Republicians going to lower taxes, Trump appointees going to dismantle some federal agencies? The states can make up the slack

[laughing dog]

But South Carolina went red in this election, in the house, senate, governor, and president by strong majorities. In other words, their residents prefer to pay less federal taxes and receive less benefits, even if it means having less overall government services and not being able to make it up themselves. They don't want the people from California forcing them otherwise.

Your conclusion only follows if you can show that the residents
1) are informed,
2) are rational, and
3) voted the way they did based on their preferences for less federal taxes and receiving less benefits.

There are many reasons motivating people to vote for whom they vote - taxes are but one. Frankly, I don't think too many people who vote for politicians who promise lower taxes expect to see or receive less benefits for themselves.

 

[dismal]

Yeah it's too bad they didn't set this country up as a union of states with limited and specific enumerated powers of the federal government. Welp, nothing can be done about it now. Let's just say our "hail Trumps" and hope it all works out.

Perchance you forget we settled this debate over 100 years ago. United we stand, divided we go to shit.

Well, obviously no one could have predicted that some day the guys we don't like would be in power when we dismantled the constitution.

Now I guess there's nothing to do but disband the legislatures in the blue states. No point paying those people to do nothing.

Hail Trump.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

Perchance you forget we settled this debate over 100 years ago. United we stand, divided we go to shit.

Well, obviously no one could have predicted that some day the guys we don't like would be in power when we dismantled the constitution.

Now I guess there's nothing to do but disband the legislatures in the blue states. No point paying those people to do nothing.

Hail Trump.

I do not kiss the ass of fascists.

 

[dismal]

.

Well, obviously no one could have predicted that some day the guys we don't like would be in power when we dismantled the constitution.

Now I guess there's nothing to do but disband the legislatures in the blue states. No point paying those people to do nothing.

Hail Trump.

I do not kiss the ass of fascists.

Well, unfortunately some people spent the last 200 years dismantling the checks and balances in the constitution so there's not much that can be done. Beyond whining about the popular vote, fake news and Russian hackers.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

.

I do not kiss the ass of fascists.

Well, unfortunately some people spent the last 200 years dismantling the checks and balances in the constitution so there's not much that can be done. Beyond whining about the popular vote, fake news and Russian hackers.

So you would like to see the breakup of the United States? Do you think the popular vote should be the deciding factor in the election? Are you happy for the return of unregulated pollution, untalked about sexual assault on campuses, political office for personal gain?
Please answer these questions.

 

[dismal]

.

Well, unfortunately some people spent the last 200 years dismantling the checks and balances in the constitution so there's not much that can be done. Beyond whining about the popular vote, fake news and Russian hackers.

So you would like to see the breakup of the United States? Do you think the popular vote should be the deciding factor in the election? Are you happy for the return of unregulated pollution, untalked about sexual assault on campuses, political office for personal gain?
Please answer these questions.

It doesn't matter now, does it? Trump will tell us how it's going to be.

 

[ZiprHead]

I am slow to respond, I can't physically type anymore on a keyboard and have to use an adpadtive interface that allows me to enter text using just a mouse, Dasher, here. It is somewhat slower than typing on a keyboard, 10 to 15 wpm, which paradoxically results in me offering much more detailed answers that require even more typing, for some reason. Or possibly it is my subconscious desire to control the conversation.

One of my clients that I do computer work for is a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down and living on a machine. He gets around on a computer using Dragon Naturally Speaking. He even wrote a book using the software. Might be worth a try for you, even if you just use the speech-to-text function.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I am slow to respond, I can't physically type anymore on a keyboard and have to use an adpadtive interface that allows me to enter text using just a mouse, Dasher, here. It is somewhat slower than typing on a keyboard, 10 to 15 wpm, which paradoxically results in me offering much more detailed answers that require even more typing, for some reason. Or possibly it is my subconscious desire to control the conversation.

One of my clients that I do computer work for is a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down and living on a machine. He gets around on a computer using Dragon Naturally Speaking. He even wrote a book using the software. Might be worth a try for you, even if you just use the speech-to-text function.

Your voice has to be clear for this to work. He's ALS, I doubt it's clear enough.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

So you would like to see the breakup of the United States? Do you think the popular vote should be the deciding factor in the election? Are you happy for the return of unregulated pollution, untalked about sexual assault on campuses, political office for personal gain?
Please answer these questions.

It doesn't matter now, does it? Trump will tell us how it's going to be.

Follow your leader... Do not question Him.

 

[dismal]

It doesn't matter now, does it? Trump will tell us how it's going to be.

Follow your leader... Do not question Him.

You mean our leader. We're all in this together.

 

[SimpleDon]

The states don't have an option of a progressive income tax.

And yet many do have one. How am I to reconcile your assertion with easily observable reality?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax

Note the word "progressive." Think about it. Is there a reason that I used this qualifier? Is there a reason that you had to drop the qualifier? Perhaps it is that you are not observing reality as well as you think that you are.

 

[SimpleDon]

The states don't have an option of a progressive income tax.

And yet many do have one. How am I to reconcile your assertion with easily observable reality?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax

Do you only read the first line of posts? Or I should say only misread the first line of posts?

I made a few more points in the 380 words of the post that you apparently ignored.

 

[dismal]

And yet many do have one. How am I to reconcile your assertion with easily observable reality?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax

Do you only read the first line of posts? Or I should say only misread the first line of posts?

I made a few more points in the 380 words of the post that you apparently ignored.

Well, when someone displays stunning ignorance in the first line one tends not to slog through the rest of the bloviating.

Also, given this new awareness you brought me that states and localities can't levy and collect taxes I was immediately seized with the questions "who is sending me these tax bills?" And "where is the money I keep sending these fake state and local tax authorities going?"

I just sent in a real check to some fake school district. I feel like I've been played like a Hillary staffer clicking the link in an email from a Nigerian prince.

 

[dismal]

And yet many do have one. How am I to reconcile your assertion with easily observable reality?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax

Note the word "progressive." Think about it. Is there a reason that I used this qualifier? Is there a reason that you had to drop the qualifier? Perhaps it is that you are not observing reality as well as you think that you are.

Hmm, do you not understand what the word "progressive" means in this context? Or did you not click the link which clearly showed many states have progressive income taxes?

 

[Nice Squirrel]

Follow your leader... Do not question Him.

You mean our leader. We're all in this together.

Dear leader.

 

[SimpleDon]

Any state that presently receives more in Federal largesse that its citizens and business supply in Federal taxes (i.e., most of the red ones) is going to find it difficult.

South Carolina, for instance, was recently getting $7.87 in Federal funds for every $1 in Federal tax its residents paid. Let's assume the overall Federal tax rate in South Carolina is 17% (probably high, but I'm making a math argument). Basic math would then show there isn't enough money in the state to make up the difference if all the Federal money goes away.

But South Carolina went red in this election, in the house, senate, governor, and president by strong majorities. In other words, their residents prefer to pay less federal taxes and receive less benefits, even if it means having less overall government services and not being able to make it up themselves. They don't want the people from California forcing them otherwise.

There is no doubt that the residents of South Carolina prefer to pay less in federal taxes and to continue to receive benefits in the form of federal spending far in excess of what they pay in taxes. This is what is commonly called "being a freeloader." They don't want the people from California to point this out.

The vast majority of this sucking on the federal government teat is from the bloated defense budget. Which is larger than the sum of the next 10 largest countries' defense budgets. Or maybe the next 20 largest or even the total of all other countries defense budgets, depending on who is doing the addition.

The defense budget is the part of federal government spending that conservatives believes boosts the economy and creates jobs as Keynesian economics says that it does. Somehow they believe that the rest of government spending doesn't boost the the economy and in turn, creates jobs. Can you say "cognitive dissonance?"

This is the basic problem with entrusting the operation of the government to conservatives. To be a conservative you must believe in an entire web of lies and illogic such as this. Just consider the tragic and destructive results that the previous conservative administration managed to pack into eight years, 9/11, two senseless and badly managed wars, an attack on Social Security that no one outside of Wall Street wanted with no firm proposal to replace it, and finally a massive financial crisis and recession that came close to destroying the world's economy. And these are just the lowest points, there were many more lesser disasters.