September 24, 2016

Another Bubble Within The Bubble

An interview from the Epoch Times. “To make outsized returns or avoid some nasty losses in investing, you have to go against the grain. There are few people who live that principle more than Reggie Middleton, the CEO of fintech (financial technology) company Veritaseum. On his independent research website BoomBustBlog, he called the demise of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, the subprime market, and a correction in Apple. In this exclusive interview with the Epoch Times, Mr. Middleton tells us why he is getting worried about U.S. real estate again in 2016.”

“Epoch Times: You called the latest housing crash in 2007 and 2008. Why are you worried about U.S. real estate in 2016? Reggie Middleton: After the bubble had popped, you had corporate welfare come in where regulatory agencies and central bankers insisted that they did not want the markets to go down to their clearing level. So you had quantitative easing, zero interest rates, TARP, and all these other acronyms giving free money to save risk-taking entities who didn’t want to take their losses; they just wanted to make profits.”

“They privatize the profits and socialize the losses. In doing that, they create another bubble within the bubble that hadn’t even finished deflating.”

“The second bubble was very hard to see coming. But it limited supply because a lot of the builders were still insolvent from the last bust and those who were able to build were reluctant, so when you limit supply, you automatically inflate demand relative to supply.”

“When that happened, prices started shooting up again. But when prices started shooting up, they shot up in a very uneven perspective. Affordable housing is harder to come by, and most of the money is in the high end; that’s where most of the development came on. Now, if you look around here in New York, there are cranes everywhere—from New York City going down to Miami.”

“Epoch Times: In our neighborhood alone, we have five developments within a couple of blocks. Mr. Middleton: Massive amounts of inventory. In Miami, it’s the same thing. In South Beach, downtown Miami, up and down Biscayne, everywhere. If you go to D.C., Philadelphia, Georgia, Texas, on the West Coast, it’s the same.”

“Demand is also going up because of tight supply in certain areas, but income has only gone up incrementally. When income goes up this much, supply goes up that much, who’s going to buy these or pay for these houses?”

“Epoch Times: Especially in the high-end market. Mr. Middleton: Exactly. The high end has already softened. The Hamptons, much of the Upper East Side, Aspen. The middle and low end are going to soften as well. The reason is that supply’s starting to pick up more and more. It’s picking up because of zero interest rates and negative interest rates; we have institutional investors who are trying to get yield because they are pension funds, and they rely on income-producing investments.”

“Now, this perspective seems to differ from many of the real estate publications and analysts you’d see, where they say there’s significant demand and tight supply. I look around; I just don’t see it. Unless an extra 5,000 to 6,000 people are going to move into this six-block or this three-block area like where we are right now, or an extra 200 or 300 extra businesses are going to move in over the next 12 months, then I think there’s excess supply.”

“It’s the bubble 2.0, but this bubble seems to be an elastic bubble that’s difficult to pop. Every time we stick a needle in the bubble, the Fed comes in and papers over with another acronym: TARP, MARP, bubble patch, etc. In the United States, you had—if you don’t count the bubble—for the last 50 years, you had roughly 1 to 3 percent residential housing appreciation per year. Now, you have 5, 10, 15, or 20 percent annually in certain areas.”

“That’s ridiculous. Unsustainable. Especially when you have the same income. If you factor in unemployment, you have negative income growth. That means housing is going this way; income is going that way.”

From Bloomberg. “The consensus that Chair Janet Yellen has worked hard to maintain among Federal Reserve policy makers showed signs of severe strain on Wednesday. Three members of the Federal Open Market Committee, notably including Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, dissented when the majority of voters elected to hold interest rates steady despite strong progress this year in the labor market, expectations for higher inflation and calm in global financial markets.”

“Rosengren, 59, played a key role during the 2008 financial crisis leading the Fed’s efforts to prevent a collapse in money-market mutual funds. He has also frequently cited the number of cranes he sees while heading to and from work in downtown Boston as he warns about a potential bubble in commercial real-estate valuations.”

“The disagreement shows the mood on the FOMC is shifting, said Roberto Perli, a partner at Cornerstone Macro LLC in Washington and former Fed economist. ‘The chair is not an emperor,’ he said. ‘I don’t think she can, even if she wanted to, hold these guys back.’”

The Journal Star. “Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf wants Americans to believe that 5,300 of his former employees — yes, 5,300 — of their own initiative without any direction from above, worked in unison if unconsciously to defraud customers by creating more than 2 million phony bank and credit card accounts without authorizations or signatures and then charged them fees for something many didn’t even know they had.”

“To say next to nothing of the allegations of Wells Fargo’s abusive mortgage service and foreclosure practices that had what by then had become the nation’s largest bank socking customers with outrageous fees for services sometimes not even delivered, such as an $1,800 charge to a widow for an eviction that never took place.”

“Again, the guy regrets it, truly. Hey, ‘the housing downturn was a challenging time for the nation’ — if less for some than for others, if we may say so — according to a spokesman. The bank ‘has acknowledged … mistakes.’ There’s blame to go around: ‘Lenders, investors, along with policymakers and regulators — all sides — learned foreclosure processes had to be addressed.’ So can’t we all just stop harping on it, chalk it up as lesson learned, and move on?”

“Did we mention that this fraud went on for years after it was initially uncovered in 2013 by the Los Angeles Times (not, interestingly, by regulators)? Did we mention that no members of Wells Fargo’s upper management were fired (unless you count the head of community bank operations being allowed to retire over the summer with a golden parachute in the tens of millions)? Did we mention that most of the 5,300 who did get canned — the company is all about accountability, capital A — were among its lowest paid, making as little as $12 an hour? Did we mention that no one near the top has had their pay docked, including a Stumpf who reportedly made — we hesitate to use the term ‘earned’ — $19 million last year, $103 million in combined compensation between 2011 and 2015?”

“If the conduct of Wells Fargo — and of course we’re talking about the institution and its leadership; we trust many who work there are as appalled by these revelations as anyone — doesn’t make Americans even angrier in this, the Year of Rage, what will? Unfortunately, so much of that fury has been misplaced. In this case, it’s perfectly placed.”

“What are the lyrics of that Dylan song (thanks for the reminder from a Wall Street Journal commenter)? ‘Steal a little and they put you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.’ Until that changes, expect more of this kind of fundamental immorality.”




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56 Comments »

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-09-24 07:03:23

‘Anxiety Spikes Among G-20, An Analysis of UN Speeches Shows’

‘Heads of state and government representing the world’s largest economies used words like “fear,” “uncertainty,” “risk,” and “terror” 87 percent more often on average than during last year’s gathering, according to an analysis by Adam Tiouririne, a leadership communication adviser at Logos Consulting Group.’

‘Researchers classify this kind of language into a category of “anxiety words” that they use to analyze health outcomes and even business management. This analysis focuses on variations of 13 such words in 22 speeches covering the 10 G-20 countries whose head of state or head of government spoke the past two years, plus European Council President Donald Tusk.’

‘Academic research has also found that such words reflect people’s actual underlying levels of stress, which may explain why U.S. President Barack Obama — who will no longer be troubled with the world’s problems after next January — is the only G-20 leader to use anxiety words less often than last year.’

‘Yet even as global conflicts weighed on the G-20 leaders, economics ultimately emerged as a top issue for many, especially Chinese Premier Li Keqiang who mentioned the subject twice as often as any of his peers.’

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-09-24 10:16:45

“fear,” “uncertainty,” “risk,” and “terror”

Sound to me like signs of economic health.

‘Yet even as global conflicts weighed on the G-20 leaders, economics ultimately emerged as a top issue for many, especially Chinese Premier Li Keqiang who mentioned the subject twice as often as any of his peers.’

Dan? Bueller???

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-09-24 07:08:18

‘This perspective seems to differ from many of the real estate publications and analysts you’d see, where they say there’s significant demand and tight supply. I look around; I just don’t see it. Unless an extra 5,000 to 6,000 people are going to move into this six-block or this three-block area like where we are right now, or an extra 200 or 300 extra businesses are going to move in over the next 12 months, then I think there’s excess supply.’

‘It’s the bubble 2.0, but this bubble seems to be an elastic bubble that’s difficult to pop. Every time we stick a needle in the bubble, the Fed comes in and papers over with another acronym: TARP, MARP, bubble patch, etc. In the United States, you had—if you don’t count the bubble—for the last 50 years, you had roughly 1 to 3 percent residential housing appreciation per year. Now, you have 5, 10, 15, or 20 percent annually in certain areas.’

‘That’s ridiculous. Unsustainable. Especially when you have the same income.’

We have posters who will say, builders wouldn’t build this or that if there wasn’t a market for it. So how do you end up with 57 years of luxury inventory in Miami Beach? And that’s just a few years from the last disaster?

‘if you don’t count the bubble—for the last 50 years, you had roughly 1 to 3 percent residential housing appreciation per year. Now, you have 5, 10, 15, or 20 percent annually in certain areas’

It’s not just the last 50 years. We can go back globally and say it was more like 600 years. This was out there for anyone to see. The media will calmly report, “Nowhere-ville USA was up 8% last month, the 50th consecutive month of increases.” Hello!

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 07:10:55

Bridgeport, CT shows what happens when you ship your manufacturing base and jobs overseas, while the Fed’s “No Billionaire Left Behind” monetary policies and the rigged game set up by its political elites (and ratified by an indescribably stupid 95% of the electorate) results in a corrupt and venal .1% concentrating wealth and power into its own hands.

http://www.businessinsider.com/connecticut-shows-how-finance-is-ruining-america-2016-9

Comment by rms
2016-09-24 10:15:26

Quite the read right there. Thanks!

 
 
Comment by azdude
2016-09-24 07:15:38

It seems like the bubbles keep happening because tax revenue from stocks and homes is so critical to budgets.

Also it seems a lot of these bubbles are built with borrowed money.

They are good at getting you to pay more!

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-09-24 07:32:33

This is an important point. The public had to rejoin the speculative frenzy. So why were developers, even governments so snake-bit after the Texas crash in the 80’s? Because no one bailed them out. “Speculative building” were dirty words for decades. Just a few years after the bust, you can’t turn on a TV without seeing a house flipping show.

‘After the bubble had popped, you had corporate welfare come in where regulatory agencies and central bankers insisted that they did not want the markets to go down to their clearing level. So you had quantitative easing, zero interest rates, TARP, and all these other acronyms giving free money to save risk-taking entities who didn’t want to take their losses; they just wanted to make profits’

Comment by Ben Jones
2016-09-24 07:53:11

This reminds me of an undeniable fact: when I started this blog, the Federal Reserve talked about moral hazard all the time. Around when Bernanke took over, they stopped mentioning it at all.

Comment by azdude
2016-09-24 08:12:36

bubbles with fiat money !

Seems like when people had to risk hard earned money there wasnt as much speculation. They were afraid to lose it.

Now they give people principal reductions.

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Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 09:00:48
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Comment by Professor Bear
2016-09-24 10:28:16

“Around when Bernanke took over, they stopped mentioning it at all.”

BB = Moral Hazardist in Chief

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Comment by butters
2016-09-24 08:02:13

Yep. You are catching on.

Comment by azdude
2016-09-24 08:16:21

unsound money is responsible for a lot of the bubble frenzies.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-09-24 08:36:06

That King Obama used a pseudonym in emails to the Hillary’s private server got buried in a Friday 9pm EDT news dump, that’s how real journalists roll.

Sanders supporters got cucked.

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 09:08:04

Sanders supporters were mostly hippies, precious snowflakes, and FSA members, with no steel in their spine or fire in their bellies. The apparatchiks of the DNC’s collectivist kleptocracy rolled right over them as they squealed like little biatches, stamped their little feet, then scampered home to write about their hurt feelings in their journals and FB sites.

 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 07:24:24

How many millions have the Saudis donated to the Clinton Foundation to ensure they will never be held accountable for their support to Islamic terrorism? How long will their neocon friends in high places shield them from any consequences for their actions?

http://nypost.com/2016/07/15/yes-the-saudi-government-helped-the-911-terrorists/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 07:39:40

The truth about Yellen the Felon, the Fed, and their bubbles that you’ll never read in the MSM.

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2016/09/23/mucks-minute-34/#more-132209

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-09-24 07:40:34

‘One of the biggest market worries surrounds the Bank of Japan’s decision to stick with its plan of buying 80 trillion yen ($792 billion) of government bonds each year while the program is in place, while also pledging to hold the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond TMBMKJP-10Y, +0.00% at 0% (shorter term yields are in negative territory and the bank’s overnight lending rate stands at minus 0.1%).’

‘After all, if 10-year yields trade below zero, the Bank of Japan will have to curtail purchases of that maturity and could, conceivably, end up having to sell some of the 10-year bonds it already holds (yields rise as bond prices fall, and vice versa).’

‘Never mind the fact that all that JGB buying is almost certain to push the entire yield curve lower to begin with, said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, in a note. “In other words, the BOJ cannot control both the quantity of bonds it buys and the price it will pay for them at once,” he wrote.’

‘If the Bank of Japan ultimately does have to scale back its bond buying to keep the 10-year yield at 0%, it still has the option of easing further by pushing official rates deeper into negative territory. But that could be problematic, too, noted economists at Barclays, given the difficulties such a move would make for those same beleaguered retail savers.’

“In other words, it is not clear that the new policy rests on a stable equilibrium,” they wrote.’

You know you are in goofy-land when economists discuss equilibrium in connection with QE.

Comment by In Colorado
2016-09-24 08:43:53

You know you are in goofy-land when economists discuss equilibrium in connection with QE.

And negative interest rates as well.

Imagine if someone would pay you to rent an apartment. I wonder if the landlord would also have to pay me a security deposit?

 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-09-24 08:30:46

A scene of homeless misery greets patrons trying to use Santa Ana’s award-winning library:

“a visit to the downtown library has become, on many days, a walk through a gantlet of misery: Homeless men and women sleep in the lawn while others plead with visitors for change.

Inside the building, signs warned people to avoid restrooms where some homeless use sinks and even toilet water to bathe themselves and wash their clothes. Some of Santa Ana’s down and out used the study carrels to look for jobs — others shot up drugs, with syringes found discarded in planters and even a box of toilet seat covers.

Security guards carry syringe disposal kits on their tool belts.

“It’s a great place to hang out. You get something valuable,” Haley, a 14-year-old high school freshman at USC College Prep, said. “Now, it’s just uncomfortable.”

The growing debate over homelessness in Orange County has found a crucible in a library that this year was named one of five winners of the 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to libraries and museums for community service.

Libraries around the country, including in downtown Los Angeles, have long been safe spaces for transients. But Orange County’s homeless population has been increasing sharply in recent years, and the Santa Ana civic center, where the library is located, is now home to an encampment of more than 400 people that the City Council earlier this month labeled “a public health crisis.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-ana-library-adv-snap-story.html

Comment by In Colorado
2016-09-24 08:52:06

30+ years ago when I lived in SoCal, the public libraries, even in suburbs like Escondido, were packed with homeless people, to the point where parents would not take their children there.

Heck, now even in podunky Loveland the library is full of bums and other shady characters, who steal stuff left and right from patrons

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 09:04:22

When I was a kid libraries were wonderful places where you could lose yourself in a good book, and the patrons were mostly quiet and respectful. Not now. Libraries were among the first casualties of our national descent into IDIOCRACY.

 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-09-24 10:23:10

I frequently visit the downtown Denver Library across from open air drug bazaar Civic Center Park. If you have to, always use a restroom above the first floor, and preferably not within the first 30-60 minutes of the library opening time.

 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-09-24 10:46:54

My library
Should be a server for Kindle
Haven’t been in years
Is lovelAnd still hot ?

 
 
 
Comment by taxpayers
2016-09-24 08:59:12

1921 clearing = boom
1981 = boom
2009 no clearing = Japan
Fcta

Comment by In Colorado
2016-09-24 12:13:58

Two houses sold on my street. One for 380K (smaller, not on golf course side of street) the other for 450K (bigger, on gold course side). The smaller house took a couple of months to sell, the bigger one was under contract after just two weeks.

Houses in the low 200K range still sell in a few days with multiple offers. Few are on the market and the builder boyz are only building McMansions this time.

The library in Loveland still has plenty of traditional patrons. There’s still a lot of stuff not available on Kindle. People also check out videos and CDs. They have some rather successful programs for kids.

But dealing with the homeless has become a major issue for them. And we don’t have tent cities here, at least not yet (I suspect they would be less than ideal in the winter). But reports of thefts (cell phones, tablets, laptops, purses, etc.) are on the rise. The police get called a lot more than in the past to deal with rowdy patrons.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2016-09-24 09:05:35

‘Fort Collins developer Brinkman Partners is proposing construction of a five-story project just north of the Colorado State University campus. The proposal for 88 bedrooms in 60 units is the latest in a slew of new student housing plans under review by the city’s planning staff.’

‘Other student housing projects in the works will bring 853 new units with more than 2,600 bedrooms to Fort Collins.’

Comment by taxpayers
2016-09-24 10:44:06

Everybody wants to live w the smell of bong water

 
Comment by In Colorado
2016-09-24 12:03:33

Last I heard CSU didn’t have a student housing shortage.

Also, of interest, CSU is spending$200 millions building a new football stadium, not that there was anything wrong with the old one, except that it’s not on campus. It was financed with bonds, and the word out there is that if you want to see the CSU Rams play, it’s gonna cost a whole lot more than it used to. The Rams are a mediocre team that hasn’t been a contender in its conference for a long time.

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 09:11:34

The Oligopoly is plotting new globalist schemes to enrich the .1% at the expense of everyone else, while the sheeple slumber on.

http://dailyreckoning.com/elites-secretly-plan-global-new-deal/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 09:14:59

California state workers and pension funds will have to force the state’s dwindling number of taxpayers to fill the gaping holes in the pension casino.

http://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/in-california-pension-casino-taxpayers-going-bust/

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-09-24 10:30:32

How about opening new casino gambling operations in CA and using the proceeds to fund pensions?

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 10:55:06

The Comrades of Proven Worth (D) who control the statehouse will legalize and tax vice rackets such as prostitution and illicit drugs instead. Forward!

 
 
Comment by jerzdebil
2016-09-24 10:49:34

As a former cali resident, its easy to recognize that the incredibly generous salaries and pensions are a big part of the phone wealth effect there, and its abused like crazy compared to other states. Salaries elsewhere - even in areas with equally nice weather (the sole justification by the usual morons for those exaggerated salaries and benefits) are much lower. And its all government drones that enjoy these perks, the private sector folks - outside of the latest fad application company - dont get anything near as good. This is a big contributor to the third worldization of the state.

I have no idea how this is going to be resolved, I just know its going to be ugly. UGLY!

Comment by rms
2016-09-24 12:49:11

“And its all government drones that enjoy these perks, the private sector folks - outside of the latest fad application company - dont get anything near as good.”

The private sector doesn’t employ many geo-technical seismic scientists, fire fighting bomber pilots or technical search and rescue specialists, etc. These strategic employees have invested time and money in their skills and cope with real danger in their various professions.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 10:32:38

Freight volumes, a far more reliable metric of the real economy than the faked Soviet-style statistics trotted out by our central planners, show the real economy is in a precipitous decline.

http://wolfstreet.com/2016/09/20/u-s-freight-falls-worst-since-2010-cass-freight-index/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 10:34:04

The Oligopoly’s flagship propaganda and disinformation outlet, the New York Times, has naturally endorsed Crooked Hillary for president.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-idUSKCN11U0JA

 
 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 10:42:38

Sociopaths can’t help but let the mask slip every once in a while. This is what a power-hungry maniac looks like up close. Check out the crazed, diabolical eyes. Just what we need at the helm for the next four years.

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/22/hillary-clinton-arent-50-points-ahead-donald-trump/

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 10:52:39

The architect of Obamacare, Jonathan Gruber, gloated that “stupid voters” allowed this monstrosity to pass. Middle-class taxpayers who voted for Obama and thus are directly on the hook for this debacle are going to get exactly the reaming they voted for, and deserve.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-23/failing-obamacare-nonprofit-co-ops-add-to-death-spiral-fears

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 11:10:20

Gutsy Asian lady in Atlanta deals out lead to home invaders. Scratch one Hillary voter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrCfcHLiK8

 
Comment by Bluto
2016-09-24 11:15:33

Here in California another consequence of ZIRP was that it motivated many speculators into investing in residential RE after Bubble 1.0 popped. Many bought with 100% cash which shut out people trying to buy with a mortgage (experienced this personally) AND eliminated assessors from these deals which helped to inflate comps and Bubble 2.0
Locally in Sonoma Co. the median house price is now about 9 X median household income but the marker appears to be stalled and the RE shill that rides for the local paper even said as much….

 
Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 11:40:23

African-Americans voted overwhelmingly for hope n’ change Goldman Sachs can believe in. They got their hope n’ change, all right. Now they’ll make the same mistake by voting for another Goldman Sachs/George Soros stooge, then wonder why they keep losing ground.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-23/black-white-wage-gap-continued-expand-under-obama

Comment by Apartment 401
2016-09-24 12:42:03

“President Barack Obama delivered an impassioned plea to the African-American community Saturday night to help stop Donald Trump, saying he would consider it a “personal insult” to his legacy if black voters didn’t turn out for Hillary Clinton.”

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/17/politics/obama-black-congressional-caucus/index.html

Comment by Raymond K Hessel
2016-09-24 16:12:10

By every measure blacks are worse off than they were when they voted overwhelmingly for Obama in 2008.

 
 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2016-09-24 13:31:36

A new study says Trump would raise taxes for millions. Trump’s campaign insists he won’t.

By Jim Tankersley September 24 at 10:30 AM

More than half of America’s single parents and one-fifth of its families with children could see their federal income taxes go up under Republican Donald Trump’s revamped tax plan, according to a new analysis of the plan by a New York University professor who previously served as a tax specialist for the Obama administration and the Senate Finance Committee.

The Trump campaign called the findings “pure fiction,” contending the analysis neglects a crucial benefit for low-income taxpayers — and insisting that Trump would instruct the congressional committees drafting his plan into law that taxes would not be allowed to rise for any low- or middle-income American.

“The fact that NYU didn’t include in their model the $500 per-child match — a central element of our plan — demonstrates that their entire exercise is fatally flawed,” Trump national policy director Stephen Miller said in a statement. “Nor did they model the effects of the tax-free spending on both children and elderly dependents that is additional to either the new deductions or those in current law. They modeled someone else’s plan, but not ours.”

The analysis comes from Lily Batchelder, a professor at NYU’s law school who focuses on tax policy and worked for President Obama’s National Economic Council. She has friends and former colleagues on Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign team but says she conducted this study entirely independent of the campaign.

Batchelder examined the likely effects of Trump’s proposed changes to the income tax code on individuals and families, to see whether their tax bills were likely to rise or fall based on his plan. That makes her analysis different from the broader economic analyses of groups such as the Tax Foundation, which has estimated Trump’s plan would reduce federal revenue by up to $5.9 trillion over a decade. Those broader analyses predict the average size of tax cuts at various points on the income distribution, but they don’t look at individuals.

What Batchelder discovered, for millions of individual Americans, was a math problem in Trump’s tax plan as written. The plan eliminates some tax breaks while adding others. Notably, it eliminates what’s called the personal deduction, which is currently $4,050 for every member of a household filing taxes. It also raises the standard deduction for all tax filers and creates new benefits to offset the cost of child care. It shuffles and consolidates tax brackets so that the first income to be taxed for anyone is taxed at a 12 percent rate instead of the current 10 percent.

For 8 million families, Batchelder found, the Trump plan’s tax breaks would add up to less money than the breaks they receive today. (That was what she called the “conservative” estimate; under a different set of assumptions about the provisions of Trump’s plan, Batchelder found more than 10 million families would see tax increases.)

The math is straightforward: A middle-class family of five — two parents, three children — would gain $17,000 for their standard deduction but lose $20,250 in personal deductions. Their remaining income would be taxed at 12 percent, not 10 percent. Extra child-care benefits might not be enough to make up the difference, so they would pay more.

About 1 in 5 families would fall into that category, Batchelder estimated. “That becomes more and more of an issue the bigger the household, and if they have kids,” she said in an interview. “It is primarily going to raise taxes for low- and middle-income taxpayers.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/24/a-new-study-says-trump-would-raise-taxes-for-millions-trumps-campaign-insists-he-wont/

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-09-24 14:19:34

Is Trump the real inevitable candidate?

Comment by Apartment 401
2016-09-24 14:53:22

President Donald J. Trump lives inside your skull, rent free :)

Comment by phony scandals
2016-09-24 18:17:29

Gennifer Flowers says she will attend debate on Donald Trump’s behalf

By Aaron Blake September 24 at 5:31 PM

Gennifer Flowers, who revealed a sexual relationship with Bill Clinton in the 1990s, is saying she will attend Monday night’s debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as Trump’s guest.

Flowers’s assistant confirmed the decision to BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski Saturday afternoon, and Flowers’s herself told the New York Times in a text message, “Yes, I will be there.”

The decision was the latest play in a bizarre bit of gamesmanship between the Clinton and Trump campaigns over the debate. Clinton’s camp confirmed this week that they would invite billionaire mogul Mark Cuban, a Trump antagonist, to the debate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/24/bill-clinton-accuser-gennifer-flowers-accepts-donald-trumps-invitation-to-attend-debate/ - -

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Comment by MightyMike
2016-09-24 19:32:05

President Donald J. Trump lives inside your skull, rent free

The important thing is to keep him out the White House.

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Comment by rms
2016-09-24 17:41:48

Haha… just remember to bend thy knee and kiss his hand at the coronation.

 
 
 
Comment by Apartment 401
2016-09-24 16:46:10

Charlotte, Tulsa, et cetera…

Ice Cube — AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (full album):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndeFEgnjlpQ&list=PL4W8R09fH8WAKqlHe-AVNV0nb1unTg3kt

“What they do?
Gonna ban the AK
My sh*t wasn’t registered
Any f*ing way”

Comment by Professor Bear
2016-09-24 18:24:56

Why did the Charlotte police pop a guy who had his hands down and didn’t appear to be holding a weapon?

Comment by rms
2016-09-24 20:08:42

What’s a dad with seven (7) kids doing… not obeying police commands?

 
 
 
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