SALT States
Perhaps no other mineral has had a more significant impact on the progress of civilization than salt (NaCl) sodium chloride (see: History of salt, Wikipedia). It has been used as a medium of exchange and food preservation that built civilizations – but also to render enemies’ lands sterile and useless for agriculture and thereby survival.
Roman general Vespasian reportedly salted the earth to prevent re-population after breaching the third wall of Jerusalem and leveling the entire city leaving only three towers as a landmark and reminder of their obstinacy. (see: Josephus: The Complete Works)
Which effect will congress’ SALT in Trump’s five-trillion dollar budget-busting “Big, Beautiful Bill” have on the average American taxpayer?
“In the context of the congressional budget, SALT refers to the State And Local Tax deduction. It allows taxpayers who itemize deductions on their federal income tax returns to deduct property, income and sales taxes paid to the state and local governments. Taxpayers can subtract a portion of these taxes from their federal taxable income liability. This deduction has been a contentious issue. Critics argue it disproportionately benefits high-income earners and adds to the federal deficit while supporters contend it helps states maintain their tax revenues and prevents a ‘race to the bottom’ in tax rates.” – Wikipedia
For us average consumers / taxpayers which rings true? What effect will SALT have on us? Let’s begin by asking who this deduction benefits the most?
“SALT disproportionately benefits higher income households. These benefits are concentrated in states with higher state and local taxes, such as California, New York (which we taxpayers have already bailed out twice through our “generous” representatives in congress) and New Jersey.” (see: taxfoundation.org)
A cursory look at the SALT impact map at taxfoundation.org will amaze you with how few this bill will benefit!
It calls to mind de Tocqueville’s warning about “the tyranny of the minority” – and SALT really has a miniscule minority! A few stalwart congressmen object to this pork barrel gift on the basis of the out of proportion negative impact it will have on Trump’s five trillion, budget busting “big, beautiful bill” increasing even more the federal deficit.
It is no secret these are three of the worst governed states in the union. Giving them special tax dispensations would have the rest of us taxpayers rewarding bad behavior. Giving them a financial “release valve” would only guarantee continued poor management.
Rather than rescuing badly governed states or worse managed corporations, banks and institutions, why not try the real capitalism – a level playing field – where incompetence is allowed to fail so venture capitalists can purchase and reorganize them for success? That is the real “Art of the Deal.”
Narrowly applicable tax dispensations and bailouts by the government are only thinly-disguised selective socialism.
These three and a few other Democrat-run states seem to be the only ones entered in the “race to the bottom” of over taxation. The rest of America seems to managing their finances fairly well.
Who inserted this deduction into Trump’s “big, beautiful bill?” No surprise here: Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Young Kim (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Mondaire Jones (D-NY).
These two answers tell us one thing: there really is no “two-Party” system when it comes to pork barrel legislation. Pork barrel bills inserted into the congressional budget by both Parties is the reason our national debt has been skyrocketing for the last forty years.
Congress has thwarted every attempt to bring that practice under control from consistently refusing to grant the president line-item veto authority, ignoring effective recommendations offered by the Government Accounting Office repeatedly every year since its’ inception in 1921; ignoring Reagan’s Grace Report (see: It’s About the Fraud, Waste and Abuse: Remember the Grace Report? dtd 2013/03/02 this site), and both houses of congress eliminating the remedial laws to prevent another 2008 Mortgage Crisis just two years after they were passed them.
Not only is there no actual “two-Party” system in our government but it has become increasingly socialistic as it has continued propelling the nation to the precipice of bankruptcy.
“Only Socialism can create scarcity in a country of prosperity.” – Rudyard Kipling
To prove the continuous socialist creep of congress we can go back to Horatio Bunce’s conversation with congressman Davy Crockett (see: Not Yours to Give from the Life of Colonel David Crockett. Ai.mit.edu)
Or further back to Frederic Bastiat:
“The basic test to determine if a government is socialist is to ask does the government take property (money, land, etc.) owned by some to give to others what they do not own for the benefit of one citizen at the expense of the other?” – Bastiat, The Law, p. 118.
(see also: History of the Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers, 1883; 712 pgs.; Driven From Sea to Sea – or, A Campin’ by C.C. Post, 1889, 414 pgs., History of Standard Oil Company by Ida M. Tarbell,1904; and The Report of the Mortgage Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), 2009.
It is worth noting that the four Republicans on the Mortgage Crisis Commission wanted to ban the words “Wall Street,” “Shadow Banking,” and “deregulation” from the main report – all pointing to Republicans’ responsibility to the deregulation that was a major contributor the Mortgage Crisis.
“It is radically impossible for the government to confer a particular advantage on some individuals who make up some of the population without inflicting greater damage on the population as a whole.” – Bastiat, The State, p. 99.
“The government can not organize economic production without organizing injustice. Government can be an instrument for equality only to the extent that it takes from some to give to others; thus government becomes an instrument of plunder (see: Plunder Theory by Bastiat, The Law, p. 120).
Based on history, congress has been engaging in socialistic plunder theory for a long time.
Farmers used to use salt to preserve their meat for further consumption. Politicians are using SALT to preserve their covetous positions in the wealth producing seats of congress.
The problem with that is, like conquering invaders, congress’ budget-busting pork bill is SALTing the financial landscape for the rest of us taxpayers – and will very soon render our financial fields of endeavor sterile and incapable of supporting Life.
