Biden’s budget wages war on wealth

Like everything else emerging from this economically and morally bankrupt administration, Joe Biden’s campaign promises disguised as a budget are packed with lies and destruction. While presidential budgets typically don’t survive Congress, Biden’s $7.3 trillion spending proposal offers a glimpse into the tactics the Democrats will use to come after your wealth, and it should scare the heck out of you.

The White House says the budget is aimed in part at “lowering costs and giving families more breathing room,” which is weird and inconsiderate gaslighting of struggling middle- and working-class Americans. While the rate of increase in prices has come off its June 2022 peak of 9.1%, costs remain high, and families are still stressed.

Americans need to wake up or they will be living in a financial nightmare permanently.

Assuming Biden’s insane proposals did not undermine the economy and send interest rates skyrocketing, his budget would add trillions to the national debt, bringing it to $45.1 trillion in the next decade under the rosiest of scenarios.

Biden proposes the largest tax increase in history on the people who pay the lion’s share of federal taxes, all in the name of “fairness,” of course.

He also wants to hike the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, an effort that may sound appealing but would likely make America’s corporate landscape less competitive. And taxes are never paid by corporations themselves. Businesses pass the additional burden along to employees and consumers, who are suffering enough already.

These proposals, should they take hold, would not only have a material adverse effect on the economy but of course would be benchmarked for everyone so that government will be set up to steal more and more of your wealth to pay for its own power-grab.

Capital gains in the crosshairs

One of the most egregious proposed shifts is changing the capital gains rate to an ordinary income rate. Capital gains are what you pay on money you risk, which has already been taxed, should there be an increase. The proposal starts with people earning $1 million or more a year. Not only would that have a massive impact on capital allocation and liquidity, but once in place for higher-income earners, it could easily creep down to middle-class brackets. It’s happened before and could easily happen again.

Changing the capital gains tax rate could also impose a massive penalty on family businesses when they have a once-in-a-lifetime exit.

Biden also sows class division by conflating wealth and income. Another White House budget “fact sheet” repeats the lie that “billionaires make their money in ways that are often taxed at lower rates than ordinary wage income, or sometimes not taxed at all.” As a result, the administration claims, “many of these wealthy Americans are able pay an average income tax rate of just 8 percent on their full incomes — a lower rate than many firefighters or teachers.”

Now, if you are wondering how billionaires end up with an 8% income tax rate — because that sounds amazing — they do not. The claim originated with a White House “study” that purported to examine “income from unsold stock.” What on earth does that mean? Tax rates on qualified dividends are 0%, 15%, and 20%, depending on income. So what are they talking about?

Not surprisingly, it is unrealized stock appreciation at a given point in time. This is a made-up proxy for a wealth tax. This is not how income tax works, and it is a straight-up lie to say this is an actual income tax rate for billionaires and portray it as the average tax rate of the “wealthiest.”

Property rights in peril

But why expect any truth from this administration? Why expect any fiscal discipline? And why expect anything other than trying to grab more of our wealth to secure governmental power?

While many Americans may be inclined to support higher taxes on billionaires, don’t be fooled. It’s a trick to get you to surrender your property rights. The billionaires will find other loopholes. Middle- and working-class wealth will be vulnerable to government plunder. (To understand the threat in detail, read my recent book, “You Will Own Nothing.”)

The Biden administration is proposing trillions of dollars in government spending as a means of “helping the middle class.” You’ve seen what government help has done to your quality of life, and you can’t afford any more.

Speaking of affordability, the administration laughably claims its budget will make college more affordable through larger Pell Grants. More government spending doesn’t cut costs; it simply creates another mechanism for colleges to raise tuition, making college less affordable.

With the national debt projected to top $45.1 trillion, it’s clear that any promise to “cut the deficit” is more than a joke. It’s a recipe for financial ruin.

While presidential budgets are never realistic or final, it’s a good reminder that this administration only cares about preserving power and expanding government, rather than securing the American dream or restoring our financial foundation. Americans need to wake up, or they will be living in a financial nightmare permanently.