Americans often hear from radical leftists that “the rich need to pay their fair share” of income taxes. The rhetoric is hard to avoid. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) based partly based his failed 2016 presidential campaign on soaking the wealthy in taxes, and House and Senate Democrats railed against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, because it lowered tax rates across the board, including on higher-income earners.

The House and Senate are not in session.

When Americans talk about politics, they tend to focus on what’s happens the president’s latest tweet or incendiary comment during a speech or what’s happening in Congress. Most, however, completely ignore what’s happening in their state governments, which may be more impactful to their lives that most debates that happen on the House and Senate floors.

The Senate is in session. The House is in recess.

“THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed,” the alert stated. Millions of smartphone users got the message on Wednesday around 2:20 pm. The alert was originally scheduled to be sent on September 20, but Hurricane Florence forced a delay. Unlike other emergency alerts, smartphone users can’t opt out of what has been dubbed the “presidential alert.”

Perhaps one of the most misleading comments in the past few years is that the United States is seeing a new crime wave develop. Politicians who have long pushed for lengthier prison sentences seized on increases in violent crime and homicides in 2015 and 2016 as justification to oppose legislation in Congress that would bring rehabilitative programming designed to reduce recidivism to federal prisons and modestly reform federal sentencing laws.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act achieved many goals. It delivered a historic reform of the individual tax code, lowered individual and corporate tax rates, and boosted economic growth. Indeed, the United States’ economy will most likely see 3 percent annual growth this year for the first time since 2005.

Schedule:

Schedule:

The Senate is in session this week. The House is in recess.