E-mail to our 234 Members inviting them to join this Working Group

[johnkarls]

.

---------------------------- Original Message -----------------------------
Subject: Your Invitation to join our new Working Group on Those Notorious “Tax Expenditures” and Other Federal Budgetary Gimmicks
Date: Friday, November 22, 2024
To: To Each of Our 234 Members One-By-One
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To Each of Our 234 Members One-By-One – for reasons explained in the 4 postings in Sec. 2 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org.


Dear Friends,

As many of you will recall and Sec. 8 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org states, we form Working Groups “whenever a particular policy issue (1) may require immediate action on the spur of the moment (rendering addressing it at the next regular monthly meeting impractical), and/or (2) may require long-term attention.”

Media pundits providing cover for the pols like to opine that “discretionary spending” (the part of “federal spending” that Congress controls through annual-appropriations acts) is only a fraction of total Federal Government Spending – only $1.7 trillion in FY 2023 per the Congressional Budget Office.

[Please see https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59729 showing, in summary “Total Revenues” of $4.4 trillion, “Total Outlays” of $6.1 trillion of which $3.8 trillion was “Mandatory,” $0.7 trillion was “Interest,” and only $1.7 was “Discretionary” – or only 28% “Discretionary.”]

HOWEVER, the media pundits providing cover for the pols love to ignore those notorious “tax expenditures” which are the “give aways” in the Internal Revenue Code WHICH ESCAPE GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING!!!

For example, President-Elect Trump promised at least THREE “TAX EXPENDITURES” during his Presidential campaign –

(1) No income tax on tips;

(2) No income tax on overtime; and

(3) No income tax on Social Security.

And the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” of 2022 was reviewed expeditiously by our Thorium-Fission Working Group which found that virtually all of its “give aways” were “tax expenditures” comprising income tax deductions and tax credits for wind & solar energy.

[Please see the 8/1/2022 “Minutes of the Thorium Fission Working Group Meeting (via Zoom) on the So-Called Inflation-Reduction Act of 2022” at viewtopic.php?f=619&t=2230&sid=ebf8ba32 ... 938623b888, which followed the 7/31/2022 introduction of the bill with a “No Trespassing Except For Lobbyists” Gimmick comprising NO TABLE OF CONTENTS (please see our 7/31/2022 call for review WITH OUR TABLE OF CONTENTS at viewtopic.php?f=619&t=2229&sid=ebf8ba32 ... 938623b888.]

MOREOVER, THE SO-CALLED “INFLATION REDUCTION ACT” OF 2022 CONTAINED ANOTHER “NOTORIOUS FEDERAL BUDGETARY GIMMICK”!!!

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has been providing “cost estimates” for proposed legislation since 1975, all of which are available on the CBO website in chronological order.

FIRST, they are notoriously “static” in that they do NOT take into account the economic reaction to the legislation, but assume everything remains the same.

SECOND, if memory serves, the “cost estimates” historically only took into account the following THREE years.

Which enabled the pols to play games by delaying any disasters to the so-called “out years” beyond the three-year measurement period.

THIRD, quite some time ago, the “cost estimates” were changed to take into account the following TEN years.

Which enabled our “ever ingenious” pols to invent a new game – provide only THREE years of new “give aways” together with TEN years of new revenues, SUPPOSEDLY SECURE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT NO FUTURE CONGRESS WILL PERMIT THE NEW “GIVE AWAYS” TO EXPIRE!!!

[Which can be easily accomplished by burying the extensions in the annual appropriations bills.]

*****
Per the minutes (described above with a link) of our Thorium-Fission Working Group re the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 -

“Simple math --

“If the TOTAL “GIVE-AWAYS” (called “investments” in Washington-speak) of $433 billion are multiplied by 10/3 to calculate their 10-year total since they are virtually guaranteed not to expire after 3 years, the Total REAL “Give-Aways” should be $1.433 TRillion – for a Total Deficit INCREASE averaging $143 Billion/Year.

“HOWEVER, after marveling briefly over how stupid our pols think “we-the-people” are, we agreed that this was NOT our fight.”

*****
THE IRONY OF THE THREE-YEAR “GIVE AWAYS” OF THE SO-CALLED INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OF 2022

Its wind & solar “give aways” in the form of “tax expenditures” will expire after only 3 years.

And it is unlikely the Trump Administration will extend them indefinitely AS IS ASSUMED BY THE PROPONENTS OF THIS “GIMMICK” THAT NO FUTURE CONGRESS WILL PERMIT NEW “GIVE AWAYS” TO EXPIRE.

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Obviously it is time for us to establish a Working Group Re “Tax Expenditures” and Other Federal Budgetary Gimmicks

(1) to undertake whatever campaigns directed at national leaders are appropriate; and

(2) to remain vigilant vis-à-vis this issue and take whatever action may be appropriate in the future.

If you would like to volunteer for this new Working Group, please press Reply and type “I volunteer.”

Your friend,

John K.

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