Facts on Tax: Democratic Plan v. Republican Plan

The information contained here is not what I have written, but rather a compilation of some things.  I will identify the sources.

A lot of it is based on the analysis done by University of Pennsylvania's Penn Wharton Budget Model.

It is notable that in 2025, some tax cuts enacted in 2017 for low to middle income folks will expire.  Whoever takes the White House will decide whether to try to extend those tax cuts or let them die. Kamala Harris promises to reduce taxes for lower and middle earner and increase taxes for the wealthy. Harris says she would leave the 2017 tax cuts in place for people earning up to $400,000 per year but raise rates for those who earn more. This plan would increase the federal deficit by 1.2 trillion over 10 years.

Trump has promised tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. He hopes to further reduce the corporate tax rate by 6%. The Penn Wharton Budget Model predicts that Trump's plan would increase the federal deficit by 5.8 trillion dollars over 10 years.

Trump has proposed tariffs on all imported goods at a rate of 10 to 20 percent. Generally, tariffs create increased prices on the goods that are being imported.  Hypothetically, over the long run it will encourage industry to make those goods in the US. Harris criticizes this tariff plan, describing them as a "tax" on these goods. The Peterson Institute for International Economics projects that the Trump's tariff proposals would cost the typical American household over $2,600 per year.

Considering the effect of tariffs, middle-class household with $80,000 in income would lose $900 after taxes under Trump’s plan and gain $2,200 under Harris’. A household in the top 0.1 percent, with $14 million in income, would gain $377,000 under Trump and lose $167,000 under Harris.

Both candidates support removing taxes on tips. 

Middle income voters will fare significantly better under the Harris tax plan.

Why I Support Joe Biden for President of the United States: Immigration

For many years, Congress has been unwilling to do its work in relation to immigration. Perhaps they think it is a better political football as long as they do nothing.

This month, Joe Biden has been trying to do what Congress failed to do. 

But, my background. . . I am the granddaughter of an immigrant. Here he is, Joe (Jan Josef) Ellstrom.

This is the boat on which he came to the United States, the S.S. Oceanic.

And this is the manifest that was recorded on Ellis Island when he arrived.

If you look closely, you will see that this was August of 1906, he was just 18, and all he had was $11.00 and a ticket to go to Altoona, PA, where his older brother had already come and established residence. 

Yes, I trust immigrants, for I come from immigrant stock. I know they are hard working and smart. I know they are not, as a whole, criminals, polygamists, or anarchists. (Check that manifest above.) I also know that, given the opportunity, those immigrants bring more to the United States than they take. 

This week, the candidate for president that I support, Joe Biden took executive action, because Republicans in Congress failed to act. Note, the Democratic party worked hard to build a bipartisan bill that could have been approved. I am quoting the "1440 Daily Digest."

President Joe Biden unveiled a new policy yesterday [June 18, 2024] granting a path to permanent residency for hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status in the US. The “parole in place” program applies to people with no criminal record who have lived in the US for at least 10 years and have been legally married to a US citizen as of June 17.

 

Those who qualify can live and work in the US for three years while they apply for citizenship. An estimated 500,000 spouses and 50,000 children, with a parent married to a US citizen, stand to meet the basic requirements—there are roughly 1.1 million immigrants in the US with citizen spouses. 

 

Announced on the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the policy also includes faster work permit approvals for DACA applicants and follows Biden’s recent executive action to reduce migrants at the US-Mexico border. Applications are expected to open by the end of summer.

I am pleased to  know that Joe Biden is working to build a strong citizenry by respecting immigrants, their spouses, and children. 

If you want to read more about another Executive Action designed to secure the southern border, read this fact sheet:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/04/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-secure-the-border/#:~:text=President%20Biden%20issued%20a%20proclamation,into%20the%20United%20States%20unlawfully.

This action was announced on June 4 after Congress failed to take action when Republicans voted against the bipartisan bill that they helped to draft.

I will be voting for Joe Biden in November.  I encourage you to do the same.

Another picture - my grandfather's oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution.

Yes, Trump is Guilty

 Friends,

I had hoped that the world would take a turn and truth would start to assert itself.

Unfortunately, it has not, on the political scene.  So I have decided that I should begin raising my voice in support of truth and sanity.

I am not interested in argument, but am very open to honest dialog, at least behind the scenes. I am glad to receive emailed comments also, in order to have open direct dialog.

This first post is titled, as you can see, Yes, Trump is Guilty.

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Guilt is more than a verdict.

If I watch a murder or a robbery, I am a witness to it. I know who is guilty because I have witnessed it.

On January 6, 2021, I was a witness to an insurrection. I watched it on television. I was planning to go to Kohl's for a shopping trip with my sister. We passed the television on our way out the door, and could not move. We watched all afternoon. We saw with out own eyes the attack on the Capitol Building. We saw a noose. We saw people attack the police and security.

It was mayhem. It was outrageous. It was traitorous. It was wrong.

We watched as the tv station replayed the exhortation of the man who was president at the time urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and to fight. That is what they did. 

The transcript from that speech is available here. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial 

Because I saw this happen, I know that Trump is guilty of leading and participating in an insurrection. I don't need to wait for a verdict to be assured of his guilt. I am a witness.

There have been verdicts that underscore the facts and truths my eyes have seen. According to the Associated Press, "More than 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes in the riot, ranging from misdemeanor offenses like trespassing to felonies like assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. Roughly 730 people have pleaded guilty to charges, while another roughly 170 have been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury, according to an Associated Press database."

 Two defendants were acquitted.

Some of these folks were deliberately attempting to overthrow the government. Some were swept up in the emotion of the day and attempted to overthrow the government. They are guilty and are being punished.

I sat and watched the United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (commonly referred to as the January 6th Committee), a bipartisan select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, through hours and hours of testimony, primarily from Republican affiliated witnesses, as they methodically tracked down the facts about this event.

If you have not watched these testimonies, you must do so, to prove to yourselves that the guilt of Donald Trump is undeniable and indefensible. 

I have read much about this event. I have read much about the lies that Donald Trump has told about the 2020 election. I have heard no evidence that could possibly justify an insurrection. "After the 2020 United States presidential election, the campaign for incumbent President Donald Trump and others filed and lost 62 lawsuits contesting election processes, vote counting, and the vote certification process in 9 states (including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia. Among the judges who dismissed the lawsuits were some appointed by Trump himself." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-election_lawsuits_related_to_the_2020_U.S._presidential_election

Have you heard evidence? Have you witnessed anything that is contrary to this. No. You may have heard lies by Donald Trump and his lackeys, but you haven't heard evidence because there is none.

As a friend or acquaintance, I beg you to never vote for Donald Trump. 

Betsy DeGeorge