"Between the devil and the deep blue sea. No words could describe this issue better. And whose ox is going to get gored from this bill? Stay tuned - could be more that you think."
Now that the House has passed the tax bill (with 13 Republican dissenters and ZERO Democrat votes), and the Senate has its bill out of committee, it is "game on" right after the Thanksgiving Day break. The paper this morning gave a very good breakdown of both bills. Some similarities, yet some stark differences. The question which popped into my mind was quite simple - don't the Republicans in both chambers ever talk? These two bills should look like kissing cousins, if not identical twins.
With Senator Johnson of Wisconsin being a "no" vote when the entire Senate votes on its bill, he did have a valid point. How does he explain to a Wisconsin voter whose taxes went up from this bill how this could be a tax cut (as promised). Somehow telling a person who is going to pay $500 or more due to this new law that the bill was for "the greater good" is not going to cut it. But the thing which really sticks in Johnson's craw is the unfairness of treatment between big corporations and small businesses.
Here is the conundrum that Republicans face going into 2018. Should other Republican Senators join Johnson and jump ship where the bill does not pass the Senate, OR, should both sides dig in their heels so it does not get out of conference committee, the red team will be DOA after the 2018 mid-terms. However, if it passes with the ObamaCare mandate thrown out, if some people end up paying more taxes, or it the tax code becomes more complicated instead of less, stand by for broadsides from the huddled masses. Things could get ugly very quick.
The one thing which has come out so far which I think is laughable is the national debt issue. "This will add $1.5T to the debt in ten years!" Really? How will they know. The mishmash of crap which makes up our growing debt is so convoluted, that this fact might not be knowable. And besides all of which, we recently had a "die off" a species of very rare bird. That would be the Deficit Hawk. Once plentiful, they are now all but non-existent. In short, nobody give a fig about the debt anymore.
This will interesting to watch the next few weeks. Republicans from both the House and Senate will need to be tightrope artists - especially when at home trying to explain this bill. Watching the Paul Ryan town hall meeting was a bit painful. Many attending were not buying what Ryan was selling. Maybe more or this to come.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea? No words could describe this issue better. And whose ox is going to get gored from this bill? Stay tuned - could be more that you think.
Headline...Tax Reform Bill is a major success story for the GOP!
ReplyDeleteMany families making less than $30,000 a year would face tax increases starting in 2021 under the Senate bill. By 2027, families earning less than $75,000 would see their tax bills rise while those making more would enjoy reductions.
The individual income-tax reductions in the Senate bill would end in 2026.
That's how to kick them liberals when they are down!
Speaking of being between the devil and the deep blue sea, 45 may have opened a can of worms with his denunciation of Al Franken....................
ReplyDeleteFollowing is a partial list of persons claiming to have been victimized by 45
Natasha Stoynoff
Jill Harth
Jessica Leeds
Ivana Trump
“Jane Doe”
Ninni Laaksonen
Rachel Crooks
Cathy Heller
Friend of Erin Burnett
Mindy McGillivray
Summer Zervos
Kristin Anderson
Jessica Drake
Lisa Boyne
Karena Virginia
Temple Taggart
Cassandra Searles
Samantha Holvey
Carrie Prejean
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ReplyDeleteThe actual bill that the House passed last week — and the modestly different plan the Senate is considering — is a dreadful piece of policy.
ReplyDeleteIt would cause the deficit to soar and, as a result, probably reduce economic growth. It would also raise taxes for millions of middle-class families.
I will do great, double standard, don't itemize, similar bracket, just list my income streams and push send.
I and the wealthy GOP donors who will get massive benefits thank you. Let our kids and grandkids figure out the mess.
Kick that can as far down the field as we snowflakes did.
Show us how much better you govern. BS
Dave
I hear a big load of "unsubstantiated statements." I think the tax bill will double the GDP in just a few years and drive unemployment down to zero, while everybody gets a BIG tax cut.
ReplyDeleteOr, we could look at those who have analyzed this with a modicum of fairness, and discover that yes, a few people will see tax increases (mostly in the upper brackets), but at least 80% will get an actual, real tax cut. Now, you can hold out "same ol', same ol'," thereby keeping 80% from getting anything. Is that really the position you want to take?
Any doubling in the GDP will be driven by government spending.
ReplyDeleteIf there is an increase in personal consumption, it will have to be from the wealthy and their new tax breaks, but how many yachts and airplanes does one really need? $15 minimum wage just forces franchises to automate with accompanying job losses.
Business investment will be flat as they pocket the profits, with only a couple of industries growing. Maybe an infrastructure bill would kick start some investment.
And the net of Exports minus Imports should remain stable unless more Chinese companies decide to build their new factories in the US. We could use the investment.
Government spending does not add one penny to the GDP unless it buys something that would not otherwise be produced. Government does not have one nickel that it does not first take from somebody else who might have spent it on something truly needed or at least wanted. Yachts and Cessnas or Aircraft carriers and F-22s, doesn't matter. Obamacare subsidies, not so much.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, consumption drives the economy, but the wealthy always lead, causing increased demand leading to greater production efficiency which leads to lower prices and more jobs and still greater standard of living. Punish the rich with higher taxes and economic growth stalls.
$15 is stupid.
Businesses do not "pocket profits." If they do very well, they either reinvest or pay out dividends, and they pay no taxes. They either pass the cost to their customers, or reduce payouts to employees and shareholders. The FAIR tax, btw, sets corporate taxes to zero, except for those things actually consumed in running the business, like equipment and pencils. It also solves the export import imbalance.