Eat the Rich

[O Really]

I don't think there's enough true and accurate information to determine if there's any significant "improvement at the southern border." The show of threatened cruelty seems to have frightened some away from attempting to follow US asylum law. But "sanity" in that context would be proposing and pushing through Congress meaningful and helpful changes to immigration law. It's not letting ICE Barbie going around cosplaying a wannabe Laura Croft.

[Supsalemgr]

It is all about perception. If the left chooses to believe there is no improvement to the border situation - go for it.

[GoCubsGo]

Maybe provide examples of when Trump has ever in his lifetime brought "sanity" to anything?

Easy. The improvement at the southern border as of today.

Complementary masked Jackboots with Do NOT Travel advisories to the US included for our "allies."

Cubbie's complete denial to reality is noted.

As is yours.

As Foreign Tourists Stay Away, U.S. Could Lose $12.5 Billion This Year, Tourism Group Says
Border detentions and confusion over visas are deterring international visitors, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, and the price tag for their hesitancy could be steep.


US border crossings detain foreign tourists more often
Heightened border scrutiny in 2025 sees more foreign tourists from Germany, Australia, and beyond detained or denied entry at US crossings. Having a visa or ESTA no longer guarantees admission. Tourism has declined sharply. Travelers are urged to maintain complete documents and consistent answers to minimize the risk of detention or rejection.



Detentions of European tourists at US borders spark fears of traveling to America
There have been several incidents of European tourists detained for days and weeks by U.S. officials, leading many to wonder if it is safe to visit America.


US expected a big travel year, but overseas visitors — angered by Trump — are heading elsewhere

[1 CAT FAN]

Aren't you a white guy? Biden was a very white, but he damn sure wasn't energetic.

[Vrede too]

He may have been talking about in Georgia, opposing Ossoff. But if true, that is certainly a telling fact about the quality of Georgia Republicans. Maybe he means no Georgia Republican loon is able to get popular enough to compete against a literate, moderate, capable guy who comes from a family whose tree actually forks. And he may be right. A Republican version of Ossoff probably wouldn't get through primaries because of the "Boebert Effect" (not a majority vote for the looniest, but enough do to force runoff) and a true loony isn't likely to win Georgia anymore. 57% of population live in Atlanta metro area and it's become (gasp) minority white. Race-baiting drooling rednecks now have an uphill battle in what once would have been a slam dunk.

Ah, my bad. Sorry, SoupySales.

Your question still confuses me. Unless he's fed up 38 year old Ossoff's "plan" will be to run for reelection, of course. As O Really has gone into detail on, his "plan" after that will depend on the Senate balance of power. Either way, he'll likely seek to advance his position with committee leaderships and possibly even joining Caucus leadership. Then, he'll seek to advance the issues he's stood for in the 6 years prior, either from a minority or majority position. He's so young that running for Senate Majority Leader or POTUS are possibilities at some point.

Is that what you were asking?

As for his opposition, it's still early. All we know is that EmptyG isn't running. GA is so divided that an establishment RepuQ will be found and wingnuts will jump in. We'll have to see what happens in the primaries. Kelly Loeffler may even give it another try if she isn't too comfortable in PINO's SBA.

[Vrede too]

Maybe provide examples of when Trump has ever in his lifetime brought "sanity" to anything?

Easy. The improvement at the southern border as of today.

Complementary masked Jackboots with Do NOT Travel advisories to the US included for our "allies."

Plus, it's mostly being shut down by the courts. Ironic that SoupySales has such slobbering adoration for professional illegals (InHoman, cosplaying Combat Barbie, AG Bondage).

In reality, nothing will change permanently until there's a CONSTITUTIONAL immigration reform law passed. Then, root causes have to be addressed or nothing changes in the long run - the dysfunction in parts of Latin America chasing the availability of jobs here. Maybe SoupySales remembers how the concept of supply and demand works.

[1 CAT FAN]

Maybe provide examples of when Trump has ever in his lifetime brought "sanity" to anything?

Easy. The improvement at the southern border as of today.

Complementary masked Jackboots with Do NOT Travel advisories to the US included for our "allies."

Plus, it's mostly being shut down by the courts. Ironic that SoupySales has such slobbering adoration for professional illegals (InHoman, cosplaying Combat Barbie, AG Bondage).

In reality, nothing will change permanently until there's a CONSTITUTIONAL immigration reform law passed. Then, root causes have to be addressed or nothing changes in the long run - the dysfunction in parts of Latin America chasing the availability of jobs here. Maybe SoupySales remembers how the concept of supply and demand works.

O Really is safer today in his gated community.

[Vrede too]

Complementary masked Jackboots with Do NOT Travel advisories to the US included for our "allies."

Cubbie's complete denial to reality is noted.

As is yours.

As Foreign Tourists Stay Away, U.S. Could Lose $12.5 Billion This Year, Tourism Group Says
Border detentions and confusion over visas are deterring international visitors, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, and the price tag for their hesitancy could be steep.


US border crossings detain foreign tourists more often
Heightened border scrutiny in 2025 sees more foreign tourists from Germany, Australia, and beyond detained or denied entry at US crossings. Having a visa or ESTA no longer guarantees admission. Tourism has declined sharply. Travelers are urged to maintain complete documents and consistent answers to minimize the risk of detention or rejection.

Detentions of European tourists at US borders spark fears of traveling to America
There have been several incidents of European tourists detained for days and weeks by U.S. officials, leading many to wonder if it is safe to visit America.


US expected a big travel year, but overseas visitors — angered by Trump — are heading elsewhere

PINO is:
A bad neighbor;
Bad for business;
Bad at foreign relations.
Thanks, MAGA.

[Supsalemgr]

He may have been talking about in Georgia, opposing Ossoff. But if true, that is certainly a telling fact about the quality of Georgia Republicans. Maybe he means no Georgia Republican loon is able to get popular enough to compete against a literate, moderate, capable guy who comes from a family whose tree actually forks. And he may be right. A Republican version of Ossoff probably wouldn't get through primaries because of the "Boebert Effect" (not a majority vote for the looniest, but enough do to force runoff) and a true loony isn't likely to win Georgia anymore. 57% of population live in Atlanta metro area and it's become (gasp) minority white. Race-baiting drooling rednecks now have an uphill battle in what once would have been a slam dunk.

Ah, my bad. Sorry, SoupySales.

Your question still confuses me. Unless he's fed up 38 year old Ossoff's "plan" will be to run for reelection, of course. As O Really has gone into detail on, his "plan" after that will depend on the Senate balance of power. Either way, he'll likely seek to advance his position with committee leaderships and possibly even joining Caucus leadership. Then, he'll seek to advance the issues he's stood for in the 6 years prior, either from a minority or majority position. He's so young that running for Senate Majority Leader or POTUS are possibilities at some point.

Is that what you were asking?

As for his opposition, it's still early. All we know is that EmptyG isn't running. GA is so divided that an establishment RepuQ will be found and wingnuts will jump in. We'll have to see what happens in the primaries. Kelly Loeffler may even give it another try if she isn't too comfortable in PINO's SBA.

The fact that Kelly Loeffler is even a possibility states all necessary about the GA GOP.

[Vrede too]

I Asked ChatGPT What Would Happen If Billionaires Paid Taxes at the Same Rate as the Middle Class

Taxes can get you thinking about fairness. For instance, when I’m calculating deductions on my salary and watching a decent chunk go to Uncle Sam, I can’t help but wonder: What if the ultra-wealthy paid the same percentage of their income in taxes that regular people do? ...

What We Need To Think About

After diving into ChatGPT’s analysis, I realized the conversation about billionaire taxes is more complicated than simple rate comparisons. Under current law, wealthy Americans do pay their required taxes. But the system allows their wealth to grow in ways that are largely untaxed, while regular workers pay taxes on every dollar they earn.

The AI concluded that if we could successfully tax billionaires more like middle-class workers, the results would mean hundreds of billions in additional revenue annually and potentially better funding for health, education and climate programs. What’s more, it could have the power to reduce inequality and improve public trust in the tax system.

Maybe the real question isn’t whether billionaires should pay more taxes, but whether our entire approach to taxing work versus wealth makes sense in an economy where most billionaires’ fortunes come from asset appreciation rather than traditional income.

As ChatGPT put it: “The U.S. could significantly reshape its fiscal and social landscape” — if we can figure out how to make it work in practice.

Or, we could Eat the Rich. They've fed off of us long enough.

I’m an Economist: The Real Threat to Social Security Isn’t What You’ve Been Told

... There’s a lot of fear around the future of Social Security, to be sure, but economist Kathryn Ann Edwards believes people aren’t looking at the real culprit.

Edwards emphasizes that, at the end of the day, regardless of the shots fired in a trade war or what happens in the market, your Social Security benefits are based on what you’ve paid into the system. She’s critical of what she views as fear-mongering about Social Security’s long-term viability.

Instead, she says, the biggest threat to Social Security is something most people have likely never considered: stagnant wage growth.

Declining Wage Growth Is a Real Threat to Social Security

... Simply put, because Social Security’s funding is tied to payroll taxes — which are directly linked to earnings — lower wages puts significant strain on the system’s financial health.

Edwards wants people to shift their focus: rather than being fearful that Social Security will “run out” because people are living longer or because the trust fund balance is falling, they should instead direct their anxiety — and calls for action — to the problem of wage stagnation.

At Its Core, Social Security Is More Stable Than You Think ...

Congress, Not Social Security, Bears the Blame

As Edwards explains, the Social Security Administration has been fully transparent with Congress about its projected shortfalls — offering a 45-year heads up and subsequent warnings throughout the 1990s....

Each year, the Social Security trustees submit a report to Congress outlining the long-term financial outlook of the program and providing a full menu of policy options to address any shortfall. Yet instead of acting, Congress has allowed the problem to fester. Somehow, Edwards says, this straightforward and sensible financial warning has been twisted into a misleading narrative: that Social Security is “running out of money.”

“You need to ask yourself, who benefits from convincing you that you don’t deserve a program that is 90 years old and has never missed a benefit?” Edwards says. “It is on Congress. In four decades of inaction, they are the problem — not Social Security.”

What has Congress done instead? The RepuQs and DonOLD just made Social Security LESS secure AND by cutting support for the poor and working classes while cutting taxes for the fatcats, wage stagnation will continue apace. Thanks, MAGA.

[GoCubsGo]

I read the article yesterday, my big take.

From Vrede's first article.

How Wealth Grows vs. How Wages Work
ChatGPT explained that the issue isn’t necessarily the tax rates themselves, but how different types of income get taxed. This is where the system becomes genuinely unfair.

“Billionaires benefit from tax strategies that lower their effective tax burden compared to what ordinary income earners face on wages,” the AI explained. “The current system taxes work more than wealth.”

Here’s what that means in practice: When I get my salary, taxes come out immediately. When a billionaire’s stock portfolio increases in value by millions, they don’t pay taxes on that growth until (or unless) they sell those stocks.

The billionaire types borrow money based on their stock portfolio for whatever reason and generate more write offs.

The ‘Buy-Borrow-Die’ Strategy
ChatGPT broke down something called the “buy-borrow-die” strategy that wealthy people use to minimize taxes. It sounds like financial wizardry because, honestly, it kind of is.

Here’s how it works: Billionaires borrow money against their stock holdings (which isn’t taxed), live off those loans and then pass their assets to heirs largely tax-free when they die. Meanwhile, regular people like me can’t defer taxes on our paychecks or borrow against our retirement accounts without major penalties.

The AI used ProPublica data to illustrate this: “The top 25 billionaires saw their wealth grow by $401 billion from 2014-2018, but paid just $13.6 billion in federal income taxes — an effective rate of 3.4% on wealth growth.”

That 3.4% figure is what really stung. While they’re paying their legal tax obligations on realized income, their actual wealth is growing at a rate that’s taxed far below what middle-class workers pay on their salaries.