency who believes the communist model is better than capitalism.
- Press Secretary Jen Psaki denied basic economics.
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In the words of the Go-Go’s, “Has the whole world lost its head … [or] is it just me?”
Yes, Comrade, it has — but it’s not all bad news.
In Choosing Sides Is Tough News …
Dem moderates want to get the infrastructure bill passed.
Dem progressives want to get the $3.5 trillion boondoggle bill passed.
Biden and Pelosi had choices to make this week on which side to back.
They essentially choose to back the progressive wing of the party, moving the Dem establishment even further left. (Kennedy is rolling over in his grave).
In the end, neither side got what it wanted … a vote on its bill.
Progressives are feeling empowered by empty-handed opponents and moderates are just feeling betrayed by what they thought was a like-minded president.
Moreover, Speaker Pelosi had promised a vote on the infrastructure bill by the end of September and she, too, turned her back on the middle of her party.
Moderate Senator Kryten Sinema described the failure as “inexcusable.“
Pelosi has now pushed a vote date to the end of October.
This is pitting the two sides of the party against each other, which is throwing the upcoming mid-term elections into doubt.
Did Anything Get Done? …
Incorporated into the infrastructure bill was an extension of the Surface Transportation Act, which expired at the end of September.
With the failure to vote on the bill, the US Department of Transportation had to furlough around 3,700 workers on Friday.
That caused Congress to put through an emergency extension bill through the end of October, which Biden signed. PHEW!
In USSR Resurgence News …
The Comptroller of the Currency is an independent agency within the US Treasury that sets bank policies.
President Biden has nominated a Soviet-born emigree to be the Comptroller of the Currency, and she is AWESOME!
Saule Omarova graduated from Moscow State University in 1989 on a scholarship named after Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin.
She is currently a Cornell Law School professor.
She wrote a paper advocating for the Federal Reserve to take over Americans’ personal banking in order to combat big banks … the very thing she is supposed to regulate.
She has stated that she admires the USSR’s economy (you know, the one that collapsed) and that the US can learn from it.
She has described the hedge fund industry as “a-holes.”
She advocated for a Congressionally-established National Investment Authority, which would operate similarly to the Federal Reserve and would allocate “both public and private capital” toward the country’s transition to a “clean and inclusive economy.”
In addition, she’s argued that cryptocurrencies are “benefiting mainly the dysfunctional financial system we already have” and that they need heavy regulation. That means lawmakers like Senator Elizabeth Warren, who have long advocated for tighter oversight on crypto, will see an ally.
Bitcoin did jump a bit this week when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the US has no plans to ban crypto.
Let’s see what Sen. Liz Warren has to say about that … she’s gunning for Powell’s exit.
On a side note, the Senate confirmed Rohit Chopra on a party-line vote to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Ranking Senate Banking Committee member Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania stated that Chopra would pursue an “aggressively anti-business agenda.”
In the words of Austin Powers – “we won … eh, comrades? Eh?”
In Economics Is Hard: Moronic Socialist Ideology Is Easy News
Biden’s bills contain massive tax increases, particularly on businesses large and small.
Someone will have to pay for those increases.
Psaki claimed it is “unfair and absurd” for businesses to raise prices if the Biden administration raises corporate taxes.
Econ 101 says – FALSE.
In Sneaky Tax News
Although Biden has repeatedly stated that he will not tax anyone making under $400,000 a year, a provision in the infrastructure bill will fund a test program to charge Americans a fee for every mile they drive.
The pilot program to research charging a per-mile fee for personal vehicles is in section 13002 on pages 508 to 519. (I’m a lawyer — I can read documents with the best of them.)
Passenger vehicles as well as light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks would be subject to the per-mile fee under the initiative, with fees variable “to reflect estimated impacts on infrastructure, safety, congestion, the environment, or other related social impacts.”
This will of course impose a massive tax on people making less than $400k annually. I guess that’s a “loophole.” The measure is intended to limit driving while we transition to clean energy.
Fun fact: the word “tax” is only used 1,829 times in the boondoggle bill.
Regardless of what’s happening in DC or elsewhere, trading guru Andrew Giovinazzi has been making #PowerMoves in the Capitol Gaines portfolio … notching more 100% gainers.
The latest was this big gain in Exxon Mobil (Ticker: XOM):
Cutting Through the Noise for You.
Frank