Tax Bill
A cranky opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man with little expertise in the topic opined. Opposing opinions are welcome, but wrong, and
please no name calling, and that means you, you big stupid-head.
OK, I am
going to break my rule and post something political in nature.
Congress
just passed bill changing our current tax code.
I have not read all the new rules.
I probably wouldn’t understand much of the changes.
I find the
discussions relating to the bill to be interesting.
The
legislation passed as most things pass in Washington these days with
Republicans all voting for and Democrats all voting against. I don’t think Democrats attempted to insert
any ideas into the legislation, I don’t think Republicans wanted their input.
Before
legislation passed, I heard many horror stories that would result from this
bill. Some changes would have negatively
affected my bottom line. I believe those
concerns were ironed out during debate.
That is how the process tends to work.
Before the
vote, Democrats claimed the changes will cost the middle class and the poor
money while the wealthy will get wealthier.
I don’t know, maybe, taxes are incredibly complicated and it is a moving
target to make them the most productive for the most people. Democrats further insist the changes will
increase the national debt.
Republicans
insist the changes will put more money in the pockets of almost everyone, and
will be a stimulus to pump up the economy creating jobs and reducing the
debt. It has worked like that in the
past, it is not an automatic formula.
I believe
the intent of the new regulations is to do just what the Republicans claim the
bill will do. If the bill hurts the
middle class and the poor and is a boon to only the wealthy, then the
Republicans will be buried in next years elections and the legislation will
soon be reversed.
Democrats
are pushing that possibility with current rhetoric that will give them an “I
told you so” platform come November. The
Democrats as is the nature of politics are rooting for economic failure, just
as in the past Republicans have rooted for Democrat policies to not work.
This is why
people hate politics. It should not be a game. I would love to hear at least one Democrat
say, “I am afraid this bill is going to
be a bad thing for the country, but I certainly hope I am wrong and we will all
prosper.” That is no more likely to
happen than for a Republican to have said about Obama Care, “I voted against it, but I sincerely hope I
was wrong and it will be a great program.”
Damn I hate
politics.
All right,
here is my position on the Tax Bill.
Let’s
see. Let’s just wait and see.
I hope it
boosts the economy, brings more good jobs back, puts more money in everyone’s
pocket and we have a long prosperous future.
If it does not do what Republicans hope it will do, then the Democrats
will have the power to kill the changes and go back to the tax system we have
had for many years, or even put forth new ideas to make the economy better for
everyone.
Anyway, that
is my position on the new Tax Bill, I hope it works. I hope it brings great prosperity and
benefits everyone. That is the intent of
the Bill. If you want to have the
Democratic party control congress more than you want a prosperous country than
hope for the bill to be a failure, but everyone should stop flapping their gums
over what will happen.
It is done.
I for one hope
it works. *
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky ole man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
*If you care
to explain why this bill is a bad thing be my guest, my comment back is, “We will soon see, you may be right, I hope
you are wrong.”
Perhaps I understand the budgets of government departments more than others and this means they will face cuts in important programs and the demand will be passed onto the states level and they will either face the cuts and pass them on to their citizens or they will be forced to raise taxes for programs like Head Start, public health, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe will soon see, you may be right, I hope you are wrong.
DeleteI would just like a tax bill that eliminates my need to go spend $60 or more on software just to file the damn return.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine if all of Congress actually spent time on helping our country succeed instead of all the infighting?
$60 on software?? We downloaded the tax forms for free when I was working and I believe we still can.
DeleteYou are a lot like me, a mugwump. Issues are not one side or the other, they need to be solved by looking for the absolute best solution, no matter who comes up with it, and then using that solution. Unfortunately that is too easy and logical and not devisive, so it won't be used unless the people demand it.
ReplyDeleteThis tax cut will over time prove to be both a blessing and a curse. The corporate tax cut portion, although sold to us fraudulently, was overdue. They said our corporate tax rate was among the highest in the world at 35%, but just as you and I don't pay taxes on every cent we make, but only on our "adjusted gross income" (after deductions), so do corporations. In reality, after deductions, exemptions, etc, they paid on average somewhere in the upper-20% range, which was still too high. Now at 21%, that seems more competitive with the rest of the world, BUT, are they still allowed all their previous deductions and exemptions? If so, that means they're paying somewhere in the low-teens, which makes this the sweetheart deal of all sweetheart deals! The one-time deal to bring back trapped corporate earnings from overseas is very smart. This will mean a shot of much needed revenue to the treasury, and will provide plenty of cash for future corporate capital spending needs, too.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the tax cut is either ill advised or a total sham. Ryan and McConnell have their butts covered for the next two elections in 2018 and 2020. Just as a pool hustler will let you win a few games before they slam you, that's what just happened to us in the middle class. Some of us (remember, nearly half of us don't pay ANY taxes anyway) will realize a nice enough tax cut for a few years to keep us relatively happy. But after that, the middle class "special provisions" will expire and we'll be right back where we were before, OR WORSE. They say, "don't worry, we'll extend them", which means our deficit will be EVEN HIGHER than the TRILLION dollars they told us originally. YIKES!
Meanwhile, the majority of the tax cut that will go to the very highest income group will NOT expire, meaning their windfall will continue to roll in. The danger in this is that the US already has the highest income inequality in the advanced world. This cut to the rich will exaggerate things even more. The danger is, if you'll look at history, it's when things get this grossly out of balance that REVOLUTIONS occur. The greed of the wealthy might just make their world come crashing down on them. The pitch that the uber-wealthy will invest this windfall back into the economy is a farce. This would imply there is a shortage of investment capital right now, which is holding back corporate expansion plans. NOT TRUE. Corporate coffers are already full to the brim! For several years now they've been buying back hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars worth of their OWN STOCK because they had no where better to invest it. (Here in my back yard Southwest Airlines has bought back $4B worth of its own stock in just the past 2 years.) If they wanted to expand their businesses, they could have done so without going one cent into debt. There is NO shortage of investment capital!
Bottom line, there is some good here, and some bad here, too. The big winners are the politicians, who have delivered as promised to their sugar daddy campaign contributors and likely kept their cushy gubment jobs.
And finally, the timing is not right. Governments usually use tax cuts to spur the economy when it needs a boost. Right now our economy is hitting on all cylinders. The stock market is over 26K, corporate profits are at record highs, retained earnings are plentiful, and unemployment is at a 16+ year low (around 4%). We don't NEED a boost. In fact, a boost now might turn out to be inflationary. What are we going to do when we experience our next economic crash (and we will eventually)? We'll have no more arrows in our quiver. We should have saved much of this cut until we needed it.
We will soon see, you may be right, I hope you are wrong.
DeleteThe last administration I didn't care for, but I sure didn't want it to fail. I don't want this one to fail either. Do what is good for the country, not for your party.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day, Joe. ☺
I like your attitude.
ReplyDeleteWith little confidence, I hope for the best.
ReplyDeletePolitics, as currently practiced, has devolved into a zero-sum power game, where all that matters to its practitioners is that they have power, and the other side doesn't. The good of the country and its citizens is not part of the calculation. . .
ReplyDeleteI think a certain narcissism and need for control is in anyone who goes into politics at any level. I mean, don't even get me started on the HOA board here. And power changes how one views the world -- in my opinion, perverts it.
ReplyDeleteWhat can you do? I have to hope it works too but I am not all that optimistic about the next couple of years.
I'd like to see the politicians actually working for the good of our Country rather than bickering and fighting like a bunch of kindergartners.
ReplyDeleteI hope this tax bill works for the good of everyone, but...
I'm with you on it. Of course I HOPE it works well for the country. But even if it does, there will always be critics.
ReplyDeleteI hate politics too.
PS If more of the burden trickles down to the state level, that's the way it should be. It should though be phased in over a few years as to not throw the states into bankruptcy.
I don't have enough knowledge to make an informed comment. Other than, "We'll see." And I kind of copied that from you.
ReplyDeleteThis entire exercise has been enlightening. A national news organization was caught hiring a tax expert to prove which classes of folks would end up paying more in taxes and were visibly upset when the tax fella said they would ALL have reduced taxes in amounts of $300 to as much as $5000. A local news org tried the same thing and again chose couples they were fairly certain would pay more .... and also failed. So the Liberals claiming this is gonna destroy the middle class? Pathological liars all. And the Republicans claiming the economy will counter-act the additional deficit margin caused by the reduced taxes? Also pathological liars. Politicians, remember? The number one qualification is the ability to lie ..... ;-)
ReplyDeleteI ain't cynical, really ... !!
I hate politics too, both sides play fast and loose with taxpayers money and fears, while nothing really gets done.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I get my head out of the sand I'll put in my 2 cents (if it's not over taxed)...
ReplyDeleteoh you guys too!
ReplyDeletetake my sympathy for this and pass me some sympathy from yourself as such bombs are often thrown upon people here too and though news channels show that how much hated these changes are by people but who cares
politicians are monsters and they are eating their public without any hesitation
Like Jimmy said.... same applies in the UK.
ReplyDeleteAgree, I hate politics, too.
ReplyDelete