US Consumers Fight Back - Ripped From The Headlines, May 6, 2024
IRS Audits To "Spike," Citi Economist: US Economy Headed For Hard Landing, Consumer Push Back On Price Hikes - Read, Share, & Subscribe - SherlocExposes.com
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“The IRS says it is about to ramp up audits as it cracks down on tax cheats and seeks to deliver more revenue into the U.S. Treasury's coffers. But not every group of taxpayers will face more scrutiny, according to IRS commissioner Danny Werfel.
The IRS has been bolstered by $80 billion in new funding directed by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law in 2022 by President Joe Biden. The idea behind the new funding was to help revive an agency whose ranks have been depleted over the years, leading to customer service snarls, processing delays and a falloff in audit rates.
On Thursday, the IRS outlined its plans for the funding, as well as its efforts so far to burnish the agency's customer service operations after some taxpayers encountered months-long delays during the pandemic. The IRA money has helped the IRS answer more taxpayer calls during the tax season that just ended on April 15, as well as beef up its enforcement, which led to the collection of $520 million from wealthy taxpayers who hadn't filed their taxes or still owed money, it said.
‘The changes outlined in this report are a stark contrast to the years of underfunding’ that led to a deterioration in the agency's services, Werfel said on a conference call with reporters.
Werfel noted that the IRS' strategic plan over the next three tax years include a sharp increase in audits, although the agency reiterated it won't boost its enforcement for people who earn less than $400,000 annually — which covers the bulk of U.S. taxpayers.”
THINGS TO PONDER:
Looking at various statistics, somewhere between 1 and 3 percent of the entire US population earns over $400,000 per year…
So a “re-imagined” IRS, fresh with 80k+ new agents, is going to focus all of its energy on somewhere between 3 and 5 million people?
Sure.
Don’t let the smooth taste fool you, as the old saying goes…
Once the IRS grifts all it can from those who make more than you, they will start coming for yours too…
Still not sure that’s the case?
Ask yourself this: How will all that government debt get paid off by just going after 5 million people?
THAT’S the right question.
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“Last year's consensus was that the U.S. economy was headed for a recession, but that didn't happen. This year's consensus is that we'll have a soft landing, in which the economy slows but won't tip into a recession. That could be wrong too.
Doubling down on his contrarian view, Citi chief U.S. economist Andrew Hollenhorst told Bloomberg TV on Thursday that he sees a hard landing. In fact, inflation and the labor market will weaken enough that the Federal Reserve will cut benchmark rates four times this year—far more than the one or two cuts Wall Street expects.
His warning proved prescient as the Labor Department's payroll report the following day showed that the economy added 175,000 jobs in April, down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March and well below the 233,000 gain that economists had predicted.
Hollenhorst is convinced there won't be a soft landing, and he said financial markets are starting to move away from that hope as well.
‘The reason I think the Fed's going to see enough to cut is because we're more toward the hard landing end of the spectrum,’ he told Bloomberg TV.”
THINGS TO PONDER:
When the bomb diffuser guy is running, you should probably keep up…
Economically, we are in the midst of a slow slide into the destruction of wealth on a generationally massive scale…
And Mr. Hollenhorst has enough guts to tell you the truth:
There’s no “soft landing” coming.
Invest in common sense things that people need and stay vigilant.
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“Retailers are feeling jittery. Consumers aren’t shopping like they used to. In a game of chicken between stores and shoppers, it’s the stores that appear to be yielding first, by dropping prices on thousands of products.
The markdowns come as inflation has pushed prices higher for the past two years, squeezing Americans and forcing them to choose between wants and needs.
That’s a problem not just for individual shoppers or even big retail chains but for the whole American economy, of which about two-thirds comes from consumer spending.
Shoppers have pulled back for a year now as costs have risen 20% to 30% higher than they were three years ago and as incomes failed to keep up, said Sarah Wyeth, managing director, retail and consumer with S&P Global Ratings.
This is making consumers across income levels look for deals.
‘The ‘budget conscious consumer’ is no longer just low- or middle-income earners. By far the starkest decrease in intent to spend is coming from the higher-income groups, and those that were previously the most immune to an economic downturn are now tightening their belts,’ said Chad Lusk, managing director in global consultancy firm Alvarez & Marshal’s consumer and retail group.”
THINGS TO PONDER:
When people have nothing left to lose, they lose it…
So much for the “great economy” huh?
Here’s the reality: It’s not.
And the people have had enough of being squeezed, scammed, and bamboozled.
So they stopped spending…
What is most interesting though is this quote:
“The ‘budget conscious consumer’ is no longer just low- or middle-income earners. By far the starkest decrease in intent to spend is coming from the higher-income groups, and those that were previously the most immune to an economic downturn are now tightening their belts.”
What does that tell you about how things are going?
Kudos to the people for pushing back. We need WAY more of that.
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