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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
December 22, 2019
Jonathan Swan
33 mins ago
Exclusive: John Bolton hits Trump for bluffing on North Korea nukes
In his sharpest criticism yet of his old workplace, John Bolton suggested the Trump administration is bluffing about stopping North Korea's nuclear ambitions — and soon might need to admit publicly that its policy failed badly.
Driving the news: Bolton told me in an interview that he does not think the administration "really means it" when President Trump and top officials vow to stop North Korea from having deliverable nuclear weapons — "or it would be pursuing a different course."
Why now? The president's former national security adviser, who served until September, is speaking out ahead of an end-of-year timetable. If Kim Jong-un follows through on his threatened Christmas provocation, Bolton says the White House should do something "that would be very unusual" for this administration: admit they got it wrong on North Korea.
Why it matters: Kim is back on his white horse, and the North Korean nuclear threat may be greater than ever, analysts say.
more...
https://www.axios.com/bolton-john-trump-north-korea-missiles-94088bf9-4d2d-4d10-bfd9-80db7bc36a50.html
Exclusive: John Bolton hits Trump for bluffing on North Korea nukes
Jonathan Swan
33 mins ago
Exclusive: John Bolton hits Trump for bluffing on North Korea nukes
In his sharpest criticism yet of his old workplace, John Bolton suggested the Trump administration is bluffing about stopping North Korea's nuclear ambitions — and soon might need to admit publicly that its policy failed badly.
Driving the news: Bolton told me in an interview that he does not think the administration "really means it" when President Trump and top officials vow to stop North Korea from having deliverable nuclear weapons — "or it would be pursuing a different course."
Why now? The president's former national security adviser, who served until September, is speaking out ahead of an end-of-year timetable. If Kim Jong-un follows through on his threatened Christmas provocation, Bolton says the White House should do something "that would be very unusual" for this administration: admit they got it wrong on North Korea.
"The idea that we are somehow exerting maximum pressure on North Korea is just unfortunately not true," Bolton said.
For example, he said, the U.S. Navy could start intercepting oil that is illegally being transferred to North Korea at sea.
As Bolton sees it, the administration now has more of a "rhetorical policy" that it's unacceptable for North Korea to have nuclear weapons that could hit America or its allies.
If Kim thumbs his nose at the U.S., Bolton said, he hopes the administration will say: "We've tried. The policy's failed. We're going to go back now and make it clear that in a variety of steps, together with our allies, when we say it's unacceptable, we're going to demonstrate we will not accept it."
Bolton described his concerns about Trump's North Korea strategy in an interview with Axios late last week. He went significantly further than any of his previous remarks since leaving the administration.
For example, he said, the U.S. Navy could start intercepting oil that is illegally being transferred to North Korea at sea.
As Bolton sees it, the administration now has more of a "rhetorical policy" that it's unacceptable for North Korea to have nuclear weapons that could hit America or its allies.
If Kim thumbs his nose at the U.S., Bolton said, he hopes the administration will say: "We've tried. The policy's failed. We're going to go back now and make it clear that in a variety of steps, together with our allies, when we say it's unacceptable, we're going to demonstrate we will not accept it."
Bolton described his concerns about Trump's North Korea strategy in an interview with Axios late last week. He went significantly further than any of his previous remarks since leaving the administration.
Why it matters: Kim is back on his white horse, and the North Korean nuclear threat may be greater than ever, analysts say.
more...
https://www.axios.com/bolton-john-trump-north-korea-missiles-94088bf9-4d2d-4d10-bfd9-80db7bc36a50.html
December 22, 2019
Real estate broker taps Vanilla Ice to pitch Trump family on putting presidential library on site of trailer park: report
By Aris Folley - 12/22/19 02:06 PM EST
A real estate broker and supporter of President Trump in Palm Beach County, Fla., wants the president to make the site of a local trailer park the home of the Trump presidential library, the Palm Beach Post reports.
According to the publication, the broker, James Arena, said he enlisted Vanilla Ice, a mutual associate he said he and Trump’s family share, to pitch the idea.
Arena is proposing Trump buy Briny Breezes, a town in Palm Beach County that reportedly spans 43 acres and consists primarily of mobile homes, for $1 billion.
more...
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/475674-real-estate-broker-taps-vanilla-ice-to-pitch-trump-family-on?fbclid=IwAR0Pflqz3SkmlgFnzZlzlJzbCb9R4Eli6U05ZRyvz2vybfuDZldoCu6G1mk
...Vanilla Ice to pitch Trump family on putting presidential library on site of trailer park
Real estate broker taps Vanilla Ice to pitch Trump family on putting presidential library on site of trailer park: report
By Aris Folley - 12/22/19 02:06 PM EST
A real estate broker and supporter of President Trump in Palm Beach County, Fla., wants the president to make the site of a local trailer park the home of the Trump presidential library, the Palm Beach Post reports.
According to the publication, the broker, James Arena, said he enlisted Vanilla Ice, a mutual associate he said he and Trump’s family share, to pitch the idea.
“Vanilla Ice ran it by Donald Jr.,” Arena told the newspaper. “He called me back and said, ‘Man, I think they’re really into it.’”
Arena is proposing Trump buy Briny Breezes, a town in Palm Beach County that reportedly spans 43 acres and consists primarily of mobile homes, for $1 billion.
more...
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/475674-real-estate-broker-taps-vanilla-ice-to-pitch-trump-family-on?fbclid=IwAR0Pflqz3SkmlgFnzZlzlJzbCb9R4Eli6U05ZRyvz2vybfuDZldoCu6G1mk
December 22, 2019
Poll: Majority approve of Trump's impeachment and removal from office
Poll: Majority approve of Trump's impeachment and removal from office
Nicholas Wu | USA TODAY | 2 hours ago
President Trump approved a massive spending bill, capping off a week of impeachment proceedings with a rare bipartisan move.
Following the House of Representatives' vote to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, a new poll from Politico and Morning Consult shows a majority of respondents supporting the articles of impeachment, Trump's impeachment and his removal from office.
Democrats accuse Trump of abusing his power by pressuring the government of Ukraine to open politically motivated investigations by withholding nearly $400 million of military aid and an Oval Office meeting. The second charge, obstruction of Congress, stems from Trump's stonewalling of House Democrats' investigation.
In the first poll to be conducted following the House's passage of impeachment articles, 52% of respondents said they supported the Houses' articles of impeachment, with 43% opposing. Similarly, 52% of respondents said they support Trump's impeachment and removal from office, while 42% disapproved.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk poll conducted before the impeachment votes found Americans opposing Trump’s impeachment and removal by a slim margin: 51% of voters opposed a vote to convict in the Senate, and 45% approved.
more...
https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/2721632001?fbclid=IwAR06qVski5v7ZKttcx4-K9QEc-dqTllYgRxsaPNAKxlGVNVgZwqxCkCFfVM
December 22, 2019
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/white-nationalist-stephen-miller-attempts
12/22/19 7:32am
Read time: 2 minutes
26 comments
White Nationalist Stephen Miller Complains Democrats ‘Divide People By Race’
White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller served up a heaping helping of right wing projection on this Friday's Trish Regan Primetime on the Fox Business Network.
By Heather
So, how do you react if you're a "senior policy adviser" for the Trump administration, and it's been recently revealed that you've been corresponding with Breitbart News in an attempt to weaponize hatred of immigrants, xenophobia and anti-Semitism? Why, accuse the other side of doing the same thing, of course.
Here's white nationalist Stephen Miller doing exactly that on this Friday's Trish Regan Primetime on the Fox Business Network:
Democrats have been calling for Miller to be fired for weeks on end now. As long as he's not causing Trump to bleed any support from his racist base, don't expect him to be going anywhere anytime soon.
White Nationalist Stephen Miller Complains Democrats 'Divide People By Race'
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/white-nationalist-stephen-miller-attempts
12/22/19 7:32am
Read time: 2 minutes
26 comments
White Nationalist Stephen Miller Complains Democrats ‘Divide People By Race’
White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller served up a heaping helping of right wing projection on this Friday's Trish Regan Primetime on the Fox Business Network.
By Heather
So, how do you react if you're a "senior policy adviser" for the Trump administration, and it's been recently revealed that you've been corresponding with Breitbart News in an attempt to weaponize hatred of immigrants, xenophobia and anti-Semitism? Why, accuse the other side of doing the same thing, of course.
Here's white nationalist Stephen Miller doing exactly that on this Friday's Trish Regan Primetime on the Fox Business Network:
White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, appeared on the Fox Business program Trish Regan Primetime Friday, telling the host that Democrats' attacks on him are the result of anti-Semitism.
Miller gave an exclusive interview to Regan addressing the allegations of racism against him. The interview comes the same day as a letter to the White House signed by all the Jewish Democratic members of the House of Representatives demanding his resignation.
"I find the accusation to be profoundly offensive and completely outrageous," Miller said. "And it's an attempt on the part of the Democratic Party to attack and demonize a Jewish staffer. And make no mistake, there is a deep vein of anti-Semitism that is running through today's Democratic Party."
Miller also claimed that the allegations against him were the result of Democrats projecting their party's own problems onto Republicans.
"The Democratic Party of today traffics in lies, hatred and, yes, racism," Miller said. "And a lot of projection involved in the attacks they make. They divide people by race. They divide people by color. They try to separate, they tried to pull people away from one another and tear at the seams that hold us together."
"Donald Trump is the anti-racist president, and everyone who works underneath him are absolutely committed to the philosophy of everyone as equal in the eyes of God," he added.
Miller gave an exclusive interview to Regan addressing the allegations of racism against him. The interview comes the same day as a letter to the White House signed by all the Jewish Democratic members of the House of Representatives demanding his resignation.
"I find the accusation to be profoundly offensive and completely outrageous," Miller said. "And it's an attempt on the part of the Democratic Party to attack and demonize a Jewish staffer. And make no mistake, there is a deep vein of anti-Semitism that is running through today's Democratic Party."
Miller also claimed that the allegations against him were the result of Democrats projecting their party's own problems onto Republicans.
"The Democratic Party of today traffics in lies, hatred and, yes, racism," Miller said. "And a lot of projection involved in the attacks they make. They divide people by race. They divide people by color. They try to separate, they tried to pull people away from one another and tear at the seams that hold us together."
"Donald Trump is the anti-racist president, and everyone who works underneath him are absolutely committed to the philosophy of everyone as equal in the eyes of God," he added.
Democrats have been calling for Miller to be fired for weeks on end now. As long as he's not causing Trump to bleed any support from his racist base, don't expect him to be going anywhere anytime soon.
December 22, 2019
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/chris-wallace-grills-pence-aide-after
VIDEO AT LINK~
12/22/19 8:25am
Read time: 1 minute
Chris Wallace Grills Pence Aide After 'Imbecile' Trump Suggests John Dingell Burning In Hell
Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday refused to condemn President Donald Trump for suggesting that a deceased Democratic lawmaker is burning in hell.
By David
Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday refused to condemn President Donald Trump for suggesting that a deceased Democratic lawmaker is burning in hell.
Fox News host Chris Wallace asked Short about the remarks, which Trump made a recent rally.
Short noted that in spite of Dingell's remarks about Trump, the president claimed that the president called his widow with condolences.
"He lowered flags to half mast," he concluded. "I think this president is feeling in the midst of impeachment, that was something that came up at his rally speech."
Chris Wallace Grills Pence Aide After 'Imbecile' Trump Suggests John Dingell Burning In Hell
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/chris-wallace-grills-pence-aide-after
VIDEO AT LINK~
12/22/19 8:25am
Read time: 1 minute
Chris Wallace Grills Pence Aide After 'Imbecile' Trump Suggests John Dingell Burning In Hell
Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday refused to condemn President Donald Trump for suggesting that a deceased Democratic lawmaker is burning in hell.
By David
Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday refused to condemn President Donald Trump for suggesting that a deceased Democratic lawmaker is burning in hell.
Fox News host Chris Wallace asked Short about the remarks, which Trump made a recent rally.
"You talk about morality and character," Wallace told Short. "I want to ask you about the president's comments in Michigan this week where he suggested that the late Congressman John Dingell might be in hell looking up rather than in heaven looking down."
"How do you explain the president making a comment that hurt [Debbie Dingell] so deeply?" the Fox News host continued. "You talk about Christmas, this will be her first Christmas in 38 years without her husband. And why won't he apologize?"
"I'm sorry that she's hurting," Short replied. "And I certainly wish her the best as she deals with the circumstances. I think that our administration respects the service of John Dingell in uniform. We respect his service to our country in Congress and we respect her service."
"I'm sorry she's in this circumstance today," he added. "You know, John Dingell was not exactly a wallflower and John Dingell called the president imbecile in his closing months."
"How do you explain the president making a comment that hurt [Debbie Dingell] so deeply?" the Fox News host continued. "You talk about Christmas, this will be her first Christmas in 38 years without her husband. And why won't he apologize?"
"I'm sorry that she's hurting," Short replied. "And I certainly wish her the best as she deals with the circumstances. I think that our administration respects the service of John Dingell in uniform. We respect his service to our country in Congress and we respect her service."
"I'm sorry she's in this circumstance today," he added. "You know, John Dingell was not exactly a wallflower and John Dingell called the president imbecile in his closing months."
Short noted that in spite of Dingell's remarks about Trump, the president claimed that the president called his widow with condolences.
"He lowered flags to half mast," he concluded. "I think this president is feeling in the midst of impeachment, that was something that came up at his rally speech."
December 22, 2019
Impeachment has been a messaging disaster for the White House. Why won't the press say so?
Eric Boehlert for Daily Kos
Community
Sunday December 22, 2019 · 10:30 AM EST
The impeachment of Donald Trump was always going to be a messaging war, and on paper it should have been a rout for Republicans. With his Twitter megaphone reaching more than 60 million followers, Trump should have been able to use his uniquely digital White House bully pulpit to sway the nation's opinion. He should have been able to use his regular mass rallies to convince voters that he did nothing wrong. He should have benefited from the nearly $20 million the Republican Party and aligned super PACs have spent on anti-impeachment television ads over the past two months. (“A rigged process. A sham impeachment. No quid pro quo."
He should have benefited from Fox News, which functions as a blind cabal of cable television loyalists, to effectively spin GOP impeachment talking points.
But despite all that mass media firepower, Trump and the White House have utterly failed to move the public opinion needle on impeachment over the past few months, as one-half of the country remains committed to driving him from office. It's even worse than that in terms of GOP messaging, because the percentage of Americans who support impeachment has actually increased 15 points since late summer, a huge bump given how polarized this country is.
So given all of that, why does the Beltway media maintain a myopic view on whether Democrats have failed to sway public opinion since the impeachment hearings began? Why, once again, is the news media giving the GOP a pass and insisting it's Democrats who face the burden?
snip//
Today, more than twice as many Americans support the impeachment of a Republican president than supported the impeachment of a Democratic president two decades ago. And the press portrays the Trump impeachment as a political and public relations failure for Democrats?
More proof the messaging has been a failure? Republicans had set their sights on more than a dozen moderate House Democrats and targeted them with an intense media campaign built around an onslaught of TV attacks ads that ran in the districts of moderate Democrats. They were designed to make Democrats feel politically vulnerable and to force them into voting against impeachment. This, while the Trump reelection campaign has spent more than $2 million flooding Facebook with anti-impeachment ads. But in the end, virtually all the targeted Democrats dismissed the GOP's pressure tactics and voted in favor of impeachment.
Impeachment has been a messaging disaster for the White House. Why won't the press say so?
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/12/22/1906979/-Impeachment-has-been-a-messaging-disaster-for-the-White-House-Why-won-t-the-press-say-soImpeachment has been a messaging disaster for the White House. Why won't the press say so?
Eric Boehlert for Daily Kos
Community
Sunday December 22, 2019 · 10:30 AM EST
The impeachment of Donald Trump was always going to be a messaging war, and on paper it should have been a rout for Republicans. With his Twitter megaphone reaching more than 60 million followers, Trump should have been able to use his uniquely digital White House bully pulpit to sway the nation's opinion. He should have been able to use his regular mass rallies to convince voters that he did nothing wrong. He should have benefited from the nearly $20 million the Republican Party and aligned super PACs have spent on anti-impeachment television ads over the past two months. (“A rigged process. A sham impeachment. No quid pro quo."
He should have benefited from Fox News, which functions as a blind cabal of cable television loyalists, to effectively spin GOP impeachment talking points.
But despite all that mass media firepower, Trump and the White House have utterly failed to move the public opinion needle on impeachment over the past few months, as one-half of the country remains committed to driving him from office. It's even worse than that in terms of GOP messaging, because the percentage of Americans who support impeachment has actually increased 15 points since late summer, a huge bump given how polarized this country is.
So given all of that, why does the Beltway media maintain a myopic view on whether Democrats have failed to sway public opinion since the impeachment hearings began? Why, once again, is the news media giving the GOP a pass and insisting it's Democrats who face the burden?
snip//
Today, more than twice as many Americans support the impeachment of a Republican president than supported the impeachment of a Democratic president two decades ago. And the press portrays the Trump impeachment as a political and public relations failure for Democrats?
More proof the messaging has been a failure? Republicans had set their sights on more than a dozen moderate House Democrats and targeted them with an intense media campaign built around an onslaught of TV attacks ads that ran in the districts of moderate Democrats. They were designed to make Democrats feel politically vulnerable and to force them into voting against impeachment. This, while the Trump reelection campaign has spent more than $2 million flooding Facebook with anti-impeachment ads. But in the end, virtually all the targeted Democrats dismissed the GOP's pressure tactics and voted in favor of impeachment.
December 22, 2019
Buttigieg "wine cave" event attendee details the fundraiser in new op-ed
By Marty Johnson - 12/21/19 06:19 PM EST
A San Francisco resident who was in attendance at South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg's Napa Valley "wine cave" donor event detailed the gathering in an op-ed published by The Washington Post.
The author, Bill Wehrle, a vice president of a health care company, pushed back against Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) "billionaires in wine caves" comment.
He said that during the event, Buttigieg spent an hour taking questions from those in attendance.
To attend the dinner, Wehrle explained, donors were asked to "max out," meaning give the legal limit campaign donation of $2,800.
He also asserted that Warren's claim of people drinking $900 bottles of wine was false.
Wehrle concludes his op-ed by suggesting that "Democrats can find more important things to debate in the United States of America at this dark hour."
Buttigieg "wine cave" event attendee details the fundraiser in new op-ed
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/475622-buttigieg-wine-cave-event-attendee-details-the-fundraiser-in-new-op-edButtigieg "wine cave" event attendee details the fundraiser in new op-ed
By Marty Johnson - 12/21/19 06:19 PM EST
A San Francisco resident who was in attendance at South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg's Napa Valley "wine cave" donor event detailed the gathering in an op-ed published by The Washington Post.
The author, Bill Wehrle, a vice president of a health care company, pushed back against Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) "billionaires in wine caves" comment.
"Of the roughly 50 folks in attendance, plenty were people of means, and certainly all of us who were able to go to an event like that should consider themselves lucky," he said in his op-ed, adding that he's "neither a billionaire nor a millionaire."
He said that during the event, Buttigieg spent an hour taking questions from those in attendance.
To attend the dinner, Wehrle explained, donors were asked to "max out," meaning give the legal limit campaign donation of $2,800.
He also asserted that Warren's claim of people drinking $900 bottles of wine was false.
"The wine, a 2016 cabernet, is the host couple’s signature bottle and it was very good," he wrote.
"But it is available online for $185 per bottle — far more than I’ve ever paid in my life for a bottle of wine, but not unusual for wine collector enthusiasts."
"But it is available online for $185 per bottle — far more than I’ve ever paid in my life for a bottle of wine, but not unusual for wine collector enthusiasts."
Wehrle concludes his op-ed by suggesting that "Democrats can find more important things to debate in the United States of America at this dark hour."
December 21, 2019
12/21/19 10:50am
AM Joy Guest: Stephen Miller In The WH 'Says Something Terrible About Us'
Guest Tom Nichols perfectly summed up the frightening “creepiness” of Donald Trump’s white nationalist policy adviser, Stephen Miller, and how far we’ve sunk in allowing him to remain in office.
By NewsHound Ellen
VIDEO AT LINK~
Joy Reid closed her interview with national security expert and ex-Republican Tom Nichols today by asking about the rise of Republican white nationalism as exemplified by Miller. Despite his own Jewish heritage, Reid noted that 25 Jewish lawmakers have asked Trump to fire Miller over his white nationalist comments. Yet Republicans have refused even to include the words “white nationalism” in a bill designed to combat that exact problem in the military. She followed with a clip of Miller calling Democrats racist and Trump “the anti-racist president.”
“Can you explain this guy to me?” Reid asked her guest.
Nichols’ answer was epic:
AM Joy Guest: Stephen Miller In The WH 'Says Something Terrible About Us'
https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/am-joy-guest-stephen-miller-wh-says12/21/19 10:50am
AM Joy Guest: Stephen Miller In The WH 'Says Something Terrible About Us'
Guest Tom Nichols perfectly summed up the frightening “creepiness” of Donald Trump’s white nationalist policy adviser, Stephen Miller, and how far we’ve sunk in allowing him to remain in office.
By NewsHound Ellen
VIDEO AT LINK~
Joy Reid closed her interview with national security expert and ex-Republican Tom Nichols today by asking about the rise of Republican white nationalism as exemplified by Miller. Despite his own Jewish heritage, Reid noted that 25 Jewish lawmakers have asked Trump to fire Miller over his white nationalist comments. Yet Republicans have refused even to include the words “white nationalism” in a bill designed to combat that exact problem in the military. She followed with a clip of Miller calling Democrats racist and Trump “the anti-racist president.”
“Can you explain this guy to me?” Reid asked her guest.
Nichols’ answer was epic:
NICHOLS: You know, there's a bunch of guys in this movement and close to Trump that are just these kind of sad, angry, little boys that, you know, didn't have any friends in college or something, that there is this kind of creepiness, but I think the more amazing thing is that we've just gotten used to it.
There was once a time in this country where somebody like Stephen Miller, after the first thing he'd said or written, even before the election, would never have been allowed to walk the halls of the White House. There were limits in this country and now we sort of shrug and say, “Eh, what are you going to do?” And I think that’s really tragic. It says something terrible about us, as a country, that he still works in the White House.
There was once a time in this country where somebody like Stephen Miller, after the first thing he'd said or written, even before the election, would never have been allowed to walk the halls of the White House. There were limits in this country and now we sort of shrug and say, “Eh, what are you going to do?” And I think that’s really tragic. It says something terrible about us, as a country, that he still works in the White House.
December 21, 2019
Aussies on here (I'm looking at you specifically, canetoad)..
please check in! hatrack provided these threads, and they're scary as hell. Stay safe!!
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127134587
"My God"
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127134586
Highways Leading From Sydney Close As Fires Ring City; Gospers Fire Alone 1.14 Million Acres
December 21, 2019
Column: Trump’s tax cut was a mammoth fraud
Steve Chapman
By Steve Chapman
Chicago Tribune |
Dec 21, 2019 | 12:54 PM
Decades from now, many Americans will have to consult history books to gain an appreciation of the lowest point of Donald Trump’s presidency: his impeachment. But they will be able to feel the effects of his highest point: the 2017 tax bill, which he signed into law two years ago Sunday. That’s because they will still be paying for it.
Trump and his party took great pride in enacting the biggest tax overhaul in a generation. “It’s going to be a tremendous thing for the American people,” the president exulted. But like most things he says, that claim was unfounded. The package turned out to be an extravagant mirage.
Americans thought they got a tax cut. What they really got was a tax increase that hasn’t yet taken effect. When you cut taxes but don’t cut spending to match, as the Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman often noted, you are not cutting taxes but merely delaying them. And total spending has not been reduced; it has been raised.
The 2017 bill cut individual and corporate tax rates, raised the standard deduction, limited deductions for state and local taxes and allowed businesses to immediately write off outlays for new equipment, among other provisions. We were told it would propel economic growth to new heights, unleash a flood of capital investment, turbocharge job creation and boost wages.
The supporters claimed that they could cut taxes without actually cutting revenue. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said: “I’m totally confident this is a revenue-neutral bill. I think it’s going to be a revenue producer."
But two years later, the evidence of failure is undeniable. Almost every promise made has been a promise broken.
more...
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/steve-chapman/ct-column-trump-tax-cut-2017-chapman-20191220-pp6eha6ktbhyxpwiagcrzuvqmm-story.html
Trump's tax cut was a mammoth fraud
Column: Trump’s tax cut was a mammoth fraud
Steve Chapman
By Steve Chapman
Chicago Tribune |
Dec 21, 2019 | 12:54 PM
Decades from now, many Americans will have to consult history books to gain an appreciation of the lowest point of Donald Trump’s presidency: his impeachment. But they will be able to feel the effects of his highest point: the 2017 tax bill, which he signed into law two years ago Sunday. That’s because they will still be paying for it.
Trump and his party took great pride in enacting the biggest tax overhaul in a generation. “It’s going to be a tremendous thing for the American people,” the president exulted. But like most things he says, that claim was unfounded. The package turned out to be an extravagant mirage.
Americans thought they got a tax cut. What they really got was a tax increase that hasn’t yet taken effect. When you cut taxes but don’t cut spending to match, as the Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman often noted, you are not cutting taxes but merely delaying them. And total spending has not been reduced; it has been raised.
The 2017 bill cut individual and corporate tax rates, raised the standard deduction, limited deductions for state and local taxes and allowed businesses to immediately write off outlays for new equipment, among other provisions. We were told it would propel economic growth to new heights, unleash a flood of capital investment, turbocharge job creation and boost wages.
The supporters claimed that they could cut taxes without actually cutting revenue. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said: “I’m totally confident this is a revenue-neutral bill. I think it’s going to be a revenue producer."
But two years later, the evidence of failure is undeniable. Almost every promise made has been a promise broken.
more...
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/steve-chapman/ct-column-trump-tax-cut-2017-chapman-20191220-pp6eha6ktbhyxpwiagcrzuvqmm-story.html
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