Category: Taxation

Biden and Taxes

November is quickly approaching and some of us have not decided who will get the vote…..I will focus on Biden since most intelligent people already know what a tool Trump is…..

First let me state here for all to read so there is NO confusion…I am not a Biden supporter…..but that explanation is for a later post…..this one is about something Biden has stated recently on taxes….

Joe Biden wants a tax code that supports the everyday, salt-of-the-earth Americans who earn $400,000 a year.

In an interview with CNBC Friday morning, the Democratic nominee sounded some populist notes while defending his (quite progressive) ideas for raising taxes on capital gains, corporations, and the labor income of the superrich. “My tax policy is based on a simple proposition,” Biden explained, “which is, stop rewarding wealth and start rewarding work a little bit.”

But while blue America’s standard-bearer evinced enthusiasm for soaking the superrich, he vowed to preserve the (historically low) tax rates that America’s merely rich currently pay: Under a Biden administration, “Nobody making under 400,000 bucks would have their taxes raised. Period. Bingo,” the candidate declared.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/05/biden-cnbc-interview-tax-policy-400000.html

This is nothing but a campaign promise that is soon forgotten….but he and they keep making them and the voter keeps buying the crap spread…..and then they sit around the kitchen table looking at their lives a wonders what went all wrong.

Ignorance, gullibility and laziness is what went wrong….and this election will be NO different.

Learn Stuff!

“lego ergo scribo”

Shay’s Rebellion–Revisited

These days with the mental midgets showing up at state capitals and demanding the right to infect themselves and others with the Covid-19 I thought back to the young days of our republic…..

The year was 1786 and the memories of the Revolutionary War were still fresh in most minds…..the country tried to raise revenue by some taxes and of course then as now people were outraged that they should have to pay for anything…..

But for those that have a hard time remembering what they were taught in school…..this is important for it was the first time that the new American government had to flex its muscle….

A note here that most used statement by Jefferson about the tree of liberty came about because of this incident.

Shays’ Rebellion was a series of violent protests staged during 1786 and 1787 by a group of American farmers who objected to the way state and local tax collections were being enforced. While skirmishes broke out from New Hampshire to South Carolina, the most serious acts of the rebellion occurred in rural Massachusetts, where years of poor harvests, depressed commodity prices, and high taxes had left farmers facing the loss of their farms or even imprisonment. The rebellion is named for its leader, Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays of Massachusetts.

Although it never posed a serious threat to the still loosely organized post-war United States federal government, Shays’ Rebellion drew lawmakers’ attention to serious weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and was frequently cited in the debates leading to the framing and ratification of the Constitution.

The threat posed by Shays’ Rebellion helped persuade retired General George Washington to reenter public service, leading to his two terms as the first President of the United States.

In a letter regarding Shays’ Rebellion to U.S. Representative William Stephens Smith dated November 13, 1787, Founding Father Thomas Jefferson famously argued that an occasional rebellion is an essential part of liberty:

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”

https://www.thoughtco.com/shays-rebellion-causes-effects-4158282

I believe that this incident and few others were the reason for the inclusion of the 2nd amendment to the Bill of Rights…..

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo

More Important Than The Trial

Closing Thought–21Jan20

The country is laser focused on the Senate impeachment trial but there are events that should be more important…why?

The trial will be a silly exercise in the absurd.

One of the “Rights” we have is the right to vote for who we like or better yet as a citizen I have the right to vote without worry…..

Back in the old Jim Crow days in the South Blacks had to pay a “poll tax” to vote….or they we not allowed to exercise a right……but thankfully those days are gone…..not so FAST!

Florida’s state Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of denying convicted felons the right to vote if they do not pay fines and fees associated with their incarceration, a decision that was immediately assailed by rights activists as an unconstitutional and immoral poll tax.

In a statement condemning the ruling (pdf), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Florida, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund said the ruling “does not—indeed, cannot—alter what the U.S. Constitution requires.”

“A federal court has already held that the state cannot deny people the right to vote because of their inability to pay financial obligations,” the groups said in their statement. 

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/16/its-2020-and-floridas-supreme-court-just-ruled-favor-poll-tax

This is sick!

Trying to eliminate people from voting……

This will probably go to the US Supreme Court…as it should,,,,but I have NO confidence that this will be struck down by a mostly conservative court.

If not then this idea will spread throughout the South especially…..and the areas the the GOP has successfully purged voters from the rolls.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020–Are You Sick Of These F*ckers Yet?

Warren and Sanders have started the billionaires to shake in their tidy whities……it is the tax thing.

Warren has said she would pay for Medicare For All with a tax on billionaires…..by “taxes on big corporations, Wall Street, and the top 1%…… Her plan, posted online

The plan sent a quiver through the wealthy old boys club……Gates, Cooperman and Bloomberg are thinking they know best simply because they have money to burn……I for one am not buying their crap….

Gates started whining….

Bill Gates to her list of critics. At a forum Wednesday, Gates didn’t sound thrilled about Warren’s idea to increase taxes on billionaires, and his criticism caught her attention. The details:

What he said: “I’ve paid over $10 billion in taxes,” Gates said at the New York Times DealBook conference, per the Guardian. “If I had to pay $20 billion, it’s fine. But when you say I should pay $100 billion, then I’m starting to do a little math over what I have left over.” He eventually added, “Sorry, I’m just kidding.”

Gates did more than criticize Warren’s tax policy. “I’m not sure how open minded she is—or that she’d even be willing to sit down with somebody who has large amounts of money,” he said, per Mediaite. And when asked who he would support in a hypothetical matchup of Warren vs. President Trump, he declined to say. “Whoever I decide will have the more professional approach in the current situation, probably is the thing I will weigh the most,” he said. “And I hope that the more professional candidate is an electable candidate.”

More professional?  What the Hell does that meas?  Is it code?

Next up is a billionaire named Cooperman….

Warren is clashing with billionaire investor Leon Cooperman, who sent her a critical letter and called out her “vilification of the rich.” In harsh terms, he said to Politico, “This is the f—ing American dream she is s—-ing on.”

He sounds like a parasite that is afraid of losing his host.

Now the perennial candidate Mike Bloomberg is joining the whining by billionaires that would have to pay more taxes…..but as usual he is thinking about running for president…..

Bloomberg flirted with a presidential run earlier this year, visiting early voting states and conducting extensive polling. He ultimately decided against a run, citing in part the apparent strength of former Vice President Joe Biden, a fellow moderate. But Bloomberg is said to have become increasingly worried about the direction of the Democratic primary as more liberal candidates like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have gained in popularity. In a statement on Thursday, Bloomberg adviser Howard Wolfson said the former mayor is worried that the current crop of Democratic presidential candidates is “not well positioned” to defeat Trump.

Bloomberg has become a “media whore” he will do anything to try and get his mug on the tellie…..

When will the American people tire of the constant whinbing by the greedy class trying to fuck the country and horde their cash?

I think it is interesting that these billionaires think they have a better plan for governing this country….and if I am not mistaken there was a billionaire that felt the same way in 2016….and look how that has worked out.

These people said the same things about the taxes of the Obama years….

How sad that these people are so insecure that they feel that the government owes them something above the benefits they all get while raping the economy.

The MSM is helping the whiners above all else because the corporate owned news loves the center….

Politico, John F. Harris makes the case that the mainstream media is biased against Warren because “journalists love the center.” Republicans complain of a liberal bias, but Harris says they have it wrong. “The more pervasive force shaping coverage of Washington and elections is what might be thought of as centrist bias, flowing from reporters and sources alike … a conviction that politics should be a tidier and more rational process than it usually is.” What’s wrong about this view is when real change happens, it rarely comes from the center, he adds.

You want change?

It never comes from the “Center”.

Enough already!  Besides the Dems already have enough billionaires in this race.

Ask yourself one question…can a person living in the lap of luxury have any idea what the Middle class and poor go through daily?

Anything more pathetic than the uber-rich pretending that they want to save our democracy?

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

VOTE!

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Where Oh Where Has The Economy Gone?

If you get the Tweets from the GOP then you will be thumping your chest because Trump has made us mere mortal Americans richer with his lame ass economic policies.

The problem with that LIE is that reality pisses all over it.

Like the BS about how much us mere mortals would benefit from Trump tax cuts……well it is total crap….https://lobotero.com/2019/10/30/closing-thought-30oct19/

I recall when he was in the WH early in his rein he precdicted with his policies the American economy would grow 3. 4 5 % and possibly as much as 6%…..so far that was Bullshit as well….

The summer temps may have been record-setting hot, but the economy experienced some chills. Data out Wednesday via the Commerce Department shows GDP grew at a 1.9% rate from July through September, down from a growth rate of 2% in the second quarter. Why, what it means, and President Trump’s morning thoughts on the economy:

  • The Washington Post frames the slowdown as expected, as business investment was curtailed following the president’s decision to ratchet up the trade war with China at the start of August. Many expected much worse, reports the Hill, with some forecasts as low as a growth rate of 1.3%.
  • The Post notes the 3% drop in business investment in the third quarter is the largest since late 2015: “Still, the sustained pace suggests it is unlikely to dive into a recession anytime soon, unless there is a major shock or the trade war worsens significantly.”
  • Consumer spending makes up 70% of economic activity. It grew at a healthy 2.9% in the third quarter, down from 4.6% the quarter prior.
  • The AP points out Trump has set “3%-plus increases … as a benchmark to demonstrate that his policies are succeeding in lifting the economy above the modest 2.2% growth of the Obama years.” Growth for 2019 is expected to end up around 2.3%. NPR notes we’d need “an economic miracle” to end up at the 3.2% growth rate that appears in Trump’s 2019 budget.
  • Though the GDP report was better than expected, most investors doubt it will do anything to change the mind of the Federal Reserve, which is expected to announce a quarter-point rate cut at 2pm Wednesday, reports CNN. (Update: It did.)
  • About an hour prior to the report’s release, Trump tweeted, “The Greatest Economy in American History!” The Week contrasts that with a tweet Trump wrote in 2012 during Obama’s presidency: “Q1 GDP has just been revised down to 1.9% … The economy is in deep trouble.”
  • So is he right about the greatest part? The Post reports that if the annual pace of roughly 2.9% seen thus far is sustained for the remainder of his term, it would be the fastest term of growth since the Clinton years. But that still wouldn’t make it the greatest, as Clinton and Reagan both experienced growth in excess of 3% a year during their terms.

Yes Irene….the economy is NOT preforming well under the leadership of Trump…..

The ‘Trump economy’ isn’t living up to his promises

AS the election approaches….now is the time to start looking at all the promises that Trump made in 2016……if his leadership has been a sham then maybe it is time to remove this person and install a new liar  to lead the economy.

In a closing note…where have all the fiscal conservs gone?

The Federal deficit has reached $23 trillion……and NO ONE cares!

The federal government’s outstanding public debt has surpassed $23 trillion for the first time in history, according to data from the Treasury Department released on Friday.

Growing budget deficits have added to the nation’s debt at a speedy rate since President Trump took office. The debt has grown some 16 percent since Trump’s inauguration, when it stood at $19.9 trillion. It passed $22 trillion for the first time just 10 months ago.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/468600-us-debt-surpasses-23-trillion-for-first-time

Where oh where did the deficit hawks go?

Gone to knee pads everyone.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Closing Thought–30Oct19

Tax Cuts!

Every time we have a cut in taxes we are told that they will pay for themselves and that all the benefits for the wealthy will trickle down to the rest of us peasants….both are lies that the people believe every time and every time we , the average person, gets the shaft.

That said what about the tax cuts of two years ago the Speaker Ryan helped pass and screw us people….

After two years, President Trump’s tax cuts are not on track to pay for themselves, the latest Treasury data released Friday suggest.

Total federal government revenues ended up lower in 2019 than was projected before the passage of the GOP tax overhaul in 2017.

Then, in 2017, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that fiscal 2019 revenues, without the tax cuts, would be $3.69 trillion. Instead, revenues with the tax cuts were only $3.46 trillion.

To be certain, the difference, $225 billion, cannot be attributed solely to the tax cuts. Other economic factors have influenced economic growth over the past two years. For example, the tariffs put in place as part of Trump’s trade wars likely counteracted the stimulative effect of the tax cuts.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/two-years-in-trump-tax-cuts-not-on-course-to-pay-for-themselves

THat was a con job…..but what about all the bravado that Trump thumps his chest about….like” this is the best economy in our history”

More con….more lies…..look at the stats for yourself…..

It’s true the economy has been doing well – but there have been periods when it was even stronger.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45827430

The truth is that the economy is the best in decades but only if you are already wealthy and are getting wealthier…..the rest of us continue to struggle….day to day……

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

That ‘Marvelous’ Tax Cut

This will be the first resurrection of the VOMITORIUM…..

About two years ago the Trump tax cut went into effect and we were promised so much to sell them to the public by Trump, Mnuchin and Kudlow the dude that played an economist on TV…….and yet NOTHING they promised to the public has occurred…..corporations are smiling with the windfall of profits because of the cuts….

But the biggest bullsh*t promise was that these tax cuts would slash the federal deficit…..so far after two years that is NOT happening….

“A treasury secretary who can’t count needs to be held accountable.”

That was the message progressive advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness (AFT) directed at Steve Mnuchin Friday, marking the two-year anniversary of the treasury secretary’s claim that the GOP’s 2017 tax cuts would slash the U.S. budget deficit “by a trillion dollars.”

AFT pointed out in a statement that the deficit has soared in the two years since passage of the tax legislation. CNN reported earlier this month that the deficit topped a trillion dollars during the first 11 months of fiscal year 2019.

“Mnuchin’s empty promise shows just how much the 2017 tax cuts for the rich were a scam on the American people,” said AFT executive director Frank Clemente. “Mnuchin’s prediction was off by $1 trillion.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/27/1-trillion-say-progressives-two-year-anniversary-mnuchin-claim-trump-tax-cuts-would

Another economic lie from Trump and his Boyz that has NOT materialized……manufacturing is NOT returning…..factories are NOT re-opening…..and those millions of jobs have yet to appear…….Mexico is NOT paying for the Wall our military families are…..all in all this is just bullshit with a capital “B”.

What more will it take for the American people to wake up and vote these corrupt toads out of office?

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

VOTE!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

 

It’s Infrastructure Stupid

Think back to the campaign of 2016….one of the big promises from Trump was to resurrect our dying infrastructure…..and so far we got nothing of the sorts.

But today the party leaders and Trump will meet on how to go about getting the $2 trillion for the plan that has been set forth.

This plan will go NOWHERE….why? The only way to pay for this plan is a rise in taxes on corporations and the wealthy……

With President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders set to meet Wednesday to discuss a possible $2 trillion infrastructure package, a progressive advocacy group on Monday warned that any proposal that doesn’t include significant tax hikes on the rich and corporations “will be meaningless and doomed to failure.”

“If major tax increases are off the table, there is no way to pay for a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, it’s that simple,” Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), said in a statement. “Other options, such as raising the gas tax, might be part of the package, but by themselves won’t come close to reaching the $2 trillion that’s needed.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/20/without-tax-hikes-corporations-and-rich-critics-warn-2-trillion-infrastructure-plan

Every body agrees that our infrastructure is in trouble…….ever body agrees that it needs to be updated….the problem is NOBODY wants to pay for it.

I have an idea!

Since we have spent about $6 trillion on wars in the last decade or so…cancelling those abortions would easily pay for the infrastructure they all say they want.

The price tag of the ongoing “war on terror” in the Middle East will likely top $6 trillion next year, and will reach $7 trillion if the conflicts continue into the early 2020s, according to a new report out Wednesday.

The annual Costs of War project report, from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, puts the full taxpayer burden of fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria over the last 17 years at several times higher than official Defense Department estimates, because it includes increases in Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs spending, as well as new military equipment and personnel.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/11/14/price-tag-of-the-war-on-terror-will-top-6-trillion-soon/

The Fiscal Times look at out spending on wars as well….

“It’s important for the American people to understand the true costs of war, both the moral and monetary costs,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said in a statement last week, according to The Hill. “Our nation continues to finance wars and military operations through borrowing, rather than asking people to contribute to the national defense directly, and the result is a serious fiscal drag that we’re not really accounting for or factoring into deliberations about fiscal policy or military policy.”

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2018/11/19/Problem-Our-6-Trillion-War-Tab

I think the easy answer would be the best answer.

Closing Thought–10May19

Keeping with the economic trend I started a couple of posts ago……

Have you filed your taxes yet?  Did you get a refund?

I have filed and I had to pay.

What about the rest of America?

I mean us real people not those stiff criminals that we call the top 1%.

Did those lovely tax cuts that Trump gave the country benefit the rest of us or were the benefits for his rich buddies?

A new six-month analysis of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts details how workers received little benefit from the plan, despite the savings many of their powerful corporate employers received.

The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) interviewed independent tax analysts and officials who were involved in the Republican Party’s effort to sell the so-called American Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to the public—and within their own party ranks. Progressive critics have consistently called the law nothing nothing more than a “tax scam.”

The GOP’s insistence on a tax law which included the largest corporate tax cut in U.S. history—from 35 to 21 percent—resulted in companies saving about $150 billion in the first year after the passage in December 2017.

Trump and then-House Speaker Paul Ryan had spent months telling Americans they stood to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in taxes, with Trump telling one crowd that the average family would see a pay raise of about $4,000, a benefit that would “trickle down” from employers’ corporate tax cuts.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/30/while-corporate-profits-and-tax-dodging-soared-analysis-shows-just-6-gop-tax-scam
 
This tax policy has done nothing to end the inequality that this country has been plaguing the country for decades……in reality everything we were told about the benefits of the Trump tax cuts was a LIE!
 
If the “economy” is doing so well then why are there no movements in the Middle Class?  As a matter of fact the Middle Class is diminishing every year sinc e the 1990s.
 
And this economy is so good it is making most American miserable……
 
After running a campaign on the idea that America was an impoverished wasteland, Donald Trump has spent his presidency bragging about the economic expansion that began under Barack Obama but continued under him. Though he might be a glutton for credit, Trump isn’t wrong, exactly, when he celebrates the “record economy” in his tweets: Unemployment in the United States is at a 50-year low, the stock market is soaring, and GDP is growing at a brisk clip. Polls have found that people are confident in the state of the economy.
 
 
And yet Americans buy the crap and the lies EVERY TIME!
 
WHY?
 
Lear Stuff!
 
Then VOTE!
 
I want to start my weekend….the ‘honey dos’ are considerable….but with luck it will rain and they will have to wait….(he said with crossed fingers)…….

As Tariffs Come And Go

Is that the sound of brakes being applied to this “surging economy”?

Trump once called himself , well he has called himself many things none of which are accurate but this time he was close, “Tariff Man”…..as of midnight a 25% tariff was placed on some Chinese imports.

The trade war is heating up: China said Friday it “deeply regrets that it will have to take necessary countermeasures” after the tariff hikes threatened by President Trump kicked in at 12:01am. American and Chinese negotiators met in Washington, DC, Thursday but were unable to reach a deal to prevent tariffs increasing from 10% to 25% on more than $200 billion in products China exports to the US, the Washington Post reports. The White House said that after a “working dinner,” chief US negotiator Robert Lighthizer and China’s Vice Premier Liu He “agreed to continue discussions.” The tariff hike only applies to products that left China after the deadline, which gives negotiators more time to work out a deal.

Trump said Thursday that he had received a “beautiful letter” from China’s President Xi Jinping and while a deal is still possible, he is pleased that tariffs are bringing in “billions” of dollars for the government, the New York Times reports. The tariffs, however, are paid by American importers, who pass the costs on to the consumer. “It’s going to be a big shock to the economy,” Deborah Elms, executive director at the Asian Trade Center, tells the BBC. “Those are all US companies who are suddenly facing a 25% increase in cost, and then you have to remember that the Chinese are going to retaliate.” Despite the escalating trade dispute, world markets rose on Friday, with analysts predicting that a deal will be reached.

A Tariff?

How many Americans can define this economic tact?

No need for Google (but if you want to check my assertions then head to that magic button) the old professor will be glad to help with your refresher course.

What is a TARIFF?

The simple definition….. A tariff is a tax imposed by one country on the goods and services imported from another country.

How do Tariffs work?

Governments may impose tariffs to raise revenue or to protect domestic industries—especially nascent ones—from foreign competition. By making foreign-produced goods more expensive, tariffs can make domestically produced alternatives seem more attractive. Governments that use tariffs to benefit particular industries often do so to protect companies and jobs. Tariffs can also be used as an extension of foreign policy: Imposing tariffs on a trading partner’s main exports is a way to exert economic leverage.

Tariffs can turn into what some called a trade war…….

Tariffs can have unintended side effects, however. They can make domestic industries less efficient and innovative by reducing competition. They can hurt domestic consumers, since a lack of competition tends to push up prices. They can generate tensions by favoring certain industries, or geographic regions, over others. For example, tariffs designed to help manufacturers in cities may hurt consumers in rural areas who do not benefit from the policy and are likely to pay more for manufactured goods. Finally, an attempt to pressure a rival country by using tariffs can devolve into an unproductive cycle of retaliation,

But to help your education I have included a couple of short videos…..

https://youtu.be/zym1na6NhJw
https://youtu.be/JFCssAXaAAQ

One side effect that could come back to bite Trump in his massive ass is a bad jobs number and tariffs will produce that in most cases……

The tariffs will “drive down exports, and suppress job gains for the industry by as much as 400,000 over 10 years. It will also invite China to hit back at American businesses, farmers, communities, and families,” said Kip Eideberg, vice president of government affairs for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, which represents more than 1,000 U.S. makers of farm, construction and mining machinery.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-10/u-s-equipment-makers-see-trump-tariff-hike-costing-400-000-jobs

This is a TAX….do you get that? It is a TAX on the rest of us mere mortals…..then why is the entire GOP down with this attack on tax policies?

This is just a game to this president….he is trying to do something he promised so he has more to run on than his shaky positions elsewhere.

Hopefully his supporters are reading…..these tariffs are a TAX on you and your family.

Got IT!

Learn Stuff!

Then GO VOTE!