According to the Wall Street Journal, taxes are destined to go up…a lot. On August 16 it reported that a couple now paying 12% and earning $78,000 a year will see an increase to 25% to pay for the programs that Joe Biden is proposing. COVID has caused so much disruption of the economy that this seems possible. We’d better hope that whoever is President can rebuild the economy quickly, getting people back to work to pay for the needed recovery.
Ruth and I happened to go through Portland 9 days ago. It was early afternoon. We were shocked by what we saw. Trash and homeless tents were everywhere. One of them was on fire. A store we frequent had a sign on its front door that we had to enter through a back door on a street other than Sandy because of shoplifting. We did not go near any of the places that the media says are places of protest. We saw groups of people on the streets and bridges who seemed to be outsiders who came to Portland for the nightly protests.
On the 79th night of disruption in Portland, 60 Portlanders called 911 to ask for help. There was no response because the police were dealing with protesters demanding mob rule for revolutionary change.
Police declared a riot at midnight after 3 hours of trouble on the 80th night. Told to disperse, the protesters began arguing among themselves. Green lasers were aimed at police, and 2 officers were sent to the hospital. This laser use to potentially cause eye damage happens almost every night now.
This year from hell still has 4 months to go. During those months, schools usually reopen around the country but that seems unlikely in many places in 2020.
Hank
