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Co'tor Shas wrote: Plus it *really* feths over those of us who live in high-tax states and aren't rich. But I'm sure that extra like $1500 or something that the US government can tax from my minimum wage job is really going to help the economy and fix the massive holes in our budget caused by cutting taxes on the wealthy. Oh wait, most economic growth is caused by people spending money not hording it, and the poorer you are the greater percentage of your money you spend. Well how about that...
If you're single and working a minimum wage job how are you claiming over $12,000 in itemized deductions? Back when I was working minimum wage I took the standard deduction because I didn't own property so I had no mortgage interest or property tax to deduct, I wasn't making a lot of charitable donations because I didn't have a lot of money to give, and my minimum wage job wasn't forcing me to spend business expenses. With a $12k standard deduction single filers working minimum wage jobs should be paying less Federal income tax not more.
As I still live with my parents while I'm going to college, my taxes are filed with them (I don't make enough to have to do it indipendanty). Or my father doesn't know what he's doing, that could very well be the case.
If you're still a dependent and not filing your own return then yeah the tax bill isn't going to change anything for you. If you were filing your own return it would be difficult for you to file more than $12k in Itemized Deductions without being a homeowner.
Co'tor Shas wrote: Plus it *really* feths over those of us who live in high-tax states and aren't rich. But I'm sure that extra like $1500 or something that the US government can tax from my minimum wage job is really going to help the economy and fix the massive holes in our budget caused by cutting taxes on the wealthy. Oh wait, most economic growth is caused by people spending money not hording it, and the poorer you are the greater percentage of your money you spend. Well how about that...
If you're single and working a minimum wage job how are you claiming over $12,000 in itemized deductions? Back when I was working minimum wage I took the standard deduction because I didn't own property so I had no mortgage interest or property tax to deduct, I wasn't making a lot of charitable donations because I didn't have a lot of money to give, and my minimum wage job wasn't forcing me to spend business expenses. With a $12k standard deduction single filers working minimum wage jobs should be paying less Federal income tax not more.
As I still live with my parents while I'm going to college, my taxes are filed with them (I don't make enough to have to do it indipendanty). Or my father doesn't know what he's doing, that could very well be the case.
If you're still a dependent and not filing your own return then yeah the tax bill isn't going to change anything for you. If you were filing your own return it would be difficult for you to file more than $12k in Itemized Deductions without being a homeowner.
Not to mention that limit on state and local taxes is 10,000 for next year, which no offense to Co'Tor he isn't making enough money on minimum wage to be paying more than 10k in state and local taxes. Not to mention the fact that he probably isn't itemizing anyway.
Also while many of the provisions are set to expire with the tax reform bill, tax provisions that are set to expire are often just renewed by congress right before they expire. Sometimes they are even renewed during the middle of the tax season. This happens almost every year.
feeder wrote: Speaking of which, how common is this Survivor: White House scenario that has been playing out? More than 50% of the staff that started this admin are now gone. Is this unprecedented (unpresidented? )
Pretty sure it's the highest turnover rate for the WH, and probably has more people kicked out than the last 20 presidents combined at least. (But it's ok, Trump only hires the BEST right?)
Trump just thinks he's on the Apprentice: White House Edition. Its not good tv if nobody gets kicked to the curb on a weekly basis.
To be fair, can most of those positions left unfulfilled actually be worse than the people he puts in? Some of them are just incredible
Trump has unquestionably proven himself the best reality TV star in human history by an immense margin. I say this non-jokingly. He has turned the Presidency of the United States into reality TV for all intents and purposes. It's been really fun to watch.
Yeah that certainly isn't a joke! Although fun wouldn't be the word I'd pick. More horrified, but unable to look away.
Hey now, that's funny because nobody else got hurt Not when a single person gets to drag 300-1000 million of its own citizens and allies with it
That highlights a perspective problem that's gotten us into the current political climate; separate sides. US citizens keep thinking in terms of 'them hurting us' when really, the whole country is the guy jumping into the cactus. A harm to any part of a society is a harm to the whole, and unfortunately humans are just really, really bad at understanding that. You see it all the time with wealthy elites screwing over the poor, oblivious to how that impact ultimately leaves them worse off in all respects save the extremely short term. Similar things happen when bigoted groups attack some minority, ignoring how that's essentially a hand attacking it's own little finger for being too small.
Pharmaceutical companies gave at least $116 million to patient advocacy groups in a single year, reveals a new database logging 12,000 donations from large publicly traded drugmakers to such organizations.
Even as these patient groups grow in number and political influence, their funding and their relationships to drugmakers are little understood. Unlike payments to doctors and lobbying expenses, companies do not have to report payments to the groups.
The database, called “Pre$cription for Power,” shows that donations to patient advocacy groups tallied for 2015 — the most recent full year in which documents required by the Internal Revenue Service were available — dwarfed the total amount the companies spent on federal lobbying. The 14 companies that contributed $116 million to patient advocacy groups reported only about $63 million in lobbying activities that same year.
Though their primary missions are to focus attention on the needs of patients with a particular disease — such as arthritis, heart disease or various cancers — some groups effectively supplement the work lobbyists perform, providing patients to testify on Capitol Hill and organizing letter-writing and social media campaigns that are beneficial to pharmaceutical companies.
Six drugmakers, the data show, contributed a million dollars or more to individual groups that represent patients who rely on their drugs. The database identifies over 1,200 patient groups. Of those, 594 accepted money from the drugmakers in the database.
The financial ties are troubling if they cause even one patient group to act in a way that’s “not fully representing the interest of its constituents,” said Matthew McCoy, a medical ethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania who co-authored a 2017 study about patient advocacy groups’ influence and transparency.
Notably, such groups have been silent or slow to complain about high or escalating prices, a prime concern of patients.
continues through the link.
Bristol-Myers Squibb provides a stark example of how patient groups are valued. In 2015, it spent more than $20.5 million on patient groups, compared with $2.9 million on federal lobbying and less than $1 million on major trade associations, according to public records and company disclosures. The company said its decisions regarding lobbying and contributions to patient groups are “unrelated.”
The company said its decisions regarding lobbying and contributions to patient groups are “unrelated.”
uh huh. yeah. of course.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Oklahoma's Teacher Walkout continues on Monday. The Senate is slowly passing some bills, although right now they are not really adding that much funding. They are mostly just replacing revenue that was already repealed after being raised just over a week ago.
If the House would pass the Capital Gains bill that has already been passed by the Senate, this would most likely be over. But so far they have not even allowed debate on this bill.
feeder wrote: Speaking of which, how common is this Survivor: White House scenario that has been playing out? More than 50% of the staff that started this admin are now gone. Is this unprecedented (unpresidented? )
Pretty sure it's the highest turnover rate for the WH, and probably has more people kicked out than the last 20 presidents combined at least. (But it's ok, Trump only hires the BEST right?)
Trump just thinks he's on the Apprentice: White House Edition. Its not good tv if nobody gets kicked to the curb on a weekly basis.
To be fair, can most of those positions left unfulfilled actually be worse than the people he puts in? Some of them are just incredible
Trump has unquestionably proven himself the best reality TV star in human history by an immense margin. I say this non-jokingly. He has turned the Presidency of the United States into reality TV for all intents and purposes. It's been really fun to watch.
Yeah that certainly isn't a joke! Although fun wouldn't be the word I'd pick. More horrified, but unable to look away.
Hey now, that's funny because nobody else got hurt Not when a single person gets to drag 300-1000 million of its own citizens and allies with it
That highlights a perspective problem that's gotten us into the current political climate; separate sides. US citizens keep thinking in terms of 'them hurting us' when really, the whole country is the guy jumping into the cactus. A harm to any part of a society is a harm to the whole, and unfortunately humans are just really, really bad at understanding that. You see it all the time with wealthy elites screwing over the poor, oblivious to how that impact ultimately leaves them worse off in all respects save the extremely short term. Similar things happen when bigoted groups attack some minority, ignoring how that's essentially a hand attacking it's own little finger for being too small.
It’s hard to keep the populace well educated when we keep replacing great movies with inferior remakes.
d-usa wrote: Oklahoma's Teacher Walkout continues on Monday. The Senate is slowly passing some bills, although right now they are not really adding that much funding. They are mostly just replacing revenue that was already repealed after being raised just over a week ago.
If the House would pass the Capital Gains bill that has already been passed by the Senate, this would most likely be over. But so far they have not even allowed debate on this bill.
pass recreational pot with taxes going to schools
/s...sorta
are you going to keep talking about it, or do something already?
Medicinal pot is on the ballot in a couple months. It’s Oklahoma, but even before this I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it passed. With this on people’s mind in a few months? Who knows.
The last set of ballot initiatives on the Oklahoma ballot turned out to have very surprising results. Oklahoma went for Trump of course and everybody considers it deep red. But the ballot initiatives in 2016 ended up:
- voting down “right to farm”
- changed various drug crimes from felony to misdemeanor
- allocated money saved from not locking these people up to drug treatment
- voted against a repeal of the restriction to spend state funds on religion
- approved the sale of full strength beer and liquor at all stores
The only state question that turned out as I expected was “the death penalty will always be constitutional”.
d-usa wrote: Medicinal pot is on the ballot in a couple months. It’s Oklahoma, but even before this I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it passed. With this on people’s mind in a few months? Who knows.
The last set of ballot initiatives on the Oklahoma ballot turned out to have very surprising results. Oklahoma went for Trump of course and everybody considers it deep red. But the ballot initiatives in 2016 ended up:
- voting down “right to farm”
- changed various drug crimes from felony to misdemeanor
- allocated money saved from not locking these people up to drug treatment
- voted against a repeal of the restriction to spend state funds on religion
- approved the sale of full strength beer and liquor at all stores
The only state question that turned out as I expected was “the death penalty will always be constitutional”.
Those 5 initiatives look like a good start. Excuse my ignorance of what's happening in OK, but what impact will the Capital Gains have on the teacher's strike?
Repealing the Capital Gains tax exemption would raise about $100 million in funding for the state.
Together with asking for a veto of the repeal of the hotel tax, it's the final two sticking points for resolving the walkout. They are not asking for all of the funding to go to education, because they realize all of the agencies have been hit by the revenue failures over the past years.
The legislature passed a tax raise a couple weeks ago, but then the house instantly repealed $50 million of that funding by repealing the hotel tax. They passed two additional funding bills this week (gambling and internet sales tax) for $40 million. So the legislature is presenting it as a "we just gave you money a few weeks ago, and now we are giving you $40 million more" deal, when it really is a "we just gave you partial funding a few weeks ago, and we only repealed $10 million of that funding" deal.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Unrelated, but not surprising to any Oklahoman:
So in regards to the acronym I'm split on if I want to support SEPA--Swamp Environment Protection Agency, which maintains the identity of the original EPA acronym better but lacks the concise approach of Swamp Protection Agency. The latter has the added benefit of being SPA which is ironic from several angles.
And yet, one article I read suggested that Trump was protecting Pruitt in order to use him as a replacement for Sessions.
"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me." - Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks
Tannhauser42 wrote: And yet, one article I read suggested that Trump was protecting Pruitt in order to use him as a replacement for Sessions.
While I loathe the fact that Sessions is running the DoJ and would like to see him replaced Pruitt really would only be a marginal upgrade at best. The manner in which Trump finds new ways to drag the Republican Party to new lows is downright impressive. Terrible for the country but amazing how he continually embarrasses the GOP and somehow gets them to go along with it and like it.
Tannhauser42 wrote: And yet, one article I read suggested that Trump was protecting Pruitt in order to use him as a replacement for Sessions.
While I loathe the fact that Sessions is running the DoJ and would like to see him replaced Pruitt really would only be a marginal upgrade at best. The manner in which Trump finds new ways to drag the Republican Party to new lows is downright impressive. Terrible for the country but amazing how he continually embarrasses the GOP and somehow gets them to go along with it and like it.
Right?
Like...I get that people hated Hillary. I wasn't a fan of Hillary. I get that some people were initially mesmerized by Trump in the primaries (he did put on a great show in the primary debates when Fox News came right out the gate swinging hard at him) and thought he'd be a great wrecking party against "the establishment". I get all that, I thought they were foolish then but I get it. But for people to *still* be on board, after it has turned into exactly the shitshow they were warned it would turn into? That they see *nothing* wrong with how this is going? This does not inspire great confidence
I've still got the over/under on Pruitt as next Friday.
IRON WITHIN, IRON WITHOUT.
New Heavy Gear Log! Also...Grey Knights! The correct pronunciation is Imperial Guard and Stormtroopers, "Astra Militarum" and "Tempestus Scions" are something you'll find at Hogwarts.
Tannhauser42 wrote: And yet, one article I read suggested that Trump was protecting Pruitt in order to use him as a replacement for Sessions.
While I loathe the fact that Sessions is running the DoJ and would like to see him replaced Pruitt really would only be a marginal upgrade at best. The manner in which Trump finds new ways to drag the Republican Party to new lows is downright impressive. Terrible for the country but amazing how he continually embarrasses the GOP and somehow gets them to go along with it and like it.
Right?
Like...I get that people hated Hillary. I wasn't a fan of Hillary. I get that some people were initially mesmerized by Trump in the primaries (he did put on a great show in the primary debates when Fox News came right out the gate swinging hard at him) and thought he'd be a great wrecking party against "the establishment". I get all that, I thought they were foolish then but I get it. But for people to *still* be on board, after it has turned into exactly the shitshow they were warned it would turn into? That they see *nothing* wrong with how this is going? This does not inspire great confidence
I've still got the over/under on Pruitt as next Friday.
I think its because his core supporters are those people who are so afraid of change and long for the 1950s where everything was "perfect" and men like Trump were more accepted. Plus he does have the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis on his side as well and I doubt they will be leaving him anytime soon.
Hell I would said that last group has become way more emboldened because of Trump, at a play about Anne Frank at a college nearby mine they had a dude in a don't tread on me hat stand up and give a Nazi salute to the actors playing the Nazis in the middle of the performance.
The GOP, and more so it's base, doesn't seem to understand just how deep a pit it is digging for itself. They've become the party of old white people, a demographic that is going to increasingly shrink as time goes on. They've utterly poisoned their image for the vast majority of millenials, and are now doubling down by their disregard and opposition to the student anti-gun movement. They are the party of climate change denial in the century where it is going to hit and hit hard. Every weather disaster will be a giant sign saying 'LOOK WHAT WE SAID WASN'T A PROBLEM'. They've cut taxes on the wealthy just in time for the next economic downturn to reignite a lot of hatred & resentment against them. I could go on, but I think the point is clear. Granted the party can change positions on these things, but their current success is riding on how many voters still see them as the party of Reagan from 30 years ago.
Some GOP congressmen seem to see what's going on, but that so many of them don't, or think it's isolated to Trump, surprises me. I can already see that when Trump is out he will be made the scape goat of 'well the bad stuff is gone with him' and the GOP establishment will be very confused as to why they can't win elections anymore.
Somewhat of a tangent but IMO elderly Americans need to be careful for similar reasons. I can see the start of some serious resentment building among younger generations and the US is heading for a major buget crisis. All that talk about how millenials just need to pull up their bootstraps could bite hard if social security & medicaid get cut and the response to elderly outrage is 'pull up your bootstraps'.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price...
Seems to me that he shouldn't have telegraphed the world that he wanted US forces out of Syria...
whembly wrote: Whut now? Someone's not following the script...
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price...
Seems to me that he shouldn't have telegraphed the world that he wanted US forces out of Syria...
Does the telegraphing really matter though? Trump changes his mind every morning he gets out of bed it seems. There was NATO bad, now good. Kim bad, now he wants to talk. Xi great, China now bad. I don't think any rational country could predict how to act based on what Trump says. Besides by now the Kurds are being pushed into the arms of Assad by Turkey. There is almost no one left to back even if Trump wanted to be tougher on Assad. It would appear the chemical attacks were quite 'safe' to carry out. Realistically there was little Trump could do even if he wanted to. The moment to intervene was in 2011, but war weariness and other factors didn't provide the support for an an intervention.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/04/08 19:23:43
Sorry for my spelling. I'm not a native speaker and a dyslexic.
1750 pts Blood Specters
2000 pts Imperial Fists
6000 pts Disciples of Fate
3500 pts Peridia Prime
2500 pts Prophets of Fate
Lizardmen 3000 points Tlaxcoatl Temple-City
Tomb Kings 1500 points Sekhra (RIP)
Tannhauser42 wrote: And yet, one article I read suggested that Trump was protecting Pruitt in order to use him as a replacement for Sessions.
While I loathe the fact that Sessions is running the DoJ and would like to see him replaced Pruitt really would only be a marginal upgrade at best. The manner in which Trump finds new ways to drag the Republican Party to new lows is downright impressive. Terrible for the country but amazing how he continually embarrasses the GOP and somehow gets them to go along with it and like it.
Right?
Like...I get that people hated Hillary. I wasn't a fan of Hillary. I get that some people were initially mesmerized by Trump in the primaries (he did put on a great show in the primary debates when Fox News came right out the gate swinging hard at him) and thought he'd be a great wrecking party against "the establishment". I get all that, I thought they were foolish then but I get it. But for people to *still* be on board, after it has turned into exactly the shitshow they were warned it would turn into? That they see *nothing* wrong with how this is going? This does not inspire great confidence
I've still got the over/under on Pruitt as next Friday.
I've come to realise something. You can say whatever you like about Trump as a politician / human being, but you can't deny he's an amazing storyteller. Before the election and afterwards, his narrative has been unwavering, energising and has an impenetrable internal logic, telling his supporters exactly what they needed / wanted to hear.
Realism, retcons and plot holes are very much non-issues to the audience when a story is romantic, thrilling, or engaging enough.
"The 75mm gun is firing. The 37mm gun is firing, but is traversed round the wrong way. The Browning is jammed. I am saying "Driver, advance." and the driver, who can't hear me, is reversing. And as I look over the top of the turret and see twelve enemy tanks fifty yards away, someone hands me a cheese sandwich."
Tannhauser42 wrote: And yet, one article I read suggested that Trump was protecting Pruitt in order to use him as a replacement for Sessions.
While I loathe the fact that Sessions is running the DoJ and would like to see him replaced Pruitt really would only be a marginal upgrade at best. The manner in which Trump finds new ways to drag the Republican Party to new lows is downright impressive. Terrible for the country but amazing how he continually embarrasses the GOP and somehow gets them to go along with it and like it.
Right?
Like...I get that people hated Hillary. I wasn't a fan of Hillary. I get that some people were initially mesmerized by Trump in the primaries (he did put on a great show in the primary debates when Fox News came right out the gate swinging hard at him) and thought he'd be a great wrecking party against "the establishment". I get all that, I thought they were foolish then but I get it. But for people to *still* be on board, after it has turned into exactly the shitshow they were warned it would turn into? That they see *nothing* wrong with how this is going? This does not inspire great confidence
I've still got the over/under on Pruitt as next Friday.
I think that at least some of those supporters are still on the trump train because they're doing damage to the federal goverment's reputation and ability to function. Republicans at the end of the day are for smaller government, state rights, and isolationism.And there's a non-insignificant portion of the US that just straight up distrusts and hates any authority that isn't directly related to them. So in their mind, anything that makes people also distrusts and hates the government is a "good" thing.
Tannhauser42 wrote: And yet, one article I read suggested that Trump was protecting Pruitt in order to use him as a replacement for Sessions.
While I loathe the fact that Sessions is running the DoJ and would like to see him replaced Pruitt really would only be a marginal upgrade at best. The manner in which Trump finds new ways to drag the Republican Party to new lows is downright impressive. Terrible for the country but amazing how he continually embarrasses the GOP and somehow gets them to go along with it and like it.
Right?
Like...I get that people hated Hillary. I wasn't a fan of Hillary. I get that some people were initially mesmerized by Trump in the primaries (he did put on a great show in the primary debates when Fox News came right out the gate swinging hard at him) and thought he'd be a great wrecking party against "the establishment". I get all that, I thought they were foolish then but I get it. But for people to *still* be on board, after it has turned into exactly the shitshow they were warned it would turn into? That they see *nothing* wrong with how this is going? This does not inspire great confidence
I've still got the over/under on Pruitt as next Friday.
I think its because his core supporters are those people who are so afraid of change and long for the 1950s where everything was "perfect" and men like Trump were more accepted. Plus he does have the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis on his side as well and I doubt they will be leaving him anytime soon.
Hell I would said that last group has become way more emboldened because of Trump, at a play about Anne Frank at a college nearby mine they had a dude in a don't tread on me hat stand up and give a Nazi salute to the actors playing the Nazis in the middle of the performance.
Many of his supporters have been abandoned by both parties. Literally no party gives a flying feth about the white working class any more. That's why they are loyal.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
Many of his supporters think they have been abandoned by both parties. Democrats are at least trying to serve all Americans, even if they're bad at it.
)
1750 pts Blood Specters
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Lizardmen 3000 points Tlaxcoatl Temple-City
