President Barack Obama unveiled his 2013 budget yesterday. In it, he proposed raising the tax on dividend income from 15% to 39.6%, or the top marginal tax rate. In Australia, dividends are already taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. Obama is busy making America more like Australia.
February 14th, 2012 | Dan Denning | 1 comment | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "U.S. Congress"
Debt Beats the Economy in a Growth Race
Economic Growth is stalled…debts are mounting up. Already the weight of debt is pressing down growth rates…and it’s getting worse.
February 10th, 2012 | Bill Bonner | 3 comments | Continued
The US Empire: Home of the World’s Biggest Zombies
The US empire is doomed. Just like all the others that went before it. It is doomed by nature herself – condemned by the gods to blow up and die.
January 10th, 2012 | Bill Bonner | 2 comments | Continued
Alan Greenspan and the Arithmetic of a Revolution
Hey… That rascal, Alan Greenspan, is back in the newspapers. And this time he has something sensible to say.
January 6th, 2012 | Bill Bonner | 7 comments | Continued
FATCA, Defense Bills and Our Dwindling Freedom
“Poor America…” writes a French friend. “It’s not the land of the free anymore. Now, it’s the land of slaves.”
The FATCA law (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) will force banks across the globe to collaborate with the IRS. Here’s an explanation of the huge repercussions this legal precedent will have on banks and banking clients…
December 20th, 2011 | Bill Bonner | 6 comments | Continued
Super Silly Super Committee
The situation is simple. The feds are spending too much. Every half- wit and democrat can see that they can’t go on like this.
But they couldn’t agree on how to cut back. So, they ducked. They put the matter to a “super-committee.”
November 23rd, 2011 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Trading Inside With the Feds
Since the beginning of time, the insiders have always had an advantage. That’s why people want to be insiders; they know that’s where the money is.
In actual fact there’s a very special form of ‘inside trading’ going on where the feds and the insiders work together.
November 17th, 2011 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
More Likely to Beat Inflation in Stocks than Cash
This is not a value-based argument. But it IS an argument for why nominal gains in stock markets are not inconsistent with rampant or even hyper inflation. We’re not saying that’s what’s going on right now. And of course, in our one-two Big Crash dance card, asset deflation precedes the Melt Up.
March 23rd, 2010 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
Australia Has Highest Household Debt to Disposable Income Ratio in World
The chart above doesn’t have the most recent data. It appears to show a gentle decline in the household debt-to-disposable income ratio. Since then, though, due to higher debts and income growth that’s not quite kept up, the ratio has turned up again. It’s around 156% today…
February 3rd, 2010 | Dan Denning | 127 comments | Continued
Fed and the Reverse Repo
The only way to exit is by the door the Fed came in. It barged into the market buying up toxic assets and Treasury notes and bonds. In order to get back out the door, it has to get rid of all the debt it gobbled up.
December 3rd, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 0 comments | Continued
Central Bankers Encourage Debt Booms That Become Debt Bombs
Do you think maybe Dr. Bernanke is just trying to talk his book too? After all, the U.S. Treasury has heaps of debt to sell this year (gross issuance over $3.25 trillion according to Goldman). If Dr. Bernanke makes adult sounds come out of his mouth, it might give people the impression the U.S. is returning to sobriety and fiscal sensibility.
June 5th, 2009 | Dan Denning | 4 comments | Continued
Capitalism Always Takes an Economy Where it Ought to Be
Whoever was responsible for the mistakes, capitalism went about correcting them with its customary élan. It hit imprudent investors with trillions in losses. It knocked down mismanaged corporations. It whacked homeowners…
May 12th, 2009 | Bill Bonner | 1 comment | Continued
Geithner and His Toxic Asset Bailout Plan
Here we go again. Maybe this will be the week that historians look back on and say, “That’s when it all started to get better. Geithner came out with his toxic asset bailout plan. China stimulated. Stock markets bottomed. The crisis ended and the world got better and better forever and ever.”
March 23rd, 2009 | Dan Denning | 5 comments | Continued
