"The IRS audits the working poor at about the same rate as the wealthiest 1%. Now, in response to questions from a U.S. senator, the IRS has acknowledged that’s true but professes it can’t change anything unless it is given more money.
"Free Markets"
ProPublica reported the disproportionate audit focus on lower-income families in April. Lawmakers confronted IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig about the emphasis, citing our stories, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked Rettig for a plan to fix the imbalance. Rettig readily agreed.
Last month, Rettig replied with a report, but it said the IRS has no plan and won’t have one until Congress agrees to restore the funding it slashed from the agency over the past nine years — something lawmakers have shown little inclination to do."
ProPublica, IRS: It’s Just Easier and Cheaper to Audit the Poor
"Since the first Fed rate cut, these are what the stock market benchmarks have done: Dow -2.9%; S&P 500 -3.1%; Nasdaq -4.8%; Russell 2000 -6.0%. Even before today’s slide, the small-caps were down 14% from their peaks and are flashing warning signs for the broader market. As an aside, when the ISM has hit 47.8 in the past, it rarely bottomed there and indicates 60%+ chance that the recession is about to start."
David Rosenberg
The ISM Services number came in very weakly this morning, missing all estimates.
And so stocks and the dollar took a dive, and gold and silver rallied.
But the wiseguys were not to be denied, and used the quiet afternoon to walk stocks back up to a gain.
The Non-Farm Payrolls number tomorrow could be a market mover, one way or the other. I did not take positions on the bearish side overnight because the NFP is far too easy for the executive branch to manipulate in the short term.
And the brazen obviousness of the lies coming out of Washington are just stunning.
We are in the land of oligarchs, and their demagogues and stooges.
Have a pleasant evening.
