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Post by gigglyforshrigley on Nov 16, 2024 12:26:03 GMT -8
The tech companies have already been getting all they want for the last 30+ years, and the middle class has been shrinking for decades. Depending on where you look, the percentage of US households in the 70s in the middle class was about 61% compared to 50% now according to a quick google search. I'm sure it's gotten way worse than that in many areas of the country The whole reason Trump won is because people are fed up with how screwed up the government is, despite getting plenty of our taxes - and they want to give an outsider a chance to give it a full overhaul. We need the government to be like 20% the size that it is, or less. But there is zero chance the left was going to cut the government - they want it as big as possible. Right now, about 35% of our GDP is from government spending, which is terrifying. We're adding about $1 trillion to our debt every 100 days. We are pretty much already in a debt spiral, but if we don't do something about this now there will be no coming back. We don't have a tax revenue problem, we have a government spending problem. We're going to spend about 900 billion dollars this year on interest payments alone. The single most important thing the Trump admin could do is cut the government drastically, which it sounds like he's going to do. If he doesn't, I'll be the first to criticize him Tax revenues aren't high enough. So much of our spending is 'mandatory' spending (61%): Mandatory: - Healthcare 24% - Social Security 21% - Other Mandatory Programs 16% Non-Mandatory: - Non-Defense Discretionary 14% - Defense Discretionary 12% - Net Interest 13% www.cbpp.org/charts/components-of-federal-spending-components-of-federal-tax-revenueThe issue is that we need a high top marginal income tax rate for the wealthiest people in the country. Historically this top bracket rate has been in the 60% and 70% range in World War I, and as high as 94% in World War II. From 1945 to 1963, this rate was 91%, 1965-81 70%, 1982-1986 50%, and after that it has bounced around between 31% and 39.6% Right now we are at 37%. If you raised that number back up to the 70% number from 1965-1981, the budget deficit would be solved right there! Using the 2024 tax bracket as a guide, the 70% rate would be on income $609,350+ single filer, $731,200+ married filed jointly. Which quite frankly is an insanely high threshold - we could go with higher percentages too for the $243,725 – $609,350 bracket (single filer) that is currently at a 35% rate - maybe make that 50%. www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/whole-ball-of-tax-historical-income-tax-ratesI'm not in favor of taxing the lower or middle class more, if anything we need to raise the minimum income tax threshold for single adults before they get hit with taxes. Right now it's at $11,600 - I would move it to $20,000. The bottom line is that the wealthy have been f****** everyone else since the 80's, when the top bracket rate went from 70% to 50%. The reason why is because the Democratic senators are all wealthy, just like the Republican ones, and the progressivism in the Democratic party stemming from the Great Depression has been extinguished. Now the Democratic party presidential nominee is controlled through the superdelegate system. The Republicans are lead by a billionaire, and there is zero chance that they will raise the top earner rate. The Dems have successfully suppressed (thus far) the Bernie Sanders/Andrew Yang populist movement in the party, but that is where the change has to come from. You can't shrink the current government's size with 61% being required spending, then there is military spending, and interest spending... other discretionary spending isn't even that high at only 14%!! Time for the billionaires and millionaires to start paying their fair share. I appreciate the thought out response. In 2023, the US collected $4.4 trillion in taxes. That's an insane amount of money, and plenty if it were spent well. And that doesn't even include state and local taxes. The government spent $6.75 trillion last year. That's about $50k per American household I'd argue there is no mandatory line item that can't be cut. Our budget issue is a dire problem that needs to be fixed or we're all screwed, so drastic measures can (and should) be taken Cut social security, cut military, cut all the useless agencies like the department of Education. Education is done by the states anyway, and ever since the Dept of Education was formed our test scores have gotten worse. I'd also cut military spending (sbroken procurement process, corruption with gov contracts, etc). The top 1% already pay ~45% of all federal income taxes. At what point do you kill motivation if you're penalizing success Rich people often have businesses, and they can just pay themselves with stock or mask expenses on their company's income statement. The people who own businesses are pretty much able to claim whatever they want as taxable income, so the tax rate doesn't matter that much. Their businesses are extremely helpful to the economy and give people jobs, so I'm not criticizing at all - I think it's the way it should be Our spending as a country just keeps going up and up and up. There are tons of "mandatory" things that can be paired back. I'd love to see our budget in the 50s or 60s and compare it to today - which I could probably easily do but I don't have time today |
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Post by aztecryan on Nov 16, 2024 18:19:05 GMT -8
Based on common sense and virtually every economic projection, even those coming from Trump's old business school. Those price hikes will get passed to consumers. "There wasn't inflation in 2016" isn't a great argument, the world is in a much different place now than it was pre-pandemic. taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/tariffs/Companies aren't going to stop importing, they will just pass the burden to the buyer. You're not "encouraging" anything except less consumer confidence as they see increases in taxes. We'll see. Will you admit you were wrong if there isn't any real inflation? Companies can't necessarily just pass everything to consumers. They need to still have competitive prices, thats the beauty of competition If I'm wrong, so be it. I'm siding with the Nobel laureate economists over "Trust me" any day of the week, especially when the idiot in charge is Donald Trump. |
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Post by aztecryan on Nov 16, 2024 18:20:54 GMT -8
Certainly. If you truly believe that widespread deportations are going to result in only undocumented immigrants being deported, I don't know what to tell you. Just look at the entities in charge of the operation. I'm simply choosing to believe an immigration hardliner when they say they are going to undertake a campaign of denaturalization. We're in 2024, "It can't happen here" is a farce. We'll find out, but again this is a very low issue on the totem pole for me I care about the economy, my ability to earn a good living, our country being financially solvent moving forward, and my kids having a bright future & not being sexualized in school I care much more about the poor people who are tax paying American citizens in our country than I do about illegal/legal immigrants Undocumented immigrants contribute billions in taxes. You can focus on what you want to, but don't be surprised in a few months when the shoddy, thoughtless plan doesn't work. |
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Post by aztecbrothers on Nov 16, 2024 20:52:15 GMT -8
Identity politics with hate and fear are dead along with TDS Democratics. Sylvester Stallone is calling Trump the next George Washington. Funny and funnier.
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Post by Fishn'Aztec on Nov 16, 2024 21:10:37 GMT -8
Identity politics with hate and fear are dead along with TDS Democratics. Sylvester Stallone is calling Trump the next George Washington. Funny and funnier. Wow, that is some bull$#!+!!0 |
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Post by The Aztec Panther on Nov 17, 2024 10:10:54 GMT -8
Identity politics with hate and fear are dead along with TDS Democratics. Sylvester Stallone is calling Trump the next George Washington. Funny and funnier. Here's my problem with modern Republicans. They don't respect people. They don't want to let people be who they are. They want to force people to be what the Republicans want them to be. Republicans are the ones trying to tell people how to live their lives. The Christian Nationalists are trying to force their beliefs and morals and what they accept as, "Normal," on everyone else. LET PEOPLE BE WHO THEY ARE AND GIVE THEM RESPECT FOR BEING WHO THEY ARE. Who gives a $#!+ if someone is gay, trans, black, brown, Asian - whatever. Who cares? Let them be who they are without being tormented and bullied by society. If they're not hurting you you have no right to say that they're wrong for being who they are. Remember, if you can do that to them, someday they might be in a position to do that to you, or your kids, or your grandkids. Respect others. Treat them with kindness, courtesy, and compassion. That is the greatest thing any human can do for another. Sadly, modern Republicans do not believe that. |
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Post by aztecbrothers on Nov 17, 2024 12:00:53 GMT -8
Identity politics with hate and fear are dead along with TDS Democratics. Sylvester Stallone is calling Trump the next George Washington. Funny and funnier. Here's my problem with modern Republicans. They don't respect people. They don't want to let people be who they are. They want to force people to be what the Republicans want them to be. Republicans are the ones trying to tell people how to live their lives. The Christian Nationalists are trying to force their beliefs and morals and what they accept as, "Normal," on everyone else. LET PEOPLE BE WHO THEY ARE AND GIVE THEM RESPECT FOR BEING WHO THEY ARE. Who gives a $#!+ if someone is gay, trans, black, brown, Asian - whatever. Who cares? Let them be who they are without being tormented and bullied by society. If they're not hurting you you have no right to say that they're wrong for being who they are. Remember, if you can do that to them, someday they might be in a position to do that to you, or your kids, or your grandkids. Respect others. Treat them with kindness, courtesy, and compassion. That is the greatest thing any human can do for another. Sadly, modern Republicans do not believe that. I think you have that a little backwards. There was far less hate by Trump supporters at rallies. From the videos I saw, it was all about inclusion. The Anderson Cooper interview of the 10-year-old kids also supported that the Democratic Parents would not allow their kids to play with kids that had a Trump sign in the front yard. The people that I know that are hard core MAGA supports that wear the gear said to me that they were mostly left alone or supported except for some older white males that would drop the racist card on them; even the ones that were Hispanic or Asian wearing MAGA hats. I would say by behavior viewed, and with the majority popular vote for Trump for President, Modern Republicans are more like Moderate Democrats of the past. They just don't want to be told what to do, how to talk, and be told how the foundations of America is founded on racism by the Democratic Elite Establishment. They feel there is too much government waste, ignoring the people in need for foreign proxy wars, and out of control costs that make life tough. They not only wanted to turn the Democratic Party Agenda page, they wanted to through the whole extreme Democratic Party Agenda book out the window. |
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Post by aztecryan on Nov 17, 2024 12:19:13 GMT -8
Here's my problem with modern Republicans. They don't respect people. They don't want to let people be who they are. They want to force people to be what the Republicans want them to be. Republicans are the ones trying to tell people how to live their lives. The Christian Nationalists are trying to force their beliefs and morals and what they accept as, "Normal," on everyone else. LET PEOPLE BE WHO THEY ARE AND GIVE THEM RESPECT FOR BEING WHO THEY ARE. Who gives a $#!+ if someone is gay, trans, black, brown, Asian - whatever. Who cares? Let them be who they are without being tormented and bullied by society. If they're not hurting you you have no right to say that they're wrong for being who they are. Remember, if you can do that to them, someday they might be in a position to do that to you, or your kids, or your grandkids. Respect others. Treat them with kindness, courtesy, and compassion. That is the greatest thing any human can do for another. Sadly, modern Republicans do not believe that. I think you have that a little backwards. There was far less hate by Trump supporters at rallies. From the videos I saw, it was all about inclusion. The Anderson Cooper interview of the 10-year-old kids also supported that the Democratic Parents would not allow their kids to play with kids that had a Trump sign in the front yard. The people that I know that are hard core MAGA supports that wear the gear said to me that they were mostly left alone or supported except for some older white males that would drop the racist card on them; even the ones that were Hispanic or Asian wearing MAGA hats. I would say by behavior viewed, and with the majority popular vote for Trump for President, Modern Republicans are more like Moderate Democrats of the past. They just don't want to be told what to do, how to talk, and be told how the foundations of America is founded on racism by the Democratic Elite Establishment. They feel there is too much government waste, ignoring the people in need for foreign proxy wars, and out of control costs that make life tough. They not only wanted to turn the Democratic Party Agenda page, they wanted to through the whole extreme Democratic Party Agenda book out the window. What is it like to just absorb propaganda and lie incessantly? |
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Post by The Aztec Panther on Nov 17, 2024 12:39:38 GMT -8
I think you have that a little backwards. There was far less hate by Trump supporters at rallies. From the videos I saw, it was all about inclusion. The Anderson Cooper interview of the 10-year-old kids also supported that the Democratic Parents would not allow their kids to play with kids that had a Trump sign in the front yard. The people that I know that are hard core MAGA supports that wear the gear said to me that they were mostly left alone or supported except for some older white males that would drop the racist card on them; even the ones that were Hispanic or Asian wearing MAGA hats. I would say by behavior viewed, and with the majority popular vote for Trump for President, Modern Republicans are more like Moderate Democrats of the past. They just don't want to be told what to do, how to talk, and be told how the foundations of America is founded on racism by the Democratic Elite Establishment. They feel there is too much government waste, ignoring the people in need for foreign proxy wars, and out of control costs that make life tough. They not only wanted to turn the Democratic Party Agenda page, they wanted to through the whole extreme Democratic Party Agenda book out the window. What is it like to just absorb propaganda and lie incessantly? Well, to start, you have to be delusional. Then you have to be gullible. From there, it's all sunshine and roses!  |
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Post by The Aztec Panther on Nov 17, 2024 12:50:17 GMT -8
It is laughable to claim that the party that was (and still is) against gay marriage, the party who claims that trans people are grooming kids, the party that claims that the whole point of drag shows is to groom kids, the party that still has a large percentage against interracial marriage, the party that is supported by just about every single white supremacist, the party that took away abortion rights (which has led to the deaths of multiple women who couldn't get care because doctors were afraid of going to jail due to the oppressive abortion laws in their states), the party whose members mock, belittle, and bully people different from them (gays, transgender, minonrities, etc) - that this modern Republican Party is somehow the party of tolerance and compassion.
That is absolutely absurd.
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Post by aztecbrothers on Nov 17, 2024 16:44:40 GMT -8
It is laughable to claim that the party that was (and still is) against gay marriage, the party who claims that trans people are grooming kids, the party that claims that the whole point of drag shows is to groom kids, the party that still has a large percentage against interracial marriage, the party that is supported by just about every single white supremacist, the party that took away abortion rights (which has led to the deaths of multiple women who couldn't get care because doctors were afraid of going to jail due to the oppressive abortion laws in their states), the party whose members mock, belittle, and bully people different from them (gays, transgender, minonrities, etc) - that this modern Republican Party is somehow the party of tolerance and compassion. That is absolutely absurd. It sounds like you are hanging around and listening to some extremists. Those are some crazy ideas about Republicans and the majority of the Country did not succumb to that kind of fear mongering. It’s crazy how leftists are buying and stocking up on abortion pills like crazy right wingers were buying ammo when Obama got elected. |
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Post by sdsuball on Nov 17, 2024 16:51:43 GMT -8
It is laughable to claim that the party that was (and still is) against gay marriage, the party who claims that trans people are grooming kids, the party that claims that the whole point of drag shows is to groom kids, the party that still has a large percentage against interracial marriage, the party that is supported by just about every single white supremacist, the party that took away abortion rights (which has led to the deaths of multiple women who couldn't get care because doctors were afraid of going to jail due to the oppressive abortion laws in their states), the party whose members mock, belittle, and bully people different from them (gays, transgender, minonrities, etc) - that this modern Republican Party is somehow the party of tolerance and compassion. That is absolutely absurd. It sounds like you are hanging around and listening to some extremists. Those are some crazy ideas about Republicans and the majority of the Country did not succumb to that kind of fear mongering. It’s crazy how leftists are buying and stocking up on abortion pills like crazy right wingers were buying ammo when Obama got elected. Kind of sounds like both sides feel like the other side is extremist, and feel like the other side is an existential threat to America. Sounds like people on both sides are talking in an echo chamber, instead of engaging each other on the issues. |
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Post by The Aztec Panther on Nov 17, 2024 17:18:50 GMT -8
It sounds like you are hanging around and listening to some extremists. Those are some crazy ideas about Republicans and the majority of the Country did not succumb to that kind of fear mongering. It’s crazy how leftists are buying and stocking up on abortion pills like crazy right wingers were buying ammo when Obama got elected. Kind of sounds like both sides feel like the other side is extremist, and feel like the other side is an existential threat to America. Sounds like people on both sides are talking in an echo chamber, instead of engaging each other on the issues. Funny thing, you had the Republicans running against trans rights, Republican politicians banning abortion, even some Republicans saying that the protections for interracial marriage should be removed as they don't believe it's constitutional. Plus you've got actual videos - lots of them - of Republican voters shouting ugly obscenities demeaning gays, minorities, etc. I have a friend who was in West Hollywood a few days after the election, and some trucks came rolling through with their Trump flags and the people in the trucks were harassing the people there shouting, "Fags," and whatnot. It was really reprehensible. The Democrats don't have a history of doing that kind of thing. They're all about respecting people's identity and not judging based solely on who or what you are. |
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Post by aztecryan on Nov 17, 2024 17:34:56 GMT -8
It is laughable to claim that the party that was (and still is) against gay marriage, the party who claims that trans people are grooming kids, the party that claims that the whole point of drag shows is to groom kids, the party that still has a large percentage against interracial marriage, the party that is supported by just about every single white supremacist, the party that took away abortion rights (which has led to the deaths of multiple women who couldn't get care because doctors were afraid of going to jail due to the oppressive abortion laws in their states), the party whose members mock, belittle, and bully people different from them (gays, transgender, minonrities, etc) - that this modern Republican Party is somehow the party of tolerance and compassion. That is absolutely absurd. It sounds like you are hanging around and listening to some extremists. Those are some crazy ideas about Republicans and the majority of the Country did not succumb to that kind of fear mongering. It’s crazy how leftists are buying and stocking up on abortion pills like crazy right wingers were buying ammo when Obama got elected. There. Was. No. Majority. |
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Post by aztecbrothers on Nov 17, 2024 23:18:53 GMT -8
Kind of sounds like both sides feel like the other side is extremist, and feel like the other side is an existential threat to America. Sounds like people on both sides are talking in an echo chamber, instead of engaging each other on the issues. Funny thing, you had the Republicans running against trans rights, Republican politicians banning abortion, even some Republicans saying that the protections for interracial marriage should be removed as they don't believe it's constitutional. Plus you've got actual videos - lots of them - of Republican voters shouting ugly obscenities demeaning gays, minorities, etc. I have a friend who was in West Hollywood a few days after the election, and some trucks came rolling through with their Trump flags and the people in the trucks were harassing the people there shouting, "Fags," and whatnot. It was really reprehensible. The Democrats don't have a history of doing that kind of thing. They're all about respecting people's identity and not judging based solely on who or what you are. The Democrats have a history of slavery, segregation, and oppression. George McGovern was the back room poster child for the Democratic Elite. You just can't hide that history. |
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Post by The Aztec Panther on Nov 18, 2024 0:10:46 GMT -8
Funny thing, you had the Republicans running against trans rights, Republican politicians banning abortion, even some Republicans saying that the protections for interracial marriage should be removed as they don't believe it's constitutional. Plus you've got actual videos - lots of them - of Republican voters shouting ugly obscenities demeaning gays, minorities, etc. I have a friend who was in West Hollywood a few days after the election, and some trucks came rolling through with their Trump flags and the people in the trucks were harassing the people there shouting, "Fags," and whatnot. It was really reprehensible. The Democrats don't have a history of doing that kind of thing. They're all about respecting people's identity and not judging based solely on who or what you are. The Democrats have a history of slavery, segregation, and oppression. George McGovern was the back room poster child for the Democratic Elite. You just can't hide that history. Wow. It's funny, but you're not looking at the modern era. In this era, it is the Republican Party that is home to white supremacists and hate groups. Remember, I used to be a die hard Republican. I didn't want to believe anything bad about my party, either. But I took a step back and looked at the facts - and rather than deny them, I accepted them. Both parties have faults, but it's the Republican Party that the white supremacists and hate groups align with. |
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Post by aztecbrothers on Nov 18, 2024 7:16:14 GMT -8
The Democrats have a history of slavery, segregation, and oppression. George McGovern was the back room poster child for the Democratic Elite. You just can't hide that history. Wow. It's funny, but you're not looking at the modern era. In this era, it is the Republican Party that is home to white supremacists and hate groups. Remember, I used to be a die hard Republican. I didn't want to believe anything bad about my party, either. But I took a step back and looked at the facts - and rather than deny them, I accepted them. Both parties have faults, but it's the Republican Party that the white supremacists and hate groups align with. I used to be a solid Republican until 1992 and now Independent. The difference I see between the current parties is that the Republicans have distanced themselves from the far-right extremists and the Democrats have embraced the far-left extremists. The Republican Party has also changed to address the needs of the working class where Democrats have become a more of an elite class party, and ignored the financial needs of the majority of the population. If you changed from registered Republican to registered Democrat, I would expect that you are part of an extremely rare group. The Trump Campaign Management attacked Harris on her far-left support with tax payer money. I don't believe Trump was attacking the LGBQ community as exaggerated by MSNBC and CNN. The gay community members that voted for Trump just want to be left alone, and realize that rapists, murderers, and pedophiles in prison should not have their taxes pay for criminals getting free sex changes. |
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Post by aztecbrothers on Nov 18, 2024 7:41:57 GMT -8
This video is an example how some Democrats have allowed their minds to be distorted by the media. Trump was not convicted of rape. It is crazy what is happening in our school system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDlg3O0Tftg |
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Post by aztecryan on Nov 18, 2024 8:20:13 GMT -8
This video is an example how some Democrats have allowed their minds to be distorted by the media. Trump was not convicted of rape. It is crazy what is happening in our school system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDlg3O0TftgTrump was found civilly liable for sexual assault. The judge, however, stated that he believed he raped Carroll. |
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Post by aztecryan on Nov 18, 2024 8:28:37 GMT -8
Wow. It's funny, but you're not looking at the modern era. In this era, it is the Republican Party that is home to white supremacists and hate groups. Remember, I used to be a die hard Republican. I didn't want to believe anything bad about my party, either. But I took a step back and looked at the facts - and rather than deny them, I accepted them. Both parties have faults, but it's the Republican Party that the white supremacists and hate groups align with. I used to be a solid Republican until 1992 and now Independent. The difference I see between the current parties is that the Republicans have distanced themselves from the far-right extremists and the Democrats have embraced the far-left extremists. The Republican Party has also changed to address the needs of the working class where Democrats have become a more of an elite class party, and ignored the financial needs of the majority of the population. If you changed from registered Republican to registered Democrat, I would expect that you are part of an extremely rare group. The Trump Campaign Management attacked Harris on her far-left support with tax payer money. I don't believe Trump was attacking the LGBQ community as exaggerated by MSNBC and CNN. The gay community members that voted for Trump just want to be left alone, and realize that rapists, murderers, and pedophiles in prison should not have their taxes pay for criminals getting free sex changes. This is absolutely a farce. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Lauren Boebert. Anna Luna. Andy Biggs. Clay Higgins. Paul Gosar. Scott Perry. Byron Donalds. Many, many others. Transphobia was a staple of Trump's first term. It'll be a staple in his second term. There's no hiding that. |
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