Free Republic

The Trump administration’s tax break for underprivileged neighborhoods has attracted an estimated $75 billion dollars in private investment, potentially lifting 1 million people out of poverty,......Opportunity zones were created in the tax overhaul of 2017, offering capital gains advantages to investors as a way to encourage new businesses, housing, and jobs.......President Trump has hailed their success. “The CEA estimates that opportunity zone designation alone has caused a 1.1 percent increase in housing values,” it says. “Greater amenities and economic opportunity behind the housing value increase will be broadly enjoyed, and for the nearly half of OZ residents who own their...

Cabinet Room1:06 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Thank you very much.  We’re here talking about Opportunity Zones and other things having to do with economic development and also the inner cities.  And Tim Scott — Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina has been with us on Opportunity Zones from day one.  He first approached me and he mentioned it, and I loved the idea.  And who knew it was going to be so successful, Tim.  Right?SENATOR SCOTT:  Tremendous.THE PRESIDENT:  So it’s —SENATOR SCOTT:  Thank you for your support.THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you for your support and for your knowledge.And if...

The city of Baltimore received $16 billion in grants in 2018! The city is a dump. Where did the money go? Does Representative Cummings know? Great thread here covering the Baltimore mess the Democrats are facing – (see more in tweets)

Recent national economic reports point to a robust economic recovery. Employment is steadily increasing, and unemployment has fallen to a 17 year low. But obscured by the national averages are 52 million Americans still living in distressed communities, areas where poverty rates, unemployment, income, and business growth are far below the national averages. This economic recovery has been unusual with its geographic concentration. Research by the Economic Innovation Group shows that just 73 out of 3,000 counties produced more than half the job growth in the first five years after the recession. A mere five metro areas were responsible for...

Herman Cain’s economic plan, of late, has come under attack by conservatives and progressives alike. In the debates Mr. Cain responds to his critics as comparing apples and oranges when attempting to explain his plan. What does he mean by the term “apples and oranges”? How exactly would this plan work?

Huh? After weeks of repeating 9-9-9 and, in the process, making his bold and original tax reform plan common knowledge, Herman Cain today altered his slogan: GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain clarified his much talked-about “9-9-9″ tax plan Friday, saying those who fall at or beneath the poverty level would have a different plan: “9-0-9.”Cain took heat over his proposal, which replaces the current tax code with a 9% corporate tax, a 9% income tax and a new 9% national sales tax. Opponents have argued the middle part of the plan would increase taxes on the poor, who currently pay...

Taking aim at minimum wage laws, union protections, and even local building codes, Herman Cain has put the finishing touches on the last missing piece of his signature “9-9-9” plan – an elaborate proposal to create “opportunity zones” in inner-city America that the GOP presidential candidate will unveil during a major campaign appearance in Detroit on Friday morning. Cain hinted at the move during Tuesday night’s GOP debate in Las Vegas. He and his aides hope the details they provide about their plans to encourage growth in impoverished areas will deflect the surge of recent criticism branding “9-9-9” as unfair...