US Politics, April 2024: "Are You Better Off Today Than You Were <Checks Notes> Four Years Ago?"

One part of the Trump tax bill I never saw fully explored: In addition to removing the SALT deduction and lowering the mortgage deduction cap, I think it raised the standard deduction.

Which should have reduced incentives for people to donate to charities and (yes) religious organizations.

But did that happen?

(Although thr mortgage thing was a partisan fuck you that hit me hard, on balance it wasn't bad policy)

xp that happened to us - bought our house in 2015 so we had a year or two of enjoying the SALT benefits before all that blue state middle fingering happened. It was hilarious to me because our republican congressman even took heat for voting for it.

The increase in the standard deduction did lessen the blow for some people. It’s now almost $28000 for married filing jointly. That said, it’s really easy for a family in the northeast or California to go over that in state and local taxes alone. Eg two experienced teachers making about $100k each could be paying around $12,000 in total state income tax and could easily have 18000 in property taxes on a small house. They can only deduct 10k out of that 30. Maybe they have 15k in mortgage interest and made 3000 in charitable contributions. That’s about equal to the standard deduction, they can deduct 28k. Under the old system they could deduct 48k. So you have to assume they’re losing thousands of dollars a year that they would have gotten in their rebates.

Fwiw lowering the salt cap also hurt a lot of rich homeowners in Texas because even though they pay not state income tax they pay surprisingly high property taxes.

Shame.

96% of a SALT cap repeal goes to the top 20%

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-dems-can-get-out-of-the-salt-mess-and-save-1-trillion-dollars/

... 18000 in property taxes on a small house ...

This would not be small house in LA/SF/SD, unless it's in a really desirable area. That's a $1.5M house, at least.

In my area that would be common for a $750k house, and if it was bought ten years ago it was probably bought for a lot less than that.

Top 20% is really not rich for a family, especially if you’re talking about nationally but the people live in a high COL state.

Fwiw lowering the salt cap also hurt a lot of rich homeowners in Texas because even though they pay not state income tax they pay surprisingly high property taxes.

It'll probably never actually happen, but Dan Patrick and other prominent Texas Republicans have floated the idea of abolishing (or at least greatly reducing) the property because of (quiet part) shit like that.

<PROPERTY TAX>

“only the little people pay taxes” — some .01% tax cheat

Top 20% is really not rich for a family

You’re adding ‘rich’ but it’s literally the upper quintile of incomes. The very least you can call that is “upper middle class” and beyond that 96% like 80% would go to the top 5%.

It was one of the most insane issue for liberals like Pelosi to obsess over. The only way to go further is to tie it to subsidies for Sub Zero refrigerators or something.

The salt cap decrease had a much smaller impact on CA than on like NJ or CT. One upside of its suicidal approach to property tax.

Jury selection begins today in Trump hush money trial, meanwhile in Trump documents case being presided over by Trump appointed federal judge Aileen Cannon-

Special counsel Smith urges Judge Cannon to reject Trump's latest bid for delay in classified docs case. "Each time the Court sets a new deadline in this case...the defendants reflexively ask for an adjournment. That must stop."

Good morning!

Here we go: Judge Merchan has entered the courtroom.

“Good morning, Mr Trump,” Merchan said after the lawyers introduced themselves.

— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) April 15, 2024

By all accounts jury selection could take days to weeks. Does Don-Don have to be there the whole time?

As a criminal defendant, Trump is required to attend proceedings each day of the trial unless he applies for a waiver.

But does that include jury selection?

It's part of the trial. Why would it be excluded?

The American people must decide…

again

kind of funny dynamic going on with things like this, the way rightwing media covers the Jan 6th stuff has apparently convinced the hardcore Trumpers that all these things are now traps laid by the FBI

A totally pathetic turnout of pro-Trump demonstrators outside the NYC courtroom. pic.twitter.com/aQrrdlR8cB

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 15, 2024

lmao @ Google It

Apparently Trump stock (literal, not figurative) is already down another 16% today. Buy on the dip!

As someone who was almost seated on a murder trial last week (no joke, check the jury duty thread on here), I can very much confirm that a defendant does have to be there for jury selection.

yeah but he was the preznit!

lol so he has to sit there and stew. I love it.

How is he going to stop himself from attacking individual jurors?

It would probably benefit him to cause a mistrial
More delays

its a pretty funny situation because obviously he needs to be out there campaigning but he can't because finding people impartial to him is nearly impossible

it's not stopping him from denouncing the judge.

oh shit that guy with the huge fucking crucifix around his neck is a massive Trad Cath anti-Semite who tried marching with pro-Gaza protestors (and was rightly shunned by them).

its a pretty funny situation because obviously he needs to be out there campaigning but he can't because finding people impartial to him is nearly impossible

I thought the more campaigning he does in-person, the worse he has been polling

haha I wouldn't doubt it!

He's being widely ridiculed for his speech at/about Gettysburg, which has the vibe of an eighth-grader bullshitting their way through after reading exactly none of the material.

President Trump recounts Gettysburg as only he can. pic.twitter.com/dYW9a9PY5h

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 15, 2024

The audience laughter reminds me of when I watched the later desultory Zucker-Abraham-Zucker movies where I laughed because the scene coded as funny or because it's a ZAZ film and I'm supposed to laugh.

They're laughing because they don't give a shit, either.

the people at these rallies truly do not give a shit about the content, only the vibes

Alfred otm

Wait, was Robert E. Lee cancelled?

yah, he was dropped from his label. and he lost his under armour endorsement deal.

JUST IN: Prosecutors plan to ask for Trump to be held in contempt for attacking witnesses.

Earlier:https://t.co/Ts09OPjp9T pic.twitter.com/Rpb2RscJMK

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 15, 2024

xpost traded off of many Madden teams

Gettysburg was a battle of contrasts.

Prosecutor wants Trump to delete the posts on Truth Social — Apr 10 repost on Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, another post on Daniels and another post on Cohen — and be told that further violations will result in jail time.

— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) April 15, 2024

Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time!

Trump: "In the words of General Robert E. Lee, kiss my grits."

never fight uphill me boys

Looks like things are going to get … even more interesting, I suppose.

Hopefully we’re on our way to things getting boring.

The worst thing for this country ever was that the leading Confederates were not executed

(I know that was an extremely basic statement to make.)