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[QUOTE=EihTooms;3018619]You're going to see the word [B]"immigration"[/B] used in practically every crap economic numbers and prognostications Trump well and surely earns going forward whenever multiple credible independent entities can wade through the lies about them we are going to hear from Dictator Trump and his MAGA lackeys from now on.
And, just like that AI Overview I posted on the issue a couple of days ago, neither Goldman Sachs nor any other economic entity is going to differentiate between "legal" and "illegal" immigrants when it comes to more of them being good for the economy as Biden's brilliant handling of the issue during his historic and internationally superior recovery from Trump's Pandemic Economic Disaster proved month after month after month.
So too, Goldman Sachs is talking about precisely the "illegal" Immigrants who work and pay taxes while using very little of the social entitlements their tax dollars pay for but that Trump is chasing down and rounding up for deportation in his brave mission to keep America safe from nail salon technicians, farm workers and gardeners.
[B]Housing to remain weakest part of economy in the second half, Goldman says.[/B]
[URL]https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/04/housing-to-remain-weakest-part-of-economy-in-the-2nd-half-goldman-says.html?__source=androidappshare[/URL][/QUOTE][URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/business/switzerland-tariffs-trump.html[/URL]
[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/business/trump-tariffs-how-much-money-debt.html[/URL]
[QUOTE=AxelHeyst;3018596][B]The Idea is to Hold on to Power[/b]
The 2nd reason the Marxist wokies want illegal aliens in the states and cities they control is to make up for the exodus of American citizens leaving their totally mismanaged blue states and cities like CA and San Francisco for a better life in states like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. Thus, the Left demands that illegals to be counted in their census in order to maintain and not lose their present number of congressional districts in the House of Representatives. And this is why the communists go ape shit whenever reasonable Americans want the census to accurately represent what is really going on in their respective states.[/QUOTE]If Dems pack their ordinarily Dem districts with illegal immigrants who can't vote, how does that help them maintain control of those districts in Congress? Wouldn't all the legal MAGA votes in those districts have an edge over a Dem electorate supposedly made up of many people who can't vote anyway?
It is important to get the census right including hard working, tax-paying, non-voting and less social entitlement immigrant residents for the purposes of resources and funding for roads, waterways, hospitals, schools and so on. Packing them with people who cannot vote has no impact on which way the districts go Dem vs Repub.
Been that way since 1790:
Explainer: Trump's Executive Order Rolling Back Census Protections. Common Cause [URL]https://www.commoncause.org/resources/explainer-trumps-executive-order-rolling-back-census-protections/[/URL].
Trump's stupidity and the greater stupidity of his Repub MAGA Cult Followers knows no bounds! LOL.
Trump keeps lying about how that evil BLS Commisioner put out a glowing jobs creation report "just days before the election" and then revised it down by "900,000 or a million jobs" after the election, thereby showing unmistakable bias for Biden-Harris and "rigging" it against that poor, poor multi-millionaire-born Trust Fund Baby Trump who has been carried like so much limp baggage from one advantage to another since birth all the while whining, crying and whimpering like a little girl about how everything is "rigged" against him.
We already know the downward revision that Trump was probably referring to and lying about, by 818,000 jobs, was reported in August 2024, months before the election, not after the election, and in plenty of time to help Trump and harm Harris in the November 5th election, not the other way around.
But more about that BLS report that Trump lied about being so glowing and helpful to Harris "just days before the election".
Uh.
The Real World timeline. Please note the date:
[B]U.S. economy added just 12,000 jobs in October, impacted by hurricanes, Boeing strike.
November 1, 2025[/B]
[URL]https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/01/us-jobs-report-october-2024.html?__source=androidappshare[/URL]
[QUOTE]Nonfarm payrolls increased by 12,000 for the month, down sharply from September and below the Dow Jones estimate for 100,000.[/QUOTE]Oh, to be sure, there WAS a BLS revision to that month's numbers after the election.
Again, please note the date;.
[B]January 2025 Jobs Report.[/B]
[URL]https://www.staffingindustry.com/research/research-reports/americas/january-2025-jobs-report[/URL]
[QUOTE]The December Employment Situation, released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), indicates that total nonfarm employment rose by +256,000 in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, while temporary help services employment increased by +5,300 jobs.
..........
[B]BLS Revisions:[/b]
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment [b]for October was revised up by 7,000, from +36,000 to +43,000[/b], and the change for November was revised down by 15,000, from +227,000 to +212,000. [/QUOTE]The so-called president of the United States of America just fired a BLS Commisioner based on his provable lie and on his unfounded "opinion" that the numbers were "rigged" to make him look bad.
Of all the utterly chaotic incoherent shit-storms that Trump and his MAGAs have plunged America and the rest of the World into, this particular firing of that woman for that made-up reason based on an obvious and provable lie might well turn out to produce the most lingering damage.
Nobody on the planet has any reason to believe any "good" economic numbers coming out of this administration or any other agency as long as Trump is in control. If there is another revision that shows "good" numbers for July, no one will believe it nor should anyone believe it nor should anyone move forward on an economic plan or business based on any "good" numbers that are reported by this administration.
That line has been crossed and we can never go back until Trump and everyone in his administration are gone and forgotten.
[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3018682]LOL. You are doing the typical straw man bullshit about Taibbi. Did this committee have all the evidence including evidence from actual spies in the Russian government? Fuck no! So what are you blabbering on about?
The actual intelligence, you know from a spy we have placed in Russia, said Putin did not care who won. The objective evidence on your side is the Steele Dossier literally paid for by Hiliary Clinton and an anonymous email without a time stamp or signature or anything. It is literally the electronic equivalent of a post it note.
Does it surprise me that you believe Russiagate is real based on such flimsy evidence a 4th grader could have done it? Hell no. That is why I keep calling you a dumb shit Democratic.
You cannot say Joe Biden was cognitively impaired even after your party threw him under the bus.[/QUOTE][URL]https://youtu.be/1O1piTvGt_A?si=UkHoouyV3gXW-yRZ[/URL]
[B]Question:[/B]
Did you want president Trump to win the election and did you direct any of your officials to help him do that?
[B]Putin:[/B]
Yes, I did.
Yes, I did.
[QUOTE=EihTooms;3018646]Right now Repub Wingers are trying to rig the system to maintain control of Congress by conjuring up extra Reoub Winger Congressional districts in Texas.
Is that because so many Americans have fled Texas to live somewhere that hasn't become such a shitty place to live and work?
Just checking.[/QUOTE]The commentary coming from some blue state governors is hilarious. More Texas Democratic lawmakers fled to Illinois than any other state, to escape the wrath of the Texas Attorney General, and more importantly deprive Republican legislators of a quorum to redistrict. Here's what Illinois Governor J be Pritzker had to say: ""We passed a map in Illinois that follows the Constitution and that is not what Gov. Abbott is trying to do in Texas. " Then why is it that 44% of Illinois voters cast their ballots for Trump, while Republicans only got 18% of House seats? Well, according to Pritzker, it's because the Democratic Party is "good at delivering for the people of Illinois. " And what's good for the people of Illinois? Democratic control of the House of course! Congratulations Tooms, Pritzker's "ends justify the means" reasoning was the same as yours when I last brought to your attention that Democrats out-gerrymandered Republicans for over 60 years. If it's good for Democrats it's got to be good for America!
The hypocrisy coming from Michelle Luhan, governor of New Mexico, on Wolf Blitzer's show was even more extreme. She really bashed Republicans for cheating. Trump got 46% of the vote there, but there's no Republican in the House representing New Mexico. This is racist. It's discrimination against the rednecks who populate southern and eastern New Mexico. Did Blitzer question her about that? Of course not. Not on CNN.
Still, I suspect this was a stupid move by Trump. Now Illinois, California and other blue states are talking about redistricting too. While it may be difficult for them to pick up many seats given how heavily gerrymandered the states are already, this is just one more thing that Trump's done to rile up the Democrats. And riled up Democrats go to the voting booth.
[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/vitalstats_ch2_tbl2.pdf[/URL]
Here we go again.
Looking forward to that inevitable day after a new and perhaps more deadly and economically catastrophic Trump's Pandemic is raging around the world unbridled, mass murdering millions more Americans, shutting down more global and domestic supply-chains, wiping out millions upon millions of jobs again, shutting down schools, triggering hyper-inflation everywhere due to shortages again and on and on, and the outright MAGAs and of course the ultra pro Repub MAGA pretend "bothsiders / neithersiders" rush forward to grandly announce, "Oh, it is hilarious to blame this on Trump. Gee, this Pandemic came out of nowhere. Right out of the clear blue sky. Nobody could have predicted it. Nobody could have prevented it. It would have happened no matter who was dancing alone with both fists waving in the air in the White House Ballroom or golfing at one of his failed golf resorts. Harris would have handled it much worse, blah blah blah blah blah".
[B]RFK Jr.s firing of CDC vaccine panel undermines science, could threaten public health, experts say.
June 10, 2025[/B]
[URL]https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/10/rfk-jr-firing-of-cdc-vaccine-advisors.html?__source=androidappshare[/URL]
[QUOTE]Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has gutted a key government panel of vaccine advisors, a stunning move that some public health experts say undermines science, disrupts a trusted regulatory process, and could sow public distrust in vaccinations and federal health agencies.[/QUOTE][B]RFK Jr. cuts $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts, dealing major blow to promising area of research.
The cuts add to mounting evidence that Kennedy is pursuing an aggressive anti-vaccine agenda.
Aug. 6, 2025[/B]
[URL]https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rfk-jr-cuts-500-million-mrna-vaccine-contracts-dealing-major-blow-prom-rcna223281[/URL]
[QUOTE]The Trump administration is terminating 22 contracts focused on developing mRNA vaccines and winding down additional federal investments in mRNA technology, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.
Many scientists and infectious disease experts swiftly denounced the move as a broadside on an area of research seen as particularly promising after its use in rapidly developing Covid vaccines.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3018691]They don't look like me. They are saltine cracker eating (compound profanity redacted) who have never had to work a hard day in their life because of perceptions and advantages received from where their mother squatted and pushed them out.
We have individuals talking about immigration. It is the new mantra of the far right. Instead of focusing on the [B]Rich and Super Rich[/B] vacuuming up all the assets and wealth of the middle class they are buying into the false narrative of immigrants being the problem. They forget that the White House of the country where the current POTUS operates out of was build with slave labor.
We have individuals posting here that thinks a permanent residence is not a guest. That do not understand I am a citizen and cannot get deported. If you can get deported from the Dis-United States of America then you are a guest. They say I should be charged with Treason because I disagree with them. Yet, they themselves have NEVER taken a oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
Why is it they cannot recognize that the reason life is not getting better any particular individual nor are things getting better for the majority in the Dis-United States of America is because of the current massive transfer of wealth going on from the middle class to the [B]Rich and Super Rich[/B]?
No amount of personal attacks are going to change that unless the Dis-United States of America begins to tax wealth. Make the [U]Rich and Super Rich[/U] pay more than their fair share of taxes and restore a reasonable balance of the ownership of assets and wealth.
That is the United States of America that I grew up in. One where an enlisted man in the United States Military could buy a home with very little debt that allowed him to raise and protect his family.
Try using reason instead of showing you are intellectually bankrupt by engaging in [B]Ad Hominem[/B] attacks.[/QUOTE]I agree with you about immigrants. Some of our fellow posters don't realize that they're the United States' secret weapon. Without them, China will become world's number one economic and military power. With them, America can remain preeminent.
I disagree with your diagnosis and cure for inequality. The cause is globalization and technology, not evil Republicans. And globalization and technology have improved the lot of mankind, and America. Contrast the United States with the most successful, large European economies, being Germany, France and the UK. Median household income in the United States is roughly the same as the 70th percentile in those countries. Meaning your average Joe in the United States is as well off as someone who makes more than 70% of his countrymen in the big northern European countries. And that's after accounting for purchasing power, taxes, and transfer payments for medical care, education and the like.
There are only a handful of countries with wealth taxes. Many tried them and abandoned them, for good reasons.
We already have a wealth tax, a 40% to 75% tax (depending on the state) on whatever's left when a person dies. I personally think that's like theft. But if you take your position SubCmdr, wouldn't you rather have that than an annual wealth tax? People like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk and the Koch brothers have created world beating corporations that employ lots of Americans and provide goods and services cheaply, some which we might not even have without them. You don't want to starve them of capital and demotivate them with wealth taxes while they're growing their businesses. Instead just steal if from their families when they die. Or better yet maybe they'll give most of what they've got away to charities to avoid handing it over to the government. And I can darn well guarantee whatever people like Gates and Buffet give way will do a lot more good than money spent by our profligate federal government.
As to the rich paying their fair share, the seminal OECD study on tax progressivity indicated that the USA had the most progressive tax system in the developed world, AFTER the Bush tax cuts. (They were later rescinded for upper income earners.) If you want a European welfare state, everybody's going to have to pay for it. The rich don't have enough money.
As to houses, they're affordable in most southern and midwestern red and purple states. A decent house costs maybe $300,000 and median household income is around $80,000. Yeah, there are a few exceptions like Montana and North Carolina, although the later is arguably purple. But people can still buy houses in the heartland. Interest rates are a concern. And they're higher than they should be because of a combined failure of Democrats (e. G. The inflation igniting American Rescue Plan), the Fed, and Trump and his tariffs.
[QUOTE=Tiny12;3018919]The commentary coming from some blue state governors is hilarious. More Texas Democratic lawmakers fled to Illinois than any other state, to escape the wrath of the Texas Attorney General, and more importantly deprive Republican legislators of a quorum to redistrict. Here's what Illinois Governor J be Pritzker had to say: ""We passed a map in Illinois that follows the Constitution and that is not what Gov. Abbott is trying to do in Texas. " Then why is it that 44% of Illinois voters cast their ballots for Trump, while Republicans only got 18% of House seats? Well, according to Pritzker, it's because the Democratic Party is "good at delivering for the people of Illinois. " And what's good for the people of Illinois? Democratic control of the House of course! Congratulations Tooms, Pritzker's "ends justify the means" reasoning was the same as yours when I last brought to your attention that Democrats out-gerrymandered Republicans for over 60 years. If it's good for Democrats it's got to be good for America!
The hypocrisy coming from Michelle Luhan, governor of New Mexico, on Wolf Blitzer's show was even more extreme. She really bashed Republicans for cheating. Trump got 46% of the vote there, but there's no Republican in the House representing New Mexico. This is racist. It's discrimination against the rednecks who populate southern and eastern New Mexico. Did Blitzer question her about that? Of course not. Not on CNN.
Still, I suspect this was a stupid move by Trump. Now Illinois, California and other blue states are talking about redistricting too. While it may be difficult for them to pick up many seats given how heavily gerrymandered the states are already, this is just one more thing that Trump's done to rile up the Democrats. And riled up Democrats go to the voting booth.
[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/vitalstats_ch2_tbl2.pdf[/URL][/QUOTE]Outlaw gerrymandering first. Then let's see how overall voting numbers compare with numbers of House seats.
Until then, it is no different from judging a wrestling match while either or both participants are hog-tied and just wiggling around the ring. It means and tells us practically nothing.
Oh, and while we're at it, let's establish the number of Senate seats to relate to the states' populations of living human being citizens and not to vast empty spaces or the number of rattlesnakes and tumbleweeds.
Then and only then will we get a clearer picture of what the majority of Americans want their votes to accomplish and who they want to make that happen.
[QUOTE]I agree with you about immigrants. Some of our fellow posters don't realize that they're the United States' secret weapon. Without them, China will become world's number one economic and military power. With them, America can remain preeminent.[/QUOTE][U]Of course I am right about immigration[/U]
I spent the most formative years of my life in California. One of the few states that could leave the United States of America and function completely as a independent county. I've always been interested in agriculture and California a country (excuse me) state with direct access to the sea and Mexico. California does not need the rest of the Dis-United States of America. They need California. The greatest politician that has ever held office in the Dis-United States of America was Arnold. You know what? You didn't hear that that male bovine excrement coming out the mouths of Republicans from him.
[B]Immigrants power the food production/processing industry in the Dis-United States of America[/B]
[QUOTE]I disagree with your diagnosis and cure for inequality. The cause is globalization and technology, not evil Republicans. And globalization and technology have improved the lot of mankind, and America. Contrast the United States with the most successful, large European economies, being Germany, France and the UK. Median household income in the United States is roughly the same as the 70th percentile in those countries. Meaning your average Joe in the United States is as well off as someone who makes more than 70% of his countrymen in the big northern European countries. And that's after accounting for purchasing power, taxes, and transfer payments for medical care, education and the like.[/QUOTE][U]I am not interested in surviving on crumbs dropped from the tables of the Rich and Super Rich[/U]
Most individuals do not understand economics or the economy. Income does not mean jack. That is why they tax it. [B]What is important is nice asses on girls. I mean assets[/B].
Wealth inequality is created by the [U]Rich and Super Rich[/U] increasing owning a greater part of the wealth of the societies they live in. The poor have already been squeezed out. The government has been squeezed out. The middle class is next.
[QUOTE]There are only a handful of countries with wealth taxes. Many tried them and abandoned them, for good reasons.
We already have a wealth tax, a 40% to 75% tax (depending on the state) on whatever's left when a person dies. I personally think that's like theft. But if you take your position SubCmdr, wouldn't you rather have that than an annual wealth tax? People like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk and the Koch brothers have created world beating corporations that employ lots of Americans and provide goods and services cheaply, some which we might not even have without them. You don't want to starve them of capital and demotivate them with wealth taxes while they're growing their businesses. Instead just steal if from their families when they die. Or better yet maybe they'll give most of what they've got away to charities to avoid handing it over to the government. And I can darn well guarantee whatever people like Gates and Buffet give way will do a lot more good than money spent by our profligate federal government.[/QUOTE][U]Tax Assets not Work[/U]
I call [B]male bovine excrement[/B] on the above paragraph.
First of all don't speak for me. I would prefer a annual tax on assets. We already have a system like that. It is call the property tax. I just sold a home in Texas because the property taxes got to be insane. So don't well me that a wealth tax will not work. It is MUCH better than a income tax. Because the [U]Rich and the Super Rich[/U] cannot avoid it. Just like with the houses of regular people if you don't pay your property taxes the government takes it from you.
Income taxes are theft. Inflation is theft. Devaluation of the currency is theft.
AI is going to get rid of a lot a jobs. Those jobs are not coming back. These benefits are going to accrue to the [U]Rich and Super Rich[/U]. They should be taxed on the assets.
[QUOTE]As to houses, they're affordable in most southern and midwestern red and purple states. A decent house costs maybe $300,000 and median household income is around $80,000. Yeah, there are a few exceptions like Montana and North Carolina, although the later is arguably purple. But people can still buy houses in the heartland. Interest rates are a concern. And they're higher than they should be because of a combined failure of Democrats (e. G. The inflation igniting American Rescue Plan), the Fed, and Trump and his tariffs.[/QUOTE][U]Can middle class pay cash for a house?[/U]
No they can't.
[U]What is a mortgage?[/U]
Asking for permission from rich person to take on massive amounts of debt in order to pay to live in a house. It's no different from rent. Especially considering the amount of debt one must enter into in order to [I]buy and own[/I] a home.
[QUOTE]People like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk and the Koch brothers[/QUOTE][B]Man fuck those greedy ass mother fuckers[/B]! Open your eyes and see them for what they are. They have build their entire empires on my taxes. On the infrastructure that my income taxes have paid over the years that have allowed these empires to be built.
[B]Tax Assets not Work![/B]
[QUOTE=Tiny12;3018919]The commentary coming from some blue state governors is hilarious. More Texas Democratic lawmakers fled to Illinois than any other state, to escape the wrath of the Texas Attorney General, and more importantly deprive Republican legislators of a quorum to redistrict. Here's what Illinois Governor J be Pritzker had to say: ""We passed a map in Illinois that follows the Constitution and that is not what Gov. Abbott is trying to do in Texas. " Then why is it that 44% of Illinois voters cast their ballots for Trump, while Republicans only got 18% of House seats? Well, according to Pritzker, it's because the Democratic Party is "good at delivering for the people of Illinois. " And what's good for the people of Illinois? Democratic control of the House of course! Congratulations Tooms, Pritzker's "ends justify the means" reasoning was the same as yours when I last brought to your attention that Democrats out-gerrymandered Republicans for over 60 years. If it's good for Democrats it's got to be good for America!
The hypocrisy coming from Michelle Luhan, governor of New Mexico, on Wolf Blitzer's show was even more extreme. She really bashed Republicans for cheating. Trump got 46% of the vote there, but there's no Republican in the House representing New Mexico. This is racist. It's discrimination against the rednecks who populate southern and eastern New Mexico. Did Blitzer question her about that? Of course not. Not on CNN.
Still, I suspect this was a stupid move by Trump. Now Illinois, California and other blue states are talking about redistricting too. While it may be difficult for them to pick up many seats given how heavily gerrymandered the states are already, this is just one more thing that Trump's done to rile up the Democrats. And riled up Democrats go to the voting booth.
[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/vitalstats_ch2_tbl2.pdf[/URL][/QUOTE]Regarding the table on your Brookings link, it is an interesting academic exercise to look at the Popular Vote across the land vs House Seats Won By The Party. But there are several reasons why it tells us virtually nothing of value about "fairness" or "the will of the people" in a world where extreme gerrymandering of districts by Party exists.
Here are some but probably not all of the reasons why:
1. The voters of the gerrymander-disadvantaged Party might not bother to vote because they know the incumbent or new candidate of the gerrymander-advantaged Party has a 99.99% chance of winning, so why bother.
- non votes are not counted on that table.
2. Many gerrymander-advantaged Party candidates run and win elections "unopposed" because everyone knows that candidate has a 99.99% chance of winning.
- non votes for non-existant election opponents are not counted on that table.
3. Even if there is an opposing, gerrymander-disadvantaged Party candidate on the ballot just for the hell of it in order to have some name on there but that candidate has barely campaigned, if at all, few voters from the gerrymander-disadvantaged Party will run to the polls to vote for that candidate because everyone knows the gerrymander-advantaged Party candidate has a 99.99% chance of winning.
4. Even if there is a brilliant, capable, honorable and well-intentioned person of the gerrymander-disadvantaged Party in that heavily gerrymandered district, he or she probably already knows it would be a waste of their time and money to run against a gerrymander-advantaged Party candidate who has a 99.99% chance of winning.
- non votes for people who do not run for election are not counted on that table.
5. Campaign Donors are not likely to donate their time and money to back gerrymander-disadvantaged Party candidates only to waste their time and money on a candidate whose gerrymander-advantaged opponent Party candidate has a 99.99% chance of winning.
- non votes for candidates who didn't run because nobody donated time or money to their candidacy are not counted in those tables.
Outlaw gerrymandering and then we can examine and discuss the meaning of Popular Vote vs House Seats Won By Party.
Until then, it means virtually nothing of value on the subject of fairness or democratic principles.
Overwhelmingly contrary to what that big, fat, orange MAGA Repub Liar Donald J. Trump has been lying about:
[QUOTE]The newly released statistics once again contradict President Donald Trump's claims that crime in the United States is out of control.
"You cant walk across the street to get a loaf of bread. You get shot, you get mugged, you get raped," Trump said last year at a campaign event north of Detroit.[/QUOTE][B]FBI crime report says violent crime decreased by 4.5% in 2024.
Violent crime is defined as murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Aug. 6, 2025[/B]
[URL]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-crime-report-says-violent-crime-decreased-45-2024-rcna223201[/URL]
[QUOTE]Statistics released Tuesday by the FBI indicate that violent crime decreased overall in the United States by 4.5% last year.
The FBIs annual crime report is made up of data from over 16,000 agencies around the country, covering 95% of the U.S. population. Around 2% more agencies submitted crime data compared with the previous year. Notably, every city agency covering a population of 1 million or more submitted a full 12 months of data for the 2024 report.
According to the FBI, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 14.9%, robbery decreased an estimated 8.9% rape decreased an estimated 5.2%, and aggravated assault decreased an estimated 3.0%.
Property crime also decreased an estimated 8.1% from 2023 to 2024, and hate crimes decreased an estimated 1.5%, the report found.[/QUOTE]Thanks again, Joe. Thanks again, Kamala.
[U]Tax Assets not Work![/U]
[QUOTE][b]People like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk and the Koch brothers[/b][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3018936][B]Man fuck those greedy ass mother fuckers[/B]! Open your eyes and see them for what they are. They have build their entire empires on my taxes. On the infrastructure that my income taxes have paid over the years that have allowed these empires to be built.[/QUOTE]These are the same mother fuckers that made the decision to sell out the middle class and working people by taking business overseas.
[QUOTE]I disagree with your diagnosis and cure for inequality. The cause is globalization and technology,[/QUOTE]Do you think this just fucking happened? No, the mother fucking captains industry that (by the way you nor I have NOTHING in common with) made those decisions. Now they are funding the far right to sow discord among the poor, middle class and regular hard working people to point fingers at each others over racism and claiming the immigration is the problem. Those born to privilege who look to the billionaires that look like them and think they have something in common with them are being sold a [I]pig in a poke[/I]. Whatever the fuck that means.
[B]ROTFLMAO![/B]
If I own a house outright (no encumbrances) I have to pay taxes on the assessed value of that house in order to keep it. Remember this is my house. I am NOT using it to make income. Why in the fuck are they taxing the place where I live every mother fucking month?
If I own BTC, and it goes up in value I am not taxed on that increase in value until I sell it. If I need money I can borrow against it (a non taxable event). So, if I own enough assets it is possible that I NEVER have any income to tax. [B]Am I poor?[/B].
I buy a life insurance policy that pays my debts when I die. Then my heirs get the value of my BTC and I have NEVER paid tax on it.
[B]FUCK A HOUSE![/B]
[QUOTE=EihTooms;3018928]Outlaw gerrymandering first. Then let's see how overall voting numbers compare with numbers of House seats.
Until then, it is no different from judging a wrestling match while either or both participants are hog-tied and just wiggling around the ring. It means and tells us practically nothing.
Oh, and while we're at it, let's establish the number of Senate seats to relate to the states' populations of living human being citizens and not to vast empty spaces or the number of rattlesnakes and tumbleweeds.
Then and only then will we get a clearer picture of what the majority of Americans want their votes to accomplish and who they want to make that happen.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=EihTooms;3018977]Regarding the table on your Brookings link, it is an interesting academic exercise to look at the Popular Vote across the land vs House Seats Won By The Party. But there are several reasons why it tells us virtually nothing of value about "fairness" or "the will of the people" in a world where extreme gerrymandering of districts by Party exists.
Here are some but probably not all of the reasons why:
1. The voters of the gerrymander-disadvantaged Party might not bother to vote because they know the incumbent or new candidate of the gerrymander-advantaged Party has a 99.99% chance of winning, so why bother.
- non votes are not counted on that table.
2. Many gerrymander-advantaged Party candidates run and win elections "unopposed" because everyone knows that candidate has a 99.99% chance of winning.
- non votes for non-existant election opponents are not counted on that table.
3. Even if there is an opposing, gerrymander-disadvantaged Party candidate on the ballot just for the hell of it in order to have some name on there but that candidate has barely campaigned, if at all, few voters from the gerrymander-disadvantaged Party will run to the polls to vote for that candidate because everyone knows the gerrymander-advantaged Party candidate has a 99.99% chance of winning.
4. Even if there is a brilliant, capable, honorable and well-intentioned person of the gerrymander-disadvantaged Party in that heavily gerrymandered district, he or she probably already knows it would be a waste of their time and money to run against a gerrymander-advantaged Party candidate who has a 99.99% chance of winning.
- non votes for people who do not run for election are not counted on that table.
5. Campaign Donors are not likely to donate their time and money to back gerrymander-disadvantaged Party candidates only to waste their time and money on a candidate whose gerrymander-advantaged opponent Party candidate has a 99.99% chance of winning.
- non votes for candidates who didn't run because nobody donated time or money to their candidacy are not counted in those tables.
Outlaw gerrymandering and then we can examine and discuss the meaning of Popular Vote vs House Seats Won By Party.
Until then, it means virtually nothing of value on the subject of fairness or democratic principles.[/QUOTE]Actually those are good posts, applicable equally to Democrats and Republicans. Perhaps people could agree to use a nonpartisan algorithm to determine boundaries of Congressional districts. That would make sense IMHO.
My one point of difference with you would be the Senate. Maybe I'm biased, having spent the majority of my life in areas populated by rattlesnakes and tumble weeds. The Senate will have to stay as it is, because an amendment to the constitution that would apportion representation based on population will never pass muster. Please note that the structure of the Senate (two Senators per state) was a foundational step in the creation of the United States of America. Without it, the smaller states wouldn't have signed up.
I'm happy letting you have your way however if states that aren't happy with the change can secede. Imagine that! An oil and gas and agricultural superpower stretching from Calgary to Key West! While your proposal would disadvantage Texas, the Great State would undoubtedly join the others in leaving. And undoubtedly even more business and hard workers would flee California for the Lone Star State and shake off the shackles of Sacramento and Washington, D. C. !
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3018936][U]Of course I am right about immigration[/U]
I spent the most formative years of my life in California. One of the few states that could leave the United States of America and function completely as a independent county. I've always been interested in agriculture and California a country (excuse me) state with direct access to the sea and Mexico. California does not need the rest of the Dis-United States of America. They need California. The greatest politician that has ever held office in the Dis-United States of America was Arnold. You know what? You didn't hear that that male bovine excrement coming out the mouths of Republicans from him.
[B]Immigrants power the food production/processing industry in the Dis-United States of America[/B]
[U]I am not interested in surviving on crumbs dropped from the tables of the Rich and Super Rich[/U]
Most individuals do not understand economics or the economy. Income does not mean jack. That is why they tax it. [B]What is important is nice asses on girls. I mean assets[/B].
Wealth inequality is created by the [U]Rich and Super Rich[/U] increasing owning a greater part of the wealth of the societies they live in. The poor have already been squeezed out. The government has been squeezed out. The middle class is next.
[U]Tax Assets not Work[/U]
I call [B]male bovine excrement[/B] on the above paragraph.
First of all don't speak for me. I would prefer a annual tax on assets. We already have a system like that. It is call the property tax. I just sold a home in Texas because the property taxes got to be insane. So don't well me that a wealth tax will not work. It is MUCH better than a income tax. Because the [U]Rich and the Super Rich[/U] cannot avoid it. Just like with the houses of regular people if you don't pay your property taxes the government takes it from you.
Income taxes are theft. Inflation is theft. Devaluation of the currency is theft.
AI is going to get rid of a lot a jobs. Those jobs are not coming back. These benefits are going to accrue to the [U]Rich and Super Rich[/U]. They should be taxed on the assets.
[U]Can middle class pay cash for a house?[/U]
No they can't.
[U]What is a mortgage?[/U]
Asking for permission from rich person to take on massive amounts of debt in order to pay to live in a house. It's no different from rent. Especially considering the amount of debt one must enter into in order to [I]buy and own[/I] a home.
[B]Man fuck those greedy ass mother fuckers[/B]! Open your eyes and see them for what they are. They have build their entire empires on my taxes. On the infrastructure that my income taxes have paid over the years that have allowed these empires to be built.
[B]Tax Assets not Work![/B][/QUOTE]I don't know much about Arnold but believe he did well. He was a uniter, not a divider. He would have probably done better as president than any of the bozos after Clinton, although of course he couldn't run being born in Austria.
I also agree with you completely about nice asses on girls.
And please SubCmdr, by the standards of most in the world, you ARE rich. Hell, in Thailand and the Dominican Republic, you're super rich. Please stop beating up on yourself. Self immolation doesn't become you.
Actually, I don't have a problem with the property tax. Part of the reason is that it's levied by the states and localities. My city and state are good stewards of the taxpayers' dollars. They don't flush money down the toilet like the bozos in Washington. Second, it's not that cumbersome, for me at least. Unlike with a wealth tax, I don't have to come up with a value for my assets every year and suffer civil and possibly even criminal penalties if I fuck up. Instead the local appraisal districts have a systematic method of estimating value, so I don't have to do jack. Thirdly, I think taxing, say, $5 million houses is better than taxing capital that produces jobs, like investments in financial assets. In fact, I wouldn't have a problem with having an element of progressivity and taxing high dollar houses at higher levels than other real property.
The top 1% pay about 40% of the income tax. And when you include the sales tax, the property tax, the net investment income tax, and, per the OECD's convention, the employee's part of social security and Medicare, the rich still pay more than their fair share.
You need to look at this from the bottom up instead of the top down. A big part of the problem is that a majority of Americans live hand to mouth. They don't save and invest. They're not like you and me, or Elvis, Axel and Tooms for that matter, who scrimp and save and think about the future.
The solution? IMO transition to something like Singapore's Central Provident Fund or Australia's Superannuation scheme. Get employers and employees to contribute a lot more than they do now to retirement. Make people owners of their own investment accounts. And yes, have some kind of safety net to pay for medical expenses and social security for those who slip through the cracks. I call this The Tiny Plan. Make people owners!