DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
DONALD TRUMP TALKS TAXES
STEVE FORBES: He may be meeting with some of us to discuss ideas. I hope he goes for a pure flat tax. He is the master of the art of the deal. So you go for purity and then negotiate when you get elected and go to Congress. We tried this in 1986 and we ended up with the beast we have today go for simplicity.
NOMIKI KONST: One of the things he has proposed is increasing tariffs. He thinks that by increasing tariffs into this country we will be able to solve our tax system. That isn’t realistic. He doesn’t want to tax corporations; he wants to charge China and Mexico for imports. He wants to charge every country but our own.
SABRINA SCHAEFFER: It gives me hope that he is willing to meet with Steve. He hasn’t exactly encouraged confidence. He is onto a few small things. Obviously a good tax code is one in which spending is done wisely, we have to rein in spending. He might be onto something. I am worried that he sees a regressive tax code is the way to code.
JOHN TAMNY: The best way is to scrap the income tax and favor a consumption tax. The government shouldn’t be penalizing work and people who achieve a lot. This would shift the power back to the people.
ELIZABETH MACDONALD: It’s like giving the keys to an alcoholic of a liquor store. The flat tax would show the American people, we have faith in you. The economy has been in the protective custody of the Obama administration, which is why we have the worst economic growth since the Great Depression.
MIKE OZANIAN: I like how Fiorina has been clear; one thing about the tax code is that it needs to reward success. What will happen to marginal tax rates? Obama has increased that and it has given us the worst recovery since the 30s.
EPA ACCIDENT SENDS TOXIC SLUDGE FLOWING INTO COLORADO’S ANIMAS RIVER
STEVE FORBES: This is political pollution! If a private company had done it, the executives would have been fired and there would have been numerous stories about it. We would never hear the end of it. They will get away with it and the head of the agency will get away with it, unlike BP.
NOMI KONST: I think everyone is frustrated, even McCarthy apologized for not acting quickly enough. Comparing this spill to the BP spill- it’s a much smaller spill.
ELIZABETH MACDONALD: I would like to see her put a straw in the water and drink it. I would also like to see Obama leave the golf course and visit the site. This administration is so big on telling everyone they are wrong and the administration is right… and boy are they silent on this one. EPA workers could get immunity on this while the BP workers got sued.
BILL BALDWIN: I would like to see a new penitentiary built to fill it with EPA workers.
MIKE OZANIAN: Why the hypocrisy? Obama isn’t going to say anything bad about the IRS or Lois Lerner, he isn’t going to do anything with the EPA since they all support his tyrannical regime. They are the political muscle to fight.
SABRINA SCHAEFFER: The problem here is that it’s symptomatic of the attitude that the government can do no wrong. Where are the environmental alarmists? This is really serious pollution. We hear alarmists screaming about chemicals, food etc…The government makes a major mistake and we hear nothing!
ELIZABETH MACDONALD: Maybe if they stopped watching porn on their computers they could do their job. They lowballed the estimates of the size of the spill and it came out triple the size of it.
NURSES UNION BACKS SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT; CITES HIS PLAN FOR SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE
STEVE FORBES: They think government means bigger salaries. But when you run a system like that you get a less good economy and less good outcomes because you have fewer resources. Less resources means less pay for nurses, doctors etc.
NOMIKI KONST: They have seen the effects of the Affordable Care Act have benefitted them. 200,000 more nurses have more jobs. Healthcare has record profits. This wouldn’t have been possible if more people didn’t have healthcare. There is more money for the healthcare system.
BILL BALDWIN: One thing that socialism can deliver is equality…everyone is equally miserable. With a huge waste from a socialized system there will be cost pressures- patients and providers will suffer.
MIKE OZANIAN: Politically this is a smart move. Obamacare is forcing out doctors and they are being replaced by nurses. As for the nurses and future pay, don’t you realize Bernie would push through another immense tax increase on top of this?
ELIZABETH MACDONALD: You can’t impose a Vermont –style system for a country as diverse as the US. I don’t want nurses’ salaries to get caught up in political fights.
JOHN TAMNY: This will be bad for nurses. It invites government into industry more. It leads to stagnation and stagnation repels investors.
STOCKS THAT NEVER QUIT
ELIZABETH MACDONALD: iShares US Preferred Stock ETF (PFF)
BILL BALDWIN: Crestwood Equity (CEQP)
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