Thurs 4/30: Shock therapy: We are being cheated in three ways! Follow the money and demand it back.

…wait for it…wait for it….BOOM! There it is!

Headline – “Conservative Republicans say COVID spending must consider growing debt.“

The GOP who gave us a ruinous 2017 tax plan now senses that they’ve wrung as much money for their wealthy donors as they can from the previous “stimulus” bills and it’s time to invoke the the specter of “runaway deficit spending” again. Sen. McConnell casually threatened states and cities with bankruptcy instead of the aid they desperately need, and his compatriots are foreshadowing their plans to destroy safety nets for regular people, like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, to pay for their COVID-19 giveaways to corporations and the rich. Just in time to thwart another stimulus bill aimed at helping us non-millionaires, our election system and the USPS weather this pandemic.

But we know where to find some money…We need to take it back.

Action #1: STOP the GOP’s $170 billion hand-out to the wealthy.

In our 3/31 post, we asked legislators to take back one of the most corrupt aspects of the CARES Act, a $170 billion tax break giveaway for millionaires. Over 80% of this multi-year benefit would go to 43,000 wealthy hedge fund managers and real estate speculators, gifting each of them an average of $1.6 million for 2020 alone. (Details of this boondoggle here.) Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) are now trying to get this handout rescinded, along with 178 groups, including Indivisible.

Continue reading “Thurs 4/30: Shock therapy: We are being cheated in three ways! Follow the money and demand it back.” →

Friday – Bottomless.

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 6: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Quote from https://eand.co/why-is-america-the-worlds-most-uniquely-cruel-society-f67afc5c6b9a

Maybe she’d better hold off on squandering the $78 total on a Costco membership. She may need to save it to offset higher medical bills, or the loss of all the “entitlement” programs Paul Ryan is planning to slash…

The House is expected to vote on a “balanced budget” amendment after they return from recess. It is expected that the amendment would have no chance of passing, since it would need Democratic votes, then ratification by three-fourths of the states in the U.S. However, we should take nothing for granted.

(Wapo) “A balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution would require that every year the federal budget would have to be balanced, no matter what: no borrowing, not a dollar more spent than the government receives in taxes. It’s one of the worst ideas anyone in Washington ever had, but it’s particularly absurd coming from the GOP.” Continue reading “Friday – Bottomless.” →

From Indivisible National – (1) action for today.

(From National Indivisible)

What to expect when Congress gets back in January

Congress will have a full plate when it gets back to DC. The Senate is expected to return on January 3, and the House is expected to return January 8. In addition to seating Doug Jones, they will immediately need to turn again to funding the government. New issues, like “welfare reform” and infrastructure will start to emerge as well. Here’s what we know will happen and what could happen.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN:

CONGRESS WILL HAVE TO FUND THE GOVERNMENT AGAIN.

Congress kicked the can of funding the government down the road by less than a month, until January 19. That means that the issue of keeping the lights on will be one of the first orders of business, along with other issues that have come to be wrapped up in government funding, like CHIP, surveillance, and disaster aid.

DEMOCRATS HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO DO THE RIGHT THING ON DREAM.

Even though using their considerable leverage on the funding bill to protect Dreamers was Senator Schumer’s idea, too many Democrats let that opportunity pass them by when the moment came. (Find out whether your Democratic Senator was a Dream Hero or a Dream Killer here.) With an average of 122 Dreamers losing their protection from deportation everyday, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi must follow through on using their leverage on funding the government as they promised they would to stand with Dreamers.

(Indivisible Ventura: Senator Feinstein almost reneged on her promise. Your calls made her stand up. Never underestimate the power of calling your Democratic legislators. Start revving up her courage and willpower starting today! Use this short script below and give her a “welcome back” call.) Continue reading “From Indivisible National – (1) action for today.” →

Clean Dream Act. Dec. 22nd.

Hey @SenCortezMasto, @SenSchumer, @SenFeinstein – we need your commitment.

We need your commitment that you will withhold your vote from any spending bill that does not include a #DreamActNow!

We came to your offices today. We need a #DreamActNow! pic.twitter.com/Qh0YEQdp4x

— United We Dream (#DreamActNow: 478-488-8059) (@UNITEDWEDREAM) December 18, 2017

Yesterday, we talked about Paul Ryan’s call for more tax-paying citizens and how he forgot to mention that 800,000 pre-citizens already dwell peacefully with us, paying taxes and starting businesses. The loss of these Dreamers would be a such a huge hit to our economy that even the hyper-conservative Koch brothers are concerned.

But GOP legislators, exhausted after passing their masterpiece of looting and pillaging, want to go home with their families to celebrate, while 1,000 people lose their legal status every week.

Here are the Dream Heroes, that have already taken the pledge to vote ‘NO” on any Continuing Resolution (CR) that doesn’t include a clean DREAM ACT. (Check here for defectors, including our own Senator Dianne Feinstein)

Here are the Dream Killers, who haven’t.

#1 – Take 10 seconds and make this call. Give some courage to our legislators!

Continue reading “Clean Dream Act. Dec. 22nd.” →

Clean Dream Act. Dec. 22nd.

Paul Ryan, in a statement that instantly made us think of Nazis, would like women to make more babies to strengthen our economy.

Of course, the GOP has also voted against every bill that would make pregnancy, childbirth and the raising of children affordable, much less sending them to college without crushing debt. Just yesterday, Ryan and his ilk passed the #TrumpTaxScam, a bill that prioritizes corporations, which cannot have children, over everyday citizens who can but can’t afford to, while setting the stage for the destruction of our safety net that will harm children as well as senior citizens.

So, instead of looking to the Nazis for economic answers, we have an immediate solution based on own American traditions… Immigration.

Let’s start now with the DACA/Dreamers, almost 800,000 already-grown people brought here by their parents as children, already educated in American schools, already fluent in English, already going to school, buying homes, in our military and hospitals, starting businesses, and paying taxes. Exactly what Paul Ryan says we need.

The alternative to allowing our racism and xenophobia triumph is a huge hit to our economy. So, if you know people who are unable to see the morality of helping the DACA kids, tell to support them for the economy. God, even the Koch brothers are saying we should do this. Hell has officially frozen over and it’s hosting skating parties.

The push for a clean Dream Act by Dec. 22nd continues!

#1 – Take 10 seconds and make this call

Continue reading “Clean Dream Act. Dec. 22nd.” →

#CorkerKickback – A Holiday gift to Trump and more than a quarter of all GOP Senators! Last Day! Go nuts!

The House is scheduled to vote today; the Senate tomorrow.

Amongst all the other provisions transferring wealth from the poor and middle class to the wealthy and corporations, is a last minute giveaway to the richest, not only to their wealthy donors but an early Christmas gift to President “I’m very greedy” Trump and themselves too.

“According to an analysis of federal records by the International Business Times (IBT), a “special provision” buried in the 500-page Republican tax bill—which has come to be known as the #CorkerKickback—could amount to a combined $14 million annual income boost for “more than a quarter of all GOP senators.” (CommonDreams)

As IBT reports:

In all, 14 Republican senators (see list below) hold financial interests in 26 income-generating real-estate partnerships—worth as much as $105 million in total. Those holdings together produced between $2.4 million and $14.1 million in rent and interest income in 2016, according to federal records.

IBT first reported on the tax carve-out, which allows investors in “pass-through” entities, including real-estate partnerships such as LLCs and LPs, with few employees to deduct part of their income that passes through those partnerships.

Here’s who gains… Orrin Hatch, who wrote the provision, not surprisingly, one of it’s beneficiaries.

screen_shot_2017-12-19_at_8.02.24_am

$14 million dollars! Now that’s a nice stocking stuffer!

Hey…let’s leave them a lump of coal instead, since they seem to like it so much!

#1 – Basic Call: Click here.

Do this even if you have a Democrat for a Representative and/or Senator, it matters. If calling seems to take too much time, try these tips to make calling faster. If calling makes you nervous, read here about how to make it easier.

#2 – Want some info on your particular legislator’s position? Click here.

OK, now pick one of these options and pledge to yourself a small block of time to help our country.

Continue reading “#CorkerKickback – A Holiday gift to Trump and more than a quarter of all GOP Senators! Last Day! Go nuts!” →

Things to do on Monday!

Continue calling on the #TrumpTaxScam! It matters!

Yes, it matters. Even if you have a Democrat for a Representative and/or Senator, it matters. If calling seems to take too much time, try these tips to make calling faster. If calling makes you nervous, read here about how to make it easier.

Here’s a partial list of it’s crimes…

The national debt will explode way beyond what the tax cuts could possibly do to generate business. Much will go to foreign investors ($700 BILLION!). Much will be parked away from American soil.
They will destroy Medicare and Social Security to pay for it.
The health insurance market is almost certain to implode next year, BECAUSE of the repeal of the individual mandate. The CBO estimates that 13 million Americans left without health insurance. One illness or injury can push hard-working people into medical bankrupcies. Rural hospitals will close.
The elimination of important local tax deductions, and with it the pressure of deep cuts to education.
A complicated provision was added at the last minute that will provide a multimillion-dollar windfall to real estate investors such as Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Senator Corker, a new “Yes” vote for this scam, will also profit from this. Hmmm… When asked about these blatantly corrupt changes, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) blamed Democrats. “Our Democratic colleagues simply refused to participate in the process,” he said on ABC. “We probably could have made it better if they had.”
The highest rate dropped from 39.5% for those earning over $470,000 to 37% for those earning over $500k for singles and $600K of married couples. Merry Christmas indeed!
The estate tax withholding doubled. The Trump kids will have a very merry holiday indeed.
The looters removed the corporate Alternative Minimum tax, which made it difficult for corporations to reduce their tax bill lower than 21%.
The tax loopholes Trump promised to get rid of are still there, of course.
“Trickle-down” was proven a loser in Kansas. NY City Mayor said in an op-ed “This Tax Bill Is a Trillion-Dollar Blunder” that “It’s pure fantasy to think that the tax bill will lead to significantly higher wages and growth.”
This bill has created more incentives to “shift profits and operations overseas”. “How the Tax Plan Will Send Jobs Overseas – Companies are going to be able to save a ton of money by locating factories abroad.”
Repatriation of American investments back here isn’t going to happen.
Income inequality is going to expand. Welcome to the circumstances preceeding the Great Depression.
This #TrumpTaxScam will be judged as the most regressive tax bill of our generation. Analysts have gone back 50 years to be sure.
More here.

This just in!

The cost of the GOP tax scam can exceed $2 TRILLION dollars!
“The GOP tax bill would cost significantly more if tax cuts that are temporary in the legislation are eventually made permanent, according to two new reports.” Which cuts are those, you wonder? Not the ones for corporations!
The tragic Amtrak derailment in Washington state that took 3 lives has reminded Trump that the government is responsible for infrastructure. But after his “historic tax cut”, we wonder where they’re going to find the cash…

The GOP’s rush for a final Trump Tax Scam vote is truly a last ditch effort.
Doug Jones’ victory in Alabama — powered by a fired up electorate of progressives who are getting out there and working hard — is a sure sign that Americans are ready to reject Republicans’ vision for the country. That is why they’re in a hurry. Plus Trump wants a BIG Christmas gift. From us. Continue reading “Things to do on Monday!” →

Fight! Make their phones ring! Fill their voicemail! Show up at their offices!

Fake Deadlines!

They’re planning on passing this flaming turd on Wednesday afternoon. Their self-imposed and totally artificial deadline of giving Trump a multi-million dollar Christmas present at our expense prevents us, the losers in this game, from getting a complete idea of what’s in store for us. The most important bill we have, that will actually kill people – some of the 13 million who will lose their health insurance as a result of removing the ACA mandate and some who depend on Medicaid and other programs, is still cloaked in secrecy.

They won’t wait for Doug Jones, unlike the courtesy paid to them by Democrats who held off a health care reform vote for the newly elected Scott Brown. (Every good turn done to Mitch McConnell reminds on of the Scorpion and the Turtle story.)

Their game is incredibly cruel and corrupt. https://mobile.twitter.com/IndivisibleTeam/status/941728219887259648

Fake Compromise!

This is all we know so far. They’ve just shuffled the goodies for the rich people’s stockings around a little.

37% top individual rate
21% top corporate rate starting 2018
$10,000 cap on State and Local Tax deduction
20% deduction for “pass-through” corps
Ends corporate AMT, keeps for individuals over $1 million
Double estate tax exemption
Repeals individual health insurance mandate (will d
Raises repatriation rates from Senate bill (likely 8% for non-liquid funds, 15% for cash)
Keeps grad student deduction
Keeps medical expense deduction at 7.5% the next two years
Allows drilling in ANWR
It does NOT include the dark-money-from-churches language because all parts of the bill must have a budgetary effect to prevent opening the process up to Democratic filibuster. Burn!

Real Pain.

Continue reading “Fight! Make their phones ring! Fill their voicemail! Show up at their offices!” →

Join us for the Oppose the Tax Scam Rally at Steve Knight’s Office in Simi Valley!

United, we are sending a clear message to Rep Steve Knight: stand with his constituents and vote NO on the Trump Tax Scam.

We must stand with our friends and neighbors who will suffer from this bill.

Knight cannot steal money from his district like The Grinch, he will be held accountable.

When: Monday, December 18 at 4 PM – 5 PM
Where: 1445 E Los Angeles Ave, Simi Valley, California 93065
Bring: Your voice, your friends, your sign (we have extra signs and masks!).
RSVP and More Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1725122797505997/

Pop Quiz – Will the #TrumpTaxScam destroy the American Public School System?

Take out your #2 pencil and…

A. keep your eyes on your own work.

B. do something to save America’s public education system.

#1. – Finish this sentence: The tax bill’s language that allows college savings accounts for “unborn children” is a…

A. method for responsible future parents to get a 8-9 month jump-start on saving for their little bundle of expenses.

B. method to sneak anti-choice ideology into a tax scam.

Answer: “B”

Future parents can set up a 529 savings account at any time, then transfer it when Junior makes his/her way into the world.

“This is a back-door attempt to establish personhood from the moment of conception,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) . “What’s next, giving a Social Security number to a zygote?”

#2. – Will the loss or restriction of the SALT deduction hurt public schools?

A. The loss of the SALT deduction would apply significant pressure on states and municipalities to reduce taxes in order to offset the increases in federal taxes paid by their constituents.

B. What? What the heck is SALT?

Answer: “A”

Education funding is an enormous local and state expenditure, and it would have to be cut in order to provide any relief to tax payers who lost all or part of their SALT deduction.

“There is something incredibly perverse about putting pressure on states and municipalities to cut taxes in order to make up for a federal tax bill that overwhelmingly favors the rich and corporations. It is even more perverse to label that as “middle class tax relief” when the outcome will be potentially disastrous for local schools. The vast majority of K-12 school funding in this country still comes from state and local revenues which would no longer be deductible from federal tax burdens.”