I am a widow living on social security disability. Taking care of my husband as he died, my kidneys failed. Then I got talked into helping babysit an infant a couple years later and they failed again. I suspect I am not healthy enough for real work anymore.
I have been going to Harvesters and the local food pantry. I got a roommate who then lost their job. Finally working full-time as of a week ago. At this point I need to catch up real estate and property taxes so I have a legal vehicle and don’t lose my house. Roommate is grateful for many months not paying anything, and hopes to catch me up. I am almost afraid to hope for it.
Let’s be real—Republicans are allergic to good governance because they’ve bet their entire political strategy on convincing people that government can’t work. They actively break it, underfund it, mismanage it, then point to the smoldering wreckage and say, "See? Told you it was a bad idea!" And the kicker? Their only alternative is a scam—privatization because nothing says "security" like tying your retirement to the next stock market crash.
We might think the people now in the ascendant would never do anything as crazy as destroy Medicare and/or Social Security, but that's putting too much faith in a baseline level of decency they utterly lack. Again and again, the Republicans destroy themselves by either doing this sort of thing or brazenly trying to do it, as when they tried to get rid of "Obamacare" during Trump's previous term. The Democrats should certainly oppose their every insane move, but it's also likely that they will have about a 15% approval rating going into the midterm elections. Provided that--a big "if"--we have anything like normal midterm elections, they are headed for a major loss.
To be receiving Social Security checks, you don't need to have lived through the Great Depression. People getting their checks now were mostly, I suspect, born in the late1940s-50s.
If that’s not nominative determinism at work, I don’t know what is. The man is just another cog in the well-oiled, greed-drunk machine of corporate fealty, playing dumb while he shepherds yet another plan to funnel money upwards. Let’s be clear: when they say "waste, fraud, and abuse," they mean you, your disability check, your Medicaid, your measly attempt at retirement dignity. But oh, when the billionaires need a tax break? That’s just "keeping the economy strong."
The main problem is that people like Crapo (would he have been a better person with a different name? School must have been awful) believe that the government doing anything for the nonl-rich is by definition "waste, fraud and abuse."
But it's about more than just the money. It goes deeper than that. Republicans are ideologically opposed to taxes and social programs. They yell about the "deficits" and "waste fraud and abuse" because those are bitches their bitching base can relate to. If the Rethugs came out and said "hey man, we just don't want the government to be any help whatsoever to y'all. we just want to use it to tell you who to worship, like, hangout with, and love. and also to protect our fellow capitalists" they wouldn't get very far.
The Repubs pretend to be ideologically opposed to taxes, but they aren't. They only oppose taxes on the rich. trumpy's tariffs are just an international sales tax. Imagine if a state put a 25% sales tax on necessary items. Also, the Repubs have talked about wanting a "value-added" tax--that's just an extra sneaky sales tax.
Ta, Robyn. Not only do we need to raise the cap to $250,000 (which is fucking piddling, not even couch cushion change for the multimillionaires and billionaires who write our tax code). We also must recover the money stolen (borrowed and never repaid) from the Social Security "lock box" that paid for Bush's war. I. Am. Livid. Right. Now. Crapo's last name could not possibly suit him better.
Crapo seems like an appropriate name for Mike Fuckweasel. And it's not like you get paid all that much to be in Congress, unless you are busily grifting off the government.*
I am a widow living on social security disability. Taking care of my husband as he died, my kidneys failed. Then I got talked into helping babysit an infant a couple years later and they failed again. I suspect I am not healthy enough for real work anymore.
I have been going to Harvesters and the local food pantry. I got a roommate who then lost their job. Finally working full-time as of a week ago. At this point I need to catch up real estate and property taxes so I have a legal vehicle and don’t lose my house. Roommate is grateful for many months not paying anything, and hopes to catch me up. I am almost afraid to hope for it.
Let’s be real—Republicans are allergic to good governance because they’ve bet their entire political strategy on convincing people that government can’t work. They actively break it, underfund it, mismanage it, then point to the smoldering wreckage and say, "See? Told you it was a bad idea!" And the kicker? Their only alternative is a scam—privatization because nothing says "security" like tying your retirement to the next stock market crash.
“The Social Security tax is 6.2 percent”
Social Security tax is 12.4%. A W-2 employee pays 6.2% from their paycheck and the employer pays the other 6.2%.
Social Security and Medicare taxes are split 50/50 between what the W-2 employee pays via their paycheck and the employer pays via payroll taxes.
We might think the people now in the ascendant would never do anything as crazy as destroy Medicare and/or Social Security, but that's putting too much faith in a baseline level of decency they utterly lack. Again and again, the Republicans destroy themselves by either doing this sort of thing or brazenly trying to do it, as when they tried to get rid of "Obamacare" during Trump's previous term. The Democrats should certainly oppose their every insane move, but it's also likely that they will have about a 15% approval rating going into the midterm elections. Provided that--a big "if"--we have anything like normal midterm elections, they are headed for a major loss.
Too many people no longer understand how we got here.
The people who lived through the Great Depression are mostly gone.
To be receiving Social Security checks, you don't need to have lived through the Great Depression. People getting their checks now were mostly, I suspect, born in the late1940s-50s.
Mike Crapo. What a perfect name.
If that’s not nominative determinism at work, I don’t know what is. The man is just another cog in the well-oiled, greed-drunk machine of corporate fealty, playing dumb while he shepherds yet another plan to funnel money upwards. Let’s be clear: when they say "waste, fraud, and abuse," they mean you, your disability check, your Medicaid, your measly attempt at retirement dignity. But oh, when the billionaires need a tax break? That’s just "keeping the economy strong."
"Nominative determinism" - excellent characterization!
Who votes for such terrible people??
They can also cut social security tax. It is ludicrous that people living on 20k a year have to pay tax for it. The actual fuck.
They were already taxed for this money once.
Rich fuckwad's gonna fuckwad........
The main problem is that people like Crapo (would he have been a better person with a different name? School must have been awful) believe that the government doing anything for the nonl-rich is by definition "waste, fraud and abuse."
Crapo is a piece of S**t! I don't think he's ever stood for the people of Idaho.
Idaho’s very Republican and MAGA.
Their priorities are very very different than ours. He represents the interests of his constituents very well by blocking Sen. Sanders, in my opinion.
But it's about more than just the money. It goes deeper than that. Republicans are ideologically opposed to taxes and social programs. They yell about the "deficits" and "waste fraud and abuse" because those are bitches their bitching base can relate to. If the Rethugs came out and said "hey man, we just don't want the government to be any help whatsoever to y'all. we just want to use it to tell you who to worship, like, hangout with, and love. and also to protect our fellow capitalists" they wouldn't get very far.
Billionaires should be taxed out of existence - if they don't like it, they can leave!
They are not opposed to taxes.
Just taxes on rich people. They are Bang Up with regressive taxation on poor and middle class people
The Repubs pretend to be ideologically opposed to taxes, but they aren't. They only oppose taxes on the rich. trumpy's tariffs are just an international sales tax. Imagine if a state put a 25% sales tax on necessary items. Also, the Repubs have talked about wanting a "value-added" tax--that's just an extra sneaky sales tax.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value-added_tax#:~:text=A%20value%2Dadded%20tax%20(VAT,compared%20with%2C%20a%20sales%20tax.
They are opposed to social programs, but that has nothing to do with values unless greed, selfishness, and cold-bloodedness qualify as values.
Did Bernie calculate adjusted gross on this idea....
"How does an old man like you stay alive?"
"I don't eat..."
"You don't eat?"
"No. But it hasn't affected my appetite."
-- from "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers" by Firesign Theatre
Ta, Robyn. Not only do we need to raise the cap to $250,000 (which is fucking piddling, not even couch cushion change for the multimillionaires and billionaires who write our tax code). We also must recover the money stolen (borrowed and never repaid) from the Social Security "lock box" that paid for Bush's war. I. Am. Livid. Right. Now. Crapo's last name could not possibly suit him better.
Crapo seems like an appropriate name for Mike Fuckweasel. And it's not like you get paid all that much to be in Congress, unless you are busily grifting off the government.*
Of course they did. Everything for the billionaires. God forbid that senior Americans get enough to live on.