Embracing the Future of Transactions

By Dan Smith

Most people don’t know much about cryptocurrencies. They know even less about blockchain.

But a lot of people have heard about Bitcoin—it’s that computer money that made some geeks multimillionaires in 2017, but then its price came way back down. And, sadly, to many that proves it was all just a bubble (and must be controlled by our government).

Many hear “cryptocurrency” and that sounds scary to them. They may have heard that Bitcoin bankers went to jail for helping drug dealers to do business on the Silk Road on the “dark web.”

Why so scared of “crypt”-o-currencies? . . . muh-ha-ha-ah

There are grains of truth to the popular stories out there, but much is also quite false. And there are plenty of facts left out of those stories—often the key parts. Much of what the media, the unknowledgeable and those who favor the status quo are pushing is that we must run to our mommies and daddies: politicians and bureaucrats, to protect our fellow man and therefore the economy.

These sketchy criticisms are never clear as to how new technologies will wreck our economy. Perhaps they’re suggesting Arnold Schwarzenegger will rise with the machines to terminate us all. Facts and your freedom don’t matter much to those who push such narratives—they just insist that you be afraid and let the “experts” stop or regulate this thing so it’s “safe.”

No, the Terminator is not coming for you.

The wild price swings are real. Some of it is because there a few new cryptocurrency offerings and bankers which are weak or frauds, as happens in any new industry. But the swings are largely driven by government action. If you look at the recent quick price drops, they coincided exactly with: China’s announcement that they were shutting down certain cryptocurrency activity, then South Korea announced its plans to prohibit cryptocurrency, and then the US Senate’s announcement it would hold hearings on cryptocurrencies. Each of these led to a separate quick, big fall. But then the price bounced back quite a bit when Korea reversed its plans and then again even more when congressional hearings gave us the news that the US has no plans to stop Bitcoin and many existing cryptocurrencies.

Ask yourself: wouldn’t the value of the US dollar tumble if China or South Korea declared they were outlawing it?  

So it’s important to understand WHY governments are looking to prohibit, limit or heavily regulate cryptocurrency activity.

But let’s back up. I apologize, but I feel must give you a bit of explanation about cryptocurrency. I’ll spare you the long explanation and just give you the medium-length explanation (there is no short one). Suffice to say that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are just new forms of money, digital money, that people can use to buy goods and services if they agree to it. And that’s the key—people agree to trade in the currency, just like they do with dollars. No one is forcing anyone to do it.

In a sense, neither dollars nor cryptocurrencies are “backed” by anything—not gold or anything tangible.  Technically, dollars are backed by the United States government: it can force its citizens to give you their assets—homes, cars, food, etc. (as if that’s a good thing, but I digress). Cryptocurrencies have no such “guarantee.” But the US government can also decide to “print” unlimited amounts of dollars for whatever reason it wishes, while that can’t happen with cryptocurrencies. At any time, there is a known quantity out there of each cryptocurrency, no more and no less. The US government has a board of appointed bureaucrats which decide how many dollars to create or destroy, based on their economic views, and also based on their personal and political biases. Sadly, those views have proven to be destructive many times—very destructive.

There’s also this: no one knows exactly how many dollars are out there or where they are—literally no one knows. Bureaucrats guess how many dollars exist. With cryptocurrencies, everyone knows when every transaction happens. That’s what the “blockchain” is. It’s a record of every transaction going back to the beginning of time. And everyone who trades in the currency has that ledger (hence why it’s said to be, “decentralized”).

Blockchain eliminates middlemen but at the same time provides more security. If I trade Bitcoin with you, it’s directly you to me. Everyone knows it, as the transaction is verified and tracked—by everyone. That eliminates the need for a payment processor and commercial bank on each side, as well as a central bank (in the US: the federal reserve system). And it means the transaction could be instantaneous—no waiting a week for a check to clear, or a day or two for a wire transfer. But it’s also anonymous—no one asks your real identity. Everyone can see the transaction, but they don’t know who you or I are, which makes it appealing to those of us who don’t like Big Brother watching (yes, including drug dealers—who also still feel quite comfortable dealing in US cash for 99+% of their transactions). The US government has been working hard for decades trying to remove your privacy from dollar transactions—they want to watch all that you’re doing and the Supreme Court says they can—for the reason that you chose to put your money in the bank and can expect no privacy. With cryptocurrency to you can expect and you get privacy from Big Brother’s eye.

The Supreme Court says that putting money in the bank means no privacy for you.

Best of all, blockchain can be used for much more than money. It could be used for shares of stock, other securities, intellectual property, real estate titles, contracts and much more. As happens too often, at any point in time multiple people say they own the same share of stock, bond or dollar because of these delays. It happens all the time, and it’s costly.  Blockchain eliminates this problem and has the potential for eliminating the need for bankers, stockbrokers, real estate agents, lawyers and many other costly middlemen.

The media and pundits and politicians and big bankers have tried to sell the public on scare tactics, ideas such as:  the lack of established middlemen makes cryptocurrencies unsafe, the anonymity makes it a tool for terrorists or drug dealers, that the use of cryptocurrencies can bring down our economy because of the wild price swings. But they’re goal is not to protect you, it is to maintain their grip on power, which means maintaining the status quo.

And to preserve the status quo, men of power always wish to destroy innovation . . . and with it, destroy future prosperity.

Like so many areas of life, New York state has been most active in trying to protect the status quo. In 2015, under governor Andrew Cuomo, New York instituted the nation’s toughest regulations and licensure laws when it comes to cryptocurrency. To perform many activities with or related to cryptocurrency, you have to submit to many traditional banking regulations—rules which only big banks can afford to follow. Oh, and of course there are thousands of dollars in fees (let’s be honest, it’s a tax)—just in case any startup entrepreneurs were thinking of starting a cryptocurrency business in New York.

It’s no coincidence that New York is also the nation’s banking capital—for both traditional banks and Wall Street. Bureaucrats and their cronies on Wall Street don’t want change. And if change is coming, they want to control it (to profit from it, of course).

As a result of these prohibitive rules and fees (taxes), many cryptocurrency firms have fled New York. Others have seen their license applications lost, delayed or rejected. Think of all the jobs lost in New York. Now consider the potential jobs that will never be in New York. They are just a portion of the millions of jobs lost and citizens who’ve fled New York under Andrew Cuomo’s reign.

Larry Sharpe, candidate for New York governor in 2018 is embracing cryptocurrencies and blockchain, among his many other freedom-forward policies. He wants to eliminate the rules New York has set up. He describes his plans during his recent interview with Dennis Consorte of Cryptosumer.

For fun, Sharpe has even set up his own cryptocurrency, Sharpecoin—a no-value coin which supporters can collect and trade. It’s only stated value is to trade for campaign merchandise or events. But its symbolic value is to demonstrate Sharpe’s belief in the freedom to innovate and put a stop to bureaucrats and their cronies who are looking to rob citizens with their corrupt and prosperity-killing rules and taxes.

I don’t know whether Bitcoin, blockchain or other cryptocurrencies are going to be big in the future. That’s up to the market.  They’ve had their share of early problems. But I do know that our politicians shouldn’t be trying to thwart those of us trying to find a more prosperous future through innovation. Many will fail as they experiment. That’s okay.  Thomas Edison failed at making a lightbulb a thousand of times. He even set a few fires along the way. That was okay, too. But we got the lightbulb.

Don’t let politicians prevent the next lightbulb.

The post Cryptocurrency and the Blockchain appeared first on Larry Sharpe, Libertarian.

New York has been escalating its Minimum Wage rate. But consumers are having their say. In many cases, they are reminding us that the real minimum wage is $0.00—meaning that if consumers won’t pay, workers lose their jobs . . . and maybe their futures.

By: Dan Smith

If you’re like me, you like seeing people do well. You like to see people have a job where they can support themselves and their loved ones. Doing well requires that they have a wage which allows them to pay the bills and build a future.

Most voters care about this, too. And voters often see the ballot box as a way to vote for a wage sufficient to afford life’s expensive necessities.

But do voters really get to make this choice: to set wages at a minimum of $7.50/hour or $10.50/hour  or $15.00/hour?

No, they don’t. Voters don’t decide this . . . neither do politicians.

And businesses and workers don’t decide this, either.

Consumers decide what a workers’ minimum wage is. If consumers value a product or service, they pay what it’s worth to them—or they walk away. When consumers buy, businesses and employees each get paid. But if consumers aren’t willing to pay for products or services, no one gets paid. Businesses close. Workers get nothing, even if the Minimum Wage law says the rate is:  $7.50/hour or $15.00/hour or $100/hour.

It’s All About Choices

Consumers are people—you and me.  Billions of times each day, we demand, ‘GIVE US WHAT WE WANT, AT A PRICE WE’RE WILLING TO PAY!’. We only have so much time and we only have so many dollars in our pockets. We have to make choices. That’s what consumers do.

And business owners have to listen to consumers. Businesses have to choose the right products, services, employees, locations and prices. If a business gets any of this complicated mix wrong, customers will scream, ‘NO!’, the business will lose money and may even go out of business.

And closed businesses have no workers.

Some businesses make a lot of money. Many do not—they survive on thin or no profits. They sometimes suffer losses for long periods.  

If the state raises the legal Minimum Wage rate, a shop owner has to react. She has some options. She might choose to raise prices, but customers may walk away. She may cut employee hours. She may choose to absorb the loss, but her profits may be too thin already. She might run out of options and have to go out of business. Going out of business involves firing all her employees—their wages go to $0.00/hour. Employees have no job and therefore no wage, and their futures are damaged.

Workers normally have a number of choices—which jobs to apply for, which job to take, when to ask for a raise, when to quit. But when a business doesn’t make money and closes, all of its employees lose the choice of working at that job. Their wage goes to $0.00/hour.

Workers Get Paid What Consumers are Willing to Pay

Although only 3 percent of workers earn the Minimum Wage rate, that 3 percent are the most vulnerable people: the young and low-skilled. They are the ones whose futures are most dependent on having a job—to learn new skills, to gain working experience. A 2004 study found that two-thirds of minimum wage earners quickly get raises after learning skills, escaping the minimum wage. Without the job, they don’t get those skills and they don’t start climbing the ladder of success. Without that job, they are most at risk of falling into the trap of illegally working under the table or becoming dependent on handouts. They won’t have a legitimate job to list on a future job application. Until employees have skills which customers value, they get paid less. If the state’s Minimum Wage rate is higher than the value customers put on a person’s skills, that person doesn’t have a job. Their future is compromised.

This probably sounds unfair. However, it’s the result of the choices everyone has.

But if this sounds like a made-up story, it’s not. It’s happening in New York right now.

New York Workers Are Facing Some Uncertain Times

In 2016, New York City’s Minimum Wage rate increased by 50 percent for restaurants and 17 percent for fast food.

In 2017, Minimum Wage rates for all businesses in New York state went up 22 percent.

While New York lawmakers are still patting themselves on the back, consumers and businesses have reacted. And workers are suffering.

There’s a “scourge of store closings that afflicts one section of the city after another, notably in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn,” The New York Times proclaimed this week.

People are losing their jobs. As Forbes describes, “2016 was the first year since 2009 where New York City’s retail trade experienced a decline in year-over-year employment growth. Current data suggest that the 2017 decline in retail employment will be even worse.”

Workers employed by restaurants and fast food are struggling, as well. Labor growth in those jobs is less than half of that seen in 2015, the New York Department of Labor highlights.

While the overall economy is improving, businesses which are most dependent on low-skill labor just can’t keep up: small shops and restaurants. Raising prices doesn’t work, customers won’t pay. For many businesses, there aren’t profits to eat into. So, some businesses are cutting back on workers’ hours (something seen recently in Seattle, as well, when they raised their minimum wage to $13/hour), some are starting to close their doors. Employees’ paychecks are getting smaller and some are losing their jobs.

This wasn’t the goal of the changes to New York’s Minimum Wage law. But it’s the outcome: fewer choices, lost jobs.

And this isn’t the end. The Minimum Wage rates are set to keep climbing in New York City—and across New York state for years to come. New York consumers, businesses and workers will face even tougher choices and they will increasingly suffer.

Voters and politicians can make a law that will drive the Minimum Wage rate to $15.00/hour. And that’s what they’ve done.

But consumers might just tell you the real minimum wage is $0.00, because employees without a job make nothing. And that’s what consumers are doing. They’re taking their business elsewhere.

Businesses are closing, jobs in New York are being lost. Low-skilled workers are getting paid less, or nothing at all.

The REAL minimum wage for workers is $0.00 once consumers have their say.

The post The Real Minimum Wage appeared first on Larry Sharpe, Libertarian.

Taxes and Regulations Stifle Development

Franchise tax, ENI tax, business and investment capital tax, minimum taxable income, fixed dollar minimum tax, subsidiary capital tax, MTA tax, state filing fee, personal income tax—these are just some of the taxes New York state imposes upon local businesses. The tax rate in the state for businesses ranges from about 6.5%-7.1%. Because of the state’s high personal income tax, sales tax, and property tax rates, New York is considered “one of the least favorable states for new and small businesses.”

In terms of regulations, the list of things required to start and run a business in New York City is extensive. It includes certificates, inspection requirements, permits, licenses (individual and business), registrations, rules and regulations, signage requirements, and much more. These cost time and money to obtain and follow, which mega corporations have to spare. Small businesses, on the other hand, like mom-and-pop, brick-and-mortar shops don’t necessarily have the money to adhere to these requirements. They hinder business development and growth.

The IRS considers any company with 500 or fewer employees a small business. But New York has lowered that standard to any company with fewer than 100 employees. Imagine having only a few hundred employees in your business, but being regulated as if you employed over a thousand. New York should make it easier for small businesses by at least categorizing them the same way they are recognized federally.

Lowering Taxes Helps Businesses Grow

Which taxes should be lowered to make it easier for businesses to flourish in the state? One example is the capital gains tax. According to the Cato Institute, “reduced capital gains taxes can generate greater financing of young companies by angel investors and venture capitalists.” As we’ve all seen on ABC’s Shark Tank, small businesses and start-ups rely on those investors to get the push they need to make it big. If the capital those investors receive is taxed too much, the investors are less likely to invest, and entrepreneurs are less likely to even try to start their business in the first place.

The individual income tax in the state should also be lowered, since small businesses file as individuals. Big corporations only pay about a half percentage higher tax rate than small businesses. That’s not to say that we should increase the corporate tax rate in the state, since “state corporate taxes are borne mostly by workers, not shareholders, because it’s easier to pay local labor less than it is to attract global investors at lower rates of return.” So if the corporate tax rate were also reduced, we’d start to see wages increase. And if the individual income tax rate were reduced, there would be much less of a burden on small businesses.

Regulations and taxes make it much more difficult for small business owners to make a worthwhile profit. These taxes and regulations inhibit business growth and hinder start-ups. This results in less competition in the market and fewer choices for consumers and wage workers (which regulations are intended to help). Legislating minimum wage, occupational licenses, zoning and parking requirements, etc. do nothing to help small businesses. Most of these laws are written by big corporate lobbyists who know that it will only subdue any challengers that the Wal-Marts and Targets of the state may have to compete against. Pizza Hut can afford a higher tax rate and can pay their employees $15/hr. Salvatore’s Pizzeria cannot.

The post Small Businesses Need Small Government: Lessening Tax and Regulatory Burdens appeared first on Larry Sharpe, Libertarian.

By: Kari Bittner

New York State collects the highest taxes of every state in the US. Since taxes are the funding for the government, you might think that collecting the highest taxes means New York State also provides the best services. Not only are the services far from number one compared to the rest of the US, but there are unintended consequences further restraining and harming the residents and businesses of New York.

New York has the highest state and local tax burden in the country, and our spending is out of control. And it’s not just one type of tax that’s exceptionally high, but many, including state and local income tax, state and local sales taxes, licensing fees, property taxes, mobile phone taxes, and school taxes. That doesn’t even consider the myriad fees for code violations from regulations imposed at village, city, county, town, and state governments. The national average for the state and local tax burden is 9.9%, while New York sees a state and local tax burden of 12.7%. I repeat, the highest tax burden in the country! And what do we have to show for it? We do not have the best schools, we do not have the best health care, we do not have the best anything, but for all that money, we should. And on top of that, these taxes cause hidden harm to citizens and businesses of New York.

High Tax Burdens Are Obscured With Cross-Government Deductions

Each year, taxpayers navigate thousands of pages of tax code with base taxes, deductions and credits – not just for their states, but for their villages or cities, their towns, their counties, and their country. As tax codes at every level become more complex, it’s easier to lose track of the cross-impact of deductions and credits between governments who tax you.

One example in the national news is the federal tax deduction for State and Local income Taxes (SALT). This deduction on federal taxes was meant to avoid double taxation at the federal level for taxes already taken out from state and local governments. As word spread across the US about the proposal to remove this deduction, it suddenly exposed something that very few taxpayers across the US realized. States who have raised their state and local income taxes have actually contributed less than states who have done a better job of controlling their tax rates. In fact, New York is one of those states who have many taxpayers who have been able to pay less to federal, but will be heavily impacted by removal of this deduction.

New York’s taxpayers are rightfully concerned about increases in taxes, but their frustration should be directed to the appropriate source of this problem. It’s not the federal government we should be angry with in this particular case. The pain of our enormous tax burden is now more visible, due to removing the federal tax complexity that obscured just how high our New York state and local Income taxes have grown.

Government Impacts Business Winners and Stifles Growth

Besides individuals, businesses are burdened with regulations and taxes that rank New York as 39th out of 50 states in ease of starting a new business. The more often that government provides grants, loans, tax subsidies, and other funding, the more the individuals and businesses start to look to government as a source of funding, rather than pursuing projects and options that are self-funded or funded by private sources. In fact, government funding can become almost expected as people rely more on government to provide.

When New York creates new tax breaks for one type of business or adds tax levies on another, it is influencing which businesses will survive and which will not.

In 2014, New York State gave a sales tax break to wineries on samplings. This equivalent tax break was not given to breweries, distilleries, and cideries until November 2017. “This legislation provides a tremendous boost to an emerging industry driving both tourism and economic activity,” stated Kolb in a release. First, by giving only wineries this tax break initially, New York was boosting one type of product over other similar types of products. And more importantly, if removing sales tax gives industries a boost, wouldn’t removing sales taxes on more products and services give many more businesses a boost and help New York’s economy and jobs outlook?

The County of Monroe gives $1.7 million of its Hotel Occupancy Tax to the City of Rochester for the Blue Cross Arena and the convention center. The Rochester Rhinos had been self-funded until this year, when they were facing a stiff decline in ticket sales and sponsorships. They asked the City of Rochester for a portion of the $1.7 million Hotel Occupancy Tax. The City of Rochester declined and the Rochester Rhinos ultimately suspended the 2018 season. While we strongly prefer businesses be self-funding, as long as some facilities receive partial funding, others will not be able to compete to the same degree. Who decides which entertainment options should receive taxpayer money and which should not? If more people kept their tax money, they could decide for themselves which entertainment facilities they wanted to attend, with their ticket purchases and business sponsorships.

This impacts individuals, too. The State University of New York (SUNY) and (CUNY) system owns nearly $10 Billion of property in New York State, none of which is taxable. This means that the communities where those schools reside have large portions of land which are not taxable, containing large school communities that use fire, police, and code enforcement services provided by those local communities. All of the other property owners of those communities (typically individuals and small businesses) end up paying higher property taxes to cover the costs of those services to the state. Alfred, NY, home of Alfred State College, has the highest property taxes in Western NY. At nearly $17 per $1,000 of assessed value, the 2015 tax rate was the highest in the western portion of the state, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy. That works out to about $1,700 for the owner of a $100,000 home. Worst of all, these high taxes aren’t helping provide world class college educations. Two of New York’s state colleges are on the list of the 28 public universities with the worst graduation rates in 2016: #27 CUNY New York City College of Technology at 15% graduation rate, and #15 CUNY Medgar Evers College at 12% graduation rate. We give NY state-run colleges a property tax-free competitive advantage compared to private colleges, and effectively require the rest of the community to compensate for that tax break. In turn, that competitive advantage delivers cheaper but not better education to students. Streamlining the tax code would make it much easier for all taxpayers and policy-makers to evaluate the impacts – both obvious and unintended – of each type of tax.

“Free Money” Is Not Always Spent Wisely

Receiving government funding (AKA “taxpayer” funding) may feel free, but it’s not. Besides coming from the earnings of tax-paying residents and businesses, the feeling of receiving “free” money can lead to spending on things that might be delivered more efficiently. Some people in Geneva, NY felt that the city needed more parking. So Geneva spent money from taxpayers on a parking study. “The $40,000 study started about a year ago and was paid with $36,000 in state funds and $4,000 of city money”, said Sage Gerling, the city’s director of neighborhood initiatives. The conclusion of $40,000 of taxpayer money spent over a year studying parking in Geneva is that…there is no parking problem in Geneva. Nevertheless, some possible resolutions to the perception of parking issues include: “simplified regulations; way-finding improvements; residential and employee parking permits; new, innovative parking technologies; identifying new parking areas where there is a need; and parking provisions and standards that encourage downtown development.” An interesting point in this response is that the first possible solution mentions that simplified regulations could help, and several of the additional ideas would require more regulations. Did we need to spend $40,000 of taxpayer money to conclude there was no issue, after all? If we could reduce government-created regulations in the first place, we can reduce confusion and restrictions in the first place, and therefore reduce the need to use taxpayer money for frivolous studies.

Uncertainty of Future Tax Hikes Delays Private Investments

As we continue to let the role of government grow – in the services they provide and in the ways they dictate what residents and businesses can do through regulations, they need more people to administer the programs, which means spending increases….which means they need to find more income (taxes) to pay for that spending growth. In New York, 60% of property taxes are uses for schools and the rest for town and village/city services, police/fire, and more. One key variable in calculating annual property taxes is the assessment of the value of a property. This can be used as a way to grow taxes even while holding the property tax percentage firm. If you own property in New York, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced a property tax assessment increase. Property assessment is a frequent point of dispute for both businesses and individuals and can slow down or stop projects.

For example, in Canandaigua, NY, “Pinnacle North” private funding requires confirmation that the property taxes would be increased by a maximum fixed percentage over upcoming years. Phase 2 of the project cannot begin until the Canandaigua City Council, the County of Ontario, and the Canandaigua City School Board all approve this fixed maximum tax increase. On December 9, Canandaigua City voted 5-4 to accept the proposal. While a number of speakers were for the project, many speakers who own businesses were opposed, since they don’t get similar assurances that limit their tax increases over time.

In South Bristol, NY, there’s a wealthy resident who is asking for a particular service from the town for his $132,000 annual property tax on his 2900 sq ft property. $90,000 of that is school tax. Billionaire, Tom Golisano, founder of Paychex and a well-known contributor to the Greater Rochester area has asked the South Bristol town to rid his property of hundreds of nuisance geese to make his property more usable. He’s withholding the $90,000 school property tax until the town provides a service he is requesting given the amount of tax he pays. This tax is used in large part for the local school district. What kind of services should Tom Golisano expect for his total property tax assessment of $130,000?

From 2011-2016, school taxes have risen 27% and yet our public schools are failing our students. Clearly, throwing more money at education hasn’t improved the service, but those rapidly-rising taxes are creating a heavy burden on property owners in NY.

Overtaxed Residents Leave New York

Incidentally, it’s not only South Bristol, NY who has assessed one of Tom Golisano’s properties at a very high rate. The Towns of Mendon and Victor NY have also assessed very high taxes that Golisano fought to lower. In fact, Golisano points out the excessive property taxes in Western NY and overall high taxes are ultimately why Golisano chose lo leave NY to make Florida his primary home. Raising taxes on taxpayers encourages them to leave New York for states who are more responsible with spending and tax their residents at much lower rates.

When taxpayers who contribute large sums of money decide to leave New York, it negatively impacts our economy. Taxpayers have a choice – they can move to states with better taxes. And many do. As of the 2016 Census, New York is one of 8 states that saw a net population loss, despite high immigration rates.

Furthermore, numerous Upstate NY counties are shrinking more frequently than downstate counties in NY. According to the 2016 Census, since 2010, only 16 of 62 counties in New York have grown in population. And among the top 10 counties in growth, only two are from Upstate New York.

New York’s highest taxes in the US are not resulting in the best services compared to lower taxed states. In fact, they are encouraging government bad behavior that spirals into residents and businesses leaving.

High taxes cause government to use those taxes as a way to try to gain favor, but to alter normal competition giving certain industries and specific businesses deductions, waivers, and grants, leaving other businesses at a tax disadvantage. These deductions, waivers, and credits continue to make the tax code more complex, making the business landscape more like a landmine field. The complexity caused by government also creates a higher incidence of taxpayer money spent on frivolous projects, in a vicious cycle. The most effective type of investment – private investment – is delayed due to unpredictable future costs of tax hikes. When New Yorkers see lower taxes and simpler regulations in other states, it’s no wonder they consider leaving New York. Chances are, you know someone talking about leaving due to the high taxes in New York. Maybe you’re thinking about it. Before you leave, make this change in 2018 and be part of the reason that New York becomes #1 for all of the RIGHT reasons.  Get involved in Larry Sharpe’s campaign. Follow Larry Sharpe on Facebook or Twitter. Get to know Larry Sharpe. Volunteer. Donate. Be part of something exciting and believe in New York again.

The post Our High Taxes Aren’t Helping appeared first on Larry Sharpe, Libertarian.