That phrase, beloved of Libs, is the equivalent of saying "Medicines only benefit the sick."

Some medicines are given to people who aren't sick to keep them from becoming sick and thus help other people from becoming sick even if they refuse to take the medicine. Everyone pays taxes in one form or another, Stucki, so it's ridiculous for you to keep whining incessantly about poor people not paying taxes when dang near everyone pays them in some form or another.

As far as income taxes, MtnCaddy claimed that the tax cuts since Reagan benefitted primarily the top 10%, and he is correct. When Donald Trump and his similarly situated ilk are able to take a slew of tax deductions that reduce their income to near zero and below zero, how are they any different than the so-called "poor"?

A quick visit to the IRS website reveals that the top 50% of taxpayers pay 97% of the taxes they collect, while the bottom half of all taxpayers pay the remaining 3%.

You omitted to explain that an adjusted gross income (AGI) of merely $41,740 lands you in the top 50%. If your AGI on an income tax form determines whether or not you are rich or poor, then Donald Trump and a whole slew of billionaires are poor since many of them pay no taxes because they take deductions and losses that allow them to pay little to no income tax. You seem to never be able to grasp this concept every time it is discussed and just fall back on the same old tired drivel and spew.

Re "Tax cuts mostly benefitting the rich."

That phrase, beloved of Libs, is the equivalent of saying "Medicines only benefit the sick."

A quick visit to the IRS website reveals that the top 50% of taxpayers pay 97% of the taxes they collect, while the bottom half of all taxpayers pay the remaining 3%.

So, the inevitable solution to the "problem" you guys feel your shibboleth represents, just requires you to first COLLECT a little tax from the "poor", in order for them to benefit from tax cuts, right?

Why does each voter have only one polling place they can go to? I can vote at any polling booth in my state on election day. If I'm not working that day, I prefer going to the local hospital to vote because there's never a line there.

I also wonder why Americans value tradition over fairness and efficiency. Updating the details of your voter registration is easy here but a burdensome chore in America, especially if you move from one state to another. I've moved states here quite often and updating my voter registration only ever involves filling out one simple form online. I don't have to cancel it in one place then register from scratch in another. That's automatically done for me.

Americans really are very tolerant of unnecessary bureaucracy.

Woo-hoo! Texas theme it is. Hey ready for some Steavie Ray Vaughn and ZZ Top.

This means that neither party has to offer anything but superficial differences while they work together for the big money interests.

Dude, statements like this really hurt your cause. I read stuff like this and I think, "Oh yeah? As much as I'm not a fan of Hillary if she'd have won in 2016 maybe 400,000 American Covid casualties would still be alive."

Just because Ralph Nader was right about the Dems and Repugs being tweedle dee and tweedle dum doesn't much matter to some 400,000 grieving American families. That is, Trump being elected instead of Hillary made more than a superficial difference, hello.

Right on, CRS. Libertarian isn't a bad choice, especially if Trump is one's only other choice besides us Commie Democrats.

I used to respect the Republican Party and I firmly believe there must be a Center-Right Party to balance us Libtards.

For example, IMO Eisenhower was an excellent President -- you should compare his agenda and accomplishments to what Bush the Younger and The Donald did and didn't do.

I hated Nixon over Vietnam and Watergate but at least Nixon established the EPA, reached out to China and eventually pulled us out of Vietnam --
after his 1968 chicanery vis a vis the peace talks, that is.

The Republicans lost me with the advent of Reaganism. Shrinking government -- via tax cuts mostly benefitting the top 10% -- until it's small enough to drown in a bathtub is nothing less than undoing the New Deal. And leaving most of us to the tender mercies of the free market.

I can't resist pointing out that hurricane ravaged Floridians and Texans always seem grateful that government hasn't quite yet
been drowned in a bathtub.

Actually, I didn't vote for Trump in 2016, went for Anderson (Libertarian).

Had Bernie been on the ballot ln 2020, I'd have gone Libertarian again.

I could never vote for trump regardless of who else was ever on the ballot..

...as the poet said, "Don't worry -- there will be plenty of time to panic later!"

Recall the campaign, ...unlike his predecessor Barack Obama, who was a relative newcomer to politics, Biden’s major selling point was that he knows “how to make government work”.

One reason Obama was never as popular during his Presidency as he was afterwards was because his promise of "Hope and Change" proved to be majorly disappointing to us Progressives.

Barack Obama refused to lift a finger to pressure similarly conservative Democratic senators to support a wildly popular public insurance option or a union card check initiative that he explicitly promised. He had enormous congressional majorities and a huge election mandate, but didn’t bother to go to Democratic states to build Democratic voter pressure against recalcitrant Democratic senators.

Elizabeth, this is where the rubber meets the road! If Joe has the political will he'll get these things done. And if they don't get done it'll mean he didn't have the political will to deliver for anyone in the 90%.

Ah, this is a reality-based political blog, you know. :)

23] C. R. Stucki wrote:

Caddy (20)

Where were you when I posted (well ahead of normal election day) that I had already voted for the Dem pres candidate for the first time in my life...

My bad -- I simply missed amidst all the comments. I don't need to check with Kick, as your word is good enough for me!

Bernie Bro that I am I had a hard time voting for Hillary in 2016 (almost went with Jill Stein.) This must have been tougher for you.

I'm curious: would you have voted against Trump if Bernie was the Democratic candidate?

If the Dems fail to dump the filibuster that will clearly indicate that they're working strictly for our top 10% and only pretending to care about the rest of us.

Fuck Biden, Manchin and Sinema -- the filibuster has to go! It's not in our Constitution. It's was most notoriously used to oppose Civil Rights. And it's will squash the Democrat's ability to get anything game changing done.