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  • Pretty good backgrounder on what we think we know about the tax plan:

    http://www.politifact.com/georgia/st...-will-save-ty/
    Trust me?
    I'm an economist!

    Comment


    • Based on what I am seeing, Rand Paul is an asshole who stacked up his lawn leaves in a disputed section of the lawn. Bag your f'ing lawn clippings and put them on the curb. (No leaf burning permitted in Cook County, IL).

      The tax plan overall looks bad from a fiscal standpoint, but probably good from a "closing deductions" stand-point. I don't see why Dems aren't jumping for joy. The major fiscal changes are the alterations to pass-through income and the estate tax, both which are going to get rolled back whenever the Dems take control of both branches of government again. Dem challenges were always trying to raise the marginal tax rates and limit deductions to the bulk of households (including upper income households), and the GOP is just doing that for them.

      The conservative bloggers I read are asking whether Bernie Sanders won the election.

      Also, based on election results and available info, looks like a Dem wave for 200. Wouldn't be surprised for them to take the House and possibly the Senate given all the retirements going on. GOP is gonna need to kick the Trump-ism pretty fast.
      Last edited by GVChamp; 08 Nov 17,, 15:46.
      "The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood"-Otto Von Bismarck

      Comment


      • Anyone else not surprised?

        Racist messages at Air Force Academy were written by student who claimed to be targeted

        In late September, five black cadet candidates found racial slurs scrawled on message boards on their doors at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School. One candidate found the words "go home n---" written outside his room, his mother posted on social media, according to the Air Force Times.

        The racist messages roiled the academy in Colorado Springs, prompted the school to launch an investigation. They led its superintendent to deliver a stern speech that decried the "horrible language" and drew national attention for its eloquence.

        Surrounded by 1,500 members of the school's staff, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria told cadets to take out their phones and videotape the speech, "so you can use it . . . so that we all have the moral courage together."

        "If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect," Silveria said, "then get out."

        The speech, which the academy posted on YouTube, went viral. It was watched nearly 1.2 million times, grabbed headlines nationwide, and was commended by the likes of former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

        But on Tuesday, the school made a jolting announcement. The person responsible for the racist messages, the academy said, was, in fact, one of the cadet candidates who reported being targeted by them.

        "The individual admitted responsibility and this was validated by the investigation," academy spokesman Lt. Col. Allen Herritage said in a statement to the Associated Press, adding: "Racism has no place at the academy, in any shape or form."

        After racial slurs at Air Force Academy, leader delivers powerful speech on race
        The cadet candidate accused of crafting the messages was not identified, but the Colorado Springs Gazette reported that the individual is no longer enrolled at the school. Sources also told the Gazette the cadet candidate "committed the act in a bizarre bid to get out of trouble he faced at the school for other misconduct," the newspaper reported.
        http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...108-story.html

        Comment


        • I wonder if we're going to get another lecture about how falsely reporting crimes is damaging and falsely causing a big media shitstorm is also damaging.

          The last decade has done much to heighten divisions and nothing to close divisions.
          "The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood"-Otto Von Bismarck

          Comment


          • Originally posted by GVChamp View Post
            Based on what I am seeing, Rand Paul is an asshole who stacked up his lawn leaves in a disputed section of the lawn. Bag your f'ing lawn clippings and put them on the curb. (No leaf burning permitted in Cook County, IL).

            The tax plan overall looks bad from a fiscal standpoint, but probably good from a "closing deductions" stand-point. I don't see why Dems aren't jumping for joy. The major fiscal changes are the alterations to pass-through income and the estate tax, both which are going to get rolled back whenever the Dems take control of both branches of government again. Dem challenges were always trying to raise the marginal tax rates and limit deductions to the bulk of households (including upper income households), and the GOP is just doing that for them.

            The conservative bloggers I read are asking whether Bernie Sanders won the election.

            Also, based on election results and available info, looks like a Dem wave for 200. Wouldn't be surprised for them to take the House and possibly the Senate given all the retirements going on. GOP is gonna need to kick the Trump-ism pretty fast.
            Oh c’mon, composting is much more eco friendly than filling the landfill!

            Comment


            • GVChamp,

              he tax plan overall looks bad from a fiscal standpoint, but probably good from a "closing deductions" stand-point. I don't see why Dems aren't jumping for joy. The major fiscal changes are the alterations to pass-through income and the estate tax, both which are going to get rolled back whenever the Dems take control of both branches of government again. Dem challenges were always trying to raise the marginal tax rates and limit deductions to the bulk of households (including upper income households), and the GOP is just doing that for them.
              'course, no one knows when exactly Dems will take control of both branches of government. actually, limiting deductions is the hard part; raising the marginal rates, not too hard.

              moreover the plan would vastly increase the deficit, which would mean it would be far harder for Dems to implement other social programs.

              Also, based on election results and available info, looks like a Dem wave for 200. Wouldn't be surprised for them to take the House and possibly the Senate given all the retirements going on.
              yeah, the Republicans were slaughtered last night-- just in regards to the VA House of Delegates, Dems were hoping for gains of 6-8 seats, and instead got at least 15.

              GOP is gonna need to kick the Trump-ism pretty fast.
              not going to happen until Trump is dragged kicking and screaming out of the Oval Office. very ironically Trump might well be the best cure-all for an almost moribund Democratic Party state apparatus, and end with the civil war of the GOP. can't see Breitbart being shoved back into the box by the GOP establishment.

              sorta sucks to make a deal with the devil and just get one SC justice out of it.
              There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

              Comment


              • The deficit increase isn't all that substantial in the grand scheme. It's $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years. We are expecting to add $9.3 trillion with baseline policies.

                The oncoming socialists will find a solution, which will be seizing your 401(k). :) Just keep an eye out and look to transition to gold when President Gillibrand gets in to office in 2030 and says we need to take all your money to pay for (insert government program with zero evidence of benefit here).
                "The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood"-Otto Von Bismarck

                Comment


                • GVChamp,

                  The oncoming socialists will find a solution, which will be seizing your 401(k). Just keep an eye out and look to transition to gold when President Gillibrand gets in to office in 2030 and says we need to take all your money to pay for (insert government program with zero evidence of benefit here).
                  afraid you're too late to THAT particular party, old chap. House GOP opened that Pandora's Box already during this session of tax cut planning.

                  the hornet's nest they opened was so bad that they capitulated after several weeks and, if anything, are promising to allow people to contribute more.

                  it's highly unlikely Dems will do anything like that, seeing as how they depend so heavily upon the upper-middle class for support. much, much easier to soak the rich and cut off deductions for corporations, and go from there.

                  in any case, regarding kicking Trumpism:

                  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...re-with-trump/

                  Speaking with Fox News radio host Brian Kilmeade, Ryan offered perhaps his biggest bear hug of Trump to date. Kilmeade asked Ryan if the GOP has to choose between Bush-style Republican policies and Trump, and Ryan didn’t equivocate.

                  “We already made that choice,” he said. “We’re with Trump.”

                  And a thousand Democratic campaign ads were born.

                  “We already made that choice,” Ryan repeated. “That’s a choice we made at the beginning of the year. That’s a choice we made during the campaign, which is we merged our agendas. We ran on a joint agenda with Donald Trump. We got together with Donald Trump when he was President-elect Trump and walked through what is it we want to accomplish in the next two years. We all agreed on that agenda. We’re processing that agenda.”
                  There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by astralis View Post
                    GVChamp,



                    'course, no one knows when exactly Dems will take control of both branches of government. actually, limiting deductions is the hard part; raising the marginal rates, not too hard.
                    Should be interesting in 2018 for Republican Congressmen in California. Seven could be vulnerable as some are now in districts that have far more registered Democrats than Republicans. Issa, San Diego, won by only 1% last time and he has now said he won't vote for the tax bill. Watch these seven to see if they pull away from Trump by election time to be California Republicans rather than Trump Republicans.

                    Comment


                    • Trump is such a figure that I don't think Republicans short of say, McCain, can "run away" from him...especially without getting primaried.

                      that's the other side of trying to build a cult of personality.
                      There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by astralis View Post
                        GVChamp,



                        afraid you're too late to THAT particular party, old chap. House GOP opened that Pandora's Box already during this session of tax cut planning.

                        the hornet's nest they opened was so bad that they capitulated after several weeks and, if anything, are promising to allow people to contribute more.

                        it's highly unlikely Dems will do anything like that, seeing as how they depend so heavily upon the upper-middle class for support. much, much easier to soak the rich and cut off deductions for corporations, and go from there.

                        in any case, regarding kicking Trumpism:

                        https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...re-with-trump/
                        Yeah, if the GOP is talking about axing the transaction, just think what the new-school socialists are going to do. :p

                        Obama tried to roll back 529 plans (IE college savings plans) because it was too much a benefit to rich people. He got stopped, but politics 10 years down the line is going to be substantially more left-wing. And the deficit is going to be REAL bad. We're looking at 6-7% structural deficits in 10 years time, plus the New School Socialists wanting to spend money on every social program ever invented.

                        The Dems will probably lose some of their UMC votes, but they won't need them in 10 years time. Demographic advantage, remember?


                        EDIT: I am half convinced McCain is only taking such a strong anti-Trump stance on some issues because he probably doesn't have all that much time left. That cancer diagnosis is pretty serious.
                        Last edited by GVChamp; 09 Nov 17,, 15:35.
                        "The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood"-Otto Von Bismarck

                        Comment


                        • GVChamp is channeling his inner Reihan Salam, or is it the other way around? :-)

                          http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a..._jobs_act.html

                          He got stopped, but politics 10 years down the line is going to be substantially more left-wing. And the deficit is going to be REAL bad. We're looking at 6-7% structural deficits in 10 years time, plus the New School Socialists wanting to spend money on every social program ever invented.
                          your New School Socialist looks to Scandinavia as its guide while (mostly) understanding that US economic composition, culture, etc would likely result in something closer to Canada...even if all their wishes were granted. the structural deficits/debt don't particularly worry me; it can be stabilized (albeit at a high but not ruinous level) with a fairly modest set of revenue increase and cuts, strung out over the long-term. i mean, none of this is exactly like 1970s wage/price control, everyone-will-have-a-guaranteed-job territory we're talking about here.
                          There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                          Comment


                          • Seems Paul Rand is quite the interesting character in that he does not like rules, no damn stinking rules. The development has rules for residents. No doubt the rules were to minimize these kind of disputes, or interactions.

                            http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/09/politi...ery/index.html

                            I like this part...

                            Neighbor Jim Skaggs, who was the developer for the neighborhood known as Rivergreen years ago, told CNN that there has been a "long-running disagreement" between them over property maintenance. He also noted that Paul did not like the rules of the property when they were first explained to him.

                            "He believes in less restrictions on property rights. He has strong beliefs on this subject," Skaggs said. "He had to be told very sternly that he needed to follow the rules and restrictions. He did not do anything wrong. But he had to be told sternly to follow the rules. He did not like the rules."

                            Skaggs said he "very much likes" both men, though he noted that Paul "is a very different character than most people."

                            "He's a deep believer in his own thoughts," Skaggs said. "And he believes his own thoughts are right -- and they are right 100% of the time."

                            That is the same, sometimes cantankerous, attitude that Paul displayed in Washington during fights over civil liberties, health care and taxes.

                            "Can you imagine living next door to that guy?" said one congressional colleague who has regularly tangled with Paul over policy. "I'm pulling for the neighbor."

                            When pressed Thursday to explain the motive, Boucher's attorney said, "I'm saying we should believe" Skaggs.

                            Comment


                            • Alabama GOP keeping it classy.

                              http://www.businessinsider.com/alaba...unters-2017-11
                              There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by astralis View Post
                                Wow, and those quoted were no doubt all for stringing up Bill Clinton I bet.

                                Comment

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