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Blueace Surrounded by weirdoes from The End Of the World Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Surrounded by weirdoes
#342251: Dec 5th 2020 at 5:45:13 PM

Do they tell him that that kills the morale of what will soon stop being his side, or they just shrug his behavior off?

Wake me up at your own risk.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#342252: Dec 5th 2020 at 5:49:42 PM

Trump don't give no shits.

He spent the day talking about how much he hates Kemp.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
clemont107 Mega Togekiss?! from Land of Missed Opportunities (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Mega Togekiss?!
#342253: Dec 5th 2020 at 5:50:42 PM

[up][up]I think it's bolstering the desire of some deranged MAGAhounds, but for the rest of the GOP voters I think they would be less motivated now that Immortan Joe is guaranteed to kick Donald out.

[up] That is not the way to motivate Republican turnout for vulnerable Senate seats.

"Wow, no Mega Togekiss in Legends Z-A. Or any non-Froslass new Sinnoh Mega Evolutions. Round of applause, everybody." - Dawn
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#342254: Dec 5th 2020 at 5:58:29 PM

Trump doesn't care about motivating the Republican base to vote for them.

He cares that they help him steal the election. Demotivating his base is his threat to try to get them to help him.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Blueace Surrounded by weirdoes from The End Of the World Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Surrounded by weirdoes
#342255: Dec 5th 2020 at 5:58:54 PM

I mainly wondered if they'd have tried to keep him from going into rants that'd hurt them, however feebly it might be.

At the end of the day, Trump was on his own side, and only sided with the GOP because their policy of letting rich morons run free fit him, but now that he has his days numbered, he can't use them as his cult, and they got tired of him, so he is even turning against the right.

Wake me up at your own risk.
Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#342256: Dec 5th 2020 at 6:04:12 PM

I say, let's just enjoy it. He's clearly hurting the GOP with his actions, and any weakening of them is well deserved and will only make things easier for Dems.

clemont107 Mega Togekiss?! from Land of Missed Opportunities (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Mega Togekiss?!
#342257: Dec 5th 2020 at 6:05:04 PM

[up][up]If this is his way of getting back on friendly terms with the Dems, I don't think it will work. Maybe he'll have to create a new Party for him and his loyalists!

Edited by clemont107 on Dec 5th 2020 at 9:05:17 AM

"Wow, no Mega Togekiss in Legends Z-A. Or any non-Froslass new Sinnoh Mega Evolutions. Round of applause, everybody." - Dawn
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#342258: Dec 5th 2020 at 6:10:31 PM

Trump just wants to punish any and all perceived disloyalty like the Mobster he is.

And I'm not sure it's hurting the GOP until we win the Senate races.

It's also possible they might cave to Trumpism.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#342259: Dec 5th 2020 at 6:11:40 PM

[up]x2 That will definitely be his plan if he (somehow) loses the '24 primary. He'll probably resurrect Ross Perot's Reform Party (which he ran under in 2000), and be the Bull Moose Roosevelt to the Republican Party.

Edited by DingoWalley1 on Dec 5th 2020 at 9:12:02 AM

nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#342260: Dec 5th 2020 at 6:14:27 PM

So here's something interesting: The Virginia Republican Party, realizing they will lose more of Virginia if they keep electing nuts State-wide, has changed their selection process for the State-Wide Races: Instead of the usual Primary system, the Party heads will pick them. However, the current front-runner for the Governorship, Amanda Chase, is threatening to go Independent come '21 which would divide the Republican Vote.

Virginia actually allows nominating conventions (rather than a primary). The GOP used it multiple times this year, once to oust Rep. Denver Riggleman, and another time to get Nick Freitas.

Virginia GOP was between a rock and a hard place, because Chase winning the nomination basically means that she'll lose to whoever is the Dem nominee. BUT Chase not winning the nomination increases the chances she'll run as an Independent, splitting the vote and losing anyway. She's a fringe nutter.

Hopefully this will give Democrats some breathing room to choose the best candidate and not weigh things like electability too much. There are like 6 people who've already declared they're going to run.

nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#342261: Dec 5th 2020 at 11:43:38 PM

ProPublica: IRS: Sorry, but It's Just Easier and Cheaper to Audit the Poor

Congress asked the IRS to report on why it audits the poor more than the affluent. Its response is that it doesn't have enough money and people to audit the wealthy properly. So it's not going to.

The IRS audits the working poor at about the same rate as the wealthiest 1%. Now, in response to questions from a U.S. senator, the IRS has acknowledged that's true but professes it can't change anything unless it is given more money.


Last month, Rettig replied with a report, but it said the IRS has no plan and won't have one until Congress agrees to restore the funding it slashed from the agency over the past nine years - something lawmakers have shown little inclination to do.

On the one hand, the IRS said, auditing poor taxpayers is a lot easier: The agency uses relatively low-level employees to audit returns for low-income taxpayers who claim the earned income tax credit. The audits - of which there were about 380,000 last year, accounting for 39% of the total the IRS conducted - are done by mail and don't take too much staff time, either. They are "the most efficient use of available IRS examination resources," Rettig's report says.

On the other hand, auditing the rich is hard. It takes senior auditors hours upon hours to complete an exam. What's more, the letter says, "the rate of attrition is significantly higher among these more experienced examiners." As a result, the budget cuts have hit this part of the IRS particularly hard.

For now, the IRS says, while it agrees auditing more wealthy taxpayers would be a good idea, without adequate funding there's nothing it can do. "Congress must fund and the IRS must hire and train appropriate numbers of [auditors] to have appropriately balanced coverage across all income levels," the report said.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#342262: Dec 6th 2020 at 4:12:20 AM

The IRS is correct: its funding has been hit hard this decade, largely because Republicans don't like it when the IRS audits rich people. Go figure.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
PointMaid Since: Jun, 2014
#342263: Dec 6th 2020 at 4:25:24 AM

And yet, when they actually do, don't they actually get more than they spend, on average? I seem to remember hearing that even though I don't have a reference.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Kayeka (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#342265: Dec 6th 2020 at 4:46:25 AM

Seriously, even if it turns out they do owe the state money, it's unlikely that they can actually pay it.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#342266: Dec 6th 2020 at 4:47:58 AM

But then you get to send more poor people to prison, which is an absolute bonus.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Imca (Veteran)
#342267: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:00:33 AM

The IRS is one of those orginizations that no one likes but plays an absolutely critical role in the goverment, but has been hampered by lack of funding because... well no one likes them.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#342268: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:01:45 AM

"Hey everyone how about we raise taxes so that we can give the IRS more money?...where are you all going?"

This is the same reason it's been so damn hard to get infrastructure spending approved. Nobody wants to raise the taxes for it.

In retrospect, maybe the decades of media demonizing the IRS have had an impact.

Edited by M84 on Dec 6th 2020 at 9:03:35 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
PointMaid Since: Jun, 2014
#342269: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:08:59 AM

My point about 'when you actually do audit the big earners, the audits bring in more money than they cost even if the audits are fairly expensive', was you wouldn't have to raise taxes. The audits should pay for themselves and some.

Or at least that was my intention, and I admitted I didn't have a source for it.

nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#342270: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:12:39 AM

[up] The problem is probably that the IRS doesn't get to pocket the money. Congress has to allocate extra funds in the budget, which they haven't been doing.

Imca (Veteran)
#342271: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:14:38 AM

[up][up][up] And unlike the IRS people actually LIKE roads... so if they react poorly to trying to raise the taxes to pay for things they like....

[up] Thats correct, the IRS itself gets nothing from going after big earners, not unless congress gives them a higher budget to do so.... which they wont.

Edited by Imca on Dec 6th 2020 at 5:15:22 AM

RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#342272: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:17:05 AM

Rich people also have plenty of ways of paying themselves to hide their own money (see: shell corporations, offshore banks, money laundering). Auditing the rich doesn't really do anything if all their money is hidden through legal or grey-legal means.

It's been fun.
PointMaid Since: Jun, 2014
#342273: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:26:48 AM

Yeah, I get that. They can't just do that on their own. But it does mean you wouldn't have to raise tax rates or even plug loopholes to pay for it.

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#342274: Dec 6th 2020 at 5:27:29 AM

The IRS doesn't like roads? That's a new one. grin

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#342275: Dec 6th 2020 at 6:16:32 AM

You actually wouldn’t need to raise taxes long term to fund the IRS, the IRS is such a good investment that any funding increase would pay for itself.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

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