Tuesday Twitter roundup

Submitted by scharrison on

I was wondering about this just last night:

Trump voters have been pretty resilient over his ham-handed leadership since he took office. By "resilient" I mean "blind," of course. Which proves to me they knew ahead of time he would be a disaster, but voted for him anyway because they hoped he would punish the people they don't like. And when your hatred runs that deep, even if you get punished some yourself, it might still seem worth it.

We recently had a "business" forum in our relatively small town, and at least two of the panelists were touting this "Opportunity Zones" portion of Trump's tax bill. One of the panelists (a tax accountant) briefly mentioned how it might benefit distressed areas, and then launched into a very long (25 minutes, easily) sales pitch about what a great investment opportunity it was for wealthy people. So it comes as no surprise to me the American Enterprise Institute is a cheerleader, since pandering to the wealthy is their bread and butter:

The goal of “opportunity zones” is a worthy one: spurring much-needed investment into housing, small businesses and infrastructure in depressed areas. Picture entrepreneurs in Pueblo, Delta and Alamosa getting an infusion of cash because of a simple provision in the GOP tax bill.

But the far more likely outcome will be financial institutions setting up qualified opportunity funds to market to their wealthy clients near retirement as a safe place to park their money tax-deferred in a slow-growing market for 10 years. The trade-off being slower growth than the stock market but tax-free gains.

The likely recipients of such investments in Colorado? Well, if I were in the business of helping wealthy clients abuse the tax code, I’d park their qualified opportunity investment in real estate in the most attractive designated opportunity zones on the Front Range and let it sit for 10 years, not really helping these areas, but qualifying under the law for the tax incentives.

I’m not some evil tax genius with a unique idea, just a former investigative reporter who has learned to expect the worst from years of covering well-intended tax policies gone awry — like a lease in/lease out transaction for a Florida utility, venture capital tax credits in Oklahoma, and enterprise zones in Colorado.

The key benefit of this is that "10 year" thing, which the accountant I mentioned repeatedly stressed. That's when your tax liability completely disappears. Was anything actually improved in those "Opportunity Zones"? Doesn't matter.

No doubt Christian Cano is going to be gnashing his teeth over this cartoon, but he brought it on himself. Oh crap, I made a pledge to not wade into any Democratic Primary contests, and remain neutral like Switzerland, minus the Nazi money in the bank thing. Just disregard what I said, or at least forget where you heard it...

I know I have generally been against faux Twitter accounts, but it's actually a relief to have somebody else smacking this nitwit around. So I will grant this one my tacit approval. Wait, that makes it a formal approval, and no longer tacit. Forget I said that, too.

What? I didn't approve this message, I just posted it for your perusal. Still neutral, still Switzerland.

No, it's not. It's just idiot Republicans looking for any out-of-context issue to smear Democratic candidates. And frankly, a reporter even asking such a question says more about that reporter than any potential answer.

Oh, conservatives know good and well what it's supposed to do, they just don't care. It's all about increasing the profit margins of the wealthy, no matter how unfair or inhumane it is. Or misleading:

That's a load of crap, right there. The median hourly wage level in NC has barely moved in the last decade, but the top earners have scored big while the bottom has lost ground. It's not a pretty sight, and no amount of propaganda will change that.

Zack has some huge shoes to fill, but if anybody can do it, he can.

Fifteen dollars? Unless there's a lobster salad sandwich and some earplugs in that boxed lunch, count me out...

Who the #$%^ is paying for that? You know what, I don't want to know...

Conservatives seem to think their "London knives" stories prove that guns in the U.S. don't really matter, but what they don't realize is what it also implies: Their unspoken yet hovering-near-the-surface opinion, "If those people had guns they wouldn't need to carry knives!" Bless their hearts...

On that logic-deprived note, here's your Onion:

Tight schedules can be stressful...

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Comments

The stink of fear and desperation...

Submitted by scharrison on

Dude is so angry he can only squeak out a few words. He will try to fire Mueller this week, because he just doesn't have the sense to realize that's a bridge too far...

At my local grocery, a box of

Submitted by Vicki Boyer on

At my local grocery, a box of crackers is $4.99.
The minimum wage is still $7.25.

One pound of lean ground beef is $6.99.
Minimum wage still $7.25.

One cantaloup is $3.29.
Minimum wage still $7.25.

One red bell pepper is $1.79.
Minimum wage still $7.25.

Laundry detergent runs $5.99 to 10.99.
Minimum wage still $7.25.

#RaiseTheWage