Chet Collins

I’m the first appointment after lunch.

My appointment is halfway over.

I’m still in the waiting room.

Why?

U.S. Economy Slowed in Third Quarter on Delta Surge, Supply Crunch - WSJ

Gross domestic product grew by an annualized 2.0%

Pathetic.

It was the weakest quarter of growth since the recovery began in mid-2020

Bidenomics in action.

Dads on duty in Louisiana show rugged individualism still works - Washington Examiner

People like the dads see a problem in their community and, instead of waiting for the police or a government agency to solve it, they step up and handle it themselves.

Subsidiarity in action.

Janet Yellen Pops Out Of Child’s Cake To Take His Birthday Money - The Babylon Bee

Janet Yellen finally crashed out a window and disappeared after Billy’s dad convinced her there was a libertarian with a walk-in safe living next door.

The kid is clearly a tax cheat.

Biden Pitches $1.85 Trillion Framework to Ease Passage of Parallel Infrastructure Bill - WSJ

“No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that’s what compromise is,” he said.

Not really a compromise when you’re negotiating against yourself.

The plan includes a one-year extension of the expanded child tax credit through 2022, plus a provision making that break permanently available to low-income families that don’t pay income taxes.

A poverty trap if there ever was one. Welfare transfer payments totally unlinked from a family’s best path out of poverty: work.

I’m thankful for clean water.

💧

Man Excited For Giant Refund After Claiming $1 Million Of ‘Unrealized Charitable Donations’ - The Babylon Bee

The IRS has responded by sending Chuckston a tax bill for the unrealized income from that movie script he wrote but never sold.

The Senator Who Cried Debt Crisis - WSJ Opinion

Democrats are happy to force Republicans to do the heavy lifting to increase the debt limit when the GOP is in charge. In 2006, for example, Mr. Biden defended his vote to let America default on its obligations by condemning the Bush administration’s “utter disregard for our nation’s financial future.” He declared: “I refuse to be associated with the policies that brought us to this point.” He was joined by Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who characterized raising the debt limit as “a sign of leadership failure.”

Rove cites three votes Schumer cast against debt ceiling increases during the Bush-era.

First decent walking weather in months!

🌌🍁

Greenpeace co-founder joins climate change skeptics - Washington Examiner

Moore said he favors reducing fossil fuel use not because of carbon dioxide emissions, which he views as beneficial, but because fossil fuels should be conserved for energy needs that only those energy sources can supply.

I’d like to see more academic discussion on this subject.

Janet Yellen Proposes Tax On Coins You Acquire In Mario - The Babylon Bee

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has formulated a brilliant new plan to pay for Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan, which still needs to be paid for even though Biden said the cost was $0.

Young People Say Disconnect Keeps Them From Church - WSJ

Ms. Qureshi, who attends both Muslim and Catholic religious services, says gender equity, immigration rights and racial justice are important to her. She thinks sexism and antigay attitudes are deeply rooted in both Catholic

This coming from a 16 year old who probably thinks she should have unlimited access to abortion at any time?

The Democrats’ Wealth-Tax Mirage - WSJ Opinion

The first income tax enacted after ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913 had seven tax brackets with rates from 1% on income over $3,000 ($83,972 in current dollars) to 7% on income exceeding $500,000 ($14 million). You know what rates are now. The alternative minimum tax also only applied initially to the richest Americans, but with time expanded to hit millions in the middle class.

U.S. to Exempt Certain Foreign Air Travelers From Covid-19 Vaccine Rules - WSJ

Children and people from countries with low supplies of Covid-19 vaccines will be exempt from new requirements that foreign nationals show proof of vaccination to fly to the U.S., the Biden administration said Monday.

What the hell?

Tax on Billionaires’ Unrealized Gains Will Likely Be in Budget Package, Democrats Say - WSJ

“I wouldn’t call that a wealth tax, but it would help get at capital gains, which are an extraordinarily large part of the incomes of the wealthiest individuals and right now escape taxation until they’re realized,” Ms. Yellen said.

So is it income or is it unrealized? Astonishing that the Tresuary Secretary, and former Fed Chair, seems to miss this basic fact.

“Of course, Americans haven’t seen inflation like we’ve experienced recently in a long time, but as we get back to normal, expect that to end,” she said on CNN.

A credible prediction from an economist who runs in the same circles as the economists who have been repeating the word “transitory” for the past nine months.

A Banking Regulator Who Hates Banks - WSJ Opinion

Progressives are demonizing her critics as “xenophobes,” and Ms. Omarova is playing the identity-politics victim card. She claims she’s being criticized because she’s “an immigrant, a woman, a minority.” Yet Republicans confirmed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairwoman Jelena McWilliams, a Trump nominee who immigrated from communist Yugoslavia. Mr. Brown and Sen. Elizabeth Warren voted against Ms. McWilliams.

Oops.

The $10,000 IRS Tax Dragnet - WSJ Opinion

Recall how liberals howled about the National Security Agency antiterror program that required telecom companies to share phone metadata with the feds. Now Democrats want financial institutions to help the tax collector track your cash flow.

It’s a warrantless search, a massive government seizure without probable cause.

This bill is full of terrible tax ideas: killing the backdoor Roth, taxes on unrealized gains (hello!), on and on and on.

CNN lied about Joe Rogan and ivermectin. It regrets nothing - Washington Examiner

Never mind that CNN broadcast no pro-vaccine “public service announcements” in 2020 in response to then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris’s anti-vaxxer rhetoric . Never mind that Rogan’s show pulls insane audience numbers, numbers far greater than anything CNN’s prime-time hosts enjoy, which may be a clue as to why the network is so keen to portray him and other popular and independent hosts as unreliable and, frankly, dangerous sources of information.

Two very good points.

Rogan may be an off-beat regular joe, but his audience makes him a heavyweight in a landscape now dominated by non-incumbent media organizations.

It’s in CNNs interest to try to take him down a peg or two. And the controversy that they created may have gotten some of Rogan’s audience to pay attention to CNN for the first time in years.

An Ohio Pension Manager Risks Running Out of Retirement Money. His Answer: Take More Risks. - WSJ

Mr. Majeed’s retirement system posted the same 27% return

WOW! All of his “management,” “alternate investments,” and analysis resulted in the exact same result as an S&P 500 Index Fund.

INCREDIBLE!!!! Those teachers are getting a great deal on his salary and all of the asset management fees they paid.

The $10,000 IRS Tax Dragnet - WSJ Opinion

“The wealthy business owners are on the honor system,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden says.

An honor system with prison as a consequence for breaking it.

The Gangs of Haiti - WSJ Opinion

In the 19th century, a place as desperate as Haiti might have become a U.S. protectorate to restore order and some rule of law. Nowadays that’s derided as colonialism and would be opposed by the American left. But the sad reality is that without an outside presence capable of defending human life and property, criminal organizations own the country and threaten regional stability.

Interesting idea to float.

Liberal Parent Trying To Figure Out How To Cheer For His Son Brandon - The Babylon Bee

“I try to be so careful, but every so often in the excitement, I let slip a ‘Let’s go Brandon!’” said Bailey. “Then all the parents join in chanting, the game devolves into fits of laughter, and all the Trump supporters are trying to give me a high-five. It’s horrible!”

Experts Warn That If Children Between The Ages Of 5-11 Aren’t Vaccinated Then Pfizer Executives Won’t Get Their Sales Bonuses - The Babylon Bee

“Not vaccinating your kindergartener could jeopardize their ability to make their Porsche payments, pay off their mistresses, or remain platinum members at their golf clubs. We just can’t let that happen.”

I disagree with their premise, but these commercial interests jokes do make me laugh.

Even worse, economists warn that not vaccinating kids could cause drug company stock to dip one or two points, affecting millions of portfolios slightly.

Your New Woke 401(k) - WSJ Opinion

According to Morningstar, the asset-weighted average expense ratio of U.S. “sustainable” funds was 0.61% in 2020 compared to 0.41% for all open-ended mutual and exchange-traded funds and 0.12% for passive funds.

Rip-off.