Interest on debt set to pass military spending. ..thanks Trump!

[RetiredSubmariner]

Originally Posted by Jackie S

Well, it looks like the Country is going to be in debt no matter who is in office.

So ask yourself. Would you rather have a massive debt an be paying high taxes, or have a massive debt and be paying lower taxes?

Along with half of all US citizens I have not paid income taxes for many years.

So it makes no difference to me.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by Jackie S

Well, it looks like the Country is going to be in debt no matter who is in office.

So ask yourself. Would you rather have a massive debt an be paying high taxes, or have a massive debt and be paying lower taxes?

Originally Posted by WTF

Well if you look at the long term and were middle class and understood the latest tax break for the wealthy, you'd choose the later...

Holy shit, I meant the former!

[WTF]

Osama said he was going to bring down Financial terrorism on this country looks like we are well on the way...




.

[skirtchaser79411]

No twit heads tax plan raised the debt I hope if he looses the cnn suit and ascota gets back in to him he anything his head might explode

[themystic]

Originally Posted by RetiredSubmariner

Along with half of all US citizens I have not paid income taxes for many years.

So it makes no difference to me.

That's awesome. I've paid, and continue to pay lots of tax. Im not sure why you don't but Im glad for you. Seriously

[RetiredSubmariner]

Originally Posted by themystic

That's awesome. I've paid, and continue to pay lots of tax. Im not sure why you don't but Im glad for you. Seriously

In the 1980s, The Navy had me attend an IRS school to become certified as an income tax preparer. And then assigned me to file taxes for all crewmen on each sub that I served on. Through the 80s, 90s and until I retired in 2001.

During my Active Duty career, I had a lot of professional expenses that I paid for out of my pocket. Those were tax write-offs, which kept my deductions up pretty high.

Then since I spent a lot of time in combat, I was also exempted from income taxes during those years.

Having gone so many years, 'filing taxes' but never paying any, the IRS has audited me three times. Each audit ended with them finding no errors had been committed.

Now as a retiree, my military pension is not large enough to cross the minimum threshold to begin paying income taxes.

I make enough to support my family, here in a rural low-cost region. But I do not make enough to pay income taxes.

Overall I have not paid into income taxation since 1983.

[themystic]

Originally Posted by RetiredSubmariner

In the 1980s, The Navy had me attend an IRS school to become certified as an income tax preparer. And then assigned me to file taxes for all crewmen on each sub that I served on. Through the 80s, 90s and until I retired in 2001.

During my Active Duty career, I had a lot of professional expenses that I paid for out of my pocket. Those were tax write-offs, which kept my deductions up pretty high.

Then since I spent a lot of time in combat, I was also exempted from income taxes during those years.

Having gone so many years, 'filing taxes' but never paying any, the IRS has audited me three times. Each audit ended with them finding no errors had been committed.

Now as a retiree, my military pension is not large enough to cross the minimum threshold to begin paying income taxes.

I make enough to support my family, here in a rural low-cost region. But I do not make enough to pay income taxes.

Overall I have not paid into income taxation since 1983.

Thats an awesome story. Im glad that you are intelligent enough to know the laws. I dont consider your situation "loop holes". Thank you for your service to our country and your input. Your story has made me smile. Thank you. I hope you have free medical. You and your family deserve that as well

[kehaar]

Originally Posted by themystic

Thats an awesome story. Im glad that you are intelligent enough to know the laws. I dont consider your situation "loop holes". Thank you for your service to our country and your input. Your story has made me smile. Thank you. I hope you have free medical. You and your family deserve that as well

The fact that you think this is awesome is informative. RetiredSubmariner has the right to do what he is doing, and we have a duty to support him in the way he was contractually guaranteed. I have no issue with supporting him.

However, declaring that it is "awesome" that huge groups of people do not contribute materially to our society is disgusting. What the left seems to think is that material wealth spouts spontaneously from the earth, like manna from heaven. It isn't so.

I have a dozen friends(literally) that have substantial paying jobs, and are in their late 40's and early 50's. They are at their peak of usefullness to society. The have each told me they would quit their jobs, and become utterly unproductive if only there was a government funded health care system.

Think of that, then look at how the Venezuela effect happened, and tremble, because that is where we are headed.

People need to be encouraged to be materially productive, or we are fucked as a society.

[Tiny]

Originally Posted by WTF

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-on-...nse-1541937600

I thoight Trump said his tax cuts would wipe out this debt?

I'd argue he didn't follow through with spending cuts, including the military, and that's why the debt is exploding. Corporate tax rates needed to come down to reasonable levels compared to the rest of the world. Trump got that done, but he didn't get rid of corporate welfare and corporate tax dodges. The argument that his cuts were a sop to the wealthy doesn't really hold water. The USA, after the Trump tax cuts, still has the most progressive tax system in the world.

Bush, Obama, Trump and Congressional Democrats and Republicans are all to blame for the huge national debt. One thing your article highlights that would be particularly dangerous about Trump, if he were ever able to control the Federal Reserve, is his attitude towards interest rates. Like your typical banana republic nationalist, he thinks interest rates should be lower than inflation. This is a great way to pump up the economy in the short and medium term, and a great way to screw it up badly in the long term. Think Venezuela under Chavez or Argentina under the Kirchners or Zimbabwe under Mugabe. It leads to out-of-control inflation.

Trump may not believe a lot. He's migrated back and forth between being a Democrat and a Republican several times. But the low interest rate thing is something he believes with his heart and soul. As a real estate developer and casino owner he borrowed a ton of debt. He came out pretty well because he stiffed his creditors. He sees nothing wrong with the United States of America accomplishing the same, through inflation and debasing the dollar.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by kehaar

. The have each told me they would quit their jobs, and become utterly unproductive if only there was a government funded health care system.

.

There is, it is called Medicare.

Also, it is your assumption that they would become unproductive. They may volunteer at a homeless shelter or animal shelter or take care of their elderly parents or their kids, kids'.

These are very productive endeavors.

Besides, we have free medical care for the poor since Ronald Reagan enacted the hospital care act where they were not allowed to turn away patients based on ability to pay.

[kehaar]

WTF,

Can you explain to me who is going to grow our food, protect our border from illegal aliens, fund the armada of supercarriers that protect us for the Russians and Chinese fascist, and pay for our retirees in old age once the productive come to realize that it is easier, and societally "awesome" to sit on their ass? Working in homeless shelters for free is not a value added endeavor. Someone has to pay taxes.

Of interest is that RetiredSubmariner likely consumes about as much from society as I do. I pay about 3-4 times what I consume in taxes. Thinking such a thing is "AWESOME" is perverted.

I am very good at what I do, and enable a large number of people to be very productive. However, you and Mystic are making the case I ought to stop hustling, and just belly up to the trough. Maybe you are right.

The fact that a bunch of people use(and in many cases, abuse) the medical provider system to get free health care is not "AWESOME". There ought to be a safety net, but a freely accessible trough is perverted, and will lead to Chavezism. I understand that you and your ilk wouldn't mind a Venezuelan like state, but I'd guess that the American people, in general, might resist that.

[bigwill832]

This has been a long time coming. It's been discussed for years. Far from being a new issue, but one that has been kicked down the road by each administration. But rather than eyeing the Presidents, we need to remember that it's the Congress that holds and controls the purse strings.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by kehaar

WTF,

Can you explain to me who is going to grow our food, protect our border from illegal aliens, fund the armada of supercarriers that protect us for the Russians and Chinese fascist, and pay for our retirees in old age once the productive come to realize that it is easier, and societally "awesome" to sit on their ass?

In order....the Mexicans will continue to cultivate our food system.

Protect our border from what ? Ivanka Trumps cheap clothing imports? Donald Trump's cheap ties?

At some point we will have to raise taxes to pay for your armada. . .

The retirees are the least productive members of society...if we were to get rid of them , the LTD wouldn't be a problem.

There...we've solved your problems. We have cut defense soending, opened the borders and gotten rid of the least productive members of society

[RetiredSubmariner]

The USA has a huge Defense Budget. Only about a quarter of that goes to servicemembers. three-quarters goes to Defense contractors and foreign nations.

From everyone who enlists to serve, only about one out of a hundred serve long enough to get the promised pension. My pension is approximately one-quarter of what my average paycheck was when I was on Active Duty.

Our Defense Budget seriously needs to be pruned down.

Giving ships, submarines, fighter jets, tanks and weapons to enemy nations, is among the most stupid things that our nation does. Our tax-payers pay for all of that.