Ross' Weds Blogcast: Taxes, scams & plastics; and good food at Casa Bonita?

Today's Awesome Guests

Chris Edwards is the Director of Tax Policy Studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. Two main topics with Chris today: The Biden administration proposes "paying for" a chunk of it's insane Build Back Better plan by giving $80 billion to the IRS to increase tax enforcement. The CBO has already said that it won't work nearly to the degree that Democrats believe but there's another question: what are the hidden costs (not just financial, but also in terms of civil liberties) of highly aggressive tax enforcement, especially of stupid tax laws like FACTA? And second: as part of that same BBB plan, Dems are looking to give a big tax cut to upper-income people in high-tax states. Bernie Sanders is pushing back, in one of the only times I've ever agreed with him. We'll get Chris's thoughts on that too.

Todd Kossow is the Director of the Midwest region for the Federal Trade Commission. He’s been involved with prosecuting many consumer protection and fraud cases and works daily to protect American consumers. We'll talk with Todd about how people can avoid holiday scams.

Dr. Chris DeArmitt is a world-renowned plastics scientist and author of The Plastics Paradox. We'll talk about the difference between common beliefs about the harm (and permanence) of plastics versus the truth. Also, what's the story with plastics in the ocean and how about microplastics in the rain right here in Colorado? I think you'll find Chris' answers surprising and fascinating.

Aurora's consent decree

Yesterday, we had Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on the show just before his official public announcement of the Consent Decree between his office and the City of Aurora regarding police and fire department practices. Today I'll talk a bit about what I see in the document...the upside and the downside. Here's the actual document: Microsoft Word - Consent Decree - Fully Negotiated Final Form of Agreement. One quick thought: The document discusses "racial disparities" in policing. Unless that's extremely well defined, that phraseology could be the source of a lot of trouble.

An eye for an eye?

I say we wrap the first guy in toilet paper and light him on fire...but just for a little while, not enough to maim or kill him. And I say we drive a car really fast into the guys in the second story.

18-year-old college student charged with allegedly setting synagogue fire (msn.com)

Racing Cars In Westminster Blamed For Death Of 21-Year-Old Annika Williams – CBS Denver (cbslocal.com)