Property Tax Scams, Big Pharma Schemes, and Political Clashes

The Signal Hour Public Signal Hour
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Originally published at: https://peakprosperity.com/the-signal-hour-today-at-1pm-et-8/

In today’s Signal Hour, Evie and I delved into some critical issues that are shaping our future, focusing on the signal amidst the noise. We started with a deep dive into property taxes, which I’ve come to see as a form of modern-day looting. Whether you rent or own, you’re essentially paying rent to the government. This system is increasingly fraudulent, as highlighted by my recent interview with Mitch Vexler, who exposed how property appraisals are manipulated to support unsustainable school bond debts.

We discussed how these taxes disproportionately affect the elderly, like an 86-year-old grandmother whose Social Security barely covers her property taxes, pushing her towards financial ruin. This isn’t just about numbers; it’s about the erosion of personal wealth and security, especially for those who’ve worked their entire lives.

We also touched on the broader implications of these financial burdens, from the potential collapse of local economies to the personal stress and health issues they cause. It’s not just about having beans and bullets in the basement; resilience is about health, wealth, community, and emotional well-being.

The conversation then shifted to the national stage, where we’re seeing a similar pattern of financial mismanagement. The national debt is spiraling out of control, with interest payments now exceeding the defense budget. This is a ticking time bomb, and as Elon Musk pointed out, we’re heading towards a Venezuela-like scenario if we don’t address this spending.

Lastly, we talked about the political fallout from these issues, with Trump’s recent attacks on Thomas Massey and Elon Musk. It’s a stark contrast to the empathetic, thoughtful Trump that RFK Jr. described. This discord within the political sphere could lead to significant changes, possibly even the formation of a new political party, as suggested by Musk.

In all this, we’re trying to navigate through these disruptive times with resilience, understanding that our personal and collective well-being hinges on our ability to adapt and resist these systemic pressures. Remember, it’s not just about surviving; it’s about thriving in the face of adversity.

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The feldspar mines in Custer, SD closed in 2023. They were the only source in North America. Potters, glass manufacturers, paint manufcturers, plastic/rubber manufacturers use it in their products. It’s a flux in glass making, ceramic glazes used to lower the melting temperature of silica. The cheap source is gone. Being one who makes his own cone 6 glazes, feldspar must now be obtained from India or Spain. GROK easily adjusts glaze recipes but not shipping costs.

Pottery is an insignificant piece of GDP but not insignificant if you’re a professional potter trying to prove wrong the riddle:

Q: What’s the difference between a potter nd a 14" pizza?

A: A 14" pizza can feed a family of four.

Once a year I go to western ND to throw several hundred pots for an incredible glaze artist. She’s having a time at it trying to adjust the Indian and Spanish feldspar in her glazes.

Like I said, pottery is an insignificant piece of GDP but glass, paint, plastic, concrete, rubber products aren’t.

Is this feldspar story a sign of things to come for the US economy or a ridiculous nothingburger?

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:thinking: Is this on your radar, Chris, and have you any concerns?

https://x.com/7SEES_/status/1940051629824500117
https://x.com/Freedom93693693/status/1940078894281105721

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This is why I sold my two houses on which I was paying around $12,000/year between the two of them and bought 52 acres with ag exemption at $118/year in prop taxes.

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57% in taxes? :grimacing:

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End public education.

Let parents direct their money into competing schools.

Taiwan and Japan have superior education systems - all private, not public.

Public education = government schools, where government determines curricula and policies, such as how to teach trans issues, climate change, etc; even science and history are made subservient to political goals.

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I hope for the best for Mitch Vexler. I have little to no faith in the justice system of Texas. I do not expect them to follow the law, constitution, or decide court cases in an objective manner. I recently hit the denouement of a legal nightmare involving a property that I purchased at a sheriff’s sale.

The story began many years ago in the late 1980s involving a corporation that ceased to exist. The property taxes were not paid for several decades. My first mistake was buying it without knowing 100% that it had legal access. I thought the property did have access because there was an old utility easement next to the property and it had a street address. I also routinely rove past it in my teen years when I first obtained a driver’s license.

My job circumstances changed and I moved to the eastern part of the USA. I decided to sell my property. The property is in a great location. The pre-sale survey revealed that there was no legal access and that the sheriff auction had only cleared half of the back taxes (mistake of the court).

I hired a lawyer to resolve my problems. The amount of money spent on legal fees to resolve these taxes would have been about the same as paying off the back taxes with the county.

The next and worst part of the story involves an easement by necessity. Easements by necessity are a method of obtaining legal access to a landlocked property. There are three requirements that the plaintiff must prove to obtain the easement by necessity. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff and all three elements must be proven.

  1. unity of ownership of the alleged dominant and servient estates before severance
  2. the claimed easement is a present necessity and not a mere convenience
  3. the necessity for the easement existed when the two estates were severed

I proved all three elements. The defendant won the case on summary judgment with the affirmative defense of adverse possession. What is even more infuriating is that there was a prior case called “Couch vs Aguilar”. The facts of my case were nearly identical to the facts of the Couch vs Aguilar case and my easement was protected in a dormant state.

Shortly after the final order was issued, a motion for new trial was made and denied. I appealed the case. The case was moved to a court of appeals many hundreds of miles away. The appeals courts in Texas balance out case load by moving cases to other courts.

The final act of this disaster was making a settlement agreement and paying a judgement to the defendant for their legal fees.

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Did you look into what the county assessors will do when you put a residence on your ag land? We had to go north to Oklahoma when we found out what they would do if we put a house on ag land anywhere we looked in east Texas (Palestine, Athens, Tyler, Clarksville, Paris area land not in any city limits). It harshed our mellow.

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I’m surprised Elon has not left America to fend for itself and gone to another country like China.

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Trump forgot to call Massie an ignorant slut.

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If

Rudyard Kipling

Florida also has a cap on how much they can raise your property taxes in a single year. It think it was 3%. My property value went up to 4 times what I paid for my home, while I was pregnant with my second child and my spouse became disabled. I would have lost my home had the property taxes went up 4X also. My neighborhood was becoming crime ridden, but I could not move because doing so would have meant paying property taxes at the full current valuation of the new home.

I elected instead to sell, build on some rural acreage I owned in another state, and buy rental properties in an area that had a flat property values, as an income source. I am now once again experiencing property value increases, this time with no property tax protections. My taxes and homeowners insurances have all increased VERY significantly the past couple of years. Fortunately my renters are sensitive to this and increased rents voluntarily.

I know some quite elderly folks who own resort homes in a lake access community near me and they are outliving their ability to keep up with increases in taxes, and insurances having retired in the late 80’ or 90’s. These are not large fancy places, most are 2 bedroom 1.5 bath homes that were originally built as seasonal vacation homes. Many retirees downsize to such places from more expensive markets. Sudden appraisal increases of late are putting a strain on the oldest who also have higher medical outflows than ever.

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I believe the solution is to split off a lot just for your house off of your ag land.

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I would like to see farm updates regularly on the Signal Hour. My pastures just burn out most summers. Ended up having to feed hay by end of July (purchased) when I had cattle. No more cows on this land and hate yearly haying (loss of nutrients and hard to find help moving bales) so I just mow and leave it to rot.

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Where are you and what’s the stocking density?

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I remember a few years ago, maybe more when Chris wrote an article how home ownership is NOT an asset but a liability, precisely because of property taxes and repairs. Anyone who thinks they own their home once they payoff the bank will realize that ain’t so. Try refusing to pay property taxes and see what happens.

Regarding the US Nat’l debt, that only has 1 outcome and that is default. The US Gov’t has been playing a shell game for decades, hiding the fact that it is bankrupt without letting people realize that.

You can’t keep borrowing money with no intention of ever paying it back. Eventually the lender will will realize that you don’t have the money to pay it back.

That is the Nightmare awaiting the US Gov’t when no one is wiling to buy Gov’t debt to pay off the old debt. That’s when everything comes crashing down.

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All of a sudden everyone is worried about fluorine, and forever chemicals but big Pharma has already destroyed your health. You are the walking dead if you are taking prescription medications, especially antidepressants. If you want to get really frightened ask Grok about prescription medications. Prevalence : Over 20% of U.S. drugs contain fluorine, often on aromatic rings, due to enhanced potency, stability, and lipophilicity (,). The listed drugs are among the most prescribed or recognized, per 2022 data and X posts. When drug patents were running out someone decided that adding a compound that nature does not use in lifeforms, fluorine, would make the drugs more,… fill in the blank ____
… but mostly a new patent to make more money and because it breaks down slower they can save money on the active ingredient. I know patents and you can claim anything you want no need to prove anything. Can you explain from a biochemistry perspective why someone would want to ingest forever chemicals willingly ? Remember when it was discovered that fish in streams were drugged by the psychiatric drugs that don’t break down in humans or the sewer plant? Apparently that was old news, just another way they are trying to kill us.

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Right but the lot or acre with the house gets reassessed and taxed like a big dog. It’s why we had to go north to Oklahoma. One of the places we looked at was a small house on two acres 20 miles southwest of Palestine, WAY rural. In 2014, we could have had it for 64k. Property taxes were almost 3k per year. Ouch!

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We are all the Walking Dead regardless. To paraphrase one of Rodney Dangerfield’s jokes. “If I eat all the right foods, exercise everyday, stay away from alcohol. I’m still going to get old, sick and die”.

Each of us comes with an expiration date and as crazy and crazier as this world gets by the day, that may not be a bad thing.

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I live in Washington State and recently received my “Notice of Value” for my home. They now estimate my house, which has not had any work on it in the last year or for several years (except some plumbing), to be valued at a price 75% higher than last year.

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Allow me to extend a one-finger salute to WA state government on your behalf.

And as beautiful as the weather and scenery is up there… I couldn’t accept living with that.

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