Trump Tax Cut Proposal Underway

[Scot Dutchy]

I just wonder what he thinks a right winger is? If he thinks he is not right winger then I am a maoist-marxist-communist as I would have to move so far to the left to maintain our relative position on the political scale.

[Forty Two]

I just wonder what he thinks a right winger is? If he thinks he is not right winger then I am a maoist-marxist-communist as I would have to move so far to the left to maintain our relative position on the political scale.

On the extreme end, right wing includes fascists, Nazis, monarchists and other such folks. The less extreme right includes "social conservatives" and the religious right which I'm certainly not. Right wingers are seen as authoritarian, and I am absolutely not authoritarian.

In Europe, the Right includes nationalists, nativist opposition to immigration, religious conservatives and historically a significant presence of right-wing movements with anti-capitalist sentiments including conservatives and fascists who opposed what they saw as the selfishness and excessive materialism inherent in contemporary capitalism. So, I'm not "the right" in the European sense. I'm not a nationalist. I don't oppose immigration, and I'm not a nativist, I am certainly not religiously conservative, nor am I anti-capitalist.

Certainly, I like everyone has views which fall to the left or right of center, but by and large, my views are moderate and libertarian leaning. I don't see how someone who is anti-authoritarian, pro-choice on abortion, pro-immigration, pro-gay marriage, atheist, pro-drug legalization, pro-free the nipple for women, against the death penalty, and the like, can in any way be described as "right wing" just because I also support economic freedoms as well as social freedoms.

But, maybe it is your left wing authoritarianism talking that makes you confuse a liberal with a "right winger."

[Tero]

Farmer Bob in Iowa thinks it’s a middle class cut. Cause Trump et al said so.

CNN
"Primarily, and priority number one, is middle-class Americans." - White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
"The theme behind this bill is to get middle-class tax relief for most people in the middle class." - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican-Kentucky, on Fox News on Tuesday.

And polls show Republicans have bought into this, with roughly six in 10 believing the bill favoured the middle class over the wealthy - despite the biggest cuts going to the wealthy and the corporate cuts being permanent (unlike the personal tax cuts).

[laklak]

I don't see how someone who is anti-authoritarian, pro-choice on abortion, pro-immigration, pro-gay marriage, atheist, pro-drug legalization, pro-free the nipple for women, against the death penalty, and the like, can in any way be described as "right wing" just because I also support economic freedoms as well as social freedoms.

I don't get it either, because describes my politics pretty much perfectly. I'm as far from a right-winger as you can get, but because I don't want to pay an inordinate amount of my income to support "the less fortunate" and I prefer to rely on myself other than some faceless bureaucrat I'm classed as some sort of knuckle-dragging, narcissistic Neanderthal. Oh well, what you gonna do? I just get on with it, and allow others to form whatever opinion of me they choose. It's not like I lose any sleep over it.

[Forty Two]

Some wealthy people got a tax hike. It was a middle class tax cut. That's undeniable.

The disconnect comes when folks like to compare the tax cut in total dollars received by a higher income taxpayer vs. a middle income tax payer.

When we raise taxes, people never worry that the higher income earner is being "hurt more" because 20% of 100,000 is $20,000 and 20% of 50,000 is $10,000. The rich are paying twice as much! Oh, no!

Well, if you cut taxes, the reverse happens. A person making $100,00 who pays $20,000 in taxes -- if he gets a reduction to 10% in taxes, he's going to pay $10,000, and save $10,000. A $50,000 earner who paid $10,000 before, will then pay $5,000 at the reduced rate. So, the richer guy saved $10,000 more than the middle class guy. But, here's the thing - most taxpayers don't think that's unfair.

So, given that someone making a lot of money tends to pay a higher percentage than those in lower income brackets, when you lower taxes, the absolute savings is, of course, going to be even higher.

But, that's the narrative that always comes from the Democrats - they want to talk percentages when imposing or raising taxes, but they want to consider dollar for dollar comparisons when the talk is about tax reductions. That conveniently makes all tax cuts to be tax cuts for the rich.

They want tax cuts for the poor, I guess -- the poor ,who don't pay federal income taxes, should get the cut, I guess. LOL

[Tero]

Right winger: all those that drank the Reagan cool aid. ”Government is evil.”

[laklak]

Left-winger - Government is honest, efficient, and has your best interests at heart!

They're both as full of shit as a Christmas turkey.

[Forty Two]

Right winger: all those that drank the Reagan cool aid. ”Government is evil.”

Because if there is one thing that right wingers -- you know, nazis, fascists, authoritarians in general - don't want is government with power and authority over our lives. If you want to spot the right wingers, look for those who want to free you from government control.

[Tero]

I for one want the Gubment to offer free education and cheap healthcare. The expensive kind can stay in the private sector.

[Brian Peacock]

... I'm classed as some sort of knuckle-dragging, narcissistic Neanderthal. ...

Never! Your arms are too short for that.

[L'Emmerdeur]

While gloating about the passage of the tax bill, President Bogus contradicted the 'It's primarily about the middle class' lie that Republicans have been pushing.

'Donald Trump accidentally admits Republican tax bill was deceptively sold as boost to middle classes'

President Donald Trump was so excited about passing his first major piece of legislation on Wednesday that he blurted out that the Republican Party had misrepresented the entire bill, handing Democrats some talking points for the 2018 midterm elections.

Speaking at the White House just before the House prepared to sign off on the tax-cuts bill one last time, Trump revelled extensively in his win before turning things over to Vice President Mike Pence to heap praise upon him continuously for a few minutes.

Along the way, Trump basically admitted that the GOP's talking points on the bill weren't exactly honest in two major ways.

While talking about the corporate tax rate being cut from 35 percent to 21 percent, Trump said, “That's probably the biggest factor in our plan.”

The problem? Republicans have been selling this legislation as a middle-class tax cut, first and foremost.

...

Trump's second admission was about the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate being repealed in the bill. Apparently eager to argue that this constituted him having cut taxes and slew Obamacare in one fell swoop (after Congress came up short on Obamacare this year), he argued that repealing the individual mandate was basically the same as repealing Obamacare.

But, he said, he told Republicans not to talk about that. Trump said he told allies to “be quiet with the fake news media because I don't want them talking too much about it.”

“Now that it's approved, I can say that,” he said.

So now Democrats have clips of the President talking about how this was really more about the corporate tax cuts all along and saying he just undid Obamacare - both of which weren't part of the argument for the bill.

[Forty Two]

I for one want the Gubment to offer free education and cheap healthcare. The expensive kind can stay in the private sector.

When you figure out how to offer free education, let me know. Ours is paid for through taxes. Apparently, the government can spend $10,615 per student and educate our kids at a level where we have to put up with mockery from podunk countries around the world who outscore us on testing in every area.

12 years of school - $1.3 million. And the average high school graduate today reads at the 7th grade level.

So.... yeah. Let's do that with health care, too.

[Rum]

A little more tax would go a long way. However low spending does not appear to be the problem. The chart below puts it pretty high per capita on an international scale. Perhaps it is the lack of respect for the benefits of education or academia general - at a cultural level. Or the low status that teachers seem to have compared to many countries where it is seen as high status (if not highly paid).

[Animavore]

Today's funny.

[Animavore]