Will Joe Biden be the next president?

[Isaac]

Open your eyes stupid, only slightly more than half of wage earners actually have to pay any income tax at all and 80% of the money collected comes from top 20% right now. There aren't enough rich people in the world to fund your outrageous freebies even if you took all their income. Why the hell do you think California is trying to pass a bill to tax assets? How that will work is never discussed. Who decides whether my small business is worth $1.98 or $500,000,000?

And I'm in agreement that any politician going on and on about how we shouldn't tax the poor, as well as the extent that Republicans sometimes tout their "tax cuts" that mostly affect wealthy or corporations, is poppycock. Because truly poor people pay nothing in taxes, if they are even halfway awake when filling them out. And yes, they get the government benefits that others pay for.

What I'm trying to learn more about nowadays is tax policies versus those of us in the middle. Maybe, selfishly, this is because I am in that category. I'm neither rich nor poor, but comfortable ... Still have a couple dependents, though they're on the older fringe. I have no great beneficial tricky things going on (like forming a consulting LLC and milking the heck out of it), although I could be convinced to do so some day. I have no particularly attractive taxable income deductions (like parent care or farming). I'm just an average person comfortable. And I DEFINITELY pay taxes. I use every trick in TurboxTax.com's book to reduce them, but still end up paying many thousands each year.

So I see about 6 categories that seem to matter:
1) Quite poor.
2) People like me. Paying plenty of taxes but nowhere remotely near "rich"
3) Somewhat wealthy people (let's say yearly household $250k, $350k +), who do pay significant taxes, and tend to fall in high brackets.
4) Uber-wealthy people, I believe this is the category that "get away with murder", due to having a high capacity for legal and accounting support which leads to channeling a lot of responsibility through commercial taxing policies
5) Small businesses
6) Large businesses

I think when politicians talk about policies, it would help if there were some centralized definitions that would quickly help everyone understand which categories were going to be affected, period. Taxing law & policies are a bottomless pit of complexities and inter-dependencies, and I tend to be very slow to criticize any policy, as it's so darn difficult to contextualize fairly and thoroughly. That's the problem--we have created a taxing system that's SO complicated that it's next to impossible to take what seems to be a clear social vision and translate it into policy.....because absolutely no tax policy change seems to happen in a vacuum.

I guess if we took every tax policy change and simply looked at 1) who would be affected, precisely versus 2) what those people's effective tax rate was last year....That might be a place to start. Until I'm able to do that, all tax policy changes seem murky and somewhat meaningless to me.

 

[Steve R.]

Since balanced budgets, as a concept, at the federal level is now dead; what is the point of paying taxes?
It used to be that government at the federal level would collect sufficient revenues to pay for their services. Service levels would then be adjusted depending on the availability of revenue.

Now the US have evolved into a system of welfare and wealth distribution programs supported by the simple act of printing of more money otherwise known as deficit spending. Neither the Republican nor the Democrats have made any real effort to increase revenue collection to actually pay for government services provided. The COVID-19 pandemic has massively accelerated the "dance" between Republicans and Democrats over who will dump more money into the pockets of the common citizen. Responsible spending constrained by revenue is dead. No need to collect taxes.

Also "dead" as collateral damage, the concept of self-reliance. It is now the federal governments responsibility to keep each resident financially whole.

As an editorial observation from the days when I worked. Federal money was viewed as "FREE" money (yippee). What that meant is that the local government did not have to raise taxes at the local level to provide certain services. What they (those in local government) neglected to consider is that the federal government would technically have to raise taxes at the federal level so that the money could be distributed at the local level. Essentially robbing Paul to pay Peter. Unfortunately, the federal government no longer makes any real attempt to increase taxes to pay for those "free" money grants to local government.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Either way @The_Doc_Man, I want some! I've been looking on YouTube recently at some nice food channels as I have tended to eat similar things all the time during this lockdown. But here are, while going off-topic a bit, three good channels I've come across in the last couple of days. These are some of the recipes I've looked at and fancy trying. Sam The Cooking Guy is always worth listening to just for kicks.

One of my "guilty pleasure" shows was the original Iron Chef (from Japan). I learned a lot about ingredients and cooking methods. Though it was just as hokey as any "knock-off" ever would be, Iron Chef America was educational regarding issues in various ingredients. After a while it got almost pointless, but when they featured a really out-there ingredient, I watched with interest.

I also enjoy Chopped because they do something with cooking that is similar to what is done in Duplicate Bridge tournaments. Everybody is "dealt the same hand" and the winner is the one who does best with what they were given. Every now and then they will have a New Orleans chef among their competitors. We were cheering for one lady in particular, a catering chef who was trying to rebuild post-Katrina. The dessert basket was, for her, a softball and this humble, struggling lady broke down in tears when she became a Chopped Champion. The $10,000 didn't hurt either. The local news rag ran a follow-up and "Miss Linda" as she was called had SO much business that she was thriving, had hired extra help, and still had trouble keeping up with the demand for her services. The "free" advertising associated with being a food-show champion doesn't hurt one bit.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Just out of interest, is there any other realistic candidate for the presidency other than the Orangeman idiot in the White House and an old geezer on the edge of Alzheimer's? Or is that it out of 300 million people?
Col

A very fair question, Col, and I regret to answer "No, there is no other candidate worth mentioning." The various political parties already went through the list of candidates and eliminated them one by one. This time around, the Republicans don't have a Trump alternative and the Democrats chose from a big group, over a dozen initially. Four years ago, it was the Republicans who went through a long list and ended up with the Trumpster.

 

[Steve R.]

Tucker Carlson had an excellent humorous summary of Biden's sermon (acceptance speech). Click here to view.
Two interesting time points 2.40 & 3.02 minutes.

 

[moke123]

Tucker must have watched the Daily Show

https://twitter.com/x/status/1296935132700581889

 

[ColinEssex]

A very fair question, Col, and I regret to answer "No, there is no other candidate worth mentioning." The various political parties already went through the list of candidates and eliminated them one by one. This time around, the Republicans don't have a Trump alternative and the Democrats chose from a big group, over a dozen initially. Four years ago, it was the Republicans who went through a long list and ended up with the Trumpster.

I suspected that would be the answer.
My comment is, if that's the best the two main parties can come up with then I dread to think what the unsuccessful candidates were like.
Out of 300 million people in the USA, isn't there another John Kennedy, or Bobby or a Bill Clinton? Or is there anyone statesmanlike, able to conduct themselves properly?
We may as well all give up now I think. The USA president has a lot of influence worldwide, more than maybe Americans know, but with these two, I'm off to live as a recluse. Oh, just remembered, I already do!
Col

 

[Pat Hartman]

It's pretty unusual for a sitting president to have a serious challenger to cause a real primary for his second term. Despite what you might see on CNN, Trump is pretty popular with Republicans and even Independents (although the Republican members of Congress hate him almost as much as the Democrats do. I kinda like that. It means he's showing good judgment). His personality may be grating but his policies are sound (except when he has to bow down to people like Faucci). I think we would have been better off if Trump had gone with his instincts and insisted on minimizing the shut downs to where they were actually necessary. We might have had more actual virus deaths but that would have prevented the rash of suicides and drug related deaths that are a result of people losing everything through no fault of their own.

Trump has tried to get control over spending but he can only sign the bills he gets from Congress and with the House being controlled by the Democrats, he's getting no help at all and he's been forced to sign seriously bad funding bills or not sign them and let the government "shut down" yet again. I thought he was going to stand firm the last time but he folded again.

Every time a politician rails about the rich not paying their "fair" share, I like to point out that Congress writes the laws that allow the rich to have all these loopholes. Granted, the wealthy buy these laws through political donations and lobbying efforts. At the moment, we have the best Congress that money can buy. Getting term limits for the House and Senate will help with this problem. Increasing the length of time between leaving office (elected or appointed, or staff) and becoming a lobbyist would also help. I think the time is 5 years currently. Making it 10 would be better. Tighter rules on what can happen to left over campaign contributions is another way to minimize corruption. I love the way AOC pays her boyfriend and Omar pays her husband. Talk about chutzpah. I'm sure there's lots of others who indulge in this little perk. It is just too good to pass up. The only part of our government that is not corrupt is the local services such as police and fire departments and the Democrats are trying to destroy the police. I don't think Trump is corrupt either. He came into the office too wealthy. He didn't need to get elected to move into the truly wealthy category as Obama and the Clinton's did. He didn't need to get "no show" jobs for his children and siblings to enhance the family wealth as Biden has done. Reports are that his net worth is actually down.

I wonder what would happen to Biden's chances if people took seriously the meaning of his son, who knew nothing about running a hedge fund, coming home from a trip to China on Air Force Two with 1.5 billion of Chinese government money to manage? This might not be technically illegal but really, did the Chinese do this out of the kindness of their little red hearts? Or, were they buying influence? The Democrats pretend that Trump is "owned" by the Russians because he once tried to open a hotel in Moscow and yet they have no problem whatsoever with Biden being actually owned by the Chinese.

 

[ColinEssex]

You should be orange mans PR chief Pat. I can see that you're in love! Only joking, I know there are strong supporters for both candidates.
All I'm saying is that out of 300 million, there must be, oh maybe at least 20 that are better qualified and more sensible than those two.
Col

 

[Steve R.]

All I'm saying is that out of 300 million, there must be, oh maybe at least 20 that are better qualified and more sensible than those two.

The answer is "YES". The problem is that, in the US, we have a pseudo Darwinian selection process where the best qualified do not survive to make it to the top. In fact there is even a possibility that the "best" don't what to run for office as it isn't worth the abuse.

Moreover, even the meaning "best" is extremely subjective. Over the past few years the US has moved from the "best" governmental system being small limited government to the current interpretation of the "best" government being the evolutionary Nanny State; free college, free medical care, guaranteed minimum wage, etc. Given that and also given today's political/cultural climate, a conservative person running on a platform of personal responsibility, Christian values, and the elimination of welfare would be immediately dismissed.

As an another line of inquiry concerning the lack of why there are no real "best" candidates to run the US; I have been wondering about the "baby boomers" generation, which is my generation. It seems that the "greatest generation" was the greatest generation and led the US to major advances. But as the "greatest generation" has faded away to be replaced by the "baby boomers", it seems that real leaders have not surfaced to lead this nation. Any thoughts on that?

 

[moke123]

Tucker Carlson had an excellent humorous summary of Biden's sermon (acceptance speech). Click here to view.
Two interesting time points 2.40 & 3.02 minutes.

Another Tucker Homerun

 

[Steve R.]

Tucker Carlson is an EEO lambaster. @moke123, I assume that you will have some juicy Tucker video following the Republican Convention. Tucker: "Most of the actual Democratic National Convention events take place during daytime hours. And if you saw what they were saying during the day, you might flee the country."

 

[AccessBlaster]

Another Tucker Homerun

Tucker is an ex-CNN personality who tells it like it is...so what? For that he gets doxed and death threats. Unlike Lori Lightfoot Tucker doesn't have personal security.

 

[deletedT]

Just a question.
Who was the last president who wasn’t re-elected? It seems being 8 years in the office is the new standard. Once you’re in, you stay for 8 years. Maybe people tend to give another chance to the president.

 

[moke123]

Just a question.
Who was the last president who wasn’t re-elected? It seems being 8 years in the office is the new standard. Once you’re in, you stay for 8 years. Maybe people tend to give another chance to the president.

Geo. H.W. Bush 89-93
Jimmy Carter 77-81
G. Ford 74-77

Trump -TBD

 

[Micron]

Ford wasn't elected, so he couldn't be re-elected. In fact, he was never elected to any office of Nixon's administration. He might be the only US president who wasn't elected at all - or if memory serves, there might have been one other in the 19th century.

 

[AccessBlaster]

LBJ was appointed after he did away with JFK, oops did say that out loud. Jk

 

[Pat Hartman]

You should be orange mans PR chief Pat.

Just because I don't believe Trump is the devil incarnate, doesn't mean I view him with rose colored glasses. His style grates on me as well but I did what I could. In 2016 I changed my registration from Democrat to Republican so I could vote in the Republican Primary AGAINST Trump. Not because I thought he would be a bad president but because I knew his style was going to cause contention.

My daughter actually met Trump about 15 years ago when Melania was pregnant with their son Baron. They were at a party in NYC to celebrate the debut of "Do you want to be a Hilton?" or something like that. My daughter was working for the event planner and was mingling with the crowd to make sure that everyone was happy and no one was standing alone. At some point she drifted into Trump's orbit. Trump was being very charming as he introduced himself and my daughter was impressed by how solicitous he was of Melania. So I guess you can dress him up and take him out.

Once Trump won the primary despite my best efforts, there really was no choice. Vote for the woman who took money via the Clinton Foundation for access while she was our Secretary of State and who told our military to stand down and not attempt to save the ambassador and his staff in Benghazi. Is this the person I want to guard the safety of my country? We won't even go into the careless handling of secret emails which would have sent anyone not named Clinton to prison. And there's the "Russia Reset". Don't forget how much Obama wanted to be friends with Putin. Just listen to the "open mic" tape of him leaning in and telling the Russian official to "tell Vlad I'll have more flexibility after the election". Then after the election, he stood back and allowed Russia to annex parts of the Ukraine. That was pretty flexible. OR vote for the businessman who marries his baby mommas and calls people names and sends out tweets in the middle of the night but somehow manages to actually get stuff done. This time Trump is a known entity. The fact that he managed to get anything done with four years of a failed coup attempt by the left (aided and abetted by the media and Republicans of his own party such as Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell) who refuses to even acknowledge him as president (people in the FBI may actually get prosecuted for their contributions to the coup). So it is now Trump against the Manchurian Candidate. Four years ago, Biden actually had a chance to beat Trump but the left had to have a woman. Biden was an old white guy who didn't tick any boxes. It was Hilary's turn and so they stacked the deck against Biden and Hilary got to run. Today we know a lot more about how Biden enriched his entire family by selling favors to foreign governments and used his position as Vice President to protect his son from being prosecuted by Ukraine. Do you really think that China entrusted Hunter Biden with 1.5 billion dollars because because he had a long history of successful hedge fund management? Maybe they're just nice people and wanted to be generous since Biden came to China on Air Force Two. I don't think so. The Chinese may be liars, cheats, and thieves but they're not stupid. They knew what they were buying.

Biden may seem innocuous as long as you are willing to overlook the family money making scheme and his racism but just listen to how excited his "supporters" are about his flexibility. They know for a fact, that he can be manipulated. Look what they've done to him already. Today's Joe Biden is not the Joe Biden who started on this journey last year. He has changed all of his positions to align with the new radical left to the point where Bernie felt OK about stepping aside and allowing Biden to get the nomination by default.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I dread to think what the unsuccessful candidates were like.

Kamala Harris was one of the unsuccessful candidates for President, so they selected her for Vice President. Stunning logic, wouldn't you say?

 

[Micron]

LBJ was appointed

Not sure what that's supposed to mean. LBJ ran as JK's running mate, so when JK won the election, doesn't that mean that LBJ was elected too? Therefore, when he assumed the presidency after JK, LBJ had in fact been elected to office - the office of VP. Ford was never elected to anything, which was my point.