J.D. Vance says he thinks we ought to have a bigger Child Tax Credit. Kamala Harris says we should eliminate the tax on tips.
Huh. What's next? Vance saying we need more illegal immigrants to get the birth rate up and Harris saying we need both a Bitcoin and an Ethereum strategic reserve?
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is yelling on Truth Social that Harris is a CHEATER who uses AI to make it look like big crowds greeted her at the airport:
There you have it. Trump has been driven completely over the edge into madness by his tiny crowds compared to Harris's huge ones.
It's been a remarkable few weeks. It turns out lots of voters really don't like Trump's constant catastrophism and were just waiting for someone to make them feel better. That's really all Harris has been doing, and Trump doesn't know what to do about it. Making up stupid names falls flat in the face of honest exuberance, and Trump has no Plan B.
Of course not. To Trump's supporters, Plan B is abortion...
I believe Plan B might be illegal in FL.
And Joseph Harbin should repost his comment from "Trump Media..." about the Harris team trolling Trump.
This one?
Perhaps trolling Trump has pushed him all the way over the edge? He's been some level of daft, demented, or deranged for many years now, and the choruses of "he's really losing it" have been getting only louder as time goes by. But today there is no way to avoid the obvious: the man is nuts.
If we had a functioning news media, there'd be an incessant drumbeat for him to withdraw, and nonstop warnings that any vote for him is a dangerous mistake. If the American news biz would like to salvage any shred of respect for itself as a vital institution, now is the perfect occasion.
Yes, thank you.
As for MSM, they keep trying to make sense of non-sense and present it that way.
Do you really want to risk a Harris-esque bump for JD Vance?
Reminds me of Phillipe Reines' post when Biden was elected: "Let years of boredom begin."
Who isn't tired of interesting times?
Of course Trump has no Plan B. Never has. Because in Trump's mind, his plan A can never be wrong.
To admit that it is would be to admit making a mistake. Not something this egotistic charlatan would ever do.
"Trump has been driven completely over the edge into madness ".
In all fairness, it was a very short drive.
????????????
More like a putt.
Vance wants to increase the birthrate; Harris is trying to stand up for nickel & dimed low-wage workers. The policy circles overlap in spots.
But does he advocate for programs that encourage having kids? Things like universal pre-k, free school lunches and so forth. I'm gonna guess no. Harris should definitely support removing taxes on tips.
people who don't claim tips or don't report them accurately aren't going to start claiming them now. For those that do it will be a much needed boost. It's the best way to call Trump on something he knows won't be supported by the GOP. There's no down side for Harris.
Yeah I guess, but these days most tips are collected electronically so there is a paper trail. It's not like when I delivered pizzas and tip reporting was 100% on the honor system.
And I'm not sure why wait staff and bartenders should not have their income taxed but dishwashers and short order cooks should.
Devil is in the details. IF they don't pay FICA, that income won't go into their Social Security benefits calculation.
That isn't that big of a deal, as long as you don't spend your entire life working in a tipped job. The tipped job itself will qualify you for the minimum Social Security benefit after 10 years, and then after that, only your highest 35 years matter at all to the calculation. Most people work 40-50 years from age 18 through their 60s and beyond, so 5-10 years of not claiming tips isn't going to make or break your retirement. And we could just raise the minimum SS payment if you're worried about people on the bottom needing the credits to have a monthly SS check that is sufficient for retirement.
I thought it was Trump who was pushing no tax on tips. Is Harris saying that also?
The first question is - does that mean the federal income tax or the payroll (social security) tax or both. If it's federal income tax only, I doubt that very many food service workers earn enough to pay much in federal tax, so it wouldn't help them all that much.
If it's the payroll tax, that would be more significant to the workers, but would raise social security funding issues.
Right on the money. Also, there had better be a cap on the amount of tips you can exclude, or very soon hedge fund managers will have all their income in tips.
Harris said something about configunng it so that hedge fund managers couldn't take advantage of it. What that would be isn't exactly clear.
I mean, SCOTUS essentially legalized tipping your local politicians and judges this year. So why can't hedge fund managers also join the party?
Specifically, Vance wants to increase the white Christian birth rate.
It's not confusing why he would support an increased child tax credit if you understand what his goals are.
For MAGA Plan B was civil war, which they thought they could use to terrify people into voting for them.
Now they're shocked to discover no one they thought they were threatening is impressed by their threats, and no one else actually wants civil war, either. So they're stumped.
And the pro Civil War types will be shocked, just shocked to find out there are many liberal guns owners, many trained in marksmanship by the US Government.
Joe Biden is probably upset about having to drop out of the race. Not as much as Trump, which brings a smile to my face. He isnt fit for any public office, especially the POTUS.
When someone really wants something to happen, and then it doesn't happen, who isn't upset? But, as Maya Angelou put it, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. Believe Trump will always serve himself at the expense of the greater good, and believe Biden will always serve the greater good at his expense.
Trump only reacts. Calling everything terrible, making up juvenile nicknames and if course creating stories out of thin air. I look forward to the day I never have to listen to that asshat again. ???? that day comes soon.
You will miss him when the asshat isn't there to kick around any more.
lol. No I won't. His criticism is well deserved and well warranted. Once he's gone, trust me, no one is going to give that idiot a second glance.
How can we miss him if he won't leave? I'm seriously wondering if he loses in 2024, is he going to run again in 2028? I don't see him leaving the stage voluntarily, but who's going to push him off?
Who? Probably someone by the name of G. Reaper.
I haven’t heard that any of George W. Bush’s detractors miss him now that he’s out of politics. I certainly don’t. Why should Trump be any different?
On the contrary, I've heard/read various comments over the last few years that were nostalgic for the days of the Dubya presidency, by comparison. Does the phrase "no longer the worst president in US history" ring any bells?
"You will miss him when the asshat isn't there to kick around any more."
That's a risk I'm willing to take.
It's hard to miss somebody when they never shut the fck up.
And America excels at producing asshats in the 21st Century. Once Trump finally, blessedly, rides that gold-plated escalator down to eternal hell, some other asshat will rise to the surface and take over where Trump left off. Have no doubt about this... America has a near-inexhaustible supply of asshats... all of which are dying for their chance in the spotlight.
The Republican Party is now officially in the General Jack D. Ripper phase.
Wingnut consistency,
https://i.redd.it/9w8x0fixo1id1.jpeg
That's not unprecedented. Remember the Louisiana governor's election and "Vote for the crook - it's important" to keep David Duke out of the office?
I voted in that election. To this day, I can’t remember another one where both candidates’ first and last names began with the same letter. David Duke and Edwin Edwards. Probably been some, we have a lot of elections in this country, but that is the only one in my memory banks.
"Trump has been driven completely over the edge into madness by his tiny crowds compared to Harris's huge ones."
And it all started with Trump's tiny hands. Even the FBI director had to look carefully to see if it was true. Then, of course, one thing led to another.
He DOES have a Plan B and he’s got a legion of minions working busily on it every day.
It is quite simply to so sabotage the electoral process, from the precinct level to Congress, that the election gets thrown to the SC or to the House.
Look at what’s happening in GA. And in NC. And in AZ. And that’s quite apart from sowing distrust in elections generally.
HE may be degenerating before our eyes, but his lawyers and acolytes are working very hard to get into power.
No doubt he's trying. But any scheme to rig the election or electoral vote certification requires a very close election with genuine confusion about who the victor is (a la Florida, 2000). At this rate, a clear win for Harris (in popular and electoral votes) is becoming more likely.
A clearly illegitimate outcome (say, fake electors, even if OK'd by Scotus) will not stand. I can't say how it will shake out, but "we the people" are not going to sit by and let it happen.
And THIS is why we need to SWAMP them at the polls. There can be NO DOUBT by the next morning who won. The Narrative must be SET. Otherwise they will keep The Controversy boiling and the SC will hand it off to the House and the House will elect the Felon.
Donate! Volunteer! GOTV! Aux barricades!
Amen.
I think we're headed toward something big.
Sorry. Not gonna happen. There are too many Trump dead-enders. My guess is it's going to look pretty much like 2020. There really wasn't any doubt then, but that didn't stop them.
But any scheme to rig the election or electoral vote certification requires a very close election with genuine confusion about who the victor is (a la Florida, 2000).
Um... or it just requires the state in question to have 1 big urbanized county which contains the vast majority of the entire state's population. You know, like Atlanta in Georgia or Phoenix in Arizona. You install some people at the Board of Elections in those counties who are willing to hem and haw and not certify the results for weeks on end... and suddenly you have manufactured a "contested election" when the Electoral College meets, possibly prompting the state legislature to send "alternate electors." This is the endgame for many of those swing states controlled by the GOP.
The geographic compactness of the Democratic voter coalition is a problem for Democratic Party governance in general - makes our voters easier to "crack-and-pack" in gerrymandering schemes - but it also leaves us more vulnerable to GOP governors and legislatures disenfranchising us too. "Oh, Those People down in our Urban Hellhole can't get their act together in time after we underfunded their vote counting machinery, created long lines at their reduced number of polling places, etc... we'll just substitute our judgment for how they voted."
Yes, unless it is a big margin it will be another very interesting post-elections period, much more interesting than the previous one (and much more violent).
Old Man Trump: Biden is horrible for the country and incompetent. He should quit.
Ironic Trump: What they did to Biden was illegal and undemocratic. He shouldn't have quit. We will sue to get him back.
Fan Fic Trump: Biden will take back what was rightfully his at the convention and I'll get the opponent I deserve.
Fearful Trump: I will not debate Kamabala on ABC; I have agreed to debate her on Fox, though.
Cuck Trump: I will debate Kamabala three times, including on ABC.
Best Friend Trump: Can you believe this guy, JD? Isn't he fantastic?!?!
Just Acquaintances Trump: They're not saying I'm weird; they're saying JD's weird.
JD Vance with Jonathan Karl: "The person who wants to be our president ought to sit down for some tough interviews. I'm willing to do it and she should, too."
Apparently Vance is expecting to become President instead of Trump. Slip of the tongue or intentionally exposing his true aspirations? Trump really knows how to pick em.
My fear with eliminating taxes on tips is that clever accountants and lawyers will go to work on it and all of a sudden some people will be reporting $1M/year in "tips" but little actual taxable salary. For example, a CEO might get a base salary of $100K and a $1m "tip" for surpassing goals which are easily surpassed.
I always thought the (republican suggestion) no tax on tips idea was an embrace of SCOTUS's "gratuities are not bribes" ruling. What good is an $80K gold brick given to you by a grateful constiuent for passing some legislation that benefits only them if you have to pay taxes on it?
Best of both worlds, right? 🙂
I'm sure you could put all kinds of rules about the limit in percent in tips you could claim, and/or a cap on the amount, etc, but while I can see why it would be really, really, popular in Nevada, it is also a pretty bad idea. If you want to help low wage workers, just up the standard deduction and be done with it. That helps both people working for tips and the cooks that are out of view.
We should just encouraging people to tip in cash again. I don't trust electronic tips anyway. I'm sure some unscrupulous businesses are taking them.
If credit card machines weren't set up to allow for tips, lots of people my age (47) and younger wouldn't tip at all. They simply do not carry cash. Ever. For example, the last time I had any cash on me was 2 weeks ago, when I was in Europe. I never carry cash, because it makes it so much easier to not worry about having my wallet stolen on public transit. The kids meanwhile actively hate cash, rolling their eyes when it's time to split a bill and asking "don't you have Paypal/Venmo/Zelle"?
So then the choice becomes "Welp, I have no cash, but I've already paid for my food/taxi ride/whatever online, so what do you want me to do?" to the poor service worker. Not sure that's a better scenario. I used to deliver pizza back in college, and we started accepting credit cards back then over the phone... and the credit card payers more often than not would stiff you on tips, because what are you going to do? Snatch the pizza back that they've already paid for, and that has no resale value to anyone else?
Cash also has the problem of making you a target for robbery. I delivered pizza in a wealthy area, so I personally was never afraid. But I can't imagine being a delivery person or Uber driver or whatever in a sketchy area and having lots of transactions or even just tips paid for in cash. Eventually, you'd have to make a side trip to somewhere "safe" to get rid of all the cash, or else put yourself at risk at the end of the night of being held up for it, when the robbers know "this pizza delivery guy probably has a couple hundred bucks in his pocket from working all night."
Basically they've done that by shifting compensation from pay to stock options. Generally, tax rates on capital gains much less than those on income.
I'm fine with Harris pandering to the service industry, especially in Nevada, but I would think tax free tips would be difficult to implement in IRS regulations, not to mention almost impossible to get enacted with our divided government.
Not surprised that Fuck L'Orange thought of it first, since he probably only thought about the attractive young lady serving his well done steak, fry's, and Diet Coke, while being nice to him (not thinking about the entire staff that was needed to make it happen and clean up his mess).
Seems pretty goddamn simple to me: just require employers to designate tips in Box 8, as they can already (optionally) do.
https://www.irs.gov/faqs/interest-dividends-other-types-of-income/tips/tips
You're correct for credit card tips - those could just be reported in Box 8 and exempted from taxation. Although excluding them from taxation would likely require Congress to revamp the tax code, which KJK already correctly suggested is a near impossibility if Kamala faces a GOP controlled House or Senate.
But cash tips must rely on self-reporting, and in my (limited) service worker experience, nobody reports more tips than absolutely required. When and where I worked, the tipped minimum wage was $2.13, the regular minimum wage was $4.25 and if you didn't report tips of at least $2.12, the employer had to make up the difference... so everyone reported exactly $2.12 to keep the employer from pulling us aside and asking "is everything OK?" in a negative tone. I can't imagine much has changed since then: how would the employer know if you got more cash tips to put that amount in Box 8? They generally can't strip search you when you clock out, except perhaps in the reddest Ungovernable Tribal Areas.
Harris deciding to *copy* the Trump "tips" pander is a huge error. Wages are wages, so why should a food server pay less taxes than someone in the kitchen when they receive both the same amount of money in a year?
Copying Trump normalizes him as a candidate. Makes the Harris team look like they are bereft of ideas. I hope she doesn't do a solid for the crypto bros in coming weeks.
Damn well deliver NV for this foolishness.
I agree it's an error, but it is pretty small.
It's not an error. The Harris proposal is distinctly different than Trump's - it has strict income limits to prevent non-working class from using the loophole. This is the pet pony of Nevada's huge Culinary Union so yes it's to win Nevada.
A big error is letting Trump move to the left of Harris on any issue. He did that to Clinton all throughout 2016. To this day, it's barely remarked upon.
It's no worse than every presidential candidate praising ethanol right before the Iowa caucuses, then quietly doing nothing to change existing ethanol policy once elected. Promising to exempt tips from taxation only really affects higher-end service workers, generally in the food/drink industry. The housekeeping staff in hotels is already getting their tips in easily-unreportable cash. And once in office, Kamala can ask Congress to change the tax code, Congress will likely just ignore the request especially if the GOP has the House or Senate, and it'll be forgotten by 2028 or become like ethanol, a perennial promise that goes nowhere until one party has a trifecta AND calculates it needs service worker votes for some reason.
I wonder who he thinks does the disqualifying?
This is actually a really interesting question, especially if you buy the WWE roots of trump's world view. Which I do, and have been thinking lately about what that means. Vince McMahon is who does the disqualifying, is what I think it means.
WWE was all scripted by McMahon when he was running it (apparently he was forced out a few months ago). He approved all the characterizations, designated the heroes and villains, and decided who would win what. But crowd reaction could change characterizations, or rather make McMahon change characterizations. Villains who the crowds liked had to be changed into heroes, and vice versa. All to milk the rubes, of course.
This means trump is constantly looking to some version of Vince McMahon to decide everything, and that's a big reason why he's always talking in passive construction about people who "shouldn't be allowed" to do things "should be disqualified," etc. He's not looking to law for these decisions, he's looking to the Vince who really calls the shots.
Elections, to him, are like WWE "championships," decided in advance-- what the rest of us call "rigged." Voting isn't what decides elections, and voters don't make decisions. Vince does. Vince often made his decisions as a response to crowd energy. Always, and famously, trump talks about how huge and energetic his crowds are. Who's he trying to impress with that? No normal person really cares, especially in this era of mass comms and Tik-Tok, or should care, except as a general and momentary sign of connection.
But Celestial Vince does care, and I think that's who trump expects to yank Harris from the card and put Biden back on it.
i wonder if Trump and Junior thought they were picking JD Vince.
"Making up stupid names falls flat in the face of honest exuberance, and Trump has no Plan B."
Wrong, Plan B is to make up stupider names.
Sorry, what is crazy about Vance proposing to increase the child tax credit? That tax credit is a Republican policy (Trump was the one who previously increased it to the current $2000).
I think the CTC should be increased too, but as we saw when the Dems increased it for one year, voters don't actually seem to be swayed by it one way or the other, which is why it was easy to kill in the following year. And until it's in place for a decade or more, nobody is going to rely on it to make rational decisions about the size of their family. "Ooh, honey, if we have another kid right now, we can get a couple thousand in free cash!" said no American ever, not even the mythical welfare queen of St Ronnie's imagination. Having kids is generally both a financial and a logistical pain in the ass, and the cash simply isn't worth it on its own. (Its worth comes from both pushing people on the fence about having kids into actually doing it, as well as just being a Decent Thing To Do for parents overall, like also providing their kids with clean air or water.)
Trump's secret of eternal youth,
'clinical callousness',
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-age/
Trump's Plan B is, and always was, to blame everyone else. The problem for him is that it includes his own people. So they won't come up with a better Plan B either.
Imagine the impending doom felt by Macbeth, certain of a prophecy that no man born of a woman could hurt him, when he found out Macduff was not, in fact, a man born of a woman. What's the Plan B then? Lash out and hope for the best, I guess.