State Tax

But I do want to come back to what we were talking about in the last segment about inflation, the economy. You know, the president has done a lot and Republicans have done a lot. The one big, beautiful bill, they cut taxes. And now here in Maine, you may not feel the full benefit of that because Democrats refuse to basically get state law in conformance with federal law when it comes to no taxes on tips and overtime. All right. So if you're feeling that pinch, you can thank the Democrats in Augusta for that, specifically Janet Mills and others, for why you're going to continue to pay state income, state tax on your tips and on your overtime. They've also cut taxes more broadly. They increased the standard deduction. And they've made it easier. for the United States to avail itself of its natural resources, including energy, something the Democrats have opposed since Carter was in the White House, which is nuts, which is economic illiteracy. Basically, energy is the foundation upon which any economy is based. And, of course, the Democrats want to starve us of it, which is why Maine has some of the highest energy prices in the country, because we intentionally... make it less accessible. And we subsidize less efficient forms of energy like wind and solar. This is basic economics 101. But again, if you believe in that, I guess you believe that socialism is actually preferable to capitalism, which is one of the most insane concepts in the year, 26, that one could possibly imagine, given the history of the 20th century. Or if that's not enough, go take a look at Cuba in 2026. I think they're driving cars from 1956 down there. But in any event, you know, the president has done a tremendous amount. Republicans have done a tremendous amount to fight inflation and get the economy on solid footing. But they inherited an absolute mess from Joe Biden and the Democrats. And it's not going to get fixed overnight. And the war in Iran is a wild card. There's no question about it. There's no doubt that the increase in oil prices and other commodities is something that could definitely have a role in the outcome in the 2026 midterms. We'll see what happens. Is it baked in or not? Hard to say. But in any event, the Democrats can't run away from their own economic calamities that they've created. And believe me, if you want to know what would have happened if Kamala Harris had won. in 2024. Go look at what happened in Spain off their coast on that island. An invasion. Not a mass migration. An invasion. Go watch the video. 60,000 men. 60,000 in one day crossing illegally, basically invading. It was like a landing at, like the landing at Normandy. I mean, 60,000 of these guys showed up. And basically, they were not women and children. These were men 18 to 30 years old. And it was an invasion. And believe me, and people forget, we had similar things down at our own southern border under Biden, thousands, not 60,000, but under the worst times of Biden's open border, in a single month, we had 300 to 350,000 known illegal crossings in between the ports of entry.