Retired accountant. Recovering tax blogger. Views are mine alone. (who else would want them?)
Evergreen Park, IL
Joined January 2008
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Joe Kristan retweeted
Americans across the political spectrum are refusing to face adult financial realities. From the left demanding massive social spending without European-style taxes, to the right demanding tax cuts while ignoring major deficit drivers, everyone wants the reward without the responsibility.
wsj.com/opinion/free-express…
Joe Kristan retweeted
Because the mortgage was money you owed the bank. Property taxes are money you owe the government.
We should have a serious conversation about property tax reform in this country, but it's hard to have that conversation when people don't even want to understand the basics.
“I’m old. I’ve paid my home off,” said Ray Warner, a 72-year-old Akron resident. “Why would I pay property tax?”
Across the country, homeowners are asking the same question and revolting against property taxes at a scale not seen in a half century.
politico.com/news/magazine/2…
Decades ago someone told me I looked a little like Robert Redford. Unlikely, but fine.
Yesterday I was told I look like Daniel Patrick Moynahan.
At least it's not Strom Thurmond, yet.
Joe Kristan retweeted
Big countries dictating to smaller ones what their future will be. No. National sovereignty (and the defense of freedom) are worth safeguarding
BREAKING WSJ:
Vladimir Putin has proposed that he, Trump, and Xi Jinping meet next month to talk about Ukraine in an attempt to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict that would favor Moscow. wsj.com/world/russia/putin-f…
Joe Kristan retweeted
"What do I owe society?", asked the guy in the green.
“I’m old. I’ve paid my home off,” said Ray Warner, a 72-year-old Akron resident. “Why would I pay property tax?”
Across the country, homeowners are asking the same question and revolting against property taxes at a scale not seen in a half century.
politico.com/news/magazine/2…
Joe Kristan retweeted
Baby boomers are the wealthiest generation in history. We should absolutely help low-income seniors. We should *not* ask younger, poorer people to foot the bill for richer Americans. Why should working-class people subsidize millionaires?
“I’m old. I’ve paid my home off,” said Ray Warner, a 72-year-old Akron resident. “Why would I pay property tax?”
Across the country, homeowners are asking the same question and revolting against property taxes at a scale not seen in a half century.
politico.com/news/magazine/2…
Joe Kristan retweeted
Maybe Bernie Sanders is right. We should copy Denmark....
By raising the retirement age to 70
Denmark is raising its retirement age to 70. French election candidates pledge to reducing it to 60 or 62.
Denmark's debt to GDP ratio is 27%; France's is 117%.
You reap what you sow.
cnn.com/2025/05/23/business/…
Joe Kristan retweeted
In fact, when adjusting for household size, senior income now roughly matches that of younger families - even as most seniors no longer face mortgage, childraising, or student loan costs. Most of them are doing very well.
Saw two Teslas with Montana plates on 294 in the Chicago suburbs today. Given EV ranges, I doubt they are really from Montana. One had the extra-cost blackout plates - if you are going to cheat on Illinois vehicle taxes, treat yourself, I suppose.
Joe Kristan retweeted
The professional organizational that was surveyed has a lot of tax accounting professors in it. They do, actually, know something about taxes (I am one!).
Joe Kristan retweeted
And before you say "too bad, their payroll taxes earned every penny," average-earning seniors collect 50% more combined Social Security and Medicare benefits than they paid in - even after adjusting for net present value.
Thinking of all your tax pros dealing with last minute nightmares tonight. Cheering for you from the sidelines.
Joe Kristan retweeted
The differences by discipline are interesting.
Economists: 71% against
Accountants: 85% against
Lawyers: 60% in favor
Economists and accountants, who frequently study tax incentives, measurement, and implementation, were considerably less supportive than lawyers.
Joe Kristan retweeted
Six Nobel Prize-winning economists, and @gabriel_zucman, have endorsed California's proposed billionaire tax. But what do economists who actually specialize in taxation think?
I surveyed them to find out. Turns out they don't support it. 🧵
Joe Kristan retweeted
An underappreciated cause of the taxpayer revolt against rising property taxes is that the base of taxable property is narrowed by exemptions for large nonprofit entities that earn billions of dollars of… something that I’m assured isn’t profit.
The solution to providing tax relief to homeowners—and, thus, making homeownership more affordable—is expanding the property tax base to include large nonprofit universities and hospitals. In other words, taxing the untaxed.
scottahodge.substack.com/p/d…
Joe Kristan retweeted
Ukraine certainly has more than enough problems as a state. But do you know what happens in the truly “most corrupt countries in the world”?
There are never any corruption scandals.
No anti-corruption agencies or investigative journalists ever catch anyone, expose sensational stories that bring down entire ministries, cabinets or presidential cadencies, or even live for very long.
And in those countries, you certainly can't take to the streets to defend the independence of anti-corruption investigators, force your own government to back down, and actually win.
And corruption is so thoroughly normalized that the country's leadership openly engages in the most outrageous, large-scale palm greasing, nepotism, and conflicts of interest, right in front of everyone's eyes, and the public is expected to take it for granted.