Friday, March 10, 2017

TrumpCare give millionaires tax break; poor get ER again

GOP to citizens: Chose iphone or health insurance—insulting us won’t help!
Will GOP “free” us from ObamaCare so that we are “free” to wait in hospitals for care?
Ryan and the millionaire Congress offer their wealthy donors more ‘freedom’ and tax credits but where will that leave us? Without a plan to secure, NOT just have ‘access’ to health care, we will have no choice; no ‘freedom’. We return to the bad old days. When our employer does not provide a plan we can afford—all the co pays, deductibles, etc—we will be forced on to Medicaid which, if left to each state, becomes substandard. We will be back to the process of doing without care/medication or sitting in emergency rooms or paying for a plan that leaves us with $100,000 debt and bankruptcy as before. Medical debt caused HALF of all bankruptcies. Tax credits can’t pay $250,000 cancer treatment. Medicaid expansion meant that people who work for $10 an hour could obtain care. Old Medicaid without fed money only covered those too sick to work. Medicaid qualifications vary from state to state, so the required income level is not consistent; however, it is typically below the poverty line. Few doctors take it.  https://www.healthinsurance.org/alabama-medicaid/  Ryan has proposed giving states a bucket of money which may not reach those who need care. Many states have given away tax money to millionaires to buy art or offshore shelters and are facing school closures etc. They may use the Ryan block grants for other emergencies. Poor sick people can’t complain loud enough to change things. Freedom of ‘choice’ in health care means early death for poor and tax breaks for rich.  

The Don will ‘hurt you and family’ if you’re not loyal—how dictators work
Like the mafia family, Don Trump does not tolerate disloyal leaking of his group’s secrets. When his nephew’s infant child got cerebral palsy, The Don cancelled his family health plan because they contested the father’s will. Every employee, even top WH staff, is having their phone logs and emails monitored for leaks. It is so bad that State Dept officials only speak face to face—no digital communication. Everyone with something important to say is ‘standing in the parking lot’ or meeting after work in the garage just as Watergate’s Deep Throat. Meanwhile Bannon, The Don’s consigliore is having Don sign behind closed doors a measure that killed a regulation to tighten gun background checks. Bannon’s goal is “deconstruction of the administrative state” and so secretly, changed the chain of command at Justice. His boss Sessions is implicated in a conspiracy with Russia to defeat the democratic candidate. Putin vowed to keep Hillary out of power. Bannon sent Priebus to get the FBI to kill their investigation of the Russia collusion. Bannon sent WH Counsel McGahn to meddle in FBI investigation of Russian mob influence.
A special prosecutor would clear the air but that would mean The Don lost control.

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Uncle Sam helps us increase our tax refund
‘How can I increase my refund’ is a question I get when I do taxes as an AARP tax-aide volunteer. First, the best way to increase your refund is to run a small business. Every expense you have remotely connected to that business is deductible and losses reduce your income. Example: Trump’s clothing and his clubs in FL and NJ were deductible because he stayed there ‘on business.’ In at least 3 years, his losses were greater than his income and thus no tax. Second, make a deductible IRA contribution to reduce income AND receive a tax credit. Double Benefit! Third, count up all your medical expenses. Some states allow deductions from dollar one. Fourth, count up charity and expenses for the job. Fifth, take a course to improve your skills in computers and take the tax credit against what you owe. Sixth, reduce taxable income by using FSA at work. The child, child care, education, and earned income credits are the most powerful—they reduce your taxes dollar for dollar. I owed $956 on my income but I reduced it by 25% using my wife’s CE education credit, my new windows credit and my retirement savings credit.
Finally, you can save $200-$400 by doing taxes yourself. New software from one of the IRS partners makes it easy: https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp

How The Don is played by dictator Putin
Putin did not like the sanctions by Obama for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and feared they could go higher with Hillary. What to do? Like Syria, undermine opposition to Assad. Start meetings with the Trump inner circle suggesting end to US agreements—Europe, China, Asia, Mexico, Canada. Isolate US. Have Trump question NATO and Asian alliance. Promise help in exchange for lifting sanctions and giving up East Ukraine. Use disinformation from RT and offer political guidance on undermining democratic institutions. Pour money into Trump PACS via dummy corporations that can’t be traced back to Russian surrogates. Russia’s elites buy Trump properties and projects like Bayrock Group. Counter-intelligence and hacking is used where effective. Develop pressure points on Trump—30-year ties to Russia, Russian mafia ties, admiration for his vanity, praise for his insecurity, promises of business in Russia. Feed guidance thru Manafort so Trump picks advisors Russia knowsFlynn, Tillerson, Bannon, Page, Sessions, Jared, Ivanka and son Don Jr. All have Russian contacts. Trump has 30 years of doing deals in Russia and with Russians; many Putin colleagues.   
Trump has unreasonable deference for America’s long time enemy. “Follow the money.”
“He will make the greatest President of our century,” claims a Russian with mob ties.

Financial meltdown and recession are more likely now
The Don has vowed to reduce regulation on financial institutions. This causes some Fed officials to warn us. Banks secure their assets (loans and trades) with only $6 per $100. Stress tests have not shown they are strong enough for another crisis. Banks are even more intertwined and oversized than before the recession. Every year, Congress cuts the budget of the regulators of the $34 trillion derivatives trading (2007 crash) so crash 2.0 likely. Trump placed a movie mogul in charge of Treasury. Trump has 3 Fed vacancies so he can continue the reinforcements or put Bannon’s “deconstruction” men in place. We won’t know until we have a crisis like a market crash or nuclear exchange with N. Korea or Ukraine style invasion of Eastern Europe. Putin has his “Make Russia Great Again” plan too.


Your 401k and IRA balance are up—hold or sell, that is the question
The current bull run is now the second longest since 1928. Even without counting dividends, the Standard & Poor’s index has risen more than 6 percent since New Year’s Day, nearly 20 percent in the last 12 months and roughly 250 percent since the start of the bull market in March 2009. Market average is 11% over time. You know it is all expectations: Trump will deregulate all, cut taxes, create jobs, grow the economy 6%, deport 11 million working people and walk on water. Maybe not.
What does the greatest investor, Warren Buffett, say?

Used luxury car or brand new car
Some people are faced with this tough question and ask for help. They do their research. First, what do you really want—reliable, quality, value, good mileage, impress peers, great fun experience, 2nd childhood life, etc. Second, how much are you going to spend? Third, finance it or pay cash or blend? Fourth, good mechanic or good dealer? Fifth, immediate or willing to wait for best deal? Sixth, Internet search within 100 miles: http://www.consumerreports.org/used-cars/best-used-cars-for-under-30000-dollars/
KBB.com, CarGurus.com, Edmunds.com, cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. Your insurance may go up since more people commute and are distracted by cell. Health care and repair costs rise as technology added. Are we safer with more gizmos?

Are you worried about an IRS audit? Forgetaboutit
Don’t worry. Congress has cut staff so low they can’t even finish the audit of The Don. The number of people audited by the IRS in 2016 dropped for the sixth straight year, to just over 1 million. Just 0.7 percent of individuals were audited, either in person or by mail. Corporate audits were down by 17 percent last year. Just 0.49 percent of corporations were audited, the lowest rate in at least a decade. You are more likely to be cheated by your tax preparer than be questioned by the IRS. They don’t call; they send letter. The most common reasons for audit are high income, unreported income, over 50% deductions, all-cash business, over 10% charity, rental losses, alimony, hobby loss, home office, entertainment, foreign bank, foreign income exclusion, car for biz, early IRA/401k income, day/currency trader, big gambling win.
This is how the rich avoid an audit: Trump’s lawyer tells the tax assessor of Ossining that his National Golf Club in Ossining is worth only $1.4 million yet it gives The Don over $10 million a year and is really worth $50 million. Depreciation reduces his taxes more.

New TrumpCare law is really excuse to cut taxes for the rich
GOP is using the repeal of ObamaCare to give millionaires a big tax cut. The bill has a windfall for the top 1% who now pay 20 taxes for ObamaCare. They don’t say this. Instead they are marketing TrumpCare as “freedom”: “We’re not going to send an IRS agent out to chase you down and make you buy health insurance,” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, said last month. “If the [coverage] numbers drop, I would say that’s a good thing, because we’ve restored personal liberty in this country.”
GOP abolishes the mandate so when people get sick or accident, we all will pay like before. You can have “access” but there is no cap on what insurers can charge. Conservatives want to cut even more help for obtaining health insurance. Age-rated tax credit of $2,000 can be advanced so you may buy a substandard policy. If you are really sick or have a coverage gap you will pay much more. Prices will go up so working poor will only buy limited coverage that does not cover all your bills. Trump does not have ACA but calls it “nightmare.” Prices are market driven so Congress millionaires can afford to buy whatever they want and we will get junk policy for $2,000. Minimum for a full-coverage policy now costs about $400/month. Medicaid subsidy to states phased out so fewer poor will be covered for fewer needs. What workers lose with TrumpCare is coverage and money. GOP did not cut insurance prices; gave big pharma blank check.




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We are entering the Twilight Zone:
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadowbetween science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone" where “alternative facts” and illusions of conspiracies are lived out. Lies are considered truth. 
Rod Serling
  

Remember, Don Trump is still a contractor from Queens NY, just richer than most. As a promoter, his income is from lending his wealth “brand” to other’s buildings and golf. The Don does not like to read so policy is 1 page of MAPS—he likes maps and TV. He conducts secret state business in front of the wealthy; letting them play with the nuclear “football” that can kill us all. Richard DeAgazio might be Russian spy who switched nuclear briefcase on Rick during photo op. Creates fear to control base. Tweets all night.

Real Donald Trump called for lock-step marching by all and remember your brown shirts. When ideology “discards and chops off” the facts and calls world normal.
Conservatives jump into anarchy: “the deconstruction of the administrative state.” Bannon called himself a “Leninist” who wanted to “bring everything crashing down.” State Dept being decimated. Putin thrilled!

Racist legacy:  “get out of my country” supporter kills restaurant patron in KS. Bannon previously articulated his dismay with South Asians supposedly dominate Silicon Valley.
White high schoolers launch verbal assault “Trump, trump, trump” in racist chant.
Dentist joked a boy was upset because “Trump is going to deport him.” Kicked off plane!



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Promises (lies) and Actual outcomes:

Does The Don realize that he is now President of a country NOT just a corporation?
Can America have a recall election—I want to change my vote; 61,000 others in PA, MI

Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” Trump Jr. said at the time. “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."
After six bankruptcies, Russian mob money allowed The Don to stay afloat. Russian money allowed The Don to make deals in US and Canada. His development money does NOT come from banks but illicit assets laundered through real estate, like Rybolovlev’s purchase which is a Russian strategy used by Putin’s inner circle.  FBI is checking Russian Alpha bank link to Trump server.

Russian hackers are demanding ransom from groups critical of the Trump administration. Intimidation and fear tactics are powerful weapons in democracy.
New Muslim ban is still unconstitutional--it discriminates. What about 9/11 Saudis?

Movie mogul Mnuchin, Treasury, will suspend payments to certain pension funds as it tries to delay, as long as possible, falling behind on other payments as US hits debt limit. 


“Obama wire tapped me” investigation is smoke. Trump’s Justice Dept has log of requests to court for all wiretaps. Trump does not understand how govt works.
Where do these Trump ‘alternate facts’ come from? Paranoia unstable volatile?

Pentagon wants greater number of weapons for “tailored nuclear option for limited use.”
Trump: “the power, the devastation is very important to me.” Has “codes” as watches TV “maybe ISIL, maybe Europe needs small nuclear; when I negotiate I want them guessing.

The Dictator wants to build more carriers which are expensive and can be killed easily and the military can’t use. The enemy can sink a $13 Billion carrier in 20 minutes. Terrorists can be killed in cheaper ways.  

Bannon is halting an inquiry into oil and gas industry emissions of methane that destroys ozone protection from the sun. Bannon pushing to pull down Paris climate accord too. The Don’s golf courses now benefit from his canceling clean water rule—fairway runoffs

Sessions lied on Fox when asked if knew Putin wanted Trump to win. His committee received in January a declassified report from U.S. intelligence agencies that Putin did.
Under oath, Sessions said Jan. 10: “…I did not have communications with the Russians.” 
Sessions can lie: Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause says our Reps ABOVE that law.
Alternative universe: Sessions explanation says “no lie, just correct statement”

The Don boosts tax credit educational system with visit to FL Catholic not public school. But research shows little difference in outcomes. Parental support key to kid success.
KS schools so under funded by tax cuts the court orders KS to fund education fairly.
Charter schools create millionaire owners with no dividend for the kids 

GOP law to end right to sue malpractice docs and class action for corporate wrongs

The Don benefited from a deal with Mexico utility to pipe low-cost TX gas to run US businesses in Mexico against his own promise to keep US jobs here.



Man who patches Mexico border says no GREAT WALL: Trump could learn something.

Flynn back to work for Turkey to spy on US for Putin. More air time on Russian TV.

The Don claims credit for things he had nothing to do with:
Fiat Chrysler will invest in Michigan and Ohio plants and create 2,000 jobs. The CEO said it had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump.
Ford expanded in Michigan rather than in Mexico. But it had more to do with a strategic decision related to investing in electric vehicles not Trump talk.
Walmart said it would create 10,000 jobs in 2017 as part of a $6.8 billion capital spending plan announced in October.
Intel would create 10,000 jobs at a “new” plant in Arizona. But the chipmaker already announced this factory in 2011 with Obama. It just hadn’t opened yet.
SoftBank, the Japanese company that owns a controlling stake in Sprint, announced a $100 billion technology budget but Sprint may only replace workers with SoftBank ones.
Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company, pledged to create 1 million U.S. jobs if he can unseat Amazon.com as largest e-commerce as planned in 2015.



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Regulators are the only protection against corporations since we can’t sue anymore

Mercedes-Benz recalls 1 million vehicles with fire potential
Bannon’s “deconstructing of the state” cancels 90 regs we need like mental ill gun ban, care in handling SS numbers, etc. 90 regs killed by lobbyists. Chase asked for 16 kills.
William D. Allen, NFL, caught defrauding other NFL players $16.8 million; off to jail
Regs are ignored by detention “courts” to deport not just criminals but the unlucky.

We need regulation—GOP wrong—companies/cities wouldn’t fix bad products on own
GM killed 124 because ignition switch pin not replaced after knew it killed first in 2006.


Police want gun control.
When everyone has guns; your chance of being killed goes up. Police don’t know who to shoot. They assume everyone has one and shoot first. You and thief have guns. CO schools now allow teachers/administrators to carry guns in the classroom. Kid lesson! Since 2015, police have killed 86 people with realistic looking FAKE guns--suicide?



SCAMS:
GOP new bill will delay all regulations—poison food, asbestos, fertilizer, water, safety.


Ignoramus Award:      

How our government wastes our money:

Where have all the jobs gone?
This is where the best job holders live in NJ.
GM will lay off 1,100 in Michigan after domestic production shift
RadioShack closed 187 more stores—lay off 2000 more



Which job board sites are best for your job search?

Who owns your account now?
Apartment rents in Manhattan fell FELL and your landlord account will negotiate


You can read how this all comes out in Orwell’s 1984: CIA tracks everyone everywhere just like in the book:  http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/2/


Robo calls handled by Mr NoMoRobo: https://www.nomorobo.com/

Miracle:
Will we ever know whether Putin and his friends have been bankrolling The Don since his bankruptcies and need payback?

IAN
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