Free Republic

For years, aging Americans have looked south to Florida for their ideal retirement home to escape into retirement from their four-decade grinds in the U.S. workforce. But wealthy citizens are increasingly considering a life across the Atlantic, with an unappealing showdown between Joe Biden and Donald Trump being labeled as the reason. David, a 65-year-old lawyer from Chicago, is going to Portugal on a scouting trip next month with a $500,000 budget in the hopes of finding a new second home on the Silver Coast, between Lisbon and Porto. The lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, citing concerns he might...

“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as "bad luck.” ― Robert HeinleinAfter nearly two centuries of uninterrupted economic and population growth, California has hit a pothole in the road. There had been...

Wealthy taxpayers are fleeing California, hurting the economy and the budgets of the governments that have raised the cost of living in the Golden State. That’s according to the Los Angeles Times, which reported Tuesday that while wealthy and talented people used to move into California, that trend has recently been reversed: The reversal, largely in response to the state’s high taxes and soaring cost of living, has begun to damage California’s overall economy. And, by cutting into tax revenues, has delivered punishing blows to state and local governments. State budget analysts recently projected a record $68-billion deficit in the...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is begging his wealthy neighbors to help foot the bill, the New York Post reported Friday, as costs regarding migrants climb. “This is a moment where it’s an all hands on deck moment,” he said during a Police Athletic League event, according to the Post. Post. The report continued: “The way it goes, New York goes America goes, but I’m going to need you more than ever to support many of these organizations like PAL, Robin Hood Foundation, and others,” the mayor told the crowd, which included Tony Danza, John Catsimatidis and Mitchell...

According to the 2023 edition of Charles Schwab's "Modern Wealth Survey," a net worth of $1.7 million is needed in order to feel "financially comfortable" in San Francisco. In order to feel "wealthy," that number spikes to $4.7 million. The survey was conducted online over a three-week span this year among 750 Bay Area residents aged 21 to 75. According to the survey, 39% of San Franciscans feel "wealthy" today, and 71% are confident about someday reaching their financial goals. The amount San Franciscans needed to feel wealthy is down $400,000 from last year's $5.1 million, but $1.7 million is...

A woman was shot dead in an Uber in a wealthy Atlanta neighborhood in what police are calling a “targeted incident.” This victim, who has not been named, was discovered in the back of a black Cadillac Escalade on Lindbergh Drive in Buckhead around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, FOX 5 reported. Police believe the woman was targeted by multiple shooters, Channel 2 Action News said. It’s unclear if she was a passenger in the Uber. The bullet-riddled SUV was found near a series of apartment complexes.

The Democrat party has traditionally been thought of as the party of the “working man” – the type of guy who carries a lunch pail to work and works with his hands was the guy who voted for Democrat candidates.But the days of Democrats being seen as caring about the working man and Republicans being portrayed as elitists are appearing to come to and end. While both parties have high dollar donors, it is the billionaire heads of tech, finance, and media that are throwing their support behind President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. It is making it pretty clear, which...

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday claimed the Democrat-lead initiative to transfer student debt to the taxpayer “isn’t a handout to the wealthy,” despite contrary evidence by the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Schumer’s comment came as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether or not the Biden administration’s attempt to transfer $400 billion in loans to the taxpayer is constitutional. Biden’s plan would allegedly benefit 40 million college-educated Americans, though the forgiveness could result in a $2,500 burden per taxpayer, the National Taxpayers Union estimated. In just a few hours, Pres. Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan will come...

Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd, has gone missing in the latest disappearance of a top business executive, unnerving investors and sending its stock down as much as 50 per cent on Friday (Feb 17). The mainland China-based boutique bank said in an exchange filing late on Thursday the company had been unable to contact Bao. China Renaissance's board was not aware of any information that indicated Bao's "unavailability is or might be related to the business and/or operations" of the group, which, it said, was continuing normally. The dealmaker's disappearance is the latest...

Should the wealth effect reverse as assets fall, capital gains evaporate and investment income declines, the top 10% will no longer have the means or appetite to spend so freely.Soaring wealth-income inequality has all sorts of consequences. As many (including me) have noted, the concentration of wealth and income in the top 0.1% has enabled the few to buy political influence to protect their interests at the expense of the many and the common good.In other words, extreme wealth-income inequality dismantles democracy. There is no way to sugarcoat this reality.But the concentration of wealth and income isn't limited to the...

The new Republican-controlled House of Representatives got off to a bumpy start by attempting to repeal last year’s addition of of $71.5 billion to the IRS budget. It’s a political stunt with no chance of passing the U.S. Senate. Hamstringing the taxman doesn’t make taxes go away, but it does make it harder for taxpayers to pay them, the government to collect them and public agencies to function. Defunding the IRS would aggravate an already egregious problem: Billions of dollars of uncollected taxes, mostly from corporations and the wealthy. From 2014 to 2016, the IRS estimated $500 billion per year...

How many millionaires, centimillionaires, and billionaires live in the world’s wealthiest cities?While such metrics are not all encompassing, these measurements of private wealth do help put the financial health and economic activity of some of the world’s wealthiest cities in perspective.Visual Capitalist's Raul Amoros and Nick Routley created the infographic below, using information from the Henley Global Citizens Report, in partnership with New World Wealth, to rank the world’s wealthiest cities. It leverages a comprehensive data set that tracks the movements and spending habits of high-net-worth individuals in over 150 cities around the world.Which cities and regions have the biggest...

LONDON — The British government has dropped plans to cut income tax for top earners, part of a package of unfunded cuts that sparked turmoil on financial markets and sent the pound to record lows. Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng said Monday that he will not scrap the top 45% rate of income tax paid on earnings above 150,000 pounds ($167,000) a year. “We get it, and we have listened,” he said in a statement. The U-turn comes as more lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party turn on government tax plans announced 10 days ago. It also comes hours after the...

As I’ve pointed out a couple of times recently, China’s zero Covid lockdowns continue to impact hundreds of millions of people throughout the country, even though it’s having a negative impact on the country’s economy. But there’s some indication that the impact could be much worse over the long term than it is in the short term. In May the South China Morning Post reported on the uptick in professionals looking to leave China.Emigration consultants in China have seen a rise in enquiries in recent months, with a noticeable spike since the end of March when outbreaks of the Omicron...

As even many foreigners who live in Shanghai have been swept up in China's strict quarantine measures, as we showed over the weekend, the FT reports that many wealthy residents of Shanghai are looking to leave, following the brutal lockdown measures that have forced millions of people to stockpile food and other necessary supplies - or even go without food or essential medical care, sometimes with deadly consequences. Immigration consultants who spoke with the FT said requests from wealthy individuals looking to leave Shanghai have soared since the lockdown started three weeks ago. And many clients who had postponed previous...

On March 22, in the broad daylight of a typically gorgeous day in Beverly Hills, thieves in hoodies and sunglasses took a sledgehammer to the plate glass window of Peter Sedghi’s boutique and furiously rummaged through the shards. In less than 90 seconds, the robbers stole more than $3 million worth of jewels. Two days later, in response to a wave of high-end robberies, the Los Angeles Police Department announced there would be no arrests. Instead, it cautioned Hollywood residents not to wear high quality jewelry in public. “Beverly Hills is one of the most affluent, safest neighborhoods in the...

A starling new development reveals South American criminal tourists are on home invasion sprees targeting wealthy neighborhoods across the US, according to Daily Mail. South American thieves exploit the US’ immigration system for travel as they target multi-million dollar homes in liberal-controlled areas with relaxed criminal justice laws. Police from around the country report some of these criminal tourists are from Colombia and elsewhere in South America. They have ransacked mansions in California, New York, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Law enforcement experts say these professional burglars exploit a 2014 visa waiver program intended to promote tourism....

While the elite flock to Beverly Hill’s only gun shop looking for guns for self-defense, poor California minorities are finding it difficult to get through the state’s many gun control laws and acquire a firearm to use to keep themselves and their families safe. On December 30, 2021, Breitbart News noted that the rich and famous were flocking to Beverly Hill Guns for protection from the craziness that has overtaken day-to-day life in Los Angeles. FOX News now reports that other Californians, particularly minorities, are finding the acquisition of a firearm difficult. Geneva Solomon, owner of Los Angeles County’s Redstone...

Illinois keeps losing people it can ill afford to lose. I recently checked in on a prospective donor who I met in Chicago three years ago. I didn’t know him at all back then, but it was easy to get a sense he cared deeply about Illinois. His passion for fixing Chicago’s problems was obvious from the moment I met him. He was everything Chicago should want from someone in the business community. An engaged and highly successful investor, tech entrepreneur and C-suite executive. Politically active yet still willing to get his hands dirty on real policy issues. Not scared...

ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing.