who ya got?

[jhawks99]

Cuz it's funny?

[jfish26]

Trump's Social Security Comments Should Be Hung Around the Neck of Every Republican Running in 2020

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/p ... -security/

REPORTER: Question about payroll taxes. If you rescind the payroll tax, how do you take care of Social Security?

TRUMP: We take it out of the general fund. And what we will be doing if we do that, we'll get it approved in that case by Congress. And will take money from other places other than we will not take it from Social Security...We're going to have tremendous growth for you. Take a look at what is happening here. Next year, unless somebody comes in.

In short, he is going to do away with the dedicated funding stream for Social Security (and Medicare), but he’s going to “protect” them because magic. He is going for the great golden conservative dream out of the 1930s—the end of the most successful social-welfare system in the history of the world—and he’s saying flat-out how he’s going to do it. These comments should be hung around the neck of every Republican office-seeker across the land like a big old dead raccoon. This includes everyone from the candidates for the fish and wildlife commission in East Jesus all the way up to the aspirants for the U.S. Senate.

[Deleted User 318]

Yeah, this whole payroll tax thing is very confusing, especially since it's regressive tax, and every wage earner is paying into SS/Medicare, but something only half of wage earners (and maybe less now) pay into the general fund. So it's going to gut SS and Medicare. I get paid tomorrow, curious to see what my company did.

[Walrus]

Doesn't matter who you put in office, social security is going the way of the dinosaur. We're so deep in debt and unlike the 1980s where we raised interest rates to repay some of the debt, that's not even possible now. No one should be counting on SS being there in the future.

[jfish26]

Doesn't matter who you put in office, social security is going the way of the dinosaur. We're so deep in debt and unlike the 1980s where we raised interest rates to repay some of the debt, that's not even possible now. No one should be counting on SS being there in the future.

On this we agree. But it is quite...unusual...for a candidate for office (particularly a nominal Republican) to essentially tell seniors he intends to cannibalize Social Security.

[jfish26]

Yeah, this whole payroll tax thing is very confusing, especially since it's regressive tax, and every wage earner is paying into SS/Medicare, but something only half of wage earners (and maybe less now) pay into the general fund. So it's going to gut SS and Medicare. I get paid tomorrow, curious to see what my company did.

Not to mention, it's just deferred! We're going to have a whole new kind of debt crisis out of this.

[Deleted User 318]

Yeah, this whole payroll tax thing is very confusing, especially since it's regressive tax, and every wage earner is paying into SS/Medicare, but something only half of wage earners (and maybe less now) pay into the general fund. So it's going to gut SS and Medicare. I get paid tomorrow, curious to see what my company did.

Not to mention, it's just deferred! We're going to have a whole new kind of debt crisis out of this.

So, there is a lot of (possibly intentional) confusion on what's actually going to happen. Trump said he was going to forgive the outstanding deferment. What does that mean? I parsed it out as he's going to defer to the end of the year (which I think he can do), then forgive all that debt (which I think he can do). What I don't think he can do is basically eliminate the tax outright, so it sounds like this is just some sort of loophole.

[jfish26]

Yeah, this whole payroll tax thing is very confusing, especially since it's regressive tax, and every wage earner is paying into SS/Medicare, but something only half of wage earners (and maybe less now) pay into the general fund. So it's going to gut SS and Medicare. I get paid tomorrow, curious to see what my company did.

Not to mention, it's just deferred! We're going to have a whole new kind of debt crisis out of this.

So, there is a lot of (possibly intentional) confusion on what's actually going to happen. Trump said he was going to forgive the outstanding deferment. What does that mean? I parsed it out as he's going to defer to the end of the year (which I think he can do), then forgive all that debt (which I think he can do). What I don't think he can do is basically eliminate the tax outright, so it sounds like this is just some sort of loophole.

Not to mention, a forgiven payment obligation...is taxable income...as is unemployment. And...rent moratoriums are not rent forgiveness.

[Deleted User 318]

Hold up, you think the forgiven payroll tax deferment would be taxable? I would imagine W4 employees would only be on the hook for their end, which a ~6% bump in income wouldn't put anyone out. But I know I had a $5k Federal obligation this year because I didn't update my info after the tax stuff Trump pushed through in 2018, and going to be annoying to have to fork over another k or 2 next April.

[Deleted User 318]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-pay ... 1597318890

Oh dang, just read up on WSJ's take, it sounds like he can't even forgive, and would require congressional approval to forgive.

Basically he's throwing a hand grenade into the budgets and hoping it works out.

[jfish26]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-pay ... 1597318890

Oh dang, just read up on WSJ's take, it sounds like he can't even forgive, and would require congressional approval to forgive.

Basically he's throwing a hand grenade into the budgets and hoping it works out.

But it doesn't matter, right? He'll either be gone, or a lame duck, by the time the grenade explodes.

It's naked bad faith. And yet the GOP stays silent.

[Deleted User 318]

I assume the end goal was to destabilize SS to the point where it needs privatization. So it's closer to a dead man's switch than anything else. If Trump is not elected, SS is destabilized greatly, and the Dems have to scramble to keep stuff alive (and Dems in disarray ensues). If he is reelected, then privatization is the square goal.

I think the damage that Mnuchin has been doing (including latest round of COVID relief) is greatly unnoticed.

[jfish26]

I assume the end goal was to destabilize SS to the point where it needs privatization. So it's closer to a dead man's switch than anything else. If Trump is not elected, SS is destabilized greatly, and the Dems have to scramble to keep stuff alive (and Dems in disarray ensues). If he is reelected, then privatization is the square goal.

I think the damage that Mnuchin has been doing (including latest round of COVID relief) is greatly unnoticed.

Think about all the shit that's happening that we don't even know about.

[Deleted User 318]

I assume the end goal was to destabilize SS to the point where it needs privatization. So it's closer to a dead man's switch than anything else. If Trump is not elected, SS is destabilized greatly, and the Dems have to scramble to keep stuff alive (and Dems in disarray ensues). If he is reelected, then privatization is the square goal.

I think the damage that Mnuchin has been doing (including latest round of COVID relief) is greatly unnoticed.

Think about all the shit that's happening that we don't even know about.

Luckily the West Wing is a sieve, and I hope there's not too much out there that we aren't aware of.

[sdoyel]

Pence may be the biggest coward I have ever seen in politics. Like a true, trembling little yes man coward.

https://twitter.com/ericcolumbus/status ... 04512?s=21

[sdoyel]

I mean it’s hilarious that Pence and Trump are throwing the “radical left” bullshit out there.

[sdoyel]

Tell me this isn’t real?

https://twitter.com/rexchapman/status/1 ... 05889?s=21

[Deleted User 310]

I dont think he knows what guidelines are...

[seahawk]

You wonder how long it's been since Pence was looking at meat packages in the grocery and sucking in his breath at the sticker shock. Seems like many families will already be cutting down on meat.

[jfish26]

You wonder how long it's been since Pence was looking at meat packages in the grocery and sucking in his breath at the sticker shock. Seems like many families will already be cutting down on meat.

We bought half a cow when all of this started. Proved a smart choice.