Bernie in Bethlehem
- Thread starter HALL85
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Snowflake central. They’ll be raiding the town looking for handouts for the day leading up to Bernie Karl Marx
Bernie will stick around for a while, but two things strike me about him. He's really aged in just a few years....just not as crisp and on point as 2016 Bernie. And a lot of his ideas have been taken over by the other extreme Dems, so he's trying to make people remember they were his. Personally, his Medicare for all pitch was goofy especially when he said that private pay insurers would be relegated to nose jobs.
I'm watching it now and it's interesting. It's in my neck of the woods. I've been to weddings and other events in that room.
Sally Harrington just asked the loaded socialist question with the lame definition.
She is avowed Trump hater and a member of my country club. Her husband makes a couple of hundred grand a year.
Sally Harrington just asked the loaded socialist question with the lame definition.
She is avowed Trump hater and a member of my country club. Her husband makes a couple of hundred grand a year.
Now he's giving his pitch on single payer health care insurance.
Nobody's asking the big question as to what's going to happen when the hospitals and practices don't accept the amount provided by the government and the individual has to come up with X percent more.
anybody know a single senior citizen who does not have to pay for medigap insurance?
All the sheeples don't realize that their Medicare insurance will go up in their payroll deduction and they will end upnd having to buy medigap on top of that.
The audience actually believes that they will get this for free.
Nobody's asking the big question as to what's going to happen when the hospitals and practices don't accept the amount provided by the government and the individual has to come up with X percent more.
anybody know a single senior citizen who does not have to pay for medigap insurance?
All the sheeples don't realize that their Medicare insurance will go up in their payroll deduction and they will end upnd having to buy medigap on top of that.
The audience actually believes that they will get this for free.
On the whole he comes across as a sincere person who believes in what he is saying.
I disagree with most of his policies but commend the man for the job he did tonight.
I wish we could have more intelligent dialog than we currently have. I long for the days when politicians worked to seek a common ground.
I disagree with most of his policies but commend the man for the job he did tonight.
I wish we could have more intelligent dialog than we currently have. I long for the days when politicians worked to seek a common ground.
Agree or disagree with him on his policies, as far as politicians go, he is definitely one of the more genuine ones.
While I disagree greatly with his proposed socialist policies, he is certainly genuine, not a panderer.
It’s hard to imagine Bernie being able to be effective as President, but I can understand how those that believe in his platform will stick by him. After watching the town hall, I can’t see any of the far left Dems taking his votes.
It’s funny that Bernie constantly rails against Amazon and what they pay (or don’t pay) in corporate taxes. But they employ over 600k people, mostly in the US and support a $15 minimum wage. And they continue to grow providing more opportunities for those that choose college or not.
Bernie praised them for raising their wages a year ago, but I think pointing out that a company can have 11 billion in profits with a negative federal tax rate will help people connect with what he views as an injustice within the tax code. I don't think it is an attack on the company as much as it is an attack on the laws.
Did you see the Town Hall? He was clearly attacking Amazon.
I'm not familiar with their earnings, if this was a one time event, etc., but isn't Amazon a great example of a company that is reinvesting in new jobs, competitive and living wages, and good benefits? Their job creation record is astounding, so the tax benefits are essentially helping to expand the middle class, which is obviously a good thing. And I can tell you firsthand a large number of those employees are unskilled and previously had lower wage food service or similar positions.
A bit ironic that Bernie was castigating Amazon in a market (Lehigh Valley) last night that employs over 3,000 people and is the Northeast distribution hub for the company. LVI is also was the pilot and now one of five national air freight hubs for Amazon.
And let's not forget that Bezos (along with Jaimie Dimon and Warren Buffet) are investing heavily in a healthcare collaboration that we should be anxious to see.
The question we should ask is who is better equipped to lead change and innovation to provide jobs, healthcare and opportunity. Someone like Bezos or a politician?
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Amazon had years of losses that they applied to recent profits.
Calling them out for doing that is nonsense.
Bezos plowed money back into Amazon while being excoriated for not making a profit. Now that it has paid off, he is a evil villain.
https://www.theatlas.com/charts/BJjuqbWLz
He has paid a boatload of international, state, and local taxes. He has created a ton of jobs and created
Reminds of the three little pigs. Bezos built the brick house and Bernie and AOC have the other two and now they want his.
I saw some of it. I didn't get the sense that Amazon was being blamed.
Saying it is a travesty that company like Amazon can pay zero taxes doesn't mean that Amazon is the one at fault, but I may have missed the part you are talking about. Can you share it?
That is a good question, but we need to keep in mind that if the private sector players could be relied upon to fix this on their own we probably wouldn't have gotten to a point where a politician like Bernie can become so popular.
What were Amazon's cumulative losses?
I don't think it was greater than the 15 billion in profits the last two years so this isn't just due to a carry forward.
It will connect with liberal economic illiterates that accept that statement as truth and lack the intellectual curiosity to understand the entire situation with Amazon.
His free healthcare message will also connect with fools who actually believe that it will be free. Won't they be surprised when the Medicare deduction on their pay stub rises, they have to buy gap insurance, and they still end up with co-pays. To believe otherwise is folly. Until we stop subsiding health care, the cost will never come down. Health Networks will continue to build palaces subsidized by taxation.
His free college tuition will connect with fools who actually believe that also will be free. Won't they be surprised when there is another deduction line on their pay stub that says "College Tax"; a deduction that will be there for your lifetime whether you go to college or not.
At some point, some genius politician will discover that there are too many deductions on pay stubs. They will solve this by consolidating the number of deductions to one. They will likely name the deduction "Shangri La" or "Xanadu" and convince fools that it was a good thing to reduce deductions from 14 to 1. Unfortunately, that 1 will be a doozy and well will have no idea where the money actually goes.
That is correct. Losses were just a part of it.
They have also used available tax credits and programs such as stock options to employees.
As you stated in a previous post, Sanders is attacking the code and not Amazon, however, to the average person it comes across as him attacking Amazon. The view him as Robin Hood with out understanding the entire picture.
We need tax reform not because Amazon is evil and not because there are rich people. We need tax reform so that it is simple and fair. For me, a big part of fair is shrinking the government and reducing overall taxes.
A good example of how the "attack Amazon" message that folks like Bernie and AOC parroted that screwed the pooch in LIC, NY.
If he truly believes in job creation, higher wages, access to healthcare (and lower costs), you would think he would be putting Amazon on a pedestal and encouraging embracing them in New York.
Agreed, though we also have to acknowledge how the 2018 changes impacted a company like Amazon.
As the video above mentioned, Amazon is a rapid growth company and a tax cut via accelerated depreciation probably didn't impact their growth model very much but may have saved them a tremendous amount of money. It's a part of a much broader discussion but hopefully there are more people trying to understand Amazon's taxes today than there were yesterday.
You forgot to mention the decreased choices in care and the long waits to see a doctor, specialist, or have a medical procedure.
As PJ O'Rourke said, "If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it's free!!"
You forgot to mention that free college ruins the value of a college education, we see that now due to the easy money for college from federal and state sources.
Sanders was probably one of the drivers behind Amazon increasing wages in the first place though and he did "put them on a pedestal" when they made the change.
It helped them, which is good!
Even at 21% the corporate rate is extortion.
My lens is skewed toward business. I am responsible for profit. It a difficult thing to make and sustain. Taking 21% of that is excessive, not to mention the payroll and other taxes a company has to pay. I think the vig on a mafia shakedown is less than that.
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A minimum wage job is not intended for the primary earner of a family. By design, it is not intended to support a family. If you have to support a family and attempt to do it on a minimum wage job, you need mental health services for stupidity.
The argument that people are desperate and are forced to take these jobs is unfounded.
The argument that people are desperate and are forced to take these jobs is unfounded.
Absolutely.
College tuition has increased at the pace it has because it has been subsidized.
I chalk it up to naivety and stupidity by the government.
More extreme views suggest it's a planned conspiracy to further increase the power of the State. Artificially drive of the prices so that it becomes too expensive. Saddle people with debt as a result of that action. Declare that the government must step in to save things. Tax all citizens to pay for college. Increase the bureaucracy to control distribute the money.
My wife worked in Financial Aid at a University. She saw first hand how the government was providing loans to students who had no hope of graduating, let alone getting a job of any meaning. This is no different than the housing crisis. Give money to idiots with no hope of getting it back.
What bank and a would lend a high school graduate with crappy grades and no job, $80,000 to go school betting on the come the will graduate and get a job and pay pack the loan? Ahhh, yes, the Government will back that loan all in the name of education for all.
The reality is that there are some people who should just not go to college. They should learn a trade and get to work. The left simply cannot and will not accept that.
