Tax "reform" hits military survivors

[angel12]

Lovely. The top 1% get tax cuts, but the survivors of our dead soldiers are among those paying for it.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/26/politics/military-families-tax-change-trump/index.html

 

[Guinness]

This really isn’t Trump’s fault. IIR he wanted to repeal the estate tax completely, but unfortunately, Dem’s really love the “death tax” because it appeals to the envy inherent in their base supporters. Sadly, Gold Star families got caught in the middle. Hopefully a fix can be worked out for them, and long term, the estate tax can be repealed.

 

[Xystus]

The top 1% get tax cuts

Face It: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut - The New York Times

 

[angel12]

unfortunately, Dem’s really love the “death tax” because it appeals to the envy inherent in their base supporters

This isn’t the “death tax,” and the Republicans passed the bill.

 

[angel12]

So, you have no problem with the children of dead soldiers being hurt by the Republican tax bill?

 

[FOG]

This really isn’t Trump’s fault.

Yes it is. He is the chief executive and is responsible for knowing the ramifications of all policies he champions.

The old saying JFK used after the Bay of Pigs was:

There’s an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan .

The same holds true for policy…The President is responsible, and has to take responsibility. He can’t take credit for successes and then blame others for failure.

 

[Guinness]

This isn’t the “death tax,” and the Republicans passed the bill.

According to the article, estate taxes are driving this. It also seems the problem dates back a few decades, so blaming Trump seems opportunistic rather than an interest in actually fixing the problem.

Yes it is. He is the chief executive and is responsible for knowing the ramifications of all policies he champions.

Nobody can know all the potential ramifications associated with bills that range from hundreds to thousands of pages, which generate thousands to tens of thousands of regulations. But that problem is long standing and is a function of how Congress writes laws.

 

[DENNYINMI]

The old saying JFK used after the Bay of Pigs was:

There’s an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan .

The same holds true for policy…The President is responsible, and has to take responsibility. He can’t take credit for successes and then blame others for failure.

Truth can be a tough pill to swallow, this one will be on the tongue in time for 2020 along with the hit the treasury is taking to finance the tax cuts.

Unfortunate this has happened, the reality is hurtful because of who they are.

 

[FOG]

Nobody can know all the potential ramifications associated with bills that range from hundreds to thousands of pages, which generate thousands to tens of thousands of regulations. But that problem is long standing and is a function of how Congress writes laws.

No single person has to know all the potential ramifications. However, a chief executive must lead a team of several who get down into the weeds and smoke things out for him. If they don’t he has failed as a leader.

That’s why Navy captains are summarily relieved following mishaps at sea. They cannot be on the bridge 24/7, but they are responsible to ensure their watch standers are trained, and his officers can act in the best interests of the ship, on the Captain’s behalf.

 

[Guinness]

However, a chief executive must lead a team of several who get down into the weeds and smoke things out for him. If they don’t he has failed as a leader.

You mean the way you guys held Obama to account for Obamacare and “Fast and Furious”, and Hillary for Libya?

 

[FOG]

You mean the way you guys held Obama to account for Obamacare and “Fast and Furious”, and Hillary for Libya?

I’ve never quite gotten the “He did it, and you didn’t say anything!” thought process.

Are you condemning one and excusing one, or are you condemning both? Because “they” didn’t hold Obama responsible, how is excusing Trump taking the moral high road?

 

[Guinness]

Are you condemning one and excusing one, or are you condemning both? Because “they” didn’t hold Obama responsible, how is excusing Trump taking the moral high road?

I’d like Trump to fix the tax situation for Gold Star families, but the problem predates Trump. Having served in the military and currently working with a lot of military retirees, I’m fairly familiar with how screwed up, and counterintuitive it is. That said, as far as unintended consequences go, this one seems relatively minor and easy to fix in contrast to the giant messes that are Obamacare and Libya.

 

[ProVobis]

How can the low middle class person tell if he got a tax cut if his total income has risen or fallen modestly?

The accurate measure, of course, would be if your income and deduction are exactly the same. Extremely rare, I would think.

 

[TMC]

According to the article, estate taxes are driving this. It also seems the problem dates back a few decades, so blaming Trump seems opportunistic rather than an interest in actually fixing the problem.

This has nothing to do with the estate tax - its related to how children’s investments are taxed, which is referred to in the article as the “kiddie tax.” Very few people pay estate tax because the first $11 million dollars of the estate is untaxed. The issue is that the IRS is treating this as investment income.

As to Trump’s responsibility - its seems like this was probably an unintended consequence. I would blame the GOPers in Congress that wrote the bill for not finding or fixing the problem. Now that the President knows about, though, he should take steps to fix it.

 

[TMC]

How can the low middle class person tell if he got a tax cut if his total income has risen or fallen modestly?

The accurate measure, of course, would be if your income and deduction are exactly the same. Extremely rare, I would think.

Just anecdotally from talking to friends, family and colleagues, it seems like people that make enough to pay taxes but are still in the lower to mid middle class saw some tax reduction - generally modest. People in the middle to upper middle class saw increases in their taxes - sometimes by a lot. A lot of that because of the change to how state and local taxes are handled. People in the upper class got big reductions, especially those that earn income mostly through large privately held companies. (And, yes, I know people in each of those situations.)

 

[ProVobis]

The exemptions were eliminated. So even with a more generous standard deduction, someone with a few dependents would not have been too happy I bet.

 

[FOG]

I’d like Trump to fix the tax situation for Gold Star families, but the problem predates Trump.

How long does a man have to be the chief executive without changing things with the justification that the “problem predates” him?..his function is not to worry about problems he inherited, or to moan and complain about his predecessors, but do something about it…then if he fixes it, he has bragging rights…if he doesn’t, then he is just part of the problem and not the solution.

 

[Convert3]

It’s just another example of unintended consequences that both parties have done and will do again. This one should be an easy retroactive fix.

 

[Guinness]

How long does a man have to be the chief executive without changing things with the justification that the “problem predates” him?

It depends on how many problems there are, I suppose. In a government as massive as ours there aren’t enough days in the average lifespan for one man to fix all the problems that predate him, let alone the unintended problems he creates for himself. With the tax situation relating to Gold Star families, it seems something that Trump would make a priority, but I don’t know what the fix will look like, or how complicated it will be to fix. It may well be beyond a President’s authority to correct unilaterally.

 

[FOG]

It depends on how many problems there are, I suppose. In a government as massive as ours there aren’t enough days in the average lifespan for one man to fix all the problems that predate him, let alone the unintended problems he creates for himself.

Again, a chief executive is not expected to fix everything himself. He is expected to assemble a team of qualified individuals to take care of the myriad tasks his administration is burdened with, and when the heavy lifting is done, to make decisions.

As far as I know, General Eisenhower didn’t kill a single German. However he had a vision, assembled a staff, trusted his officers, and took care of his foot soldiers allowing the war to be won.

A president need to be a leader, not a technician. When the team fails, he fails.

And, no, its not just Trump who has proven to be a miserable leader in the last several decades. But, to justify his deficiencies by pointing out the deficiencies of other who held the office, is not a valid excuse.

I recall a plaque hanging on the bulkhead in the CPO mess aboard one of my ships that read, “Lead, Follow, or Get the Heck Out of the Way”.

I don’t expect you to agree with me, but, in my opinion, Trump has failed to lead, has failed to follow, and now needs to get the heck out of the way!