Trump just won the election

[Traveler]

21 hours ago, LDSGator said:

In my dream world, there would be a flat tax along with a national sales tax. I’m also a staunch believer in the “sin tax”. We should heavily tax porn, cigarettes, booze, gambling, weed, etc  

On the surface a sin tax may seem like a good idea, but I have come to think otherwise.  Spiritually there is a reference to ill gotten gains and filthy lucre.   I do not believe that a covenant disciple of Christ ought to in any way rely on sin and think there is somehow a possible benefit.   The church will not knowingly accept tithing or donations from funds ill obtained – including from gambling and lotteries.  In the Book of Mormon, we are told of wealth (gold, silver and other things) that was so corrupted by evil that G-d caused such to be lost in the earth to never be recovered.

I have strongly considered that taxes (and military obligation) ought to be voluntary and the means to become a full citizen with voting rights and holding legal positions within the government.

 

The Traveler

[LDSGator]

1 hour ago, Traveler said:

On the surface a sin tax may seem like a good idea, but I have come to think otherwise.  Spiritually there is a reference to ill gotten gains and filthy lucre.   I do not believe that a covenant disciple of Christ ought to in any way rely on sin and think there is somehow a possible benefit.   The church will not knowingly accept tithing or donations from funds ill obtained – including from gambling and lotteries.  In the Book of Mormon, we are told of wealth (gold, silver and other things) that was so corrupted by evil that G-d caused such to be lost in the earth to never be recovered.

That’s all fine, and good on the church for not accepting tithing funds from those activities. No one should force them to do so. 

A sin tax is a great idea to pay for social services because it’s completely voluntary. Income taxes and other consumption taxes are not. If you don’t want to pay a tax on alcohol, you are free not to drink it.  

[Ironhold]

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

On the surface a sin tax may seem like a good idea, but I have come to think otherwise.  Spiritually there is a reference to ill gotten gains and filthy lucre.   I do not believe that a covenant disciple of Christ ought to in any way rely on sin and think there is somehow a possible benefit.   The church will not knowingly accept tithing or donations from funds ill obtained – including from gambling and lotteries.  In the Book of Mormon, we are told of wealth (gold, silver and other things) that was so corrupted by evil that G-d caused such to be lost in the earth to never be recovered.

I have strongly considered that taxes (and military obligation) ought to be voluntary and the means to become a full citizen with voting rights and holding legal positions within the government.

 

The Traveler

Right now, the big push for increased "sin" taxes on various items is the belief that if you tax something highly enough it will discourage people from engaging with it. 

Not only does this *not* work as well as folks would like for it to work, in extreme instances it can actually cause people to find work-arounds or get creative. For example, there was a bit where a major city tried to impose a sin tax on soda, only for people to hop over to the *next* major city and buy in bulk, something that the first city couldn't tax and couldn't stop. 

Yeah...

[LDSGator]

2 hours ago, Ironhold said:

ot only does this *not* work as well as folks would like for it to work, in extreme instances it can actually cause people to find work-arounds or get creative.

That happens with sales taxes. And income taxes too. Any method of taxation has loopholes. 

[Carborendum]

I am SOOOO impressed with Vance right now:

Clearly a biased reporter with accusatory and one-sided questions.  Vance is incredibly impressive with his responses.  Not only does he expertly parry all of her attacks, but he shows expertise and knowledge on a broad range of topics.

She had at least a week to prepare for this interview with a team of researchers to bring up any and all possible weak points.  But he acts like he knew exactly what she was going to ask.

Amazing.

[Traveler]

20 hours ago, LDSGator said:

That’s all fine, and good on the church for not accepting tithing funds from those activities. No one should force them to do so. 

A sin tax is a great idea to pay for social services because it’s completely voluntary. Income taxes and other consumption taxes are not. If you don’t want to pay a tax on alcohol, you are free not to drink it.  

 

17 hours ago, Ironhold said:

Right now, the big push for increased "sin" taxes on various items is the belief that if you tax something highly enough it will discourage people from engaging with it. 

Not only does this *not* work as well as folks would like for it to work, in extreme instances it can actually cause people to find work-arounds or get creative. For example, there was a bit where a major city tried to impose a sin tax on soda, only for people to hop over to the *next* major city and buy in bulk, something that the first city couldn't tax and couldn't stop. 

Yeah...

My concern is somewhat different and has it roots in the Book of Mormon.  Any concessions one makes or any dependency one has in order to sustain (especially financially sustain) in their society upon sinful practices – regardless of how unintrusive it may seem to appear – I believe creates an open door that Gadianton robbers can (and will) exploit for their benefit.

There could be some possible exceptions, like treatments and recoveries of those with addiction or those harmed – but I am skeptical.   I would rather fund such things with charitable donations.

One thing we learn from additional taxes is that we create black market opportunities (which does play into Gadianton’s).    A black-market possibility will exist not just because of financial conditions but I believe, even more for activities that are intended to be maintained “private” or as scriptures would insinuate, in the dark and hidden places.  

 

The Traveler

[Carborendum]

It seems that the Dems are really getting their panties into a bunch for all the government organizations that are being shut down or diminished.  They are really against Trump's shutting down government bodies.

So Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim seem to have a plan of attack in protesting these shut downs...  They're going to shut down the government to protest the shutting down of the government.

...

I can't believe how much I love these guys.

 

BTW, shutting down the Dept of Ed saves taxpayers over $200Billion/yr.  I think DOGE is now at about 15% to 20% towards their goal of $2 Trillion.  It hasn't even been a full month since inauguration.

Edited February 10 by Carborendum

[NeuroTypical]

40 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

It seems that the Dems are really getting their panties into a bunch for all the government organizations that are being shut down or diminished. 

One of the funnier boring 18 minute videos I've ever watched: 

 

New bucket list item: I wanna meet that security guard guy and shake his hand.  It's harder than it sounds to sit there for 18 minutes and not do anything.  

 

[Carborendum]

55 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

New bucket list item: I wanna meet that security guard guy and shake his hand.  It's harder than it sounds to sit there for 18 minutes and not do anything.  

What impressed me was the fact that he was outnumbered 100:1.  He has no weapons. And he is as skinny as a rail.  He proabably barely makes a living wage.  But he stuck it out.

After all the violence we've seen from the left in the past 8 years, if I were in his shoes, I think I would have run away with that angry mob right in front of me. 

I was never a soldier.  There were no people who needed protecting.  It was "just a job."

Yes, kudos to him for sticking it out.

Edited February 10 by Carborendum

[Ironhold]

3 hours ago, Carborendum said:

It seems that the Dems are really getting their panties into a bunch for all the government organizations that are being shut down or diminished.  They are really against Trump's shutting down government bodies.

So Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim seem to have a plan of attack in protesting these shut downs...  They're going to shut down the government to protest the shutting down of the government.

...

I can't believe how much I love these guys.

 

BTW, shutting down the Dept of Ed saves taxpayers over $200Billion/yr.  I think DOGE is now at about 15% to 20% towards their goal of $2 Trillion.  It hasn't even been a full month since inauguration.

The big thing I'm seeing is allegations that USAID money was going to support various US and foreign media outlets. 

A few people, like online activists Lunar Archivist (who I've collaborated with before) and Grummz, have noted that many of these same US media outlets were the ones pushing the "Gamers Are Dead!" and other anti-Gamergate narratives back in 2014 / 2015. This has already started conspiracy theories going as to whether or not the pushback against Gamergate was actually a government-funded operation. 

For obvious reasons, I'm now pushing people a lot harder to subscribe to their local newspapers and other local-level news outlets. 

[NeuroTypical]

18 hours ago, Ironhold said:

For obvious reasons, I'm now pushing people a lot harder to subscribe to their local newspapers and other local-level news outlets. 

Indeed.  Whenever I'm researching some breaking news story, I always look for the local media reporting.

But honestly though, TikTok has been my main source for breaking news.  Nothing beats an algorithm that brings live on scene reporting from various random viewpoints.

[Carborendum]

Here are some numbers to fool around with:

I'll give you the conclusion first.  By cleaning up social security the budget gets whacked big time.

There are 68.5 million people on social security.

• They believe there may be "tens of millions" on the rolls collecting benefits that are most likely dead.
• We've never had an American live over 120 (verified) in the entire history of the US.  Only one person in the world (that I could find) has lived over 120 years old.
• Yet there are many on the rolls over 120.
• Gerentology experts estimate between 100 to 600 people in the US are over 110 years old.
• Early counting says there are "millions" of recipients on soc. sec. rolls who are over 110 years old.

The budget is about 1.5 trillion (1500 billion).
The data above indicate they could cut $300 Billion just by disenrolling dead people from benefits.

Edited February 18 by Carborendum

[Ironhold]

4 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Here are some numbers to fool around with:

I'll give you the conclusion first.  By cleaning up social security the budget gets whacked big time.

There are 68.5 million people on social security.

• They believe there may be "tens of millions" on the rolls collecting benefits that are most likely dead.
• We've never had an American live over 120 (verified) in the entire history of the US.  Only one person in the world (that I could find) has lived over 120 years old.
• Yet there are many on the rolls over 120.
• Gerentology experts estimate between 100 to 600 people in the US are over 110 years old.
• Early counting says there are "millions" of recipients on soc. sec. rolls who are over 110 years old.

The budget is about 1.5 trillion (1500 billion).
The data above indicate they could cut $300 Billion just by disenrolling dead people from benefits.

I've seen some anti-Musk sycophants make the claim that there's a glitch in the Social Security systems that result in people whose information was entered incorrectly being defaulted in age back to a specific period of time. 

If true, however, it's still a very alarming situation that still merits the Social Security Administration being audited in order to discover why a known glitch of this nature has been allowed to continue for so long and how many people have been affected by it. 

[Carborendum]

It seems (from a casual estimate) that none of Trump's nominees are facing as much scrutiny, opposition, and vitriol than Kash Patel.  The Dems are doing everything they can to stall his confirmation.

Why?  They've already whine and moaned about every single appointment except for Paul Ryan.  What's the big deal about Patel?

The only thing I can figure is that once he can open up FBI records, we'll find a whole TROVE of corruption among the Dems.

Meanwhile, he has passed yet another hurdle despite the opposition pulling out all the stops.

I guess we'll see in a couple of days/weeks.  Trump doesn't seem to be backing down on this one.

[mordorbund]

On 2/18/2025 at 2:39 PM, Carborendum said:

Yet there are many on the rolls over 120.

If anyone deserves social security, it’s dodecagenarians.

[mordorbund]

On 1/20/2025 at 5:10 PM, Vort said:

Useless. "Gulf of Mexico" works fine. I'd be more on board if it were "Gulf of the Americas".

 

I think India has the right idea.

East American Ocean and West American Ocean