Top Three Takeaways – April 2nd, 2021
- They count on you being ignorant. Once again this applies to the Biden proposal. You’d have to be to think Biden’s infrastructure plan, which largely doubles as what would be the second largest tax increase in American history, is a good idea. Aside from the fact that those who earn over $400,000 already paid 46% of all federal income taxes paid last year. That’s not a mistake, there’s a much larger point here...unless you solely live off of government assistance, you too will be paying the price for this plan. It’s not complicated, it’s just not explained or often taught. It’s a simple as this. Do you work for a company? If your company has less money due to higher taxes, do they have more or less money to pay raises to you? Do they have more or less money to pay bonuses to you? Do they have more or less money to expand and hire more employees? Will less expansion due to the aforementioned, provide more or less opportunity for you to advance and earn more money? But that’s just one dynamic. Do you have a retirement account? Yep, you’ll be paying the price of higher taxes there too. 75% of households have retirement accounts with 54% having direct stock investment. If the companies you’re investing in earn less how does that contribute to your return on investment? If you rely on dividends as a stream of income, will companies have more or less money to pay in the form of dividends? Sadly, the Biden administration counts on a combination of a lack of economic literacy and the use of class warfare to attempt to make this sound viable. Just as the Biden’s of the world lied to you about the economic impact of the Trump tax cuts - which led to record low unemployment rates and record high incomes for every minority group – undoing that policy would naturally have an inverse effect.
- View of the possible. In the event we don’t engage in economic policy which will further hurt the economy, the outlook remains strong. Private sector job growth is currently the best it’s been since last September. Florida has exceeded revenue forecasts for seven consecutive months providing billions of additional dollars to the state which helped keep Florida from tapping our reserves and is helping with spending priorities like education and the environment in the current state session. The outlook coming out of the pandemic is outstanding for Florida as we’re now projecting an economic rebound that shows the possibility that we could reach prepandemic unemployment rates in less than a year. Prior to the pandemic Florida’s unemployment rate reached a record low of 3.2%. A year ago today it was 14%. Today it’s 4.7% and rapidly falling. This as only a quarter of Floridians have been vaccinated, the cruise industry is still locked down and air travel is still around half of what it had been. The view of the possible for Florida once the world is open again is exciting. It’s the best story in the country and we have a front row seat to see and benefit from it.
- What’s most important? Good Friday and Easter weekend is a good time to reflect a little and realize the biggest picture of all. Yes, there’s a lot that’s frustrating, yes there’s a lot that’s concerning but yes, we’re all children of God and we’re extremely fortunate to not only be Americans but to be Floridians. May God bless you and your family.
What to make a difference today? Please contribute to the Miami Rescue Mission (pictured) today. A meal is $2.10 and all meals are doubled today. Click here to make a difference.