The Most Effective Ad for Clinton and Congressional Dem Candidates?
One showing Trump’s plane taking off or landing, and a voice and written message saying: You help pay the salaries of the air traffic controllers who ensure Donald Trump’s safe travel in his private Boeing 747 (or whatever it is). BUT DONALD TRUMP DOES NOT.
Okayyyy. Since you haven’t been living in a cave the last few days—and even if you have been—you’re aware of the news events of the last 48 hours. And of the reaction to them among, say, blue-collar whites in Toledo.
The reactions are three-fold: that Trump was a really awful businessman. And that Trump is the Ultimate Welfare King.
And that the U.S. Tax Code is really, really, really appalling. And that Trump proposes to change the tax code to further increase his and his children’s wealth.*
But, still. With a very effective ad campaign, the Dems could with the Whole Game. So here’s my entry for what would be the coolest ad ever (okay, in a long time):
One showing Trump’s plane taking off or landing, and voice and written message saying: You help pay the salaries of the air traffic controllers who ensure Donald Trump’s safe travel in his private Boeing 747 (or whatever it is). But Donald Trump does not.
The ad should end with: Help end the Citizens United campaign-finance regime. And help force the restructuring of the Tax Code. VOTE DEMOCRATIC FOR SENATE AND HOUSE.
In Ohio: How would Ted Strickland vote on these? And how would Rob Portman vote on them?
In Florida: Ever check out Marco Rubio’s suggestions for changes to the Tax Code—and which way those changes would go?
Etc.
Etc.
Bernie and Elizabeth could accomplish this, I think.
Go. For. It. Dems.
There’s no time like the present to start THE REVOLUTION.
____
*I’ve been pleading with Clinton for many months now here at AB to campaign intensely on the specifics of Trump’s tax plan. She’s finally doing that, thanks to the NYT’s weekend revelation.
Isn’t that what G.A. landing fees are for?
No, I was pretty sure that those are to pay for maintenance at the airports and are levied by the local government agency that operates the respective airport, so I just googled it, and I was right:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=g.a..%20landing%20fees
It seems that Sec. Clinton used the same bit of the tax code that Trump did.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-02/clinton-campaign-admits-hillary-used-same-tax-avoidance-scheme-trump
Yeah, pretty embarrassing. She took 1% as much of this as did Trump and was still paying some taxes as we know because she and Bill have released something like 39 years worth of their taxes, while Trump has released zero, again in contrast to every presidential candidate in the last 40 years, including Richard Nixon while he was being audited and under investigation for Watergate.
Furthermore, he has blatantly lied about why he has not released his taxes, claiming that it is because he is under audit, which fact has not even been verified by the IRS, but in fact we know that does not prevent someone from releasing their taxes (see Nixon above), not to mention that even if he is being audited there are certainly plenty of years for which he id not being audited, so he could release those even based on his phony lying excuse, but he is not.
Deal with it, Warren.
Oh this is really rich. Just read it on daily kos, so maybe needs a double check, but apparently this story about Hillary using the same tax dodge Trump did is phony baloney, of course blared all over the right wing social and other media. What she and Bill took in 2015 was a long term loss from the previous year of indeed about $700,000, but this netted hem a whopping $3,000 deduction on their taxes, and they paid over $3.3 million in 2015.
Sorry, Warren, you fell for a load of bs. Be miore careful next time before you shoot off your mouth.
“Just read it on daily kos”
Thats some funny shit right there.
Might sell to low fact, sold to fallacies democrats who are sucked in by neolib and their war mongering scams.
Most of DoT run “air ways” are funded by skim off fees and surcharges from tix, landing fees, and gas taxes.
Clinton always paid by taxpayers and/or taxpayer bailed out wall st bankersters who sunk the economy.
Trump’s plane pays landing fees and surcharges that mostly keep the ATC trust fund keeping the “system” running.
Avoiding taxes that blow up Arab kids is a sign of high morality!
Surcharges are charged to various air transport activities that fund most of the facilities, operations and maintenance. Almost no “general revenue” taxes support air transport.
But Obama and if she could Clinton use and your tax dollars to fly F-15’s etc. at $60000/ flight hour to kill the wrong people in Syria.
If you worry how taxes are spent look at the $4000B wasted on war since 2003 that peaked under Obama/Clinton.
The media sin is ignoring the wreckage US policy is making of the Muslim world.
So she had a $700k loss, but only managed a $3k deduction for it? That does not sound very smart to me.
The way I see it, if one’s tax records are so revealing, then are tax system is far too intrusive.
So the way you see it, there should be no allowable deductions, credits, or loopholes of any kind in the tax code.
Don’t try to become a lobbyist, Warren. You won’t last long in that profession.
Islm,
You go on and on about NRC as warmonger, but what do you say about Trump’s remarks that have suggested he would nuke al Raqqa or Mosul?
“So the way you see it, there should be no allowable deductions, credits, or loopholes of any kind in the tax code.”
Right. That’s the beauty of a consumption tax.
Warren a consumption tax that replaces the income tax is a 100% loophole for capital.
Its like Trumps boasts that he will eliminate the carried interest loophole at 23%. But then tax all pass through entities at 15%. It would be trivial to organize any hedge fund into an LLP. In fact I suspect most are ALREADY structured as pass through entities.
“No income tax, no income tax cheaters. No estate tax, no gaming of family trusts. No tax on capital no problem”.
Just replace it all by a tax on consumption and everything is okay. Plus most proposals to actually implement consumption taxes end up taxing things like VA health care benefits. And once you start exempting this and that the whole thing turns out as ridden by loopholes and corruption as the existing system.
But that is the beauty of a two word slogan I guess.
Bruce,
Very few services are subject to sales taxes. Looking at my own State (Virginia), doctor’s visits are not taxed. Drugs are not taxed. Services, in general, are not subject to sales tax.
But if you don’t like those exemptions, and your objection is quite reasonable, then we can provide everyone a basic stipend to cover the taxes on such things.
But I think that is far preferable to the current system, in which the government gets to decide which of your donations are tax deductible and which are not though the granting (or delaying) of 501(c)(3) status, and in which the government keeps records of all your charitable contributions.
With a sales tax or a VAT, if I give my money to some other entity, then I do not get taxed on it because I don’t buy stuff with it.
I really do not understand your objection about “loophole for capital.” With a sales or value-added tax, it does not matter whether income comes from interest, capital gain, or wages.
Warren you are forgetting that you are talking to the Clinton zombies who do Not want to see or make any meaningful change . They will fight you and ridicule and insult you before they will listen with any rationality or merit to your arguments. Why do you think we saw the rise of rebellion in the DNC with Sanders and the rise in rebellion in the RNC with Trumpism? If HRC gets elected history will look back at the 2016 election as greatest systemic failures of America.
William:
If HRC is elected, it will be because:
– Trump is an idiot and can not put a creditable campaign together without alienating others.
– The Repubs failed to acknowledge him as a credible candidate and let him have safe passage through the primaries.
– Not enough people fell for his daily lies and double standards.
– HRC is smarter than Trump is.
– The Repubs have again failed to label HRC with anything credible the same as they failed with Bill Clinton. $Millions were wasted then with Ken Starr’s investigation the same as the House with HRC’s investigation.
Your argument is weak and without merit.
Thanks for your support, William, but I will stick to facts, reason, and logic, and not go to ad hominem arguments.
William,
I hope you and Warren realize that Bernie Sanders most definitely does not remotely support any sort of flat tax, whether consumption or income. A flat consumption tax is highly regressive, redistributing towards high income people and even more so to the wealthy, as Bruce pointed.out.
Amazingly enough, to please a libertarian friend of mine, I went to a Club for Growth conference in Washington quite some time ago. It was funny to learn why no flat tax proposal will ever pass Congress. There are those who want what you want, a flat consumption tax, and those who want a flat income tax (not as regressive), and the twain simply will not give way to one or the other.
BTW, I would like to see some serious tax simplification. Our tax code is riddled with ridiculous numbers of loopholes and nonsense, but I am not for going all the way to either kind of flat tax. Just too regressive. As it is, in his second term, Ronald Reagan in 1986 did carry out a substantial tax simplification with bipartisan support, although of course immediately afterwards the special interests were back at it putting their favorite decorations on the tax code Christmas tree. George W. Bush had the same opportunity after his reelection in 20014, but instead of pursuing this mostly worthy effort, he chose instead to blow his “electoral capital” on a totally lame brained effort to partially privatize Social Security, which went exactly nowhere. The more people heard about it, the less they liked it, and for good reason.
Anyway, all this talk of flat taxes of any sort in this election season is a total waste of time and a joke. Neither candidate is heading anywhere in that direction, with Trump wanting to have more tax breaks for the super wealthy in particular. He really wants to make that neither he nor any member of his family ever has to pay any tax ever again.
There is no reason we cannot have the discussion.
W. was reelected in 2004, not 2014. Sorry.
Rosser what ever happened to the progressive tax that says the more you make, the more you pay. No loopholes, no gimmicks. What about that? The way I see things if you choose to remain stuck inside the box of free traders reforming tax will not matter so much. We need to become a more competitive society of fair trade and capitalism that works for all citizens. Becoming more socialistic as a greater debtor nation will not put more people back to work. Just look at the Hong Kong business model of low corporate taxes with much less regulation to see what works and doesn’t work. We will only have one chance to get this right as we as a nation are fastly approaching $20T mark in debt. We will loose our world reserve currency status in the IMF I believe if HRC gets elected then we can no longer print our way out of our economy collapsing bubbles …What you say?
Try be fair, William, it really sucks to be a working stiff in Hong Kong.
Sorry — TO be fair…
Warren your argument is weak because they you want to use Clinton facts. What about Trump facts. Who’s facts are right or wrong will depend on what values you have, believe and share. I just happen to believe that a more socialistic government that up holds more of the same policies will not improve our standing nor my standing in the US or as a citizen.