Sunday, December 3, 2017

Republicans May Be More Disgusting Than Originally Projected

I didn't think it was possible, but it seems that the Republican Party might be more disgusting than I had originally imagined. Once there was a time where you could find a Republican or two and say he/she was one of the good ones, but the days of Jim Jeffords and John Chaffee are long gone. Non-scumbag left this party long ago, if you are still in this party, guess what? You are one of the scumbags. Their tax plan passed in both the House and the Senate with only Republicans voting for it (yes, even John McCain). If you need more examples to prove they are scumbags, there are plenty.  This is just the latest example.

If you are a Republican Governor, local politician or simply a GOP voter, your hands are not clean here. Being merely a member of this party is compliance. You are not just part of the problem, you are the problem. If you don't know what I am talking about, please turn of Fox "News," check out any reputable source of media and emerge from your bubble. After your head emerges from your ass and you figure out how much you are hurting your fellow Americans, maybe then you will realize that you delusions are patriotism are just that.

Their latest tax plan gives massive tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires. The idea behind trickle down economics is that the upper echelon of our society would transfer this tax savings to the rest of us by reinvesting in our economy. The problem with this is it does not work. If you were alive in the 1980's, you know what I am talking about. The neighborhood I grew up in was devastated by trickle down economics. The word "homeless" did not exist before the 1980's. The wealthy do not reinvest this influx of money, they mostly don't even notice it. Why? Because they are wealthy. If you are a billionaire, getting a few extra thousand dollars means nothing to you. There is no incentive for them to reinvest into the American economy or to spend it. All I can think of now when I hear trickling down is the rich piss all over the poor. This is exactly what they are doing with this tax bill. If you wanted to stimulate the economy, you would give the middle class a tax cut.

Do you remember when Republicans were concerned about deficits? The next time they bring up the deficit as a concern, please remember they are lying their fucking asses off. The last Republican President declared two unnecessary wars and implemented Medicare Part D while cutting taxes, and their current douche-bag-in-chief will be approving this tax bill which is predicted to add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next ten years. They are increasing some taxes in this bill ... guess who is getting hurt?  Teachers and students. Since the 80's, the Republicans have making it harder and harder for the poor and working class to get an education in this country. Why?  I used to have a theory that they wanted to keep us ignorant, for the ignorant are easily manipulated. Also, if the poor can get student loans easily, who will join the military and fight their bloody, profit-making fucking wars. Not their kids. I used to right this theory off as paranoia, but as the old saying goes, "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean no one is out to get you."

Back when my wife was a public pre-school teacher, she spent a good part of the summer looking for deals on supplies for her classroom. We'd drive around to garage and yard sales, looking for books, blocks and rocking chairs, you name it. I used to complain, shouldn't the school or the parents be paying for supplies. But that just doesn't happen does it? She used to say she wouldn't be able to do her job without the supplies. The one good thing was that teachers used to be able to declared up to $250.00 of unreimbursed expenses on their taxes. Since the average public school teacher spends from $500 to $600 on supplies, this certainly helped. No more. Under the House's tax bill, this write-off is completely eliminated. Those lavish spending teacher will have buckle-up, because those millionaires really need their tax break. There is an offshore account that is need of more padding.

Graduate students are getting hit as well.  Many grad students work for universities (teaching classes, etc.) For reimbursement, they get their tuition paid. That payment will now be taxable. So if your tuition would have been $40,000.00, you will now have to count that as income and be taxed on it. This means that some students will not be able to go to graduate school. Welcome to the brain drain. We need more people going to grad school, not less.

The middle class will be particularly hurt by the fact that we won't be able to write off our state taxes anymore. If you live in a state that has high state taxes, this is really going to hurt. I am sure it is no accident that these are also traditionally Democratic states (blue states) like New York and California.

The mandate for the Affordable Care Act will be illuminated. This is just another step in the destruction of this law. The mandate is how we pay for the ACA, because it forces healthy people to buy into the system. If you think of fire insurance, it doesn't work if only people who have fires pay for it. The healthy pay for the non-healthy. By eliminating the mandate, it is going to be even harder to pay for the ACA.  The loss will probably be made up for by the taxpayer ... hence, more deficit.

This is not conservatism.  Eisenhower was our last conservative president and if the Republican Party was producing politicians like him, I'd might even be a Republican. This is not reform. Reform makes it easier to file your taxes. This is just a greedy money grab for the wealthy. This is a gift to their base, the ultra-rich with elimination of the estate and alternative minimum tax. They are shitting on the middle class and wiping their asses with the poor. That is the modern Republican. Please join me in voting against them at every possibility.




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