I did a google search for “tax plan” to see what was going on with it in Congress. Here are some of the headlines that came up:
Forbes:Â How GOP Tax Plan Would Ruin Retirees, Underinsured
Mother Jones:Â The Republican Tax Plan Is an Assault on Renewable Energy
Business Insider/Motley Fool:Â The Republican tax plan could cut major tax breaks for education
Axios:Â Senate GOP tax plan causing heartburn for startups
New York Daily News:Â GOP tax plan ignites fear among N.Y. Republicans trying to keep control of Senate
Los Angeles Times:Â GOP tax plan may not curb incentives for firms to shift profits and jobs overseas
Buffalo News:Â Tax plan is a payoff to big contributors
WBIR-TV, Knoxville:Â GOP tax plan won’t ‘unleash’ economic growth. It’ll make things worse.
And that’s not counting the headlines quoting Democrats criticizing it. The only headline that says anything good about it is one in which Ivanka Trump gushes about it being “critical” for the middle class. But apparently the event in New Jersey in which she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared to talk up the bill didn’t go over very well.
"But apparently the event in New Jersey in which she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared to talk up the bill didn’t go over very well."
Too bad no one there had any tar and feathers.
Ivanka would look good with her head shaved to get the feathers off her head – while the feathers remained attached for months to her gym-and-spa toned body.
She would be a Bald Eagle in human form.
_______________________________________________
Pitching this as a tax cut to help the middle class, is like proposing cutting out the heart to help a person lose weight.
At this point, our narcissistic and stupid boob of a presidNUT, and the sycophantic slaves to the rich and corporations – the RepubliKKKlans in KKKongress – just want to do something, ANY THING, so that they can't be accused of doing nothing.
Nothing, you sociopathic "MORANS!!!", is preferable to doing permanent harm to his country and its people – which you falsely claim to love – you lying MFing SOB's.
Maybe you think Jesus will forgive you.
The non-Authoritarian sycophants in this once great nation – the one before you out-of-control moronic conservatives and stupid faux "Christians" got power – will NEVER forgive you.
We will find time out of our busy schedules in the future, to make a point out of defecating on each and every one of your graves!
Jeez, c u n d, tell us how you really feel.
c u n d needs to learn to quit blocking, keeping so much bottled up inside is not good for a person.
I may be outta line, but I'm no longer amused by commenters here who seem to just be venting. IMO, content-free comments drag down the thread. (note – I don't mean to pick on cund; this is something I've been wanting to express for a while now)
I discovered Mahablog about a year ago (thanks to Mike the Mad Biologist), and now it's one the few things I read every day (thanks!). I'm always impressed by both the quality of the writing and the relevance of her choice of subjects. I would love to see Mahablog gain wide readership, inform more people, and have a larger impact on society.
But the quality of Comments is often important to the success of an independent Blog (that's less relevant to big dogs like Paul Krugman at the NY Times). Most Commenters here do add value by posting related information, personal perspective, or challenging questions, but some treat this as public therapy, working through ("un-bottling"?) their anger at the decline of the US polity, without really adding anything useful to the discussion.
Yes, lots of us are freaked out by the election of Donald Trump. But rehashing insults – even if well-deserved or clever – doesn't really contribute to the Blog. Please, let's keep this meaningful?
Maha – I clicked through to your Comment Policy before writing this, but there's no there there. Please clarify. And if you would prefer to deal with this all privately (email?), that's cool. Or feel free to edit this yourself as needed.
Also, since I don't know you in Real Life, I refer to you here as "Maha"; would you prefer me to address you by your Real Name?
elkern — Venting is allowed. The only reason I keep this blog going is to provide a place for online group therapy.
Let's just make believe for a bit that Krugman is correct in his critique of the tax plan as proposed. He sees it, as I interpret his article today in the NYT, as blatant class warfare. The rules are to be changed to assure that the very wealthy maintain and increase their level of control and power and are able to pass this on from generation to generation. The little people will have to be content to do the work and be properly subservient. Any path for their children to better themselves will be severely impeded, and their skills and talents exploited. They must satisfy themselves with the scraps of power which the chosen children do not really care about. Unfortunately this plan has an obvious flaw.
The flaw lies in their children themselves. The children of the very rich are coddled, protected, and insulated from reality. In the process they lack the essential knowledge on how things work and who makes them work. They live in an almost sterile environment, but yet they have no skills or knowledge of how to clean almost anything. They jaunt from place to place, but have to hire someone to take care of almost every detail of providing them with transportation. They eat well, but make laws to make sure they are not ever exposed to information on how their foodstuffs are processed or grown. They live in lavish shelters, but have no concept of the skills needed to build or maintain them. They do this because of an economy which pumps money to them which they also do not understand.
This is why they cannot design a tax plan. In order to design a tax plan, you need to understand, appreciate, and provide for an economy which keeps these things going. You cannot do that if you have no idea of how they really work. You cannot do that if you have no idea and appreciation of the skills required. You cannot even hire people correctly You get scammed. And the biggest problem, the one that will make whatever they come up with a total failure, is their fatal attraction to economic theories such as those of Arthur Laffer. They think they know how business and the economy works, but sucker into weak and inaccurate ideas over and over again. They do so because they are so socially isolated. They go to different schools, they live in different neighborhoods, they shop at different stores, they vacation at different spots. They live in protected ignorance. Their distant relative, long gone, who knew how things really worked is of no help now. This is their true death tax which they cannot avoid or legislate away.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/opinion/republican-taxes-next-generation.html?emc=eta1
((((((((((((((((((( GROUP HUG ))))))))))))))
I'm up for some digital thorazine..
Maybe we should take up a collection to buy Gulag a straight jacket?
OK, thanks.
c u n d gulag, please accept my apology.
elkern,
(Wo)Man does not live on serious comments alone.
Many times, one wants to make serious points about a subject or a person.
But other times, one wants to write something a bit tongue-in-cheek.
And sometimes, one just feels the need to vent. Without venting, a tea-kettle or pressure-cooker will explode. Some people are like that, too. ME, for instance! 🙂
elkern,
No apology needed.
To summarize what I wrote about earlier:
Sometimes you feel like a nut! Sometimes you don't!
Swami,
I take a 2XL.
At least that's the size of the straight-jacket I wore throughout the 8 Dumbaya and Dick of Death years.
But I'm older, and gravity a gravy have had their effect, so maybe make that a 3XL.
Wo)Man does not live on serious comments alone.
But by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of Gulag?