Holiday Gifs
Presents
Tuesday, December 5, 2017


“Being good is its own reward.”

Errrrrr... most of the time... usually being good is its own reward, but some people see good people as opportunities, marks, and targets. And good people get hurt when those people act, whether for profit or malace.

Most of the time, the good guys are rewarded with love and caring and little treats.

Music Association: Doors - Break On Through







Holiday Gifs
Stuck
Saturday, December 2, 2017


The 479 page tax bill passed the Senate last night with Alaskan wildlife oil drilling, an abortion provision, unvetted-unforseen loopholes, and pages that look like these.
  

Music Association: Huey Lewis - Stuck With You






Holiday Gifs
For You
Friday, December 1, 2017


I believe in people.

Yes, even this year.

So this month gives gifs for you to enjoy, because you deserve it.

Music Associations: Copland - Simple Gifts  &  Genesis - Follow You Follow Me









Blowing Through All The Yellow Lights
Congressional Robbery
Thursday, November 30, 2017


Corporations are about to get a tax cut at the same time as corporate profits are near an all-time high. The House tax bill, which passed on November 16th, will increase the deficit by 1.4 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The Senate tax bill is expected to come to a vote Friday. [source]  

The federal deficit hit a record 20 trillion dollars this year before the tax bills. Spiking the economy with more money (the increased deficit)  might set off inflation, economists warn. [source]

Both the House and Senate bills reduce the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 20 percent. Do you pay corporate income tax? Neither do I.

Both bills double the current estate tax exemption for individuals to $11 million. The House bill repeals the estate tax in 2024. Do you have $5 million or $11 million? Neither do I.

Both bills eliminate the alternative minimum tax, which requires that taxpayers with many deductions pay at least a minimum amount of taxes. Have you had to pay the alternative minimum tax? Neither have I.

The Senate bill eliminates the health insurance individual mandate and would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling. [source]

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation’s poorest would be worse off.

By 2019, Americans earning less than $30,000 a year would be worse off under the Senate bill, CBO found. By 2021, Americans earning $40,000 or less would be net losers, and by 2027, most people earning less than $75,000 a year would be worse off. On the flip side, millionaires and those earning $100,000 to $500,000 would be big beneficiaries, according to the CBO’s calculations. The main reason the poor get hit so hard in the Senate GOP bill is because the poor would receive less government aid for health care. The CBO has calculated that health insurance premiums would rise if this bill becomes law, leading 4 million Americans to lose health insurance by 2019 and 13 million to lose insurance by 2027. [source]

“This proposal appears to be the first federal income tax modification in American history that will raise income taxes on the working poor while simultaneously providing a large tax cut to the wealthy. This is simply unconscionable,” said Catholic bishops in a November 9th letter to Congress. Households with income between $20,000 and $40,000 per year would see tax increases in 2023, 2025, and 2027. In 2025, taxes will increase on most taxpayers earning between $10,000 and $20,000. [source]

Only one of 42 top economists surveyed thought the tax bills would meaningfully expand the economy over a decade (22 disagreed or strongly disagreed, 15 were uncertain and the rest didn't answer). The survey was conducted by the Initiative on Global Markets at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. All 42 economists agreed the tax bills would leave the nation saddled with a substantially heavier debt load relative to the size of the economy. [source]

The Urban Institute and Brookings Institution's Tax Policy Center found that more than 50% of Americans would see a tax increase in 2027 under the tax bill. And the Penn-Wharton Budget Model found the tax bill would increase the federal deficit by $1.327 trillion over the first 10 years after it becomes law (not including debt-service costs). Even when factoring in the economic boost from the tax cuts, according to the report, the bill would still add $1.271 trillion in debt. [source]