Possible Trump Win?

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I somehow find myself on a Republican fundraising list.

I am literally getting multiple emails every hour asking for money from all sorts of Republican politicians.

Sounds desperate.
 
It should be easier on your wallet than a democratic tax and spend administration.
Somebody is going to have to pay for Miss harris’ $15 per hour minimum wage, rent subsidies, free community college and debt free 4 year college, and medicare for all.
If you start with a check for and ten or twenty grand, you might begin to acclimate yourself to the reality of what subsidizing her programs for a year, with maybe an extra five or ten for the shift to green energy might feel like.
#nothing is really free…when we’re taxed for it.
 
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OraLabora said:
I’ll be damned if I give a dime of that money to pay my profs’ pensions.
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Good! I agree! Well stated!

My state of Illinois is currently labelled as “junk bond status.” In other words, the State has no money, and we are a terrible risk for anyone who wants to loan us money.

The main reason for this is state worker pensions. Our pension fund, paid for by taxpayers, is underfunded because there aren’t enough people working at viable jobs in Illinois to pay the taxes which fund the state worker pensions. There are several reasons for this–one is that many people have fled Illinois and moved to other states. Another reason is Chicago, where many people have no jobs at all for various reasons, but mainly because their family has always been poor and they cannot break out of poverty. Another reason is that good companies have moved out of Illinois into states that are friendlier to business, and so the good jobs are hard to find in Illinois (other than at hospitals).

In this state, public school teachers often retire at age 55. In the last few years before they retire, their salaries are bumped up to the highest level that is allowed, which is well over $100,000/year.

And when they retire, their pension are that salary for the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, the rest o us (including hospital workers like me) have to fend for ourselves–pensions?? What’s that?! We have to stash a decent-sized chunk of our paychecks into various investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money markets, etc.), which for many of us means that we have to hire a financial advisor to tell us what to do with that money because we have no idea how to buy into stocks, bonds, and all the rest!

Pension reform cannot be made until the Illinois State Consitution is amended and that is a monster task that probably will not happen in my lifetime. Why would state workers want it to happen? They would lose their gravy train!

And so it continues. There are cities and towns in Illinois where the ENTIRE property tax collection is sent to Springfield (our State capital) for the pension fund, and NONE of the property taxes goes towards the city or town where it was collected! So these cities and towns have to pay for the garbage pickup, parks and recreation, police and fire departments, etc. by privately contracting them, and this means additional taxes for the citizens of those cities and towns. Dreadful!
 
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Sounds like Illinois might be the “canary in the mine” so to speak. I think a large part of the country is in that condition. The federal government isn’t in much better shape.

In my state, we at least have a “no deficit spending” amendment and an amendment that requires a vote of the people for any tax increase, state or local. Teachers’ pensions are funded, as are the pensions of most state and local workers. But the judicial system pensions are unfunded, and just keep growing.
 
jeannetherese said:
#nothing is really free…when we’re taxed for it.
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Yes I understand that.

BUT, the Trump administration has been spending like a drunk sailor, so, what’s the difference? Republicans aren’t fiscal conservatives, it seems.
 
PaulinVA said:
BUT, the Trump administration has been spending like a drunk sailor, so, what’s the difference? Republicans aren’t fiscal conservatives, it seems.
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Are you referring to the spending that has been done to combat COVID-19 and help individuals and families who have lost their jobs, as well as help small businesses to stay viable, and also to help out farmers (especially dairy) who lost their markets when the schools and restaurants were closed down?

What would you have suggested? Let the hospitals and research centers go it on their own? Tell individuals and families who have lost their jobs, “Too bad, so sad” ? Allow small businesses to go under and farmers to lose their farms?

This was a pandemic, for heaven’s sake! In the first few months of the pandemic, most of us were scared–we had no idea how this virus would act, what it’s mechanism of killing would be, and how many of us would die and how many would be spared!

Thankfully it turned out that only around 4% of the cases are fatal, and most people recover, although people with underlying conditions do seem to face some pretty tough battles.

But we didn’t know that back in March and April, and people were scared and losing school, a job, church, and the opportunity to socialize was terrifying and lonely and very very dark.

Do you really think the Trump Administration should have said, “Sorry, we’re being fiscally responsible here. You should have saved the money yourselves.”

I personally think the Trump Administration demonstrated its heart by jumping into the fight with open arms, ready to help wherever needed. I’m sure a Democratic Administration would have done the same thing, perhaps even more. It was the right thing to do, and hang fiscal responsibility.

There have been times in my marriage when my husband and I were not doing particularly well financially–but that didn’t stop my husband from surprising me with a piece of jewelry and it didn’t stop me from fixing him a particularly good meal other than beans and crackers, and it didn’t stop us from keeping our daughters in the sport of figure skating. There are times when strict fiscal responsibility does more harm than good. If you KNOW that you will recover, it is a good thing to spend money that you really don’t have yet in helping build each other up. And if Dave Ramsay wants to egg my house this Halloween, bring him on!
 
Ridgerunner said:
And yet, he negotiated three Muslim countires to make peace with Israel, with five more in process.
He negotiated peace between Kosovo and Serbia; something nobody ever thought would happen.
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Both of those claims are somewhat exaggerated. Bahrain and the UAE have never been at war with Israel. Sudan has not been actively at war with Israel since 1967, although Israel has helped to fuel two civil wars in Sudan. What they have agreed is a normalisation of relations.

As for Kosovo and Serbia, they have not actually been at war with each other since 1999. What they have agreed to is a normalisation of economic relations. There is an ongoing process for normalisation of political relations which is being negotiated by the EU. The deal brokered by the US government also includes some clauses that seemingly have nothing to do with establishing normal economic relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo and Israel have agreed to recognise each other, and Kosovo has agreed to establish an embassy in Jerusalem. Serbia has agreed to move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Both countries have also agreed to remove 5G infrastructure operated by “untrusted vendors”, which basically means Chinese companies such as Huawei.
 
Peeps said:
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PaulinVA:
BUT, the Trump administration has been spending like a drunk sailor, so, what’s the difference? Republicans aren’t fiscal conservatives, it seems.
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Are you referring to the spending that has been done to combat COVID-19 and help individuals and families who have lost their jobs, as well as help small businesses to stay viable, and also to help out farmers (especially dairy) who lost their markets when the schools and restaurants were closed down?
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Even before this year, the Trump administration has hardly been fiscally conservative and had added significantly to the national debt. According to an article from November 25, 2019 in Business Insider:
The Treasury has tracked the daily accumulation of debt since January 1993, when President Bill Clinton was in the White House.

From January 20, 2017, to November 1, Trump piled $3.1 trillion onto the debt, amounting to a 16% increase. That’s significantly less than the $4.3 trillion President Barack Obama added from January 2009 to November 1, 2011, but far more than the $1.1 trillion Bush added in a similar period and the $794 billion Clinton did in 1,016 days as president.

There is a key distinction separating the circumstances behind Trump and Obama’s debt figures. Trump inherited an economy undergoing its longest sustained expansion. Obama, on the other hand, entered the White House as the nation veered into a recession that sparked massive stimulus spending and a bailout of the auto industry…

Marc Goldwein, the policy chief for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told Business Insider that there had been a substantial shift in Washington’s approach to federal spending in the past several years. Under Obama, Republicans championed fiscal responsibility and called to reduce the deficit — now they’ve largely tossed it aside.

Instead of cutting the deficit, he said, both parties are competing to ramp up spending on domestic programs as well as defense.

“Democrats wanted to do it with tax increases, and Republicans wanted to do it mainly with spending cuts, but what they were fighting about was who had the better plan to reduce deficits,” Goldwein said. “Now it seems they’re fighting over who can promise more in spending increases and tax cuts.”
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I had a problem with CA’s pop up blocker also. Catholic Answers wasn’t able to help me. I had no pop up blocker installed.

I finally got rid of it by installing uBlock Origin, which I guess blocked the pop up telling me to unblock my nonexistent blocker.
 
meltzerboy2 said:
I agree with everything here except that young people are afraid of catching the coronavirus. Most of them have no such fears. They are focused on partying and online activities rather than taking the virus seriously. There are, of course, exceptions, particularly in minority communities where the virus has hit most hard.
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This makes me think of reports that Historically Black Colleges and U universities have seen better compliance with COVID-19 guidelines and a lower positivity rate.

Despite rising confirmed COVID-19 cases at colleges and universities across the country, historically Black colleges and universities are finding effective ways to manage the pandemic. According to a report from The Guardian, confirmed COVID-19 cases at HBCUs have remained relatively low. Meanwhile, prominent institutions like SUNY Oneonta and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have faced scrutiny after their campuses have reported upwards of 700 positive COVID-19 cases each.
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Peeps said:
Are you referring to the spending that has been done to combat COVID-19 and help individuals and families who have lost their jobs, as well as help small businesses to stay viable, and also to help out farmers (especially dairy) who lost their markets when the schools and restaurants were closed down?
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I’m referring to everything. The unneeded tax cut, new programs, etc. I think helping people during the pandemic is essential, but because of all of the other spending we are deep in debt.

 
PaulinVA said:
I’m referring to everything . The unneeded tax cut, new programs, etc. I think helping people during the pandemic is essential, but because of all of the other spending we are deep in debt.
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Do you think the Democrats will spend less?

For the last few months various COVID-19 aid packages to Americans have been stymied because Democrats want to add a lot more money to the package, and Republicans are holding the line. I’m not sure what to think of this–I do think that people who have lost their livelihood because of COVID-19 shutdowns need 2 forms of relief: cash and the end of the shutdowns. But cash is most important–many of these people have never been “out of work” and have no clue how to live “poor,” especially in areas of the country like California. Some probably have families that they could move in with (no stress there, right?! Ha ha!). But even a move costs some money, and many of their families might also be hurting for cash.

So I’m kinda with the Democrats on this one. There are times when we simply don’t worry about going into debt. An example is my sister and brother in law–about 15 years ago, they were doing fine financially–both were working (she is a nurse, he is a linesman for ComEd). And then…their 1-year old son was diagnosed with cancer. Well, that was the end of “Dave Ramsay” spending plans. Their insurance covered some of it, but in the end–and the little one lived and is doing well today (although he has issues with neuropathy, and his growth is stunted because of the treatments–he will never be taller than around 5 foot)–but they still owe around a million dollars that insurance and charitable donations did NOT pay for!

Should they have said, “No, we will not go into debt. Our son’s life is not worth going into debt.”

Of course not! The very idea is ludicrous.

And IMO, same for COVID-19. This is an unprecedented world-wide castostrophe, and this is NOT the time to worry about being in debt. I think Pres. Trump has handled things well, and I hope that the Republicans in Congress reach a reasonable compromise with the Democrats and give the aid to those who desperately need it.
 
PaulinVA said:
The unneeded tax cut
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Trump’s tax cut got our rate below that of China, incentivizing investment here. Biden wants to raise tax rates well above China’s, which is no surprise since he and his family are on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party.
 
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Ridgerunner said:
Biden wants to raise tax rates well above China’s, which is no surprise since he and his family are on the payroll of the Chinese Communist Party.
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How did you get access to the payroll documents of the Chinese Communist Party? Do you have a copy of their paychecks? Let’s see the documents!
 
Zake said:
How did you get access to the payroll documents of the Chinese Communist Party? Do you have a copy of their paychecks ? Let’s see the documents!
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Economist on tv. Sorry to disappoint.

But looks like it’s not hard to find. American corporate tax rate was 35% before Trump. It’s 21% now.

The Chinese rate is 25%.

Biden wants to raise the American rate to 28%.

But again, China pays the Biden family more than the U.S. does.
 
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Zake said:
Still no documents. Predictable.
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It’s so easy to look up, I thought you would do that, but instead you decided to insult me.

U.S. CORPORATE TAX RATE:


CHINESE CORPORATE TAX RATE:

https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/peoples-republic-of-china/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income#:~:text=Corporate%20-%20Taxes%20on%20corporate%20income,-Last%20reviewed%20-%2030&text=Under%20the%20CIT%20law%2C%20the,reduced%20CIT%20rate%20of%2015%.

BIDEN’S DESIRED CORPORATE TAX RATE:


That wasn’t hard at all. See? Biden wants to take our corporate rate from lower than the Chinese rate to higher. But after all, what is China paying him and his family for, if not favors like this?
 
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Great post Peeps! I live on the opposite side of the Mississippi from Illinois. Go to any gas pump near the river, they are filled with cars bearing Ill. license plates. Why? For one, the gasoline tax in Ill is .391, Mo is .1742. That doesn’t include local tax. For another, guess where Ill residents who live near the state line work?

Ill is a perfect example of why we need the Electoral College. The Chicago/Springfield bureaucracy usurps all the power from the state. Southern Ill is mostly rural and conservative, unlike the Chicago/Springfield bureaucracy.
 
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