Politics Thread

I do hope that Biden really does run the country as a centrist. My worry is that the progressive side of the dem party, does not allow that to happen, but we shall see. As a friend of mine said, as a country we need to get back to neutral, and that is hopefully what Biden will provide. Obama was polarizing to many, and he (along with a gawd awful dem candidate) got Trump elected, Biden got elected because he wasn't Trump. My hope is that in 4 years, Biden has gotten the country back to neutral, and the next Presidential choice is not the lesser of two evils as it has been for what seems like forever, but elected because they are the best man/woman for the job.

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Originally Posted by Xville

I do hope that Biden really does run the country as a centrist. My worry is that the progressive side of the dem party, does not allow that to happen, but we shall see. As a friend of mine said, as a country we need to get back to neutral, and that is hopefully what Biden will provide. Obama was polarizing to many, and he (along with a gawd awful dem candidate) got Trump elected, Biden got elected because he wasn't Trump. My hope is that in 4 years, Biden has gotten the country back to neutral, and the next Presidential choice is not the lesser of two evils as it has been for what seems like forever, but elected because they are the best man/woman for the job.

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I don't see him as someone who is going to be worried about what the far left thinks. Remember this is the guy Trump kept criticizing for 'losing the radical left' because he wouldn't say he wanted to defund the Police and condemned violent protests. The content of Joe's acceptance speech was pretty clear: he talked less about Policy moves he wanted to make and more about how he wanted to be a President for all Americans, and bring back compromise. It seems pretty clear that the only mandate Joe thinks he has is to bring back competence, civility, and compromise.

I think it will be difficult, though. There is A LOT of money and energy in this Country around demonizing the other side. People don't tune in to Sean Hannity, or Glenn Beck, or Alex Jones, to listen to a moderate and rationale conversation about policy compromise. Those guys are making a lot of money whipping people into a frenzy of misinformation and rage. That's not even getting into what Trump and his surrogates will do, but I doubt it will inspire unity.

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Originally Posted by boozehound

I don't see him as someone who is going to be worried about what the far left thinks. Remember this is the guy Trump kept criticizing for 'losing the radical left' because he wouldn't say he wanted to defund the Police and condemned violent protests. The content of Joe's acceptance speech was pretty clear: he talked less about Policy moves he wanted to make and more about how he wanted to be a President for all Americans, and bring back compromise. It seems pretty clear that the only mandate Joe thinks he has is to bring back competence, civility, and compromise.

I think it will be difficult, though. There is A LOT of money and energy in this Country around demonizing the other side. People don't tune in to Sean Hannity, or Glenn Beck, or Alex Jones, to listen to a moderate and rationale conversation about policy compromise. Those guys are making a lot of money whipping people into a frenzy of misinformation and rage. That's not even getting into what Trump and his surrogates will do, but I doubt it will inspire unity.

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Raising the capital gains rate and making 401k contributions pre-tax is not for All Americans. Its hammering upper middle class to appease leftists who are on government pensions and elitists.

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Originally Posted by bigdiggins

Raising the capital gains rate and making 401k contributions pre-tax is not for All Americans. Its hammering upper middle class to appease leftists who are on government pensions and elitists.

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And yet Wall Street gave more money to Biden than Trump. Go figure.

Yeah, Biden is really a man of the people and Trump was only for the rich. Large Eye Roll

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Originally Posted by Masterofreality

And yet Wall Street gave more money to Biden than Trump. Go figure.

Yeah, Biden is really a man of the people and Trump was only for the rich. Large Eye Roll

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The rich aren't worried about their 401K, and they'll have plenty of loopholes.

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Originally Posted by bigdiggins

The rich aren't worried about their 401K, and they'll have plenty of loopholes.

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By the way, certifying that Wall Street LOVES Biden, the Dow is up over 1,000 points today.

Yeah, way yo go Elitists!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Masterofreality

By the way, certifying that Wall Street LOVES Biden, the Dow is up over 1,000 points today.

Yeah, way yo go Elitists!!!!!

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Pretty sure that's about 90% Pfizer vaccine related.

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Originally Posted by Masterofreality

By the way, certifying that Wall Street LOVES Biden, the Dow is up over 1,000 points today.

Yeah, way yo go Elitists!!!!!

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Wall street loves stability, and that is what we are going to have with a blue president and a red Senate. The government wont be able to eff things up.

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Originally Posted by bigdiggins

Raising the capital gains rate and making 401k contributions pre-tax is not for All Americans. Its hammering upper middle class to appease leftists who are on government pensions and elitists.

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Have you read the 401(K) plan? This seems to be, at best, a significant mis-characterization.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of it, but I believe it offers a 26% refundable tax credit on 401(K) contributions, so it's not really "making 401K contributions pre-tax". The federal income tax rate is 24% for HHLDs earning up to $321K, so they would get a net benefit. I have to think most Americans making under $320K per year, right?

Even for higher earners - If you make $400K per year your top marginal tax rate is 32%, so the spread there is 6%. If you are maxing out at $19,500 per year it's going to cost you 6% of that - $1170. I'm not going to say I don't care about $1200, but I wouldn't even notice it missing.

Here is a linke to a Marketwatch article the explains it

This plan would seem to benefit the vast majority of Americans while having a very minimal impact on high earners.

Sorry, but the proposed 401-K rule changes will hurt the middle income earners - just like changes to tax policy usually does. From the Tax Foundation.

"There are drawbacks to this idea, however. First, Roth-style retirement accounts will become more attractive to higher earners, which could shift savings away from traditional accounts. Second, this plan would reduce the tax benefit of traditional retirement accounts for those earning above $80,250 but under $400,000, violating Biden’s tax pledge to not raise taxes on earners below the $400,000 threshold.

This proposal would be paired with additional changes, such as establishing an “auto-IRA” for lower-income Americans. There is an opportunity to reform and simplify America’s complicated retirement savings options short of replacing traditional tax deferral with tax credits. Simplifying the dizzying array of retirement and tax-neutral savings options would be a positive step forward for savers across all income levels."

The rich have loopholes and options; the rest of us not so much. Hoping for 51 R's in the Senate. Hard to plan for life when the rules keep getting changed on you.