Current or modern politics in the United States

[Devius]

Washington (CNN) Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, has stepped down as ranking member of House Judiciary Committee amid a congressional investigation into sexual harassment and workplace abuse allegations by his former staffers.
"After careful consideration and in light of the attention drawn by recent allegations made against me, I have notified the Democratic Leader of my request to step aside as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee during the investigation of these matters," Conyers said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
"I deny these allegations, many of which were raised by documents reportedly paid for by a partisan alt-right blogger," the statement continued. "I very much look forward to vindicating myself and my family before the House Committee on Ethics."

Conyers' decision to step down comes after former staffers accused Conyers of a variety of workplace abuses, including sexual harassment. As a result of the allegations, Conyers faces a House Ethics Committee probe. He has "expressly and vehemently" denied any wrongdoing.

Details:
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/26/po...ary/index.html

[Arturo2nd]

Prediction: We will have many new Congressmen and Senators from both parties before this wave of sex abuse allegations runs its course. I have heard through the grapevine that former pages and staffers could undo the reputation of nearly three quarters of the current incumbents. The closeted individuals face the most disquieting revelations.

[Puhbear69]

Originally Posted by Brian249x

Prediction: We will have many new Congressmen and Senators from both parties before this wave of sex abuse allegations runs its course. I have heard through the grapevine that former pages and staffers could undo the reputation of nearly three quarters of the current incumbents. The closeted individuals face the most disquieting revelations.

They could learn from your students, how to correct come near to the opposite sex:

http://vintage-erotica-forum.com/sho...45#post4239345 (Post #4269)

[Jack Tripper]

This is what cities and states are offering up to Amazon in the hopes that Amazon will build their new HQ there. It's just insane.

Chicago and the state authorities of Illinois have jointly offered to hand Amazon more than $2bn in tax breaks, including $1.32bn of its workers’ income taxes. The scheme, known as a personal income-tax diversion, would mean Amazon workers pay full income taxes, but instead of the state getting the money to use for schools, roads and other public services, Amazon would keep it.

A 2012 report by the Good Jobs First non-profit organisation said such practices mean that “workers are, in effect, paying taxes to their boss”.

Fresno, in California, has promised to put 85 per cent of taxes paid by Amazon into a fund which would be ringfenced from normal taxation and overseen by a board made up of city officials and Amazon representatives.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...-a8077776.html

[tsunamiSD]

First, let's start off with the one state that has done what the Republican's have been preaching for a long time - lowered taxes with the expectation that the losses would be made up with new jobs, etc. A massive, massive, HUUUUGE failure.

It's the end of the road for the GOP's big tax experiment in Kansas

The grand economic experiment on the prairie has ended.Kansas’ Republican-held Legislature delivered a stunning defeat to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback on Tuesday, voting to demolish his massive tax cut that led to massive budget shortfalls and sent Kansas into a political tailspin.

****

The Senate Republicans will of course pay no attention to the polls, as they don't represent the working people that they claim to. I hope that they lose a record number of seats in the upcoming election, along, of course with an even higher percentage of seat losses in the House.

The GOP Tax Cuts Are Even More Unpopular Than Past Tax Hikes

Senate Republicans’ effort to pass tax reform is at a crucial juncture. As some senators waffle on whether to support the bill, they may want to spare a glance toward public opinion: Poll after poll shows that more voters than not are opposed to their efforts. In fact, the GOP bill is one of the least popular tax plans since Ronald Reagan’s day.

Now, on to a number of articles about the chicanery and self-delusion that has become the seeming norm for Republicans in the Senate.

Senate Republicans are about to overhaul the tax code, and they don’t know what’s in their bill yet

Senate Republicans are in such a rush to pass a tax overhaul in the next few days that they voted to start debate on a bill that could still undergo a bevy of last-minute changes they haven’t seen in writing — changes that could dramatically affect the US economy over the next decade.
But most Republicans aren’t letting some last-minute deal cutting that could mean billions of dollars in tax increases, tax cuts, or federal spending cuts get in the way of moving the bill along.

House Republican: my donors told me to pass the tax bill “or don’t ever call me again”

The House Republican tax overhaul has already made a lot of enemies.
Yet the bill is still expected to pass the House.
Why? Consider this comment from Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), one of those New York Republicans who theoretically might be upset that his constituents would be expected to lose under the GOP bill.
"My donors are basically saying, 'Get it done or don’t ever call me again.'"

The 'certainty' mentioned below is that tax wouldn't be allowed to rise because of 'triggers' in the bill. Republicans want to be able to claim it wasn't their fault that the lower taxes to the rich screwed up the economy because of later raised taxes that had to be done because of their massive screw-up with the current bill.

The GOP Keeps Admitting Its Economic Theory Is Incompatible With Democracy

But Republicans haven’t objected to it on these grounds. Rather, they’ve argued that the trigger will be “self-fulfilling” — if corporations can’t be “certain” that the tax cuts will be “permanent,” then they’ll hold back investment, and growth will come in weaker than expected. “There’s one word: It’s certainty,” Nevada senator Dean Heller said Wednesday. “I do not support triggers.” Louisiana’s John Kennedy and Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey have echoed this concern.
Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist laid out the logic of this objection on Twitter: Key to pro-growth tax reform is permanence and certainty.
This encourages job creating investment.
No one invests in response to "maybe."
A trigger that threatens tax hikes is a self-fulfilling threat to kill jobs.

[Arturo2nd]

We will see if Corker, McCain, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan and others really have any integrity. Latest analysis has the new "tax reform" adding $1.4 trillion to the deficit even making extremely optimistic adjustments for economic growth. We are all pretty clear that taxes will rise for the 99% while the corporations and top 1% get big cuts.

It is days like this make me long to hang a Republican congressman from a handy tree limb.

[LadyLuck]

That sanctuary city thing seems to be working out really well...

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/us/kat...ict/index.html

[Arturo2nd]

Originally Posted by LadyLuck

That sanctuary city thing seems to be working out really well...

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/us/kat...ict/index.html

Sometimes my ultra-liberal friends in Berkeley and San Francisco go so far as to be muddle headed. Having served on a jury and talked to others who have served on juries in capital cases, I trust that the jury probably arrived at the verdict supported by the evidence presented. So, the shooting death of the young woman appears to have been a tragic accident.

That does not change the fact that the defendant ought never have been running around loose in San Francisco on that fateful day. IMO, civic and law enforcement officials are on a slippery slope when they start deliberately refusing to enforce laws. The rule of law rests on our agreement to abide by the laws enacted by our duly elected officials. The alternative is either lawless anarchy or sliding into despotism.

IMO the San Francisco County Sheriff and Mayor of the city ought to be prosecuted by the Justice Department. If it were up to me, we would have border arrangements with Mexico and Canada similar to those in the EU. We don't. That's the law and it is our duty to observe it and lobby to change it if we disagree.

I apologize for being long winded, but despite my liberal leanings, I do try not to be a muddleheaded idiot.

[Arturo2nd]

Just read this article about a UN investigation into poverty in the United States.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20..._US_collection

I have a hunch it will not end in fulsome praise for our state, local, and federal governments. As I rapidly approach my 70th birthday, my personal experience is that the political discourse has become much meaner as conservatives have grown in power. For whatever reason, the number of homeless, and in particular the number of homeless with children, has grown enormously over the past couple of decades. Very clearly, the enormous wealth generated in a country where 4.3% of the world's population generates over 25% of the world's income is increasingly failing in the job of making sure that the goodies are distributed with at least a minimum share of equity, and that all residents are cared for with at least some sort of minimum standard. We have moved well beyond the times of my youth when the homeless were few in number and were composed of crazy people and winos. It was rare to see a homeless person when I was growing up. Now, they seem to be everywhere except in the well-to-do neighborhoods.

Perhaps, our problem is that we don't let them live and panhandle in the wealthier neighborhoods. The upper crust does not have to look at the losers on a daily basis. Would things change if the tent cities moved from under the freeways and out of the parks in the poor and industrial areas and onto the golf courses and expansive lawns of the wealthy? What if the dirty and distressed folks begging for change in the store parking lots in the poorer neighborhoods were allowed to do door-to-door begging with police protection in the wealthy districts? Would things change in short order?

[bowlinggreen]

^ Rich people never want to look at the results of their policies. Their whole attitude is, if you don't see it, it doesn't exist. Which is why they live in exclusive neighborhoods with gated walls and private security patrols to keep the riffraff away.

I just read an article that says the Republicans are already taking about "reforming" Social Security and Medicare along with other social programs to offset the budget deficit that will arise from this tax bill. Which means that even they tacitly acknowledge that their "trickle down" economics platform is just a scam. Their real platform is "more for me, less for you".

Over the past few decades they have basically destroyed organized labor and sent God knows how many jobs overseas. They've destroyed a fair chunk of the middle class in America and basically pocketed the profits from doing so.

Now they are taking aim at the old, the infirm and the poor. if they are allowed to continue unchecked, I expect we will see substantial cuts to these programs. Expecting a Social Security check for $980 a month when you retire? How about $590 a month instead? Got elderly parents? What will they do to Medicare? Cut their meds? Kick them out of the nursing home? Who knows?

If the Democrats can't come back big in 2018, things are going to get a lot worse.

Actually, I'm not even sure that would make much of a difference, considering the way many "Democrats" act these days.