...I am sure some of his pre-election rhetoric shall have to be toned down by the reality of working with what's already in place, I do hope that Trump is able to tear apart some of the 'good ol' boy' network and finally lay some politicians to rest as they should have been years ago.

My fear:

The necessary destruction, to save our Individual Rights and Freedoms. Of the Establishment's, Progressives, the Left, et al. Results in, if History teaches us anything, to another tyranny.

Hopefully, we will be one of the few exceptions.

Well, I hope that you agree with my thought that the fact that Trump was even elected means we are in the midst of writing a new page in the history books. It certainly did toss the establishment on their ear.
Not every move he makes is going to be something I scripted or agree with. I know this. I accept this.

But the very fact that he succeeded in winning against the business as usual ilk has surprised his foes. With all their king's horses, all their king's men, and mostly, all their king's money, they could not stop him from winning.

And I have both great hopes and high expectations.

With a great amount of trepidation, I might call him the closest thing I have seen in the highest office in the land since JFK...........take that with a grain of salt, as most of you know of my regard for JFK. But, John also did a lot of things in his short time as president that gored a hell of a lot of oxen.
And Trump shall as well.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

And I have both great hopes and high expectations

I have moderate hope and low expectations.

Or to put it another way: Why is it better to be a Pessimist, and not an Optimist?

An Optimist is usually disappointed.

A Pessimist, on occasion, is pleasantly surprised.

:) :) :)

Yes, I know the old adage.
However, little is ever changed by being a pessimist.
It is only man's hope that things can get better that keep him moving forward towards greater and better things.

We chose to go to the moon. And so we did.
Not because it is easy, but because it is hard.
Oh, geez, that clip just brought a few tears. Once again.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

http://www.infowars.com/75-times-obama-broke-law-during-presidency/

Tip for identifying post-truth - infowars is used as a source.

Bobby, GOP males are getting older and the oligarchs need better control so they keep putting them onto more drugs like this common one for blood pressure that is also a psych med (dual purpose means dual profits)
https://www.drugs.com/ wrote:

Side Effects:

• confusion as to time, place, or person
  
• general feeling of discomfort or illness
  
• holding false beliefs that cannot be changed by fact
  
• irritability
  
• mental depression
  
• seeing or hearing things that are not there
  
• unusual excitement, nervousness, or restlessness
  
• vivid dreams or nightmares
  

That list seems to describe common garden variety trump supporter very well, especially "holding false beliefs that cannot be changed by fact."

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I know we are in a post-truth era now, but some simple facts show that Obama did more good for the economy than he is given credit for:


2009 (Obama takes over a failing economy) unemployment 9.3% gdp -2.8% (yes that's a NEGATIVE 2.8%)

2015 (last year with complete stats) unemployment 5.3% gdp 2.4%

Current unemployment is UNDER 5%

"...[unemployment] peaked at 15.4 million in October 2009 and fell to 7.8 million by June 2016"



Essentially, it seems Obama cut unemployment in half, while bringing the GDP from negative territory into positive territory. Also on a personal note my income basically increased on par with the GDP for the entire 8 years he held office- a big departure from the little to no growth my income saw in the previous 8 years under a Bush presidency.

I don't quite see how Obama harmed the US economy. Maybe someone can enlighten me. Sounds more to me like facts are ignored simply because of the man's political affiliation.

I suspect that under Trump, my income level will probably remain pretty flat.

Yep. the post truth era is here. America will be GREAT now!


GDP source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States#GDP_growth
unemployment sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_in_the_United_States#/media/File:US_Employment_Statistics.svg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_in_the_United_States
https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea01.htm

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#resist

I don't quite see how Obama harmed the US economy. Maybe someone can enlighten me. Sounds more to me like facts are ignored simply because of the man's political affiliation.

Ex you just don't understand the pain the oligarchs feel.

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I don't quite see how Obama harmed the US economy. Maybe someone can enlighten me. Sounds more to me like facts are ignored simply because of the man's political affiliation.

Ex you just don't understand the pain the oligarchs feel.

I know, real wages went up under him. They must go down as they did under shrub for them to be happy.


Was listening to a business show and they were telling it like it will be. As interest rates rise, landlords who depend on borrowed money will have to jack rents at twice the rate of the interest rise to stay afloat. All other businesses that depend upon borrowed capital will also have to raise prices, such as farmers who need massive loans to buy/rent land, seeds, fertilizer, weed control, farm equipment and labor. So expect to see some stunning price rises in the supermarket under Trump. Of course rising interest rates will drive money out of the stock market and into the bond market so expect to see your 401(k) tank under a Trump administration. If you already have bonds, you will tank worse as their prices fall as remember price of an existing bond is inverse of the yield of new bonds.

I hope we don't reach the levels of stagflation we had under the Republican administration of Nixon/Ford, but it is possible with the promises of Trump.

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It's going to have a positive effect on those who know how to live within their means and save!

You do realise that's probably less than 40% of all US households.

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Gary you didn't mention the proposed tax cuts coupled with the proposed infrastructure spending. The increased supply of money will exacerbate the inflation cycle you describe. The inflation will reduce real income. Those who hold physical assets will see their values hold. Hence the oligarchs get a relative gain. That is all they want . Read Thorstein Veblen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class

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Gary you didn't mention the proposed tax cuts coupled with the proposed infrastructure spending. The increased supply of money will exacerbate the inflation cycle you describe. The inflation will reduce real income. Those who hold physical assets will see their values hold. Hence the oligarchs get a relative gain. That is all they want . Read Thorstein Veblen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class

Thought "promises of Trump" covered that. However please do continue about spend and pass the buck to the future Trump. As the debt of the US explodes under him hyperinflation may pass Weimar Republic standards.

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Hurting the rich doesn't matter too much, they will survive. Unless you hit them too hard, then they leave taking their assets with them. 2012 - High earners say au revoir to France

Mr Hollande plans to implement a 75pc tax rate on earnings over €1m (£800,000), on top of a 45pc rate for people making €150,000 or more. He is also expected to raise "wealth taxes" on property assets and end his predecessor's tax incentives to lure bankers back home.

Hurting the poor and they end up homeless or starving or both, and then end up ill, which ends up increasing your taxes and health costs.

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present problem Reganomics, didn't vote for him.

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It's called sequestration. But the problem the Tea has is, it cuts the Pentagon and their ability to have the USA hegemonous and able to force better trade provisions for their oligarchs.

So that won't happen and there will be pork barrels for every red congressional district, but the cuts to the blue congressional districts won't match the waste in pork barrel the Tea will force upon America. So spending will explode, just like Reganomics. Politicians, from every party, can never cut, they can only spend more. It is in their DNA! It is how they get campaign contributions and votes.

Then the tax cuts will hit. Revenue will drop to near zero and the debt will explode faster than a nuke. Bad projections of how much will be collected after a tax cut, just like Reganomics. Inflation will make the dollar worthless. You will need a wheelbarrow full of C notes to buy a loaf of bread. The IMF isn't going to bail America out either.
Study Germany before Hitler rose to power. Looks a bit like America today.

Want a plan? Sequestration and tax increases until the national debt is zero. After all the people who got the benefit of the spending should pay for it. Isn't that just and moral?

Tax increase? Yes! New brackets above the top bracket that presently is a bit less than 1/2 a million (married).
A new bracket at $1M. The next bracket at $2.5M The next bracket at $5M. The next bracket at $10M. The next bracket at $25M. The next bracket at $50M. The last bracket at $100M. Each bracket about 5% higher rate than the last. (Look at it as enforcing a trickle down.)
Then the loophole closure. A schedule A phaseout. By the $25M AGI your deductions on schedule A are zero, so you take the standard deduction amount!
Now these new brackets and schedule A phaseout also have to apply to the AMT.
Then a cap gains realignment. At about $10M cap gains a phaseout of the special no tax treatment for long term and they become ordinary income. IIRC they are ordinary income for AMT.
Finally because I'm a nice guy, bring back income averaging for all, not just farmers. This so the little guy who gets a one time windfall - lotto, sells a house - gets to pay tax only on his average income not the one shot windfall.

Notice I haven't mentioned corporate tax or running offshore. Mustn't upset the oligarch's too much. You don't want to screw a mutual fund holding ordinary American's 401(k) deposits with your offshore tax recapture scheme, as Trump will. I'm sure it is possible but it needs careful thought, not a gut reaction.

As to gift taxes (estate tax) I also have been rather silent. Perhaps the method to get the tax dollar is not to tax investments, only cash. But on investments, not allow the basis to be adjusted to the value at death, but remain the value at purchase. So when it is eventually sold the tax man gets more.

The issue some have is they want the debt to go away with the wave of some magic wand. The USA can't run to the Hague and file a petition of Bankruptcy. The IMF isn't going to do a bailout. The debt has to be paid and the government has to continue to function while it is paid. 1 + 1 = tax increase. Then you have to convince the public sequestration must be the norm so they elect politicians who do their bidding. The only way you can convince the public is to have them trained for the jobs that are available that will let them make a living wage. I guess there is another way, making poverty a capital offense, and I'm sure there are some Tea who would do so in a heart beat. To train means school at near zero cost. Then they are off the dole! Spending goes down and tax revenue goes up! Win win.

Once the debt is zero then the USA can look at a balanced budget amendment and flat tax without deductions. Of course that will bring about a different set of frauds.

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woah! careful there Gary. Progressive taxes like that could make people pay their share and lead to infrastructure improvements that are actually paid in full while still lowering the national debt annually, we can't have that! The ultra rich might have to settle for a 30 ft yacht instead of a 45 fter! We can't have that! The horror!

Those uber rich shouldn't have to pay more than .5% of their income in taxes! If they did, they wouldn't be able to trickle down all of this wealth on to us!


[/sarcasm]


all kidding aside, I could subscribe to more conservative/tea/libertarian agendas if any of these groups could admit/accept that a progressive tax structure is necessary to keep the money moving, improve economic mobility for the under-classes, and keep the country GREAT by investing the wealth into infrastructure, education, research, defense, environmental protection, debt payments and more.

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#resist

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I expect to see democrats advertising rolling grandma off a cliff in her wheel chair and starving children again.

The dems have already been doing that for years now, all the while picking up her wheelchair and trollying new (illegal) voters in with it.
They came close, but even the illegal voters did not save them this time.
Grandma would be proud that at least her sacrifice was worth it.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Tax tax tax.... that's your solution? THAT'S THE PROBLEM!

Do the math.

Apparently the third word in my post can't be read by your eyes. That doesn't surprise me coming from a spend and never pay for it MIC-RINO. So do some basic math yourself. How do you pay a debt faster with less income?

Or are you saying it will never be possible to have the debt reduced? It seems to be what your math implies. So you are calling for the USA to implode!

Funny thing there the blue states aren't piling on huge debts, so democrats must be able to contain the checkbook. So you are lying to yourself and basing how you want the government run on lies. Good way to destroy a country. But you are calling for the USA to implode! You must want the commies to invade to prove yourself right.

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