Sanders transforms into contender, still pitches revolution

[Jingthing]

It's totally over. Join with Hillary to beat Trump now.

[up2u2]

It's totally over. Join with Hillary to beat Trump now.

Oh ye of little faith. Come on JT harden up mate. Revolutions require unwavering resolve and stamina. Stay strong Comrade.

Trump couldn't beat an egg.

[helpisgood]

It's totally over. Join with Hillary to beat Trump now.

Yeah, join yet another shill for Wall Street and big money.

What could go wrong?

These same politicians promise everything, and then go back to their own worlds of the privileged after the election.

[Jingthing]

Better than Trump or Cruz. Get a grip.

[helpisgood]

Better than Trump or Cruz. Get a grip.

You give up too easily. Support Bernie!

[sgtsabai]

Bernie supporters and those with knowledge of what Hillary really is will like this, if it copies correctly. Right wingers won't read, much less comprehend anything with logic. http://thiscantbehappening.net/print/3080

[SpokaneAl]

Better than Trump or Cruz. Get a grip.

Really? I see little difference between any of them.

[SpokaneAl]

Bernie supporters and those with knowledge of what Hillary really is will like this, if it copies correctly. Right wingers won't read, much less comprehend anything with logic. http://thiscantbehappening.net/print/3080

Gotta love your intense dislike for anyone that disagrees with your view of the world, and your seeming complete understanding of how those people think, comprehend and understand. Your perspective must make it a bit difficult to understand and appreciate those who view things differently than you.

[helpisgood]

Bernie supporters and those with knowledge of what Hillary really is will like this, if it copies correctly. Right wingers won't read, much less comprehend anything with logic. http://thiscantbehappening.net/print/3080

It's all about "follow the money." Clinton gets her donations from the big banks, etc. Those business people gave her a ton of money for a very good reason. They understand an investment, which is how they got where they are today.

And, the other politicians who have endorsed her understand what they can get back from the Clinton political machine, which has to do with protecting their own jobs and political fiefdoms, and not what is necessarily good for the people.

Oh, and I read and enjoyed the linked article. Thanks!

[sgtsabai]

Dawg whistle, right wing tactic, attack the poster. Won't work.

[SpokaneAl]

Dawg whistle, right wing tactic, attack the poster. Won't work.

Thanks for making my point.

[Jingthing]

Better than Trump or Cruz. Get a grip.

Really? I see little difference between any of them.

That's totally insane.

Cruz is a right wing extremist Christian fundamentalist.

He wants to abolish the IRS.

That's not different?

Come on now. Be more honest or why bother?

Edited March 17, 2016 by Jingthing

[NovaBlue05]

Better than Trump or Cruz. Get a grip.

Really? I see little difference between any of them.

That's totally insane.

Cruz is a right wing extremist Christian fundamentalist.

He wants to abolish the IRS.

That's not different?

Come on now. Be more honest or why bother?

What's wrong with eliminating the IRS? If one streamlines the tax code by getting rid of about 25,000 pages, the IRS probably would not be needed

[sgtsabai]

OMG, where the hell did anyone ever get the idea of eliminating the IRS? They can't do their job now due to Republican budget cuts. Yes, the tax code needs to be reworked so that the rich and corporations pay their fair share, no argument there. Without the IRS, tax dodgers, i.e. the rich and corporations would never pay a penny. The US has not had a deficit crisis, it has a revenue crisis. Nobody really likes the IRS, hell I had to pay out the butt because my ex-wife wouldn't turn over her income for tax returns, they were cooked books. Not the IRS fault, mine for not leaving the bitch yrs. earlier. Yes, simply refine the code, no loopholes, no tax inversions, no breaks for hedge fund profiters. I believe that is in Bernie's agenda. It will never be in any of the other candidates.

[NovaBlue05]

OMG, where the hell did anyone ever get the idea of eliminating the IRS? They can't do their job now due to Republican budget cuts. Yes, the tax code needs to be reworked so that the rich and corporations pay their fair share, no argument there. Without the IRS, tax dodgers, i.e. the rich and corporations would never pay a penny. The US has not had a deficit crisis, it has a revenue crisis. Nobody really likes the IRS, hell I had to pay out the butt because my ex-wife wouldn't turn over her income for tax returns, they were cooked books. Not the IRS fault, mine for not leaving the bitch yrs. earlier. Yes, simply refine the code, no loopholes, no tax inversions, no breaks for hedge fund profiters. I believe that is in Bernie's agenda. It will never be in any of the other candidates.

The rich have tax attorneys and accountants and avoid paying taxes legally. Dont like that....then change the tax code. They won't though because Congressmen win when the rich win....and that ain't the exclusive domain of the GOP.. Bernie is apparently not running to win the nomination but rather to make his point.. Fine...back to business as usual after the summer.. Sure, you need some bureaucrats to process forms but likely not a quasi gestapo force used for intimidation.

[SpokaneAl]

Better than Trump or Cruz. Get a grip.

Really? I see little difference between any of them.

That's totally insane.

Cruz is a right wing extremist Christian fundamentalist.

He wants to abolish the IRS.

That's not different?

Come on now. Be more honest or why bother?

Insanity is getting excited about making a choice between Trump and Clinton. Insanity is believing there is a speck of difference between the two, and Cruz as well. Insanity is believing in the magical thinking of getting excited about anyone running for president.

But that is neither here, nor there. Each of us has his/her own opinion and who is to say mine is more correct than yours?

That said, I am not sure how we morphed to an IRS discussion but I like it.

I spent several years as a tax preparer, doing taxes of individuals, families, small businesses, farmers and ranchers. My goal was to make sure that my clients paid the taxes required by law and not a penny more. We carefully ensured that each and every legal tax deduction and exemption was used.

That is exactly what corporations do - their tax experts are there to ensure they pay the amount required by law and no more than that. Expenses matter and impact the bottom line as well as the price they charge for the good and/or services that you and I purchase from them

The tax code is a complex monstrosity and gets more complex with each addition/modification. In addition, each addition/modification would get preparers like myself and those Corp guys looking for legal ways to minimize those changes.

Each year I would attend several weeks of continuing education to understand the most recent changes to the tax code.

That is what we do. I have yet to find anyone or any entity who voluntarily agrees to forgo an exemption or deduction. Everyone seems to get excited about changing the tax code to increase taxes, as long as it affects the other guy and not them.

I would like to see the tax code flattened and simplified so that all of my previous clients could do their own taxes, vs. paying guys like me. A complex, convoluted tax system does nothing but cause friction in the economy and generates a cottage industry scraping off dollars from everyone, large corporations included.

Edited March 18, 2016 by SpokaneAl

[hawker9000]

Better than Trump or Cruz. Get a grip.

Really? I see little difference between any of them.

That's totally insane.

Cruz is a right wing extremist Christian fundamentalist.

He wants to abolish the IRS.

That's not different?

Come on now. Be more honest or why bother?

Insanity is getting excited about making a choice between Trump and Clinton. Insanity is believing there is a speck of difference between the two, and Cruz as well. Insanity is believing in the magical thinking of getting excited about anyone running for president.

But that is neither here, nor there. Each of us has his/her own opinion and who is to say mine is more correct than yours?

That said, I am not sure how we morphed to an IRS discussion but I like it.

I spent several years as a tax preparer, doing taxes of individuals, families, small businesses, farmers and ranchers. My goal was to make sure that my clients paid the taxes required by law and not a penny more. We carefully ensured that each and every legal tax deduction and exemption was used.

That is exactly what corporations do - their tax experts are there to ensure they pay the amount required by law and no more than that. Expenses matter and impact the bottom line as well as the price they charge for the good and/or services that you and I purchase from them

The tax code is a complex monstrosity and gets more complex with each addition/modification. In addition, each addition/modification would get preparers like myself and those Corp guys looking for legal ways to minimize those changes.

Each year I would attend several weeks of continuing education to understand the most recent changes to the tax code.

That is what we do. I have yet to find anyone or any entity who voluntarily agrees to forgo an exemption or deduction. Everyone seems to get excited about changing the tax code to increase taxes, as long as it affects the other guy and not them.

I would like to see the tax code flattened and simplified so that all of my previous clients could do their own taxes, vs. paying guys like me. A complex, convoluted tax system does nothing but cause friction in the economy and generates a cottage industry scraping off dollars from everyone, large corporations included.

Can't disagree with a single word of that. But you'll never persuade the wingnuts, or really even the pseudo-conservatives, who cling to the belief that the tax code is their cudgel for pounding on the upper class, and who remain completely and insistently blind to the fact that the upper-class target is ALWAYS missed (probably necessarily so) and it's the middle class - who can't afford armies of accountants and tax attorneys working for them - who catch it instead. But for the 47% who don't have any skin in the game, who cares? That, and free benefits, are the wingnut not-so-secret weapons. And a flat tax would immediately put a fork into ALL of that.

Edited March 18, 2016 by hawker9000

[Jingthing]

This isn't a tax thread dudes. The point was that there are differences between the choices and consequences to the final choice made. For example on the supreme court.

[chuckd]

When is enough, enough?

The IRS had 89,500 employees as of 2014,

That's a medium sized city.

Edited March 18, 2016 by chuckd

[Jingthing]

I think tax reform and simplification is an idea with very wide appeal. But Cruz is a far right wing extremist. His tax goals are paired with a radical ideology that the role of government should be almost nothing. Except of course for restricting the rights of women and gay people. There he wants to be very active. Again to assert there aren't large differences between the choices simply is not true.

[HLover]

Is Sanders Jewish?

[Jingthing]

Is Sanders Jewish?

You didn't notice? He's a non observant Jew. Yes.

[grumpyoldman]

Is Sanders Jewish?

Is the Pope Catholic?

Does it matter?

Make no mistake, Bernie is a smart guy who brings a lot to the table it's just that he needs is to back his ideas with how they are going to be paid for.

Give it to Trump there, he says he's going to get the Mexicans to build his wall .

I realize this is a Bernie thread, but if you want to really see what a kook Trump is watch him talk about his wall here. "It will be a great wall, a big wall, waaayyy up there" I mean watch this, I think during this speech he had to have been drunk, no?

[sgtsabai]

Yes, but he does not practice. Religion is NOT a litmus test of candidates and in fact should have no bearing. Unless, like Cruz a person's so called "religion" is so out in right wing space that one should consider the consequences of electing a wacko like Cruz. Bernie reminds me a lot of my ex father in law's Judaism, non existent. I had/have tremendous respect for "the Colonel". He flew B17's over Germany in WWII and I liked to tease him about what he would have done if shot down, his reply was rip my dog tags off on the way down. I would say "Fred with that nose it wouldn't have mattered" and we both got a good laugh. He never darkened the door of a synagogue and it took a wedding or something similar to get him into any church. Oh, he flew in Korea and was a squadron commander in VN. Turned down the star and retired because they would no longer let him fly and could he ever drive an airplane, oh yea. While we didn't always agree on VN, it's causes etc. he respected me enough to show me his combat films that his wife and daughters never knew existed, and ran them out of the room when the mistakenly opened the door. Yes, reminds me of Bernie in that way, religion, bah humbug. Go Bernie!

[HLover]

Thank you, I don't follow American politics much and was just wondering.

As for the reply of "does it matter"- apparently it does with all the talk of Obama being non Christian and the candidates pandering to the religious groups.

But your witty reply regarding the pope was as unimaginative as it was unfunny, keep up the good work you literary guru.

[grumpyoldman]

Thank you, I don't follow American politics much and was just wondering.

As for the reply of "does it matter"- apparently it does with all the talk of Obama being non Christian and the candidates pandering to the religious groups.

But your witty reply regarding the pope was as unimaginative as it was unfunny, keep up the good work you literary guru.

My other alternative was does a bear sh*t in the woods, but there was no religious connection thus, there ya go! Cheers and all the best GOM

[HLover]

yee haw

[NovaBlue05]

Is Sanders Jewish?

Is the Pope Catholic?

Does it matter?

Make no mistake, Bernie is a smart guy who brings a lot to the table it's just that he needs is to back his ideas with how they are going to be paid for.

Give it to Trump there, he says he's going to get the Mexicans to build his wall .

I realize this is a Bernie thread, but if you want to really see what a kook Trump is watch him talk about his wall here. "It will be a great wall, a big wall, waaayyy up there" I mean watch this, I think during this speech he had to have been drunk, no?

It's going to be a great wall....a really great wall...it's going to be like the great wall of china...only greater...It's going to be so great that you are not going to believe how great it is....... lol

[hawker9000]

A wall 80ft high and 20ft thick wouldn't stop the illegals. They'd just tunnel under. (Actually, I think that's old news; there've already been some.)

[chuckd]

I just love the Independent Party candidate's interaction with the press. He starts getting uncomfortable questions so he just walks out of the interview.