538 50 Year Mortgage - Health Insurance Cost - tax rates 2025 vs 2026

November 15, 2025·1 hr 22 min·6 clips

Phil Ferguson unpacks Trump's push for a 50-year mortgage and why Republicans might finally abandon him over Epstein.

The show opens with Phil saying it is mid-late November 2025 and that he has a pile of things to get through. That loose, slightly rushed setup is part of the point. First up is the 50-year mortgage. He treats it as an idea floated to Trump, picked up as a possible answer to housing problems, then apparently left behind. The delivery is dry and a little rough around the edges. From there, the hour turns into Phil's usual mix of money, policy, and irritation. The tax section does a lot of number work. He compares United States tax tiers for 2025 and 2026 and notes that the brackets widen because of inflation indexing. That matters for capital gains. He tells listeners to look at appreciated assets in taxable accounts, even if they do not need the cash, because selling now might let them use a lower long-term capital gains rate. He does not leave it there. The caveats keep coming. Future tax rates could change. Congress could need more revenue. Higher taxes on billionaires, or people with hundreds of millions of dollars, fit into the same argument. Phil also walks back through older long-term capital gains rules, including different holding-period tiers and higher possible rates. His view is blunt: he questions why investment income should get better tax treatment than labor income, while admitting that equal rates might not help people with large portfolios. That tension drives the episode. Personal finance and politics are tangled together here, because the rules decide who benefits and what moves make sense before those rules change. A shorter health insurance segment is set up as well. Phil brings in his own premiums, tax payments, and costs, including a $4,800 monthly cost starting in January. Near the end, he points to more talk about 2026 conventions, then lands on an odd tag about missionaries, church, and awkward doorstep religion.

As heard by us

Blunt money talk that turns headlines into practical budget math.

Phil Ferguson works through a 50-year mortgage pitch, the 2025-to-2026 tax tier changes, and a brief look at rising health-insurance premiums.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want blunt tax, mortgage, and health-insurance math without the spin, press play.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Phil Ferguson Show