POLITICAL THREAD

[AshWilliams]

Not sure where you're getting 'the wealthiest Americans don't pay taxes'. In fact, the top 1% of earners pay approximately 40% of income taxes (https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/latest-federal-income-tax-data-2025/#:~:text=The top 1 percent's income,45.8 percent to 40.4 percent). Sure sounds to me like they pay taxes.

If you meant to say they don't pay AT THE SAME RATE (presumably because of some legal tax law/rule), then you may be correct. But, it's patently incorrect to state the wealthiest Americans don't pay income taxes. If they have earned income, they most assuredly do pay taxes. If they do NOT have earned income, they would not owe any income tax in the same way that any other person doesn't pay income tax if all of their income comes from, let's say, capital gains (it's not EARNED income and is taxed differently). Your not suggesting 'wealthy' people pay income tax even if they don't have any ordinary income, are you? That would be a wealth tax - the same wealth tax trumpeted by Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and others.

And, of course the wealthiest collect SS as long as they've got 40 quarters and have paid into it. Why wouldn't they? Warren Buffet has talked about his SS check numerous times. I hate to take up for the loony Libs on this board but, man, you have to at least have some of your facts straight before calling someone an idiot (even if they have proven beyond any doubt that they are, in fact, an idiot).

First, you MISQUOTED me. Then, you confused "earners" with "Americans." "Earners" means "WAGE EARNERS." I clearly took his statement, "wealthiest AMERICANS" to mean ANYONE, not just wage earners. The wealthiest AMERICANS don't earn wages. Does Elon Musk pay income tax? Warren Buffett? Donald Trump? There is no such thing as "tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans." You don't understand the difference. You're all over the place.

You really should learn to read more closely. You missed the details in your zeal to be right, and ended up wrong.

 

[hmt5000]

On other countries that we predominantly have trade deals with already that we're signed by Trump. Who enacted new tarrifs most recently, the US or canada/Mexico? I haven't looked that up yet but you seem to be asserting we have a bad deal going and I'm trying to figure out why we are being told it was because of fentanyl coming from Canada and illegal immigration fro. Mexico.

Is it both? I'm genuinely asking.

Both. Fentanyl and illegals are coming from Canada and Mexico. Canada actually had more people on the terror watchlist cross into the US illegally than Mexico did though. You notice that the tariffs on Mexico got paused after they agreed to help with those things. Trudeau is too dumb and too insecure to just admit his policies are tanking Canada. Their migration is killing their budget too. After huge tax increases, they are in an even worse spot. So instead of changing direction they just blame Trump and rely on nationalism which is a real hypocritical thing to do for those globalist.

Canada is getting way too friendly with China and allowing them too much free access to their country. A big part of why Trump went so hard after Trudeau is due to that. Trump has made it clear that he's going to protect this continent from Chinese meddling. The media isn't catching on or just won't report it but many of these things are done to kick China out of the Americas.

 

[Irish Beck]

Federal Tax revenue went up every year, so your "experts" musta been wrong.

U.S. Federal Government Tax Revenue

The federal government generates tax revenue through sources like income and corporate taxes. Learn how much tax revenue the U.S. generates each year.

www.thebalancemoney.com

Did you read your article "tax cuts imposed by Bush and Trump lowered tax revenues". Hmt had AI make him a graph showing tax receipts as revenue (completely excluding tax revenues compared to gdp) which is what trump tried to tell us would pay for the cut. He expected 18% and we got 16.5.

Sure 1.5% doesn't sound like much but it's expected to make the 2017 cuts 1/3 more expensive.

 

[AshWilliams]

You sussed it out properly. He's saying that the absolute wealthiest Americans don't pay W-2 earned income taxes because they don't have that type of income. Most are invested heavily in their companies, in real estate and in foreign tax shelters and don't pay income tax as a result.

I'm just not seeing how that is counterintuitive to what I said about the majority of the Trump tax cuts benefitting even those folks (as the corporate rate reduced by 14% and small businesses by 20% as well). Trump himself said that the ultra wealthy like himself and Hillary Clinton use loopholes in our tax system to avoid taxation, then proceeded to do nothing about it.

And now you're backpedaling. First you claimed he passed tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, now you're quibbling over tax cuts "benefitting those folks." And you refer to some sort of statement Trump made long before that as your "proof."

You might want to go back to the drawing board. Your original claim has no merit, and your subsequent attempts to shore it up have zero evidence.

 

[screwduke1]

( just had mental flash of me, cutting the cake evenly so nobody whines about it, and someone says, "The icing ISN'T FAIR!" and then me, flipping top pieces over, and tossing the f***ing thing on the table, and saying "There now it IS! Take your piece and get the F*** out of my house.")

Liberals: The icing is racist!

 

[BigBlueDave]

switched my registration to Independent in 2008

You couldn't stomach McCain or Mittens.


Which moderate Republican were you rooting for in 2008 or 2012?


I had to hold my nose, followed through and voted for those in-name-only while you resigned that they weren't left enough.





When the last tax cuts were implemented, did revenues increase or decrease? In what world was a Paul Ryan or Pelosi congress going to hold the reins on spending?

Also, Trump had three deficits measured in the billions. $580 Billion, $665 Billion, $983 Billion and $3.13 Trillion

Biden had $2.78 Trillion, $1.38 Trillion, $1.78 Trillion and $1.83 Trillion

In what world did Trump add more to the debt than any other president?

Biden's last year had a $1 Trillion more in revenue than Trumps last year and was still pushing a $2 Trillion deficit.

Kamala lost because people think inflation only happened in the US

Do you think US dollars are only used/spent/traded within the borders of the usa? If we were the only country dumping that much currency in that short of time, it would have resulted in world wide inflation.

But, we weren't the only ones. Every western country ruled by our modern socialist did the same thing. Do you remember when they all had the same ad propaganda campaign, "Build Back Better!!" ? Just set the whole world on fire.

It's the same bullshit you guys spouted with covid. "Do you think just the US has covid/ lockdowns/mandates/passports/misinformation police?" "Do you think the whole world is in on it?"

 

[Irish Beck]

Both. Fentanyl and illegals are coming from Canada and Mexico. Canada actually had more people on the terror watchlist cross into the US illegally than Mexico did though. You notice that the tariffs on Mexico got paused after they agreed to help with those things. Trudeau is too dumb and too insecure to just admit his policies are tanking Canada. Their migration is killing their budget too. After huge tax increases, they are in an even worse spot. So instead of changing direction they just blame Trump and rely on nationalism which is a real hypocritical thing to do for those globalist.

Canada is getting way too friendly with China and allowing them too much free access to their country. A big part of why Trump went so hard after Trudeau is due to that. Trump has made it clear that he's going to protect this continent from Chinese meddling. The media isn't catching on or just won't report it but many of these things are done to kick China out of the Americas.

So what new tariffs kicked off this trade war?

Do you think it's worth tanking our economy, even if only in the short term, to do long term damage to an ally for "being too friendly" with China? This is news to me by the way, I haven't heard Trump mention China as an issue for the tariffs.

 

[AshWilliams]

I need a list of all the tariffs Canada enacted that started the trade war. Mexico too. If our trade deal is bad, Trump signed those too.

Also, Trump said he would close the border on day 1, that was what I was referring to. It's almost as if this country depends on illegal immigration to function and no one is willing to admit it.

Go look it up yourself. We're not here to do your busywork.

The month before Trump took office there were 400,000 border crossings. Feb had 8,326.

 

[AshWilliams]

Troll alert!!

Isn't it amazing that these idiots show up and start spouting opinions and are wrong about ALL of them?

I'm tired of playing whack-a-mole.

The American people voted. I don't have to waste my time educating these morons. We already won. I got other shit to do.

 

[Lost In FL]

Did you read your article "tax cuts imposed by Bush and Trump lowered tax revenues". Hmt had AI make him a graph showing tax receipts as revenue (completely excluding tax revenues compared to gdp) which is what trump tried to tell us would pay for the cut. He expected 18% and we got 16.5.

Sure 1.5% doesn't sound like much but it's expected to make the 2017 cuts 1/3 more expensive.

here is the table from the same article.

FISCAL YEAR	REVENUE
FY 2023	$4.44 trillion
FY 2022	$4.90 trillion
FY 2021	$4.05 trillion
FY 2020	$3.42 trillion
FY 2019	$3.46 trillion
FY 2018	$3.33 trillion
FY 2017	$3.32 trillion
FY 2016	$3.27 trillion
FY 2015	$3.25 trillion

These numbers appear to get bigger. Idk what their statement meant,but maybe their point was total revenue and not tax revenue.

At any rate, is your position to raise taxes and stifle economic growth and innovation? If yes, do you write an extra check to the treasury each year to demonstrate your belief in your position?

 

[AshWilliams]

In the Talmud, they believe Jesus has been punished by God for his ‘offences’ by being boiled in excrement in Gehenna.

In 2023, don’t forget Israel’s people tried to pass a bill to imprison Christians for up to one year for proselytizing before it was halted by Netanyahu.

It’s a one-sided relationship.

Remember, Israel once worshiped a golden calf. Despite that, God's warning about blessing Israel stands. And God forgave them and continued to bless Israel when they repented. Prophecy states that God will save them in the last days. America should oppose any governmental mistakes by Israel, yes, and no we should not allow Israel to dictate our decisions, but we should stand by Israel as an ally, especially considering they are the only democratic government in the Middle East.

 

[hmt5000]

What that guy doesn't understand is that by waffling on Tarriffs, not the actual tarriffs themselves, Trump is putting the economy at risk of a recession. Not cutting federal employees (which a republican congresssman pointed out is less than 1 day of our federal spending a year), reducing spending that has already been approved or any other thing DOGE is alleging.

Those things don't affect economies at a macro level but obviously affect the people being fired and their families. While that' neither here nor there, markets react to volatility. Contracts are canceled, orders sourced from other economies, etc.

If the economy is propped up on fake money and wild spending, it's been that way since about 2007.

I actually agree with part of this. Which is why DOGE needs to keep cutting. We aren't going to get to a sustainable budget by being slow and cautious. Federal employees have to be cut so they can go work in the real economy. Make work jobs by the government don't help the economy as a whole... it only helps the people they employ. Jobs have to be productive.

But we aren't going to get there with people like you constantly telling people "stop, and there is no hope". LOL

I will say that you are obviously getting your news from an anti Trump/Elon place because "most" of the cuts aren't made up or wrong. The mistakes are fixed within a few days. St Dept cut 83% of usaid programs. DOD is going to be the biggest I will bet. SS and Medicare are still finding fraud. It's like the condoms to Gaza. Dems were pointing out Elon was wrong about that because it wasn't $50M to Gaza in Palestine... it was $50M to Gaza in Africa... They all thought that showed Elon was dumb and DOGE wasn't working... Why are we sending $50M for condoms to anywhere?

I honestly don't understand the pushback on finding fraud and waste. It's like garlic to a vampire. The dems started saying it then the media repeated it and now this thread has people saying we aren't finding any waste, fraud or abuse... "it's all just made up." LOL.

 

[screwduke1]

Did they start production on that plant in January or am I missing something?

Mostly brain cells.

 

[AshWilliams]

I actually agree with part of this. Which is why DOGE needs to keep cutting. We aren't going to get to a sustainable budget by being slow and cautious. Federal employees have to be cut so they can go work in the real economy. Make work jobs by the government don't help the economy as a whole... it only helps the people they employ. Jobs have to be productive.

But we aren't going to get there with people like you constantly telling people "stop, and there is no hope". LOL

I will say that you are obviously getting your news from an anti Trump/Elon place because "most" of the cuts aren't made up or wrong. The mistakes are fixed within a few days. St Dept cut 83% of usaid programs. DOD is going to be the biggest I will bet. SS and Medicare are still finding fraud. It's like the condoms to Gaza. Dems were pointing out Elon was wrong about that because it wasn't $50M to Gaza in Palestine... it was $50M to Gaza in Africa... They all thought that showed Elon was dumb and DOGE wasn't working... Why are we sending $50M for condoms to anywhere?

I honestly don't understand the pushback on finding fraud and waste. It's like garlic to a vampire. The dems started saying it then the media repeated it and now this thread has people saying we aren't finding any waste, fraud or abuse... "it's all just made up." LOL.

Don't fall for this guy's schtick. He's been a leftist from day one. He's playing like he's "thoughtful and curious" but he's not. He's a hardcore.

 

[hmt5000]

Trump has been talking about how much he liked stock market crashes since AJ Benz’s slapped stuttering John in the 90s. Bababooey.

If you are so pro worker then you should be glad he's deporting illegals. Most of the jobs under Biden in the private sector went to immigrants. Since Trump has been in office that trend has already shifted. You should be able to cheer that even if you hate Trump.

 

[AshWilliams]

 

[AshWilliams]

If you are so pro worker then you should be glad he's deporting illegals. Most of the jobs under Biden in the private sector went to immigrants. Since Trump has been in office that trend has already shifted. You should be able to cheer that even if you hate Trump.

Trustincal is another TROLL.

Plus, his screen name tells you how stupid he is.

 

[AshWilliams]

Have to agree with Massie here.

 

[screwduke1]

'Leave now': Trump admin repurposes controversial CBP One app to encourage self-deportations

The Department of Homeland Security is announcing a new app to replace the controversial CBP One app, allowing illegal immigrants to facilitate their self deportation.

www.foxnews.com

 

[TrustinCal]

If you are so pro worker then you should be glad he's deporting illegals. Most of the jobs under Biden in the private sector went to immigrants. Since Trump has been in office that trend has already shifted. You should be able to cheer that even if you hate Trump.

But you’re ok with more h1bs like Trump and regarded Elon wants? You think Americans are stupid?

 

[Irish Beck]

Mostly brain cells.

So a company opening a manufacturing plant that broke ground in 2023 is the tariffs winning?

I'm not even against tariffs, I'm just trying to understand how that works.

The interview itself even indicates that he was toeong a line by basically saying they are happy to already be here to avoid the tariffs.

This is a win for the US but I struggle to see how tariffs caused this specific instance. They already had other plans for plants in Texas and Cali and the 10 bill investment is buying Altair.

 

[AshWilliams]

 

[Irish Beck]

Go look it up yourself. We're not here to do your busywork.

The month before Trump took office there were 400,000 border crossings. Feb had 8,326.

Did I assert the tariff war was started by other countries? I did not. I asked because I doubt there are new tariffs from those countries.

Also, I'm kidding about closing the border. Trump had 4 years to do that and didn't. We have to exploit cheap semi skilled labor.

 

[AshWilliams]

This is what the GOP does. They squander voter mandates.

And this time it appears Trump is helping them.

 

[hmt5000]

So what new tariffs kicked off this trade war?

Do you think it's worth tanking our economy, even if only in the short term, to do long term damage to an ally for "being too friendly" with China? This is news to me by the way, I haven't heard Trump mention China as an issue for the tariffs.

If you followed better media sources you'd know about the China aspect. The Panama Canal deal was all about China creeping into the area. The human trafficking through Central America was being aided by Chinese. The precursors for fentanyl are being shipped knowingly by China.

It wasn't one specific tariff. Trump stated he was going to do reciprocal tariffs and wanted the border closed.... Trudeau wanted to escalate instead of working with him and Mexico decided to work with us. And are you truly an "ally" if you are fonder of our greatest geopolitical foe?



It's one thing to say stuff like this as a joke. It's another when he actually governs and does foreign policy like he truly means it.



In contrast to how Justin wants to fight Trump this is how he acts when China calls him on his shit. Justin scurries away and then shuts up about China and gives them what they wanted. The reason China raised tariffs on Canada was to put pressure on them to keep fighting us and not capitulate. If Canada is doing what China wants in a US/Canada trade dispute... and Canada seems to want to pick Chinas side... Maybe the liberal party isn't our ally and pro-democracy and pro freedom.

 

[billCgmx]

Isn't it amazing that these idiots show up and start spouting opinions and are wrong about ALL of them?

I'm tired of playing whack-a-mole.

The American people voted. I don't have to waste my time educating these morons. We already won. I got other shit to do.

Just put them on ignore and go about your day. Being ignored hurts their feelings more than anything else.

 

[hmt5000]

Did I assert the tariff war was started by other countries? I did not. I asked because I doubt there are new tariffs from those countries.

Also, I'm kidding about closing the border. Trump had 4 years to do that and didn't. We have to exploit cheap semi skilled labor.

Do we have to or are we choosing to? Illegals will do work cheaper than Americans. It's not true to say "they do jobs Americans won't do". They are just willing to do them way cheaper. One of the reasons illegal immigration hurts our nation is it lowers wages.

The border got better under Trump the first time though. If you are still wanting to argue that then you aren't being serious about honesty.

And hell, the Biden era projections are likely wayyyy low.

 

[screwduke1]

 

[AshWilliams]

Watch this from beginning to end.

This is why the GOP is a FAILURE.

This will PISS YOU OFF.

 

[AshWilliams]

Several restaurants have switched to beef tallow fries. Hannity interviews Bobby at Steak & Shake.

 

[AshWilliams]

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

Sometimes billionaires are good, or something, says democrats

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

@Irish Beck "trump won bc ppl were confused about inflation"

Reality:


She reminds us still, if she isn't given a script, she has no idea what's going on

 

[Fact_Checker]

Savvy investors will be looking to capture value from the recent dip in stock prices.... after all the suckers have sold their shares.

Savvy investors traded their stock funds for bond funds a couple months ago and they will stay there for a while.

 

[AshWilliams]

@Irish Beck "trump won bc ppl were confused about inflation"

Reality:

View embedded media

She reminds us still, if she isn't given a script, she has no idea what's going on

This is EXACTLY like Billy Madison’s answer to the final question of the academic decathlon.

 

[AshWilliams]

Savvy investors traded their stock funds for bond funds a couple months ago and they will stay there for a while.

Tell us, you know nothing about the stock market without telling us you know nothing about the stock market

 

[Bill Cosby]

You sussed it out properly. He's saying that the absolute wealthiest Americans don't pay W-2 earned income taxes because they don't have that type of income. Most are invested heavily in their companies, in real estate and in foreign tax shelters and don't pay income tax as a result.

I'm just not seeing how that is counterintuitive to what I said about the majority of the Trump tax cuts benefitting even those folks (as the corporate rate reduced by 14% and small businesses by 20% as well). Trump himself said that the ultra wealthy like himself and Hillary Clinton use loopholes in our tax system to avoid taxation, then proceeded to do nothing about it.

Would love to hear more about these foreign tax shelters.

 

[BBUK]

On a 22 inch Weber Kettle grate, how would one arrange the 1/4 pound hamburger patties, assuming each pattie is 4 inches in diameter, so as to maximize the number of burgers you can cook at one time?

Yuse a fool..... 😁


In my best Mr. T voice...

 

[AustinTXCat]

** Wise Words Department**

"I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains."

-Anne Frank

 

[SDC8888]

See, this is the issue. I state that I'm independent and everyone flies off the rails about what that means. I was registered Republican in 2004 (voted Bush) and switched my registration to Independent in 2008. I've voted for democrats, republicans and even Gary Johnson's goofy ass in protest. I don't align with either platform which leaves me with little political recourse.

I'm not religious so I don't align with the "values" of modern Republicans. I'm for any consenting adults to do what they want but can't tolerate forcing speech so the Democrats (from that angle) don't hold my particular interests either.

So my options are tax and spend, or cut taxes and spend, and that's kind of shitty.

I had already surmised essentially all of that too. But that doesn't make you truly independent, and if you find yourself never being able to have a substantive conversation with people whom you disagree, then that's a you problem, not a them problem.

And those were not your choices. If Trump and this congress manage to balance the budget in the next two or three years or sooner, as is the promised goal, then it was not your choice which was shitty, but your perception of it.