The Jason Stapleton Program

This is incredible the U.S. government is outraged at the recent decision by a European court forcing Apple to pay 14.5 billion dollars in back taxes.

Keep in mind; our government has been complaining about companies offshoring money for years. We've even talked on this show about the new tax schemes Republicans are concocting to try and force companies to pay what Washington thinks they owe.

Now you've got a European court who took action and rendered a verdict, and the Treasury Department is outraged. It shows you just how concerned our government is with going after tax avoiders.

And don't misunderstand. I think it's great that Apple pays very little in taxes. I wish every man and woman in America had the resources to fight back against the theft of their wealth. But the government's outrage tells me they care less about "fairness" and more about collecting them money for themselves.

I've also got some great news today about the election. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he's considering declaring the election process "critical infrastructure" and bringing it under the purview of DHS. Does anyone else have a problem with the government being able to take over anything by calling it "critical infrastructure" or "in the national interest?" I know I do.

We'll hit all of that today and maybe even some talk about Trump and Hillary. Listen and share!

JasonSupport the show.

Obama is now claiming his has the authority to sign the multinational Pairs Climate Agreement without the approval. You might be asking yourself where the president get's his authority to enter the U.S. into an agreement that obligates its citizens financially without congresses approval. Well, it just requires you use a little nuance.

According to the White House, the Paris agreement isn't a "treaty" which would require the approval of 2/3rds of Congress. Instead, it's an "executive agreement" for which there is a clear legal precedent.

What the President is doing is criminal. It is a violation of the constitution and a clear effort on the part of the president to act as a dictator. There was a time when Congress (the representatives of the people and an equal branch of government) cared about their oaths and would stand against this kind of power grab. Those days have long past. Our Congress more closely resembles the Senate of Rome where senators gain and maintain power by handing out favors and who will eventually turn all power over to their modern day Ceasar.

Our current situation reminds me of the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times." Let's hope it's not as bad as it seems, but let's prepare as though it is.

JasonSupport the show.

It's been a while since we did a show on foreign policy but we've had some pretty significant developments in the last week or so, and I want to work through the situation with you.

First, we'll discuss the Iranian situation. They buzzed our ships last week, and a lot of Americans saw this as a provocation designed to entice us into a fight. Was it? Beats me but I know it's reasonable to assume if we hadn't been trolling 15 miles off the coast of Iran that the encounter might not have happened.

Then there's Turkey. The foiled coup has resulted in nearly 100,000 people having been fired or arrested as Erdogan cleans house. Not only did our Government say nothing about the lack of due process and human rights violations our own Vice President was in Turkey last week guaranteeing our support.

It's a crazy world. The answers to our problems are not easy, but we need to stop pretending like the policies that got us into this mess are going to get us out. We need an entirely new foreign policy platform if we're ever going to turn the tide of war and suffering in the middle east.Support the show.

I knew Jackson Hole was going to be a goat rope, but if you listen to the talking heads on the financial networks today, you're amazed they can keep anything strait.

The Fed is again signaling it's leaning toward a rate hike. "Leaning" is the optimal word. What exactly does that mean? In a word, nothing. We don't know if she's saying it in an attempt to boost confidence or because she's looking to give the Fed some breathing room before the next downturn.

One thing I'm sure of, she's not looking to raise rates because the economy is heating up. All indications show inflation is near zero and GDP has been revised down again this month.

We'll talk about all the latest financial new PLUS...I answer a listeners critique of me!

Great way to end the week,

JasonSupport the show.

Not only have central banks been buying trillions of financial assets from every corner of the globe but a new post from zerohedge.com exposes it's not just the federal reserve buying U.S. stocks.

According to recent SEC filings the Swiss National Bank now owns more than 60 billion dollars worth of U.S. stocks. Some of you might be wondering what they're doing and why. We'll explore all of your questions on today's show.

Also, we'll also discuss WikiLeaks and their constant self-promotion. Frankly, it's getting a little old, hearing about all the bombshell documents they're holding on to, but all we ever see are week email correspondence that does little more that create speculation.

Lot's of great talk today plus some updates on the Louisiana disaster and the Republican politician we reported on yesterday.Support the show.

Bloomberg just did an excellent piece on Baltimore. I'm sure many of the cities residents will be shocked to learn that they have been under 24-hour surveillance, seven days a week since January.

The video was incredible to watch. You can see it here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-baltimore-secret-surveillance/

The video also brings to light what some would consider a disturbing new trend in government. The birth of an around the clock surveillance state.

Now there's nothing illegal about what Baltimore is doing. You have no expectation of privacy when you leave your home, and this new technology has certainly helped police and prosecutors find and punish some dangerous criminals.

But admitting you have no expectation of privacy is not the same thing as accepting government (or anyone else for that matter) has permission to track your every move. If I private citizen did what the city of Baltimore was doing they could be charged with stalking. Yet, the ends justify the means in the cities eyes.

We're going to take some time today and talk through the pro's and con's of a program like this, and I may even play a little devils advocate to get the wheels turning in your head. Enjoy!Support the show.

At some point, Johnson supports are going to lose credibility altogether. Many of us left the Republican party because they no longer promoted the ideas of limited government and free markets. We got tired of seeing government expand and our liberty contract. We were fed up with the constant meddling and insane foreign policy.

2016 presented libertarians of all stripes to get a seat at the table finally. Something we had not been able to do for 40 years. We squandered this opportunity, sold our principles for a candidate we thought had the best chance of getting respect from the media.

We added insult to injury by nominating a progressive Republican as Johnson's running mate because we thought he could help us raise money. I was at the LP convention. I sat in frustration and disbelief as the party traded principle for popularity. Like the Republican Party, the Libertarian Party has become something I am ashamed to be associated with.

Yesterday, Johnson laid out his most recent political truth bomb by admitting he wanted to see a new carbon tax or "fee" as he calls it. I'm done trying to convince libertarians that Johnson is not worth supporting. If you can't see it by now, nothing I can say will convince you. But I won't stop calling him out and fighting against the type of garbage he promotes while wearing my colors.

JasonSupport the show.

The rest of the media is finally starting to catch up with where we've been on the economy. At their yearly trip to Jackson Hole, the Fed is expected to play down any future rate hikes for 2016. Anyone who didn't expect this is living under a rock or simply shilling for the man.

The economy is still on shaky ground. Everyone knows we're overdue for a recession, and the Fed has now resorted to buying corporate bonds in an attempt to boost asset prices and keep equity prices high. It's another bubble that will eventually burst.

Even legendary trader Paul Tudor Jones has had to cut staff as his assets have been reduced by half due to poor performance and redemption requests. This is a guy who averaged close to 30% between 1987 and 2007. Since the crash, nearly a decade ago, government and central bank intervention have made investing using traditional fundamental indicators almost impossible.

We also dive into the new tax plan being put forward by Republicans. I know the subject of tax structures might be mind-numbing for some of you, and a lesser host might shy away from the topic altogether, but we're going to make it fun and exciting. By the end of today's show, you'll know how companies shield their assets from taxation and play the tax avoidance game on an international scale.

Lots of goodies today. Enjoy the show. Don't forget to share!Support the show.

Did the U.S. pay a 400 million dollar ransom for our hostages in Iran? The Iranians say we did, and the timeline looks somewhat fishy. Today I'm going to do what no media outlet has bothered to do and walks you through the entire story and explain what I think happened.

What bothers me most about this story is how the government clearly lied to the American people. We now have media relations people working for the government who have the sole duty and responsibility of lying to the press and spinning the truth to the American people.

This is a problem both caused and perpetuated by the media. Our first amendment provides for a free press to prevent just this kind of government abuse. Our "journalists" (and I use that term very loosely) refuse to hold government accountable for its statements.

Instead of calling guys like John Kirby out as liars and deceivers, media outlets like Fox News provide Kirby a chance to put his spin on a damaging story. Unfortunately, new media doesn't have a seat at the political big kid's table, so they're forced to sit on the outside and criticize those that do.

The reality is, this type of behavior will continue to get worse as long as our media refuse to do their job and expose these liars and thieves for what they truly are.

JasonSupport the show.

There's a lot of random news out today, all of it interesting. The recent floods in Louisiana and Texas have caused massive damage and displaced tens of thousands of people. Listening to Al Gore you'd think we'd never seen floods like this before. He claims these types of disasters are getting worse due to climate change.

The truth, of course, is far less dramatic although no less tragic.

While Gore complains about pretend problems, Ukrainians are worried about a very real, potential invasion of their western front by Russia. Russians are massing troops along the border and are scheduled to run training operations shortly. Rumblings from Ukraine suggest Russia may be planning for a full assault while using the training operation as a smoke screen.

We'll also talk about the Clinton and Trump campaigns. Trump just had a major shakeup, hiring Stephen Bannon, who runs Breitbart, as his new campaign CEO.

All this stuff and maybe some witty commentary today, on the Jason Stapleton Program. Don't miss it.Support the show.