Keto bagel and lox on the menu for Sunday Brunch.

Democrats’ Tax Plans Worry High-Income Business Owners - WSJ

About half the benefit of the pass-through deduction goes to households in the top 1% of the income distribution, according to the Tax Policy Center.

I strongly dislike how this measure of “benefit” of a particular tax rule has become the standard by which to judge a tax provision.

Sure. The “benefit” flows to people in higher brackets, until you look at the other side of the equation and see the tax bill rising, too.

People higher up the tax brackets get more “benefit” from exemptions and deductions while they pay more and more in actual tax dollars.

The Babylon Bee’s Predictions For 2021 - The Babylon Bee

October 11 - ISIS takes over all of Canada

Just checking in. Looks like this month is going to be a doozy!

German Catholic Leaders Support Blessings for Gay Couples, Challenging Pope Francis - WSJ

At a meeting in Frankfurt, German church leaders voted 168 to 28, with five abstentions, to adopt a draft statement on sexuality that includes a resolution saying that “same-sex partnerships who want to take the risk of an unbreakable common life…should be able to see themselves placed under the blessing of God.”

Bro, do you even Catechism?

Troll farms reached 140 million Americans a month on Facebook before 2020 election - MIT Technology Review

In the run-up to the 2020 election, the most highly contested in US history, Facebook’s most popular pages for Christian and Black American content were being run by Eastern European troll farms. These pages were part of a larger network that collectively reached nearly half of all Americans

If you weren’t on Facebook, you were not impacted.

Ok, Boomer.

Lordstown Motors to Sell Former GM Factory in Ohio to Foxconn - WSJ

The two companies have entered into a nonbinding agreement for Lordstown to sell the facility and property for a purchase price of $230 million with the exception of certain assets, said Lordstown Motors Chief Executive Daniel Ninivaggi.

What a company! GM sells the building to Lordstown, then forgives the loans. Lordstown turns around and cashes in.

Is there a business model here? If so, I need to get in on that action!

Congress Passes Bill Averting Government Shutdown - WSJ

Congress passed a bill extending government funding through Dec. 3, sending the legislation to President Biden’s desk hours before current funding expires and completing one of several pressing measures before lawmakers.

In fairness, this expiration of funding date really snuck up on these guys. No way to tell in advance it was coming. Plus, they had over 8 hours to spare!

Also, very hard to pass a budget when you only control 3 out of 3 parts of government required to enact a budget.

2021 Democrats remind me of 2017 Republicans. Very comforting that even when one party controls all levers of power, it’s still difficult to get things done legislatively.

See y’all back here on the afternoon of December 2nd for a repeat commentary the next time Congress almost misses the funding deadline!

Manchin Statement On Infrastructure And Reconciliation Negotiations - U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia

If there is one final lesson that will continue to guide me in this difficult debate ahead it is this: America is a great nation but great nations throughout history have been weakened by careless spending and bad policies. Now, more than ever, we must work together to avoid these fatal mistakes so that we may fulfill our greatest responsibility as elected leaders and pass on a better America to the next generation.

The NCAA’s ‘March Madness’ Basketball Brand Will Now Include Women - WSJ

The NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament next March will use the “March Madness” branding long associated with the men’s tournament, the NCAA announced Wednesday, reversing the association’s practice of withholding the slogan from the women’s event.

Sounds great, but won’t add a single viewer.

The only way to increase NCAA women’s viewership is to adopt the CNN model: pay every airport and doctors office in the nation to leave it on and never change the channel.

New FAA Technology Aims to Speed Takeoffs of Planes Idling on Runways - WSJ

The software tools are expected to be available at 27 larger airports around the country within five to 10

Wow! That fast?!

The color orange makes me happy.

Army Football’s Winning Record In Jeopardy As General Milley Keeps Giving Opponents Their Playbook - The Babylon Bee

“I have always believed it’s important to give your opponent a heads up on whatever your secret plans are,” said Milley to reporters

Joe Biden’s Economic Fantasy World - WSJ Opinion

The Biden bill is paid for by the largest tax increase in history. You are entitled to argue that is a cost worth paying, but you can’t argue it costs nothing.

It’s also fantasy to believe that taxing productivity comes at no cost. The dollars that the federal government collects and redistributes may have been more effectively funneled into the economy by those who are paying. Companies pay employers, buy raw materials, and boost their stock prices, all to the benefit of the collective economy. Americans with disposable income do the same thing through discretionary spending.

• Far too many of the tax dollars proposed to be levied will end up propping up unviable green energy businesses that will go to zero.

• Head Start has been around since 1965, with little evidence that kids who went through the program performed better academically. So how is universal Pre-K going to fix that?

• Less than 30% of students in community college complete their program of study. How is that percentage going to go up when they don’t have any skin in the game?

• Paid Family Leave is a problem already solved in the private market through increased paid time off or short term disability plans.

• Utility companies and states are already diversifying their power supply base, to include renewables. Why do they need an additional tax or bonus check for continuing to do the work they’re already doing?

• We authorized $6T in the past year and have inflation near 5%, why is spending another $3.5T a good idea? Oh, and some of that money won’t be spent until 2028 as it is.

On, and on, and on…

Which brings us to the other fiction the president and his friends have been aggressively promoting of late: the idea that the bill is good because the rich deserve to pay more. “I’m sick and tired of the super-wealthy and corporations not paying their fair share in taxes,” Mr. Biden wrote on Twitter last week. But this favored Democratic talking point, whether articulated from a White House podium, or daubed in blood-red ink on a fancy dress, is bathed in mendacity. Corporate taxes end up being paid by much of the population. Individual income taxes have already become more progressive. According to the Tax Foundation, in 2018, the top 1% of American taxpayers paid more than 40% of all federal income taxes. That is up from 33% two decades ago. The bottom 50% paid less than the top 3%.

The lopsided distribution of taxes is unsustainable.

I love the patterns this spreadable butter has when you open a fresh container.

🧈

In a Troubled U.S.-China Relationship, Moments of Pragmatism Emerge - WSJ

That it appears to have taken a high-stakes deal to spring the Canadians from Chinese jails is a worry for some expats in China, who say Beijing may be emboldened to detain other foreigners in future spats.

Ya think?

It wasn’t easy, but we got it done! Sod installed, dirt patch gone!

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou Reaches Deal With Justice Department - WSJ

On Friday night, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said two Canadians held in Chinese custody since December 2018, or when Ms. Meng was initially detained— Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor —had boarded a plane bound for Canada.

I guess they were victims of hostage diplomacy, after all.

What the ‘Smart Money’ Knows About China’s Evergrande Crisis - WSJ

Between its inception at the end of 1992 and this Aug. 31, the MSCI China stock index has returned an average of 2.2% annually, including dividends. Over the same period, the MSCI Emerging Markets index grew 7.8% annually; the S&P 500, 10.7%.

White House ‘Zero’ Hour - WSJ Opinion

We didn’t know that when you pay for something that makes it free.

Hey Alison, if you’re reading this, I’m ready for a truck. And don’t worry, “it’s going to cost nothing!”

In the real world, Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation says the bill raises $2.1 trillion over 10 years. Somebody must be paying more. Among the tax hikes are a 5.5 percentage point increase in the corporate income tax rate that will be paid by workers in lower wages, consumers in higher prices and investors in lower returns. Though they’ll be pleased to know this all adds up to “zero dollars.”