The Maximum Tax Rate on capital gains has always been lower than the rate on ordinary income in the US. This preferential treatment on capital gains is one reason US companies and investors are contend with lower dividends paid out by companies. Another impact is that an investor holding stocks over many years and selling them after they have multiplied many times over will pay lower taxes in terms of capital gains. This is another factor that long-term investors should consider when making equity investments.

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Source: Peterson Foundation

The World’s Largest Weapons Importing Countries based on combined 2016 and 2017 data are shown in the graphic below. Saudi Arabia tops the ranking followed by India and Egpyt. Flush with petro dollars Saudi Arabia is a buyer of all kinds of expensive weapons though the country is a huge desert surrounded by friendly countries. Regardless by buying those products Saudi Arabia indirectly provides thousands of jobs in the allied countries like France, UK, Germany, US, etc. India is one of the world’s top poor and emerging countries. Somehow the country is able to spend billions on defense goods despite many social ills plaguing the population.

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Source: RFE/RL

Corporate tax revenue continued to rise up until 2015. From 2017 to 2018, corporate tax revenues collected by the US fell by 31% according to a Peterson Foundation.

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Source: Peter G. Peterson Foundation

In the US, Cuba is often derided as a communist hell-hole where nothing works and its basically a disaster.Though most Americans tend to believe this oft-repeated propaganda one needs to dig into the details to find the truth. One area where Cuba beats the US hands down by global metrics is the field of medicine – more specifically in the number of doctors available per person in the country.

There are 7 doctors per 1,000 people in Cuba taking the number one spot in the world as shown in the chart below. The US ranks at 53, below Armenia but ahead of Uzbekistan. The US has less than 3 doctors per 1,000 people. No wonder getting a medical appointment especially with a specialist is like trying to get an appointment with the God !

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Source: Call A Doctor!, RFE/RL