POLITICAL THREAD
- Thread starter kybobcat
- Start date
Dem lawmaker joins Republican-led DOGE Caucus with push to remove Secret Service from DHS
Rep. Jared Moskowitz is calling for radical changes to the Department of Homeland Security in his announcement that he is joining the DOGE Caucus.
How do we 'force the wealth to trickle down'? Well, I guess we could become totally Socialist and pretty much everyone would live lower middle class lives while the elite .1% have literally ALL the money and power. America is still the Land of Opportunity. Certainly not an easy road but it's still possible to accumulate wealth from very humble beginnings.
'The American Dream is dead for people 40 and under'? Not really. Several recent studies have shown the younger generation don't WANT to buy a home or start a family. Is that the result of the economics - perhaps. But it could also be that the younger generation has been raised to get everything they want right now and the thought of delaying one iota of pleasure is a foreign concept and one they will not accept. They don't want the 'hassle' of owning a home or having kids - those things might interfere with their lifestyle.
In my experience, many younger generation kids don't have the same work ethic, won't go the extra mile consistently, won't study at night to get more training/a better degree/designation, etc. They want work/life balance, work from home, plenty of vacation, etc. Self-sacrifice is not in their vocabulary. Working 2 jobs to get what you want is a non-starter.
If you have skills and are a hard worker, the American Dream is still very much alive. If you want to live in Seattle and you have a job only paying you $50k a year because that's the going rate for someone with your experience and skill level, then something has to change in order for you to live the Dream and I don't think it's 'forcing' someone's wealth to come to you if you're not willing to make changes in your life. I've had engineer friends who, at times, have struggled to find another job because they refused to move. But, they complained about the 'awful job market'. There are plenty of nice places to live and there are almost always jobs to be had if you're willing to make some changes in your life.
People working at McDonalds who expect to make enough money to support a family of 4 are woefully ignorant. The skills required to work there aren't worth a 'living wage' in today's society if, by living wage, it means enough money for a family of 4 to have a home, cars, etc. The job itself is not set up as a lifetime employment opportunity. It's a part-time, HS and college kid gig.
President declared martial law over economic tensions and fear of NK invasion. The parliament just voted to make the Pres rescind the martial law declaration.
“Fear of NK” might be the same thing as democrats blaming Russia for everything to justify their illegal actions.
Yes, borrowing against a stock portfolio can help avoid taxes by allowing you to borrow money without selling assets and incurring capital gains taxes. This strategy is known as the "buy, borrow, die" strategy.
Here's how it works:
- Buy: Buy assets that appreciate in value
- Borrow: Use the assets as collateral for a loan, such as a Securities Backed Line of Credit (SBLOC) or a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
- Die: Leave the assets to your heirs
The strategy offers a double tax benefit because you don't pay capital gains taxes on the assets and the loan proceeds aren't considered taxable income.
This came up during the "should we tax unrealized gains" discussion. Guys like Bill Ackman - who were big time against taxing unrealized gains, conceded that if you borrow against assets that should be taxed as income.
“If you have $10 billion of stock in a company you founded,” he wrote on social media, “loans secured by the stock should be taxable as if you sold a like amount of stock.”
I was thinking along the same lines.
In my humble opinion, when that judge threw out the plea deal that gave Hunter broad "coverage" for lack of a better term, they had to go the guilty/pardon route on the safest charges.
It is very easy to have this mindset, wash your hands of the situation, and never think of it again.
Let's pretend that you are a 26 year old living in Wayne county. All the houseboat factories shut down in 2008 and Beldens moved operations to Mexico in 2016. You spend years working at Walmart (biggest employer) at 32 hours a week (to avoid paying for insurance and what not). You finally make the change and begin work at the Tyson plant in Albany making 15 an hour. You're finally able to work full time and bring home 845 bucks a paycheck. Girlfriend works there too and brings home the same amount. Insurance eats 245 of each paycheck so the two of you bring home 2,400 a month.
Girlfriend has 17k worth of student loans when she went to cosmetology school at campbellsville. That’s 200 dollar a month.
Two cricket phone bills total 90 a month.
Gas to and from work is 75 a week or 300 a month.
Rent is 600 a month.
So that 2400 is already down to 1,210.
Food per week is 150 and this includes eating out. So another 600.
Internet and cable is another 120.
down to 490 and now the utilities are due. Electric is 130 and water is another 40
So all of this leaves you with 320 bucks. This doesn’t account for entertainment or a car payment. These guys are lucky in that the cars are paid for, but Cody drives a 2005 pathfinder that has 195,000 miles and Katie drives an 07 mustang that has 200,000+ miles. Insurance for both is another 150 for minimum coverage and these guys are left with 170 dollars.
God forbid if they have to have a medical procedure done, car issues arise, and you see quickly why 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
It is utterly amazing to me that liberals/Democrats can't understand basic concepts like self improvement or personal responsibility... as exhibited right here on this page.
Y'all are just really fvcking stupid.
It's not that NK could "win" a war with SK.... It's that they have soooo much stuff on the border with SK that they could kill over 4 million people before SK could respond if they decided to do a sneak attack... and that is with conventional artillery and tanks.
Seoul is just right across the border. Well within conventional strike range. I had a buddy who was stationed there once and he was told if they got attacked they would likely all die before help arrived. It just depends on if we would be willing to take them out before they got off a first strike.
That has nothing to do with whether person A in your hypothetical is paying more income tax than person B. The example you used was dumb.
You’re going to need to generate income somehow to service the debt.
Do you think all secured financing should result in taxable gain for the borrower to the extent the principal exceeds the tax basis of the assets securing the debt?
Stuff like rental property generates income. You pay your bills and reinvest any excess. I watched a podcast with a dude who does this. He paid $18M in taxes one year and was like "hell nah"... Been doing this ever since and he just keeps buying stuff as his "income" increases. He can always write off the extra income. This only works once you have a ton of income.
It’s easy to name call and demean than to actually empathize and work on the solution.
The scenario I described above were Trump voters and living in a county that carried Trump by 40 points.
There’s absolutely ways to improve your standing, but there’s also things that are outside of our control that keeps people down.
I really want this fixed and if Trump can do it or begin the foundations to fix it, I’ll vote republican the rest of my life.
Some might say that it would be Trump who is the guy to keep manufacturing jobs, open fracking and drilling, and using tariffs/negotiating as a way to start getting the US back on track. Your example above (one that I agree with, is a problem), might have all been due to whatever houseboat factory this is, shutting it's doors and going to Mexico.
Not saying Trump will just fix all this. But I saw enough from Biden and Obama to see that there priorities just aren't in job creation, economy, tapping our natural energy reserves, keeping out illegals, cutting bloat spending.. all things *could* help put money back in American's wallets.
He needs to stay distant from the lead and just be informed. That way, when time comes at the end of his presidency, Vance cannot be vilified by the left when he runs for president. He can simply say that we (him and Trump) were not directly involved to avoid the mess Biden and Kamala created for themselves by weaponizing the DOJ against Trump. Remain distant from the whole thing.
I will say the COL is a problem, and it's only gonna become everyone's problem, regardless of *your* specific income, the more people are priced out of supporting the economy. I don't know how we get out of this, because it feels like to me, we're just careening towards a cliff.. we just haven't gone over yet. Delinquencies are on the rise, CC debt is sky rocketing per household.
I couldn't come close to passing the IQ test.
I doubt you can pass it either.
Court OKs Barring High IQs for Cops
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Hillary will see to that. Joe will be put in a hospital due to dementia or some other ailment and Jill will keep her mouth shut. The dims will rally the troops for the next election and run the grease headed snake oil salesman from California so Obama can be in charge again.
** Wise Words Department **
"If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave."
-Gerald R. Ford
"If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave."
-Gerald R. Ford
You don't get it? Target rich environment where they can't get away.
Taking the job today is really crazy to me depending on where you are. In some places (liberal infested) there is just no way I would do it. First arrest would have me in jail probably. The restraint one would have to have would take some serious training and self-control. These days, I have no patience for idiots and morons so...
I don't know what you make and am not asking, but what will the good candidate have to make to be willing to take the risk and hassles involved? I have only been military police and that was many years ago, but back then, you did not start as a detective. You put in time and work to reach that job.
I'm bored as shit and need some excitement. So the risk and the hassles are the up side.
But yes, I'm aware I can't start as a detective. Hence another reason I wouldn't want to do the job.
Less liberals raising and brainwashing more liberals. While a slow method of getting rid of liberals, it is still a means of getting the job done.
Darwin is helping to improve the overall health of the herd here as far as I’m concerned.
Nobody cares whether or not you vote or for whom. We don't need your vote, Commie.
And you're insulting people on this thread, stop acting like you're pure as the driven snow.
Funny story. A fellow cop got drunk at the NCO club. He loved Frank Sinatra and the band would not play him a Sinatra song, so he took over the stage and started singing Sinatra songs to the crowd. The police captain took me and another guy off our security posts because we knew him. He gave us a pick up truck and told us to go get him. When we got there he was singing My Way. We walked on stage and each grabbed an arm and walked away with him, with him struggling and saying let me go. We got him outside in the night air with him still demanding we let him go. We looked at each other, then both released him at the same time. He immediately passed out and fell to the ground. We tossed him in the back of the truck and drove away.
Joe Manchin wants Biden to pardon Trump.
I’ve not insulted the first person. I’ve had some good discussions and learned quite a bit. Seems like several people have great ideas for the economy, but COL remains a problem. It’s interesting to hear how others tackle that sort of thing.
I love how you are still trying to act like you totally arent Dion posting lol.
Probably because I’m not. Do I need to drop my social? Can’t mods track IP’s?
