American Politics

[Tiny 12]

Unwilling to accept the growing Winger Love for Larry Summers as a Many-Fleeting Thing, I felt it my romantic duty to post his recent pronouncement about the most conspicuous Repub "win" in the Prevent The Repubs From Crashing Worldwide Economies Again agreement:

Former Treasury Secretary Summers Criticizes IRS Provisions In Debt Ceiling Agreement.
Summers opposes IRS funding cuts in debt ceiling deal, warns of future deficits and tax cheats' advantage.
May 31, 2023

https://www.zenger.news/2023/05/31/f...ing-agreement/

Well, he is a Democrat, which means he instinctively wants to fuck over the entrepreneurs, businessmen and investors who drive growth in America. The Democrats legislated $80 billion in additional funding for the IRS, and now as a result of the debt ceiling agreement will have to back off of $20 billion of that.

[Tiny 12]

LOL. That claim has been debunked many times over, even by the beneficiaries of those tax cuts!

Searching for supply-side effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
July 6, 2021

https://www.brookings.edu/research/s...-and-jobs-act/

What do investors do with cash they receive from buybacks and dividends? They reinvest the money. In the process our economy becomes more efficient. Cash flow realized from buggy manufacturers was recycled into automobile manufacturing for example.

As to the Brookings article, they were absolutely right: "By only analyzing results through 2019, we focused only on short-term effects, which may be a poor guide to the longer run. Short-term growth dynamics typically are dominated by changes in aggregate demand while long-term growth stems from changes in supply. Both experts and advocates emphasize that the supply-side process may take a significant amount of time to take full effect. ".

You don't close down an operation in Ireland for example and move it to Austin the year after a tax cut.

And indeed if you look at investing cash flows, which include capex but not investments in working capital, that's what has happened. Here are cash flows from investments (negative because you're spending money) per share for the S&P 500 going back to 2017, the year before the TCJA took effect.

2017 -141.34.

2018 -138.90.

2019 -181.10.

2020 -214.82.

2021 -221.41.

2022 -226.86.

Investments by the S&P 500 companies have increased by 60% since the TCJA took effect! Not including investments in working capital.

And corporate profits resulting from this additional investment in America are kicking in too. In fact, tax receipts on corporate income were the third highest in history in 2022!

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FCTAX

Now those numbers aren't adjusted for inflation, but just eyeballing the graph, it looks to me like your claim that the TCJA will reduce the amount the federal government steals by 2. 5 trillion over 10 years is bogus. Total federal receipts as a % of GDP also are up, to the fourth highest level in history in 2022. All under a tax regime last modified by the TCJA.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFRGDA188S

[EihTooms]

Unwilling to accept the growing Winger Love for Larry Summers as a Many-Fleeting Thing, I felt it my romantic duty to post his recent pronouncement about the most conspicuous Repub "win" in the Prevent The Repubs From Crashing Worldwide Economies Again agreement:

Former Treasury Secretary Summers Criticizes IRS Provisions In Debt Ceiling Agreement.
Summers opposes IRS funding cuts in debt ceiling deal, warns of future deficits and tax cheats' advantage.
May 31, 2023

https://www.zenger.news/2023/05/31/f...ing-agreement/

"The rescinding of #IRS funding will raise future deficits by more than $100 billion and risks a compliance crisis and privileges rich tax cheats. I desperately hope it will not set a precedent, Summers said.
....
The economist is not the only person to sound critical of the IRS provisions. Harvard professor and noted economist Jason Furman had stated that the funding reduction is particularly galling especially since it will increase the deficit. It should not be repeated ever again, he said in his tweet.

[EihTooms]

The most important measure to bring jobs and factories and investments back to America was the Republicans' 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), specifically, the restructuring of corporate taxation. The corporate tax rate was cut, so that America went from having the highest corporate rate in the developed world to the middle of the pack. The GILTI tax on foreign income realized by American corporations and provisions to encourage repatriation of cash from overseas were perhaps just as important. The trade deficit in goods and services decreased from 46.8 billion / month from January, 2018 when the corporate rate cut took effect to 40.5 billion / month when COVID kicked off. Similarly, the labor force participation rate increased from 62.7% in January, 2018 to 63.3% in February, 2020.

Thanks to Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, the Biden Administration was not able to raise the corporate rate. So, while the trade balance and labor force participation rate haven't rebounded to pro COVID levels, they are still improving from pandemic levels.

LOL. That claim has been debunked many times over, even by the beneficiaries of those tax cuts!

Searching for supply-side effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
July 6, 2021

https://www.brookings.edu/research/s...-and-jobs-act/

The TCJA provision that allowed firms to return overseas profits to the U.S. without paying U.S. tax created a one-time spike in repatriated funds. But rather than boosting investment or wages, it generated a wave of corporate stock repurchases.

[EihTooms]

Please be more coherent.

Well, he's your guy. Trump is the Democrat's best friend. He's given you three elections, although the Republicans did manage to eke out a small majority in the House in 2022. Democrats gave tens of millions to support the Trumpiest of the pro Trump candidates in 2022.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/202...can-primaries/

And they'll probably spend tens or hundreds of millions supporting Trump in the 2024 primaries.

And why not? Trump used to be a card carrying member of the Democratic Party. He proposed a Bernie Sanders style wealth tax. He said he had no problem with partial birth abortion. And as recently as 2017, he wanted to raise taxes on better off Americans. Gary Cohn, a Democrat and his chief economic advisor, had to talk him out of it. "Mr. President, you can't raise taxes. You're a Republican."

Since you must have averted your eyes and plugged your ears to the most vocal Repub opposition to the entire deal and, yep, that would include opposing the retention of $5 billion for vaccine research and development to help avert another Repub Trump's Pandemic from spreading unabated ASAP, a simple Google Search for "turd sandwich" might have cleared up your confusion about that.

From some of Repub House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's most valued and highly-regarded Repub House members:

'Turd Sandwich: MAGA Members of Congress Hate on Debt Deal.
"This is NOT a win for the American people!" Rep. Lauren.
MAY 28, 2023

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...al-1234743550/

Oh, Reagan "used to be a Democrat" too. Then his show biz career tanked, he decided to enter politics and he knew from decades of observation that Lazy, Know Nothing, Do Nothing slackers can join the Repub Party, never be expected to produce anything other than Great Repub Depressions / Recessions and Massive Job Losses, none of the historic recoveries, expansions and gains yet still get praised for "handling the economy better than Dems" by Mainstream Media.

The same as Trump did.

Now, where do you see me begrudging the elimination of the work requirement for anyone?

[Tiny 12]

In addition to once again working brilliantly and masterfully to (likely) rescue America and the rest of the world from still another typical Horrific Repub Economic Collapse, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Joe Biden was WAY ahead of the curve on when and how to bring important supply-chains and jobs back to America, particularly with regard to his Pro Repub Numbskulls-bewildering Inflation Reduction Act:

Firms are bringing production home thanks to war, China's slowdown and TikTok

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/resh...ndroidappshare

The most important measure to bring jobs and factories and investments back to America was the Republicans' 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), specifically, the restructuring of corporate taxation. The corporate tax rate was cut, so that America went from having the highest corporate rate in the developed world to the middle of the pack. The GILTI tax on foreign income realized by American corporations and provisions to encourage repatriation of cash from overseas were perhaps just as important. The trade deficit in goods and services decreased from 46.8 billion / month from January, 2018 when the corporate rate cut took effect to 40.5 billion / month when COVID kicked off. Similarly, the labor force participation rate increased from 62.7% in January, 2018 to 63.3% in February, 2020.

Thanks to Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, the Biden Administration was not able to raise the corporate rate. So, while the trade balance and labor force participation rate haven't rebounded to pro COVID levels, they are still improving from pandemic levels.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOPGSTB

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART

As to Biden's brilliant moves, what a joke. Trump's biggest fuck up was trying to steal an election. His second biggest fuck up was his trade wars, including huge tariffs on Chinese products which were borne by USA Consumers in the form of higher prices. They did nothing to move production to the USA. Instead more clothing and cheap electronics consumed in the USA are made in southeast and south Asia and Central America. Big deal. Now when Biden came to power did he remove those tariffs? No he didn't. He's just as bad as Trump. And Trump at least tried to develop a relationship with Xi. Biden, taking lessons he learned from Obama, has treated him with sanctimony and moral arrogance. Biden's going to drag us into a new cold war.

And the green subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act, which a recent Wall Street Journal Article claimed would cost $1. 1 trillion, were corporate welfare. That is pork, crony capitalism at its finest.

It turns out Trump's passionate and determined deep throat blowing of Xi, Kim and Putin while sneakily helping them to overthrow Democracy at home and around the world in favor of Socialism and Communism wasn't the way to MAGA after all. LOL. Not that there is one iota of evidence that was ever Trump's or any Repub's goal anyway, of course.

Well, imposing massive tariffs on China and doing his dead level best to prevent the Nordstream 2 pipeline don't exactly sound like deep throating Xi and Putin. Would there be a war in Ukraine right now if Trump were president? As to Kim, Trump probably scared the shit out of him. Kim might have figured Trump was just crazy enough to push the nuclear button and wipe him and North Korea off the Plant. Donald Trump, crazy? Or crazy like a fox?

[Tiny 12]

Which bite of a Repub-characterized "turd sandwich" is the sticking point for not eating it? If they are screetching about objecting to all of the deal, everything is a sticking point.

Please be more coherent.

Additionally, the undisputed absolute Leader of the Repub Party is on record ordering all Repubs in Congress to default, unless:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladit...spending-cuts/

Well, he's your guy. Trump is the Democrat's best friend. He's given you three elections, although the Republicans did manage to eke out a small majority in the House in 2022. Democrats gave tens of millions to support the Trumpiest of the pro Trump candidates in 2022.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/202...can-primaries/

And they'll probably spend tens or hundreds of millions supporting Trump in the 2024 primaries.

And why not? Trump used to be a card carrying member of the Democratic Party. He proposed a Bernie Sanders style wealth tax. He said he had no problem with partial birth abortion. And as recently as 2017, he wanted to raise taxes on better off Americans. Gary Cohn, a Democrat and his chief economic advisor, had to talk him out of it. "Mr. President, you can't raise taxes. You're a Republican."

Did the Dems give them "massive cuts" in that deal?

All indications by CBO and others is that "winning" Repub demand will cost more money, not cut anything much less make "massive" cuts,

The best unbiased estimate we have at present for the savings from the debt ceiling bill is from the Congressional Budget Office, and it's 1.5 trillion:

https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/202...r_McCarthy.pdf

That's 6.3% of GDP. Hey, every trillion helps.

and puts more Americans on the food stamp program. No surprise:

Changes to food aid in debt bill would cost money, far from savings Republicans envisioned.
An estimate from the Congressional Budget Office says that while the new work requirements in SNAP would save money, the added benefits pushed by Democrats would cost more and add almost 80,000 people to the rolls in an average month.

https://www.pressherald.com/2023/05/...ns-envisioned/

Maybe that is what the Progressive Dems were trying to prevent th Repubs from doing.

You're better than that Tooms. Yes, it would be better if aid for the poor were funded, administered and controlled at the state and local level. But given what we're stuck with, I don't see why you begrudge eliminating the work requirement for food stamps for the homeless and veterans. Many or most of the homeless are mentally ill. It's difficult for them to hold down jobs. Should we let them starve? And veterans were willing to and often did put their lives on the line for America. They deserve good treatment. I don't see Republican Congressmen begrudging that provision for the veterans. As to the homeless, those that are voting mainly with their districts and states in mind might not favor ending work requirements for the homeless. That's because homelessness is mostly a blue city and blue state problem. And while I would disagree with those Republican Congressmen, maybe they have a point. San Francisco could take some of the money it's using to tell the homeless where to get drugs and spend it on food aid for example.

https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2...-at-8pm-et-pt/

[Cali Guy]

In addition to once again working brilliantly and masterfully to (likely) rescue America and the rest of the world from still another typical Horrific Repub Economic Collapse, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Joe Biden was WAY ahead of the curve on when and how to bring important supply-chains and jobs back to America, particularly with regard to his Pro Repub Numbskulls-bewildering Inflation Reduction Act:

Firms are bringing production home thanks to war, China's slowdown and TikTok

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/resh...ndroidappshare

It turns out Trump's passionate and determined deep throat blowing of Xi, Kim and Putin while sneakily helping them to overthrow Democracy at home and around the world in favor of Socialism and Communism wasn't the way to MAGA after all. LOL. Not that there is one iota of evidence that was ever Trump's or any Repub's goal anyway, of course.

Thanks Joe for being the worst president in history for economic growth and business. I just returned from the Wealth Management conference in Atlanta and consensus of the biggest financial companies in the USA is that the market and business has had the slowest growth since the great depression in the 1030,s. Dow hit an all time high of 36,000 three to four months after Biden took office basically from the strong economic policies of the Trump administration. It took Biden destructive policies about 3 months from his taking office to send the market into a tailspin. Basically Dow is down 12% under Biden policies making his economy the worst in 75 years. Usually in bad years investors and retirees see their portfolios increase at least 4% per year and many people live off that fixed income. 401 K values have been devastated. General consensus from the conference is just weather the storm. We still have 18 months of the worst presidency in history and our industry is like every other industry in the USA now. Suffering from Biden stupidity and incompetence. Yes thanks Joe for ruining the lives of millions of Americans.

[EihTooms]

In addition to once again working brilliantly and masterfully to (likely) rescue America and the rest of the world from still another typical Horrific Repub Economic Collapse, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Joe Biden was WAY ahead of the curve on when and how to bring important supply-chains and jobs back to America, particularly with regard to his Pro Repub Numbskulls-bewildering Inflation Reduction Act:

Firms are bringing production home thanks to war, China's slowdown and TikTok

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/resh...ndroidappshare

It turns out Trump's passionate and determined deep throat blowing of Xi, Kim and Putin while sneakily helping them to overthrow Democracy at home and around the world in favor of Socialism and Communism wasn't the way to MAGA after all. LOL. Not that there is one iota of evidence that was ever Trump's or any Repub's goal anyway, of course.

[EihTooms]

I'm not seeing anywhere in those links where the $5 billion for coronavirus vaccines is a point of contention.

I saw two estimates in the New York Times of the savings over 10 years from the proposed bill. One was around 650 billion and the second around 850 billion. During 2021 and 2022, when Democrats controlled the presidency, House and Senate, they passed legislation with additional spending of $5 trillion, mainly the inflation igniting American Rescue Plan, the ridiculously-named Inflation Reduction Plan, and the pork laden Infrastructure and chips bills. Essentially they took 6 steps towards a nightmarish hell, towards the bankrupting of America through an eternally expanding national debt. And then the Republicans made them take one step back from that hell with the debt ceiling legislation.

Or at least that's what they hope to do. From your link Progressive Democrats are privately raising bloody hell because people 50 to 55 without children at home will have to work or attend job training to collect food stamps. They're also upset that the Biden Administration will have to follow through on its earlier commitment to Democrat Joe Manchin to allow a clean-burning-natural-gas pipeline to be built from Virginia to West Virginia. And that the Biden administration will have to stop preventing construction of facilities and infrastructure for renewable and conventional energy.

I just don't understand those progressives. If they want to go back to the horse and buggy in California and New York, let them. But don't impose your values on the rest of us.

Which bite of a Repub-characterized "turd sandwich" is the sticking point for not eating it? If they are screetching about objecting to all of the deal, everything is a sticking point.

Additionally, the undisputed absolute Leader of the Repub Party is on record ordering all Repubs in Congress to default, unless:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladit...spending-cuts/

Commenting on the battle over raising of the debt ceiling at CNNs Town Hall event, Trump directly addressed Republican lawmakers in Congress and told them if Democrats dont give you massive cuts, youre going to have to do a default.

Did the Dems give them "massive cuts" in that deal?

All indications by CBO and others is that "winning" Repub demand will cost more money, not cut anything much less make "massive" cuts, and puts more Americans on the food stamp program. No surprise:

Changes to food aid in debt bill would cost money, far from savings Republicans envisioned.
An estimate from the Congressional Budget Office says that while the new work requirements in SNAP would save money, the added benefits pushed by Democrats would cost more and add almost 80,000 people to the rolls in an average month.

https://www.pressherald.com/2023/05/...ns-envisioned/

Maybe that is what the Progressive Dems were trying to prevent th Repubs from doing.

[Tiny 12]

Then clearly you are reading and hearing the same links I have seen and heard for exactly what I said about Biden managing to keep it in his deal.

But you have not seen or read anything about your Repubs crying Bloody Mass Murder in opposition the whole DEAL, which, naturally, would include the $5 Billion for vaccine study and development?

Well, that is True Blind Love for ya'.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...-vot-rcna86687

Even GOP Senators are getting in on the trashing:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...ebt-limit-deal

Oh, and here is pro-Repub, Dem-hating, more stuttering, more stammering, more awkward senior moment pauses and less coherent communicator than Joe Biden, Elon Musk's business disaster Twitter' chiming in on it:

https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/statu...35449474965504

I'm not seeing anywhere in those links where the $5 billion for coronavirus vaccines is a point of contention.

I saw two estimates in the New York Times of the savings over 10 years from the proposed bill. One was around 650 billion and the second around 850 billion. During 2021 and 2022, when Democrats controlled the presidency, House and Senate, they passed legislation with additional spending of $5 trillion, mainly the inflation igniting American Rescue Plan, the ridiculously-named Inflation Reduction Plan, and the pork laden Infrastructure and chips bills. Essentially they took 6 steps towards a nightmarish hell, towards the bankrupting of America through an eternally expanding national debt. And then the Republicans made them take one step back from that hell with the debt ceiling legislation.

Or at least that's what they hope to do. From your link Progressive Democrats are privately raising bloody hell because people 50 to 55 without children at home will have to work or attend job training to collect food stamps. They're also upset that the Biden Administration will have to follow through on its earlier commitment to Democrat Joe Manchin to allow a clean-burning-natural-gas pipeline to be built from Virginia to West Virginia. And that the Biden administration will have to stop preventing construction of facilities and infrastructure for renewable and conventional energy.

I just don't understand those progressives. If they want to go back to the horse and buggy in California and New York, let them. But don't impose your values on the rest of us.

[EihTooms]

Links please? I'm reading that the $5 billion in funding to develop next-generation coronavirus vaccines and treatments will be left untouched. And I don't see anything that mentions it was a point of contention, other than the White House propaganda in the NYT piece you linked to.

Again, I'm a big believer in pandemic prevention and preparation. So you might just be able to dig up some dirt on Republicans and pandemic preparedness that I'd relate to.

BTW I don't "belove" any politicians except Gary Johnson. And he's an ex-politician.

Then clearly you are reading and hearing the same links I have seen and heard for exactly what I said about Biden managing to keep it in his deal.

But you have not seen or read anything about your Repubs crying Bloody Mass Murder in opposition the whole DEAL, which, naturally, would include the $5 Billion for vaccine study and development?

Well, that is True Blind Love for ya'.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...-vot-rcna86687

Even GOP Senators are getting in on the trashing:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...ebt-limit-deal

Oh, and here is pro-Repub, Dem-hating, more stuttering, more stammering, more awkward senior moment pauses and less coherent communicator than Joe Biden, Elon Musk's business disaster Twitter' chiming in on it:

https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/statu...35449474965504

[Cali Guy]

So that everybody is on the same page, why don't you do the following:

1. Post your definitions of both "socialism" and "communism".

2. Post all of the actual policies implemented by localities (counties, states, etc) in the USA that correspond to your definitions.

As a matter of comparison, here's the definition of both terms as found in the Oxford Leaner's Dictionary:

Socialism - "a set of political and economic theories based on the belief that everyone has an equal right to a share of a country's wealth and that the government should own and control the main industries".

Another definition of both terms found in Merriam Webster:

Socialism - (1) any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods; (2) a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property; be: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.

Communism - a: a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed; be: a theory advocating elimination of private property.

Thank you for clarifying Biden's policies. Yes your definitions of communism and socialism describe Biden policy to try to make Americans lives as good as Venezuela, Iran, Russia. At least you finally agree with me that Biden policy is socialism and communism. Thank you.

[Tiny 12]

I see the House Repubs are screaming Bloody Mass Murder to be allowed to once again cut funding and render totally MIA any and all Pandemic Prevention, Response and now VACCINE duties for the very next inevitable potential Trump's / Repub's Pandemic with, god willing in the prayers of every Repub, all the same millions of deaths, worldwide economic and supply-chain collapse, the massive jobs destruction, the business and school closures, the overwhelmed hospitals and, naturally, as much recovery-related Inflation as is mathmatically possible.

They loved the last one so much they just can't wait to bless the world with another one ASAP!

As of this moment, Biden has managed to keep the Repubs from cutting that funding and producing those same Repub Trump Presidency results. But they are desperately pulling all the stops to give us Trump's Pandemic, The Sequel and the sooner the better for them.

We will know if the Repubs get their way on that and any other typical and classic Repub Economic Disaster they can swing in the fullness of time.

Links please? I'm reading that the $5 billion in funding to develop next-generation coronavirus vaccines and treatments will be left untouched. And I don't see anything that mentions it was a point of contention, other than the White House propaganda in the NYT piece you linked to.

Again, I'm a big believer in pandemic prevention and preparation. So you might just be able to dig up some dirt on Republicans and pandemic preparedness that I'd relate to.

BTW I don't "belove" any politicians except Gary Johnson. And he's an ex-politician. Oh yeah, I belove Ronald Reagan too. But he's dead.

[EihTooms]

Damn that felt good!

I see the House Repubs are screaming Bloody Mass Murder to be allowed to once again cut funding and render totally MIA any and all Pandemic Prevention, Response and now VACCINE duties for the very next inevitable potential Trump's / Repub's Pandemic with, god willing in the prayers of every Repub, all the same millions of deaths, worldwide economic and supply-chain collapse, the massive jobs destruction, the business and school closures, the overwhelmed hospitals and, naturally, as much recovery-related Inflation as is mathmatically possible.

They loved the last one so much they just can't wait to bless the world with another one ASAP!

As of this moment, Biden has managed to keep the Repubs from cutting that funding and producing those same Repub Trump Presidency results. But they are desperately pulling all the stops to give us Trump's Pandemic, The Sequel and the sooner the better for them.

We will know if the Repubs get their way on that and any other typical and classic Repub Economic Disaster they can swing in the fullness of time.