How Republicans Sell Out Their Base While Pretending To Fight

[Tsing Tao]

(You're wasting your time, brother Tao.)

I'm beginning to see that.

 

[BSAM]

I'm beginning to see that.

Some either can't "get it", or don't want to "get it", for whatever reason.

 

[loyek590]

It's not about winning. It's about making sense.

Studies on a national sales tax have had it someplace around 20% on all new items. However, you get to keep all of your income. There's no income tax at all. If your income is below a certain amount (that amount is debated) then you get the rebate on food and clothing tax. If you purchase a used item (car, computer, etc) it functions a bit like a VAT. There's no tax, because the tax on that item has already been paid.

I could go for that, especially the food and hopefully shelter credit. Clothing is readably available from Goodwill. 20%? You run this country on a 20% sales tax and I am right there.

when you consider what the American people want, social security, medicare, a big military, more like 50%, which would quickly solve the illegal immigration problem. Only the rich could survive economically in USA, and then we would need special exemptions for drivers, waiters and janitors to serve us, because Lord knows we aint going to pay them what they are worth.

We'll only pay you $7.20/hr, but you get a card which will make all your purchases at the cash register sales tax exempt, so it's more like 10 or 15 depending on how much you buy. Plus, when you get one of our cards it makes it really easy to get food stamps. And the beautiful thing is, the taxpayer pays for it all.

 

[Fractals 'R Us]

We had a balanced budget law at one point in the '80's. Democrats took it to court and threw it out. We had consumption tax in the early days of the US. Consumption tax would lead to smaller government so Democrats throw shit-fits at the mere mention of it. It would be the greatest political advancement for the people of the US in this millennium essentially. If everybody paid for their government services at the checkout stand when they did their weekly grocery shopping there would be a huge change in sentiment towards Big Government... If I thought that any candidate could bring that about I'd vote early and often...

 

[Tsing Tao]

I could go for that, especially the food and hopefully shelter credit. Clothing is readably available from Goodwill. 20%? You run this country on a 20% sales tax and I am right there.

when you consider what the American people want, social security, medicare, a big military, more like 50%, which would quickly solve the illegal immigration problem. Only the rich could survive economically in USA, and then we would need special exemptions for drivers, waiters and janitors to serve us, because Lord knows we aint going to pay them what they are worth.

We'll only pay you $7.20/hr, but you get a card which will make all your purchases at the cash register sales tax exempt, so it's more like 10 or 15 depending on how much you buy. Plus, when you get one of our cards it makes it really easy to get food stamps. And the beautiful thing is, the taxpayer pays for it all.

If income is tax free, more people want to work because, as you pointed out, wages are considerably higher in take home.

 

[loyek590]

We had a balanced budget law at one point in the '80's. Democrats took it to court and threw it out. We had consumption tax in the early days of the US. Consumption tax would lead to smaller government so Democrats throw shit-fits at the mere mention of it. It would be the greatest political advancement for the people of the US in this millennium essentially. If everybody paid for their government services at the checkout stand when they did their weekly grocery shopping there would be a huge change in sentiment towards Big Government... If I thought that any candidate could bring that about I'd vote early and often...

true, but what would it do to the economy? 20% added on to your first washer and dryer? Good for laundry mats. So let's just take the whole government and instead of making people who have finally made it pay for it, we just make the poor start paying for it at the cash register? Last I checked, they don't have much money and are not a reliable source of funding for the United States of America. But I'll give you this, at first it seems very simple.

 

[Tsing Tao]

true, but what would it do to the economy? 20% added on to your first washer and dryer? Good for laundry mats. So let's just take the whole government and instead of making people who have finally made it pay for it, we just make the poor start paying for it at the cash register? Last I checked, they don't have much money and are not a reliable source of funding for the United States of America. But I'll give you this, at first it seems very simple.

Then the poor buy a used washing machine that has been rebuilt for no sales tax. Remember, if an item is new, it has sales tax. If used, it does not (because the tax on that item was already paid).

 

[Scataphagos]

We have had repeated cases of congressional republicans making a big show of opposing stuff, only to fold in the end. Their base is outraged. They cannot understand why the congressional majority party is so impotent against an unpopular president.

This article explains it pretty well. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423679/corker-cardin-congress-obama-iran-nuclear-deal

Briefly, republicans have designed a cynical strategy the author calls "Surrender...then Play Fight. " It involves requiring obama to propose something that republican leaders secretly want, like more spending or amnesty, but then they get to vote on a disapproval resolution, which of course obama vetoes, then the veto is up held. So obama gets what he wants and republicans get to vote against it twice but of course to no avail.

The iran nuke resolution is the latest version of Surrender...Then Play Fight. It turns the Constitution's treaty approval process on its head and allows the deal to go through with a blocking minority of 1/3 plus 1 in the Senate. Republicans will rail against it and hope their base forgets they set up the process to allow it to be approved by only 1/3 plus 1 member of one house of congress.

As the author notes, republican leaders are obsessed with "governing", ie not being criticized by the media for shutting down the government. Constitutionally, congress has no responsibility for governing however. That is the Executive Branch's role. Congress' role is to legislate and ride herd on the Executive. That can mean saying no to a foolish and misguided president, even if that results in a battle of wills and stare down. But you have to have leaders who have the balls for that.

Yeah, this "promise one thing, then do another" from the Reps is really quite galling. (We expect that from the Dems, but we have hoped for better from the Reps. Haven't gotten it.)

 

[Scataphagos]

Then the poor buy a used washing machine that has been rebuilt for no sales tax. Remember, if an item is new, it has sales tax. If used, it does not (because the tax on that item was already paid).

That won't last for long. Municipalities charge sales tax on motor vehicles every time they change hands. Why? (1) Because they want the money, and (2) because they can. The fact that "tax has already been paid"... maybe 2-3 times before already, makes no diff to them.

There is very little that is "fair" in tax policy. Only thing that matters to the politicos... "Get the money". "By hook or by crook", is just fine. And if you can support an agenda, so much the better.

 

[Arnie]

You have to wonder, why do the Republicans want to be in power?
I honestly don't know the answer. They have control of the House and Senate and they cave on everything.