Trump, meeting with Republican leaders, says welfare reform may have to wait

[rooster59]

Trump, meeting with Republican leaders, says welfare reform may have to wait

By James Oliphant

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media after the Congressional Republican Leadership retreat at Camp David, Maryland, U.S., January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

 

CAMP DAVID, Md. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders said after talks on Saturday that they would make an election-year push this year for an immigration overhaul and infrastructure spending but that welfare reform may have to wait for later.

 

Trump was joined for two days of talks with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and other top Republicans to sketch out a legislative agenda during a year in which they will battle to keep the U.S. Congress in Republican control in November elections.

 

Taking questions from reporters after the talks, Trump said he planned an active year on the campaign trail on behalf of Republican candidates.

 

"They want me to be involved, and very involved," Trump said of Republican leaders. "We have to have more Republicans ... So I will be actually working for incumbents and anybody else that has my kind of thinking."The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in the first congressional election after a presidential election, and Trump's relatively low approval rating could increase the chances of Republican losses.

 

Trump and party leaders face a Jan. 19 deadline on passing legislation to prevent a government shutdown. The White House has said its next top priorities are a plan to invest in roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

 

Republicans also want to reach an agreement on immigration policy, including addressing protections for hundreds of thousands of young adults who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

 

Welfare reform, a priority for Ryan and other House Republicans, appeared to be waning as a Trump goal for this year.

 

He said "we are looking at it" but that the goal was to get a bipartisan deal on welfare reform. If that is not possible, the effort might be left to do later, he said.

 

Trump called his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, to the microphone to say he planned to stay in the administration. Cohn's status has been in doubt since a tax overhaul was approved and his departure could rattle stock markets that have soared in recent months.

 

"Yes, I'm happy," Cohn said. "How's that?"

 

"Gary hopefully will be staying for a long time," Trump said.

 

Trump said he also wants a bipartisan agreement on an immigration overhaul but the reality is that both sides are far apart on an agreement. Democrats do not want to fund the border wall that Trump has long sought and Republicans want any agreement to protect the "Dreamer" children of illegal immigrants to include increased border security.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-07

[rudi49jr]

What would this 'welfare reform' entail? Steal even more money from the poor to give to the rich?

[Silurian]

MAGA? Maybe it is a "pick and choose" type of thing?

 

 

 

[UncleTouchyFingers]

13 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

what would this 'welfare reform' entail? Steal even more money from the poor to give to the rich?

 

[rudi49jr]

45 minutes ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

????????????????????????????????????????

[UncleTouchyFingers]

8 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

????????????????????????????????????????

 

He isnt stealing anything from the poor and giving it to the rich. 

 

That is literally fake news. 

 

Quit lying. 

[jackh]

Good for him. Concentrate to deport all illegals, DACA, etc for the US first. That alone will take care of 90% of the welfare problems in itself.

 

[Thaidream]

He is absolutely stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.  If you want to help the poor and the struggling middle class- you raise the tax rates on the rih and then provide a tax credit back to the poor and middle class in the form of a deposit to their account or a check. Instead Trump  lowered the tax rate on the wealthy and big business while providing a pittance to the poor and middle class.

 

Senior citizens get an average of $1350 per month from Social Security and and do not get universal health coverage unless they are hospitalized. Expensive pharmaceuticals; dental care and eye care come out of pocket or have to be paid by Seniors via insurance premiums.  Incomparisonto benefits that other industrialised countries provide their citizens- Americans are being robbed 

 

Trump supporters really need to look at what is happening in America to themselves and their families.  Trump is a liar and his agenda  is a vile attempt to make the 1% richer including himself and the rest of us poorer.

[jackh]

1 minute ago, Thaidream said:

He is absolutely stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.  If you want to help the poor and the struggling middle class- you raise the tax rates on the rih and then provide a tax credit back to the poor and middle class in the form of a deposit to their account or a check. Instead Trump  lowered the tax rate on the wealthy and big business while providing a pittance to the poor and middle class.

 

Senior citizens get an average of $1350 per month from Social Security and and do not get universal health coverage unless they are hospitalized. Expensive pharmaceuticals; dental care and eye care come out of pocket or have to be paid by Seniors via insurance premiums.  Incomparisonto benefits that other industrialised countries provide their citizens- Americans are being robbed 

 

Trump supporters really need to look at what is happening in America to themselves and their families.  Trump is a liar and his agenda  is a vile attempt to make the 1% richer including himself and the rest of us poorer.

So sad, one day soon you will realize just how foolish your thoughts are.

[Thaidream]

You could deport 100% of all illegals in America and that would never solve the problem of the poor becoming poorer and the middle class struggling. Illegals cannot get welfare. Only American citizens or holders of American Resident Visas can get this type of assistance.  Stop believing Trump and his minions.  They are liars and most will soon be indicted . This is typical Trump behavior- he will use a false narrative to turn the talk away from him onto something or someone else. Stop believing the lies.

[Thaidream]

All my thoughts are honed from a lifetime of work; study and research.  If I thought Donald Trump would actually make America a great country again I would support him. However, I have studied Donald Trump's background; listened to his speeches and the use of rhetoric that is bombastic and divisive and have come to the conclusion that he is a narcissistic demagogue who has no understanding of the human condition and what it takes to help the common man.

He has not done one thing to help the poor or middle class. He has no plan; he has no insight and he is truly incompetent and he will never, ever be re-elected if he even completes his term. I don't need a book or the news to tell me what Donald Trump is- his own words are what does him in. I wish I was wrong- but I am not.

[rudi49jr]

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

You could deport 100% of all illegals in America and that would never solve the problem of the poor becoming poorer and the middle class struggling. Illegals cannot get welfare. Only American citizens or holders of American Resident Visas can get this type of assistance.  Stop believing Trump and his minions.  They are liars and most will soon be indicted . This is typical Trump behavior- he will use a false narrative to turn the talk away from him onto something or someone else. Stop believing the lies.

If you deported 100% of all illegals in America, the whole economy would come crashing down: houses would no longer get built, whole factories would have to shut down, fruit would no longer get picked, many American households would have to go without nannies, maids, gardeners and handymen, and so on.

[rudi49jr]

4 hours ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

He isnt stealing anything from the poor and giving it to the rich. 

 

That is literally fake news. 

 

Quit lying. 

So you didn't get it yet that low income families will hardly profit (or not profit at all) from Trump's great new tax bill, but that rich people (in income as well as in wealth) will profit obscenely? What would you call that, other than stealing from the poor and giving to the rich?

[UncleTouchyFingers]

4 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Trump supporters really need to look at what is happening in America to themselves and their families. 

 

Always good for a chuckle when I read stuff like this. Everyone in my family is doing great. My brother works for a local patented made-in-america small business and they are ecstatic about the tax breaks both for the employees and the business itself. The business he works for contracts out alot of parts machining and powder coating out to other businesses, but with the extra spendable money they are going to roll out new in-house machining & powder-coating, and with that, guess what? More employees. American ones. 

 

On top of which, all of our retirement investments are continually growing. 

 

On top of that, our home values are growing. 

 

On just about every measurable front we are all doing exponentially better than we were with Obama, and without a doubt HRC if she would have won. 

 

And in the eyes of people like yourself, we are all stealing from the poor, and giving to the rich? 

 

You arent gonna be able to sell that one, and im pretty sure in just that one small business Trump probably won several more votes. 

[midas]

5 hours ago, Thaidream said:

All my thoughts are honed from a lifetime of work; study and research.  If I thought Donald Trump would actually make America a great country again I would support him. However, I have studied Donald Trump's background; listened to his speeches and the use of rhetoric that is bombastic and divisive and have come to the conclusion that he is a narcissistic demagogue who has no understanding of the human condition and what it takes to help the common man.

He has not done one thing to help the poor or middle class. He has no plan; he has no insight and he is truly incompetent and he will never, ever be re-elected if he even completes his term. I don't need a book or the news to tell me what Donald Trump is- his own words are what does him in. I wish I was wrong- but I am not.

 

" He has no plan "

 

I believe what this article says and the only plan he seems to have as far as I can see is to get through a shopping list of items that Jared Kushner has highlighted should be  dealt with  

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2016/11/22/exclusive-interview-how-jared-kushner-won-trump-the-white-house/#613a9be63af6

 

 

[midas]

58 minutes ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

Always good for a chuckle when I read stuff like this. Everyone in my family is doing great. My brother works for a local patented made-in-america small business and they are ecstatic about the tax breaks both for the employees and the business itself. The business he works for contracts out alot of parts machining and powder coating out to other businesses, but with the extra spendable money they are going to roll out new in-house machining & powder-coating, and with that, guess what? More employees. American ones. 

 

On top of which, all of our retirement investments are continually growing. 

 

On top of that, our home values are growing. 

 

On just about every measurable front we are all doing exponentially better than we were with Obama, and without a doubt HRC if she would have won. 

 

And in the eyes of people like yourself, we are all stealing from the poor, and giving to the rich? 

 

You arent gonna be able to sell that one, and im pretty sure in just that one small business Trump probably won several more votes. 

" 

On top of which, all of our retirement investments are continually growing. 

On top of that, our home values are growing. "

 

But surely you can't honestly believe that this is economically sustainable in the long term?

[mlmcleod]

12 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

What would this 'welfare reform' entail? Steal even more money from the poor to give to the rich?

They are Republicans!  Their only plan is to cut as much as possible from welfare.  Sadly, more than 60% of the recipients in America are children.

 

The number 1 Republican belief will never change!

Work or die!  You deserve nothing more in their opinion!

[mlmcleod]

3 hours ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

Always good for a chuckle when I read stuff like this. Everyone in my family is doing great. My brother works for a local patented made-in-america small business and they are ecstatic about the tax breaks both for the employees and the business itself. The business he works for contracts out alot of parts machining and powder coating out to other businesses, but with the extra spendable money they are going to roll out new in-house machining & powder-coating, and with that, guess what? More employees. American ones. 

 

On top of which, all of our retirement investments are continually growing. 

 

On top of that, our home values are growing. 

 

On just about every measurable front we are all doing exponentially better than we were with Obama, and without a doubt HRC if she would have won. 

 

And in the eyes of people like yourself, we are all stealing from the poor, and giving to the rich? 

 

You arent gonna be able to sell that one, and im pretty sure in just that one small business Trump probably won several more votes. 

I would be thankful for your good fortune!  Please remember that not everyone has your luck or talent!  I am sure that you would not need to look very hard in any American city to see the poor and unfortunate.  The American economy runs in cycles.  Soon enough the stock market will crash again.  I do wonder how Trump will be able to blame Obama and Clinton for that??

[mike324]

20 hours ago, Thaidream said:

You could deport 100% of all illegals in America and that would never solve the problem of the poor becoming poorer and the middle class struggling. Illegals cannot get welfare. Only American citizens or holders of American Resident Visas can get this type of assistance.  Stop believing Trump and his minions.  They are liars and most will soon be indicted . This is typical Trump behavior- he will use a false narrative to turn the talk away from him onto something or someone else. Stop believing the lies.

Many Trump supporters don't get how stuff works ...which is very sad and why the US society is going downhill fast. They believe in Trump so much that they don't fact check and blindly follow whatever he says.

[Thaidream]

It amazes me  that there are so many Americans that can't seem to understand what is really happening in America.  One poster tells us how great his family is doing and then outlines family members owning a factory and real estate.  Of course, they are doing great- they are not in the middle class or the poor but are a member of the 1% of Americans who will always do great when given huge tax cuts which I might add are being funded by the middle class and the poor.

It is a know fact that the wealthy in America have seen their income increase exponentially through the years.  The Forbes 400 has gone from $93 Billion in wealth to over $2.3 Trillion causing a widespread imbalance in wealth that has caused the middle class to move lower and the already poor to become poorer. Don't believe it- google Warren Buffett- one of the richest men in America who has for years been telling anyone who would listen that this situation is unsustainable.

Donald Trump follows the concept that greed is good and that making the  already rich more wealthy- the added money is going to filter down. The problem is it doesn't- big business pays its employees at minimum wage; healthcare has risen to levels that are not sustainable; life saving drugs are so high that people die because they can't afford them and real estate ownership is declining because people cannot obtain income levels to afford a mortgage.

 

Trump was elected because the wealthy want to get richer; and the middle class and poor were lied to. The middle class and poor are tired of making minimum wage; not having affordable healthcare; not being able to afford a college education; and never being able to make enough income to qualify for a mortgage.  Trump has done nothing for any of these people and won't.  He has no plan to help any of these people.

 

If Trump really wanted to help the 99% he would have raised taxes on the wealthy and  provided  the poor and middle class with a tax credit of up to $20,000- with a check to their bank or mail box. The result would be the wealthy would still be wealthy but the poor and middle class would have been given an opportunity to rejoin the human race.  At the same time, he could have raised the minimum wage from a ridiculously low $7.25 per hour to $15.00  per hour; he could have guaranteed no cost college tuition and he could have developed a universal healthcare program that makes healthcare a human right paid through the already in force Medicare system.

 

All of the above could be paid for by the wealthy paying more taxes; legitimizing the already 11 Million foreigners in American and bringing them into the tax system; starting a small value added tax; and lowering the Us defense and intelligence budgets by 30%.

 

I have no objection to people working hard and becoming wealthy but I have many objections to people becoming wealthy off the backs of the middle class and the poor because the system has become corrupted by a group of greedy billionaires and politicians that simply cannot see that what they are doing is destroying the American dream. And even worse-they don't care!

 

 

Edited January 8, 2018 by Thaidream

[mike324]

55 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

If Trump really wanted to help the 99% he would have raised taxes on the wealthy and  provided  the poor and middle class with a tax credit of up to $20,000- with a check to their bank or mail box. The result would be the wealthy would still be wealthy but the poor and middle class would have been given an opportunity to rejoin the human race.  At the same time, he could have raised the minimum wage from a ridiculously low $7.25 per hour to $15.00  per hour; he could have guaranteed no cost college tuition and he could have developed a universal healthcare program that makes healthcare a human right paid through the already in force Medicare system.

 

All of the above could be paid for by the wealthy paying more taxes; legitimizing the already 11 Million foreigners in American and bringing them into the tax system; starting a small value added tax; and lowering the Us defense and intelligence budgets by 30%.

 

I have no objection to people working hard and becoming wealthy but I have many objections to people becoming wealthy off the backs of the middle class and the poor because the system has become corrupted by a group of greedy billionaires and politicians that simply cannot see that what they are doing is destroying the American dream. And even worse-they don't care!

 

 

Very well said. Just simply cutting the military spending by a tiny bit would provide free education for all Americans. It makes no sense that Trump increased the military budget by so much. It has been proven again and again that cutting taxes for the wealthy doesn't benefit the low income.

[UncleTouchyFingers]

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

One poster tells us how great his family is doing and then outlines family members owning a factory and real estate.  Of course, they are doing great- they are not in the middle class or the poor but are a member of the 1% of Americans who will always do great when given huge tax cuts which I might add are being funded by the middle class and the poor.

 

You dont read too good do ya? 

 

Try again:

 

19 hours ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

My brother works for a local patented made-in-america small business and they are ecstatic about the tax breaks both for the employees and the business itself. The business he works for contracts out alot of parts machining and powder coating out to other businesses, but with the extra spendable money they are going to roll out new in-house machining & powder-coating, and with that, guess what? More employees. American ones. 

Edited January 8, 2018 by UncleTouchyFingers

[ilostmypassword]

19 hours ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

Always good for a chuckle when I read stuff like this. Everyone in my family is doing great. My brother works for a local patented made-in-america small business and they are ecstatic about the tax breaks both for the employees and the business itself. The business he works for contracts out alot of parts machining and powder coating out to other businesses, but with the extra spendable money they are going to roll out new in-house machining & powder-coating, and with that, guess what? More employees. American ones. 

 

On top of which, all of our retirement investments are continually growing. 

 

On top of that, our home values are growing. 

 

On just about every measurable front we are all doing exponentially better than we were with Obama, and without a doubt HRC if she would have won. 

 

And in the eyes of people like yourself, we are all stealing from the poor, and giving to the rich? 

 

You arent gonna be able to sell that one, and im pretty sure in just that one small business Trump probably won several more votes. 

Given that interest rates are already extremely low and corporations are already holding record amount of cash, it's unlikely that the tax cuts will have much. We know this because after the massive Bush tax cuts, virtuallly all the money went into increased dividends and stock buybacks. Anecdotes don't prove anything. Not even when they come with the guarantee of an anonymous poster.

[UncleTouchyFingers]

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

and the middle class and poor were lied to.

 

How much of a tax break are you gonna get? 

 

And what are you going to do with that extra cash? 

 

Bet ya you wont be giving it to charity or to the fed-gov. 

 

 

[Thaidream]

Sorry - I misread but the fact  is that most factories hire people at a minimum wage and not at a living wage. If this factory hires people at $15-$20 per hour- to begin I salute them.  In addition, most business in America is not expanding- they will use the tax cut to give a big bonus to the CEO who is already wealthy or to the stockholders.

 

In addition- anyone who has investments is not the middle class and certainly not the poor. I know- at one time I had unlimited funds and due to a catastrophic illness in my family almost went broke. And yes, I did have insurance but it was not enough.  I had  to work 15-20 hours per day  for 15 years to get back a fraction of what I had- so I know well how all of it works. And the situation is much worse now than when I was experiencing it. I am glad one factory and 1 family is doing well-  but the majority are those working are not doing well and there are plenty still not working who have no unemployment compensation left and  won't be hired due to age discrimination/ There's an old saying that a top manager told me- 'Be kind to the people on the way up....because you may meet them again on the way down."  Unfortunately, many of the big American corporations don't live by this.  Even though the American economy may be doing well statistically- the middle class and poor are not.

[UncleTouchyFingers]

Just now, ilostmypassword said:

Anecdotes don't prove anything. Not even when they come with the guarantee of an anonymous poster.

 

Clever way of calling me a liar. Guess it just goes to show how out of touch alot of you are with whats going on in the US. The mere fact that you think im lying like this is some totally one-in-a-million 'anecdotal' happenstance says alot more about you than it does me. 

[ilostmypassword]

2 minutes ago, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

How much of a tax break are you gonna get? 

 

And what are you going to do with that extra cash? 

 

Bet ya you wont be giving it to charity or to the fed-gov. 

 

 

Another favor the Republicans did for middle class taxpayers was to change the measure used to determine inflation. Now the chained inflation rate will be used. This means that the working poor, working class and middle class people get to move faster into higher tax brackets. Since the wealthy are already in the highest tax bracket, this change will not affect them. Thank you republicans.

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, UncleTouchyFingers said:

 

Clever way of calling me a liar. Guess it just goes to show how out of touch alot of you are with whats going on in the US. The mere fact that you think im lying like this is some totally one-in-a-million 'anecdotal' happenstance says alot more about you than it does me. 

Touchy, aren't you? I did not call you a liar. I have no opinion on whether or not you are telling the truth. And since I have no objective criteria to judge the truthfulness of your story, why should I bleieve it? No, the fact the you think anecdotes should carry any weight in a discussion of a nationwide economic program and I don't says lots about both your ability to be objective and mine.

[UncleTouchyFingers]

3 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Sorry - I misread but the fact  is that most factories hire people at a minimum wage and not at a living wage. If this factory hires people at $15-$20 per hour- to begin I salute them.  In addition, most business in America is not expanding- they will use the tax cut to give a big bonus to the CEO who is already wealthy or to the stockholders.

 

In addition- anyone who has investments is not the middle class and certainly not the poor. I know- at one time I had unlimited funds and due to a catastrophic illness in my family almost went broke. And yes, I did have insurance but it was not enough.  I had  to work 15-20 hours per day  for 15 years to get back a fraction of what I had- so I know well how all of it works. And the situation is much worse now than when I was experiencing it. I am glad one factory and 1 family is doing well-  but the majority are those working are not doing well and there are plenty still not working who have no unemployment compensation left and  won't be hired due to age discrimination/ There's an old saying that a top manager told me- 'Be kind to the people on the way up....because you may meet them again on the way down."  Unfortunately, many of the big American corporations don't live by this.  Even though the American economy may be doing well statistically- the middle class and poor are not.

 

You've certainly got your grandstanding mind made up dont ya? Even when faced with an example of a prospering local business due to the tax cuts & economy. 

 

Some businesses will line their coffers and some will invest. Some want to expand R&D to provide all those little tech gadgets that people love so much. 

 

You just can not logically pigeon-hole every business into a demon possessed conglomerate that wants to take over the world. 

 

This is why political debate is over, and people like trump win. Because no-one can be objective. 

 

Besides - fundamentally, I cant get down with the re-distribution of wealth on a scale that you and your people favor. 

[UncleTouchyFingers]

10 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

why should I bleieve it?

 

Do whatever you want but I believe the place you live would be called an "echo-chanber". You surround yourself with the things you want to believe because you have your mind made up, and thats called "confirmation bias". 

 

16 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

In addition- anyone who has investments is not the middle class

 

You saying that people with vested 401k's or IRA's aren't middle class? 

 

A single family homeowner with a pair of vested 401k's or IRA's are literally the definition of middle class. 

 

Anyone with a dime in the market is making just about free cash. 

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/spx