With staged propaganda at partisan conventions, both parties hide from federal or Social Security deficits they caused. With local Democratic victory inevitable, consider character and creed, foreign policy and social justice all philosophically and vote boldly on principle!
Behold: the CFP as economist advising you! Your psychology and economic perspective define your plan, but the planner shares perspectives from Nobel Laureates who demonstrate that spending temporarily relieves unemployment, but constant deficits inevitably summon taxation and monetary devaluation because magician money must come from somewhere.
Trump and Harris together pander votes, promising untaxed tips and childcare credits, while national debt interest leaks 3.4% from GDP. Democrats and Republicans most resoundingly favor unbalanced budgets!
Trump’s 2017 tax cuts appeared in higher standard deductions on simpler lower middle class returns, but lower itemized deductions for state taxes and charity upset California’s salariat.
Ignoring government spending, QBI deductions for entrepreneurs, accelerated depreciation for landlords, corporate tax breaks and lower estate taxes would stimulate growth. But Trump spent wildly to negate tax benefits with increased interest payments and inflation. If Congress does nothing, Trump tax cuts expire in 2025, giving Democrats an opportunity to raise taxes without unpopular tax bills.
“And he plans to cut corporate taxes by over $1tn,” retorts Harris, “… and that’s on top of the $2tn tax cut he already signed into law as president, which… overwhelmingly went to the wealthiest Americans and corporations, and exploded the national deficit.” So Kamala claims to orient her “opportunity economy” toward the middle class with costly health care payments, medical and student debt forgiveness, ACA premium tax credit subsidies and Earned Income Tax Credits.
Fluctuating on fracking, Kamala may raise energy prices for environmental justice, she passes out $25,000 housing subsidies also likely to increase housing prices. New taxes on unrealized capital gains, wealth and corporations suggest taxation as redistribution slowing growth. Harris criticizes Trump deficits but Forbes notes contradictions between Harris’s middle class “rhetoric” and more radical “policies.”
The Biden-Harris administration expanded ACA coverage and marketplace subsidies because Obamacare guarantees healthcare to millions of Americans—but taxes investments. Trump failed to repeal Obamacare but did eliminate penalties for non-insurance. Now Trump promises to make ACA “much, much better and far less money,” but he won’t tell us how.
The Tax Foundation argues against Harris’s tax agenda: “It would further entrench social policy and spending into the tax code, it would subsidize home buyers rather than address supply constraints, and it does not specify sufficient offsets to pay for the subsidies, worsening an unsustainable debt trajectory.”
Economic contortions of both candidates may sink stock values. Kamala favors price controls on drugs, housing and groceries, and we can only hope she has the juggler’s godlike ability to balance individual needs in food production, new housing and drug innovation. Expect shortages.
Defying global warming, Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” enthusiasm may cheapen energy, but his tariffs will raise export prices for wage and profit gains, which may be temporary if America loses its edge. Worse, tariffs encourage tariff wars, which may stop high tech exports driving our mountain economy. NATO withdrawal may cause havoc.
“Harris called housing a human right,” notes CNN, “and said in a 2019 news release on the bill that every American deserves to have basic security and dignity in their own home.” Insurance planning is questionable if Trump wins, but tax planning depends on how seriously Kamala defends affirmative action and the principle of “equality of outcomes,” which gives xenophobic Trump cause to criticize “communist price controls.”
Tent cities may plague Harris, but Trump deportations and resulting mass demonstrations could dramatically disrupt middle class prosperity, which defies Marxist class warfare.
Mr. Gridlock—our checks and balances and traditions—may save us from hostile extremes. After tariffs, price caps and deficits give ephemeral stimuli, expect shortages, inflation, higher taxation, rising interest and falling securities. With post-electoral convulsions likely, families should pay off debt, save surpluses and buy some gold.
Fear of scarcity drives the greed of the rich and the envy of the poor, yet both Christian faith and secular economics teach salvation and satisfaction in abundance mentality. Will love return after November and forgiveness prevail?
Robert Arne, EA, CFP, MS, of Carpe Diem Financial Life Planning, gives holistic financial advice as his client’s fee-only fiduciary. He serves mostly Santa Cruz Mountain dwellers. These articles must not be read as personal financial, mortgage, tax or investment advice; consult appropriate professionals. Learn more at www.carpediem.financial.
Mistake- It is George Stagi, Robin and Joanne Sukow, and Mike Lelieur. There were 25 Trump supporters in attendance that day on the overpass.