Political Roundtable Part XXV
Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2019 2:35 pm
Sports is our Business
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https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1802065
Zonkerbl wrote:You can't just wave a magic wand and fix the tax system. There will be some leakage. But it's also flatly false that any tax you impose will be 100% ineffective. That's just preposterous.
One of the reasons we have such an obtuse tax system is we're letting people get away with distorting the system for their own nefarious ends. The solution to that is sunlight - more people, more NGOs paying attention to the tax giveaways lobbyists have built into the system, like AOC is doing.
To claim that the system is so corrupt that there's no point in trying to tax rich people is absurdly self-serving. And by the way it's not true. If it were the effective tax rate on people earning more than $10 million per year would be 0%. It's not, it's 26%. Can we base our discussion on facts please?
On the margin, yes, people find ways to dodge the system, so the effective tax rate is actually lower for those with income higher than $10 million and that is indeed wrong and broken and needs to be fixed. But we are still able to collect 26% from these people.
dckingsfan wrote:Zonkerbl wrote:You can't just wave a magic wand and fix the tax system. There will be some leakage. But it's also flatly false that any tax you impose will be 100% ineffective. That's just preposterous.
One of the reasons we have such an obtuse tax system is we're letting people get away with distorting the system for their own nefarious ends. The solution to that is sunlight - more people, more NGOs paying attention to the tax giveaways lobbyists have built into the system, like AOC is doing.
To claim that the system is so corrupt that there's no point in trying to tax rich people is absurdly self-serving. And by the way it's not true. If it were the effective tax rate on people earning more than $10 million per year would be 0%. It's not, it's 26%. Can we base our discussion on facts please?
On the margin, yes, people find ways to dodge the system, so the effective tax rate is actually lower for those with income higher than $10 million and that is indeed wrong and broken and needs to be fixed. But we are still able to collect 26% from these people.
Yes, you can have a bill that can fix the tax code. You are saying that we need to leave the carveouts in place?
Great that the NGOs bring up the flaws - but running on increasing marginal rates vs fixing the code is disingenuous. To claim otherwise is absurd. And the reason we collect 26% is we go after the working rich - which makes them want to dodge the system even more - and those are the ones that are penalized by higher marginal rates.
The proposal is stupid without fixing the tax code.
Zonkerbl wrote:dckingsfan wrote:Zonkerbl wrote:You can't just wave a magic wand and fix the tax system. There will be some leakage. But it's also flatly false that any tax you impose will be 100% ineffective. That's just preposterous.
One of the reasons we have such an obtuse tax system is we're letting people get away with distorting the system for their own nefarious ends. The solution to that is sunlight - more people, more NGOs paying attention to the tax giveaways lobbyists have built into the system, like AOC is doing.
To claim that the system is so corrupt that there's no point in trying to tax rich people is absurdly self-serving. And by the way it's not true. If it were the effective tax rate on people earning more than $10 million per year would be 0%. It's not, it's 26%. Can we base our discussion on facts please?
On the margin, yes, people find ways to dodge the system, so the effective tax rate is actually lower for those with income higher than $10 million and that is indeed wrong and broken and needs to be fixed. But we are still able to collect 26% from these people.
Yes, you can have a bill that can fix the tax code. You are saying that we need to leave the carveouts in place?
Great that the NGOs bring up the flaws - but running on increasing marginal rates vs fixing the code is disingenuous. To claim otherwise is absurd. And the reason we collect 26% is we go after the working rich - which makes them want to dodge the system even more - and those are the ones that are penalized by higher marginal rates.
The proposal is stupid without fixing the tax code.
Yes! Now you finally get it. It is literally impossible to legislate your way out of this problem. Thank you for finally understanding. The legislative process will ensure that, given the same amount of daylight and oversight, any new tax legislation that can actually pass out of Congress will have exactly the same level of brokenness as the previous system. Fixing what's wrong with our tax system is a *fundamentally different problem* than fixing inequities with targeted tax policy.
Now if you could stop making me repeat myself - you can use tax policy to redistribute wealth in the current system. It may only be 80% effective. But it is a flat out lie to say it would be 100% ineffectual and I don't understand why you keep insisting in believing this lie. Who is telling you this?
Finally, it is *mathematically impossible* for what you say about the 26% tax rate to be true. You can take my word for it or I can do the math for you. Just not right now, I'm working.
dckingsfan wrote:Zonkerbl wrote:You can't just wave a magic wand and fix the tax system. There will be some leakage. But it's also flatly false that any tax you impose will be 100% ineffective. That's just preposterous.
One of the reasons we have such an obtuse tax system is we're letting people get away with distorting the system for their own nefarious ends. The solution to that is sunlight - more people, more NGOs paying attention to the tax giveaways lobbyists have built into the system, like AOC is doing.
To claim that the system is so corrupt that there's no point in trying to tax rich people is absurdly self-serving. And by the way it's not true. If it were the effective tax rate on people earning more than $10 million per year would be 0%. It's not, it's 26%. Can we base our discussion on facts please?
On the margin, yes, people find ways to dodge the system, so the effective tax rate is actually lower for those with income higher than $10 million and that is indeed wrong and broken and needs to be fixed. But we are still able to collect 26% from these people.
Yes, you can have a bill that can fix the tax code. You are saying that we need to leave the carveouts in place?
Great that the NGOs bring up the flaws - but running on increasing marginal rates vs fixing the code is disingenuous. To claim otherwise is absurd. And the reason we collect 26% is we go after the working rich - which makes them want to dodge the system even more - and those are the ones that are penalized by higher marginal rates.
The proposal is stupid without fixing the tax code.
Associated PressTest of Finland's basic income: It creates happiness but not jobs
A nationwide experiment with basic income in Finland has not increased employment among those participating in the two-year trial, but their general well-being seems to have increased, a report said Friday.
The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, or Kela, said "it was not yet possible to draw any firm conclusions" from the first half of the experiment, where about 2,000 randomly selected, unemployed people aged 25-58 got tax-free income of 560 euros ($636) a month with no questions asked.
Finland is looking into ways to reshape its social security system and became in January 2017 the first European country to launch the trial, which will end in 2020.
Critics say universal basic income reduces incentives for people to look for work.
Proponents say it can empower people to start new businesses, knowing that they would continue to receive monthly income no matter how well their new venture does. It can also encourage people to try a new job without the fear of losing their unemployment checks or having to go through the paperwork of reapplying for benefits.
The report found that those on basic income and the unemployed people in the control group ended up working roughly the same number of days.
Jamaaliver wrote:Thoughts from some of our more left leaning posters?Associated PressTest of Finland's basic income: It creates happiness but not jobs
A nationwide experiment with basic income in Finland has not increased employment among those participating in the two-year trial, but their general well-being seems to have increased, a report said Friday.
The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, or Kela, said "it was not yet possible to draw any firm conclusions" from the first half of the experiment, where about 2,000 randomly selected, unemployed people aged 25-58 got tax-free income of 560 euros ($636) a month with no questions asked.
Finland is looking into ways to reshape its social security system and became in January 2017 the first European country to launch the trial, which will end in 2020.
Critics say universal basic income reduces incentives for people to look for work.
Proponents say it can empower people to start new businesses, knowing that they would continue to receive monthly income no matter how well their new venture does. It can also encourage people to try a new job without the fear of losing their unemployment checks or having to go through the paperwork of reapplying for benefits.
The report found that those on basic income and the unemployed people in the control group ended up working roughly the same number of days.
Pointgod wrote:Jamaaliver wrote:Thoughts from some of our more left leaning posters?Associated PressTest of Finland's basic income: It creates happiness but not jobs
A nationwide experiment with basic income in Finland has not increased employment among those participating in the two-year trial, but their general well-being seems to have increased, a report said Friday.
The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, or Kela, said "it was not yet possible to draw any firm conclusions" from the first half of the experiment, where about 2,000 randomly selected, unemployed people aged 25-58 got tax-free income of 560 euros ($636) a month with no questions asked.
Finland is looking into ways to reshape its social security system and became in January 2017 the first European country to launch the trial, which will end in 2020.
Critics say universal basic income reduces incentives for people to look for work.
Proponents say it can empower people to start new businesses, knowing that they would continue to receive monthly income no matter how well their new venture does. It can also encourage people to try a new job without the fear of losing their unemployment checks or having to go through the paperwork of reapplying for benefits.
The report found that those on basic income and the unemployed people in the control group ended up working roughly the same number of days.
The problem with the Universal Basic Income is that it doesn’t recognize the dignity that some people have with working. I think on its face it’s an interesting concept, however I’m starting to think something like a Federal Jobs Guarantee would provide a better solution.
PoliticoRepublicans gush over Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar has an unusual constituency behind her as she launches her run for president: Senate Republicans.
In a Democratic caucus filled with presidential hopefuls taking a hard line against Donald Trump’s presidency, the Minnesota senator's brand of pragmatic politics stands out. And numerous Republicans are raving about Klobuchar — her personality, her respect for the other party, even her competitiveness in a general election.
In fact, a dozen GOP senators were so effusive in interviews this month that some worried they might damage her candidacy in a Democratic nomination fight that has many candidates embracing the party’s left flank.
Republicans say that Klobuchar was one of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee who was most respectful when questioning Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last year about sexual assault allegations...
Klobuchar’s Republican pals say that her political abilities would be imposing in a general election against Trump, noting her strong appeal in the Midwest — the region that tipped the presidency to Trump in 2016.
Some Democrats are “going to be looking for somebody that is actually going to be electable in a general election. And I think it’s a spot she could fill,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the GOP whip.
“I don’t like to give Democrats advice but they’ve got to be able to carry the Midwest,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
It’s not just Republican senators who are fans. George Will, a conservative columnist for the Washington Post, penned an op-ed recently that described Klobuchar as “the person perhaps best equipped to send the current president packing,” pointing to her Midwest roots as an asset for Democrats and praising her even-keeled temperament.
Pointgod wrote:Jamaaliver wrote:Thoughts from some of our more left leaning posters?
The problem with the Universal Basic Income is that it doesn’t recognize the dignity that some people have with working. I think on its face it’s an interesting concept, however I’m starting to think something like a Federal Jobs Guarantee would provide a better solution.
pancakes3 wrote:i can understand where UBI proponents are coming from, but i don't think as a society we're there yet, but we're relatively close.
without going into a thousand-word dive into it, the tl;dr is that we're hurtling towards convergence with the Star Trek universe in terms of efficiency, automation, and AI, and the closer we get, the more it makes sense a UBI society makes.
Finland gave people free money. It didn’t help them get jobs — but does that matter?
Receiving a basic income had other great effects on the unemployed.
Preliminary results are in for Finland’s landmark experiment with basic income — the idea that the government should give citizens a regular infusion of free cash with no strings attached. The outcome is not what Finland hoped it would be. But it’s arguably a success anyway.
The Finnish trial, the results of which were released Friday, wasn’t an experiment in universal basic income (UBI), which includes all citizens whether they’ve got jobs or not. Rather, it was a targeted attempt to see what would happen if the government chose 2,000 unemployed citizens at random and gave them a check of 560 euros ($635) every month for two years. Participants were assured they’d keep receiving the money if they got a job. In fact, the experiment’s stated goal was about “promoting employment” — the government wanted to see if having a basic income leads people to accept more work, even if it’s low-paying or temporary.
By that metric, the experiment was a failure: Receiving free money didn’t impact the likelihood of people entering the workforce one way or another.
But here’s what the basic income did do: It made recipients feel happier and less stressed. “The basic income recipients of the test group reported better well-being in every way than the comparison group,” according to researcher Olli Kangas.
So, what’s the purpose of basic income?
The idea of universal basic income — that the state should dispense a guaranteed, regular stipend to every single citizen — has been around at least since the 16th century. Its classic aims are to reduce poverty and inequality. Some countries, like Canada, have been experimenting with basic income for decades and others, like Italy, just put a version of it into practice.
VOXSen. Amy Klobuchar has won every one of her elections by huge margins. Now she’s running for president
The Minnesota Democrat has a reputation of being the Senate’s pragmatist
In her 12 years as Minnesota’s senator, Amy Klobuchar has built a reputation as a quick-witted, hardworking, pragmatist: the “senator next door.”
Now Klobuchar is running for president, officially announcing a 2020 bid for the Democratic Party nomination Sunday, February 10. There are reasons to consider her a serious contender.
Klobuchar is popular with voters. At 58, she’s on her third term in the Senate — elections she’s won by landslide margins. She won reelection in 2018 by a whopping 26 points over Republican opponent Jim Newberger, including in 43 counties that President Donald Trump won in 2016.
But she also faces challenges. On the issues that that the Democratic Party’s base are prioritizing — Medicare-for-all, tuition-free college, a $15 minimum wage — Klobuchar is notably quiet. She hasn’t signed on to Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Medicare-for-all or $15 minimum wage proposal. She supports universal health care and reducing drug prices more generally. Her views on trade are more middle of the road. Her answer to college affordability wasn’t making tuition free but rather a student loan refinancing proposal called the RED Act. On immigration, she was part of a bipartisan group of senators who tried to reach a compromise with Trump. And as Sanders, Warren, Harris and Booker compete with progressive bills to combat inequality, Klobuchar is touting a proposal she sponsored with Republican Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) that would allow people to use tax advantaged savings accounts to pay for educational expenses like skills training.
She’s also made headlines recently for her alleged mistreatment of staff — something that’s dogged her for years.
Klobuchar has the biography of a 2020 presidential candidate. She grew up in Plymouth, Minnesota, went to Yale University and the University of Chicago Law School. She’s the daughter of a schoolteacher and a famous Minnesota columnist — Jim Klobuchar.
Her candidacy will likely be focused on trying to make the case for pragmatism. The question is whether her vision, or the rising progressive wing’s vision, is where Democratic Party voters want to go.
“I don’t have a political machine,” Klobuchar said in the closing minutes of her announcement speech. “I don’t come from money. But what I do have is this: I have grit.”