A vacancy tax is defined as,
. . .a charge imposed on property owners who leave residential or commercial properties unoccupied for a specified duration. The primary objective is to incentivize owners to either rent out or sell these vacant properties. This policy seeks to increase the available housing supply and discourage the speculative holding of real estate.
What role do intermediaries—such as merchants, distributors, and traders—play in the market? Far from being mere profiteers, these intermediaries play an essential role in the division of labor. Without them, society as a whole could not function.
It is definitively the market—and only the market—that determines who owns what. For example, when buying a car, the seller hands it over in exchange for money. Thus, through these peaceful and voluntary transactions, true and sole ownership is defined. If, for instance, the seller fails to deliver the car, the buyer will present the contract to a judge (ideally a private mediator) and demonstrate that he fulfilled his part of the agreement.
The court historians, who insist that they have the only “correct” view of history, like to claim that theirs is the only true version of history because it is based on primary sources. But they fail to distinguish between what the primary sources state, and their own interpretation of the significance to be attached to those sources. Moreover, their selection of which historical sources are to be given paramount importance, and which may safely be ignored, is often selected to fit within their own preferred theory.
For those of us who have lived through past recessions, this latest development comes as no surprise: as the US economy worsens, we’re now being told that consumers are hurting the economy because they are saving too much money.
Apparently unaware of where price inflation comes from, Bessent says you can beat inflation by moving from a “blue state” to a “red state.”
The data the Fed does have is presenting a picture of an uneven and wobbly economy. Job growth beat expectations last month but has cratered overall in 2025.
Huckabee lobbied for Pollard’s release from prison, arguing that it’s no big deal to spy for Israel which is supposedly “an ally.”
The investor who shot to fame for calling the housing crash before 2008, has launched a Substack aiming to lay out in detail his bearish thesis on artificial intelligence.
