Tax Scam

1000+ pages?!  That is simplifying the tax system?
Included in the latest version...

• Excise tax added to certain people working for a non profit.  So not only are they taxed on income they get a penalty for going to a non profit.  Why?
• Individual cuts still temporary.  All expire in 2025.  Yes they may get renewed but that they have to put that in there to keep the deficit down means its going to be a problem.
• State and Local tax deduction capped at 10K
• Repeal the AHCA mandate means young healthy people drop out everyone else pays higher premiums
• .Corporate rate 21% but most loopholes left in, and Doctors and a lot of small businesses will get hit harder.  Another reason premiums and health care will go up.
• Special kickback to real estate people.
• Carried Interest (Wall Street loophole) still left in despite Trump and everyone in the GOP asked saying they would get rid of it.

Think about this.

• If the GOP thinks this bill will be great for wage growth, why are none of them able to offer specifics?
• If its really good for America why do most economists disagree?  Why rush this through in a nonpartisan manner and avoid any public hearings?  Only Lobbyists were invited to the party, the public was left out.
• Why does tax reform need to be over ONE THOUSAND pages long?  If they were really closing loopholes it should be short.

If they have to rush it through before people get a good luck that indicates they are afraid of what people will see.

GOP Tax scam, not about Conservative Values, just greed.

So the final version of the GOP Tax bill is out.
I haven't been able to find the full text online yet but have read the House and Senate versions going into this plan.

Senate Taxplan 515 pages!

https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/11.20.17%20Tax%20Cuts%20and%20Jobs%20Act.pdf

House Bill 429 pages

https://waysandmeansforms.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bill_text.pdf

House Summary and breakdowns

https://waysandmeans.house.gov/tax-cuts-jobs-act-resources/

You have probably heard the talking points already, it raises the deficit, does very little for wage and job growth while granting huge boost to the super rich and corporations, hurts teachers and firefighters, will prompt millions to lose their insurance and raises everyone else premiums, close many hospitals, increase the national debt, and even how the individual tax cuts are only short term while corporate tax cuts are permanent.

They put the lie to the test when they said this was about reform and closing loopholes.  You did not need a 500 page bill if you got rid of all (or even most) of the loopholes.

Further, this bill punishes individual tax payers in a lot of hidden in the dirt pile ways.

• Repeal of Casualty loss:  You wont notice this until your hurting but this repeals a deduction if you suffer a major loss such as your house burning down, flood damage, earth quake, tornado or even theft. That deduction enabled you to rebuild and get back on your feet faster, However they repealed it, except for Hurricanes.  Wonder why Republicans decided to repeal it for earthquakes but leave it for hurricanes? However, everyone is at risk for these things.
• Territorial Tax:Most countries use this system which means your not taxed on income made overseas. We tax our corporations on that money when they bring it back to the U.S. Personally I am ok with going to a territorial system to help our companies be more competitive and avoid offshore tax havens.  However lets not take on more national debt or lose jobs to do it.
• Chained CPI: This little gimmick will keep the standard deduction from keeping up with inflation. So as inflation goes up or taxes go up faster!
• Repealing the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax: Corporations already pay an average of 18% tax even though we have a top rate of 35%.  Removing the minimum tax means many larger corporations will be able to avoid paying any taxes at all!  Meanwhile smaller businesses will pay the bulk of corporate tax.  How fair is that?
• Repeal of Deduction for Income Attributable to Domestic Activities: Currently companies are allowed to deduct up to 9% (6% for oil and gas companies) for costs related to making and selling stuff in the US.  Getting rid of this will just incentivize them to move those operations overseas.  More job loss.

This bill does nothing to encourage companies to increase wages or hire more workers. Companies are already sitting on tons of cash and have access to low interest rates.  Instead of job growth we see mergers and stock buybacks. The only way to boost the economy is to increase consumer demand.

A letter to my Senators on their horrible tax bill.

Dear Senator Lankford and Senator Inhofe,
This is a horrible bill.
It increases the debt, takes away health care for people through backdoor legislation with the repeal of the mandate, and promotes big business over small business (especially service industry, one of the largest segments) all to give more money to the richest people and large corporations . There is nothing in this plan that will increase wages or new jobs, instead the money will be used for stock buybacks, dividends, exec bonuses, increased automation, and mergers so will actually cost jobs.
Companies will only hire more people if they need more work, not just because they have more money.  To grow the economy you have to work on the demand side, not the supply side.
Lowering taxes is fine but it needs to be fair, honest in its presentation, and budget neutral or better.
Final comment on the estate tax, why cut it? It was designed to prevent an aristocracy class and if Americans have to pay taxes on gifted money why not inherited money?

Vote no on this bill and rework it from the ground up, in bipartisan fashion and with public input.
Not rushed legislation so you can claim a victory for your donors over the American people.

Rory

We NEED to get rid of establishment politicians, America has been taken over by corporations and wealthy donors and now works against the principles it was founded on. Vote for new blood that promises to only take individual donations so they work for the majority of America.

The Tax scam is out

So the House and Senate Tax bills are out.  They dont match so details will be hammered out in committee if they pass.  Here are some of the highlights, its several hundred pages so there are a LOT of loopholes to read through.
Going Away or Down ...

• SALT (Local state tax deductions) for most individuals, Those who incorporate still get them.
• Personal property tax deduction, lowered or gone
• Import tax for corporations (making it cheaper to import things)
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Medical Deductions
• School Loan Interest Deduction
• Teachers deduction when they buy school supplies for the kids.
• AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax)

Still In....

• Carried Interest
• Corporate property tax deduction
• Golf course owner deduction
• Real Estate LLC and Pass Through deductions
• 
  

The claim is 800 to 1200 break for middle class, higher wages because companies will take the money they save a raise wages. How many people think they would rather raise wages then buy back stock, invest in more automation or buy out the competition which means lays offs and more people out of work?  Or maybe they will just raise the executive bonuses.

This is just another con job and not even a good one, the Republicans in Congress think and are counting on Americans to be stupid to see it till its too late, and too lazy to vote.

We proved Trickle Down Economics does not work, lets not give it another chance.

The republican party does not care about Health Care

Watching Morning Joe  and you know what? He is right here and so is Lawrence O'Donnel,
The Republican party (Not saying all Republicans but certainly the leadership and many of them) do not really care about Health Care, they just want it as a talking point before moving on to what they consider more important matters.
Just look at the facts.

• They have been saying Repeal and Replace Obama Care for over 7 years, yet never in all that time did they come up with an actual plan.
• The House comes up with a plan that is so rushed and half baked it fails to get past their own party in the first vote and they then punt to the Senate hoping they will fix it. They did this so they could "move on to more important matters such as tax reform"
• The Senate comes up with a plan in secret meetings that most of their own party refuse to support. They tried to do it so fast so they could have a talking point and say "We did something!" before the July recess.
• The so called Health Plan is really just a tax cut to the wealthiest Americans and Insurance and Pharmaceutical companies and CEOs.
• Both plans break the promises President Trump made on the campaign trail when he said he would not cut Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security and that premiums and deductibles would be lowered.

I am not saying this should be easy but for crying out loud if something is important to you wouldn't you actually work on it? This has been like high school students cramming the night before finals who never studied the rest of the year!

Despite this being 1/6 of the economy and vital to the lives and well being of millions of Americans they just do not seem to be willing to put  serious work and thought into it.

If I was Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnel or heck anyone on say the Health and Human services committee or had been complaining about it for so long I would have actually worked with my colleagues and come up with a plan during those 7 years.

Wouldn't you?

All this is about is wanting to complain about something you have no clue how to improve and wanting to make the other guys look bad so you can look better.  It is not real leadership and it shows they really do not care about governing and trying to help America, only line their pockets and those of their biggest donors.  the biggest effort here was how to cut taxes for those groups and we will see much more effort put into the tax cut plan when they move onto it.

Please remember this and VOTE in 2018!  Lets kick as many of these people out as we can and get some people who are honest in.

What issue do you car about the most?

Everyone has their own priorities and most of us only have the time, money and energy to fight for a few, especially after taking care of our own lives and perhaps families.
So what are your top issues? Health Care, Environment, the economy, jobs, wages, national security, civil rights, First Amendment, Gun Control? References The US Constitution
In Alphabetical order the main ones I hear people talking about....

Civil Rights

Our Founding Fathers felt this was a vital issue and put in place a lot of specific protections. Freedom of religion, speech and the press. Right now our pres is under attack and open and public derision by the government, threats have been made to them and to our right to Free Speech. Below are excerpts from the Bill of Rights.

• Article the third... Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
• Article the fourth... A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
• Article the sixth... The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
• Article the seventh... No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
• Article the tenth... Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
• Article the eleventh... The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
• Amendment XIV, Section 1 All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
• And you might want to read the Declaration of Independence.

Climate Change

The overwhelming majority of scientists agree and frankly if your old enough or just look at records you can see for yourself that the world is warming. Melting icecaps and rising sea levels will have the largest impact on coastal regions but higher temperatures supply more energy for severe storms and we have seen more suffering and destruction from those already. The Republican party has proposed to remove the EPA on Dec 2018 and President Trump has proposed to cut funding, rolled back regulations and taken down information from the EPA website as well as issuing them gag orders. He even tried to prohibit them from talking to Congress. The main justification for allowing this to continue is that it will be bad for large business and the economy as it hurts Automotive, Oil, Gas and Coal industries. You can abide by that oversimplification and choose the Environment and your kids or those industries.  However we can strive for renewable energy and simply change the nature of those industries and jobs. Transforming and innovating could make us world leaders in new technology which would boost the economy while still allowing those industries to sell to other countries.  This group has some good ideas and an actual plan on the subject.

Another item is the Paris Accords, we already are ahead of the game here so backing out just hands over the credit and leadership position to other countries.

Economy

The GDP and overall productivity of America has gone up year over year (generally in terms of actual dollars) and this chart shows actual numbers in dollars, percentage and major events.

As you can see major tax cuts, recessions and banking or S&L failures led to drops. Deregulation led to gains though caused later losses such as the banking bailout due to excessive bad loans and investments. It is my position that we need to regulate Banks and other industries to keep them from defrauding their customers and needing another big bailout. Wage increases have been shown to increase consumer spending.  Infrastructure spending will increase growth, though I think it would only be short term so I oppose that if it also increases the debt. Trickle Down Economics has proved to be a failure and I oppose that.

Education

Section 8 of the Constitution address this in part "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" so apparently they thought Science and the Liberal Arts were important to a great country. 

The Department of Education was founded in 1979 by Jimmy Carter so getting rid of it is a predictable Republican goal. Personally I think the concept is good but the execution was poor and more authority should be left to the States and local communities. A good education is important to individual liberties and the pursuit of happiness and makes for more productive workers which benefits the overall economy.  How we achieve this is a good debate. Progressives want free college tuition, and Republicans want more private and charter schools, deregulate education so schools are not held to any standards or accountability.  Recently they even talked about restricting the GI bill for veterans.  You do not have to side with either extreme, for example I feel that the Department of Education should be a watchdog and reporting agency so we can see how well the schools are actually doing and make informed choices.

Government Reform

Our Founding Fathers were very concerned about this issue.  A Free Press and states being able to convene for constitutional amendments were considered vital to keeping government honest and working for the people.  I feel this is also a part of why they wanted a well regulated militia.

• Section 9 "No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
• Article II, Section 1 "The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them."
• Article II, Section 4 "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

To me the biggest thing we can do to reform the government is get money out of politics. WolfPac is working on this, though they are opposed by Common Cause and of course politicians.

Health Care

The right to life is in the declaration of Independence and Health Care is probably the most talked about thing in politics.  President Trump even said Australia's system is better than our system. So apparently he favors universal health care or Medicare for all, which would be the only way to live up to the promises he made during the campaign.  The idea here is to take the insurance companies out of the equation and go with a single payer system.  So we see the same doctors but instead of fighting with insurance to pay we use government systems.  This would raise taxes, though that would be offset by no longer paying insurance premiums.  However some oppose it because they think insurance companies are better than the government and feel health care should be an individual thing you earn by having a good job, not a right.

Job Growth

I think everyone wants to see strong job growth, the trouble is people cant agree on how to make it happen. Republicans say that giving larger tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations will work. Progressives are for raising the minimum wage and improving education. Democrats want more infrastructure spending.  I lean towards the Progressive side.  History shows raising the minimum wage promotes consumer spending and businesses sell more stuff. History also shows the tax breaks just lead to more stock buy back, dividends and executive pay raises not new jobs. Infrastructure spending does create new jobs but there short  term. What we really need are new jobs and new industries.  Automation is decreasing jobs in many industries and it will only get worse over time. Eventually all the mining and manufacturing jobs will just be machine operators and a lot less of them.  Senator Sanders is the only politician I have ever heard even talking about that issue but if you work in those fields you have seen it happen and increasing.  We need to invest in new industries or else all of America will suffer.

National Security

We need a strong military.  However most of our spending is not on people but expensive systems and even more expensive maintenance programs. We outspend more than any other country by a significant amount.  Do we really need to spend so much? Cut $200 billion from the budget and we still outspend China by $226 billion, almost double what they spend!  Russia comes in at a 'mere' $44.6 billion.  Imagine how wonderful things would be if we spent that money on America! We could invest in Clean Energy  to insure our energy independence and not worry about the Middle East, Medicare for all, and invest in new infrastructure and technology.  We would be safer, more popular with tourist income (new jobs), live better lives (Cheaper energy and health care, better infrastructure) and who knows what kinds of benefits we would see with new technology.  Remember no other country can take over America, especially if we keep our own guns and a strong navy and Air Force to defend our shores and foreign interests.  NATO was founded in part because of our desire to prevent another world war and if one did happen it would happen in other countries not ours. Our Military industries already sell to foreign countries so they wont suffer unduly and they are positioned for moving into many of the higher tech industries.

Pollution

No one really wants polluted air and water so why is this even an issue?

The answer of course is that some business think it would hurt their bottom line.  It certainly does cost more to not pollute, though many companies are actually for reducing pollution and improving fuel economy.

Taxes

Republicans want to cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations, Democrats want them to pay more.
If you feel that wealthy people should pay lower taxes than middle class fine.  If you feel that corporations should be taxed less ok as well.  Just be clear on the results and expectations and dont fall for the lies.  Trickle Down Economics have been proven to fail so lowering these taxes will not improve job growth.

An Open Letter to President Trump

Dear Mr. President,

It is no secret that I am not a fan, however if the president suffers in office America suffers.  In the spirit of helping America above all else I want to offer you my opinions and advice.

Do not get Impeached

It is the belief of many Americans you are violating the law and your oath of office, using the presidency to line your pockets, and colluded with foreign governments. Some want you impeached right now, others are holding off hoping you will abide by your campaign promises.

Your greatest risk is that you have not expanded your approval beyond your base, and the rest of those who voted for you voted you in as an anti-establishment or outsider president because they believed you would really drain the swamp.

Your personal attacks and efforts have alienated almost every Democrat and some Republicans in Congress and this is where your greatest danger lies.  

• Republicans will have Vice President Mike Pence to take over if you are impeached. He is conservative and more of a party man so they will like him more than you.
• The Optics of impeaching your own parties President look bad so republicans will want to hold off as long as they can.  However as soon as a majority of the party feel that legislative losses and backlash against your actions risks them losing seats they will turn on you like jackals.
• Low popularity makes you vulnerable and also harder for you to accomplish the things you want. To protect yourself you need to raise your popularity above 50%, if you can get and maintain that rating they will be afraid and probably unable to impeach you.
• Work with the Democrats,  Senators Sanders and Warren are the most popular figures in politics t this time. You and your base will not agree with everything they stand for, however a lot of your campaign promises line up with their goals.  If you can work with them you will gain bi-partisan support for your legislative agenda and dramatically increase your popularity.

Fulfill Your Campaign Promises

• The Border Wall:A real physical wall will cost billions of dollars that America cannot afford. Fiscal Conservatives will fight you because of that. Progressives and Liberals will fight you because they feel it is racist and Un-American. Social Conservatives will be the only group supporting it and some of them are also Fiscal Conservatives so that base will be diluted. Once you start taking peoples land away through Imminent Domain to build that wall you will lose even more support.  My recommendation? Do not build a wall.  Build watch towers like the forestry department uses or even lighthouse like buildings in more urban or high profile areas. this will cost far less and do a better job of increasing border security than a physical wall. It will allow you to hire more ICE agents (job growth) and can avoid the problem of taking way people land or sections where a  wall is especially expensive because of the terrain.
• Imagine the image of a beautiful watch tower that uses surveillance drones to guard a large area. It will even please defense contractors.
• Tax Reform:  OK We understand you want to pay less taxes.  However lowering your taxes by increasing the National debt will cripple you politically. remember you want to avoid impeachment and Mike Pence will not pull a Gerald Ford and pardon you. Be more subtle about lining your pockets.
• Health Care: This is your biggest make or break issue.  However as you are finding out it is a very tough one. You promised to cover everyone and fro far less than they are paying now.  If you could deliver on that promise almost everything else would be forgiven and your popularity would soar! However no insurance based system will do that.  Cut out the middleman and work with Senator Sanders on Medicare for all. If it is budget neutral or even better budget positive you will win over many conservatives and anyone who votes for it will be reelected and those who vote against it will not.
• Great Jobs! The problem with manufacturing and mining jobs is that automation is a bigger threat than foreign labor. We need to invest in industries that will grow over time and give the middle class more spending money so they can buy more products.  That raises the GDP which makes your millionaire and billionaire buddies wealthier as well.  Think about it if more Americans can invest in stock your hedge fund managers will make more money, people buying homes or condos helps those in real estate, restaurants benefit with more people going out, etc.
• Raise the Minimum Wage: You may not like the idea but think about it and talk with knowledgeable people who run states where it happened. If you do this it will make you extremely popular, especially if you do it at least a year before an election so people have time to feel the effects. Increased wages means more tax money so it lowers the National Debt. They also increase spending far more than tax cuts so will make your numbers look great.
• Infrastructure Spending: Avoid short term jobs that raise the National Debt.  If they create permanent jobs and build on new technology to make America the leaders in an industry that is far better for all of us.
• Environmental Issues: Remember global warming raising sea levels directly puts many of your valuable properties at risk. America already spent most of the money to get ahead of the Paris accords, bailing out just lets other companies off the hook and lets them take a leadership role. The Solutions Project is one option that could be used to increase job growth, promote American leadership in energy growth and increase national security and energy independence.  Remember even as America needs to spend less on energy and buys less coal, gas or oil we can still sell it to the rest of the world. Failing to invest in these companies will mean we are eventually buying this technology from other countries instead of us selling to them.

The Trump Tax plan and what it means

We do not have a lot of details yet as the entire plan seems to be one paper.

I am all for simplyfing the tax code and cleaning up the deductions seems to make sense.

Lowering the top tax rate to 35% from 39% is ok as well.

The trouble is that many of the wealthy including President Trump will be paying less than that because of the pass through loophole.

I have two core issues with this plan.

A) It is designed to beneift the very wealthy.  Under the plan they will pay less than most middle income Americans.  That does not seem fair to me.

B) The massive taxcuts along with extra spending will skyrocket the national debt.  What Republicans claim is that by giving tax breaks to corporations they will invest more money so the economy will grow.  This is wrong and history has proven its wrong Under President Reagan and President Bush.

See How "Voodoo" caused most of the national debt
Video on Voodoo Economics and the Trump tax plan.

Supply side economics just does not work this way.  What we need is increased  consumer spending.

As more people buy stuff companies make more money so they need to buy more raw materials and hire more people.  Those people than have more money to spend and things just keep getting better.

This is why whenever a state raises the minimum wage the local economy grows and even though businesses are paying more for employees they still make more profits.  Because people with money will spend it and the more people have more money the more spending you see.

The solution is really really simple and obvious.

Lets say you lower taxes to save one million.

One person who saves a million will invest most of and possibly buy a few luxury goods.

Give that same tax break to 1000 people who save $1000 each and they will hopefully use some of it to save or pay bills but they are far more likely to spend a significant amount of that.

Even better that money is spread around among many restaurants, stores, maybe cars or vacations, etc.