The First Biden Term

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TheCatt
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:49 am Spending another $2T.
Biden is proposing a $109 billion plan to make two years of community college free.
I support this. Or a nominal cost to students.
The President would provide up to approximately $1,400 in additional assistance to low-income students by increasing the Pell Grant award.
Sure
The American Families Plan would provide workers with a total of 12 weeks of guaranteed paid parental, family and personal illness/safe leave by the 10th year of the program, according to a White House fact sheet.
I somewhat support this. Not to 12 weeks probably.
Biden is calling for the federal government to invest $200 billion in universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds through a national partnership with states.
In theory I support this, but I thin it just amounts to free daycare.
The American Families Plan would maintain the new enhanced child tax credit for another four years. And it would make it fully refundable permanently.
No.
Under the rescue law, enrollees pay no more than 8.5% of their income toward coverage, down from nearly 10%. And lower-income policyholders receive subsidies that eliminate their premiums completely.
Fine.
The President is calling on Congress to make permanent the enhancements to the child and dependent care tax credit contained in the relief package.
No.
The latest package would make permanent the expansion of the earned income tax credit for workers without children.
No.
Biden wants to reverse a key plank of the Republicans' 2017 tax cuts by returning the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6%, up from 37%. It would apply only to those in the top 1%.
Yes.
The proposal would require households earning more than $1 million annually to pay higher taxes on capital gains, which typically make up the largest share of income for the wealthy.
The long-term capital gains of these taxpayers would be subject to the top marginal rate for income -- currently 37%, but rising to 39.6% under Biden's plan.
Yes
Currently, heirs of wealthy Americans enjoy a major tax break. Assets that pass directly to them receive a "step-up" in their cost basis, meaning they are valued as of the date of death. This can minimize the tax burden on the heirs when they eventually sell the assets. And it means the gains accrued during the lifetime of the parent who died are never taxed.
Biden would require estates to pay taxes on unrealized gains of more than $1 million, or $2.5 million per couple when combined with existing real estate exemptions. However, family-owned businesses and farms would not have to pay taxes when passed on to heirs who continue to run the business.
Yes.
Biden is asking Congress to close the carried interest loophole so that hedge fund partners would have to pay ordinary income rates on their income. Currently, the income is often treated as capital gains, which are subject to lower tax rates.
Also, he wants to end a tax break that allows real estate investors to defer taxation when they exchange property for gains greater than $500,000.
Yes.
Biden wants to send $80 billion to the Internal Revenue Service to fund enhanced enforcement of high earners. The administration believes the enhanced measures to crack down on tax evasion would increase revenue for the government by $700 billion, although some outside experts are skeptical and the Congressional Budget Office -- the accepted scorekeeper -- is unlikely to project that much revenue.
His plan would also require financial institutions to report information on account flows so that earnings from investments and business activity are subject to the type of reporting that wages already are.
Yes* - A little concerned about the reporting half of that.
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Leisher
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The First Biden Term

Post by Leisher »

FDA is going to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.

Are they bad for you? Yep, but so is alcohol, sugar, caffeine, not exercising, processed foods, not getting enough sun/fresh air, etc. What is the next thing our government will tell us we cannot have or we must do?

If you disagree, please explain. Just start with booze. Tell me what the difference is between menthols and Jack Daniels.
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TheCatt
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:48 pm If you disagree, please explain. Just start with booze. Tell me what the difference is between menthols and Jack Daniels.
Cancer vs cirrhosis.

In moderation, alcohol is fine, possibly even good according to some studies. No amount of cigarettes are good or benign.
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:06 pm
Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:48 pm If you disagree, please explain. Just start with booze. Tell me what the difference is between menthols and Jack Daniels.
Cancer vs cirrhosis.

In moderation, alcohol is fine, possibly even good according to some studies. No amount of cigarettes are good or benign.
1) I've posted a study here previously that showed smoking actually does fight dementia.

2) I'm familiar with those studies you reference and counter you with more recent ones that say any alcohol is bad.

3) Nobody has ever had a couple of cigarettes and then killed a family driving home because the nicotine impaired their ability to drive.

To clarify, I really don't have a dog in the race of cigs vs booze, but I do have an issue with the government continuing to control our lives.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:25 pm I've posted a study here previously that showed smoking actually does fight dementia.
OK, but does it fight more than it harms literally everything else in your body?
Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:25 pm Nobody has ever had a couple of cigarettes and then killed a family driving home because the nicotine impaired their ability to drive.
True. Though someone's probably fumbled with a lighter and killed someone in a wreck.

According to a quick google search: Tobacco kills 480k/yr, alcohol only kills 95k/yr. So tobacco is 5 times more deadly.

We tried banning alcohol, and that was clearly beyond the line of what society wanted. Cigarettes are more harmful than alcohol, with fewer benefits, imho
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:28 pm Cigarettes are more harmful than alcohol, with fewer benefits, imho
You're just arguing the difference between being shot in the head or having your throat cut. Both are bad.

My point stands. What will be the next thing they go after, and what can't they justify?
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:00 pm
TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:28 pm Cigarettes are more harmful than alcohol, with fewer benefits, imho
You're just arguing the difference between being shot in the head or having your throat cut. Both are bad.

My point stands. What will be the next thing they go after, and what can't they justify?
No. I drink without issue. The cigarettes I smoked impacted me for years
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:32 pm No. I drink without issue.
Not according to some of the latest studies. You just don't see or feel the damage like you do with smokes.

Also, my point still stands. :D

"Land of the free"
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TheCatt
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:49 pm
TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:32 pm No. I drink without issue.
Not according to some of the latest studies. You just don't see or feel the damage like you do with smokes.

Also, my point still stands. :D
It doesn't. Not everything is black and white. In fact, pretty much everything is shades of grey, unless you're mentally challenged.

Smoking more bad than alcohol.
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:50 pm
Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:49 pm
TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:32 pm No. I drink without issue.
Not according to some of the latest studies. You just don't see or feel the damage like you do with smokes.

Also, my point still stands. :D
It doesn't.
It absolutely does, unless you're mentally challenged. :D

The government has no business banning these things in a "free" society.
TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:50 pm Not everything is black and white. In fact, pretty much everything is shades of grey
Something I say all the time and actually strengthens my point here:
"What will be the next thing they go after, and what can't they justify?"
TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:50 pm Smoking more bad than alcohol.
Depends on what prism you're looking through.

When 480K die every year, it kills primarily the person using the product. They have been warned, but they still do it. It's a choice.

Alcohol also slowly kills you, does long term harm to your body, and gives you the ability to kill others. You want your doctor to have smoked 10 cigarettes or drank 10 beers before he operates on you?

See? Grey area. One is not better or worse than the other. Ban 'em both!
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GORDON
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Post by GORDON »

Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:05 pm The government has no business banning these things in a "free" society.
The second the government assumed responsibility for health care, it absolutely gained a vested interest in what people were putting into their bodies. "Using taxpayer money means that your neighbors now have the right to tell you what you can and can't do!" was called a slippery slope argument, but here we are on it, banning the cigarettes that the black community likes to smoke.

Trump would have been eviscerated over that last point.

Vaping still looks stupid though, FYI.
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TheCatt
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:05 pm The government has no business banning these things in a "free" society.
So heroin should be legal?
Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:05 pm When 480K die every year, it kills primarily the person using the product. They have been warned, but they still do it. It's a choice.
Except for the children around those smokers. And alcohol doesn't have second hand smoke! 😀
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

GORDON wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:14 pm The second the government assumed responsibility for health care, it absolutely gained a vested interest in what people were putting into their bodies.
But we have been expressly told that will NOT happen!!
GORDON wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:14 pm banning the cigarettes that the black community likes to smoke.
I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that.
GORDON wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:14 pm Vaping still looks stupid though, FYI.
Yep.
TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:53 pm So heroin should be legal?
Honestly? Probably. I would prefer it not be because unlike smoking and alcohol, it can kill you the first time you try it. Plus, you're far more likely to hurt others on it. But if we're going to claim to truly be free, shouldn't it be legal? (And this is probably a whole other conversation for another thread.)
TheCatt wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:53 pm Except for the children around those smokers. And alcohol doesn't have second hand smoke!
People exposed to the smoke can suffer negative effects to their health, but at a dramatically reduced rate. Black eyes are more painful. :D

In other Biden news:

CBS News says 85% of viewers approved of his address.

However,
Of those who watched Biden's address, 54% identified as Democrats, 18% as Republican and 25% as independent, according to CBS News.
Still good, but not as good as the headline suggests. It should also be noted that Trump had similar results because apparently the trend is that Ds don't watch Rs speak and vice versa.

All of this division and refusing to listen to the other side is what educated, intelligent, tolerant people do and will end well!
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:00 pm People exposed to the smoke can suffer negative effects to their health, but at a dramatically reduced rate.
US estimates 41k per year die due to 2nd hand smoke. That's almost half of all alcohol deaths.
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:44 am
Leisher wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:00 pm People exposed to the smoke can suffer negative effects to their health, but at a dramatically reduced rate.
US estimates 41k per year die due to 2nd hand smoke. That's almost half of all alcohol deaths.
Fascinating that the debate about 2nd hand smoke went from "not a single proven death" to 41K annually.

Is this the same US that says if a gun is fired within a mile of a school, it's a school shooting? The same US who says if someone was in hospice with incurable cancer and dies, as long as they had covid present in their system, covid is ruled the cause of death? The same US who is now in the health care business and has every incentive to fudge numbers to justify whatever legislation they want to enact to lower their costs?

Listen, smoke is smoke. It's bad, mmk? So is pickling yourself or driving the wrong way down a highway because you're three sheets to the wind.

More importantly, it continues to prove my point that this is not a great move by the government because today they're justifying certain tobacco products, but tomorrow they're going to justify something else. THAT is the issue here.

Ban smoking from any public place or even within 100 yards of any public place, except cigar bars. Sure! Make it so you can only smoke at home or in your car. Sure! Make it a crime to smoke in a home or car without windows open if others are present. Sure!

And honestly, I can justify banning menthols because they apparently crystalize shit in your lungs and do more damage than regular cigarettes. However, banning flavored cigars? WTF is that about except seeing if they can get away with it? Let's say this ban was booze related, they are essentially banning all the premixed and flavored Jack Daniels products like Blackjack Cola, but Jack Daniels is perfectly acceptable? Where's the logic?

Another thing that would be crazy easy to justify is free climbing. Ban that shit! Life isn't a video game. You don't respawn. One mistake and you die or suffer life altering injuries that the government is going to have to pay for. And it's only a matter of time before every single person makes that mistake. Many of the best free climbers in the world seem to meet their fate via that one mistake. If we're banning one thing that might eventually kill you, why not all?

Also, fun fact: No matter what anyone does or what the government bans, we all die.
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Post by GORDON »

It was determined that anything that isn't good for you is bad, and therefore now all restaurants are Taco Bell.
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

Biden restricting travel from India due to covid.

How long until Ds call him racist for doing so like they did when Trump restricted travel from China for the same thing?

(Both Trump and Biden did the right thing, but both did so far too late.)
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:31 pm Biden restricting travel from India due to covid.
I'm a little surprised we hadn't already done that?
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Post by Leisher »

Afghans who worked with the U.S. are begging for visas to leave.

They know they're going to be killed if they stay.
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The First Biden Term

Post by TheCatt »

Releases first budget.
Biden's plan for fiscal year 2022 calls for $6.01 trillion in spending and $4.17 trillion in revenues, a 36.6% increase from 2019 outlays, before the coronavirus pandemic bumped up spending. It projects a $1.84 trillion deficit, a sharp decrease from the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but up from 2019's $984 billion.
That's going to be a no from me, dog.
Add at Least Four Years of Free Education. The American Families Plan will provide
universal, high-quality preschool to all three- and four- year-olds. It will provide Americans two
years of free community college.
I approve.

I tried to go through more of the proposal, but I need a video game summary of cost of each one.
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