On Trump

[haraldo]

If I am not incorrect ..... I heard that Jeff Bezos pay $ zero in tax .... if that is correct?

 

[haraldo]

Immigrants, both legally and illegally within the US.

• Average younger than non-immigrants; which is important in an aging population with expensive elderly support.
• Commit fewer crimes than non-immigrants.
• Have a high employment rate in critical jobs that are exceptionally hard to fill without them.

US taxes are low.
"Flat tax" isn't really viable and is functionally regressive.

The GOP says they want to go back to "the way things were". Well, I agree with them regarding some aspects. Let's move back to a 40s-era tax structure... the one that the US was running when it created the worlds largest economy *and* largest middle class.

Look to what happened in UK after Brexit ..... suddenly there were a lot of immigrants that immediately had their work permits withdrawn, the result was that England had something like 10% of the truck drivers the country needed. Fuel prices skyrocketed, there were hardly anyone to drive the roadtrains carrying fuel, there were mile-long queues to petrol stations, and maybe if you were lucky you would be able to fill just a few gallons..... or maybe not

With Trump in action, maybe US would be able to get there too....

 

[haraldo]

LMAO: Like the GOP doesn't bear the vast bulk of the responsability.


The Reagan administration pushed for, and got, tax cuts for US companies who moved their manufacturing out of the US. So a bunch did.

Trump opposes free-trade agreements. If you ask Ford why they build in Mexico, it's not labor costs and it's not taxes... is that Mexico has more free trade agreements than the US.

Tesla paid $0 in federal taxes in 2022. How many of your dollars would you like to give them so that they don't leave? https://itep.org/55-profitable-corporations-zero-corporate-tax/

Meanwhile, marginal taxes were >70% in the first half of the 20th, and with that the US became the global leader.

Are you advocating that we race to the bottom? End all taxes (and so all government spending)? We'll get paid $1/hr (we have to compete with India or else companies will move there), and we won't have the little things (like sanitation and roads)... because that seems like where you are aiming us.

How about, instead, we create a tax system that makes sure that companies the benefit from US investments help fund those investments? Because there will always be someone willing to give a 0 tax rate.

When the oil age scommenced in Norway, the government instantiated an insane taxation system for the oil companies, the "Petroleum Tax" is 56% on profits from oil and gas extraction, but there is so much oil in there that the companies like Equinor makes a shi$tload of money. The breakeven figure may be omething like $30/barrel for some fields, but still, it is insanely good business for the companies and the Norwegian state get tons of money that goes into what we call the oil fund.

Currentl worth: 18,381,580,113,481 NOK, that equals USD 1,756,126,533,776

The fund | Norges Bank Investment Management

The purpose of the fund is to safeguard and build financial wealth for current and future generations based on revenue from Norway's oil and gas resources.

www.nbim.no

 

[JerryLove]

When the oil age scommenced in Norway, the government instantiated an insane taxation system for the oil companies, if I am not incorrect it is more than 50% onto all their revenue, but there is so much oil in there that the companies like Equinor makes a shi$tload of money, the breakeven figure may be higher, something like $30/barrel for some fields, but still, it is insanely good business for the companies and the Norwegian state get tons of money that goes into what we call the oil fund, currently worth: 18 381 580 113 481 NOK, that equals USD 1,756,126,533,776

The fund | Norges Bank Investment Management

The purpose of the fund is to safeguard and build financial wealth for current and future generations based on revenue from Norway's oil and gas resources.

www.nbim.no

It almost sounds like, unlike the US, the companies don't run the government of Norway.

 

[JerryLove]

The dream has been oversold and it's not very difficult to find reasonably priced housing in most cities. It's still possible, but the search needs to be wider, more info is needed and someone needs to have their financing in place if they want to buy in a hot market.

The market is not hot. There are houses on the market over 200 days. Movement is not much happening at the moment.

The median price of a house is *way* over what's appropriate for a median income.

There are a few spots in the country that's not true; they tend to lack access to jobs (among other problems).

 

[Trell]

It almost sounds like, unlike the US, the companies don't run the government of Norway.

Heh! Apart from high taxes on the profits, the Norwegian government required ownership shares as well as transfer of technology. To prevent early closure of oil fields they required the oil companies invest in technology to extract more oil and gas.

 

[David_Alexander]

Look to what happened in UK after Brexit ..... suddenly there were a lot of immigrants that immediately had their work permits withdrawn, the result was that England had something like 10% of the truck drivers the country needed. Fuel prices skyrocketed, there were hardly anyone to drive the roadtrains carrying fuel, there were mile-long queues to petrol stations, and maybe if you were lucky you would be able to fill just a few gallons..... or maybe not

With Trump in action, maybe US would be able to get there too....

Not quite as bad as that old chap. We did have a shortage of qualified truck drivers but not down to 10%.

Brexit was indeed a case of self inflicted wound though. We are probably down 3-5% GDP with no discernable Brexit dividend.

Fuel increases, across the board, are down to Putin and his Ukrainian adventure.

Brexit stopped those nice, legal EU immigrants. The rest are happily coming in, non EU legal or otherwise.

 

[haraldo]

Not quite as bad as that old chap. We did have a shortage of qualified truck drivers but not down to 10%.

Brexit was indeed a case of self inflicted wound though. We are probably down 3-5% GDP with no discernable Brexit dividend.

Fuel increases, across the board, are down to Putin and his Ukrainian adventure.

Brexit stopped those nice, legal EU immigrants. The rest are happily coming in, non EU legal or otherwise.

I have to admit, that 10% figure was somewhat guesswork from my side .... but insane situation an mile-long queues indeed

Yeah and it seems many people really don´t get that link between the war and increased fuel prices..... how is that hard to understand?

 

[haraldo]

It almost sounds like, unlike the US, the companies don't run the government of Norway.

Is Tim Cook running the presidency or is the presidency running Tim Cook?
or .... maybe we just call him Tim Apple now

 

[Mr._Clark]

. . .

I suspect the DOJ will appeal because the Florida ruling calls into question the legal status of other DOJ personnel, appointing a U.S. attorney potentially enforces the appearance that Biden is controlling the prosecution, and the DOJ might try to get the case transferred to a different judge on appeal.

. . .

The only thing that is certain is more delay. And more delay. And more delay, ad nauseam.

DOJ has now appealed the dismissal of the Florida documents case.

>>>In a filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the prosecutors argued that the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, erred last month when she handed down a bombshell ruling that dismissed the case on the grounds that Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought it, had been appointed to his job illegally. . . . Mr. Smith’s appellate brief was merely the start of a legal battle that may end up at the Supreme Court and is likely to drag on until well after the election in November. <<<

Prosecutors Appeal Dismissal of Trump Documents Case

The special counsel, Jack Smith, argued that Judge Aileen Cannon had erred in throwing out charges against Donald Trump of improperly holding national security secrets after leaving office.

www.nytimes.com

I'm starting to wonder if Cannon was inspired by the Monty Python skit and decided to create her own version by substituting "delay" for "spam."

 

[mtrycrafts]

LMAO: Like the GOP doesn't bear the vast bulk of the responsability.


The Reagan administration pushed for, and got, tax cuts for US companies who moved their manufacturing out of the US. So a bunch did.

....

Meanwhile, marginal taxes were >70% in the first half of the 20th, and with that the US became the global leader.

...

Yep, absolutely correct, indeed.
Just to add to Reagan, he tripled the national debt in his 8 years in office.

Historical Highest Marginal Income Tax Rates | Tax Policy Center for anyone interested in this:

 

[mtrycrafts]

Look to what happened in UK after Brexit ..... suddenly there were a lot of immigrants that immediately had their work permits withdrawn, the result was that England had something like 10% of the truck drivers the country needed. Fuel prices skyrocketed, there were hardly anyone to drive the roadtrains carrying fuel, there were mile-long queues to petrol stations, and maybe if you were lucky you would be able to fill just a few gallons..... or maybe not

With Trump in action, maybe US would be able to get there too....

That was an expensive cutting off nose to spite face.

 

[Mikado463]

.

Are you advocating that we race to the bottom? End all taxes (and so all government spending)? We'll get paid $1/hr (we have to compete with India or else companies will move there), and we won't have the little things (like sanitation and roads)... because that seems like where you are aiming us.

I never said end all taxes

How about, instead, we create a tax system that makes sure that companies the benefit from US investments help fund those investments? Because there will always be someone willing to give a 0 tax rate.

sounds like a sensible plan.......

 

[Mikado463]

Historical Highest Marginal Income Tax Rates | Tax Policy Center for anyone interested in this:

if I'm reading correctly Regan lowered the marginal rate from 70% (Carter) to 28% by the end of his second term. or am I misinterpreting the chart ?

 

[mtrycrafts]

if I'm reading correctly Regan lowered the marginal rate from 70% (Carter) to 28% by the end of his second term. or am I misinterpreting the chart ?

Yes, he did. Perhaps that helped in tripling the national debt.

Wonder how we had an economy booming after WWII with 80+% marginal rates? Certainly wasn't a depression.

 

[JerryLove]

Brexit was indeed a case of self inflicted wound though. We are probably down 3-5% GDP with no discernable Brexit dividend.

It's an interesting to note how sanctions work. People often think that sanctions are supposed to cause the nigh-immediate collapse of an economy. This is not the case. Sanctions are designed to cut a percent or three from GDP growth. Over the years and decades, this causes a country to fall impossibly behind the rest of the world.

GB has, in effect, sanctioned itself by creating ongoing harm to growth relative to the rest of the first world.

 

[JerryLove]

I never said end all taxes

You didn't... but that's where your line of thought ends.

You worry that companies moved off shore because offshore taxes were lower. To counter that, we lower our taxes to remain competitive (in tax rate). The other countries that want the companies do the same.

In the end, either we fail in our bid to have the lowest taxes, or we tax at effectively zero.

I see the exact same thing with cities competing for sports teams. In their race to the bottom, they go negative: subsidizing billionaires at the expense of the taxpayers. Hillsborough's sales tax was to fund tearing down a perfectly good stadium, and building a new one in the adjacent lot that has fewer (higher priced) seats for the Buccaneers.

My recommendation is, rather than being cheaper, be better. Close loopholes that allow companies to benefit from the US's investments without contributing to them and make sure that the US investment benefit those who are playing in our playground.

This includes offshoring, particularly to countries that aren't our friends (India). Corporations want to operate in the US and receive benefits from our taxpayers, but then place their jobs elsewhere.

 

[Swerd]

I saw something about a microphone dispute- the Harris campaign wants the mics to be hot at all times- not sure that's a good idea.

The hot microphone dispute is only an effort to publicly draw that out … to further waste time. Trump has already decided he will not directly debate Harris.

• He only wants to appear on TV if he gets handed soft-ball questions by a friendly & sympathetic Faux News.
• Trump is now the 'Old Guy'. Harris won't be as easy to befuddle as Biden was.
• If he fails at his usual so-called TV debating tricks, he will only get further behind in the polls.
• In a bit longer than a month, Harris & Walz have already erased on any lead that Trump & Vance believed they had.
• Since Biden's announcement, the Democratic Party has raised about a half a billion dollars. Trump may believe that campaign money was stolen from him.

 

[Swerd]

Mr. Smith’s appellate brief was merely the start of a legal battle that may end up at the Supreme Court and is likely to drag on until well after the election in November.

Agreed. It's easy to predict that Judge Cannon and the Supreme Court will continue their transparent delaying tactics.

 

[mtrycrafts]

@Mr._Clark Since you just posted here, how can the Comstock Act be removed from the lawbooks.

Googled but no clear explanation how to remove. Does it need more than 50+ % by congress and Potus signature or something more?