Powerful federal politicians have many ways of expressing their displeasure with America's private sector, and this is partly why we so rarely hear any real criticism of the feds from corporate America.
The SALT tax deduction allows state and local taxes—like property taxes—to be deducted from federal taxes. To cap it is to pave the way for the federal government to tax income twice.
“Mortgage companies have ramped up their purchases of government-backed mortgages in forbearance, and they are selling these loans back to investors at a profit.”
The Fed isn’t here to take away the punch bowl anymore. The Fed is the punch bowl.
When markets are mostly free, prices adjust freely and constantly to adapt to new realities. Yet Keynes failed to understand how market rigidities are caused by government intervention. He blamed markets instead.
Empowering state legislatures—or worse, the federal government—to abolish local regulations would be a grave mistake.
Ultimately, we are responsible for ensuring our own security and our incentives are aligned with those of third parties with whom we can contract to assist us. In this regard, security is no different than many other desirable things.
Political candidates are offering endless government spending and "free stuff" for everyone. But at the same time, governments appear incapable of performing even basic duties like ending street riots.
Human beings do not have constant value scales, but change their goals constantly as the world around them changes. This habit of changing goals does not make a consumer "irrational."
Faced with a "join us or be destroyed" ultimatum from federal regulators or lawmakers, most private firms choose the "join us" option.
