Trump Timeline ... Trumpocalypse

[Michael Scally MD]

I just threw up in my mouth after that one.

Until Trump, I believed that official public spectacles of personal loyalty and nationalism that reminded me of the Stalinism were limited to dictatorships.

Not the prayer aspect, of course, but as we see now with Putin and have seen so many times throughout history, religion in the service of power is always about power, not religion.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Thread ...

 

[Michael Scally MD]

LAUGHING WITH MISERS
https://claytoonz.com/2017/12/20/laughing-with-misers/

Donald Trump and the Republicans finally have a legislative victory. It’s one that may feel less victorious come November 2018, which isn’t that far away.

Republicans gave corporations, billionaires, and their heirs a huge tax break. Eighty-three percent of this tax bill goes toward the top one percent. People who did not need a tax cut got a huge tax cut. Regular people got one too and it’ll average eighty bucks a month for them. Of course, this expires for the middle class in ten years but remains permanent for corporations.

When President Obama came into office, he gave middle-class Americans a larger tax break than the one Trump just gave them. Only three Republicans voted for that which was part of the financial bailout which saved, not just this nation, but probably the entire planet from a financial meltdown. How did voters respond to an increase in their bank accounts? They took control of Congress away from the Democratic Party and gave it to the Republicans.

Each and every one of those Republicans along with your nutjob right-wing friends on Facebook are touting this tax cut for the middle class while they attacked Obama for it years ago. Go figure. I believe every single Republican who voted for this thing and attended that self-congratulatory celebration today be required to have Donald Trump campaign for them during next year’s midterm elections. They own this.

They should own this because they rammed it through Congress, and they want it to take effect basically next week. Obamacare had over 75 hearings and parts of the legislation took years to be implemented. This tax scam didn’t have any hearings or testimony from experts.

Republicans rammed this bill through while ignoring CHIP, a health insurance program that’s about to run out of money and leave over two million children without coverage. This bill strips away the individual mandate in Obamacare which will also leave millions without coverage and increase costs for others that will probably be more than $80 a month. It also raises taxes on Puerto Rico companies (as though they were foreign, not American) which will drive them back to the mainland thus causing thousands on the island to lose jobs. And, let’s not forget about the deficit.

This bill will also cost you more money if you live in more liberal states like New York and California as it decreases how much you can deduct from local taxes.

This tax cut is expected to increase the deficit by over one trillion dollars. Some believe it’ll be four trillion. Republicans didn’t care about deficits during the Bush administration, and only complained about them when they blamed Obama for Bush’s deficit.

Republicans believe this will create jobs, though tax cuts for the rich and corporations have never created jobs. Companies don’t hire more people because they have more money. They hire people when demand increases. What they will do with this is buy back stock in their own companies, thus increasing the value and making their shareholders even richer. It’s not going to help anyone on assembly lines. A few companies claim they’re going to give their workers a bonus because of this tax bill. Watch what they do in the near future. They’ll be buying their own stock.

The three richest senators are Democrats, and they each voted against this. On the other side, a lot of the Republicans are millionaires. The Democrats, like Mark Warner who is the richest Senator, voted against giving himself a tax cut. Republicans voted to increase their own pocketbook. Trump claims this actually hurts him, but he’s lying unless he’s not really a rich guy.

And, if you’re not angry enough that Donald Trump, his kids, and many of the Republicans who voted for this gets a huge tax cut, then think about private jets. Private jet owners also get a tax cut.

 

[OldmanRob]

I am a business owner and will benefit greatly from this.

I have already informed my entire crew that the rate of pay goes up in January for everyone.

That is what many will do with the new tax rates.

MAGA

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Previously I argued that the Republican attempt to pass a tax cut in the form of a health care bill was evidence of constitutional rot-- the descent of the United States into a system that is less democratic (responsive to popular will), less republican (i.e., one in which representatives act to further the public good) and increasingly oligarchical. that The new tax bill is further evidence.

The basic problem is that the contemporary Republican Party is largely controlled by its wealthiest donors. To stay in power, Congressional Republicans must please these donors, regardless of any promises made to actual constituents. Some of the ways that you please donors involve ideological symbolism and low-profile deregulation, but others are essentially cash transfers.

Using the apparatus of government to pay off the people who keep you in power is pretty much the whole point of oligarchy. This explains why Republicans must say one thing to their constituents but actually do something very different in their legislation, and why they must disregard the judgment of economists and budget analysts about what the tax bill actually does and will do. The public justification of the bill has--and indeed, must have--relatively little connection to the point of the bill, which is to please the relatively small class of powerful and wealthy people who keep the Republican Party in power. These people support Republicans because they want something in return; what they want in return is cash on the barrel head. The public would not support a bill designed on these terms; hence Republicans had to rush the bill through with no hearings, and dissemble publicly about the nature and effects of their legislation.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

The Republican circle jerk at the White House was disgusting. Falling all over each other to pin medals on themselves and get down to kiss Trump's fat derriere. "We kept our promise." Here's what they really did...

From a New York Times poster:

"I already spent my $10 to $20 a week before it even showed up.

--I spent in on increased healthcare costs.
--I spent it on reduced home values.
--I spent it on reduced state services.
--I spent in on sick kids who lost their CHIP funding.
--I spent it on reduced public school funding due to the 529 expansion.
--I spent it on damage to my car from potholes from reduced state revenues.
--I spent it on increased crime resulting from all of the above.
--I spent it on reduced Medicare services when I turn 65.
--I spent it on increased interest costs to finance the additional debt - which my children will have to repay - plus interest.
--I spent it on transferring my wealth to the 1%.

Taking all these things into account, this bill has already ended up costing me and my children a fortune."

Thanks, Republicans.

 

[RobertL]

Trumps tax plan passes.

• 200,000k ATT employees getting $1,000 bonus
• Boeing employee related charities getting $300 million investment
  
• Wells fargo
• Comcast NBC Universal
• Fed Ex
• Fifth third
• Washington Federal
• etc

$1.5 billion being put into the economy from these companies alone 6 hours after plan passes.

WTF I hate money now. This is bad.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[RobertL]

Yes. Because multiple companies announcing they're raising their wages to $15 an hour after the tax plan was passed and stated that it's because of the tax plan they're able to do it is exactly like north korea.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Senorman]

Yes. Because multiple companies announcing they're raising their wages to $15 an hour after the tax plan was passed and stated that it's because of the tax plan.

Yes, Fifth Third Bancorp (FTB) raised minimum wage to $15/hr, which is still jack fucking shit. Biz Journals posted an article on the subject and indicated that in 2018 the raises and bonus will cost (FTB) 23.6M the first year (with one time bonuses) and $10M going forward. FTB's 2016 profit was 2.07BILLION pretax. Tax rates on corps are dropping from 35% to 21%. The annual tax savings will be in the ballpark of 280M (2B X 14%). Thus, the tax savings allocated to employees in first year with bonus will be 11.8% and future years will be 3.5%. So yes, companies are throwing a few breadcrumbs to employees, but the vast majority (88%-96%) of tax savings are going to shareholders. Just call the bill what it is, a give away to the wealthy!!!! WHAT A FUCKING SCAM TO ALL OF THE POOR DIPSHITS THAT VOTED FOR TRUMP.

 

[Senorman]

I have already informed my entire crew that the rate of pay goes up in January for everyone.

That is what many will do with the new tax rates.

MAGA

Good on you man, seriously!

You are in the minority though I'm afraid.