Free Republic

Point #1Like a broken record, Republican promotors of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act insist that by raising the 2018 standard deduction for single filers from $6,500 to $12,200, for couples from $13,000 to $24,400, and by lowering selective tax rates, that their plan will usher in a huge tax cut for the middle-class. It, in fact, does no such thing. Whenever challenged with the reality that their proposal will result in a tax increase on many of their constituents, they exclaim, “Yes, but we are doubling the standard deduction!” Yet, not one of them ever mentions that they are,...

According to White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders, “Very few people itemize. I think it’s around 20% of people that actually itemize. Those things will be offset by other tax credits that are part of this plan…”Ms. Sanders would be correct, if she was referring to households earning less than $50,000 per year, a figure which barely skirts the middle-class. However, as you can see in the chart below, 41.7% of households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 itemize. The figure jumps to 58.5% for those earning $75,000 to $100,000, and rises to 78.8% for those earning between $100,000 to $200,000....

Rick Perlstein said it best, “I believe politics is a team sport. That, for awful and unfortunate reasons beyond any of our control, the American system only allows, effectively, for two teams.”Is politics a team sport? The question resurfaced recently when Senator Rand Paul referred to the Graham-Cassidy Health Care Plan as — “Amnesty for Obamacare.” Rand Paul Gives Graham/Cassidy a New Name: 'Amnesty for ObamaCare' - Big League Politics https://t.co/0RN6K9g6TG — Rand Paul (@DrRandPaul) September 19, 2017 When I saw this, I immediately fired off a tweet to Senator Paul stating, “Not again! It's a team sport. Time is...

If you’ve ever been out in the streets protesting anything, you’re an extremist. If you’ve ever assembled peaceably to petition anyone, other than the government for redress of grievances, you’re an extremist. If you can’t handle the First Amendment rights of peaceable assembly and freedom of speech, you don't deserve to be called an American.According to the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law …abridging the freedom of speech, …or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Freedom of speech may be defined as, “the right to express any...

:: Cruz's Dilemma- By: Larry Walker, II -The concept of natural born Citizenship is clear and concise, to anyone with a rational mind. Although some may wish to contort its meaning to fit the presidential candidate of their choice, natural law is incapable of such bias. It takes two parents to produce a child, one male and one female, but you would never know it if your source of information is the lamestream media. By its logic, only one parent is sufficient.Epigrammatically speaking, if both of your parents were U.S. Citizens at the time of your birth, you are without...

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." ~ Benjamin Franklin ::Separating the Wheat from the Chaff:: By: Larry Walker, II ::Each 2016 GOP presidential candidate has proposed to reform the tax code. While seven have offered legitimate proposals, five have advanced theories, which are basically maniacal. Those proposing to abolish, or end, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may be classified as crackpots, because, let's face it, that's never ever going to happen. With taxes of such fundamental concern, it's difficult to take anything else these kooks say seriously. Unless such candidates are willing...

Lower Rates Across The Board:: By: Larry Walker, II ::Here's an excerpt from Donald Trump's Tax Plan which may be found on his official website www.donaldjtrump.com : TAX REFORM THAT WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAINThe Goals of Donald J. Trump's Tax PlanToo few Americans are working, too many jobs have been shipped overseas, and too many middle class families cannot make ends meet. This tax plan directly meets these challenges with four simple goals: Tax relief for middle class Americans: In order to achieve the American dream, let people keep more money in their pockets and increase after-tax wages. Simplify...

Placing Principles before PersonalitiesEvery time in this century we've lowered the tax rates across the board, on employment, on saving, investment and risk-taking in this economy, revenues went up, not down. ~ Jack Kemp:: By: Larry Walker, II ::Dr. Ben Carson doesn’t really have a tax plan at all, yet he’s number 2 in the polls among conservative Republicans. On the other hand, Donald Trump has a very detailed tax reduction plan. In a nutshell, Trump’s plan eliminates taxes on individuals making less than $25,000 and on couples making less than $50,000, lowers the top marginal rate to 25%, just...

Trump’s Dynamic Growth PoliciesBy: Larry Walker, IIIn an October 4, 2015 interview on Meet the Press, Donald Trump was asked which government programs he will cut so his tax reduction plan won’t blow a hole in the deficit.Trump’s first response described how we are going to save a lot in administrative costs by exempting millions of Americans from filing income tax returns. Under his plan, single individuals making under $25,000 and couples making less than $50,000 will not owe any income tax, and will thus not be required to file tax returns. This totally makes sense to me, as I...

Trump Nails It- By: Larry Walker II -Last year our trade deficit with Mexico totaled $53.8 billion, and is projected to end about the same in 2015. When the last three decades are summed, we find that the United States 30-year trade deficit with Mexico amounts to $910.2 billion. Although this has been great for Mexico, it hasn’t been so great for the United States. Looking back over the last 30 years, we find that the United States actually ran trade surpluses with Mexico in 1991 through 1994, and then came the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA - 1994)....

Port of Savannah Maybe Trump Gets It-By: Larry Walker II-This year-to-date, the United States has imported $267.7 billion in goods from China, while exporting just $65.4 billion in goods to China. That amounts to a current year trade deficit of $202.3 billion, in the first seven months alone. Looking back over the last 30 years, the last time our mutual trade comprised any semblance of balance was in 1985. Our trade deficit with China was a mere $6.0 million in 1985 (the last time it would amount to less than a billion dollars). From a trade deficit of just...

Mid-Atlantic Shark Area Swim At Your Own Risk:: By: Larry Walker II ::If you follow the mainstream media, you would think the recent surge in shark attacks off the North Carolina coast is due to unusually warm water, a lack of rain causing increased salinity, or because more people are in the water than ever before, all of which is nonsense.In other words, they don’t have a clue. It might be more helpful to the public if the mainstream media simply stated the obvious and moved on to its next barrage of misinformation.So what is causing the uptick in...

What Marketplace?:: By: Larry Walker II ::“Putting thoughts into words is vastly different from putting truth into words. For words are not truth. As ardently as writers sort and select and polish their words, at the end of the day they are still words. They are not, in themselves, truth...” ~ Lionel FisherThe act of naming the federal government’s unlawfully subsidized website an “Exchange” or “Health Insurance Marketplace” doesn’t make it one. In a true marketplace, when a product or service is inadequate new competitors are allowed to step in and offer something better. But free competition is stifled when...

Paying Your Fair Share:: By: Larry Walker II ::In Tax Simplification, Part II, I expounded on a 2010 Annual Report to Congress, in which National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson focused on the need for tax reform as the No. 1 priority in tax administration. In particular, she focused on the problem of delivering social benefits through the tax system, which complicates the mission of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), resulting in a dual mission of welfare administration as well as revenue collection. But instead of taking heed, the federal government doubled down, adding a new health care excise tax...

Effing the Middle Class:: By: Larry Walker II ::In Part 1, we voiced concern that in constitutional law sense, an excise tax is usually an event tax as opposed to a “state of being” tax, the recent exception to this principle being the "minimum essential coverage" tax under Internal Revenue Code section 5000A as enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148), whereby an indirect tax is imposed on the condition of not having purchased health insurance coverage.This is not the first time in history the United States has forced its middle class to pay a...

What the Individual Mandate means for you and your family:: By: Larry Walker II ::Under the Affordable Care Act, beginning in 2014, State governments, insurers, employers, and selected individuals are supposed to share in the responsibility of providing health insurance coverage. The Act’s shared responsibility provision, also known as the individual mandate, requires you and each member of your family to either: Have minimum essential coverage; or An exemption from the responsibility to have minimum essential coverage; or Pay an Excise Tax. You will report minimum essential coverage, claim an exemption therefrom, or make an excise tax payment when...

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." - James 3:17 (NIV)- By: Larry Walker II - It was back in the late 90's when a good friend of mine, an old Air Force veteran named Dan, relayed to me that he had recently killed a young Black male at a bus stop. When I first heard this I was shocked and in disbelief. Old Dan must have been close to 70 years old at the time, his body riddled with cancer, brain...

Eradicating Identity Politics:: By: Larry Walker II ::Those who say that Republican’s don’t like President Obama’s policies, solely because of the color of his skin, tend to forget that he’s also a member of the Democratic Party. In the United States, we basically have a two-party system comprised of Republicans (25%) and Democrats (31%). Even though the majority of us are independents (42%), who may at times be persuaded either way, we essentially have a two-party system with each side on opposite poles on just about every issue, foreign and domestic.Generally, Republican voters stand for lower taxes, limited government, and...

It's Perdue vs. Reid:: By: Larry Walker II ::On October 2nd, President Barack Obama correctly uttered, “I am not on the ballot this fall... But make no mistake: these policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them.” True, Obama is 'Not' on the ballot this fall, but he neglected to mention that his left-hand henchman, the one responsible for ramming through Obamacare without any Republican support, for killing more legislation passed by the people's house than any other Senate majority leader in U.S. history, and the second most divisive and hated man in American politics today, Harry Reid...

Useless Idiot- By: Larry Walker II -President Barack Obama has endorsed Congressman Hank Johnson for re-election in the Fourth Congressional District of Georgia.“Congressman Johnson has done an outstanding job,” said President Obama. “Together, we are fighting to restore middle class security and expand opportunity for all Americans. I’ve worked with Congressman Johnson as we’ve extended the security of health care to millions and pulled our economy back from the brink of collapse while protecting consumers and passing historic Wall Street reform. I am proud to stand with Hank and support his re-election.”Congressman Johnson is famous for his on the record...