THE NEWS
AOC slams Schumer for ‘tremendous mistake’ of caving to GOP to avoid government shutdown
Hochul and Trump have ‘productive conversation,’ talk congestion pricing and Penn Station during high-stakes White House meeting
Hochul had cast herself as leader of the anti-Trump “resistance” as recently as last week.
Man who fell through ice on Michigan lake dies after daring rescue
The man who was pulled from Lake Chemung in Howell by the U.S. Coast Guard and rescue workers in Livingston County has passed away.
Analysis: Trump’s income tax agenda would make home-buying much easier
President Donald Trump talked about his goal of getting rid of America’s income tax structure when he was a candidate.
He’s repeated that desire multiple times in the White House, including making suggestions that taxing foreign corporations that do business in America, such as shipping companies, could generate significant revenue.
Now an analyst has explained how Trump’s goal would put the goal of many Americans, to buy and own a home, much closer.
It is Marc Guberti for GOBankingRates who has written at Nasdaq.com about Trump’s idea, explaining, “His objective of eliminating income taxes will have a significant impact on Americans and the global economy.”
“The government will have to offset income taxes with another revenue source, and Trump seems committed to using tariffs. While tariffs increase the prices of products and services, consumers could have more flexibility with this tax. While necessities still have to be purchased, consumers can reduce their taxes by making fewer non-essential purchases. A tax system built on tariffs can offer more flexibility than income taxes and help savvy home buyers grow their savings,” he said.
He said one obvious result would be that Americans would have greater take-home pay.
“The higher take-home pay will make it easier to save for a down payment and manage other expenses,” he explained. “If you get to keep more of the money you earn, it becomes easier to pay off your current financial obligations.”
That, in turn, gives consumers a better result when mortgage lenders analyze debt, credit obligations, student loans and such.
A higher purchasing power, combined with the plan to keep inflation stable, would “make home buyers feel more comfortable with embarking on the key milestone of homeownership,” he explained.
Another factor would be the impact on real estate deductions, likely making more homes available.
He explained, “The elimination of income taxes can eliminate real estate deductions, and that’s a huge deal for people who want to buy homes. Tax deductions have only been around since 1913 when income taxes were introduced at a large scale. While people can claim tax deductions through various expenses, none of them are as potent as real estate. The ability to generate high profits while reporting paper losses has made real estate — including single-family homes — very attractive investments. Ending income taxes can also end tax deductions, and that scenario can make real estate investing less desirable.”
He pointed out Trump’s leader at the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, has talked about eliminating tax credits, which likely would “rub off on tax deductions…”
“As the current tax code stands, it’s possible for someone who nets $1 million per year to earn a tax refund with real estate. All it takes is to buy a $2 million short-term rental property and use a cost segregation study to immediately depreciate the property by 60%. Then, they report a $1.2 million paper loss on the property, which translates into a $200,000 income loss. Instead of paying taxes on $1 million, the investor in this scenario reports a $200,000 income loss and receives an ‘appropriate’ tax refund. This scenario highlights one of the reasons why real estate investing is so desirable. If deductions are eliminated, fewer investors may gobble up single-family homes,” he pointed out.
WND previously reported on the Trump ideas for income taxes.
NEW: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the Trump Administration is working on abolishing income tax payments to the IRS.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing to stop paying taxes to the IRS and have the external revenue service replace our taxes?”
“That’s the goal of Donald Trump…… pic.twitter.com/o2CrvW7Dks
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 5, 2025
<
‘Bourbon Street Hustler,’ arrested after Kansas City reporter death, needs resentencing for fraud history: AG
Will Putin Agree To A Ceasefire?
Will Putin Agree To A Ceasefire?
Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,
There are five compelling arguments for either scenario.
Ukraine just agreed to a month-long ceasefire after talks with the US in Jeddah, but it’s conditional on Russia agreeing to the same, which remains uncertain. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to pay his second trip to Moscow in just as many months later this week, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz plans to speak to Russian officials soon, while Trump said that he hopes to talk to Putin by Friday. All three will try to convince Putin to silence the guns.
Here’s why he might not agree to do that:
1. Russia Wants To Liberate All The Occupied Territories
Putin declared last June that he’d only agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine withdrew from the entirety of the four regions that voted to join Russia in September 2022 and publicly abandoned its plans to join NATO. That was shortly before Ukraine invaded Russia’s universally recognized Kursk Region. Agreeing to a ceasefire now with no guarantee that it’ll lead to the liberation of those five regions could result in the indefinite occupation of at least some of them if the front lines harden into a Korean-DMZ.
2. The Front Lines Might Soon Collapse To Russia’s Benefit
It’s obvious that one of the primary reasons why Ukraine agreed to a month-long ceasefire conditional on Russia agreeing to the same, apart from resuming the US’ previously cut military and intelligence aid, is to prevent the front lines from soon collapsing to Russia’s benefit. Aware of this, Russia might decide to carry on – perhaps advancing while negotiating additional terms to the proposed ceasefire – in order to take full advantage of this, thus raising the chances of speedily liberating all the occupied territories.
3. Russia Wants To Scare Away Western Peacekeepers
European peacekeepers might enter Ukraine during the month-long ceasefire, or some of their “mercenaries” who are already there might simply switch uniforms to then take on this role instead, which Russia already said would be absolutely unacceptable and make them legitimate targets. Keeping the conflict going might therefore scare them away from this and thus ensure that de facto NATO forces are kept as far away from Russia’s western border as possible.
4. Some Of The Russian Public Don’t Want A Ceasefire
A significant share of the Russian public, including veterans of the special operation, are thought to be against any ceasefire since they’d consider it to be stopping halfway instead of finishing the job after all the sacrifices that were paid to get this far. The authorities are sensitive to public opinion on the conflict, especially from veterans, so their opposition to this might be taken into consideration more than outside observers expect and could thus push Putin a lot closer to rejecting a ceasefire than most other factors.
5. Putin Might Really Believe That Trump Is Bluffing
And finally, the most decisive factor might be that Putin truly believes that Trump is bluffing about “escalating to de-escalate”, whether economically-financially through the strict enforcement of secondary sanctions against India, China, etc., and/or militarily by going all-in backing Ukraine. If that’s the case, then it follows that Putin only entertained negotiations to see whether he could achieve his maximum goals through diplomatic means, absent which he’d continue pursuing them militarily.
There’s also the chance that Putin agrees to a ceasefire, which could be explained in the following ways:
1. Russia Wants To Avert Disproportionate Dependence On China
Trump’s tweet last Friday suggested that he plans strict secondary sanctions enforcement against India and China if Putin rejects a ceasefire, which could lead to the first complying and thus placing Russia in the position where it would become much more dependent on the second. Russia has thus far relied on India as its friendly counterbalance vis-a-vis China, but if Putin is informed that this might no longer be the case if Russia keeps fighting, then he might opt for peace to avoid becoming China’s junior partner.
2. It Also Wants To Beat China To The Chase With The “New Détente”
Putin wouldn’t just be rejecting a ceasefire, but also a “New Détente” with the US, which could lead to China replacing Russia in this arrangement if Trump travels to China next month like the latest reports claim and then negotiates a deal for ending their trade war. The recalibrated triangulation that might follow wouldn’t be in Russia’s interests, especially if the US gets China to comply with sanctions in order to coerce Russia into peace, so Putin might agree to a ceasefire in order to avert this scenario as well.
3. The “New Détente” Could Geopolitically Revolutionize The World
Putin might calculate that beating China to the chase with the “New Détente” and becoming more of a strategic partner to the US than the EU are worth pragmatic compromises on Ukraine since these two outcomes could geopolitically revolutionize the world to Russia’s grand strategic advantage. If that’s what he’s thinking, then he might defy popular expectations to boldly agree to a ceasefire, after which publicly financed media would explain the rationale to Russia’s supporters at home and abroad.
4. Additional (& Even Secret) Terms Might Be Attached To The Ceasefire
Building upon the above, additional (and even secret) terms might be attached to the ceasefire for guaranteeing that Western peacekeepers won’t enter Ukraine and that the US won’t maximally rearm it during that period, which Russia could get the US to agree to via creative resource diplomacy. Giving the US privileged access to Russian energy and minerals, especially the rare earth ones that it needs for competing with China, might be all that it takes for Trump to put the kibosh on those two aforesaid fears.
5. Putin Might Really Believe That Trump Is Serious
And finally, the most decisive factor might be that Putin truly believes that Trump is serious about “escalating to de-escalate”, in which case he might prefer not to risk a Cuban-like brinksmanship crisis that could hypothetically end with Russia compromising on much more than if it agreed to a ceasefire. Putin is a pragmatist who prefers managing tensions instead of exacerbating them, with the only recent exception being the decision to use the Oreshniks as explained here, so he might take Trump up on this.
Everyone will soon find out whether or not Putin agrees to a ceasefire, but whichever decision he makes, the five reasons that were shared for each scenario would compellingly explain his choice. It’s anyone’s guess what he’ll do since each scenario’s arguments are persuasive and he knows that this is his most fateful decision since the special operation. Putin might therefore ask their respective Kremlin proponents to debate amongst themselves in front of him one last time before making up his mind.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 03/14/2025 – 13:00
‘Adolescence’ Episode 1 Recap: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
It’s the tedium that makes the gut punches hit home.
One of London’s skinniest homes has listed for $1.62M — see just how wee it is
Hopefully the sky-high asking price has a little more wiggle room than this seven-foot Kensington flat.
American Airlines plane catches fire on tarmac
An American Airlines plane carrying 178 people caught fire on the tarmac after making an emergency landing at Denver International Airport Thursday evening, forcing many passengers to evacuate by climbing out onto a wing and with emergency slides. Airport officials said 12 passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
The fire started just before 6 p.m. Mountain Time after the plane, a Boeing 737-800, diverted to the airport due to what appeared to be an engine issue.
The Federal Aviation Administration told CBS News in a statement that American Airlines Flight 1006 had departed from Colorado Springs Airport and was bound for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport when the “crew reported engine vibrations.”