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[Flynnie]

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ursus arctos wrote: It is very deliberate, but it ignores the fact that there are in fact GOP members of Congress from all of them.

Yeah, the Republicans don't have a majority if they exclude GOP reps from high-tax blue states.

And GOP state income taxes and such are higher than you'd think for most people, they're just not progressively taxed like blue states are. Middle-class taxpayers in Kentucky would be getting a nice 4.87% tax increase with this bill, which all but tells you it's not becoming law because Mitch McConnell isn't that stupid. The Rust Belt states Trump unexpectedly won all have pretty high state and local taxes, and if there's anything that will make suburbanites desert the GOP, it's a tax increase. It's what killed George H. Bush's presidency.

[Ginger Yellow]

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I haven't done the maths because it's basically impossible with this "plan", but I'd have thought the median Republican voter in, say, New York would be better off net/net given the other changes, especially AMT repeal.

[ursus arctos]

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That may be true for Manhattan and Westchester (at least if one limits it to the actively employed) , but almost certainly is not for Staten Island, the Upstate rust belt and the less well off portions of Long Island, which are the areas that Trump won in November and the core of the GOP Congressional delegation from New York.

[Ginger Yellow]

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Even with a $24k standard deduction? How many Staten Islanders are paying that much in state and local taxes but wouldn't benefit from the tax cuts for the rich bits?

[Gerontophile]

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Clearly insane.

[Ginger Yellow]

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I know he said we were going to get sick of winning, but I didn't think it would be like this.

[ursus arctos]

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GY, given property taxes in Staten Island, I wouldn't be surprised if there are police and firemen making a bit over 100K and pay 24K in tax. I don't think that they pay AMT

[Gerontophile]

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Granny Clampett



Bilbo Bigot.

[MsD]

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He's been Tweeting about North Korea again (and it's Friday night, of course).

He's as mad as a fucking March hare. So is the North Korean bloke.

[Satchmo Distel]

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North Korean bloke is not as mad as shit like this:

North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!

[Calvert]

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Yup, totally barking, and at least North Koreans didn't vote their
maniac into power.
I love the way he wheels out the respect wagon.
When caught on tape boasting about grabbing women by the genitals he offered 'no one respects women more than me, NO ONE!' as if wearily reminding us of a universal truth.
And should an inappropriate relationship with his daughter be exposed, would it really harm him with the Cletuses who voted him in?

Build a big wall -yay!
Slowly kill the planet with global warming -yay!
Quickly kill the planet with nuclear war -yay!
Fancy your own daughter-yay!

Make Murica great again.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

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Well, a cynical snob would say that fancying your relatives is a tradition in some parts of the country.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

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ad hoc wrote: Tax is for poor people. It's what Ayn Rand would have wanted

If you want poor people to support tax breaks for the rich you only have to convince them that the money will go to people slighly poorer than them.

[anton pulisov]

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Obama taking 400k from Wall Street not really helping combat the image of the Democrats being a bunch of corporate sellouts.

[Gerontophile]

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Trevor Noah talked about that on The Daily Show, here, AP.

I agree with him: he should totally cash in.

[MsD]

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Of course he should, he gave 8 years of dedicated service to his country that made him age visibly. Plus, all the studying and preparation and whatever that got him to that position.

I wouldn't be surprised if he used his money to do good things, but personally I don't have an issue if he parties it up.

[Cal Alamein]

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Bullshit to that.

Not that I'm really surprised, but no way should he ever agree to do a speech for Wall Street, especially so soon after his departure. He's not hurting for $$$. He needs to look a little more to the guy who lives in a small town in Georgia.

[Gerontophile]

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He doesn't need to do a damned thing. He got treated like shit for 8 years, so a massive "fuck you" to everyone is the very least he deserves.

(But ok, maybe Wall Street wasn't the best opening speech.)

[Cal Alamein]

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The biggest "fuck you" he can do to those who treated him like shit is to NOT do the Bill & Hilary mega bucks speeches to suit & tie Wall Street types or to Urban Outfitters Silicon Valley types.

Grow a beard, visit lots of college campuses, and get every young person aged 18-24 registered to vote for 2018 and 2020.

[MsD]

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What if his speeches to Wall Street do some good in opening minds in some way to injustice and diversity? To lessening their hostility to Democrats, if they are hostile? I don't know what his speeches were, but I doubt they were "hey you guys, you're clearly the best of the best, so just keep fucking poor folks over and spending it all on coke and hookers". Maybe there's a case for the amelioration of capitalism, if we can't fundamentally change it. Maybe an inspiring speech from an honest man who cares about public service, would have more effect than just getting them to donate a wodge to charity.

That might be a rosy view but it's possibly that he wasn't just reinforcing their view of themselves as entitled elites.

[Cal Alamein]

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With nutjob in power I can't get anything but discouraged to hear that Obama is willing to give speeches to the scum that fought (and will succeed) to destroy what safeguards he and congress put in place after the 2008 Wall Street meltdown.

He likely will give a speech that takes the tone from what you hope he will say, but getting 400K for it reeks, even if he publicly gives it all away to charity. Just avoid the bastards and mobilize those that will be adversely affected by unfettered Wall Street greed and corruption.

I'm not too optimistic of B.O. opening Wall Streeters minds to injustice and diversity and lessening their hostility to Democrats. Sorry to be negative, but the battle lines are drawn and no matter what Obama says or does with the money the message will be spun against him, so best to avoid it at all.

[RobM]

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I suspect that there isn't really minds to be opened and nor is there anything Obama can add to the equation. He was a dissapointment, a charming and realtively benign one but a dissapointment nonetheless.

I'd have him back in a minute though, weird country Amurica.

[anton pulisov]

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I had seen the Trevor Noah take on the Obama speeches. Thought it was a pretty lame take.

News is he's just done yet another speech and gotten another $400k. This man has a 60 million dollar book deal. He doesn't need the money.

But then again, Wall Street sponsored his campaigns so why should anyone be surprised that he continues to take their money.

[MsD]

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“As we announced months ago, President Obama will deliver speeches from time to time. Some of those speeches will be paid, some will be unpaid, and regardless of venue or sponsor, President Obama will be true to his values, his vision and his record,” Schultz said, adding that Obama had accepted the invitation to appear at the conference “because, as a president who successfully passed health insurance reform, it’s an issue of great importance to him.”

I'd like to see the transcript of his speeches.

I'm someone who's worked for Wall Street (albeit at the lowest level) for 15 years of my life, and I've been involved in politics (at the lowest level) for more than 35 years; FWIW I think it better to have someone like Obama trying to be heard in that culture, at least.

[Calvert]

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Dear N. Korea,
Can you hit Pennsylvania first? It'll do wonders for the gene pool.

Cheers.