Basically everyone on this board pretty much accepted that the GOP's obsession with deficit reduction was just a convenient talking point to hammer Dems with. In our lifetimes it's hard to even count the number of times the GOP has been hypocritical on this subject.


The real question is why ~40% of this country stays willfully ignorant or is unable to internalize this FACT. How?

9/29/2017 6:03:08 PM

What makes you think they are ignorant of the fact? and what evidence do you have to support this 40% number? Where did that number come from.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.html
Approval rating for Congress is 13% so It would seem like that is the highest it could possibly be even if you assume all of those who approve of Congress are Republicans who are willfully ignorant to the deficit reduction talking point

9/29/2017 8:52:15 PM

Just a guess but probably Trump's 38% approval rating

9/29/2017 10:36:11 PM

https://news.vice.com/story/pro-life-congressman-wont-carry-out-full-term-over-abortion-scandal

10/6/2017 9:50:03 AM

A+ headline.

10/6/2017 2:19:24 PM

I concur

10/6/2017 2:21:37 PM

I'm beginning to really dislike my own party. I hate hypocrites.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/05/tim-murphy-resigns-from-congress-243510

TL;DR - Tim Murphy is a pro-life senator who just got caught trying to talk his mistress into having an abortion.

And for the record, I feel like abortion is wrong, but it shouldn't be legislated. It's a very tough and emotional decision that should be left up to the individual.

[Edited on October 11, 2017 at 7:24 AM. Reason : uiouh]

10/11/2017 7:24:07 AM

That story is posted 3 up from you

10/11/2017 8:50:34 AM

the party has been the party of hypocrites for decades

10/11/2017 10:33:02 AM

Well we knew they weren't pro life anyway. You can't only be pro-life when it comes to abortion.

10/11/2017 12:29:48 PM

Does the right-wing of the party even know where it stands on reducing the deficit at this point?

I've seen far-right conservative groups criticizing GOP leadership for not doing enough to reduce the deficit; however, with regard to tax cuts, it seems that far-right members of Congress are less concerned with creating a deficit-neutral plan than more moderate members of the party.

[Edited on October 11, 2017 at 1:33 PM. Reason : ]

10/11/2017 1:32:45 PM

10/12/2017 7:07:35 PM

It’s legitimately funny to see the RNC up in arms over Clinton/Obama reaction to Weinstein as the GOP POTUS retweets Bill O’Reilly..

10/13/2017 7:50:14 AM

http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/20/talk-retirement-savings-cap-rattles-financial-industry.html

Quote :

"Proposals floating around Washington to cap the amount that Americans can contribute before taxes to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are unsettling professionals in the retirement industry."

The fuck?

10/20/2017 8:48:22 PM

that part doesnt bother me. its the fact that they are using that to pay for tax cuts to the rich that brothers me

10/20/2017 9:22:12 PM

^^They're looking at capping at $2,400 per year, too. And doing absolutely nothing to address the problem - spending too much and wasting too much.

But it's cool because businesses and CEOs will pay less in taxes which means they'll pass all of their wealth down to us via trickle down!!!!

10/20/2017 9:24:33 PM

They should just say we cutting ALL the taxes by a certain percentage

10/21/2017 4:15:43 AM

How about they give everyone over 18 years old 25k?

Cash infusion!

10/21/2017 7:22:42 AM

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/10/24/trump-rips-corker-couldn-t-get-elected-dog-catcher.html

10/24/2017 11:05:11 AM

can we please get like 5 congressional investigations into the deaths of the soldiers in niger?

10/24/2017 12:17:56 PM

Trump Lied, People Died

10/24/2017 3:22:02 PM

What difference, at this point, does it make?

10/24/2017 9:54:18 PM

let's see how trump does under oath for an 11-hour testimony

#tiloaghazi #investigatenow

10/25/2017 9:28:47 AM

Senate votes to kill new rule allowing class-action lawsuits against banks after Pence casts deciding vote
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-arbitration-rule-senate-20171024-story.html

gotta protect them banks

10/25/2017 9:35:00 AM

They're people too

10/25/2017 10:08:43 AM

Thanks to the Supreme Court's ineptitude, you're absolutely right.

10/25/2017 11:21:40 AM

Quote :

"let's see how trump does under oath for an 11-hour testimony"

He’d perjure himself in minutes. His lawyers have famously protected him for decades from lying in depositions.

10/25/2017 11:57:41 AM

Considering these guys usually release a pre-testimony statement, my guess is he'd perjure himself the second he swore the oath.

10/25/2017 12:21:35 PM

Quote :

"Senate votes to kill new rule allowing class-action lawsuits against banks after Pence casts deciding vote http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-arbitration-rule-senate-20171024-story.html "

I know TWW isnt the best forum to get accurate information, but what is the reasoning for passing this bill?

10/25/2017 4:01:14 PM

My guess is the GOP feels that it's too much of a burden on businesses to have to be open to lawsuits.

The real logic - lobbying and campaign funding.

10/25/2017 4:17:07 PM

So this flake guy is on a high horse conveniently after realizing he can't be reelected. LOL

[Edited on October 25, 2017 at 6:34 PM. Reason : senator snowflake]

10/25/2017 6:34:34 PM

^That point actually is something that really angers me about them - ONLY because they aren't running for reelection are they speaking out on the right things.

And the worst part is the gap is most likely going to be filled by people further to the right.

Or rather, further to one extreme, maybe a Democrat wins one of the seats but I'd bet he has to argue as extreme on his position as the right does.

[Edited on October 25, 2017 at 7:13 PM. Reason : a]

10/25/2017 7:13:10 PM

Quote :

"what is the reasoning for passing this bill?"

highest bidder..

10/25/2017 8:37:33 PM

Regardless of the reason why they're not running for reelection it's pretty sad thats the only reason they really grow the balls to go after trump. There's likely plenty of other gop members who can't stand him and legitimately think he's bad for the country but won't risk a Twitter rant and some votes.

10/25/2017 11:11:28 PM

Quote :

"I know TWW isnt the best forum to get accurate information, but what is the reasoning for passing this bill?"

fucking hilarious seeing HCH's mind get blown

10/26/2017 9:16:27 AM

http://www.wral.com/lawmakers-to-trump-leave-mueller-alone/17073410/

10/31/2017 12:05:28 PM

Question. If people dislike Republicans because they believe Republicans are just mouthpieces for the wealthy in this country, then why are they complaining about the mortgage interest cap in the new tax plan? I mean, it only caps loans of 500,000 or more. In my book, if you can afford a home that is 500,000 or more, then you're pretty wealthy.

Granted, it might want to take location as a factor, because 500k in San Francisco or NYC might be a starter home, but that's still a lot of dough.

11/2/2017 1:28:22 PM

Isn't that so they can pass a much larger tax cut for the wealthy without exceeding their budgetary limit?

In other words, that's a small price to pay for millions of dollars in other tax cuts.

[Edited on November 2, 2017 at 1:52 PM. Reason : ]

11/2/2017 1:51:18 PM

True, there is a drastic cut to the corporate tax, down to 20%. I'm skeptical of how much job generation that will actually accomplish.

11/2/2017 1:58:39 PM

i don't think the mortgage interest cap is what most people have an issue with

11/2/2017 2:01:17 PM

A mortgage interest cap isn't nearly as big of a deal to me as the 401k cap that was floated last week.

That being said, from an economics view it doesn't really make sense to me either. New home construction is somewhere between 3% and 5% of the US's annual GDP, of which upper middle class and rich peoples homes are a significant contributor. Do we really wanna pare back the residential construction trade which employs a ton of middle class and working class folks? Yes, making financing a large home more expensive will slow growth in this area (the only debate is by how much it would affect the overall GDP numbers).

And what do we get in exchange? A lowering of nominal rates for the uber rich and corporations? Both of these already don't pay the advertised tax rates. The uber Rich having more cash on hand is meaningless to all aspects of the economy except maybe the stock markets (see every analysis of trickle down since forever). Corporations have had record amounts of cash on hand for the last 5 years, a vast majority of which went to stock buybacks. Again, meaningless to the real economy.

This isn't the worst idea the GOP has ever had, but just because I'm not immediately disgusted by it doesn't mean it's a great idea either.

11/2/2017 2:31:01 PM

None of it makes any sense. You want to cut taxes for the rich? Cut government spending. That is the ONLY way to balance it without causing a revolution.

11/2/2017 2:35:15 PM

Definitely not as big a deal as the 401k idea, but capping the mortgage deduction at $500k is definitely a dig at middle class home owners. A lot of middle class 'savings' exist as home equity. Anything that makes selling a home more expensive or more difficult is going to reduce the value of those savings.

I'd also dispute the idea that owning a $500k home is wealthy. A $500k mortgage is not $500k of wealth. Even if you're a good little middle class saver with $500k in assets, it's most likely earmarked for retirement, emergency, college, medical, etc. On top of that, those assets are probably held in designated accounts (IRA, 401k, 529, etc.) and aren't easily accessible. It's not walking around money.

11/2/2017 3:21:22 PM

^

500k for a home in the Bay Area will get you a 2/1 dump in a crime ridden neighborhood. You can't even buy a 'decent' home anywhere within an hour commute of SF for under 700k anymore.

11/2/2017 3:26:45 PM

^ NYC is similar. I'm not sure what size you can get for under 500k, but it definitely won't be big enough for a family

11/2/2017 3:29:53 PM

A $500k 30 year mortgage is about $3,000/month. Going by the rule of housing cost equaling about 30% of your income, that's a household income of $108,000, or about the 75th percentile. (Median household income in the US is just under $60k)

So this is good for upper middle class as well. Although, somehow, this will be spun into a bad thing.

11/2/2017 3:41:34 PM

According to your stat above, we should be able to afford a 3000 mortgage. But you're leaving out a little bit of real life, such as children in daycare, car payments, 401k's, savings, house repairs, etc.

11/2/2017 3:49:07 PM

Anything that provides downward pressure on home prices is bad for anyone who owns a home and the middle class in general. Home appreciation is about the only "savings" most of the middle class accumulate.

11/2/2017 3:55:05 PM

^^^ so you're just going to ignore the two prior comments to yours?

[Edited on November 2, 2017 at 4:14 PM. Reason : asdf]

11/2/2017 4:14:35 PM

I am not ignoring anything, but you are talking about the outliers in an enormous nation. The federal government cant set policy based on just a few high cost locations. I provided the national data. The tax cuts are beneficial for a lot more people than you indicated above.

Quote :

"According to your stat above, we should be able to afford a 3000 mortgage. But you're leaving out a little bit of real life, such as children in daycare, car payments, 401k's, savings, house repairs, etc."

Again, I simply provided the facts. Now, personally, I dont want to spend 30% of my income on housing, but that's kind of a universal guidance when creating a budget.

11/2/2017 4:59:08 PM