Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. Will Donald Trump end tax on tips? Will he go all the way and end tax on everything? During the campaign, our 47th president made a big, beautiful series of promises about things he would exempt from the tyrannical income tax that preys upon our fair republic. Trump started with “no tax on tips” in June, inspired by a “very smart waitress” he met dining in Las Vegas and subsequently introduced as the No Tax on Tips Act by Sen. Ted Cruz. Happily, what happened in Vegas did not stay in Vegas, as Trump embarked upon a cascade of income tax exemptions, from overtime pay to Social Security, then first responders, and even America’s 16 million veterans. Capping it all off with Trump’s musing on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that we should just get rid of the whole stinkin’ income tax so the federal government lives off tariffs. I’ve mentioned in previous videos how this would nearly double take-home pay and shrink the federal government—two for one! Alas, politics is the art of the possible. Will any of it actually happen? So the starting point is Trump’s clearest promise, no tax on tips. This is massively popular—Ipsos says three-quarters of Americans support it, even among Democrats. That makes it the perfect gateway drug. Right now, betting market Kalshi puts 63% odds on no tax on tips in the next two years. Poly markets puts 40% odds by April. Now, no tax on tips is obviously great for the 4 million tipped workers, who on average make just $17.56 an hour—with tips. They’d take home another $7,000 a year—a 30% raise. This would, of course, increase the deficit, by about $10 billion per year according to the Tax Foundation, which allegedly is anti-tax but apparently spends its time attacking tax cuts. Considering $10 billion is roughly one-17th of what we gave Ukraine, many Americans might feel blue-collar workers keeping their money is a better use of money than Ukraine’s meatgrinder. The other criticism is it’s distortionary because it exempts tips, but still taxes hourly pay. The Tax Foundation conjures a dystopia where “accountants receive their income as voluntary tips.” In other words, if you don’t like your accountant—or your cable provider—you don’t have to pay. Which sounds pretty awesome. Moreover, as Ronald Reagan put it, “Like my grandchildren, I love all tax cuts.” They drain the federal beast. They encourage work and entrepreneurship. And, of course, they return stolen goods. And if that taxless dystopia comes when prices are replaced by tips, sign me up. So what’s next? No tax on tips is great for blue-collar workers. But it’s great for everybody because it suggests broader tax cuts are also coming, with 40% odds by April. Why? Because tax cuts are very easy to attack as handouts to the rich since they’re overwhelmingly paid by middle- and upper-earners. Today, the bottom half of earners pay precisely 2.3% of income taxes. So you’d obviously pair a blue-collar tax cut like no tax on tips with across-the-board cuts. That means across-the-board cuts could also be coming as soon as April. That raises the odds—dare we dream—that Trump pulls a rabbit out of his hat and we skip the Biden recession altogether. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post No Tax on Tips appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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President-elect Donald Trump's nominations so far have generated significant backlash from establishmentarians, confirming the picks' strategic value as disruptors. While Trump has yet to disclose who, if anyone, he wants to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray — whose term does not expire until 2027 — the old guard's pre-emptive attacks on former National Security Council official Kash Patel signal that he might be the prospect most threatening to the dysfunctional status quo. Senior officials at the highly politicized bureau are preparing for a thorough housecleaning. Meanwhile, former FBI Special Agent Daniel Brunner has gone to the liberal media with his concerns, blasting Patel as "dangerous" and insinuating that his housecleaning may prove to be more thorough than that executed by others. When speaking to CNN's Jessica Dean on Sunday, Brunner parroted the talking points that have been recycled by others in Washington, D.C., in response to each of Trump's appointment announcements: Patel is supposedly inexperienced, revenge-driven, and keen on littering a sacrosanct federal agency with pink slips. 'He will conduct a massive amount of damage to the interior of the FBI.' "It's really important to understand that the person who is leading the FBI, who is the director and then the deputy director, those are two very important positions," Brunner told Dean. "You're in charge of tens of thousands of employees, both special agents, analysts, everyone that is enforcing the law, federal law that is on the books and supporting the Constitution of the United States. Putting someone like Kash Patel in the position of director of the FBI is, I believe, extremely, extremely dangerous." Brunner unwittingly continued his commercial for Patel, noting, "His resume isn't traditional. There is nothing on his resume other than three years as a line U.S. attorney at the DOJ." Patel previously served as chief of staff to former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller; as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council; principal deputy to the acting director of national intelligence; as national security adviser for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; as a terrorism prosecutor at the Department of Justice; as a public defender; and as a hockey coach. After downplaying Patel's experience, Brunner highlighted what was apparently his greater concern: He has clearly stated that he wants to exact revenge upon those that have investigated President Trump and those who have investigated those that are around him. He will conduct a massive amount of damage to the interior of the FBI ... and employees who have put their names on certain documents because they were just working the case. There will be hundreds of employees who will be unjustly fired or have their security clearances removed only because he feels that it’s something he needs to do. So I think he'll be very, very dangerous. Elements of the liberal media appear to be singing the same tune. The leftist blog New Republic blasted Patel as an "intellectual lightweight," warning that "if Trump installs Patel at the FBI, it would certainly further Trump and his MAGA allies' goal of purging the federal workforce of disloyal employees." Another prospect, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), has not been subject to the kind of attacks that Patel has faced in recent days. Semafor reported that the "MAGA wing" of the Republican Party is keen to see Patel as FBI director, whereas "more conventional Republicans" are pushing for Rogers, the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee who defended warrantless surveillance of American citizens. "If they aren't bloody, if they don't have scars from one of the get Trump 'scandals,' then they're for Rogers," an unnamed source close to the transition team told Semafor. "I am a big fan of Mike Rogers, and should there be an opening, he would be my choice," said Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R). Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, "Mike Rogers is a terrific guy. I don't know Kash Patel." While Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said Rogers "might be good," he stressed that Patel would "be great." "Smart, knows a lot about law enforcement," said Tuberville. "He's loyal to the president. And those are pretty much the top requirements." Toward the end of his first term, Trump considered installing Patel as deputy director at the FBI or CIA, reported the Associated Press. The plan fell apart when then-CIA Director Gina Haspel and former Attorney General Bill Barr made a stink. In his book "Goverment Gangsters," Patel called for an elimination of "government tyranny" within the FBI and the removal of anyone who "in any way abused their authority for political ends," reported ABC News. "The FBI has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken," wrote Patel. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

It appears that PC builders have gone all in on AMD Ryzen, as Amazon’s top ten processor list contains nothing but the company's CPUs. Intel has been pushed out to 12th place, as the company’s latest generations of CPUs have been besieged with issues. This isn’t so much the case for AMD, which despite some issues surrounding the initial Zen 5 launch, has come out on top with its new CPU with 3D V-cache, especially compared to the new Intel chips. In fact, in our Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, we classed it as the best gaming CPU you can buy right now. Continue reading AMD Ryzen gaming CPUs now dominate top 10 sales, with Intel nowhere to be found MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review

In some ways, the Meta Quest 3S is the true successor to the Quest 2. While the latter made a big splash during the Covid pandemic, offering players a way to connect with their friends in a more immersive way, the Meta Quest 3 didn’t receive similar luck. Better internal hardware and a more comfortable headset, as well as the introduction of full mixed reality, meant a high price, and many weren’t eager to upgrade. However, the Meta Quest 3S should be much more tempting, bringing the chipset found in one of the best VR headsets and practically putting it into the Quest 2’s shell. While that does mean the Quest 3S shares plenty of familiar issues, it also means you can play some of the best VR games on the market, and that’s worth the asking price alone. Continue reading Meta Quest 3S review: An excellent budget VR headset MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best VR games, Meta Quest 3 release date, Best VR headset

A new single-board computer (SBC) is making a splash, as it packs an incredible amount of power under its tiny hood. Dubbed the Next-SBC, the x86-based machine is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS - a step up from the 7840U found in some PC handhelds released in 2023. The future of the mini gaming PC is looking strong. The upcoming hardware is shown off in a new pair of videos from YouTuber ETA Prime. In one he shows the AMD-based machine running Windows 11, and in another, it's shown running Bazzite, a Linux distribution meant to replicate the Steam Deck experience with Steam OS. Valve’s work with SteamOS and its gaming mode often puts it ahead of the competition for the best gaming handheld. Continue reading This mini gaming PC can play Cyberpunk 2077 at 80fps, runs Steam Deck OS clone MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review

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