On Wed, 26 Apr 2017 16:55:10 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 4/26/17 4:20 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 4/26/2017 4:11 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 4/26/17 4:08 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 4/26/2017 3:55 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 4/26/17 3:52 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 4/26/2017 3:07 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 4/26/17 2:35 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:

As is my hobby, I channel surf after a major political
announcement or
news, just to get a feel on how the cable networks react.

So, after today's announcement of the proposed new tax rates, the
panel
on FoxNews were kicking around how it will help individuals, small
businesses and large businesses. The focus of their discussion was
how
and why the new tax rate plan would benefit the economy overall and
create more jobs.

Switch to MSNBC:

Here the larger panel of pundits were focusing (and speculating) on
how
the new tax rates will benefit Donald Trump. Period. That's all
they
were talking about.


Like you, Fox has bought into the Trump bull****. MSNBC wants to know
how many millions the Trumpsters will make off of this, what it
will do
to the deficits, and how it will devastate what little remains of the
social safety net, science, enforcement of anti-pollution and other
citizen safety laws.


In other words, if Trump proposed it .... it must be bad ... even if
you
don't even know the details of his tax changes.



As usual, Trump didn't present any real details, and until he provides
details *and* his tax returns and an independent agency determines how
much the Trumps will make off of this latest scheme, it should be dead
in the water.

Trump promised to revise the tax code. Whatever today's proposal is, it
ain't that. Further, there is no evidence that draconian tax cuts will
result in more good jobs.


Yes, the tax code revision is on his "to-do" list but this wasn't it.
This addressed lowering taxes only.

The Dems are going to screw this all up because they think seeing
Trump's tax returns is more important than giving the middle class and
business, small and large, a tax break. Personally, I don't give a
**** about Trump's tax returns. They are, by law, automatically audited
by the IRS ... both his and the Vice President's. If something is
illegal in them, I am sure a whistle blower will let the media know.

Amazing, isn't it, that roles have reversed in Congress. The liberals
are now the obstructionist party and the conservatives are the
progressives (for the most part).



I'm not sure "illegality" is the issue in Trump's tax returns, although
if there is income in there from Russia, well, that might be a can of
worms.

Oh...the conservatives...are the regressives.


Trump is entitled to take advantage of every legal deduction or tax
loophole ... just like you and I are. His numbers are just a hell of a
lot bigger, that's all.

No tickee, no laundry.

From CNN:



(CNN) Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was riding high on Wednesday
afternoon. He was in the midst of unveiling President Donald Trump's tax
proposal, a plan that he had promised would be "the biggest tax cut and
the largest tax reform in the history of our country."
Then ABC's Jon Karl asked Mnuchin about whether Trump would reconsider
his refusal to release his own tax returns. It got awkward. Fast.
It goes quick. (Mnuchin didn't want to answer.) So, here's exactly what
he said:

"The president has no intention....The president has released plenty of
information and has given more financial disclosure than anybody else. I
think the American population has plenty of information on his taxes."

This is simply not true.

Trump is the first president not to release his tax returns in four
decades. That is beyond dispute.
Trump has said the reason he won't release his tax returns is because he
is under audit. But there is no law or even rule that would prohibit
someone under audit from releasing his or her returns. In fact, Richard
Nixon did it in 1973.

There has been some dissonance in that explanation, most notably from
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who said this in January:
"We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care. They
voted for him, and let me make this very clear: Most Americans are very
focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump
is in office, not what his look like."
Trump, too, has been pressed on whether Americans care to see his tax
returns. "I won. I became president. I don't think they care at all," he
said in a news conference.

White House insiders have insisted that the audit was the real reason
the returns weren't being released. But Mnuchin also seemed to suggest
that there is no interest in Trump's taxes from the public and,
therefore, they wouldn't be released.

Polling tells a different story. A January CNN/Opinion Research Center
poll showed that almost three-quarters of the public -- 74% -- thought
Trump should release his tax returns. Two-thirds said that Trump "should
disclose more ... about his financial connections and business interests."
The point is this: Mnuchin tried to dismiss Trump's refusal to release
his tax returns as an unimportant side issue in the broader conversation
about the tax reform package. It's not.

Trump's lack of transparency on taxes gives Democrats a ready-made --
and politically effective -- reason to oppose whatever legislation
arises out of this draft. "If Donald Trump can't show us whether this
tax plan will benefit his own bottom line, I can't be for it," is an
easy way for any Democrat -- even those in swing districts -- to justify
their opposition.

For Republicans, Trump's unwillingness to release his returns puts them
in a bit of a bind. They will want to talk exclusively about the plan's
merits and why it makes sense of the American people. But they won't be
able to do that without facing the question of why Trump isn't willing
to level with the public about how his family business would be affected
by the tax package. Plus, there are already a decent number of House and
Senate Republicans on record as calling for Trump to release the returns.

Far from a side issue, the Trump tax returns loom as a giant potential
distraction for congressional Republicans as they begin to try to build
momentum behind the bill.

Mnuchin doesn't seem to get that. Yet.

Have some wine wiith your whine. You'll feel better.
Boo hoo, boo hoo.