Tax bill. What tax bill?

[William Thornton]

Judging from my mod/lib friends' silence nothing happened this week.

Reliable Dem Sandy said : I'm not so much concerned about being plunged into hell, as I am being plunged into recession, which is what every Republican tax cut trickle down bill like this has done over the past fifty years. This one just has more extreme numbers. I hope that doesn't mean a more extreme recession.

Trump says the opposite.

At least the scenario is set. Either we will have vigorous GDP growth or not. Credit or blame assigned accordingly. Dems are heavily invested in economic failure, lest trump be seen as succeeding.

After listening to pelosi/schumer who promise Armageddon, I just hope to survive 2017.

[Sandy]

Trump is a pathological liar. I think that says about all that is necessary when it comes to all the rhetoric. The corruption that has been his lifetime trademark has been brought into the government. I think that's really all that needs to be said.

[William Thornton]

[Rvaughn]

[Sandy]

[William Thornton]

Hey, dems can get elected and undo it if it needs undoing.

[Sandy]

[KeithE]

[William Thornton]

I made a note. We'll see. Nothing wrong with trash talking way ahead of any vote.

[Sandy]

You should probably include this in your note, William. It's a much bigger deal than the tax reform bill.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/12 ... ot-closing

[William Thornton]

Yeah...like we don't know that dems plan for the future doesn include anything beyond impeachment. Keep tilting...

[KeithE]

[William Thornton]

[Rvaughn]

[Haruo]

I think does a pretty good job of debunking both sides' descriptions of the bill.

[Dave Roberts]

My favorite response to this was a picture from the old Peanuts cartoons of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown. The caption was, "Come on, Charlie Brown. You know trickle-down works."

[KeithE]

[Jon Estes]

Some will be happy - some will be mad.

Fact is though, it is now passed and we will survive. If we could survive the past eight years, we will find it easier the next 7.

[KeithE]

Just for grins I worked out what an average income tax break would be if that tax break were made equal across all filers.

We have about . Source IRS.

The new tax cut bill cuts revenues by out of the approximately $1.5T taxes (most often rest go to businesses). Source: the conservative Tax Foundation about an earlier version of this bill (close as I could find but probably fairly accurate).

So that means $330B/145M = $2,276 tax cut could be given to each tax return across the incomes.

If this were truly only a “massive tax cut targeted for the middle” quintile (as Trump often trumpets), all middle class would get $11,379 cut.

And if it were to cut out all upper quintile income earners from receiving any tax cut ("stick it to the rich” approach of liberals), each in the bottom 80% would get $2845 cut.

As for the great economic benefits that the right wing says will result, I again give you . (Question A) Only one agrees that our GDP will grow substantially as a result of this bill within 10 year (that is extraordinarily statement since the usually goes up).
(Question B) All 42 economist thinks our debt/GDP ratio will grow within 10 years.

[KeithE]

[Sandy]

Yeah, surviving these last eight years was tough, with unemployment dropping by record numbers, record setting economic growth and what most credible economists would call a complete recovery from the Republican Bush Recession. Any evaluation of the Obama administration as anything but successful in every way is ignorance of facts or a biased lie. If you expect perfection, you're always disappointed, but if your politics are so narrow and single minded as to prevent seeing reality you are just lying to yourself. We've replaced an administration that proved itself to be one of integrity and competence with a group of criminals, cheaters, liars and self-serving bureaucrats that are hard to distinguish from the inmates of an asylum for the critically insane.

Watching the number of people rush to tax offices to get property taxes paid early, to get the deductions that have been capped or cut, seems similar to the bank runs that occurred prior to and during the depression. In spite of the administration's rhetoric, people who keep up with financial data are speaking with their feet, and saying loud and clear that this is exactly what it has been pegged, a tax cut for the wealthy, and a tax increase for the middle class, a Robin Hood plan in reverse.

[Haruo]

Intriguing to see Rubio saying that although the tax bill is an improvement over the previous situation, he (a) thinks it's way too generous to corporations and (b) doesn't think it'll be all that good for employment growth.

[KeithE]

[Haruo]

Sorry, it was just a radio news story that I randomly heard while driving, on KOMO (ABC affiliate in Seattle). I was paying more attention to the road than to the radio, but I don't think there were many more details nor a further source cited.

[Tim Bonney]