Halloween Greetings Everyone!

The Peasant wishes all of you, my grand readers, a most Happy

and Joyful Halloween! May none of you get any tricks and all of

you get lovely treats!

MEM

Taxation, New York Style

The state of New York an astronomical budget, and an incredible

propensity to spend money; like the federal government, New York

spends tax revenue faster than it can collect it; the Empire State 

automatically raises income taxes each year with the help of

inflation bracket creep. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) claims that the one-time (HA!) payments 

will "provide relief to New Yorkers who have paid increased sales

taxes due to inflation (another HA!). However, New Yorkers are 

paying more tax on everything, including dining at restaurants

and pet food for Fido and Kitty. Unlike the federal government,

Albany hasn't adjusted adjusted New York tax brackets since 2016.

New Yorkers therefore are shoved up into higher tax brackets as

their nominal wages gradually climb.

Congress stopped this stealth theft by inflation regarding federal 

income tax, but around one-third of the states don't do this; 

New York, being one of these states, has this in store for a single

filer making $90,000 annually while living in New York City:

a top state-and-local tax rate of 9.9% (!). 

Now, New York income tax collections during the first half of 

this year are a whopping 75% higher than in 2022. Although the

state could end the inflation tax the Democrats, who have a 

rock-solid majority in the state legislature, don't want to give

up the resultant revenue (!!). They spend much of it on their 

special-interest constituent groups and brag about their 

"generosity" to voters --- ah, but do regular everyday New Yorkers

see any of that money, at least enough to make any real difference?

If you think that they do, then Gov. Hochul has a great big bridge

in Brooklyn that she would love to sell you! And of course the 

Big Apple is no different in this regard.

And New York City is getting ready to elect a hard-boiled Marxist to be

their new mayor, a candidate who would raise taxes even higher (!!!).

The Mayoral front-runner, Zohran Mamdami wants  to do this in order

to establish government-run grocery stores which supposedly would

sell their wares at lower prices than its private sector-run counterparts

and guarantee apartments with far cheaper rent, with a further 

infusion of rent-control (!!!!). For years New York's voters have fallen 

for such mularkey from "progressive" candidates for local offices, 

with nothing ever working out as promised. 

And there's nothing to suggest that there's ever going to be anything 

other than another repeat under a Mamdami administration. Sigh.

MEM

Reporting Interim Results: How Often is Enough?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a rule which 

requires public companies to report interim results quarterly.

President Trump would like to see the SEC change that to instead 

permit semi-annual reporting of these results. The President thinks

that U.S. companies is too short-term. Such a reduction in reporting 

obligations is a sign to corporate executives that they have been 

listening too much to their companies' shareholders, that is, their

bosses. Just who do these bumptious investors think they are,

your sarcastic Peasant wants to know? 

The government should not be sending this message. If they do,

the shareholders will certainly counter with a message of their

own, and the government and the company bigwigs will not

receive it warmly.

This is not one of President Donald J. Trump's better ideas.

MEM

Next Week, I Promise!

Your favorite Peasant has to bow out this week, as I have 

more obligations than I have time! But I shall return next 

week, and we'll resume our weekly fun!

Thank you all for your patience, understanding and indulgence.

All is well, and shall get even better!

MEM 

No Wobbling Permitted!

All too often, Republicans in Congress have lost debates

which they should have won had they just shown a bit of 

backbone. Most egregious have been the debates over health-

care, and the consequences included, but aren't limited to, 

our healthcare system falling apart. 

But a rematch has come the GOP's way; the Congressional 

Democrats have chosen to shut down the government chiefly

for these two reasons: one, they want to line the pockets of 

the large health insurance firms and the K Street lobbyists,

and two, they want to make more health care, free of course,

to more illegal immigrants. The Republicans have begun to

fight back on the latter, to their credit, but they face another

related issue in the form of a question, the question being 

should Congress extend enhanced subsidies for ObamaCare 

which were granted temporarily during the Covid pandemic?

The obvious rightful answer is a resounding "no" since 

the pandemic is long over. The Republicans have to demonstrate

their advocacy for freedom in healthcare and opposition to

socialized medicine, with no compromising on principles.

If they give any ground via making wimpy concessions 

the voters will never take them seriously when the GOP claims

that they want to deregulate the healthcare market to promote

competition and to expand healthcare savings accounts. This 

would, of course, mean a tsunami-like shift in the electorate's

preferences at election time, and they would repeat that 

preference in subsequent elections for the foreseeable future.

At least the GOP is firming up their stance on many issues

these days, with President Trump being the shot of adrenaline

coursing through their veins. Let's hope that the adrenalin boost

carries the 'Pubs to a resounding victory on this matter.

MEM

New York Slides Into Socialism

New York's embattled mayor Eric Adams has ended his campaign

for re-election last Sunday, but he really should have done it before

now. The Big Apple would have had a realistic chance of defeating

the socialist, some would say communist, mayoral candidate 

Zohran Mamdani. He's so far left that he makes former mayor

Bill De Blasio look like GOP mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Mayor Adams had given his all in vying for another term, but has

polled dangerously low against the rest of the field of candidates.

He now is in single-digits (!) running as an independent, having

shed his Democrat party label. 

His best move as mayor was to appoint Jessica Tisch as police 

commissioner. She's worked to reinstate "broken windows"

policing; intolerance for minor crimes while also focusing on high-

crime neighborhoods. Voters are now left with former Gov 

Andrew Cuomo, also running as an independent; the Democrats'

nomination has been sewn up by Mamdani. Republican pick

and past mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, founder of the crime

fighting group "The Guardian Angels", will need a miracle worthy

of informing the Pope about in order to win the general election.

A Mamdani victory will mean that New York, regarded as the financial

capital of the world, the home of Wall Street, and a mighty banking 

citadel, will succumb to frighteningly higher taxes, rent freezes, 

government-run grocery stores (no, really! Mamdani has promised

this, making it a plank in his campaign platform), and more crime 

aided and abetted by pro-crime, pro-criminal officials. 

And don't think he'll be any friend to the Jewish citizens of New York;

he's made his pro-Hamas sympathies well-known. He'll certainly be a

friend to the teacher's unions, as he is vehemently against charter

schools. 

There's an old saying in politics which states that in elections voters get 

the government they deserve. If New York's voters elect Mamdani,

and chances are excellent that they will, they're going to get precisely

that very government. Your head-shaking Peasant hopes they will be 

happy.

MEM

The Peasant's Sweet Sixteen Celebration!

No, my wonderful friends, I'm not now 16 years of age;

I left that milestone behind fifty-one years ago. But this

day is my 16th anniversary of publishing PWAP! 

We've now been together for these past sixteen years

enjoying each other's company and discussing the news,

especially that concerning government and economics, 

the financial state of our country, and sometimes checking

in on other countries and their political news. Examining

each story, picking out the good actors from the bad,

the adept from the inept, giving our praise and criticism,

our commendations and our condemnations, our welcomes

and our goodbyes, our appreciation and our opprobrium.

We've grown worldly but not not world-weary, wise 

but not wise-assed, older but savvier, and all the while 

keeping a positive outlook and looking out for the 

better and pointing the way to it. Doing our modest bit

to make for everyone a better world.

None of this would have been possible without you, 

my grand and loyal readers; Your grateful Peasant gives 

thanks for every single one of you! As of today The Peasant

is read and enjoyed in over 40 countries the world over!

And these past sixteen years have been sweet and a real 

treat! May we all have many, many more years together

enjoying this illuminating activity together, getting together

at this blog site every week! 

Many thanks everyone!

MEM