Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Israel is using food as a weapon of war. Unforgivable.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

People are complicated. Love is not.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

It looks like winning debates is a black job!

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Repub Venality Open Thread: Paul Ryan Is Not A Serious Person…

Repub Venality Open Thread: Paul Ryan Is Not A Serious Person…

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But he’s very much a serious threat to those of us not in the top 0.1%…

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183Comments

  1. 1.

    lollipopguild

    I really have to wonder if Ryan is not an alien or a robot. There is not a human being in that body of his.

  2. 2.

    Corner Stone

    Ryan feels pretty sure he can do and get away with anything. I can’t say there’s any info to argue with him on this.

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    We’re going to need to clawback all of Ryan’s wealth. Or make it so that he has no access to any of it.

  7. 7.

    jl

    I cannot claim to have any idea what is going on in Ryan’s head. Nuts? Lunatic fanatic? Ruthless swindler who will risk ruin for his own party to please his paymasters one last time before he retires to lavish wingnut welfare? For a while before Christmas, I thought McConnell would warn him off his vicious and lunatic crusade. But looks like not.

    It’s like Ryan wants to produce Democratic attack ads himself. Need to give Ryan’s BS maximum publicity every time he gaffes out some of his dishonest BS on ‘reforming’ social insurance, along with a brutal debunking.

    Edit: OTOH, if this supposedly super bright policy wonk thinks he can make the dumb shit he types reliably disappear on the internet by ‘deleting’, maybe I forgot ‘stupid’ in the list of possible explanations. Anyway, go Paul go. You be you, lit’ buddy!

  8. 8.

    debbie

    Finding Fulfillment? One percent at the expense of the other 99? I just don’t understand how people can acquire the sort of sociopathy to think a thing like this would be a success.

  10. 10.

    Peking Man

    Before the 1957 Canadian federal election the Liberal government raised the old age pension by $6 per month. The Conservatives under John Diefenbaker mocked the Liberals as the “Six Buck Boys”. So 60 years ago $1.50 per week was a derisory amount. I guess Ryan is now the Buck Fifty Boy

  11. 11.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    No doubt Paul will attend mass tomorrow, sit where he’s sure to be noticed, nod sagely, furrow his brow, and present that stupid tight-lipped grin to give the illusion of being an all-around stellar man.

    Might even duck into a soup kitchen to wash an already-pristine pot. Gotta look the part of a man of god and all.

    What a sham.

  12. 12.

    jl

    @debbie: Ryan is just seeking his bliss, trillions in government give aways for the super rich, and use that as an excuse to wipe out any hope of a decent life for ‘lesser’ people, because he can cage a few hundred billion that way.

  13. 13.

    Ruckus

    I was looking forward to a, if not robust retirement, at least not one of utter desperation.
    I wonder how the millions who voted for the republicans to do this to them will like it when they find out about the reforms of SS, Medicare, SSDI, the VA, and all other programs that a lot of those millions use? I know how I feel about it. I know what I’d like to do about it.

    But I can’t say it out loud or write it down.

  14. 14.

    jl

    @Citizen_X:

    ‘ “Fulfillment” makes it sound like Ryan is marketing some mandatory euthanasia program. ‘

    I wonder if enough of us could masquerade as sincere GOPers concerned about reform, we could persuade Ryan to make an infomercial on his reform ideas. With a carefully selected audience to ooh and ahh and cheer, with demos and powerpoint presentations. That would be a hoot.

    Edit: Ryan could demo a patented Ronko-matic Medicaid Shredder, and show how putting grandma through it and shoving her back into the families house, with dementia, would maximize Freedom. Which obviously outweighs medical needs of old sick grandma that the family cannot cope with, nor pay for out of their own pocket.

  16. 16.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @jl: I cannot claim to have any idea what is going on in Ryan’s head. Nuts? Lunatic fanatic? Ruthless swindler who will risk ruin for his own party to please his paymasters one last time before he retires to lavish wingnut welfare?

    Yes. Mike Rogers’ evergreen observation:

    “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.”
    [Kung Fu Monkey — Ephemera, blog post, March 19, 2009]”

    My theory: He’s counting on the sugar-high of the tax cut, gerrymandering and Koch/Mercer/et al money to hold the House for them, then he has two years to ignore Meuller and gut the social safety net. Dems need to find every word he’s ever said about entitlement reform on video and nationalize him like they’re going to try to do with Pelosi

  18. 18.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Tax March‏Verified account @ taxmarch
    After @ SpeakerRyan kindly tweeted exactly how much the #TrumpTax helps someone in the middle class, we want to make sure you also know how much others are benefiting. 1/

    Exxon: 5.9 billion. Pfizer: 11 billion. 11 fucking billion dollars

    I can’t find it now, but somebody did the math to calculate this woman share of the increasing national debt (remember the debt?) over the length of her short-lived tax cut. I think it works out to $400 a year.

  20. 20.

    jl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    ” the sugar-high of the tax cut ”

    Early signs are that the GOP tax cut will do NOT ONE DAMN THING (excuse caps) that they claim it will. Still early, but if current signs are good predictors, the tax scam will be a world history policy disaster from every viewpoint, including the GOPs. Only question will be if the consequences arrive in time for a GOP wipe out in 2018. Need to check in around July this year to get better picture. But early signs are not even a sugar high, unless you are already richer than Jehovah.

  21. 21.

    Ruckus

    @Ruckus:
    Actually he’s a pathetic fucking little twit who can’t think past stealing the country blind. He is the poster boy (that’s with a little fucking b) for the entire republican party. Those motherfuckers joyously rubbing their hands in glee at the ability to finally fuck over everyone who they imagine has ever gotten ahead of them or actually done anything nice for a fellow human. I don’t think they care that they are fucking themselves as long as they get to fuck everyone else.

  22. 22.

    Lyrebird

    @Ruckus: Yeah, these folks have zero connection to what I consider basic reality, and I wish I knew a solution…

    Am glad that Nancy SMASH! has her eye on the ball, here, and I think more donations to ADAPT might be in order. Their demonstrations saved the day last time around…

  23. 23.

    Kathleen

    @Citizen_X: Rethug rebranding initiative: Freedom To Die Slow Horrible Terrible Death!
    Special #YoMemo shout out to Paul Ryan: #YoMemo so weak Paul Ryan gutted its Medicaid.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Corner Stone:

    When the hell did Peyronie’s Disease become an issue for society?

    Never heard of it and had to Google. Sounds extremely ouchy.

    I did not know it was an issue for society. Dare one request a link?

  25. 25.

    dmsilev

    Paul Ryan was boasting about giving that woman roughly twenty cents a day. I guess we should be thankful it didn’t take the form of a few used cans and bottles for her to redeem the deposit on.

  26. 26.

    oldgold

    Ryan’s tweet captures the essence of “Horse and Sparrow Economics.”

    This economic theory contends if one feeds the horses enough oats, eventually there will be something left behind for the sparrows.

    Horsesh•t!

  27. 27.

    Another Scott

    It would only take that fortunate teacher 4 and a half years to pay for that $350 bottle of wine that Paulie Blue Eyes had with his lobbyist friend in 2011.

    According to this astounding article (with pictures) at Talking Points Memo, Ryan — the leader of the tighten-your-belt, fiscal-austerity crowd — is in the habit of drinking $350-a-bottle wine, specifically Jayer-Gilles 2004 Echezeaux Grand Cru. In fact, Ryan enjoyed two bottles of this fancy Pinor Noir while dining the other night with a pair of conservative economists at Bistro Bis, the swanky Capitol Hill restaurant favored by lobbyists and other expense-account barons.

    Ryan had the misfortune of sitting at the table next to Susan Feinberg, a Rutgers business professor, who didn’t share his nonchalance about calling for draconian budget cuts for the poor and elderly by day and then sipping $350-a-bottle wine by night. Feinberg confronted Ryan after dinner and demanded to know “how he could live with himself.” Confronted by TPM, Ryan did not deny the story, but lamely pleaded ignorance about the cost of the wine. And he was rather ungallant to Ms. Feinberg, whom he called “crazy.”

    If there’s any justice in the world, Ryan ought to get at least as much grief for this as Edwards got. And if I were President Obama’s adviser, I’d suggest that he add $350 wine to that line about Republicans defending corporate jets and hedge-fund fat cats.

    Here’s hoping lots more “crazy” Susan Feinbergs get in Ryan’s face in the remaining days until the November election.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  28. 28.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    This is the sociopath The Village loves to promote.

    Where’s a meteor strike when you need one.

  29. 29.

    trollhattan

    I remember when HW Bush got a ration of shit over being gobsmacked by a supermarket checkout bar code scanner. When’s the last time ZEGS shopped alongside the rabble?

  31. 31.

    jl

    i forgot about it until now, but during my travels over the holidays, a consensus view of the sensible conservative Democrats and GOPerrs in the extended family was that guys like Ryan needed a good… well I won’t go into details, since it is wrong to talk about doing serious physical harm to anyone. For those folks, especially those with less than healthy spouses and in-laws who are scraping by hoping to keep health insurance until medicare eligible, or parents in any kind of long term care that depends on Medicaid, what Ryan is peddling, after the tax scam, is infuriating.

    Ryan, and GOP are dead to them, and should be be politically dead, period. I was surprised at the violence of their emotions. Only exceptions are a few lunatic Trumpsters down near Nunes’ district, who I think are so far gone, they would gladly die in impoverished misery for the cause (they wouldn’t of course, they would howl like stuck pigs and ask the rest of the family to bail them out like they always have before, but they talk like they would).

  35. 35.

    Kathleen

    @jl: I wrote an infomercial for the GOP Shut Up And Die Dystopian Disposal Service, which involved wrapping bodies in blankets and depositing them in abandoned subdivisions. Hosted by Matt Lauer and featuring testimonials from P. Ryan from Janesville, WI, M. McConnell in Lexington, KY and N. Gingrich.

  36. 36.

    Boatboy_srq

    I’m curious what percentile Ryan occupies. Because I can’t help thinking that he’s not in the strata that will benefit most from the new tax “plan,” so unless he’s just trying to keep ahead of that grifting 47% then the only benefit he gets is marrying his kids to folks richer than he is, and getting invited to richer/better people’s parties.

  38. 38.

    encephalopath

    @jl:

    Atrios was making the same point today. The instant there is some indication that economic conditions are going to cause wages to rise, the Fed will raise interest rates and “take away the punchbowl.”

    That what the Fed seems to thing its primary mandate is. Even if it were theoretically possible for a tax cut to heat up the GDP, the Fed would murder the boom in its cradle in the service of protecting investment wealth.

  39. 39.

    BruceFromOhio

    Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.

    Change the names, and this everywhere. Along with the chart showing where the tax cut went. Keep it simple.

  40. 40.

    jl

    @Kathleen: One of my moderate GOP cousins had just finished the Janesville book and was obsessed with it. He had, I think unconsciously, developed a little stand up routine mocking Ryan’s appearances in the book. Which was pretty damn good, IMHO, He should try it out at a local comedy joint.

  43. 43.

    Ruckus

    @jl:
    Well even if it doesn’t do anything other than cut corp taxes for one year, those rich motherfucking assholes get billions. And we all get royally screwed.

  44. 44.

    Boatboy_srq

    @Corner Stone: So, top 5% then. which doesn’t put him in range of the greatest windfall.

    Not saying he’s not well off (hardly that), but his paymasters will do far better. Which goes right back to which son/daughter needs to be married off right and/or which soirees does his latest gift buy him entrance into.

  47. 47.

    jl

    @encephalopath: So far, all the mechanisms that the GOP said would result in higher investment, higher productivity higher wages, are either doing nothing or starting to move in the wrong direction. If the early signs continue, the tax scam will do nothing except make a huge money transfer to the already super rich, and blow up the deficit to much higher levels than predicted.

    We’ll see. Of course, one of the GOP promises was that everything need to boost wages would start happening fast fast fast. But so far real-time stats on capital investment orders show nothing will happen this year.

    Edit: And China’s recent decisions on its currency management indicate that it alone will do enough to stop capital investment inflow even if the Fed does continue dovish interest rate policy.

  48. 48.

    Ruckus

    @Boatboy_srq:
    Do those rich assholes want anything to do with him? Other than making them richer, what use is he? And he’s already made them richer, he’s done his duty to them, they got them their return on their investment. Would that they throw him out with the rest of the trash.

  49. 49.

    jl

    @Ruckus: Ryan is retiring. Maybe that’s a sign that has already happened. Maybe his funders let Ryan know that his work was done in Congress, they wouldn’t need the help of Paul effing Ryan in slashing social insurance. If he wants more dips from the wingnut gravy train, he needs to find a new gig.

  51. 51.

    Josie

    I really despise these people. I am squeezing every penny in order to live on teacher retirement in Texas. The retired teachers here have not gotten a raise in our annuity payments in at least 20 years. This year I will lose $50.00 per month due to the increase in our cost for health insurance on top of the increase in my Medicare payment. I cannot get social security from my late husband’s account because of the offset rule. I am too wealthy, according to the rule, to qualify for his social security. What a joke! Paul Ryan and his cohorts can go fuck themselves, as far as I am concerned.
    Okay, rant over. I feel better.

  52. 52.

    stinger

    @johngcole on twitter:

    I need to have my ass thoroughly kicked for buying Thurston this fucking squeaky toy

    Actually, I think you’re already getting the punishment you deserve.

  53. 53.

    Ruckus

    @jl:
    I’m going to start a new company that employees just him.
    Going to find a nice sand pit where he can dig holes and fill them up. Every fucking day for the rest of his life. I’m going to charge a nickel a person to watch. A dime if you want to piss on him while he digs. I’ll get fucking rich.

  56. 56.

    John Revolta

    Pelosi’s dead-on right. This whole memo business is just some more sleight 0f hand crap to distract attention from what’s really going on.
    If there’s one defining technique of this “administration” it’s the Good Old Gish Gallop- only they’ve elevated it from a mere debate technique to a complete philosophy of government. You just can’t keep up with all the crap they keep shoveling at you, and it’s totally by design.

  57. 57.

    jl

    @John Revolta: Bad faith GOP logorrhea in reverse gear, peddle to metal. We need a word for that. Must be something that expresses it in German, but I don’t know what it is.

  58. 58.

    Ruckus

    @John Revolta:
    I do believe that a lot of the republicans in government actually believe their own bullshit. They may get paid well for shoveling it but they don’t seem to mind the smell at all. They may even like it. And I think they do.

  60. 60.

    Kathleen

    @jl: Have you read the book? It looks interesting. Also, it’s classified as a business book which intrigues me even more. I am adding to my list of books to read.

  62. 62.

    jl

    @Kathleen: No. But I think my cousin acted out all of the parts with Paul Ryan in front of me, with maximum contempt and loathing for him. This post on Ryan today reminded me to get the book.

    Edit: and, since you brought it up, my cousin runs an insurance consulting firm for small business and local government orgs. He said it had a lot of solid business analysis in it. I’m not sure what that means, but perked my interest.

  63. 63.

    debbie

    I was washing dishes after dinner and came close to breaking a few just thinking about Ryan. That he would even think an extra $1.50 per week does any good!

  64. 64.

    SFAW

    @jl:

    Ryan is retiring.

    I’ll believe it when I see it. He’s having too much fun trying to kill the non-wealthy, why would he want to leave that gig?

    Issa “retired” as well. Except that two days or so after he said he wouldn’t run again — likely because his polling numbers were shitty — he unsurprisingly decided to un-retire, and just run in a neighboring CD, one which I imagine is redder than his current one.

    The day any of those motherfuckers speaks truth is not coming anytime soon.

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @SFAW: I think if they lose the House Ryan will be gone by… will he stick around long enough to hand Nancy the gavel?

    I wonder if he would try to paint it as hearing the people’s voice and cash in by Thanksgiving of ’18

  66. 66.

    jl

    @SFAW: Thanks for the info. I guess in a way that is a good sign. These jerks are afraid of running in their longtime home districts. They are being forced to make desperate political decisions that I cannot imagine they are interested in making.

  67. 67.

    Another Scott

    @jl: I haven’t seen confirmation that Ryan is retiring. There were December rumors that he was thinking about it “after 2018”.

    One of the best things we can do is speed that event along, and make it involuntary. We need to beat him, like a drum, not expect that he’ll just go away.

    I kicked in some more to IronStache’s campaign. Here’s hoping he brings in a million or few today.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  68. 68.

    John Revolta

    @Ruckus: Some do, I imagine, but the guys pulling the strings? Nah. I mean, look how fast the deficit just turned back into a nonissue.

  70. 70.

    gene108

    Went to a meet greet at a house for Andy Kim, who seems like a really solid guy to replace the odious Tom MacArthur, who helped design the “healthcare reform bill” in the House last year.

    The American Health Care Act (AHCA) is now in the Senate’s hands, and the stakes of these negotiations are sky-high. A key part of House Republicans’ efforts to resurrect and pass the measure was an amendment offered by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) that would allow states to request a waiver from a number of requirements originally created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010.

    Kim’s a Rhodes Scholar, who had worked as a diplomat, advisor to Gen. Patreus (sp?) in Afghanistan, and as a policy advisor on ISIS in the White House. He’s eschewing corporate donations and going for lots of small donors. He seems like a really sincere guy, who wants to fix the mess Republicans make. And is sacrificing time away from his babies (2.5 year old and a 0.5 year old) to do it.

    A few bucks would help him immensely.

    **************

    This is the first time I have ever gone to something like this. I wasn’t alone. After all the awful news of the past week, it is good to meet people, who want to fight back.

    link

  71. 71.

    debbie

    By the way, has this PA secretary been identified? How do we know Ryan’s not lying? I hope someone brings this up in the next House session.

  72. 72.

    Another Scott

    @debbie: Dunno. Who would replace him on the GOP side? Nobody with any sense wants the job, and there are so many RWNJ factions that they couldn’t unite behind one person. He sort of won by default when Boehner quit, and even then the process dragged out.

    He wouldn’t give up the Speakership and stay in Congress. If he leaves the Speakership, he’s gone.

    Trying to figure out his future after January 2019 is too distracting. ;-) With any luck, and extended effort, we’ll make sure he goes out as a loser.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  74. 74.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    I am old enough to remember, when Obama inherited Bush, Jr’s fiscal year 2009 budget and got blamed for reckless spending by having a $1 trillion deficit, and adding to it with the “pork-u-lus bill” being passed of as some sort of economic stimulus bill.

    And Republicans were outraged by the reckless spending, because they had been chastened by their losses in 2008, and wanted impart what they had learned from their own mistakes in early 00’s.

    To bad Obama didn’t listen and landed back into this mess in 2018.

  78. 78.

    HAL

    There are millions of Americans who will defend Ryan’s comments and accuse anyone who points out what a pittance this tax cut is for most people as out of touch. Any amount helps, and just wait until those corporate tax cuts kick in and we all get great jobs! Suck it snowflakes!! Economic feudalism never looked so good.

  79. 79.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Neera Tanden ?? Retweeted David Nir
    This race is 50-45. We have months to educate folks about what Nunes is doing to law enforcement to cover for Trump. Let’s make sure people from all over this Trump 53% district what Nunes did yesterday.

    Tanden doesn’t link to any poll, but this is interesting. A local reporter on MSNBC today said Nunes has always won by large margins, but that he’s never had a serious challenger. And I’ve read that his district has a huge Hispanic population, OTOH:

    Geoffrey Skelley @ geoffreyvs
    For Dems hoping to take out Devin Nunes in #CA22, let me pour some cold water on that idea:
    -Trump won district by 9.5, Romney by 15
    -Nunes has $3.8 mil COH
    -Best D challenger COH mark is $85k. Money isn’t everything but yeah…

    On the third hand, that challenger is reporting $100K in donations since the MEMO! dropped

    ETA: @debbie: I think the AP article that was the basis for all this– quoting people who are happy with the tax bill– named names.

  80. 80.

    JMG

    Most Americans, no, make that most people anywhere, judge the world only by how it affects themselves. Since I’ve been alive, which is a long time now, every poll on the subject shows most Americans are against the Bill of Rights. Germans condoned genocide because their state of living improved under Hitler (something he was very aware of and probably helped lose WW2 for him). To think we’re any different is pretty arrogant.

  81. 81.

    Corner Stone

    @JMG:

    Germans condoned genocide because their state of living improved under Hitler (something he was very aware of and probably helped lose WW2 for him). To think we’re any different is pretty arrogant.

    I’m sorry. What?

  82. 82.

    SFAW

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I wonder if he would try to paint it as hearing the people’s voice

    I realize the Party of Traitors likes to portray themselves as the Party of Personal Responsibility — yet another lie — but saying anything resembling “hearing the people’s voice” would imply that he gives a shit about anything like that. Since he clearly has not, does not, and will not, I’m a-thinkin’ he’ll do the “I’ve done what I came here to do, and now I’m going to spend more time with my family, in that nice new mansion paid for by donations from the Kochs. Suckers!”

  83. 83.

    celticdragonchick

    I suggest a mail in campaign to Paul Ryan’s office of a literal one dollar bill with two quarters taped to it and note to the effect he can keep his fucking buck fifty raise since he and the Kochs got all the rest of it any-fucking-way. I am going to promote it on teh twitters.

  87. 87.

    japa21

    There is one point people are missing in Ryan’s tweet. Yes, it is ridiculous that he is making a big deal over $1.50 per week. However, if this was such a big tax cut, just think how little this public school teacher must be making if this is all it amounts to and if it is something she is happy to see.

  93. 93.

    jl

    @japa21: I think the tweet from Gus Ironic Colonialist gets at that point. Winder if it will lead to a bread crumb can meme.

    Will tossing bread crumbs at Paul Ryan be a chargeable offense? If not, I hope to see a pic of that soon.

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: repeating myself, but I’d bet a million quatloos that the school secretary is a lifelong conservative, and a couple thousand that her household income is provided by more than a secretary’s paycheck.

  98. 98.

    Credenzal Clearwater Revival

    I’ve got a bad feeling that if the original Saturday Night Massacre was the night before the Super Bowl, it would’ve worked, //Eeyore Grumple Guss

  99. 99.

    jl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Not sure wins of 10 points or less are all that comforting when there have regularly been recent election swings to Dems of over 20. And I am not sure what a Romney victory point spread has to do with the likes of Trump or a clown like Nunes. And even so, a 15 point win loses to a 20 point swing. Maybe that downer tweet is the view of a local news version of Chris Cillizza.

    I think Nunes’ district is winnable, and will contribute to whoever emerges as his opponent. The Central Valley from Sacramento down to Kern Basin is blue or purple now, not red, and I think the blue will spread in 2018

  103. 103.

    jl

    @danielx: The US cannot go bankrupt on a thing even as disastrous as the great 2017 GOP tax heist. Anyone who argues that fiscal constraints caused by the tax scam require cutting social insurance or needed public investment is peddling bullshit in the hope of pulling off more theft from the public good.

  106. 106.

    jl

    @gene108: I’m in, but I’ll send monopoly money. I think there is an old game lying around in a closet here somewhere. I’ll send a Franklin in monopoly money. Will also give me an excuse to ask that the miserable swindler send me back 98 dollars and 50 cents change.

  107. 107.

    stinger

    @japa21: Well, it pays for her Costco membership, which is where she goes to buy supplies for her classroom. Out of her own paycheck.

  109. 109.

    jl

    @Baud: Someone should set up the Paul Ryan Memorial Campaign Crumb Bum Fund that accepts dollar fifty donations, or maybe multiples of dollar fifty donations.

    Edit: hey, wait a minute, BJ Blog can do that. I’ll give a hundred fifty to the BJ Paul Ryan Memorial Campaign Crumb Bum Fund. Cole can bust me if I don’t, I guess. Or he can just claim I bugged out if he gets mad at me. Whatever. Fuckitall, it’s BJ blog anyway.

  112. 112.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: the Iron Stache is having a $1.50 fundraiser, as a matter of fact

    Randy Bryce @ IronStache
    Moments ago, @ PRyan deleted this tweet after we told him just how out of touch he was. Show Paul Ryan what you think of his tax bill. Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.

  113. 113.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    @Baud: I’m sure the Vichy Times will have an editorial blaming progressives for blowing up the deficit.

  116. 116.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @ NatashaBertrand
    ! Big news from @ TIME: “Over the past half year, I have had the privilege to serve as an informal advisor to the staff of the Kremlin,” Page wrote in a 2013 letter.
    Page sent the letter 2 months after meeting with the FBI, who warned him that the Russians were trying to recruit him as an agent with the promises of business opportunities.

  117. 117.

    J R in WV

    @celticdragonchick:

    If a hundred thousand people do as you suggest, that’s $150,000 contribution to Paul Ryan. FUCK NO!~!!!!

    Five pennies maybe, the cost of handling would be about the same as the $0.05 received. But he would deposit it as to do otherwise would be crazy to him. But a buck fifty—- nope – too much money to send to a Nazi.

  118. 118.

    celticdragonchick

    @gene108: If that is a worry, send to his opponent but still give him the same heartfelt letter on what you think about his raise.

  120. 120.

    Another Scott

    @japa21: I noticed that too.

    Presumably she’s getting the extra $1.50 because her withholding changed. But there are plusses and minuses in changing withholding. She might be expecting a refund and that might be smaller come next year.

    Remember when GHWB gave people the option of reducing their withholding to try to bump up his re-election chances in 1992? It didn’t work out too well for him. . I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this “windfall” that many people see is of the same kind.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  121. 121.

    Patricia Kayden

    As a commenter on LGF suggested, we should send
    $1.50 to Ryan’s opponent and a note to Ryan telling him we’ve done so.

  123. 123.

    Brachiator

    @jl:

    but if current signs are good predictors, the tax scam will be a world history policy disaster from every viewpoint, including the GOPs. Only question will be if the consequences arrive in time for a GOP wipe out in 2018.

    No. The GOP will lie about any economic impact, and they will also Obama.

    Most individuals won’t feel the impact until they file their 2018 taxes in 2019.

    And many in the middle class will get modest tax cuts and feel happy.

  125. 125.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @chris: I just caught Nunes telling Baier that Page was being surveilled because of “salacious” information. I kinda have a hunch the congressman doesn’t know what “salacious” means, he’s just heard people use it to talk about the pee tape and maybe thinks it means “suspicious” or “unproven”?

  127. 127.

    chris

    @Another Scott: Didn’t they set this up so that the “little people’s” taxes go up shortly after 2020? So that, you know, the Masters can have it all as is their due.

  129. 129.

    NotMax

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Have heard of or read of at least three diehard Ruspublicans refer to the Steele dossier as “salacious” just within the last 48 hours.

    The fax of talking points to parrot has been disseminated.

  132. 132.

    Brachiator

    @celticdragonchick:

    If a buck fifty a week is still a big thing for her, that says something right there.

    Here is the space that Trump exploits fairly well. Some Democrats focus almost exclusively on how much the tax cuts will help the wealthy.

    But what do they have to offer this woman? A buck fifty may be small change, but maybe she believes, even if unrealistically, that she will get a bigger refund when she files her return. Or maybe she hopes for a wage increase. Or for a better paying job.

    A buck fifty is small. But it’s real.

    I believe that the Democrats are a zillion times better than the Republicans. But they need to go after the GOP better and need a stronger message about what they will do for the average person.

    ETA. Bernie’s stale bs about Wall Street vs Main Street don’t cut it.

  134. 134.

    jl

    @Brachiator: I will throw an IMHO ‘No’ back at you.

    The theory I am operating on is that trends in employment opportunities, provision of public services, and average person’s income growth have not been good enough since the dot com bubble. That, in addition to the financial panic and onset of the Great Recession explains Obama’s victory. I think continued dissatisfaction with the better, but not better enough, trend under Obama piggy backed on white bigotry to elect Trump.

    There is no Trump boom. Even the hyped stock market boom hasn’t outpaced episodes during the Obama administration yet, and that ‘boom’ is mostly juiced from the GOP tax heist. Economic trends that matter to ordinary voters are exactly following those established under Obama, given substantial help from his great appointment of Yellen to Fed Chair. I think merely continuing the type of growth trends under both GW and Obama will not be at all satisfactory to many voters, and given Trump’s dishonest and/or insane promises, may just irritate them more. Recent good trends in labor market have slightly deteriorated under Trump (though we have yet another sign of resurgent robust real wage growth, we will see about that. But every previous one since dotcom bust has petered out).

    I don’t think status quo growth will make the vast majority of the voting population happy. Trumpsters and GOP can say what they want. Average person will see their experience, have their face rubbed in it, every day.

    Trump and GOP promised big stuff, and it isn’t happening. I see a problem for them.

  135. 135.

    Another Scott

    @chris: Yup, that was the plan (to meet the Reconciliation restrictions).

    The Tax Policy Center report on the final bill (8 page .pdf) says:

    [2018] Taxes would decline on average across all income groups. Taxpayers in the bottom quintile (those with income less than $25,000) would see an average tax cut of $60, or 0.4 percent of after-tax income. Taxpayers in the middle income quintile (those with income between about $49,000 and $86,000) would receive an average tax cut of about $900, or 1.6 percent of after-tax income. Taxpayers in the 95th to 99th income percentiles (those with income between about $308,000 and $733,000) would benefit the most as a share of after-tax income, with an average tax cut of about $13,500 or 4.1 percent of after-tax income. Taxpayers in the top 1 percent of the income distribution (those with income more than $733,000) would receive an average cut of $51,000, or 3.4 percent of after-tax income.

    Woo hoo. $900 for those making around the median family income. Of course, if they have high state and local taxes that they used to deduct, well, … Averages can and do hide a lot.

    The vast majority of the dollars went to cuts to corporate taxes, exclusions, exemptions, rapid write-downs, etc., etc., as we know.

    Ryan’s tweet is a distraction.

    We need to keep our eyes on the prize – voting Ryan and the rest of the monsters out of office.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  137. 137.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    “Hi Mary, you need to put that extra buck-fifty in a piggy bank, cause to pay for you tax cut, we’re going to raise the eligibility ages on Medicare and Social Security to 67, then to 70 in 2030. Oh, and we’re cutting federal aid to schools, so your position has been eliminated. I hear Amazon is looking for package sorters at a warehouse only fifty miles from where you live. Good luck, Mary, and thanks again for your support!
    Fondly
    Paul Ryan

  138. 138.

    Brachiator

    @Kathleen:

    Here’s a review from Business Insider you might find interesting

    Thank you SO MUCH for that link to a review of “Janesville.”
    Just what I was looking for. The story also has a link to a video of a talk the author gave about the book. It appears to be long, more than an hour, but I will be watching it later.

  143. 143.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Jonah Goldberg @JonahNRO

    There’s a lot of talk about how much the Memo was oversold by Republicans. There is not nearly enough scorn being heaped on Dems for their hyped claims that this would do irreparable and catastrophic harm to America as we know it.

    Wile E. Coyote blows himself up and they want to blame Road Runner.

  146. 146.

    Brachiator

    @jl:

    There is no Trump boom.

    Yeah, but so what? I agree with you somewhat about how we got here. And you may have stumbled onto a great point when you mention the role Yellen and the Fed had in providing stability. And hell to the yes, there ain’t no Trump boom.

    I don’t think status quo growth will make the vast majority of the voting population happy.

    Hell, I don’t think there is any such thing as status quo growth. But money in your pocket, even if small change, is real, and Trump will exploit this for all he’s worth.

    Also, a good number of people with sole proprietorships, partnerships, S Corporations and LLCs in the middle and upper middle class are going to see real tax cuts. Maybe not as much as the uber wealthy, but real cuts. And this includes people who would reasonably give up these breaks for the greater good. But conservatives are going to gloat that this proves that Trump is the Magic Man.

    Trump and GOP promised big stuff, and it isn’t happening. I see a problem for them.

    Status quo plus real tax cuts give Trump a small advantage.

    But you are right that Trump promises much and delivers nothing. But some voters seem to forgive Trump for not replacing Obamacare with something better.

    Somewhere along the way, Trump will wreck the economy. As noted, the Fed has been doing what they can to provide stability. But the Treasury Secretary is a arrogant bumpkin who is content to let the wealthy drain the government dry. And as he did with his real estate empire, Trump is all about false fronts. When shit starts to collapse he will be out front with blame and excuses.

    But no one can be sure whether things will get worse by the mid terms or around the time of the next presidential election.

    But in the meantime, Trump may be able to capitalize one the tax cuts and the other temporary bullshit he has achieved.

    ETA. The business tax cuts are permanent, but the individual cuts expire after 2025. Even if he wins re-election, Trump will be gone before this shit hits the fan. But even apart from this, I bet Congress will have to address taxes again in the next couple of years, and Trump will fuck things up. But more band aids may work for him again.

  147. 147.

    Suzanne

    The only way that ZEGS’s tweet could have been funnier is if he’d also said, “DON’T SPEND IT ALL IN ONE PLACE!”.

    That doesn’t even buy the good Costco membership, the one that pays for itself.

  149. 149.

    Sherparick

    @Boatboy_srq: He is ideologue, a true believing follower of Ayn Rand. He is also a nut, because only a nut could take Rand & John Galt’s lunatic speech & make it public policy. The poor, the disabled, the old are all moochers who need to “work” or disappear.

  150. 150.

    jl

    @Brachiator: We disagree, then. Even if many people notice something, it will be very small, not nearly enough. And they will balance any gains against what Trumpsters have taken away. A lot of solid middle class, affluent, whites have taken big hits since 2000-1, and particularly since 2007-9 and haven’t bounced back. Other groups experience hits on a regular basis, but this group has been protected (even if only compared to others) since end of WWII. They are angry and I don’t think what *could reasonably be interpreted* as chump change will be enough.

  151. 151.

    Another Scott

    @jl: Yeah, someone who needs to replace their broken washing machine and finds it suddenly has a 50% tariff (that increases the final price by 15% or more) that it didn’t have a few weeks ago will be really happy about getting a whole $60 federal tax cut. Temporarily.

    Yippie.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  152. 152.

    Brachiator

    @jl:

    We disagree, then. Even if many people notice something, it will be very small, not nearly enough.

    You are just wrong here. Talk to some CPAs who are trying to dig into the new tax law.

    I am not just talking out of my head here or depending on policy analysis. I’ve had staff take a chunk of 2016 tax returns from client offices and run them against the new tax law. Some middle income people do well. Others get screwed. Poor people take it in the shorts, even with a tax cut.

    In every tax seminar I’ve attended, the speakers have noted the tax benefits that taxpayers with passthrough income may see. The discussion is not about whether they will get tax cuts. The discussion is about maximizing the benefits.

    Everybody in the tax industry knows this.

    However, I want to emphasize that overall this new tax law is unfair to the working poor and to the middle class in every way possible. If they re-take the House, the Democrats need to draft some remedies, even knowing that the Senate will never go along. Until they have to.

    In the meantime, the real cuts that some will get, even if modest, give the Republicans an advantage.

  153. 153.

    Corner Stone

    @Brachiator: It’s a tweet by Paul Ryan. He fabulizes $1.50 a week all by himself. If you think that makes a difference to people, that’s on you.

  155. 155.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: I understand you do taxes for people and/or companies. But I’m confused by this:

    In the meantime, the real cuts that some will get, even if modest, give the Republicans an advantage.

    Isn’t it true that most people who benefit significantly from the changes in this tax bill are already Republican? That was kinda the point, wasn’t it??

    You’re not really saying, “Republican voters who get big tax cuts from a bill especially tailored toward them will probably continue to support Republican candidates as a result of this bill.” Are you??

    :-/

    We all know that most of the people who use CPAs and tax lawyers to wring every possible dollar out of their tax bill will see cuts in their taxes – and often significant ones. Most people who make $25k a year don’t have oil depletion allowances and all sorts of other complications to figure out that require a CPA. Tax Policy Center says that the bottom 1/5 of the population will see $60 on average in 2018. The next 1/5th will see an average of $900.

    Yes, people who are broke before the end of the month can use every dollar. We all know that. That doesn’t mean, however, that they’ll appreciate it when they get $5 or $100 a month more while corporations and pass-throughs get millions or billions…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  156. 156.

    Brachiator

    @Corner Stone:

    It’s a tweet by Paul Ryan. He fabulizes $1.50 a week all by himself. If you think that makes a difference to people, that’s on you.

    Fuck Paul Ryan. He’s full of shit, and is just looking for the first opportunity to slash Social Security.

    I have clearly said that Trump and the GOP are fucking people over. And I know, and have said that the tax cuts for individuals are temporary and those for business are temporary. The screwing will be worse in the future.

    But I have been in the tax business a long time. I have never seen anyone say, “Yeah, I know I got a small refund, but how much did the wealthy get?”

    Instead, people are relieved when they don’t have to pay. And they tend to give credit to the party in power.

    Trump will magnify the value of the pennies the middle class is getting while laughing with his rich buddies about the massive cuts they are getting.

    The Democrats win on style points and the fact that they are not Republicans. They need to win on policy as well.

    ETA. And yeah, the GOP tax cut is also designed to give Democrats less room to move if they are ever in a position to write corrective legislation.

    They will have their work cut out for them.

  157. 157.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Brachiator:

    The Democrats win on style points and the fact that they are not Republicans. They need to win on policy as well.

    How do they not win on policy? And if you really think a $1.50 change in a check is noticed, you are daft.

    ETA: I notice that you call Dems “they.” Can I ask what your party affiliation is?

  159. 159.

    Brachiator

    @Another Scott:

    Isn’t it true that most people who benefit significantly from the changes in this tax bill are already Republican?

    No.

    The next 1/5th will see an average of $900.

    Is $900 real money or just chump change to you?

    You offer a parody of what CPAs and other tax professionals do. But it is not very accurate.

    How many people who participate in this site have Schedule C or passthrough income? Most or all of them may benefit from the new section 199A deduction. Are they Republicans?

  160. 160.

    James E. Powell

    @Brachiator:

    But some voters seem to forgive Trump for not replacing Obamacare with something better.

    Republican voters’ objections to Obamacare were just code for hating the black man in the White House.

  161. 161.

    Brachiator

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    How do they not win on policy? And if you really think a $1.50 change in a check is noticed, you are daft.

    As I noted, I dismiss Paul Ryan’s bullshit. I’ve run the numbers with representative 2016 tax returns using the new tax law. Quite a few people in various tax brackets do better than $1.50.

    Do you get passthrough income? How does the section 199A deduction work out for you?

    And yes, I may be daft.

    ETA. I tend to vote Democratic Party. I have never donated to anyone but Democrats. I have volunteered for, walked for, passed out literature for Democrats since high school.

  162. 162.

    James E. Powell

    @jl:

    I agree with you that the Trump policies will do little or nothing to make Trumps’ voters feel better. But they don’t care as much about that as everyone seems to think. They voted for him for white supremacy, for patriarchy, for bellicose speeches that express their rage, for mean-spirited attitudes toward poor people, black people, immigrants, and, most of all, the liberals they hate. Trump has delivered on the things they really care about. They will never desert him.

  163. 163.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Brachiator: You haven’t offered numbers before. Haven’t offered support for those numbers ever. We’ve been working off Ryan’s example. Don’t be an ass.

  164. 164.

    James E. Powell

    @Brachiator:

    people are relieved when they don’t have to pay. And they tend to give credit to the party in power.

    Unless the president is black.

  169. 169.

    Corner Stone

    @Brachiator:

    But I have been in the tax business a long time. I have never seen anyone say, “Yeah, I know I got a small refund, but how much did the wealthy get?”

    Instead, people are relieved when they don’t have to pay. And they tend to give credit to the party in power.

    This is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen you post. Poor people aren’t asking you for help on taxes. Are they?

  170. 170.

    jl

    @James E. Powell: We can win without the hard core Trumspters. No reason to worry about them. Sane voters, old and newly salvaged Trump voters, who now realize their flier on his populist BS was a disaster, (who apparently will never be profiled by the big media) will be more than enough.

  171. 171.

    Brachiator

    @Corner Stone:

    This is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen you post. Poor people aren’t asking you for help on taxes. Are they?

    Man, you are dense. I’ve helped proof and support the tax software for the VITA program. I do tax returns for the working poor for free so that they don’t end up paying exorbitant tax prep fees. I support tax preparer offices with significant low income clients.

    What fucking world do you live in where poor people don’t need goid help with their taxes? And I AM good.

    Damn, you are an idiot. You seem intent on choking on the spurious assumptions you insist on making about me.

  173. 173.

    Brachiator

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You haven’t offered numbers before. Haven’t offered support for those numbers ever. We’ve been working off Ryan’s example. Don’t be an ass

    You have been stuck on Ryan’s example.

    Will the section 199A deduction benefit you significantly?

    Another poster noted the $900 average tax cut. Is that chump change?

    Do you believe that the tax cuts that the middle class will receive will be trivial? Prove it. Show your work.

  174. 174.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: Lots of people will have their taxes rise significantly. E.g. 500,000 in Maryland.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/maryland-attorney-general-to-sue-trump-administration-over-federal-tax-plan/2018/02/01/f0f23408-0794-11e8-8777-2a059f168dd2_story.html

    You know this.

    Good for you for understanding the tax bill, and for helping low income people, but your understanding of the implications seems more than a little off.

    We’ll see, of course.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  175. 175.

    Bess

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Someone who works in the tax business is giving us information about how they think most people will react to the tax cut bill and that makes them sound stupid?

  176. 176.

    jl

    @Brachiator: We’ll see if there are enough voters who can get big benefits with the pass through and other provisions are enough to help save the GOP in upcoming elections.. The net effect depends on the relative sizes of the voting populations that get helped or hurt by the tax cut. Do either one of us knows that for sure? But if you have some estimates, please post them.

    And your reasoning depends on standard assumptions on working class and poor sitting it out. No one knows that either, but I think they will have much more motivation to turn out in 2018 and 2020 than in 2016.

  177. 177.

    Corner Stone

    @Brachiator:

    What fucking world do you live in where poor people don’t need goid help with their taxes?

    Shit. I lived in that world for over 25 fucking years, clownshoe. We didn’t see the year any tax structure inured to our benefit. I lived it. You get to dabble in it. Good For You.

  179. 179.

    Brachiator

    @Corner Stone:

    We didn’t see the year any tax structure inured to our benefit. I lived it. You get to dabble in it. Good For You.

    No. I get to help people. And you keep making false assumptions about me. Most people would get tired of digging that hole. But, please continue.

  180. 180.

    Brachiator

    @Another Scott:

    but your understanding of the implications seems more than a little off.

    I live in California, which may see similar problems as Maryland. The disruption to the housing market may be devastating. Also, the GOP hope to pressure states into confirming to all federal changes. California has given strong signals that they will not conform, or rather conform to the federal tax code as of 2015.

    I’m fully aware of the state issues. Another way to look at this is to note that the GOP seeks to punish blue states and to create problems where you will unfairly create new classes of winners and losers depending on their tax situation.

    In 2013, 2.8 million individual tax returns were filed in Maryland (IRS 2013 Databook), so 500,000 that would see a tax increase is significant, to try to put the numbers into some context. There were about 76,000 partnerships and 68,000 S Corporation returns filed.

  181. 181.

    Rugosa

    @Ruckus: Another evergreen: “The salient fact of American politics is that there are fifty to seventy million voters each of who will volunteer to live, with his family, in a cardboard box under an overpass, and cook sparrows on an old curtain rod, if someone would only guarantee that the black, gay, Hispanic, liberal, whatever, in the next box over doesn’t even have a curtain rod, or a sparrow to put on it.”

  182. 182.

    SFAW

    @Brachiator:

    Another poster noted the $900 average tax cut. Is that chump change?

    While averages are certainly useful, especially things like batting average — although many would argue that OPS and GWAR are more useful — I would think median is a more germane number.

    But then again, I’m not a tax professional, so I probably don’t know shit.

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