US US Politics General - Discussion of President Biden and other politicians

 

[mlanguishi]

I personally am I fan of the idea of having a single set low income tax of say, 5-10% alongside higher tariffs. And have that 5-10 locked in place as the default. Any increase to it must be temporary, with a clearly defined reason and goal, and lasting no more than 2 years. Why 2 years? Because -representative- seats last that long. Meaning any renewal of the increase will have to be defended every election cycle. And by requiring a specific stated reason the people, who generally aren't very interested, have something to rally behind every time.

Nobody liked him, and he died when it would've been his mid term, but I actually liked Herman Cain's 9/9/9 plan. Maybe not exactly that, 9% income, 9% corporate, 9% national sales tax. But something close to that, more of a flat tax. That NEVER would've gotten through congress as it was though.

And speaking of 2 years, have term limits for congress and that would help a lot but that's a whole different animal too.

 

[draggs]

Trump's view of foreign foes, that you crush the weak ones and treat the strong ones seriously without taking any shit from them, is so much more mature than the last generation of foreign policy. Where we act like anyone who annoys us is a supervillain who we should freak out over but don't worry the world is capeshit they'll lose in the end because we're so good. That's how you get open-ended shitshows like Libya and Syria and ISIS and Ukraine. But remember Trump is a madman loose cannon!

 

[Counterfeit Obol]

But remember Trump is a madman loose cannon!

Compared to Biden and his lack of overall cognitive function... they aren't wrong.

 

[Terrifik]

it can always get worse

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sandy-hook-families-want-seize-alex-jones-social-media-accounts-2024-06-13/

NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - Families of the Sandy Hook massacre victims want to seize Alex Jones' social media accounts in his bankruptcy, saying that the conspiracy theorist's frequent posts to fans are a key part of the Infowars business being liquidated to pay Jones' debts.
Jones, who filed for bankruptcy protection 17 months ago, has given up on trying to reach a settlement that would reduce the $1.5 billion that he owes to the relatives of 20 students and six staff members killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Jones and the Sandy Hook families now agree that Jones' assets should be liquidated in bankruptcy. But the families on Wednesday asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Houston, Texas, to additionally take control of Jones' X.com account and prevent Jones from using it to promote new business ventures.
The Sandy Hook families asked the judge to make clear that the Jones' "@RealAlexJones" account on X.com, formerly known as Twitter, will be among the assets turned over to a court-appointed trustee in charge of liquidating Jones' assets. Jones' X account, which has 2.3 million followers, is "no different than a customer list of any other liquidating business," the Sandy Hook families argued.
They argued that Jones has used the social media account to push down the value of Infowars by diverting sales from that site to his father's DrJonesNaturals.com, which sells health supplements and other products.
Jones' attorney, Vickie Driver, said on Thursday that the Sandy Hook families' request was procedurally improper and that Jones would oppose it at the appropriate time.
"The Connecticut Plaintiffs have never wanted money from Jones but to silence him," Driver said.
Jones was banned from the platform for nearly five years, but his account was reinstated in December after a user poll conducted by X.com owner Elon Musk.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge is scheduled to hear the families' demand at a Friday court hearing in Houston. The judge is expected to convert Alex Jones' bankruptcy case from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which offers more control to a bankrupt debtor, to a Chapter 7 liquidation, which would allow a court-appointed trustee to take and sell Jones' assets.
Jones claimed for years that the Sandy Hook killings were staged with actors as part of a government plot to seize Americans' guns. Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting occurred.
The judge overseeing Jones' bankruptcy has ruled that most of the debt will survive after a liquidation, because it resulted from "willful and malicious" conduct.
Jones has estimated that he has less than $12 million in assets, meaning that he will carry an enormous legal debt even after Infowars and his other assets are sold.
The Sandy Hook families intend to continue collection actions against Jones' future income, and pursue additional payments from Jones' wife, father, employees and other associates to whom Jones' allegedly diverted assets.
A Chapter 7 liquidation will enable the Sandy Hook families to enforce their judgments "now and into the future while also depriving Jones of the ability to inflict mass harm as he has done for some 25 years," said Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families.
Jones has said on a June 7 broadcast of The Alex Jones show that Infowars is "overrun" and "will be completely worthless" without him. He encouraged listeners to buy products from DrJonesNaturals to support his "future" and make sure he can continue to broadcast after the shutdown of Infowars.
"I've already sold everything but my house," Jones said on June 7. "I'm down to my last moves on this."

 

[HTTP Error 404]

it can always get worse
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sa...-alex-jones-social-media-accounts-2024-06-13/

Yup. Cause they're political activists, and this has nothing to do with a journalist getting it wrong, and everything to do with them destroying one of the "bad people, not of tribe."

I didn't originally think Sandy Hook was a false flag or anything was untoward about the situation. Now I am 100% sure something about it was bullshit. Either it was a complete glow op, or something went horrifically wrong and they're trying to make the best out of a huge fuckup, or they're just the most disgusting people imaginable seeking to make political profit off their tragedy. Something smells about this entire situation, and the more they seek to utterly destroy Jones through the most bullshit lawfare the more it stinks.

 

[Dr J]

You perjured yourself under oath! You embezzled money! You got caught and the cuck judge favorable to you managed to get you a fucking pass

She's just pissing, pissing all over us

 

[teriyakiburns]

I personally am I fan of the idea of having a single set low income tax of say, 5-10% alongside higher tariffs. And have that 5-10 locked in place as the default. Any increase to it must be temporary, with a clearly defined reason and goal, and lasting no more than 2 years. Why 2 years? Because -representative- seats last that long. Meaning any renewal of the increase will have to be defended every election cycle. And by requiring a specific stated reason the people, who generally aren't very interested, have something to rally behind every time.

I'm fundamentally opposed to income taxes because the wealthy can easily cheat their way around them, by simply not declaring an income and living through other means (often through loans taken against assets), while everyone else ends up paying through the nose. Income taxes have become a punishment for the lower classes and the politically unconnected.

My preference is to aggressively tax high value or luxury sales. I've not fully worked out the details in my head; I can see potential loopholes that use leasing instead of outright purchase to avoid tax in some way, and there could be circumstances where something might look like a "luxury" but is actually a necessary asset. Nevertheless, sales taxes are the fairest and least regressive tax overall. They scale with how much you spend and it's a lot harder to hide that spending behind accountancy tricks, unlike income.

 

[Fatsuit Shinji]

.

My preference is to aggressively tax high value or luxury sales. I've not fully worked out the details in my head; I can see potential loopholes that use leasing instead of outright purchase to avoid tax in some way, and there could be circumstances where something might look like a "luxury" but is actually a necessary asset. Nevertheless, sales taxes are the fairest and least regressive tax overall. They scale with how much you spend and it's a lot harder to hide that spending behind accountancy tricks, unlike income.

We had already tried this and it fucking destroyed those high value industries. Private yauht shipbuilders for one as they couldn't compete against their non taxed foreign competitors. As they not their rich customers were the ones punished with the taxes. Plus your method is tailor made to be used against 1st and 2nd Amendment as guns, internet and such can easily be class as "luxury" goods and slapped with those taxes to fuck with those Constitutionist wrong thinkers.

 

[MirrorNoir]

Nobody liked him, and he died when it would've been his mid term, but I actually liked Herman Cain's 9/9/9 plan. Maybe not exactly that, 9% income, 9% corporate, 9% national sales tax. But something close to that, more of a flat tax. That NEVER would've gotten through congress as it was though.

And speaking of 2 years, have term limits for congress and that would help a lot but that's a whole different animal too.

The chief issue with flat taxes is that it ignores that all income isn't equal and that poor people will end up paying less than rich people because said percentage is a drop in the bucket for rich people while a decent chunk of the income of poor/middle class people who might pay less under a non-flat tax.

 

[Sargon's wife's son]

We should just go back to when we had a 3% to 5% tax rate that should be the flat tax and if people are gonna ask how are we gonna pay for all these massive government programs we're not

 

[Bland Crumbs]

We had already tried this and it fucking destroyed those high value industries. Private yauht shipbuilders for one as they couldn't compete against their non taxed foreign competitors. As they not their rich customers were the ones punished with the taxes. Plus your method is tailor made to be used against 1st and 2nd Amendment as guns, internet and such can easily be class as "luxury" goods and slapped with those taxes to fuck with those Constitutionist wrong thinkers.

The problem is not revenue it is spending. The dems entire party model relies on buying votes and the price goes up every election.

 

[Gehenna]

I'm fundamentally opposed to income taxes because the wealthy can easily cheat their way around them, by simply not declaring an income and living through other means (often through loans taken against assets), while everyone else ends up paying through the nose. Income taxes have become a punishment for the lower classes and the politically unconnected.

My preference is to aggressively tax high value or luxury sales. I've not fully worked out the details in my head; I can see potential loopholes that use leasing instead of outright purchase to avoid tax in some way, and there could be circumstances where something might look like a "luxury" but is actually a necessary asset. Nevertheless, sales taxes are the fairest and least regressive tax overall. They scale with how much you spend and it's a lot harder to hide that spending behind accountancy tricks, unlike income.

Anyone with sufficient money will find ways to keep that money. And they will always have the option of fucking off somewhere else to keep it. It is not a great idea to plan around taxing the super wealthy. The trick for them is to tax them at a rate lower than it costs them to move the money around to save it.

 

[jspit2.0]

Anyone with sufficient money will find ways to keep that money. And they will always have the option of fucking off somewhere else to keep it. It is not a great idea to plan around taxing the super wealthy. The trick for them is to tax them at a rate lower than it costs them to move the money around to save it.

They can fuck off, but in a non-broken system they'd want the US citizenship at all costs. The super wealthy Chinese and Koreans FLY here to have their children so they can be citizens. American Citizenship is huge. Healthcare, education, affluence, markets, and services. The trick is to properly, like China does, make it so you're paying for market access and rights. US is arguably one of five or six countries you NEED access to. You can make it so no property/oil drilling/trading outfit can be majority owned by non-citizens. From there you control your resources, infrastructure, and you prevent non-citizens from getting visas for non-essential work.

Look at Disney, Amazon, Hollywood, and Wall Street. China and the Saudis buck broke those super wealthy and they did it by recognizing that they are pathetically easy to manipulate when you have what they need.

 

[The Ugly One]

Income taxes have become a punishment for the lower classes and the politically unconnected.

If you're married, no dependents, make $60,000 a year household income, and take the standard deduction, your total federal income tax burden is $3,256, for an effective tax rate of 5.4%.

by simply not declaring an income and living through other means (often through loans taken against assets),

If you simply don't declare your income, that tax fraud, and no, you don't get off with a slap on the wrist. Rich people spend money on accountants to make sure they pay exactly what they owe.

 

[BobbyBriggs69420]

it can always get worse

You all seen this Alejandro Jimenez guy? What does he mean by maricon frogs?

 

[JustSomeDong]

Kind of a sidetrack, but I find it kind of interesting that so many of the wealthy politicians who keep calling for wealth taxes were in the (memoryholed) Pandora Papers. I'm sure nobody, certainly not a politician, is being disingenuous, though.

 

[George Lucas]

If you're married, no dependents, make $60,000 a year household income, and take the standard deduction, your total federal income tax burden is $3,256, for an effective tax rate of 5.4%.



If you simply don't declare your income, that tax fraud, and no, you don't get off with a slap on the wrist. Rich people spend money on accountants to make sure they pay exactly what they owe.

A family of two is going to have a hard time living off $60,000 these days, not to mention state and property taxes.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

Kind of a sidetrack, but I find it kind of interesting that so many of the wealthy politicians who keep calling for wealth taxes were in the (memoryholed) Pandora Papers. I'm sure nobody, certainly not a politician, is being disingenuous, though.

It's super simple. It's a tax on the wealthy not in their Cool Kids Club and the middle class, not the actual wealthy.

It's the same reason why the IRS got a shitload of new people, and they started auditing poors and low middle class people. The rich can afford accountants and hebrew numerology magic to hide their money in offshore tax heavens and Equity firms and such. The lower classes can't.

Slowly, you destroy the middle class and the turn the world back into nobles and feudal peasants.

 

[Puff]

The chief issue with flat taxes is that it ignores that all income isn't equal and that poor people will end up paying less than rich people because said percentage is a drop in the bucket for rich people while a decent chunk of the income of poor/middle class people who might pay less under a non-flat tax.

Flat tax that phases in slowly at a minimum income is the game. And end the fucking deductions but with a lower base rate.

 

[teriyakiburns]

Anyone with sufficient money will find ways to keep that money. And they will always have the option of fucking off somewhere else to keep it. It is not a great idea to plan around taxing the super wealthy. The trick for them is to tax them at a rate lower than it costs them to move the money around to save it.

It's less about planning around taxing the super wealthy and more about realising that income taxes are much, much easier to fiddle and much harder to collect and audit than sales taxes. But like I said, I haven't put too much thought into it, beyond "it would be nice", and already figured out a couple of potential loopholes, so whatever.

If you simply don't declare your income, that tax fraud

I meant not declaring an income because you don't take an income. I realise I could have been a lot clearer about it.