Dear Editor:
Even in his dotage, Joe Biden remains what he has always been: an opportunistic partisan hack with no central convictions or principles save political expediency. Contrary to popular belief, it was Groucho Marx rather than the "Big Guy" who said, "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...well, I have others."
The bailout of SVB and Signature banks highlights the insincerity of Biden's claim to want the rich and corporations to pay more and the mendacity of his claim that "no losses will be borne by the taxpayers."
In bailing out all bank depositors with deposits above the FDIC limit of $250,000, he is making whole those 'millionaires and billionaires' and corporations who failed to do due diligence with the banks they used. FDIC pays for bank failures with assessments on member banks.
This unexpected loss will be paid by special assessments levied on banks, meaning that all bank customers will pay with higher bank fees and lower interest on savings. Even Paul Gale gets to pay for this sweetheart deal for the rich.
Perhaps Paul also approves of Biden's proposed 25% "minimum tax" on the rich which would cover "all of their income, including appreciated assets." The problem here is that appreciation in value may be temporary and is not income until realized.
For example, a stockholder appears wealthier when a stock price goes up. Stock prices may also drop, so the stockholder has not gained income until he sells the stock. In addition to probably being unconstitutional under the 16th Amendment, no mention was made of tax rebates if stock prices subsequently drop.
The pandering doesn't stop there, as shown by Biden's unconstitutional attempt to discharge student loans, green energy subsidies, and his refusal to address unsustainable entitlements, preferring cheap demagoguery to serious policy proposals.
Mr. Gale fails to realize that money belongs to those who earn it, not the government, at least until the government takes it. With a national debt north of $31 trillion and Biden's proposed budget adding trillions more, what is clear is that the government has a spending rather than revenue problem. Only a Marxist (Karl, not Groucho) or a left-winger could characterize the Biden budget proposal as "fiscally sound."
David E. Hanson
Savanna
