volkris @volkris@qoto.org
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
volkris
boosted
If you don’t have classified documents at your home, are you really living?
Well it's significant that we know Trump's people were in contact with officials in the current administration to discuss the proper way to handle these documents, that he was working with them to sort out issues of what was and wasn't classified.
@csgordon@zirk.us
But that is my point exactly: there is an enormous difference between foregoing revenue versus giving away revenue.
Politicians love to conflate those, but it is not realistically coherent to say they are the same.
Like, my not handing you some money is not the same as you losing money. It's just not factually reasonable to say they are the same thing.
@Mastopoet @csgordon@zirk.us @Npars01 @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr @GreenFire
Well great! The FairTax proposes to exempt ALL wages from taxation!
So far the Biden administration has proposed a number of extremely regressive taxes, ones that would hit the poorer the hardest.
I'm no Republican, but I will call that guy out for either his regressive taxation or his complete ignorance as to what he is actually calling for as he mumbles out vague proposals that make no sense.
@Npars01 @csgordon@zirk.us @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr @Mastopoet @GreenFire
That is factually incorrect.
By law payroll taxes are required, and have always been required, to be deposited in the Treasury just like any other taxes. So by law payroll taxes pay for everything from congressional toilet paper through Ukrainian armaments.
Seriously, it's written right into the law that established Social Security in the first place.
Eliminating income tax just means that workers keep more of what they earn, more of what they trade their labor for.
Heaven forbid!
@Mastopoet @Npars01 @csgordon@zirk.us @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr @GreenFire
What in the world?
The FairTax is specifically designed to take from the rich and give to the less well off! It's specifically has elements of the plan to make sure what you describe doesn't happen!
@Npars01 @Mastopoet @csgordon@zirk.us @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr @GreenFire
Yeah, but we make the mistake of electing stupid officials who build that infrastructure without charging for it.
We should not blame corporations for that. We elected them. That's really on us.
@Mastopoet @Npars01 @csgordon@zirk.us @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr @GreenFire
Wow, I just want to point out in response to this one is that no cost student higher education is highly, highly regressive, ending up asking the poorest to help fund educations that help the best off make a lot more money.
Any economically progressive stance would completely reject that sort of strategy.
@dkbgeek @csgordon@zirk.us @Npars01 @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr @Mastopoet @GreenFire
You would have a point except that proponents of the FairTax acknowledge and then address that issue very very very emphatically by transferring money to those people to make sure this is not impact them!
This is a core element of the proposal.
They're both!
Tech companies were overpaying for underperforming employees AND this financial reality is shown by the lack of competition for talent as different industry outfits are coming to that realization, looking at their output over the last couple of years.
This is focusing on the wrong branch of government, though.
The question of whether or not to issue debt is, as per the Constitution, up to the Congress, not the president.
We really need reporting to be more clear about the different roles of the different branches of government in the US.
But Robert Reich is the one obscuring what's going on, as he's been flat out misleading his readers about how the US government finances actually operate.
The US Treasury is bringing in plenty of money to service its debts. It reports its balances continuously and publicly, so we can verify that for ourselves.
Robert Reich tries to say otherwise because it's convenient for him to push his politics.
There is no hostage holding here.
Democrats in the last Congress passed spending bills without passing any way to actually pay for them, and the debt limit is kicking in exactly as it's supposed to when things get so out of balanced.
How do you mean that with sales tax every citizen becomes a tax collector?
I really don't see how sales taxes are any different from income taxes in terms of people wanting to pay them or not.
Well, it does remind me of people wanting cash payment for work to avoid income taxes, though.
There's no difference there.
@csgordon@zirk.us
Oh no, there is no appeal to morality required to say that if you have a thing and I don't take the thing away, so that you still have the thing, I have not given you the thing.
That's math, not morality.
@joeinwynnewood @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr
How exactly do you see a program that actively transfers wealth from rich to poor as being a massive wealth transfer to the richest of the rich?
I really don't understand how you can get to your conclusion from what's in front of us.
@Npars01 @csgordon@zirk.us @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr
The FairTax plan specifically addresses that by not requiring that sort of paperwork hurdle.
You guys keep bringing up all of these issues that I've heard the FairTax proponents themselves bring up and address decades ago.
@csgordon@zirk.us @Npars01 @Clackable@tldr.nettime.org @stopgopfox@libretooth.gr @Mastopoet @GreenFire
No.
The FairTax would increase the cash in peoples' pockets, so people who are in debt and are cash poor would end up with more resources to address that problem.
Remember that the FairTax also eliminates the taxes taken out of a person's paycheck, increasing their take home pay.
It would be an immediate boost to stagnant wages, since you bring that up in particular.
Perhaps John Oliver isn't the best source for unbiased coverage of the people he's shown such outright derision for?
Or... for anything else in particular? I mean, the guy is pretty dumb.
Funny commedian, but pretty ignorant.
Careful: business owners might prefer to avoid things described as "wild" in their operations :)
No, the two won't be directly connected. There are many other factors going into liquidity.
That's not to say markets won't use these signals somewhat irrationally to make choices, though.
I think the most pressing and fundamental problem of the day is that people lack a practically effective means of sorting out questions of fact in the larger world. We can hardly begin to discuss ways of addressing reality if we can't agree what reality even is, after all.
The institutions that have served this role in the past have dropped the ball, so the next best solution is talking to each other, particularly to those who disagree, to sort out conflicting claims.
Unfortunately, far too many actively oppose this, leaving all opposing claims untested. It's very regressive.
So that's my hobby, striving to understanding the arguments of all sides at least because it's interesting to see how mythologies are formed but also because maybe through that process we can all have our beliefs tested.
But if nothing else, social media platforms like this are chances to vent frustrations that on so many issues both sides are obviously wrong ;)
Joined Dec 2022
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