Seriously! Pretty sure somebody who has cancer, makes $50k at a job he can only work at sporadically and is racking up medical bills January through December isn’t going to be all that grateful to know that his tax bill next April will be less. Especially if he’s already dead because he couldn’t afford either the treatment or the premiums to get insurance to help cover those expenses. Thanks to the insurance plans our elected officials receive that we all (including the soon-to-be-dead cancer patient) pay for, they are completely clueless about how it all works out here on Earth 1.
A little known tax law enacted under the Rs is the basic elimination of the casualty loss deduction. They also only count for federally declared disasters. I guess that explains why the dog killer isn't allowing any federal declared disasters for D areas. BTW, remember NC? POS made a stink about it during the campaign. Last I heard, they're still waiting for the aid that Biden wanted to send, and POS denied. They've also denied it for tornado victims, flooding victims, etc. https://www.floods.org/news-views/fema-news/trump-denies-disaster-aid-tells-states-to-do-more/ Then again, they want to eliminate FEMA. So, forget the aid and forget about claiming it on your tax returns.
This is horrible stuff. Clearly Trump's appointees (informed by Heritage) want to destroy every little thing government does. Paul Krugman had a recent post in his substack that discussed a terrible flood in the mid 1920s along the Mississippi. The president then did not want to help - but was forced to by public opinion. But we have gradually become a society where the Feds backstop all of us re natural disasters (and even when they do give aid, it is not like the states and towns still don't suffer a lot.). It is such a strange thing to not want to help. And all to give large tax cuts to fat cats. I was in business all my work life so hardly progressive. But Jesus Christ!
Eva - I believe the expression is, "turn it over to the states." So relatively poor states which are least able to generate the funds for basic functioning are now on their own to fund disaster recovery. Such places were net-receivers of federal taxes (fed fund outlays to state exceeded fed taxes paid by all entities in state). In a sense, poor states are being kicked off welfare. Coincidentally, the Venn diagram of states voting Trump overlaps well with the list of net-recipient states. This is called, educational opportunity 🤷♂️
I swear I do not understand how such clueless people can be elected dog catcher (especially her, since we know how she feels about dogs) let alone governor or serve in any position of supposed importance on the cabinet.
Assuming Hawley’s plan is IN PLACE OF insurance (once you’re priced out of the market or rejected due to some preexisting condits as Republican plans typically allow) - check the UNinsured price for a broken leg that requires surgical treatment, common for compound fractures or when joint is involved (don’t forget recovery care like PT). Or try a 3-day hospital stay for pneumonia, RSV, or measles.
The positive side of Hawley’s plan is: more houses on the market when people need to cash out their equity to pay medical bills. MAGA!!
Yes! And then, after they've cashed out their equity to pay their medical bills, they can live in one of those cardboard boxes that are all over the place taking up room... so, win, win! /s
I don't think he or most Republicans have the faintest notion of how poor people actually live pay check (if they are fortunate enough to have a job), to paycheck and absolutely do not make enough to pay income tax. No clue and no impetus to find out. Bah! $25,000 deduction? Might as well be a million! Pathetic.
A single filer in the 22% tax bracket would need to make about $125,000 in ordinary income to owe $25,000 in taxes. And as pointed out the money has to be spent first as this is a refund. The folks needing ACA subsidies are close to or under the poverty level. See how that works? E’ffing brilliant. Josh was clearly an A student.
They would have to make more. If you factor in the 2025 standard deduction of $15,750 plus the fact that there is a considerable amount of income taxed in the 10 and 12 % brackets before they hit the 22% bracket at $47150 of taxable income
Indeed. I personally purchase insurance thru the ACA and minus ACA subsidies even if 100% of my income taxes were to become fully deductible I'd still wind up paying about $3k more to makeup the difference to cover the non-subsidized insurance premiums
I am shocked! Shocked! That somehow there remains an inspector general to provide a report on ‘Signalgate’. This oversight must be corrected before another bribe is accepted, before another pardon is issued, before another city is invaded, even before Kristi Noem makes one more stupid utterance on behalf of the nation. Action ! That’s what this movement needs
I thought all inspector generals were fired - unless they all took an oath to approve everything President Orange Snake and his minions do, especially the illegal, immoral acts.
This one must have been out sick the day they got rid of the other IG’s. Though I’d also be Shocked if the report finds malfeasance on the part of the SUK WAR - more likely an, OOOPSIE !
I think I am confusing getting rid of all the senior JAG lawyers with getting rid of all the Inspectors General. It’s so hard to keep track of all the guardrails that have been blown to pieces these days. I suggest an expanded scoresheet somewhere on the Bulwark Homepage, and maybe hiring Kornacki part time to track the numbers for us during off-election years.
Trumpism means supporting rape, pedophilia, and fatal childhood diseases. But those things mostly affect women and children and therefore never make the list.
I wonder if it's streaming anywhere. I'd like to see it again. I remember Richard Dreyfus would get so mad at Bill Murray. By the end, he was the crazy one.
Actually both the "gold bar aficionado" line AND the "what about Bob" title were Ben Parker's punch-up work this morning. Lachrymose compassion was all me however.
You guys write about Trump giving out pardons like he cares about who he is pardoning. We already have him admitting that he doesn't know some of the folks he is pardoning. So how is this landing in-front of him? They paid him. There is no other explanation other than Trump is literally selling pardons. The only reason Menendez hasn't been pardoned, is because he hasn't paid the boss yet. Once Menendez can offer something of value - BAM pardon issued.
Exactly. Trump doesn't know half of what is going on. He lives in a dream world where he is king. As long as people give him money and flatter him, he doesnt care whats going on.
I think if Trump had just commuted Cuellar's sentence instead of pardoning him, Cuellar could have avoided prison but wouldn't have been able to run for re-election according to Texas law (because he would still have been a felon).
But by pardoning him, Trump erased the felony and has given Cuellar a chance to win re-election and hold that seat for Democrats. As a former Texas governor famously said, "Oops."
Now, Johnson and the House Republicans can still kick Cuellar out of the House with a two-thirds majority vote (a la George Santos), but why would they if their Dear Leader just pardoned the man? And would enough Democrats even vote for that?
The filing deadline is 4 days from today, and Cuellar is currently facing no serious primary threats from Democrats. It's frankly easier for him to win as a Democrat.
Just like that clown Jeff Van Drew in NJ. Ran as a Dem, fundraised as a Dem, used the Dem organization to get elected, then promptly became a trump asslicker.
Political Party means nothing. Trump was a democrat until he realized as a racist Republican he could easily do what he is good at, conning people into supporting him.
Doesn't the speech and debate clause insulate members of Congress from legal consequences for things that they say? I remember something about that when Republicans were agitating to overturn the 2020 election results.....
Since it is behind a paywall, the gist is that yes, Kelly’s speech is likely protected by the Speech and Debate Clause, although there is debate about the scope of the Speech and Debate Clause.
Vladeck goes on to talk about two bigger issues that will get in the way of prosecuting Kelly. Kelly likely has a strong First Amendment defense, and there is an additional threshold problem of Hegseth’s unlawful command influence (UCI): “it is unlawful for anyone with the power to convene a court-martial (a category that expressly includes the Secretary of Defense) to ‘attempt to coerce or, by any unauthorized means, attempt to influence the actions of a court-martial . . . or any member thereof.’ Not only is UCI prohibited, but attempted UCI is, as well.”
Re Hawley - tax deductions are of no use to folks who pay little in income taxes. This is basically a ploy he can use in his next campaign.
Yeah, and to claim any of that deduction, you gotta first spend the money to meet the requirement.
Yep.
Seriously! Pretty sure somebody who has cancer, makes $50k at a job he can only work at sporadically and is racking up medical bills January through December isn’t going to be all that grateful to know that his tax bill next April will be less. Especially if he’s already dead because he couldn’t afford either the treatment or the premiums to get insurance to help cover those expenses. Thanks to the insurance plans our elected officials receive that we all (including the soon-to-be-dead cancer patient) pay for, they are completely clueless about how it all works out here on Earth 1.
A little known tax law enacted under the Rs is the basic elimination of the casualty loss deduction. They also only count for federally declared disasters. I guess that explains why the dog killer isn't allowing any federal declared disasters for D areas. BTW, remember NC? POS made a stink about it during the campaign. Last I heard, they're still waiting for the aid that Biden wanted to send, and POS denied. They've also denied it for tornado victims, flooding victims, etc. https://www.floods.org/news-views/fema-news/trump-denies-disaster-aid-tells-states-to-do-more/ Then again, they want to eliminate FEMA. So, forget the aid and forget about claiming it on your tax returns.
This is horrible stuff. Clearly Trump's appointees (informed by Heritage) want to destroy every little thing government does. Paul Krugman had a recent post in his substack that discussed a terrible flood in the mid 1920s along the Mississippi. The president then did not want to help - but was forced to by public opinion. But we have gradually become a society where the Feds backstop all of us re natural disasters (and even when they do give aid, it is not like the states and towns still don't suffer a lot.). It is such a strange thing to not want to help. And all to give large tax cuts to fat cats. I was in business all my work life so hardly progressive. But Jesus Christ!
Eva - I believe the expression is, "turn it over to the states." So relatively poor states which are least able to generate the funds for basic functioning are now on their own to fund disaster recovery. Such places were net-receivers of federal taxes (fed fund outlays to state exceeded fed taxes paid by all entities in state). In a sense, poor states are being kicked off welfare. Coincidentally, the Venn diagram of states voting Trump overlaps well with the list of net-recipient states. This is called, educational opportunity 🤷♂️
You'd think their reps in Congress would figure it out. Of course, that requires knowing basic math.
We won’t need FEMA anymore, since Kristi Noem revealed Schmucko is now deflecting hurricanes, and if so, why not all other natural disasters?
I swear I do not understand how such clueless people can be elected dog catcher (especially her, since we know how she feels about dogs) let alone governor or serve in any position of supposed importance on the cabinet.
Assuming Hawley’s plan is IN PLACE OF insurance (once you’re priced out of the market or rejected due to some preexisting condits as Republican plans typically allow) - check the UNinsured price for a broken leg that requires surgical treatment, common for compound fractures or when joint is involved (don’t forget recovery care like PT). Or try a 3-day hospital stay for pneumonia, RSV, or measles.
The positive side of Hawley’s plan is: more houses on the market when people need to cash out their equity to pay medical bills. MAGA!!
Ok there you go, affordable housing solved! And since I’ve come to believe they just want us all dead anyway, it’s all good.
🎼...always on the sunny side 🎼 ☀️
Yes! And then, after they've cashed out their equity to pay their medical bills, they can live in one of those cardboard boxes that are all over the place taking up room... so, win, win! /s
Silly me! I didn't think there is a positive side to Hawley's proposal. Think of it, an increase in the supply of affordable housing. Brilliant!
I don't think he or most Republicans have the faintest notion of how poor people actually live pay check (if they are fortunate enough to have a job), to paycheck and absolutely do not make enough to pay income tax. No clue and no impetus to find out. Bah! $25,000 deduction? Might as well be a million! Pathetic.
A single filer in the 22% tax bracket would need to make about $125,000 in ordinary income to owe $25,000 in taxes. And as pointed out the money has to be spent first as this is a refund. The folks needing ACA subsidies are close to or under the poverty level. See how that works? E’ffing brilliant. Josh was clearly an A student.
They would have to make more. If you factor in the 2025 standard deduction of $15,750 plus the fact that there is a considerable amount of income taxed in the 10 and 12 % brackets before they hit the 22% bracket at $47150 of taxable income
Exactly. A refundable tax credit would be a meaningful proposal and one that he will not offer.
Hawley warned of this, ten voted to make it happen.
Indeed. I personally purchase insurance thru the ACA and minus ACA subsidies even if 100% of my income taxes were to become fully deductible I'd still wind up paying about $3k more to makeup the difference to cover the non-subsidized insurance premiums
Hawley is a hypocrite and a treasonous bastard. Oh yes, and a coward, too.
Ol' "running Josh Hawley". Some say he's still bravely running away to this day.
Yep, that’s the coward part, hauling ass.
The fact that he's in Congress after trying to throw out legal votes is proof that the system is broken.
But a heckuva sprinter when properly motivated
Hawley seems too much of a cipher to get so worked up about. One of his constituents?
I am shocked! Shocked! That somehow there remains an inspector general to provide a report on ‘Signalgate’. This oversight must be corrected before another bribe is accepted, before another pardon is issued, before another city is invaded, even before Kristi Noem makes one more stupid utterance on behalf of the nation. Action ! That’s what this movement needs
I thought all inspector generals were fired - unless they all took an oath to approve everything President Orange Snake and his minions do, especially the illegal, immoral acts.
This one must have been out sick the day they got rid of the other IG’s. Though I’d also be Shocked if the report finds malfeasance on the part of the SUK WAR - more likely an, OOOPSIE !
I think I am confusing getting rid of all the senior JAG lawyers with getting rid of all the Inspectors General. It’s so hard to keep track of all the guardrails that have been blown to pieces these days. I suggest an expanded scoresheet somewhere on the Bulwark Homepage, and maybe hiring Kornacki part time to track the numbers for us during off-election years.
I’m sure Hegseth is furious that his command to get rid of all the “law and order” folks missed the IG…
Competence defined by clean shaven, preening, delusions of grandeur.
But Eva, are there any acts of this regime that are not illegal or immoral? It's pretty hard to think of any...
"Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace"
My "Orwellian" file is already full. As is my "FFS" file. As is my "Irony is Dead" file. What do I do with this?
Open a new AYFKM file.
Just recall a saying my father told us about grafitti (I think this qualifies):
Fool's names and fool's faces often seen in public places.
Work hard to make sure it's gone in three years.
I don't know...and what do we do next year when this is part of his application for next year's Nobel prize?
Menendez made the mistake of not sending Trump a gold bar or two *before* they were confiscated.
I'm sure Jared K can spare some time to work something out.
Make that a million or two gold bars.
“You’re either on the team or you’re not. When you get an order, you move out fast and don’t ask questions.”
Trumpism means being a prick.
Trumpism means supporting rape, pedophilia, and fatal childhood diseases. But those things mostly affect women and children and therefore never make the list.
I can think of a few more adjectives, a number of which are unprintable.
Little prick.
Andrew, chef’s kiss to the “What about Bob?” title
A Bill Murray classic. But was Andrew even born when that movie came out?
Happened to be one of the first movies we ever had on DVD. I have seen it a remarkable number of times.
I still have a box full of VHS tapes- several are movies recorded from TV no doubt, and a Blockbuster copy of Fargo 🤦🏼♀️🤣💁🏼♀️
I wonder if it's streaming anywhere. I'd like to see it again. I remember Richard Dreyfus would get so mad at Bill Murray. By the end, he was the crazy one.
Probably not lol, but clearly has great taste. I watched it 100 times and still chose to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner 🤔
My husband was a psychiatrist social worker, & one of his day treatment patients showed up at our house, so it’s not that far fetched.
Baby steps----out of the White House...
Baby steps---Into Prison....
“Gold-bar aficionado”—chef’s kiss Andrew!
"wrung another pang of lachrymose compassion out of Trump"
Whatever he spiked his coffee with this morning worked spectacularly!
Actually both the "gold bar aficionado" line AND the "what about Bob" title were Ben Parker's punch-up work this morning. Lachrymose compassion was all me however.
Cheers for the whole team then.
Bulwark building braincells.
This week I've learned two new vocab words.
"prurient" and "lachrymose"
You forgot RFK the Lesser.
But there were only four horsemen to go around....¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There were more horsemen… SO MANY horsemen, numbers like nobody’s ever seen before…
But then Kristi Noem took them for a ride…
Thanks for the belly laugh!😂🤣😂🥂
Не стоит благодарности!
I do German, not Cryillic.
I do German, not Cryillic.
With little thought, we could identify 7 plagues in the Cabinet.
He fits the pestilence horseman. Death would also work. Unless POS starts a nuclear war, he'll kill more Americans than anyone else.
Not everyone understands that.
You guys write about Trump giving out pardons like he cares about who he is pardoning. We already have him admitting that he doesn't know some of the folks he is pardoning. So how is this landing in-front of him? They paid him. There is no other explanation other than Trump is literally selling pardons. The only reason Menendez hasn't been pardoned, is because he hasn't paid the boss yet. Once Menendez can offer something of value - BAM pardon issued.
Exactly. Trump doesn't know half of what is going on. He lives in a dream world where he is king. As long as people give him money and flatter him, he doesnt care whats going on.
One side of their mouths claim the Biden auto-pen pardons while the other reveals Trump’s alleged cluelessness of his own recent pardons.
ADP better watch their back. Tbe President is coming for them next! How dare they not declare the new golden age!
Mike - that’s “the failing and totally fake ADP” to you, buster 😉
I stand corrected. 😀
I don't believe any past president's pardons were either an inducement to wrong doing or a reward for wrong doing. Trump's are.
I think if Trump had just commuted Cuellar's sentence instead of pardoning him, Cuellar could have avoided prison but wouldn't have been able to run for re-election according to Texas law (because he would still have been a felon).
But by pardoning him, Trump erased the felony and has given Cuellar a chance to win re-election and hold that seat for Democrats. As a former Texas governor famously said, "Oops."
Now, Johnson and the House Republicans can still kick Cuellar out of the House with a two-thirds majority vote (a la George Santos), but why would they if their Dear Leader just pardoned the man? And would enough Democrats even vote for that?
Or Cuellar can run as a Republican.
The filing deadline is 4 days from today, and Cuellar is currently facing no serious primary threats from Democrats. It's frankly easier for him to win as a Democrat.
A real possibility.
The Texas Standard (public radio) reported today that he filed to run as a Democrat.
He's corrupt. He'll run as a demo and then switch parties. And back his truck up to the grift pile.
Just like that clown Jeff Van Drew in NJ. Ran as a Dem, fundraised as a Dem, used the Dem organization to get elected, then promptly became a trump asslicker.
Political Party means nothing. Trump was a democrat until he realized as a racist Republican he could easily do what he is good at, conning people into supporting him.
Many such cases. And people wonder why we're cynical.
You see, Trump is able to show empathy, at least towards other people who solicit and accept bribes.
Doesn't the speech and debate clause insulate members of Congress from legal consequences for things that they say? I remember something about that when Republicans were agitating to overturn the 2020 election results.....
Steve Vladeck did a good analysis of that today.
Vladeck’s Substack is a must-read. Here’s the link for today’s post:
https://open.substack.com/pub/stevevladeck/p/bonus-195-the-mark-kelly-meshugas
Since it is behind a paywall, the gist is that yes, Kelly’s speech is likely protected by the Speech and Debate Clause, although there is debate about the scope of the Speech and Debate Clause.
Vladeck goes on to talk about two bigger issues that will get in the way of prosecuting Kelly. Kelly likely has a strong First Amendment defense, and there is an additional threshold problem of Hegseth’s unlawful command influence (UCI): “it is unlawful for anyone with the power to convene a court-martial (a category that expressly includes the Secretary of Defense) to ‘attempt to coerce or, by any unauthorized means, attempt to influence the actions of a court-martial . . . or any member thereof.’ Not only is UCI prohibited, but attempted UCI is, as well.”
Nice summary, Annalisa. Thank you.
Bill, excellent "Four Horsemen" summaries and castigations. I do not often see eye to eye with you, but today we see as one. Thank you.