Republican Party

While we published both the full text(1,097 pages) and the "explanatory" statement (only 570 pages) released by the House-Senate conference committee on the final Republican Tax Bill, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), we are confident not many readers - or anyone else for that matter - will read the full text.

So, as we previewded yesterday, here again is the Cliff Notes version of what the GOP agreed on late on Friday, and which will be voted early to mid-next week by both the House and the Senate:

U.S. equity index futures point to a higher open, having rebounded some 10 points off session lows with the VIX stuck on the edge between single and double digits, while European and Asian shares decline as investors assess central banks’ shift toward tighter monetary policy and concern over tax overhaul ahead of final plan. 

It has been a groggy end to what is still set to be a third week of gains for MSCI’s global stock index following more upbeat data and signs that central banks including the Federal Reserve will keep treading carefully with interest rate hikes.

If you are  a libertarian, a gold person, a blockchain/ bitcoin person, a middle  class  person who feels betrayed by his government, a tea-party person how sees that his ideals have been co-opted by the GOP for votes and then cast aside, then you may want to give this a listen. If you do, I thank you in advance

With Republicans having inexplicably sacrificed a crucial Senate seat last night by choosing to support a candidate accused of multiple counts of pedophilia, it's unclear whether tax reform is even a remote possibility at this point.  Certainly, the challenge of forming a consensus among the GOP was difficult enough when they held a 2-seat advantage in the Senate so we can only assume it will be next to impossible now that that lead has been cut in half. 

In an announcement that brings the federal government to the verge of a weekend shutdown, Nancy Pelosi said Democrats won’t support a Republican bill for a two-week funding extension because almost none of their demands have been met.

Speaker Paul Ryan, appearing at the same podium just minutes after Pelosi left it, said he’s optimistic the Republicans can win the GOP support to pass their CR on Thursday, the Hill reported. “I feel good where we are,” Ryan said. “It’s kind of basic governing.”