AOC wants 70% tax on wealthy

[HornHuskerDad]

the ages on all of the entitlement programs need to be raised because we are living much longer

Good point. The original Social Security (in the FDR era) was intended to provide minimum subsistence for 3-5 years, back when the life expectancy was less than 70. Now that life expectancy is in the 80s, the retirement age needs to be higher - the SS system simply can't support paying folks for 15-20 years of retirement.

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

Good point. The original Social Security (in the FDR era) was intended to provide minimum subsistence for 3-5 years, back when the life expectancy was less than 70. Now that life expectancy is in the 80s, the retirement age needs to be higher - the SS system simply can't support paying folks for 15-20 years of retirement.

Not to mention the expansion of the program to include disability, spousal survivorship payments, etc. As with pretty much all government programs, it has grown and morphed in cancerous ways the original program was never envisioned. It is an excellent example of why the American people should be extremely wary about EVERY new social program the idiots in DC propose.

 

[Mr. Deez]

They each have significant public health and safety costs that are born by us all. Reducing their consumption is in our collective best interests. Should Marijuana be legalized? My vote was "no" but I'm sympathetic to the argument that it was occurring rampantly so should be brought into the open, regulated and yes, taxed.

My support for legalization (and general skepticism for the drug war) is somewhat libertarian, but it's more pragmatic. I just don't think it's very effective for the cost, and yes, the pursuit of the drug war has led to some bad jurisprudence on the criminal procedure side of things.

Should money from one revenue source be used for another source? Generally, I'd say no. The ultimate example is the raping of the Social Security trust fund by our Federal politicians. Let's focus on Washington's marijuana legalization and tax revenue usage though because I'm moderately informed on that. The legalizatio law itself dictated that a % (from memory) of all tax revenue be dedicated towards marijuana usage research, prevention and health services. University of Washington received a $5M grant in yr 1 to study usage for example. Given the volume of tax revenue, certainly you can understand there is an upper limit on how much you can/should spend on research/prevention.

As you might imagine, if the tax is generating more money than is necessary, I would cut the tax. I understand the argument that if you cut the tax, you weaken the deterrent effect of it. However, with a black market in place, I'm skeptical of the effectiveness of any deterrent from the tax. If you're wealthy and want weed, you'll pay the tax. If you're broke, you'll buy it illegally like you always have.

Keep in mind, this puts a spotlight on the size of the black market before legalization. It was immense. Legaluzation didn't remove the black market but I'm very skeptical of any claim the black market has increased based on the public revenue numbers.

I'm sure it hasn't increased if significant numbers of pot smokers are buying legally.

So, should this revenue be used for other uses? If you can accept the principle that tax policy can be used to shape public policy and there is an upper limit to what should be spent on Drug prevention then wht do you do with the extra revenue? Washington States reserve fund hit $3B this last FY. We are a state flush with cash.

Again, I would cut the tax.

I'm not convinced it's sleazy politics, especially when the government entity is running surpluses. My views may be influenced by the bias of how the revenue should be used.

It's not sleazy because of the deficit or surplus angle. It's sleazy for ethical and good government reasons. Teacher pay raises are a pretty worthy cause. However, Texas has some of the highest rental car and hotel occupancy taxes in the country. The reason why is that the Legislature permits local governments to use that money to build sports arenas for billionaires who don't need the help. If the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, or Texas Rangers want a new stadium, they can build it themselves.

Furthermore, think about those taxes. Who rents cars and hotel rooms? Mostly people from out of town who don't get to vote for the officials levying the tax. Do we like taxation without representation? I don't, and I especially don't like it just to throw easy money at the politically well-connected.

 

[Seattle Husker]

However, Texas has some of the highest rental car and hotel occupancy taxes in the country. The reason why is that the Legislature permits local governments to use that money to build sports arenas for billionaires who don't need the help. If the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, or Texas Rangers want a new stadium, they can build it themselves.

Furthermore, think about those taxes. Who rents cars and hotel rooms? Mostly people from out of town who don't get to vote for the officials levying the tax. Do we like taxation without representation? I don't, and I especially don't like it just to throw easy money at the politically well-connected.

Washington has those same taxes. Seattle/King County rail travelers, 75%+ of which are corporate travelers so individuals aren't bearing the brunt directly.

I'm honestly torn on these taxes. Seattle sports franchises (Seahawks and Mariners) have been a public/private partnership. Both franchises pitched in $100-$150m and agreed to cover any overages on ~$300M budgets. Given communities absolutely benefit from prefessional franchises that partnership seems appropriate.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Washington has those same taxes. Seattle/King County rail travelers, 75%+ of which are corporate travelers so individuals aren't bearing the brunt directly.

I'm honestly torn on these taxes. Seattle sports franchises (Seahawks and Mariners) have been a public/private partnership. Both franchises pitched in $100-$150m and agreed to cover any overages on ~$300M budgets. Given communities absolutely benefit from prefessional franchises that partnership seems appropriate.

The extent to which they benefit (especially compared to the cost) is debatable. Here are two articles on the matter. One is from the '90s, but it's still pretty solid. Link 1. Link 2.

I oppose them for two reasons. First, I don't like the corporate welfare and cronyism that goes with them. The Left was often unfair to George W. Bush, but one criticism that was fair was how he made his money. One of these stadium deals was a big factor. In 1989, he bought the Texas Rangers - kinda, sorta. The team sold for $89M, and Bush invested $500K. He was a pretty small investor.

At the time, the Rangers played in an old but renovated minor league park. I went to many games there as a kid. It was pretty shabby. It had no charm or character at all - felt like watching a ballgame at Home Depot. Not surprisingly, there was talk of building a new stadium, but nothing was . Ayet approved. After the sale, Bush's group threatened to move the team, and the City of Arlington (the politicians and then the voters) coughed up the money to build a fancy-*** new stadium for them. (Of course it wasn't too fancy-***, since next year, they move into an even fancier and assier new stadium that the City of Arlington is bankrolling again.) The Bush group sold the team in 1998 to Tom Hicks (who was a sleazy bastard who literally bankrupted the team in 2010 - the same year they went to the World Series) for $250M. A huge factor in the team almost tripling in value in less than ten years was that stadium that the taxpayers largely financed. Bush made $14.9M on that. If you're wondering if the math is fuzzy on that, it is.

Second, I don't like the taxation without representation. I think the American Revolutionaries were right to complain about that. The Bush deal was financed through a local sales tax hike, so at least the people spending the money were elected by those paying. More recent deals such as the American Airlines Center in Dallas used "tourist taxes" (rental car and hotel occupancy). That just nauseates me to no end. If you decide to fly to Dallas on business, I see no reason why you (or your company) should get hosed with exorbitant taxes levied by politicians you didn't choose to fund an arena you are unlikely to use and which largely makes Mark Cuban richer. It just smells dirty.

 

[Joe Fan]

 

[HornHuskerDad]

As with pretty much all government programs, it has grown and morphed in cancerous ways the original program was never envisioned. It is an excellent example of why the American people should be extremely wary about EVERY new social program the idiots in DC propose.

Great point, Sangre. That's one of the reasons I tend to oppose every proposed new government program. Once a new program is created, it requires a new government agency/office to administer it. And as all corporate employees know, the main goal of an agency is not to administer the program - the main goal is to assure its continued existence (and if possible, growth). It becomes somebody's empire. And the way to grow the empire is not by solving the problem is was (supposedly) created to solve - it's to show that the problem is much more complex than originally envisioned, and thus will require a much higher budget and more manpower to solve the (unsolvable) problem. The closest man has ever come to a perpetual motion machine is a government agency - once created, it assumes a life of its own, independent of the original intent.

 

[Joe Fan]

Of course she is

 

[Monahorns]

Soros, is spending big money on her. This doll and a Netflix documentary.

 

[Joe Fan]

Soros, is spending big money on her. This doll and a Netflix documentary.

You would think that guy would hate Germany
But no, he hates the country that saved Europe
Makes sense

 

[nashhorn]

The closest man has ever come to a perpetual motion machine is a government agency - once created, it assumes a life of its own, independent of the original intent.

HHD that’s clever - and true. Don’t know if you were quoting another but excellent thought.

 

[HornHuskerDad]

^Thanks Nashhorn. Not a quote, but a paraphrase, and I forget where I originally saw it. But the evidence shows it's accurate - more so than we would like.

 

[Clean]

News flash!! AOC and the Squad endorse …. wait for it... Socialist Bernie Sanders. Big surprise.

I guess it's over for Warren and Biden now.

 

[Joe Fan]

Cool story brah

 

[Joe Fan]

One of the weirder moments lately. Zuckerberg and AOC, sort of discussing free speech and democracy. Oh boy. And since she doesnt like some of his answers, she thinks its OK to assert he is a "white supremacist" by association.

 

[Monahorns]

Zuckerburg is going to be a conservative before too long.

 

[Joe Fan]

Socialist Rep and former bartender from the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), blames an entire racial group for “producing climate change”

Can you guess which racial group she blames?

 

[Horn6721]

Oh Oh ask me ask me

 

[HornHuskerDad]

Maybe one of the causes of global warming is all the hot air coming from AOC.

 

[Joe Fan]

Oh Oh ask me ask me

OK, I can see you need a hint

So here it is -- it is not the biggest polluters in the world, the Chinese

 

[Horn6721]

Darn
I thought I had it.

 

[Monahorns]

Conquistador should make public all the times she filled out a demographic questionnaire.

She just might have identified herself as the cause of global warming.

 

[Mr. Deez]

It's comical. White capitalists are blamed the most, but the biggest problem is Chinese socialists.

And just consider the outrage if we singled out any other group for condemnation almost regardless of the issue.

 

[Joe Fan]

It's comical. White capitalists are blamed the most, but the biggest problem is Chinese socialists.

And just consider the outrage if we singled out any other group for condemnation almost regardless of the issue.

They are building coal burning plants right now, not just in China but all over the world
Not a peep about it

 

[Horn6721]

India and China are polluting the world at levels we can't imagine. We have reduced our pollution significantly and are improving all the time.
The Snowflakes if they REALLY care should go to India and China and lie across streets and highways to protest.

 

[Monahorns]

I personally don't care that China and India are building coal plants.

Good for them. They are going to be better off than Northern California.

 

[Phil Elliott]

The Snowflakes if they REALLY care should go to India and China and lie across streets and highways to protest.

I think I found your problem.

 

[Mr. Deez]

India and China are polluting the world at levels we can't imagine. We have reduced our pollution significantly and are improving all the time.
The Snowflakes if they REALLY care should go to India and China and lie across streets and highways to protest.

For me, the most revealing story isn't anything about climate change or fossil fuels. It's the Iran nuclear issue. Iran always claimed that it wanted to set up nuclear facilities to supply its energy needs. Nobody said a damn thing about that. Why didn't they? We're shutting down nuclear power plants all over the Western world, and environmentalists routinely whine that nuclear power can't be an option in bringing down carbon emissions and that we have to piss away assloads of money on wind and solar power. I see tons of dumbasses over here with stickers on their cars that say, "Atomkraft? Nein, dank." ("Nuclear power? No, thanks.")

So why don't these idiots go to the Iranians and say, "how dare you pursue nuclear power and put the earth at risk! Build some wind turbines!" Because the real agenda is hostility to the West and global wealth redistribution. The environmentalism is a means to nefarious ends. That doesn't mean you can't be a sincere environmentalist. You can be, but I don't think the mainstream environmentalist movements fit that category. If the West completely decarbonized today, tomorrow AOC and her ilk would come up with something else about capitalists, Christians, and white people to ***** about.

 

[Run Pincher]

India and China are polluting the world at levels we can't imagine. We have reduced our pollution significantly and are improving all the time.
The Snowflakes if they REALLY care should go to India and China and lie across streets and highways to protest.

They won't do that because it doesn't further their agenda. 90% of the world's pollution comes from India and Asia. No matter that the US does it isn't going to put a dent in the overall world pollution problem.

 

[Joe Fan]