I listened into my congresswoman's telephone town hall tonight. She is a moderate republican who is ok. The Dems tend to find a train wreck by tradition to run against her or predecessor, but, again, she is generally alright. She ran the laundry list of Republican initiatives spinning it straight down the middle. What got me spun up a bit was the discussion about tax reform. Personal taxes were described as needing to give money back to people, getting rid of the AMT, etc. That sort of makes sense as I agree that the code needs to be simplified (I need to pay for services I receive effectively, plus performing my social responsibilities). The corporate tax code needs simplified, but she clearly listens to commercials about our noncompetitive tax rates without comprehending what the effective tax rate for corporations actually is (~18% seems to be the average), so she is really clueless there (also did not seem to grasp the corporate VS personal tax rate thing).

Eventually she found my hot button about the DEATH TAX, and how it kills families. Now that is just clueless scare tactics as the very scary 40% number is after the Estate tax allowance (5.49M/10.98M individual/married couple). I have a very hard time getting my head around the poor farm families dotting the east coast that have $11M in assets. I can see needing to address an industrial farm in the middle of the country that is family owned and producing food, but it is a insipid over reach to bring up the specter for needing to pay the funereal home and the IRS the same day (she said that), where the reality is almost everyone is getting the whole Mexican buffet at no cost when granny dies. That 40% only happens after the first $5.5/11M.

I hit the magic code to comment, but the reality was that the wanted to: 1) interview me about my question, 2) then record the question, if it was approved (got a lot of questions, so we cannot guarantee it would be asked). Given that I wanted to ask her if she knew the Inheritance tax parameters for individuals and couples, using those words so that people could find the tax code language, then inform her of what it was and why I have little sympathy for paying for inheritance over the assumed $11M mark, it was not going to work for me.

Pennsylvania's credit was downgraded.

We are bottom five now. Make PA great again.

Doll Is Mine wrote:

During a luncheon at the United Nations on Wednesday, President Donald Trump reportedly told African leaders that he has “so many friends going to your countries trying to get rich.”

“Africa has tremendous business potential,” the president said.

He later referred to the non-existent country of “Nambia” when discussing health crises on the continent. It is unclear if Trump was referring to Namibia or Zambia. There is no country called Nambia.

drumpf, deviant that he is, was probably thinking of Nambla

thephan wrote:Kimmel tells Cassidy to stop using his name because the new bill does not pass "The Kimmel Test", suggests a lie detector as a new test.

Cassidy responds that "more people will have insurance". He says that people just don't understand what is in his bill. Its going to be more affordable, and people will be happy without the individual mandate.

Cassidy is reputedly a physician; I wouldn't let him treat cadavers

Michael Crowley‏@michaelcrowley
Theresa May asked Trump to share his plans for the Iran nuclear deal with her, and he refused. Her country is a party to the deal.

But I'm sure Putin knows.

This is another one of jh's boys using Trump's line about the media. Graham in particular is in meltdown mode today. Just goes to show you, Trump and the establishment Republicans are one and the same.

Lindsey Graham‏ @LindseyGrahamSC
Claims that #GrahamCassidy-Heller-Johnson doesn't cover pre-existing conditions -- #FakeNews on steroids!

Chris Christie is against the bill. I can only imagine the internal conflict raging inside jh right now as he tries to decide

Goodness

The bill covers pre-existing conditions in the same way that a Bentley is available to everyone.

a previous comment was a bit much for this board so I edited it.

Please refrain from personalizing insults at specific posters. This goes for everyone, myself included as I've been guilty in the past.

Thank you.

JFLNYC wrote:The bill covers pre-existing conditions in the same way that a Bentley is available to everyone.

it is amazing how brazen this bill is. the other bills sort of tried to fake it; this literally just takes money from states that expanded and gives it to states that didn't because they don't like the expansion states and they don't like that medicaid covers people and pays medical bills.

then, in 2027 all the money goes away and medicaid is permanently block granted like TANF and destroyed. why 10 years? harder to score, kicks the can, 10 years is a round number, take your pick i guess.

to pass through reconciliation it only has to not increase the budget over 10 years so why bother going past that really

forgot about that, thanks

new F&M poll!!!

Wolf at a 38% approval rating, which sounds bad but it's recovered from the beginning of the year and usually means re-election in PA.

59% of people favor legalizing marijuana, all-time high.

Erosion of support for Trump among Republicans, especially in Central PA. Not a good sign for him if his support there is eroding. still VERY strong in Southwest PA (bordering West Virginia). Philly and burbs hate him.

Not quite one in three (29%) registered voters in Pennsylvania believe President Trump is
doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president. Figure 1 compares President Trump’s job rating to
President Obama’s job ratings; President Trump’s current rating is below President Obama’s rating
in Pennsylvania at a similar point in his Presidency. A majority of Republicans (53%, down from
67% in May) rate the President’s performance positively, while fewer Democrats (11%) or
Independents (21%) do so. Conservatives (55%, down from 76% in May) are more likely than
moderates (23%) or liberals (4%) to give the President positive job approval ratings.

Casey is looking OK for re-election:

Two in five (37%) registered voters in Pennsylvania believe Senator Casey is doing an
“excellent” or “good” job as the state’s US Senator. Half (53%) of registered Democrats, one in ten
(12%) independents, and one in four (26%) Republicans provide positive ratings of the Senator’s
job performance. Interestingly, a sizable group of Independents (39%), Democrats (21%), and
Republicans (15%) say they “do not know” how they would rate the Senator’s performance

the #1 issue for PA voters is 'government/politicians'. it was conducted during this budget crisis, so that probably explains that.

"We must teach each child the values of empathy and communication that are at the core of the kindness, mindfulness, integrity and leadership which can only be taught by example"

"By our own example we must teach children to be good stewards of the world they will inherit.

"We must remember that they are watching and listening so we must never miss an opportunity to teach life's many ethical lessons along the way."

Melania Trump, UN Speech

Soundly being mocked on the internet tubes about her hypocrisy.

pacino wrote:
59% of people favor legalizing marijuana, all-time high.

I see what you did there.

Graham is not wrong, the states can choose to find a way to cover pre-existing conditions, but the anticipated sheer expense, especially after the insurance markets have been racked by instability for years, will make it a non-starter in several states, or if you look at the way big blue states are to be punished for having population, and promoting wellness, it is hard to see a state of public health that could possibility help the persons with long term care needs. So this would likely be spared a full 5th Pinocchio (4.75)

thephan wrote:I listened into my congresswoman's telephone town hall tonight. She is a moderate republican who is ok. The Dems tend to find a train wreck by tradition to run against her or predecessor, but, again, she is generally alright. She ran the laundry list of Republican initiatives spinning it straight down the middle. What got me spun up a bit was the discussion about tax reform. Personal taxes were described as needing to give money back to people, getting rid of the AMT, etc. That sort of makes sense as I agree that the code needs to be simplified (I need to pay for services I receive effectively, plus performing my social responsibilities). The corporate tax code needs simplified, but she clearly listens to commercials about our noncompetitive tax rates without comprehending what the effective tax rate for corporations actually is (~18% seems to be the average), so she is really clueless there (also did not seem to grasp the corporate VS personal tax rate thing).

Eventually she found my hot button about the DEATH TAX, and how it kills families. Now that is just clueless scare tactics as the very scary 40% number is after the Estate tax allowance (5.49M/10.98M individual/married couple). I have a very hard time getting my head around the poor farm families dotting the east coast that have $11M in assets. I can see needing to address an industrial farm in the middle of the country that is family owned and producing food, but it is a insipid over reach to bring up the specter for needing to pay the funereal home and the IRS the same day (she said that), where the reality is almost everyone is getting the whole Mexican buffet at no cost when granny dies. That 40% only happens after the first $5.5/11M.

I hit the magic code to comment, but the reality was that the wanted to: 1) interview me about my question, 2) then record the question, if it was approved (got a lot of questions, so we cannot guarantee it would be asked). Given that I wanted to ask her if she knew the Inheritance tax parameters for individuals and couples, using those words so that people could find the tax code language, then inform her of what it was and why I have little sympathy for paying for inheritance over the assumed $11M mark, it was not going to work for me.

Great post, thephan. Your estate tax point is a very important one as the DT impacts very few people. In fact, a 2016 Money magazine article noted that "according to a 2015 report from Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation, 4,700 estate tax returns reporting tax liability were filed in 2013, out of 2.6 million total deaths in the United States. That means the estate tax hits roughly 0.2% of Americans, or 1 out of every 500 people who die".

And, frankly, those people may have had to pay the estate tax due to poor planning. Proper estate planning could reduce the tax owed or, perhaps, reduce the estate's value to the point where it meets the threshold. All that aside, the important take away is that an elimination of the estate tax only benefits the very rich (imagine that).


http://time.com/money/4444752/how-many- ... death-tax/

pacino wrote:new F&M poll!!!

Wolf at a 38% approval rating, which sounds bad but it's recovered from the beginning of the year and usually means re-election in PA.

59% of people favor legalizing marijuana, all-time high.

Erosion of support for Trump among Republicans, especially in Central PA. Not a good sign for him if his support there is eroding. still VERY strong in Southwest PA (bordering West Virginia). Philly and burbs hate him.

Not quite one in three (29%) registered voters in Pennsylvania believe President Trump is
doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president. Figure 1 compares President Trump’s job rating to
President Obama’s job ratings; President Trump’s current rating is below President Obama’s rating
in Pennsylvania at a similar point in his Presidency. A majority of Republicans (53%, down from
67% in May) rate the President’s performance positively, while fewer Democrats (11%) or
Independents (21%) do so. Conservatives (55%, down from 76% in May) are more likely than
moderates (23%) or liberals (4%) to give the President positive job approval ratings.

Casey is looking OK for re-election:

Two in five (37%) registered voters in Pennsylvania believe Senator Casey is doing an
“excellent” or “good” job as the state’s US Senator. Half (53%) of registered Democrats, one in ten
(12%) independents, and one in four (26%) Republicans provide positive ratings of the Senator’s
job performance. Interestingly, a sizable group of Independents (39%), Democrats (21%), and
Republicans (15%) say they “do not know” how they would rate the Senator’s performance

the #1 issue for PA voters is 'government/politicians'. it was conducted during this budget crisis, so that probably explains that.

No Toomey?