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COVID Fear Isn’t The Kitchen Sink – But It’s Close…

With 30-days left before the election perhaps it’s worthwhile remembering what all of this opposition is about…. Something 99% of American voters do not quite understand.

Congress doesn’t actually write legislation. The last item of legislation written by congress was sometime around the mid 1990’s. Modern legislation is sub-contracted to a segment of DC operations known as K-Street. That’s where the lobbyists reside.

Lobbyists write the laws; congress sells the laws; lobbyists then pay congress lucrative commissions for passing their laws. That’s the modern legislative business in DC.

When we talk about paying-off politicians in third-world countries we call it bribery. However, when we undertake the same process in the U.S. we call it “lobbying”.

CTH often describes the system with the phrase: “There are Trillions at Stake.” The process of creating legislation is behind that phrase. DC politics is not quite based on the ideas that frame most voter’s reference points.

With people taking notice of DC politics for the first time; and with people not as familiar with the purpose of DC politics; perhaps it is valuable to provide clarity.

Most people think when they vote for a federal politician -a House or Senate representative- they are voting for a person who will go to Washington DC and write or enact legislation. This is the old-fashioned “schoolhouse rock” perspective based on decades past. There is not a single person in congress writing legislation or laws.

In modern politics not a single member of the House of Representatives or Senator writes a law, or puts pen to paper to write out a legislative construct. This simply doesn’t happen.

Over the past several decades a system of constructing legislation has taken over Washington DC that more resembles a business operation than a legislative body. Here’s how it works right now.

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New York Times Fails at Outlining President Trump’s Taxes Again…

Once again the New York Times attempts to make an issue out of President Trump’s real estate holdings working as a tax shelter and reducing income taxes.

In the article the Times completely obfuscates the way income taxes are strategically offset by depreciation, mortgage interest and the entire reason why real estate ownership is viewed as a business.

John Carney writing for Breitbart gets it:

[…] So imagine our guy took out an $8 million mortgage at five percent, paying $2 million cash. Now he’s got to pay $400,000 in mortgage payments. He wants to make at least that much so he charges tenants an aggregate of $425,000, which after upkeep comes out to $410,000 of net income. (Remember, if the bank didn’t think he could make more in rent than the mortgage payment, it probably wouldn’t have lent him the money.) The interest payment on the loan–let’s call it $390,000–is deductible from his income, leaving him with $20,000 in net income. He gets to keep that and pay no taxes on it, however, because he still gets to apply the $370,000 depreciation charge. He tells the IRS he lost $350,000.

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Larry Kudlow Discusses April Jobs Report – Numbers Full of “Heartbreak and Hardship”…

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on Fox Business to discuss today’s report on jobs from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The estimated  unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 percent. Kudlow brings up a good point: allow people to take a tax deduction for COVID-19 expenses.

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Secretary Steven Mnuchin Discusses Paycheck Protection Program and Small Business Relief…

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appears for a wide-ranging interview with Maria Bartiromo. Topics include international travel, the Paycheck Protection Program progress, small business relief, and overall rebuilding of the U.S. economy amid COVID-19 mitigation.

The first few minutes of the interview are weird because Bartiromo doesn’t seem to recognize the PPP program is essentially a grant to small business to keep their employees on payroll. Ms. Bartiromo appears to want the PPP grants to be shifted to free money to replace business revenue, and she’s pushing hard for her Wall St buddies.

Secretary Mnuchin tries to remind Bartiromo that businesses can apply for bridge loans, but the PPP is actually a grant. Bartiromo argues that all businesses should have free money bailouts to replace revenues; an impossible suggestion.

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White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett Outlines Expectations for May…

White House Advisor to the President Kevin Hassett discusses the importance of using May to get as many states open as possible.  The President has asked for data daily to measure the amount of the economy that is reopening.  As the economy opens there’s less need for a ‘phase-4’ relief/bailout bill.

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Sunday Talks: Secretary Mnuchin -vs- Insufferable Chris Wallace…

Fox News host Chris Wallace is to Fox News as George Stephanopoulos is to ABC.  Both members of the allied uniparty system function for the same purpose.  Once you see the strings on the marionette is impossible to go back to a time when you did not see them. Wallace’s job is to manipulate his audience while giving the impression of questioning.

In today’s interview with Secretary Mnuchin the insufferable Wallace is cheering for as much economic damage as possible and questioning anyone who might dare have a more fact-based approach.  At one point Wallace even calls the CBO “independent experts”.

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The biggest of all the bigger financial issues around the economic shut-down will ultimately come down to a battle this spring/summer over a massive bailout for state governments to replace their missing revenue.  States like California, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut & New York have been struggling with financial issues for years.

“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”  ~ Rahm Emanuel

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Jim Jordan Discusses Pelosi and Clyburn’s New ‘Remove Trump’ Sub-Committee…

Representative Jim Jordan appears on Fox Business with Lou Dobbs to discuss Trump Removal 4.0.  As Jordan outlines there are already eight different oversight teams looking over the Wuhan Virus spending. The Clyburn committee was exclusively created to target President Trump.

Additionally, Jordan goes to the big picture and discusses the latest revelations about the DOJ and FBI; while holding cautious optimism toward Bill Barr and John Durham.

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Man, if only the House would have made Jordan the Speaker in January 2017.

::heavy sigh::

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Congress Finalizes $484 Billion Deal – $321 Billion for Paycheck Protection Program…

Republicans and Democrats finally agreed on a supplemental spending bill that will bolster the paycheck protection program with an additional $321 billion in relief funds.

[WASHINGTON] – […] The deal also includes $60 billion in loans and grants for economic disaster assistance, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing. Of that testing money, $11 billion will go to states and some will also go to the federal government.

Democrats admitted defeat on their demands for $150 billion for states and local governments after McConnell and Mnuchin took a hard line against including that money. (read more)

Likely President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin will discuss during today’s briefing. The bill should pass later this week.

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Discusses Timing for Coronavirus Support Funds For Workers and Business…

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calls-in to Maria Bartiromo to discuss some of the details within the coronavirus relief bill, including the ‘when’ and ‘how’ funds will be distributed.

On the business side Secretary Mnuchin is standing up a new funding mechanism for small businesses within the Small Business Administration (SBA).  The treasury is using the architecture of the ¹FDIC to be the point of contact for businesses who need short-term bridge funds to help carry them.  On the worker side the direct payments to middle-class workers should arrive in two to three weeks.  Excellent Interview:

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¹That is really smart.  All FDIC insured lenders can operate as point of contact lenders for small businesses that need emergency funding.  That means instead of navigating the matrix of big government, a business owner can just go to their local bank and get the funds.  The FDIC, already in a relationship with the bank, back-stops the funding while treasury underwrites the lending (a loan without payback).  Brilliant approach.

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It Begins – Cheesecake Factory Tells Landlords Nationwide They Will Not Pay Rent April 1st…

Think about this… How weak and tenuous does a corporate financial position need to be such that being closed for one week means informing all nationwide landlords of your inability to pay the rent next week?   Consider this example:

CALIFORNIA – The Cheesecake Factory, one of the most popular sit-down restaurant chains in the country, says it will not be able to make upcoming rent payments for any of its storefronts on April 1 because of significant loss of income due to the coronavirus crisis.

[…]  Company chairman and CEO David Overton writes, “Due to these extraordinary events, I am asking for your patience, and frankly, your help.” He continues, “we appreciate our landlords’ understanding given the exigency of the current situation.” The letter says that the company hopes to resume paying rent as soon as possible.

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