Doomscroll News

Tag: legislation

  • Business Tax Devolutions: A Critical Dissection of Title XI, Subtitle B, Parts 1 & 2

    The recently proposed business tax measures under Title XI, Subtitle B, Parts 1 & 2, are presented as beneficial reforms. However, a closer examination reveals a series of provisions that range from questionably effective to deeply detrimental to American interests and fiscal responsibility.

    Sec. 111001: Extension of Special Depreciation Allowance (Bonus Depreciation) – A Recipe for Misallocation

    This section proposes extending 100% bonus depreciation for property acquired after January 19, 2025, and placed in service before January 1, 2030. This isn’t sound economic policy; it’s a blatant handout, likely to benefit well-connected insiders. Reports of companies already stockpiling assets suggest this will merely accelerate a pre-existing rush to capitalize on a temporary distortion. Such a policy actively encourages a misallocation of resources, incentivizing potentially unnecessary capital expenditure over more sustainable investments or debt reduction. It’s a short-sighted pump for certain sectors that will only exacerbate our national debt, not alleviate it.

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  • Reforming Individual Income Taxes: A Focused Approach (Part I of a BBB Critique)

    The current discourse around individual income taxes is cluttered with temporary fixes, unpopular mandates, and provisions that miss the mark for many Americans. Instead of a sprawling bill, a more focused approach is needed, prioritizing permanent, common-sense changes while jettisoning controversial or ineffective measures. Here’s a look at what such a refined individual income tax bill should, and shouldn’t, include.

    Core Tax Provisions: Stability and Simplicity

    At the heart of a sensible tax reform should be the permanent extension of several key provisions initially from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This includes making permanent the modified individual income tax rates, the increased standard deduction, and the termination of personal exemptions. These measures offer a baseline of stability for taxpayers.

    However, the idea of a temporary enhancement to the standard deduction, proposed for taxable years 2025-2028, should be rejected. Such short-term measures are often gimmicks, creating fiscal uncertainty and providing future leverage for increased government spending without addressing the immediate need for significant fiscal discipline now.

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  • This “Beautiful Bill”? A Recipe for Disaster.

    This “Beautiful Bill”? A Recipe for Disaster.

    The recent unveiling of the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” demands a critical eye, not a rubber stamp, especially from those who champion fiscal responsibility and effective governance. While packaged with appealing promises, a closer look reveals a proposal that misses the mark on several fundamental issues and unwisely bundles disparate policies into a take-it-or-leave-it behemoth.

    Let’s start with the much-touted tax cuts. The claim of putting more money in Americans’ pockets rings hollow when we consider the crushing weight of our national debt. As Rep. Thomas Massie has rightly pointed out, the annual federal interest burden alone equates to losing a full IRA for every citizen. This doesn’t even factor in the hidden tax of inflation, exacerbated by out-of-control spending and unfunded liabilities in states like California, which silently devalues every dollar we earn. Barking up the “tax cut” tree while the fiscal house is on fire is a distraction. Frankly, many Americans would likely pay more in taxes if it meant a serious crackdown on rampant fraud. Where are the arrests? We see endless talk, perhaps even obscure “DOGE research” initiatives, yet tangible results in holding fraudsters accountable are conspicuously absent. This needs to change.

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  • The TikTok Paradox: National Security, Digital Sovereignty, and the Forging of U.S. Tech Policy

    The TikTok Paradox: National Security, Digital Sovereignty, and the Forging of U.S. Tech Policy

    David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

    On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a landmark law that forces the sale of TikTok, a platform used by over 170 million Americans, or face a nationwide ban.1 This decision highlighted a central paradox in modern American policy. TikTok is at once a legislative target, condemned as a grave national security threat, and an indispensable campaign tool, actively leveraged by the political actors who seek to regulate it.

    This paper argues that this apparent contradiction is not a sign of policy incoherence. Instead, it reveals an evolving and deliberate strategy to confront a novel threat to the nation’s digital sovereignty. Digital sovereignty is a nation’s ability to control its own digital destiny—the data, hardware, and software it relies upon.3 In this context, it means securing the digital infrastructure and information environment within its borders from the control of a strategic adversary.4

    The core of this argument is that the threat posed by TikTok is fundamentally structural. It is rooted in the legal and operational subordination of its parent company, ByteDance, to the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This structural risk is distinct from the commercial data practices of domestic social media companies. It has compelled the U.S. to forge a new national security doctrine for the digital age.

    To develop this thesis, this paper will proceed in four parts.

    • Section I will establish that TikTok represents a structural national security threat due to its data collection capabilities under PRC law and its potential for algorithmic manipulation.
    • Section II will trace the evolution of U.S. legal strategy, from the failure of broad executive orders to the crafting of a targeted, constitutionally-sound legislative solution.
    • Section III will systematically deconstruct the primary counterarguments against this policy, including those based on the First Amendment, economic disruption, and false equivalencies with U.S. tech firms.
    • Section IV will analyze the political realities that create the central paradox, examining how electoral pragmatism and divided public opinion coexist with the national security consensus.

    Ultimately, this analysis will demonstrate that the TikTok dilemma is a landmark case in how a liberal democracy is adapting its legal and political tools to defend its sovereignty in an era of weaponized information.

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