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After 100 Days Where Are We?

Paul Craig Roberts 

About a month or so ago on March 23 I posted on this website my memoir of my time in the Reagan administration which had just been published in The Independent Review, a readable quarterly.  I expected to hear more than I did in response to my memoir, because I spelled out how difficult it is for a presidential appointee to actually support the policy of the President.  https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2025/03/23/my-time-in-the-reagan-administration/ 

Then it occurred to me that the Reagan administration was a long time ago, 1981-1988. President Reagan’s term ended 37 years ago.  So an American 50 years old today was 13 years old when Reagan’s second term ended.  He was 5 years old when Reagan was elected president. A 50 year old American never experienced the Reagan administration. A 60 year old American was only 15 when Reagan took office. The vast majority of Americans alive today know nothing of the Reagan administration except the accounts of the presstitute media and historians grinding ideological axes.  Yet, somehow, Americans say they miss Reagan, the last American president.  

With Trump’s first 100 days behind us,  MAGA Americans are touting his successes and the Democrats are multiplying his “failures.”  

Let me tell you about a real successful president–Ronald Reagan–Perhaps the only successful president in the 20th century. Reagan had two major successes.  I know because I was part of them.  Reagan cured stagflation–the simultaneous rise of inflation and unemployment– with his supply-side policy, and he ended the Cold War with the Soviet Union.  Tell me, what American president has had such extraordinary successes?

Reagan’s success was covered up with media hype about “the teflon President,” with the neoconservatives’s Iran/Contra scandal, with “the Reagan deficits” that belong to David Stockman and Paul Volcker.

American historians, academics who guarantee their careers by justifying the various atrocities their governments commit, rank the top five US presidents as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower in that order. https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2021/?page=overall 

Lincoln destroyed the Constitutional framework based on states’ rights as designed by the Founding Fathers.  Lincoln introduced war against civilians as an essential part of war against the opposing army. Today the International Criminal Court would recognize Lincoln as a war criminal and issue arrest warrants.

Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, ranks 7 after Harry S. Truman, who nuked two Japanese civilian cities while the Japanese government was pleading with Washington for peace.

John F. Kennedy comes in 8th, Ronald Reagan 9th, Barack Obama, who bombed 7 countries comes in 10th, and President Lyndon Johnson–“LBJ, LBJ, How Many Kids Did You Kill Today”–comes in 11th.

What we see here are the liberals, not willing to dethrone the first American president, or a Founding Father who wrote the Declaration of Independence, or John F. Kennedy a martyr, or Reagan whose popularity remains high, shielding themselves from partisanship by including Jefferson, Kennedy, and Reagan in the second tier of successful presidents..

Lincoln destroyed the US Constitution which is based on states rights.  He conducted a war of war crimes against an agricultural society that could not afford to pay the Morrill Tariff in order to industrialize the North at the expense of the South. No sooner than the South was destroyed, the Union launched a war of extermination against the native American Plains Indians, the same Union Generals–Sherman and Sheridan–the same Union soldiers that raped and pillaged the South repeated the application to the remaining Native Americans.  As Lincoln’s reward for genocide, he is voted by American historians as the best ever–the Number One-of all American presidents.

Franklin D. Roosevelt gets the third ranking, because he replaced the power of Congress with the power of regulatory agencies.

Theodore Roosevelt is bestowed the 4th ranking because he established the American policy of empire and hegemony.

One assumes Eisenhower’s fifth rank is because he is alleged to have won World War II for the US.

Truman is 6th because he nuked Japan, thus putting the Soviet Union on notice.

If you look at these achievements, Washington and Jefferson, aside, Ronald Reagan at number 9 on the list is the only one who rescued America from an economic catastrophe and a Cold War that could have turned hot.

Liberals and what passes for a left-wing say that Reagan was just another fake, another warmonger committed to the Soviet Union’s destruction.  But a president who was a fake would never, ever, put me in charge of his  economic policy, nor would he appoint me to a secret presidential committee to verity or disprove the CIA’s argument against ending the Cold War. I am the last person on earth that a fake President wants to hand a Presidential Appointment or a decision on a critical foreign policy issue.

So, now that we have all of the congratulatory and denunciatory accounts of Trump’s 100 Days, what do they mean?  

Trump did a good thing in service to justice when he pardoned and released from prison the framed-up-by-the-Biden-anti-American-regime American citizens who used their Constitutional rights to protest a stolen presidential election.  But the corrupt persons who framed up innocent Americans have not been arrested and indicted, as they should be.  Why is Trump focused on Ukraine rather than on those who framed innocent Americans as “insurrectionists”?

The Democrats have shown that they will strongly resist Trump’s rollback of the legal privileges Democrats created for DEI-designated-persons and for immigrant-invaders. Democrat district court judges, the lowest of the low, have claimed the right to decide the power of the President of the United States to govern. Trump’s reply is that he abides by judicial rulings. Trump is relying on the Supreme Court to overturn the district  courts, but if that doesn’t happen, will Trump fight?

Trump himself makes deals with Zelensky and claims they are deals Putin must accept. This is nonsensical. The conflict is between the US and Russia.  The deal has to be made between Trump and Putin.

The real problem is the  neoconservative doctrine of American hegemony  As long as American foreign policy is based on Paul Wolfwitz’s doctrine, there can be no peace.

Trump has not repudiated the doctrine of American hegemony.  Until he does, how can Putin trust him?

Weaponizing Anti-Semitism

The Jew cries out in pain as he strikes you.
Polish proverb

British Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn was removed by anti-semitism accusations.

Jewish journalist Simon Heffer announced on radio that Corbyn “wanted to re-open Auschwitz.”

British PM Starmer’s “first act as Labour leader was not to address the conditions of the working class, but to reassure “the Israel Lobby that they were back in the driver’s seat.”

Starmer invited an Israeli spy to head British surveillance of citizens on social media.  The anti-semitism cases brought against British citizens are now prepared by an Israeli.  

Free speech originated in Britain, and it has died there. British citizens can no longer make any critical remark that pertains to Jews, Muslims, Arabs, blacks, or Asians unless they are Chinese, Japanese, or North Koreans.

President Trump is now applying the same standard to American universities and their students.  Leaders such as Starmer and Trump who do not respect free speech do not respect democracy.  

https://www.unz.com/article/trial-by-jewry-asa-winstanley-on-weaponizing-anti-semitism/ 

My husband and I have been involved in starting crisis pregnancy centers in several counties in North Carolina. Ed is a pastor and we felt the call to come to Fayetteville, North Carolina. We started the Agape Pregnancy Support Services in a house on Cedar Creek Road. After we had been there for two years something happened to change our location.

Fayetteville was the home of an abortion clinic that had been there for twenty-seven years. Many thousands of babies died in that clinic. Many Christians in the community would drive by the clinic and pray that the doors would close. God did answer their prayers and the doors of the clinic closed. The building was abandoned and the homeless would sneak into the building at night. It was a horrible place.

One night I was restless so I decided to read. My daughter had given me a book called “The Dream Giver” by Dr. Bruce Wilkerson. In the book the author talks about getting out of our comfort zone and walking in faith. The next morning God asked me to get out of my comfort zone and go purchase the old abortion clinic. I told God I didn’t want that building. I asked if He didn’t have a new building we could have.

I said, “Lord this is a place of death.”

God said, “I have a special plan for this place. I am going to take back what Satan has used for evil and redeem it. I will bring life from this place and it will bring glory and honor to me.”

I called the number on the building and asked the price. The price was $120,000.

I reminded God that I was a kindergarten teacher and I only had a few dollars until payday. I knew that God would have to provide the money. God promised if we walked by faith, He would provide the money.

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Ed and I went to the old building; it was a horrible mess.

It was trashed with drug needles; beer, wine, and liquor bottles; rags, condoms, and human feces where the homeless had stayed. The windows were boarded up and it was very dark. We walked into the building carrying flashlights. You could feel the demonic powers in the place. We walked through the building shining the light into each room. each room had a plan and God revealed what it would be used for. At the back of the building, there were two procedure rooms with Formica walls and drainage in the floor. One procedure room had equipment left with blood on it and blood on the Formica walls. I stood at the door feeling as if I was going to throw up.

God said, “You have to go into the room. You must feel what I feel.”

As I walked into the room, I could feel the pain and sorrow. I heard the babies crying because they didn’t get to live the life God had planned for them. They were also crying because they missed their moms. I heard the moms crying because they had killed their children. The third voice I heard in the room was my Lord and Savior weeping for all that was lost. My answer was “Yes”. He reminded me that it would be hard and the cost would be great. The answer was still “Yes!”

One month later my mom died. God revealed that these two procedure rooms would be an ultrasound room and the other a chapel. The chapel would be a place for women to come and find forgiveness for their abortions. It would be a place to come out of the darkness into the light of Jesus. A man in our church did purchase the building and we make payments each month. (Today, the mortgage is paid off.) We started working on the building. We anointed every room in the building. We prayed, painted, and cleaned all for the glory of Jesus.

The first room to get the boards off the windows was the chapel. As the boards came off, the light of Jesus flooded the chapel and the building. You could feel that Jesus had reclaimed what the enemy had for a season.

I told my husband, “Look Honey, there goes the Devil with his packed bags and he will not be coming back to this place.”

The Agape Pregnancy Support Services is on the tough side of town. We have prostitutes, drug addicts, pimps, and the homeless walking the street in front of the building. I had a dear Christian lady ask me if I knew what side of town the center was in. I smiled and said, “Yes, I do. I am exactly where Jesus would be.” We know that God has placed us in this place. We are able to minister to the people of the streets and our clients. I see God taking people from death to life eternally just as He did with this old abortion clinic. God is the author of Life both physical and eternal.

LifeNews Note: Helen McLeod Rogers is the director of Agape Pregnancy Support Services in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The post This Was an Abortion Center, Until a Christian Family Bought It and Dedicated It to God appeared first on LifeNews.com.

In 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted the Feast of St Joseph the Worker as an intentional answer to the Communist inflected “International Workers’ Day”. His purpose was to reclaim the nature and purpose of work, rooted in a proper understanding of God, man and society. Pius affirmed the dignity of work without the pernicious baggage of atheistic materialism. While the 1 May feast celebrates St Joseph, it is also an opportunity to reflect upon work as a participation in the creative nature of God. God is the first “ working man”, and His work gives us a foundation for understanding the role of labour in our own lives.

As Genesis 2:2 explains, creative work is “natural” to God. And because the human person is made in the image and likeness of God, we can deduce that one aspect of that image and likeness is that man is also ordered in his essential nature to work. We learn what the image of God is by observing what God does. God works, and we are made in His image; therefore, we are made for work as a natural aspect of our being. And because God Himself is the first worker, we can see the inherent dignity in work. This dignity is expressed in the very ability of man to work, and thus to contribute to his own personal development.

But many people who read this will say to themselves, “My work is not very dignified.” It is true that for many people work is a tedious, arduous grind rather than a dignified activity. This does not refute the natural, inherent dignity of work, however. Rather, the drudgery of work is yet another result of the fall of the human person, which is so pervasive that it involves all aspects of our lives. The essence of the fall is the rejection of the natural end of the human person as ordered toward God. Indeed it is the rejection of God as man’s final end. But if this most fundamental relationship is now disordered, it “naturally” follows that all other aspects of human life are also disordered. This includes our relationship to work or even work itself.

Another name for this disorder is “alienation”. When we alienate ourselves from God, we are disordered from our true end and purpose. Thus, we are alienated and disordered from every other good that is natural to the human person, including work. In this context, the word “alienation” is particularly appropriate, as it not only describes the state of man in The Fall, but also one of the fundamental challenges to a theology of work in the modern context.

A theology of work must begin with the fundamental problem of alienation and how it can be resolved. Whether from his employer, his fellow employees, or the labour of his hand or intellect, alienation is at the heart of the Marxist criticism of the industrialised economy. And, indeed, these are serious problems to which Marx was correct to call our attention. Unfortunately, he was wrong about the causes and remedies for this alienation.

The specific expression of our alienation to work after The Fall is illustrated in Genesis 3, when God announces the effect of the new state of disorder. “Cursed be the ground because of you,” He declares. “In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you…By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat” (Genesis 3:17-19a). Similarly, after Cain slays Abel in Genesis 4, God tells Cain: “If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce” (Genesis 4:12). Thus Cain was alienated from his proper and natural end of cultivating the earth and forced to wander as an alien in the land.

Alienation from work is a common experience of many people (even for those who have not killed a sibling). But, like all aspects of human life, God has redeemed work in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Christ came to reorient us toward the Father and, thus, to reorder and restore our lives to their proper ends and purposes, both natural in this life and supernatural in the life to come.

One aspect of the former is that God has given us a renewed understanding of the nature and purpose of work, as well as the theological resources to articulate a revival of the dignity of all work. In the context of our redemption in Christ, even work that does not seem to be very dignified can be ordered toward its proper ends and purposes, thus retrieving and reviving its dignity.

This brings us back to the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. In St Joseph, we have a model of quiet, dignified work that serves the higher purposes of God’s redemptive activity in the world. God commissioned Joseph to work; Joseph’s work contributes to God’s own.

Photo: (Photo by Eva Marie UZCATEGUI / AFP) 

This is an edited extract from Dr Craycraft’s Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America ( OSV, 2024).

This article appears in the May 2025 edition of the Catholic Herald. To subscribe to our thought-provoking magazine and have independent, high-calibre and counter-cultural Catholic journalism delivered to your door anywhere in the world click HERE.

The post Appreciating the dignity and purpose of work this Feast Day of St Joseph the Worker first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post Appreciating the dignity and purpose of work this Feast Day of St Joseph the Worker appeared first on Catholic Herald.

Expectations are not only heating up in the Vatican this week about who will be the new pope but also regarding who will dress him after white smoke finally emits from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.

Raniero Mancinelli, 86, has personally handcrafted cassocks for three popes at his now famed shop, Mancinelli Clero, located close to the Vatican in Rome, since 1962, reports The Times.

Though the veteran tailor has dressed three popes during their reigns, he has yet to supply the cassock and cape worn by a new pope when he steps on to the balcony at St Peter’s Basilica after his election.

He is one of the last remaining ecclesiastical tailors in all of Rome and during the course of six decades has crafted handmade liturgical vestments worn by popes, cardinals, bishops and priests around the world. Now he awaits to see if any of his cassocks will be chosen by the next pontiff.

He said he was in the running after good reviews from John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, who all wore Mancinelli’s garments after they were elected. But he will only know if his vestments have been picked when he sees the new pope waving from the balcony to the crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square.

He was cutting three capes on Wednesday, 30 April, that he will supply for the moment the new pope enters the small antechamber at the Vatican called the Room of Tears.

“I am doing a small, medium and large,” he said. “And I hope he will pick mine.”

Francis declined to wear the red cape – or mozzetta – he was offered before he stepped onto the balcony in 2013.

Mancinelli’s dressing of popes offers an intriguing and even intimate insight into their ways of thinkings along with the challenges they faced as the papacy – and inevitable aging involved – took its toll.

“Francis wanted simple, practical and cheap clothes,” says Mancinelli, who had to resupply the Argentinian pontiff as he put on weight as a result of health issues and deteriorating mobility.

As Benedict began to stoop in old age, Mancinelli started to shorten his cassocks.

“Pope Benedict dressed more elegantly,” Mancinelli said. “He wanted more expensive and heavier cloth because he suffered [with] the cold, as well as perfectly fitting cassocks.”

Mancinelli still uses an old 6kg iron to get the wrinkles out of cassocks in a tiny workroom. The shop’s shelves are packed with ornate sashes, purple socks and €60 mitres, alongside racks of silver-plated croziers that cost €1,600.

As the 7 May conclave approaches, reports of intrigue and jockeying for position are gathering pace. There are also indications that this conclave, unlike the previous two that each lasted a relatively brief two days, could prove a far longer and harder affair to settle.

Mancinelli may well have to wait longer than he is used to during a conclave, in order to find out if any of his expertly crafted vestments have been chosen.

RELATED: Could this be the longest conclave in modern history?

Photo: Italian ecclesiastical tailor Raniero Mancinelli stands for a portrait in his famed shop Mancinelli Clero, located close to the Vatican, Rome, Italy, 29 April 2025. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.)

The post Rome’s ecclesiastical tailors compete to dress next pope first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post Rome’s ecclesiastical tailors compete to dress next pope appeared first on Catholic Herald.

Tehran knows “very well what the US military is capable of,” Pete Hegseth has said

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has blamed Iran for arming Houthi fighters in Yemen, warning that Tehran will face consequences at the time and place of Washington’s choosing.

US President Donald Trump launched a large-scale air and naval strike campaign against the Houthis in March with a declared goal of protecting shipping in the Red Sea. The group, which Washington describes as “Iran-backed,” had been targeting commercial vessels off Yemen’s coast as part of its strategy of putting pressure on Israel over its military operation in Gaza.

Hegseth addressed Tehran in a message on X on Thursday, saying: “We see your lethal support to the Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing.”

“You know very well what the US military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the consequence at the time and place of our choosing,” he wrote.

The Pentagon chief also shared a screenshot of a post published by Trump on his Truth Social platform in mid-March, in which he insisted that Iran is “dictating every move” the Houthis make as well as supplying them with weapons, funds and intelligence. “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of Iran,” the US president wrote back then.

Tehran has previously categorically denied Washington’s claims of it directing the actions of the Yemeni group.

“Ansar Allah (the Houthis), as the representative of the Yemenis, makes its own strategic decisions, and Iran has no role in setting the national or operational policies of any movement in the resistance front,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami said, following the launch of the US bombing campaign.

The latest round of American strikes on Yemen took place on Tuesday and for the first time saw British aircraft joining the raids. According to the Royal Air Force, the attacks targeted Houthi drone-manufacturing facilities south of the country's capital, Sanaa.

On Monday, the US Navy said that its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet had been lost after it fell overboard from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier stationed in the Red Sea. According to multiple media reports, the incident happened when the vessel was maneuvering to evade a missile attack from Yemen.

Also on Monday, Houthi-linked broadcaster Al Masirah reported that a US strike hit a migrant detention center in Sanaa, killing at least 68 African refugees and injuring dozens more. A US defense official said the Pentagon was aware of claims about civilian casualties.

READ MORE: US won’t guarantee European security alone – Hegseth

During his phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “emphasized the need for an immediate cessation of the use of force and the importance for all parties to engage in political dialogue aimed at finding a solution that excludes further bloodshed,” according to the readout by Moscow.

The long-awaited agreement grants America preferential access to the Eastern European country’s mineral resources

The US and Ukraine have signed a natural resources deal that gives Washington access to the country’s vast mineral deposits in exchange for help in Ukraine’s economic recovery. Hardball diplomacy over the deal went on for months and became a major point of contention in relations between Washington and Kiev.

Here’s what we know about the outlines of the deal.

Preferential access for US

The agreement establishes a joint US-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund to attract investment in the Ukrainian economy, particularly with regard to resource exploration projects.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka, the US will be given preferential access to investments in the extraction of rare-earth minerals.

However, Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko said the fund would operate as an “equal partnership,” with neither side having a dominant vote. Ukraine will retain “full control over the resources” – including the subsoil – and will continue to determine the conditions and locations of extraction. The deal also does not transfer any state-owned companies into private hands.

50/50 split

Ukraine will contribute 50% of new rents for new licenses for new extraction to the fund, with the money inside to be invested exclusively in Ukraine. For the first ten years, profits will not be distributed, but will be fully reinvested in the Ukrainian economy, according to the Ministry of Economy. Neither contributions nor profits are taxable.

No security guarantees for Kiev

Conspicuously absent from the deal, however, is any mention of the US providing Ukraine with security guarantees, although this was “one of its initial goals,” as described by Reuters.

According to the New York Times, the idea of security guarantees was rejected by the US “early in the process.”

Nevertheless, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce insisted that the deal will strengthen the country’s security: “When America is your friend and your partner, your nation is going to be better off. And there is a security component just in our presence.”

Past US aid not included

The resource deal “focuses on future, not past, US military assistance,” the Ukrainian Economy Ministry has said, adding that revenues from already active projects are not included in the joint investment fund. According to Sviridenko, the agreement “includes no provisions regarding any Ukrainian debt obligations to the United States.”

The US previously portrayed the deal as a way for Ukraine to pay back past military assistance, which the administration of US President Donald Trump estimated at $350 billion. Ukraine has insisted that the past aid was provided unconditionally, while estimating it at $90 billion.

Following the signing of the deal, Trump suggested that the US could “in theory” get much more than $350 billion out of the deal.

Initial reactions

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham described the deal as “tremendously beneficial to the American economy,” adding that it will improve ties between Washington and Kiev.

The New York Times suggested that the “deal will have little significance” if Russia and Ukraine fail to reach a sustainable ceasefire.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the US has essentially forced Ukraine to pay for American aid with minerals.

Thorny road to agreement

Negotiations over the agreement dragged on for months, though the sides had planned to sign it in late February during Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to the White House. However, Zelensky’s televised meeting with Trump resulted in a heated exchange, with the US president accusing the Ukrainian leader of ingratitude and “gambling with World War III.” Since then, the US has on several occasions criticized Ukraine for making slow progress on the deal, with Trump at one point demanding that Kiev sign it “immediately.”

The outlet has published a “deliberately false” piece about him, the world’s richest man has said

Elon Musk has branded the Wall Street Journal a “discredit to journalism,” categorically denying the outlet’s claim that Tesla’s board wants to replace him as the CEO of the electric car company.

The WSJ claimed, citing anonymous sources, that about a month ago Tesla’s board reached out to a number of executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding a new CEO. The directors “got serious” after Tesla’s stock plunged and investors got “irritated” by Musk’s focus on his job as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm issued a statement in which she called the report “absolutely false.”

“The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead,” Denholm stressed.

Musk reacted to the report on his X platform on Thursday, insisting that “it is an extremely bad breach of ethics that the Wall Street Journal would publish a deliberately false article” and slammed the outlet for its failure to include the Tesla board’s “unequivocal denial” of claims that it is searching for a new CEO in its article.

In a separate comment, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO labeled the WSJ a “discredit to journalism.”

Tesla suffered a 71% drop in profits and a 9% decline in revenue for the first quarter of 2025, during which time Musk became an increasingly polarizing figure, due to his close ties to US President Donald Trump and his work as the head of the DOGE, an agency tasked with slashing government spending.

Since January, dozens of Tesla-linked locations have been hit by protests, in what Musk claims is a coordinated effort bankrolled by major Democratic donors. There have also been violent attacks, including arson attempts, on the company’s dealerships, vehicles and charging stations.

READ MORE: Robots will outperform human surgeons in five years – Musk

A week ago, Musk announced that he will scale back his government role because the “major work” to establish DOGE has now been completed. During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump thanked the tech billionaire for his contribution, saying “you know you are invited to stay as long as you want... I guess he wants to get back home to his cars.”

When your wealth grows, so does the complexity of your financial life. For high-net-worth individuals, tax planning is no longer just about filing accurately—it’s about strategically managing income, investments, and legacy plans to reduce taxable income and preserve wealth over the long term.

From investment strategies and estate planning to charitable giving and tax-advantaged accounts, smart tax planning can make a significant difference in how much of your wealth stays with you and your heirs. This comprehensive guide explores advanced tax strategies tailored specifically for high-net-worth individuals.

Leveraging Tax-Deferred Accounts

One of the most effective and foundational strategies in tax planning for high-net-worth individuals is the use of tax-deferred accounts. These accounts allow your investments to grow without being taxed each year, offering significant compounding advantages over time. More importantly, they help reduce your current taxable income—a critical factor for individuals in higher tax brackets.

Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s

For salaried professionals and business owners alike, Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s remain valuable tools. Contributions to these accounts are typically made on a pre-tax basis, meaning they reduce your taxable income in the year of the contribution. Over time, the funds grow tax-deferred until withdrawals begin in retirement, when many individuals are in a lower tax bracket. This deferral not only enhances portfolio growth but also provides a strategic timing advantage for tax liability.

SEP IRAs and Solo 401(k)s

For high-net-worth individuals who are self-employed or own small businesses, SEP IRAs (Simplified Employee Pension IRAs) and Solo 401(k)s provide greater contribution flexibility than traditional plans. In 2024, business owners can contribute up to 25% of their compensation or $66,000 (whichever is less) to a SEP IRA. Solo 401(k)s offer the opportunity to contribute both as an employer and an employee, allowing for even greater annual deferrals. These plans are ideal for those with fluctuating income who want to maximize tax advantages during peak earning years.

Defined Benefit Plans

Defined Benefit Plans—also known as pension plans—are less commonly used today but can be highly beneficial for high earners, particularly those in their 50s or 60s who are looking to accelerate retirement savings. These plans allow significantly higher contributions than other retirement plans (sometimes well over $100,000 annually), and the contributions are tax-deductible. This makes them especially appealing for business owners seeking to reduce current income taxes while creating a predictable, fixed income stream in retirement.

By contributing aggressively to these tax-deferred vehicles, high-net-worth individuals can reduce their taxable income during their highest earning years, defer taxes until retirement, and capitalize on compound growth. These strategies also create opportunities for future tax planning, such as Roth conversions during lower-income years or strategic withdrawal planning in retirement to manage required minimum distributions (RMDs).

When integrated into a comprehensive financial plan, tax-deferred accounts become a cornerstone of long-term wealth preservation and tax efficiency.

Roth Conversions for Strategic Tax Diversification

Although Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax dollars, they offer tax-free withdrawals in retirement. A well-timed Roth conversion—moving assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA—can be a powerful tool in years when your income is temporarily lower.

This strategy requires paying taxes on the converted amount now but can minimize future required minimum distributions (RMDs) and lower taxable income in retirement.

Reducing Capital Gains Taxes

Capital gains taxes are a major concern for wealthy investors. Several strategies can help reduce or defer these taxes:

• Tax-loss harvesting: Offset gains by selling underperforming investments.
• Qualified Opportunity Zones: Defer and potentially eliminate capital gains by investing in designated areas.
• Donor-Advised Funds: Donate appreciated assets, avoiding the capital gains tax and receiving a charitable deduction.

Long-term capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income, so holding investments for more than a year is another key strategy.

Charitable Giving for Tax Efficiency

Charitable contributions provide more than just philanthropic satisfaction—they offer valuable tax advantages. Consider these methods:

• Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs): Contribute appreciated assets, take a deduction immediately, and distribute funds to charities over time.
• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): For those over 70½, you can donate up to $100,000 annually directly from an IRA, satisfying RMDs and avoiding income tax.
• Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs): These trusts provide income to beneficiaries for a set term, with remaining assets going to charity—delivering both tax benefits and legacy impact.

Trusts and Estate Planning Strategies

High-net-worth individuals must plan carefully for the transfer of wealth. Trusts are essential tools for reducing estate taxes and protecting assets. Common strategies include:

• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs): Exclude life insurance proceeds from your estate.
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs): Transfer assets with minimal gift tax implications while retaining an income stream.
• Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs): Provide income access while removing assets from the estate.

These tools help manage generational wealth transfer, reduce estate tax liability, and ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes.

Tax-Efficient Investments

How you invest is just as important as what you invest in. Tax-efficient investments can significantly reduce your tax burden:

• Municipal Bonds: Generate federally tax-free income and, in some cases, are exempt from state taxes.
• Tax-Managed Mutual Funds: Designed to limit capital gains distributions.
• Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): Generally more tax-efficient than mutual funds due to their structure.

Strategically placing tax-inefficient investments in tax-advantaged accounts and keeping tax-efficient investments in taxable accounts is known as asset location—an advanced method for reducing taxes over time.

Business Tax Strategies

For business owners, there are additional tax-saving opportunities:

• Pass-Through Entity Deductions: If applicable, Section 199A allows for a 20% deduction on qualified business income.
• S-Corporation Elections: Reduce self-employment tax by splitting salary and distributions.
• Family Employment: Hiring children in the business can shift income to a lower tax bracket.

Working closely with a tax advisor ensures compliance while maximizing deductions and credits available to business owners.

Staying Ahead of Tax Law Changes

Tax laws evolve regularly, and high-net-worth individuals must stay informed to adapt strategies accordingly. Key issues to watch include:

• Changes to estate and gift tax exemptions
• Adjustments to capital gains tax rates
• Proposed legislation affecting retirement accounts and trust rules

Partnering with a financial advisor and CPA allows you to stay proactive and avoid costly surprises.

Ready to Reduce Your Tax Burden and Preserve Wealth?

At RIA Advisors, we specialize in tax planning for high-net-worth individuals. Our team helps you implement custom strategies to reduce taxable income, optimize investments, and protect your legacy. Contact us today to schedule your private consultation and take control of your financial future.

FAQs

What is the best way to reduce taxable income as a high-net-worth individual?

Strategies include maximizing tax-deferred account contributions, leveraging charitable giving, and using tax-efficient investments.

Are Roth conversions worth it for high earners?

Yes—especially in years with lower income or when aiming to reduce future RMDs and taxes in retirement.

How can trusts help with estate tax planning?

Trusts can remove assets from your taxable estate, provide income to beneficiaries, and ensure a smooth asset transfer.

What are tax-managed funds?

These are mutual funds specifically designed to minimize capital gains distributions, making them more tax-efficient for investors.

How do I know if I need advanced tax planning?

If you have a high income, complex assets, or are planning a large legacy, advanced tax planning is essential to preserve wealth.

The post A Comprehensive Guide to Tax Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals appeared first on RIA.

There was cause for celebration for Catholics in France at this year’s Easter Vigil. Figures released by the Bishops’ Conference of France announced that 10,384 adults would receive the sacrament of baptism at the 2025 Easter Vigil. This is an increase of 45 percent over the 7,135 adults who were baptized in 2024 and a 90 percent increase over the 5,463 adults who were baptized in 2023.

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Call it a midlife crisis, call it a dark night of the soul, or call it whatever you like; the last few years have not been kind to me. Failures and regrets have abounded. Severe health crises, several lost pregnancies mid-term, job insecurities, bad investments, and familial stresses have all taken their toll to severely tempt this author to curse God and die. As a former seminarian and…

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There are moments in history that act as defining dates determining and reflecting the change of direction in world affairs. We think of 1789 and the French Revolution, and of 1917 with the Russian revolution. If you subscribe to the Great Man of History perspective, then there are moments of election and choice that equally offer similar definition. 

In the same way that global culture is poised at a hinge moment in history, a version of that crisis is reflected within the Catholic Church and will be given expression to through the election of the next pontiff.

Casual commentators suggest that the choice that lies before the cardinals is placed in one of three categories: going for a conservative, a radical or a compromise moderate. They suggest that a conservative would represent the appointment of a “thin pope after a fat pope”, and that a compromise candidate might offer the solution of eirenic compromise between warring theological factions.

That is a not unreasonable political take on the process. But it misses too much hidden under the surface of the present situation, both theologically and spiritually.

A progressive appointment, a “Francis the Second”, would complete the process that Pope Francis (the First) began more by implication than by action.  As Cardinal Tucho pronounced: The Magisterium is dead. Long Live the New Magisterium, the Magisterium of Pope Francis.

In all the argumentation around the extent to which the application of Vatican II represented legitimate continuity with the previous millennia or, rather, a radical discontinuity, the claim that Pope Francis initiated a “new magisterium” is a rather alarming disclosure that the progressive project that he put his weight behind is uncatholic. 

And it discloses how a Church that pursues those alternative values – “Who am I to judge” – particularly in relation to sexual ethics, the nature of the family, marriage and celibacy, is so much in breach of the Magisterium that it has had to create a new alternative one (“The Francis magisterium”) as a platform for what would become radical discontinuity.

Can you compromise between Catholic orthodoxy and radical discontinuity?

The question is not very different from asking if you can be a little bit pregnant. There are some compromises that are impossible to give expression to. 

Does continuing straight ahead express a compromise between the conflicting choices of going either left or right? If going right is the correct decision, then continuing on ahead is not a compromise between choosing to go left instead. It represents a second directional error, one that will take you to the wrong destination quite as much as the original error.

What we might call orthodox Catholic voices are calling for “a Catholic pope”.

Cardinal Sarah is being favoured by many, in part because he satisfies some of the more justified criteria of progressive liberal values with a commitment to being a Catholic priest and bishop as it has always and everywhere been understood.

Cardinal Sarah kneels before the Blessed Sacrament in Toronto, Canada (Image from University of St Michael’s College)

There is a certain irony that a tall, black, dignified African bishop, breaking the mould of white Eurocentric culture as he does, is being presented as a saviour of a Catholic Church that has buckled under Pope Francis from the applied pressure to bless the individual members of gay couples, to watering down the requirements of the teaching on marriage, divorce and access to the sacraments. 

When faced with the cultural conflict between the conflicting models of  therapy and salvation, Pope Francis deliberately appeared to offer a degree of affirmation to the forces that preferred acceptance and affirmation. His leitmotif of “mercy” implied unconditional acceptance and was recognised as such by a sympathetic press.

RELATED: The media’s selective understanding of a complexed pope

Cardinal Sarah seems to have directly contradicted the therapeutic salve of Pope Francis with classic Catholic teaching when he publicly insisted: “Don’t deceive people with the word ‘mercy’. God forgives sins only if we repent of them.”

On the subject of uncontrolled mass migration, in which Pope Francis adopted the politics of the Left, offering repeated exhortations to “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate” migrants, Cardinal Sarah presented a more coherent Catholic analysis.

It is one rooted in the integrity of the nation and its right to a cohesive self-determining culture. He criticised the progressive assaults promoting mass migration, particularly in relation to its cultural and spiritual impact on Europe:

“The Church cannot cooperate with this new form of slavery that mass migration has become. If the West continues in this fatal way, there is a great risk that, for wanting to welcome everyone, it will no longer be able to welcome anyone.”

(—Cardinal Robert Sarah, interview with French magazine Valeurs Actuelles, March 2019)

Pope Francis varied the rules that governed access to the Eucharist for non-Catholic Christians under certain circumstances, particularly in Germany. A controversial proposal by some German bishops in 2018 was aimed to allow Protestant spouses of Catholics to receive Communion. Cardinal Sarah’s response was to respect and promote normative traditional Catholic teaching on the Eucharist:

“Intercommunion is not allowed between Catholics and non-Catholics. It is not a matter left to national episcopal conferences, nor to individual dioceses, nor to individual priests.”

(—Cardinal Sarah, in a letter to the German bishops, 2018)

Pope Francis commonly expressed a preference for the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, including versus populum celebration of the Mass. Cardinal Sarah’s view was the opposite: 

“It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction – eastward or at least towards the apse – to the Lord who comes.”

(—Cardinal Robert Sarah, London, July 2016 [Sacra Liturgia conference])

The deeper question which provides the context for the election of the new pope involves a reconsideration of the exercise that was undertaken by the Second Vatican Council in the heady and confusing days of the 1960s.

At the time, it seemed necessary that some kind of accommodation needed to be reached with the secular culture that was emerging in the second half of the 20th century. Those who believe in progress are still convinced that this accommodation between Church and secular culture was and is necessary.  

An alternative view is that what has been unleashed by secular culture is not progress but decadence. And not just ethical entropy; but a decadence that has at its heart a hatred of Christianity in general and of Catholicism in particular; and whose main characteristic is the subversion of the Catholic Church, its anthropology and ethics.

Were the cardinals of the Catholic Church to revisit the assessment of the cultural antagonism the Western secular spirit embodies, they might well find both satisfaction and a solution in the choice of Cardinal Sarah.

The combination of being black, being African and being truly and wholeheartedly Catholic might offer just the antidote to the fracture, disorder, ambiguity and discontinuity that the last pontificate has burdened the Church with.

RELATED: Cardinal Müller warns Church risks split if ‘orthodox’ pope not chosen

(Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images.)

The post Cardinal Sarah is the man to save the Church as next pope first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post Cardinal Sarah is the man to save the Church as next pope appeared first on Catholic Herald.

Keith Kellogg has said Kiev wants to hold the current front line

Kiev has agreed to acknowledge Russia’s control over Crimea and four other regions – without formally recognizing Moscow’s sovereignty over them – according to US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg.

In an interview on Wednesday, Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum asked Kellogg whether the US could accept Moscow’s demand that Ukraine renounce claims to territories it considers to be under Russian occupation.

“Partially, yes,” Kellogg replied. “Look, the Ukrainians, Martha, have already said – they’re willing to give up the land… not de jure – forever – but de facto because the Russians actually occupied it. They’ve agreed to that,” he said. “They told me that last week.”

Kellogg added that Ukraine wants a ceasefire that would mean “you sit on the ground that you currently hold.”

The envoy said he met with Ukrainian officials in London on April 23 and that they had agreed to “22 concrete terms” presented by the US, including a 30-day comprehensive ceasefire. He urged Moscow to “pick up on” the proposal.

Russia, however, has maintained that a full ceasefire would require Ukraine to halt its mobilization campaign and stop accepting military aid from abroad. President Vladimir Putin has also demanded that Kiev withdraw from the Russian territories it still claims. Moscow has accused Ukraine of repeatedly violating a 30-day ‘energy truce’ brokered by Trump in March, as well as last month’s 30-hour Easter truce.

Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia shortly after the 2014 US-backed coup in Kiev. The Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, along with the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, followed suit after referendums in 2022.

The agreement proposed by Washington reportedly includes US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, freezing the conflict along the current front lines, and acknowledging Moscow’s control over large parts of the four other former Ukrainian regions. The deal would also reportedly block Ukraine from joining NATO and initiate a phased removal of the sanctions on Russia.