Bosses pocket Trump Tax Windfall

Discussion in 'Current Events' started by LafayetteBis, Jun 16, 2019.

  1. Paul7

    Paul7 Well-Known Member

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    What other people decide to do with their money is none of your business.
     
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  2. MolonLabe2009

    MolonLabe2009 Banned

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    Competing forces? When did you left-wingers want competition?

    You left-wingers want single payer healthcare which is the antithesis of competition.
     
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  3. Paul7

    Paul7 Well-Known Member

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    Heck, during Obamacare negotiations they didn't even want consumers to be able to shop for insurance out of state.
     
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  4. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    More one-liner stoopid sarcasm ... !
     
  5. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Responsible adult? In a country that allows automatic weapons?!? And some really sick-people actually take out their frustration by using said weapons to kill others (before popping one in the head)?

    The country has gone gun-crazy. And if you want to blame someone, blame Hollywood!

    It won't show sex in a movie, but deadly Machine-gun Maelstrom is OK.

    What a world the US lives in! Make love, not war and certainly not mayhem in public places (just to show how pissed-off one is with living) ... !

    PS: Europe has not been spared either. See here: Islamic Terrorism in Europe
    - brainless young idiots who perpetrated attacks on the civilian population on behalf of ISIS.
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2019
  6. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Can't find the article, but it was less-than-amusing to see the number of Defense Contractors who have permanent offices within walking distance of the Pentagon.

    And why? Have a look here:
    [​IMG]

    PS: Education is only 5% of the Discretionary Budget. I leave you all to presume what that means for anyone without the financing necessary to obtain a Tertiary-level Degree.
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2019
  7. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The fundamental rights of human beings (in a developed economy) NOT that "Defense" in a time of relative peace should amount to around $600M - when that money can be better spent on:
    *Healthcare that affords Americans a lifespan in the upper-70s rather than the lower-80s*, and
    *Postsecondary Education that has become absolutely necessary for the 55% of our graduating High Schoolers should continue by obtaining the educational qualifications that are now necessary for a decently-paid employment.

    It's dead simple. So simple, most people in the US do not even think of it. They keep lapping up the BS on TV every two years when there are elections. Or, worse yet, more than half of them "stay-home" on election day.

    True Freedom is obtained from practice, that is, actually voting. Not hooking up to a blog to debate what one should have learned in a Civics Course.


    But, then again, it is no Civics Course in the US that any teacher will tell students that the Electoral College mechanism manipulates the popular-vote in presidential elections, and actually voids the preference of those who voted for the "loser" attributing ALL THEIR VOTES to the winner!

    It's as if they could have stayed home - which is probably why so many don't even bother to vote ... ?

    *Yes! You are destined to live (on average) to the age of 78.7 in the US, and me in France to 82.3!
     
  8. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Is personal responsibility too much to ask of adults?

    As I pointed out earlier, it is asking too much from the ones whose maturation process was arrested in their childhood or teenage years.

    You might want to research that before you make such a claim.

    I am not allowed to walk into a gun store and purchase an automatic weapon. There are strict restrictions on the sale and possession of such weapons and they require permits from the BATF. Even if you apply for such a permit it doesn't mean you will receive one, either.

    And you think that is responsible behavior? I don't.

    I hold people responsible for their own actions, but I think the irresponsible willingness on the part of the media (in all its forms) to glamorize gun violence and give malignant narcissists a platform to violently draw attention to themselves contributes to this problem. However, the majority of gun violence, in my opinion, is just a symptom of larger social problems that Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan warned about when his fellow Democrats were enacting the welfare programs in the mid-1960s that marginalized fathers to disastrous effect:

    From the wild Irish slums of the 19th century Eastern seaboard, to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, there is one unmistakable lesson in American history; a community that allows a large number of men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of rational expectations about the future -- that community asks for and gets chaos. Crime, violence, unrest, disorder -- most particularly the furious, unrestrained lashing out at the whole social structure -- that is not only to be expected; it is very near to inevitable.

    Moynihan made that prediction in 1965, and it also reflects an eternal truth that William Faulkner expressed in his works - Man cannot defy Naure with impunity - and that includes our own nature. When our leaders, in their infinite wisdom, decided to upset the dynamics in the nuclear family to alleviate poverty, they paved the road to Hell with their good intentions, and that is something you will NEVER hear Democrats talk about - the catastrophic consequences of their social welfare programs. They're willing to talk about some of the symptoms of their failed policies, but they're not willing to talk about the failed policies, much less fix them. They would rather let the problems persist than face the existential threat this poses to their own interests and power.

    True, and despite all the talk surrounding the media's responsibility for the glamorization and desensitization of violence in our society, it is just as unwilling to address and correct its own contribution to this problem as the talking heads in Washington.

    While this obviously has nothing to do with our diet, it is a another prominent example of the erosion of personal responsibility in this country and the consequences of its decline.
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2019
  9. Talon

    Talon Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    First of all, we have laws preventing the establishment of monopolies and the elimination of competition.

    Secondly, a lot of people are willing to sell their businesses to those wealthy business owners and investors, and it's a well-earned way for those people to enjoy their golden years after a lifetime of hard work. Obviously, this a good thing...
     
  10. MolonLabe2009

    MolonLabe2009 Banned

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    Trump's tax cuts allowed me to keep $3,200 more of my own money per year.
     
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  11. struth

    struth Well-Known Member

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    What stupid about it? I am sorry you don't believe me..but no need to through out insults. I took the advice of the White House and made sure to review what my deductions were....therefore I was able to see a pretty good refund.
     
  12. struth

    struth Well-Known Member

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    Not just the cut for me....the doubling of the standard deduction helped quite a lot, and made filing taxes so much easier
     
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  13. MolonLabe2009

    MolonLabe2009 Banned

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    That too.
     
  14. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    What's the meaning of "laws" if they are not applied? (We do have anti-trust laws, you know?)

    And with the agglomeration of companies as has happened over the past 30-years - which has only enriched Corporate Heads and merger- or corporate acquisition lawyers - Income Disparity in America has gone berserk. (See infographic below.)

    I wont bore you with the actual analysis, but the US is way, way down on the Income Fairness gradient amongst developed nations.

    Yes, I am sure you are right.

    I am also sure that if a country allows this to happen, then what also occurs is an increase of Income Disparity in the nation. And that the US has in spades.

    Which IS the central issue. Not only one's freedom to pursue a career as best they can.
    But why is America such an unfair country? (The most recent answer is because Donald Dork lowered upper-income taxation.)

    What is key is the societal context in which they actually do pursue a career in terms of overall Income Disparity. For the most, we are born into our economic context. The rich spawn the rich, and the poor never make it out and above the Poverty Threshold. (The Threshold is now around 14% of the total American population and that has not changed much in quite some time.)

    And you seem to be somebody who has even an inkling of a notion as to what it means. Which you can begin to understand here: Income Inequality World Map

    Careful, however, Income Inequality does not mean that the theory insists that all incomes should be "equal". It is employed in the same sense as Income Disparity. (Which means in sharing the economic-pie too much goes to too few.)

    I am not impressed by the "personal responsibility" blah, blah, blah.

    Which is just an excuse for a country that has ignominious Income Disparity. Nobody in their right-mind thinks that all incomes must be the same. That bit of Socialism has been largely refuted by the European countries that "tried it on for size". They've long since learned that it doesn't "fit".

    And in case you are wondering about what Income Disparity is, here is a visual appreciation of the consequences: Called iniquitously the "Piketty Split":
    [​IMG]

    One must be blind not to see the inequity of a country where the bottom 90% of all income-earners obtain in a lifetime the same total wealth as do the top-most 0.1 percenters ...[/QUOTE]
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2019
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  15. ImNotOliver

    ImNotOliver Well-Known Member

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    Speaking of health in America, there seems to be a correlation to politics as this map shows.

    [​IMG]

    Seems to me that the US is a collection of sub cultures. Certain of those subcultures greatly value healthy living while others, just the opposite. In places like Wyoming and Montana, in cowboy country, a big ol' beer belly is practically a badge of honor. Just about every magazine about Southern culture is a food magazine. And it shows. Bubba sure loves his BBQ. I spent most of my adult life in the Boulder Colorado area, where outdoor healthy living is somewhat central to the culture. I read somewhere once that people living high in the Colorado Rockies tend to be healthier and live longer than most people, by a significant amount. It really is abut the culture. One can not climb a mountain if one is not in good shape. And one can not but help but get in good shape if one climbs mountains.

    Anyhow, I think that the statistic is at around 70, or so, the age the most people can expect to live disease and injury free. After that age, most people have to deal with one malady or another for the rest of their lives.

    I've always kept myself in good shape, as much a point of pride as anything, with the muscle tone of a mountain lion. I had always wondered what it was that caused some people to get lumpy, blobby muscle tone. I stumbled upon a study that answered that. By comparing cross sections of peoples legs, using MRI and other such machines, and comparing them to the activities and whatnot of the individuals, it was shown that the lumpy, blobbyness was a result of inactive muscle being replaced by fatty tissue. There were even cases of very skinny people, who were inactive, where more than half their muscle mass has been replaced by fatty tissue.

    Most people, it turns out, by age of 70, lose a quarter or more of their muscle mass to fatty tissue. It is what accounts, in part, for the weakness of the elderly. It also accounts for a decline in quality of life, and makes it more difficult to fight off disease and recover from injuries. Mostly it is caused by inaction.

    But then those who remain active, who run, ride bikes, swim, play tennis, and the like, well into their later years tend to keep most of their muscle mass. So much so that an active 70 year old will have greater muscle mass than a similarly sized 30 year old who is inactive, and have greater energy. It is really a matter of use it or lose it.

    We have the problem with global warming, really just pollution in general. But if most people switched from their cars to a bicycle, not only could we increase the quality of the air we breath, most people would be healthier and live longer, happier lives.

    Compare Obama to Trump. Any bets on who lives to be older.
     
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  16. ImNotOliver

    ImNotOliver Well-Known Member

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    Without belief, there are no conservatives.
     
  17. ImNotOliver

    ImNotOliver Well-Known Member

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    Are you planning to die before you get old?
     
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  18. struth

    struth Well-Known Member

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    No, I invest in things and make a return:
     
  19. struth

    struth Well-Known Member

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    I got my check. That’s reality...:enjoy
     
  20. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It is rare to see such a sequence of one-liner rubbish posts in what is supposedly a Debate Forum.

    Only in America.

    And in French debates it is exactly the opposite - they go on forever in a rebuttal that contains nothing but miscellaneous words, words, words.

    Curious, the very different mentalities ...
     
  21. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Given the amount of population movement there is between states, I doubt that any conclusions can be made. Statistically, I suggest it is the aggregate that counts most.

    What is striking is the comparative national lifespan values:
    [​IMG]

    Iow, in America, one gets the leastest for the mostest ....

    Nuff said ... ?
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2019
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  22. MolonLabe2009

    MolonLabe2009 Banned

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    Life expectancy is not an accurate assessment of a countries healthcare system.

    The united states has the highest obesity rate and also has the highest influx of uneducated unskilled diseased third world immigrants.

    Both of those affects life expectancy.
     
  23. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    And here is a graphic that shows the distribution in America of Net Worth (which is Wealth minus Debt):
    [​IMG]

    Careful! "90%" does not mean 90% of the population. It means at the 90th-percentile of the total population distribution.

    Which means that at 10th percentile of the population Net Worth is negative. And at the 90th-percentile, net worth was above one million.

    Meaning what? This:
    *The 10th percentile contains mostly those found below the Poverty Threshold, which is - in America - actually 14% of the population.
    Of which 10% have a negative Net Worth.
    *At the 90th percentile (again 10% of the population) the aggregate Net Worth is above a one million dollars!

    Some will say "That's the way the cookie crumbles!" Others, like me, say "That is not the way the cookie MUST crumble."
    And in this new Information Age of ours, it is not a high-school degree that will keep anyone from falling into the 10th percentile.

    That high-school diploma achievement is just not good-enough any more! It's time we had a postsecondary degree achievement that was free, gratis and for nothing*..

    *I sent my kids to postsecondary schooling here in France for the modest sum of less than a kilobuck per year! (But, they stayed at home throughout the process so the only indirect cost was transportation.)
     
  24. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Bollocks! Life expectancy covers 100% of the population whilst "uneducated and unskilled" takes in less than 10% of the population.

    Those "uneducated-unskilled" are sweeping your streets, picking your crops and painting your houses! Because Americans wont do those jobs anymore!

    Show me the data rather than rambling a rebuttal!

    And the next time you see an Indian (from India!) who is an engineer and was recruited directly out of India ask him if his degree was not entirely subsidized by the Indian Government! (Because it was!) Yes, as a nation, we have to recruit intelligence from abroad to meet the needs of US industry and commerce ... !

    PS: Which is why I (and Bernie) suggest that a tertiary-education should be teaching Our Kids the skills necessary for a decent living FREE, GRATIS, AND FOR NEXT TO NOTHING! Rather than pissing down the drain billions in the DoD when there is no war abroad! (See here!)
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2019
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  25. LafayetteBis

    LafayetteBis Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    GETTING SMART

    QUOTE="Paul7, post: 1070693868, member: 59329"]What other people decide to do with their money is none of your business.[/QUOTE]

    But it does in the long-run. The above comment is myopic.

    We are all just single elements in a market-economy, and "what we decided to do with our money" has a collective not a singular perspective.

    And whyzat? Because the US is a country with singularly high Income Disparity. And what does that mean? That means taxation has a profound effect on creating riches.

    And nobody knew that better than a Reckless Reagan back in the early 1980s who decided to change upper-income taxation "to benefit his friends". What happened?

    This happened (from here):What we have learned from Reagan's Tax Cuts
    And why do deficits "worsen"? For two reasons:
    *Because elected presidents do not have the courage to do otherwise, since doing so means increasing taxation (particularly on the rich). And that means the rich do not fund reelections of those who do so! And,
    *Because nobody who gets elected PotUS takes the bull by the balls and squeezes higher income taxation out of the upper-income levels in the US.

    So, when are we as a nation going to Get Smart? As soon as we, the sheeple, find a way to get Congress to limit electoral donations to $5K per taxpayer ... ?

    *It was LBJ who actually signed the law reducing upper-income taxation that was initiated by JFK. Both supposedly "Democrats"! It was JFK who enacted the reduction to please his father who had helped financially to find funding for his election. And LBJ knew he would do the same for the very same reason with his rich oil-friends in Texas.
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2019

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