The Trump Economy

[Chef Jim]

On 11/17/2019 at 2:19 PM, ALF said:

 

So you want those expenses  cut by a high amount ?

 

I would have no limit on income cutoff for SS and would raise medicare tax 

 

This means that, regardless of how much income you earn, you'll pay no more $8,240 in Social Security taxes. This is an increase from 2018, when the limit was set at $128,400. Keep in mind that this income limit applies only to the old-age, survivors and disability (OASDI) tax of 6.2%.Aug 6, 2019

 

Of course eliminate the Trump tax cut 

So no limit on income for SS tax but a limit on the benefit?  Seriously?? 

[keepthefaith]

On 11/17/2019 at 4:10 PM, ALF said:

How FedEx managed to cut its tax bill to $0

 

In the 2017 fiscal year, FedEx owed more than $1.5 billion in taxes. The next year, it owed nothing thanks to the Trump administration’s tax cut — for which the company had lobbied hard.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/fedex-managed-cut-tax-bill-204017803.html

 

I wonder why the budget deficit is huge 

 

Well, there aren't any facts in there.  The claim at the end of no increase in investments may not be true.  Fedex for sure has made big investments in facilities, IT and transportation in recent years.  Your point though, that some of these very large businesses that are very profitable enjoy very low taxation is true.  Things like section 179 of the tax code and others are double edged swords.  They provide companies an incentive to invest in their businesses, but reduce effective taxation.  I'm all for companies being taxed at globally competitive rates but maybe there should be an AMT for corporations. 

Edited November 19, 2019 by keepthefaith

[keepthefaith]

On 11/17/2019 at 4:19 PM, ALF said:

 

So you want those expenses  cut by a high amount ?

 

I would have no limit on income cutoff for SS and would raise medicare tax 

 

 

 

Of course eliminate the Trump tax cut 

 

Tough to assess higher income earners with another 6.2% without added benefit. 

 

My view is that we need to match revenues for SS, Medicare and Medicaid with expenses and it's way overdue.  If the Medicare that old timers know and love can't be funded at the current rate of taxation, then we need to be honest with the population and raise the tax or cut some benefits or both.  But raise it the same for all.  Same with the other programs. 

 

[TakeYouToTasker]

29 minutes ago, keepthefaith said:

 

Tough to assess higher income earners with another 6.2% without added benefit. 

 

My view is that we need to match revenues for SS, Medicare and Medicaid with expenses and it's way overdue.  If the Medicare that old timers know and love can't be funded at the current rate of taxation, then we need to be honest with the population and raise the tax or cut some benefits or both.  But raise it the same for all.  Same with the other programs. 

 

Or, just, you know, abolish it.

[GG]

How long until Tim Cook gets cancelled for standing next to Trump?

[Buffalo_Gal]

Last month:
 

The Federal Communications Commission plans to cut off funding to wireless carriers that use equipment the agency says may pose a national security risk. 
 

The FCC said Monday it'll vote next month to bar operators that receive Universal Service Fund money from purchasing gear from companies such as Chinese telecom gear makers Huawei and ZTE, which national security agencies in the US say could spy on American communications. 
 

</snip>
 

Today: (I couldn't get the bloomberg law write up in full, so am using this link instead)
 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted 5-0 on a new rule that would ban service providers from using government subsidies to buy China's Huawei and ZTE equipment, reported Reuters.
 

22-Nov-2019 11:26:34 AM - FCC VOTES 5-0 TO BAR U.S. RURAL CARRIER CUSTOMERS FROM U.S. GOVERNMENT FUND TO PURCHASE HUAWEI, ZTE EQUIPMENT, SERVICES

All five FCC commissioners voted for the ban at the Friday meeting.
 

The new rule would prevent rural carriers from accessing an $8.5 billion government fund to purchase Huawei and ZTE electrical components. 
 

</snip>

[Foxx]

https://twitter.com/EpochTimes/status/1199080336979828737

 

[KRC]

14 hours ago, Foxx said:

https://twitter.com/EpochTimes/status/1199080336979828737

 

 

President Manuel,

 

Sorry, we really do not have time for stuff like this. Between vacations and trying to unseat a duly elected president, we just do not have the time. We will have more flexibility after the election.

 

Sincerely,

Speaker Pelosi

[Foxx]

 

https://twitter.com/Incarcerated_ET/status/1199458766414131202

 

South Carolina Legal Tender Act Would Treat Gold and Silver as Money

A bill prefiled in the South Carolina House would make gold and silver coins legal tender in the state. Passage of this bill would take a step toward creating currency competition in South Carolina and undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money. ...

 

South Carolina could become the fourth state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender. Utah led the way, reestablishing constitutional money in 2011. Wyoming and Oklahoma have since joined.

 

The effect has been most dramatic in Utah where United Precious Metals Association (UMPA) was established after the passage of the Utah Specie Legal Tender Act and the elimination of all taxes on gold and silver. UPMA offers accounts denominated in U.S. minted gold and silver dollars. The company also recently released the “Utah Goldback.” UPMA describes it as “the first local, voluntary currency to be made of a spendable, beautiful, physical gold.” ...

 

Passage of H.4678 would reestablish gold and silver as legal tender in the state and take a step toward that constitutional requirement, ignored for decades in every state.

 

It would also begin the process of abolishing the Federal Reserve system by attacking it from the bottom up – pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the state and local levels, and setting the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system.

 

Constitutional tender expert Professor William Greene said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal government’s monopoly on money.

 

 

“Over time, as residents of the state use both Federal Reserve notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve notes do will lead to a “reverse Gresham’s Law” effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve notes). As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the state’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state – as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.”

 

...

[GG]

6 minutes ago, Foxx said:

 

 

Constitutional tender expert Professor William Greene said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal government’s monopoly on money.

 

 

 

 

...

 

They forgot to add "idiot" to his title.

[Koko78]

12 hours ago, Foxx said:

 

https://twitter.com/Incarcerated_ET/status/1199458766414131202

 

South Carolina Legal Tender Act Would Treat Gold and Silver as Money

A bill prefiled in the South Carolina House would make gold and silver coins legal tender in the state. Passage of this bill would take a step toward creating currency competition in South Carolina and undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money. ...

 

South Carolina could become the fourth state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender. Utah led the way, reestablishing constitutional money in 2011. Wyoming and Oklahoma have since joined.

 

The effect has been most dramatic in Utah where United Precious Metals Association (UMPA) was established after the passage of the Utah Specie Legal Tender Act and the elimination of all taxes on gold and silver. UPMA offers accounts denominated in U.S. minted gold and silver dollars. The company also recently released the “Utah Goldback.” UPMA describes it as “the first local, voluntary currency to be made of a spendable, beautiful, physical gold.” ...

 

Passage of H.4678 would reestablish gold and silver as legal tender in the state and take a step toward that constitutional requirement, ignored for decades in every state.

 

It would also begin the process of abolishing the Federal Reserve system by attacking it from the bottom up – pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the state and local levels, and setting the stage to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system.

 

Constitutional tender expert Professor William Greene said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal government’s monopoly on money.

 

 

“Over time, as residents of the state use both Federal Reserve notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve notes do will lead to a “reverse Gresham’s Law” effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve notes). As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the state’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state – as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.”

 

...

 

So... how are they going to tip their strippers?

[Hedge]

1 hour ago, Koko78 said:

 

So... how are they going to tip their strippers?

 

"No, really, it's just a rasp in my pocket."

[Tiberius]

https://time.com/5740290/trade-war-lumber-hardwood-environment-forests/

Quote

American hardwood exports to China have dropped by almost a third since the trade war began, according to industry figures, threatening jobs primarily in rural communities—such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Carolina—that voted for Trump in 2016 and could prove key swing states again in 2020. American hardwood is not listed as an agricultural product, so its producers are not eligible for the same support as farmers who are also feeling the brunt of higher tariffs.

But there is another silent victim of the escalating dispute: the world’s forests. The U.S. logging industry is built upon sustainable practices and actually benefits forest health, since skilled loggers only fell trees that have reached their peak of maturity. Once trees reach a certain age, they are more prone to disease or to simply die from old age.

 

 

“Competition is fierce in this business,” Jiamushi’s sales rep Mrs Zhang tells TIME. “If we don’t use other suppliers from Russia or Malaysia, we’d probably have to give up the hardwood furniture business altogether.”

 

what a surprise 

[3rdnlng]

1 hour ago, Tiberius said:

https://time.com/5740290/trade-war-lumber-hardwood-environment-forests/

 

“Competition is fierce in this business,” Jiamushi’s sales rep Mrs Zhang tells TIME. “If we don’t use other suppliers from Russia or Malaysia, we’d probably have to give up the hardwood furniture business altogether.”

 

what a surprise 

So, it's mainly red oak from North America that they're pining for and can't get the same quality (without paying the tariffs the Chinese themselves put on the product) elsewhere like Russia or Malaysia? I think I have a solution. -) It is nice to see that a Chinese company is proud of their association with the American hardwood industry because of their wonderful forest management and environmental record. We should be proud that we know when and how to harvest the forests to keep them sustainable and vibrant. America (and I suppose Canada) leading the way again by being environmentally responsible.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

On 11/18/2019 at 9:56 PM, keepthefaith said:

 

Tough to assess higher income earners with another 6.2% without added benefit. 

 

My view is that we need to match revenues for SS, Medicare and Medicaid with expenses and it's way overdue.  If the Medicare that old timers know and love can't be funded at the current rate of taxation, then we need to be honest with the population and raise the tax or cut some benefits or both.  But raise it the same for all.  Same with the other programs. 

 

 

...Medicare is at 1.45% unlimited......but if you earn over $200K, you pay an additional .9% on top of the 1.45%.........

[Tiberius]

48 minutes ago, 3rdnlng said:

So, it's mainly red oak from North America that they're pining for and can't get the same quality (without paying the tariffs the Chinese themselves put on the product) elsewhere like Russia or Malaysia? I think I have a solution. -) It is nice to see that a Chinese company is proud of their association with the American hardwood industry because of their wonderful forest management and environmental record. We should be proud that we know when and how to harvest the forests to keep them sustainable and vibrant. America (and I suppose Canada) leading the way again by being environmentally responsible.

Trump’s tariffs are really hurting that sector of the economy 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

24 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

Trump’s tariffs are really hurting that sector of the economy 

..I understand how this would be blasphemy, but can we EQUALLY assess blame on "both sides of the aisle" for making this nation China's lap dog?.....the "tough China talk" again, on both sides was a wet noodle for YEARS....ditto for Russia...didn't Bush (yup a REPUBLICAN) say about Putin, "I can see the man's soul through his eyes"?......huh?.....think 'ol George missed the "indelible KGB tattoo"?.....but of course China and Russia are our "friends".....um right....so now we have a "fraudulent" Washington Outsider who takes them both head on as should have been done through many previous (ON BOTH SIDES) administrations....but MAGA is a ruse.....wealth, power, book deal and a personal library are the TRUE focus of this administration, right?...what did I miss??........

[B-Man]

 

 

Democrats are running into Trump's economic buzzsaw

by James Pethokoukis

 

Original Article

 

Call it the Back-up Plan. For the past couple of years, the potential for an economic downturn has kept jittery Democrats from getting too nervous about the 2020 presidential election. Even if Robert Mueller and his Russia investigation didn't get President Trump — and now the Ukraine impeachment investigation — then the American economy surely would. There was no way four years of Trump's trade wars and general incompetence wouldn't result in a nasty recession and a one-term Trump presidency, right? Now it's looking more and more like the back-up plan might need a back-up plan. Wall Street economists and forecasting models don't see more than a one-in-three chance

 

 

 

.

[Foxx]

https://twitter.com/CortesSteve/status/1200817243971555328

 

 

[Foxx]

https://twitter.com/RedNationRising/status/1200582343716745217