Monday Open Thread

14 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

1. CDC isn't the only agency forbidden to use the "Seven Words". I foresee multiple lawsuits from unions and civil liberties groups.

   Odd things happening on the intertubes this morning. Could not log in to Pols for an hour, and The Hill site I linked to requires a security certificate to access now.

   Are we already feeling the effects of repealing net neutrality, or am I being paranoid? Talk me down.

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   1. Just because you know you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

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2. Here are the perverse incentives and effects of the "cobbled together" GOP TaxScam Bill.  Will our Republican Senator and Representatives listen?

   First, the bill replies to decades of worsening income inequality with arguably the most regressive tax policy change of our lifetimes. Second, the bill responds to large government debt with more than $1 trillion of deficits.

   Third, the bill responds to the staggering complexity of our tax code with a Pandora’s box of new tax planning gimmicks. Lastly, the bill answers our huge problem of multinational company profit shifting by increasing the incentive to offshore. This tax bill adds to our problems instead of solving them.

   …the bill still manages to afford over $80 billion in tax cuts for the richest one-fifth of 1 percent of heirs, and a key change that emerged from conference was a new cut in the top individual income tax rate. 

   …the tax bill will make the already complicated American tax code even more complex. This hasty and ill-considered legislation generates many new opportunities for tax gimmicks and shenanigans. These new tax-planning opportunities will enrich lawyers and accountants, while entailing large revenue losses for the Treasury. 

   An industry of tax shelters will arise, and the government will lose far more revenue than originally anticipated. These problems will be very difficult — and complicated — to fix

   …the new system provides an explicit, permanent preference for earning income in low-tax countries rather than the United States. The bill also gives a large windfall to companies that shifted profits offshore in the past, relative to current law.

   …this tax bill will weaken the U.S. economy. It will make it harder to respond to the next recession, it will take funds away from urgent priorities like infrastructure, health care and education, and it will exacerbate our very serious problems of income inequality and economic insecurity.

   But hey, the Koch brothers like it, and Con Man Cory's buddies in the Senate will get bags of loot from this, so what's the harm?

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   1. Unforeseen consequence of the tax bill…….  I think we'll see more middle class folks quietly getting into the barter economy; generating income; and not reporting it. Take that 1%. 

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      1. Wasn't that Sharon Angle's alternative to Obamacare?

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      2. Meh.  Old news.  Republican Senators and Representatives have been “bartering” their votes for contributions for years,  (Bur, I will give you that they seem to have upped their business volume of late . . . )

          

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3. Donald "Mr. Sensitive" Trump parties with Wayne LaPierre on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre:

   Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son Dylan in the massacre, ripped Trump for failing to acknowledge Thursday’s five-year anniversary of Sandy Hook, and for inviting National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre to the White House Christmas Party on the same evening.

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4. One keeps getting arrested while his sister keeps getting impregnated…..

   https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/track-palin-son-sarah-palin-arrested-domestic-violence-charges-alaska-n830626

   Meanwhile, Mom traipses across the country lecturing folks on how to raise their children.

   This is the sequel to Track's 2016 domestic violence arrest. Wonder if there will be one in '18…

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   1. Have you read Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance? 

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      1. Oh, yeah — poor, poor Track.  Being raised in abject poverty, severe deprivation, low-paying employment, no educational opportunity, with no hope of advancing or ever escaping the poverty cycle of menial jobs . . . 

         . . . I think Track’s behavior might be better explained by a genetics primer??

         I sure hope the Republican’s give his entire scamily a much-needed and deserved tax cut!

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         1. Hmmm, doesn't sound like you read the book, Dio. 

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            1. Nah.  I studied genetics . . . 

               

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5. Senator Orrin Hatch Says He Wrote Tax Provision At Center Of Corker Controversy

   Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on Monday admitted he crafted a controversial tax provision, which could personally enrich Sen. Bob Corker, House Speaker Paul Ryan, President Donald Trump, and top Republican lawmakers directly overseeing the bill. The provision could additionally benefit the real estate industry — which has been one Hatch’s largest sources of campaign donations.

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   1. If they don't take care of their own, who will?

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