biden over promised on student loan forgiveness.

[Dauphin]

It struck me that those states probably account for about 40% of GDP. So I checked. On a dollar funding per GDP basis, most of those states aren't huge winners. They rank 42nd (California), 24th (Illinois), 21st (Massachussets), 22nd (New Jersey), 32nd (New York) and 16th (Pennsylvania).

Florida (51st) and Texas (50th) getting diddly squat is the real story if you want to go down the bi-partisan route.

And DC is included, hence 51 in the list....

You could probably do a per capita check as well but will likely give similar figures but slightly skewed as Republican states have lower GDP per capita. I used GDP because the dollar spend is as a percentage of economy is probably more telling of the impact gained than raw population.


Full table, using the link and Wiki's GDP figures.

[Dauphin]

Ok, so tables don't post.....Simple listing instead:

1 West Virginia
2 Vermont
3 Wyoming
4 Louisiana
5 Hawaii
6 Rhode Island
7 Alaska
8 Montana
9 South Dakota
10 North Dakota
11 Maine
12 Delaware
13 New Hampshire
14 Idaho
15 Iowa
16 Pennsylvania
17 Connecticut
18 New Mexico
19 Arkansas
20 Kentucky
21 Massachusetts
22 New Jersey
23 Mississippi
24 Illinois
25 Dist. of Col.
26 Nebraska
27 Missouri
28 Oklahoma
29 Kansas
30 Nevada
31 South Carolina
32 New York
33 Michigan
34 Oregon
35 Maryland
36 Utah
37 Washington
38 Virginia
39 Tennessee
40 Indiana
41 Alabama
42 California
43 Minnesota
44 North Carolina
45 Ohio
46 Wisconsin
47 Arizona
48 Colorado
49 Georgia
50 Texas
51 Florida

[BeBMan]

Florida should drain the swamps first.

[PLATO]

Hmmm...perhaps there is some formula they used tied to GDP. Still looks a little fishy to me. Also, has anybody heard of these billions of dollars of projects underway? Is there maybe a planning period that has to happen before construction starts?

[Jon Miller]

What do you like about the Inflation Reduction Act JM? Not its name I hope...

What do you like about the infrastructure law?

Would you approve of Biden even more with more such legislation timed as Biden timed those two?

I am very supportive of Affordable Care Act (see what I liked about Obama's presidency). I hugely support action on climate change. I support funding the IRS, one of the key differences between successful countries and non-successful countries is that successful countries pay their taxes. In the US the rich have started to not pay their taxes. I support Prescription Drug Price Reform. I am OK with the Corporate Minimum Tax and the Carried Interest fix.

Our infrastructure is terrible and needs more help. Infrastructure is another key of successful countries.

JM

[Jon Miller]

Hmmm...perhaps there is some formula they used tied to GDP. Still looks a little fishy to me. Also, has anybody heard of these billions of dollars of projects underway? Is there maybe a planning period that has to happen before construction starts?

In some Blue states like California, anything Infrastructure related takes forever to get started (which increases the price enormously).

JM

[Geronimo]

I am very supportive of Affordable Care Act (see what I liked about Obama's presidency). I hugely support action on climate change. I support funding the IRS, one of the key differences between successful countries and non-successful countries is that successful countries pay their taxes. In the US the rich have started to not pay their taxes. I support Prescription Drug Price Reform. I am OK with the Corporate Minimum Tax and the Carried Interest fix.

Our infrastructure is terrible and needs more help. Infrastructure is another key of successful countries.

JM

Due to perverse effects it is very easy for policies intended to mitigate climate change to actually make it worse. When Biden uses executive power to stop domestic mining activities needed to develop alternative technologies that would allow for reduced fossil fuel consumption that is a perverse effect. When policy curtails carbon dioxide emissions in wealthy countries both through domestic regulation and through international agreements that exclude developing economies from such regulation, the net result isn't less climate change, it's probably more climate change as there is now an even greater incentive to perform these activities in totally unregulated areas and ship the commodities all around the world to their points of consumption. The largest US drop in emissions actually came from increased fracking activities which Biden certainly can't take any credit for promoting. Even Biden's persistent habit of blocking pipelines doesn't reduce emissions. It typically increases emissions as the extracted fossil fuels are now instead shipped by vastly less efficient road, rail and sea transportation. For a president to be serious about climate change any policy will need to ensure there isn't an easy work around that actually increases emissions.

The very wealthy not paying taxes has nothing to do with IRS inadequacies. Instead they are able to leverage legal tricks to drop their tax liabilities to zero. Nothing Biden has done has diminished these huge regressive loopholes. If anything the increased IRS collection efforts will further deepen inequities of the current tax system as the increased income will overwhelmingly come from people previously too poor for the IRS to bother going after for payment using the previously smaller pool of IRS resources.

Corporate Minimum tax will just discourage domestic repatriation of overseas profits as it did before.

Carried interest fix, prescription drug price attention and perhaps Bidens' comparatively stronger support of nuclear power are about the only areas relevant to your points where he could really claim to be a good influence.

[pchang]

Your comments about implementation of IRS funding is not true. Higher income people have seen noticeably lower audit rates in times of lower IRS funding than in times of higher IRS funding.

[Geronimo]

since the enormous lions share of wealthy people not paying taxes actually consists of legal tax loopholes that are ruthlessly exploited rather than filing fraudulently and not getting caught by an audit, extra audits are not really going to be relevant and if they did generate some fraction of additionally income they are grossly wasteful by their very nature.

Lower income people will definitely be more likely to lose a more meaningful amount of income from the increased audits than the wealthy people who are audited more often by end up not having to pay. It's much harder to keep an accurate audit proof tax filing if you lack the means maintain a year round accountant or even pay a seasonal tax preparer.

[PLATO]

PLATO's simple tax plan:

1.) No income tax on businesses (It causes prices to be increased and is actually regressive).
2.) First $71,602 in personal income exempt from income tax (2 times poverty rate from previous year).
3.) All income above #2 taxed at flat rate. All income above $400,000 taxed at 2 X flat rate (Who came up with $400k as a number for the "rich" anyway?).
4.) Flat rate in #3 set once budget approved to fully fund budget.
5.) Budget must be approved by 10/31 of year prior to tax year or continuing resolution plus inflation rate will apply.
6.) Supplemental funding not in budget to be amortized over 30 years and amortization must be fully funded each year.

Shoot me down!

[pchang]

What flat rates are required to pay for the current budget?

[Geronimo]

the overall rate will be north of 30% of the economic activity for federal outlays alone. Maybe the current budget isn't a healthy starting point...

[EPW]

PLATO's simple tax plan:

1.) No income tax on businesses (It causes prices to be increased and is actually regressive).
2.) First $71,602 in personal income exempt from income tax (2 times poverty rate from previous year).
3.) All income above #2 taxed at flat rate. All income above $400,000 taxed at 2 X flat rate (Who came up with $400k as a number for the "rich" anyway?).
4.) Flat rate in #3 set once budget approved to fully fund budget.
5.) Budget must be approved by 10/31 of year prior to tax year or continuing resolution plus inflation rate will apply.
6.) Supplemental funding not in budget to be amortized over 30 years and amortization must be fully funded each year.

Shoot me down!

I agree with 1,2 and 5. No opinion on 6. flat tax is stupid so 3 and 4 are out. Obviously some major spending cuts to the military go along with this

[PLATO]

flat tax is stupid so 3 and 4 are out.

Not really a "flat tax" as it is generally known. I agree that is stupid. It is essentially a two tier progressive system. perhaps I should have used a different word.....

[PLATO]

No opinion on 6.

Realistically, the amortization should be tied to the T-Bill used to fund the supplemental. Since Congress lives to extend everything they can...I chose 30 years. It would work better if it was tied directly to the duration of the funding though.

[EPW]

Why not get rid of the tax brackets and just make the rate proportional to income? Edit: With some sort of math formula

[EPW]

As for cuts, obviously healthcare(and medicare) is the biggest problem has to be completely redone with a mix of deregulation and something like the Singaporean system(ie a MUCH better Obamacare). Defense spending needs to be gradually brought down...Trump was right that other Western countries need to start doing their part. For education, I don't think the federal government should be involved at all after you graduate high school. Really education should be ultra-cheap in the internet age. The other welfare programs should be less necessary with the tax cuts proposed above and funding can gradually be reduced there as well.

[My Wife Hates CIV]

this is what i dont get. why is a student loan any different from any other loan. what happens if you stop making car payments? what happens if you stop making your house payment? why is this student loan thing different. you signed an agreement. you got something for it. you now have to make the payments. AND! why does no one ever say - you must give up your degree if you default???? why is this different? is this liberal thinking? thinking that makes no sense. think about it - i know thats hard for liberals.

[Geronimo]

this is what i dont get. why is a student loan any different from any other loan. what happens if you stop making car payments? what happens if you stop making your house payment? why is this student loan thing different. you signed an agreement. you got something for it. you now have to make the payments. AND! why does no one ever say - you must give up your degree if you default???? why is this different? is this liberal thinking? thinking that makes no sense. think about it - i know thats hard for liberals.

or business loans? Guy down the street took out a big loan against his house to start a lawn and landscaping business. If he had trouble repaying should his loan be forgiven? Isn't education just another capital expense?