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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/05/2019 in all areas

  1. Which is ALL THE MORE REASON we shouldn't buy from China. You do not pay off debts by running a deficit. In any case, whether you trade with China or not, the treasury bonds which China owns has a set due date and a repayment schedule. They cannot collect on them on their terms. Actually, Protectionism has ALWAYS worked even if the Fake News and the Globalist Liberals may have been telling you otherwise for decades. Free Trade -- in its purest form with no barriers on any side -- does only one thing. It favors developing and poor countries at the expense of developed and rich countries. In other words, Free Trade is a global wealth diffusion and redistribution mechanism which does not favor countries which already owns a concentration of wealth. It doesn't matter if US workers are 50% better at the job their are doing and better than ANY other worker if there are plenty of 3rd worlders who will do the job at one tenth or one 20th the wage. You CANNOT reconcile a desire for a good wage for your workers, benefit entitlements and environmental ideals on the one hand, and allow Free Trade on the other. Think about it. Let's say your city has a $50 minimum wage and mandates a $1000 a month healthcare package for its workers. The one next door allows people to work for 50 cents with no health benefits. Without barriers, any company making anything will do it in the city next door and sell the products to your city. All the money from your city will go to the city next door. Even ideologically, you can either have free trade or you can have wage and labor laws. You cannot have both. In order for Free Trade to work, you MUST allow American companies to hire anyone, pay them as little as they like, give them no benefits and no worker protection. You must also have open borders and free movement of labor. If you DO NOT, Free Trade will ALWAYS lead to unending deficits and outflow of wealth until the USA is no longer richer than the rest of the world. The Globalist don't care about that, they only seek to profit from facilitating that wealth transfer process. I am an American NATIONALIST, I care about that. What we have is not even Free Trade. What we have is UNEQUAL TRADE where other countries erect barriers and we unilaterally keep very low barriers. Our Trade Treaties are the kind countries typically sign when ENEMY TROOPS are on the CAPITOL LAWN. But we have been willingly signing it for decades because the Washington Swamp has not been on our side for decades. At the end of WWII the USA is the world's #1 manufacturer, #1 shipbuilder and #1 creditor. Today, everything is made elsewhere, US commercial shipbuilding is practically non-existent and we are the world's #1 debtor. That is the result of Free Trade. Now, let's look at where cars are made -- Germany, Japan and Korea. Where Ships are built -- Italy, France, Sweden, Germany Japan, Korea and China. Why do you think that is the case? BECAUSE these are ALL very protected or very subsidized industries (or both) by these countries. How the hell did you think Airbus got off the ground? Subsidies. How the hell do you think Japanese or French Shipbuilding exist today (wages are not really lower than US yards)? Subsidies. Why does the EU have a trade surplus? Why does the UK have a trade surplus? Tariffs and import prohibitions. PROTECTIONISM HAS ALWAYS WORKED. Trade is Business. Deficits are losses. Surplus are profit. No country or empire in the history of mankind has not been on the ascendancy when they have persistent surpluses. No country or empire in the history of mankind has not been in decline when they have persistent deficits. Mercantilism is Common Sense; it is not rocket science. You may be resigned to managing the decline and ordinarification of America. I am commited to Making America Great Again. That is why I am an AMERICAN NATIONALIST.
    3 points
  2. You fell for the FUD. "We looked at the consolidated financial statements (see page 4) and calculated that in 2013, 88.3 percent of spending was designated as going toward program services — $196.6 million out of $222.6 million in reported expenses." https://www.factcheck.org/2015/06/where-does-clinton-foundation-money-go/ 88.3% going towards charitable programs is higher than many other "more legitimate" charities.
    3 points
  3. Being handed wealth certainly gives someone a leg up. It doesn't indicate any particular skill. In fact it has been shown multiple times that he'd have been a wealthier man if he had just parked his money into an index fund and left it alone rather than going on these various schemes.
    3 points
  4. You clearly have ZERO understanding of business entities like LLCs or Corporations. Regardless of how much money the COMPANY is losing or earning, the personal tax returns of ANY of its shareholders will not reflect any of it. The owners' tax returns will only show an income if the COMPANY provided a dividend or if any of the shares were sold at a profit. Let me give you an example. I own 1442 shares of Boeing at $348 a share and they had a ~$12 billion profit on ~$101 billion in revenues. They did business with over 13,000 entities. My tax return has nothing whatsoever on any of that. I bought those shares in 2016 at about $150 a share and more than doubled my money. My tax return has nothing whatsoever on any of that, because I haven't sold the shares. Boeing did pay a dividend of $2.055 a share so I have $2963 of taxable income in my return for the dividend. That is all. Anyone's tax returns will not provide any reasonable assessment of that person's net worth, what he owns or who he does business with. It will most definitely not show any corrupt or illicit activity since not even an idiot will report those if it exists. It will only show the taxable income for that year (if any) reported to the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board. Whether the return is truthful is for the IRS to audit or determine (if they desire). It is nobody else's business or right to know and the IRS is legally prohibited from disclosing it (even to congress) -- that is the Law. If you don't know these you really need to go back to grade school.
    2 points
  5. 2 points
  6. Did you see anything in any of my posts that mentioned your party of choice? No. If you don’t want people putting words in your mouth then don’t put words into theirs. Oh and your state (I’m assuming you still reside in Illinois) had four choices.
    2 points
  7. How would you that he was the least corrupt if you don’t even want to know how he made his fortune? (Which, for the record, was the tactic used against the Clintons and how they made their money)
    2 points
  8. Yes, incomprehensible. Trump was a reality TV show host, failed real state developer and 'entrepreneur' with a very shady past, who pandered to the religious right, white nationalists, racists, etc. Hillary was Secretary of State, a Senator, very well educated and accomplished. No comparison.
    2 points
  9. Oh no. I am not that extreme at all. I lean right but I am no far right or extremist by any stretch of the imagination. Not like anybody here actually cares but prior to my voting(every time) I look up all candidates, take notes on what they believe in and what I believe in, takes my little scratch pad with me and vote with my heart/opinions. I have never blindly voted all down one side of the ballot for whichever candidates are Republican or Democrats. I'll openly admit to voting for Democrats in this past election along with libertarians and republicans. I have never, and never plan to, blindly vote without informing myself in who I am voting for. I'm sorry if that is how you want to take what I said but. for the record, I do not feel that way. I do care about my fellow citizens and I do care about the future of my country.
    2 points
  10. You keep saying it doesn't matter, but WHY? Show documented proof as to why you think it doesn't matter. Presidents and presidential candidates traditionally release their tax information. What is 45 hiding?
    2 points
  11. And that’s the problem. It should matter. Saying it doesn’t is just turning a blind eye or just doing this...
    2 points
  12. You literally ignored every other reason to check his taxes by focusing only on how much he makes as opposed to how he made it and by what means. That’s the point of the tax reveal. We Americans have an absolute right to know how someone made their fortune once they become a public servant, whether it is Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Nancy Pelosi, or Donald Trump. If you don’t see the reasons why, especially after all the legitimate reasons given on this thread, then you are honestly blind, no offense.
    2 points
  13. His taxes not only matter where his dealings, borrowings comes from...enemies of the USA... It matters because he may be a tax thief and fraud... Not paying taxes, enough taxes is an act of treason all on its own merit... Al Capone...the murderous, scandalous, bootlegging, corrupted organized crime figure...went to Alcatraz...because he did not pay taxes... WTF does that tell you? To take this lightly is incomprehensible to me... Here we are, trying to get rid of lying, cheats to be our elected leaders....we bitch and complain because we have no good choices around yet we enable them just the same... What message does this send to aspiring little future asshat politicians? That its OK to cheat, steal and lie as long as you deny deny deny? GTFO with that shyte...you guys defending Trump's very apparent corrupt ways... Because...we dont see his taxes...we dont know who he is dealing with... Are his friends both in the US and in China gonna benefit with these policies? To hell with the rest of America, as long as his swindling friends benefit? Well, this is why its important for a leader of state be open and transparent with ALL his aspects of life. Public and Private. A leader of state CHOOSES to REPRESENT ALL OF HIS CITIZENS... A leader of state is no longer in power for his own benefit. At least in theory. And well...releasing his taxes may prove to America that he truly is...clean...or dirty... And its a tool...a DEMOCRATIC tool to at least minimize the chances of corruption...
    2 points
  14. When any one person decides to serve the public as a Representative of the People for the People and by the People, that person then does have an obligation to be transparent in showing that they are held to the highest standard in representing us to the world. I would say that YES, the BULK of America Does want to see his Tax returns as it does Legitimately matter. Are you saying it is OK for a Conman to hold the highest public office and not know the real person they are and what they might attempt to do at the cost of the people? This Tariff WAR is hurting our Country, Hurting the People and the approach being taken is one of ignorance and not business savvy. I truly believe in fair trade / open trade as long as there is a balance. Currently we as a nation, public consumption have chosen to allow certain jobs and sectors to go out of the country to allow us to have lower costs. For some things this is not a bad thing, yet for others such as Solar Panels, it is a very bad thing. The decisions of not supporting local production has come from the leadership in Washington and as such I and I am sure many others would like to see just how good a candidate is in being able to do the job, not just a conjob of Marketing with some derogatory remarks. Anyone can be a bully, it takes a real person to lead with compassion, intelligence and teamwork. This country has and always been run by team work. There is no I in team. Tax returns show an insight to how the person has run his own finances and if he can truly run a multi-trillion dollar economy. So far we have some of the highest Debt spending under Trump not seen since WWII which I posted earlier in this thread on page 5 I believe.
    2 points
  15. Yes it does matter to most people. As it should! Its funny to me that severe corrupt practices are being cloaked on you, yet you seem to dance lightly around this... All because you want to cut your nose to spite your face... Like I said to @dwightlooi I dont judge you on your politics. I DO judge you on how you respond...
    2 points
  16. And? A Business plan can be downloaded from the internet. You can even get a Casino template. I highly highly highly doubt he has ever written one, rather he's had people do it for him. Writing a business plan takes attention to detail and a long attention span. Neither of which he has ever demonstrated. Even his own books were written for him by someone else. Deutchebank.... and they're getting subpoenaed over it because it looks like those loans were made without proper underwriting (read: they were money laundering).
    2 points
  17. If you already have lots of money, banks are very willing to give you more if you can show a business plan (in normal economic times, not recessions). It's almost "fog a mirror and show your bank statements" level of easy. I doubt anyone would lend to him these days unless it was a vehicle for some other entity to launder money.
    2 points
  18. The China-US trade situation is VERY SIMPLE... (1) China sells us $540 billion worth of stuff. They only buy $120 million of our stuff. Trade with China cost $420 billion in US Wealth every year. If this is allowed to go on, China will get very rich and we will get very poor. (2) Part of that is low Chinese wages, part of it is high levels of market protection by the Chinese, part of that is from low tariffs on our stupid part and part of it is China simply cheats via exchange rates, intellectual properties violations and industrial espionage. (3) China is VERY replaceable. We do not need Chinese factories at all. If the idea is to have cheap consumer goods, Cambodian factories, Vietnamese factories, Taiwanese factories, Indian factories, Indonesian factories, Thai factories all offer cheap labor -- none of these countries are a geopolitical rival to the USA the way China is. It makes zero sense to enrich your biggest opponent. (4) More importantly, cheap consumer goods and trade volume should not be the objective of public policy. Surpluses or at least the elimination of deficits should be. The revival of American industry should be. Why? Because irrespective of consumer good prices, consumption of US goods enrich US companies and US workers which then pay US taxes, consume US services and buy more US goods. This feeds growth and prosperity back into the US economy. Sending money to another country for cheap stuff simply BLEEDS the US economy and enriches our rivals and enemies. (5) If you believe that a $19 trillion economy cannot do without $120 billion in exports to China, you are delusional. If you believe that $540 billion in imports cannot be replaced with domestic manufacture or alternative imports, you are simply silly. The show down with China is long overdue, and there is no reason a country which buys 5 times as much as it sells cannot win ANY trade war.
    2 points
  19. Fiat Chrysler Automobile has abruptly pulled back on their merger offer with Renault after the second day of negotiations came to a close. The Wall Street Journal reports that Renault's partner, Nissan declined to support the deal according to sources. During a vote today on the Renault board, the two Nissan representative abstained, raising concerns for both FCA and Renault that Nissan would back out of the alliance. This, in turn, caused the French Government (major stakeholder in Renault), to not pledge its support of the deal. The government asked for a delay on the vote until Nissan would guarantee that it would continue with the alliance. The falling of these dominos prompted FCA to withdraw their offer. The move is a heavy blow as FCA had reached a tentative agreement with the French Government on the merger according to two sources speaking to Reuters. FCA, Renault, and the French Government declined to comment. We'll update this story if any new details come to light. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)
    1 point
  20. Cadillac SuperCruise will be available on over 200,000 miles of North American roadways later this year. Cadillac is adding an additional 70,000 miles to the existing 130,000 miles already in the system by the 4th quarter 2019. Cadillac owners will receive an over-the-air update once the system upgrade is completed. On top of the increase in SuperCruise map availability, Cadillac will also make system adjustments to improve performance and enhancements to the Driver Attention system. Last year Cadillac updated the system so that the car would automatically adjust lane centering if a large vehicle was passing close by and also added additional messages in the driver cluster to give more detail as to why SuperCruise may not be available at the moment. Cadillac says that CT6 owners have driven more than 2.5 million miles with SuperCruise active since it was introduced on 2018 model year vehicles.
    1 point
  21. Saw an article this evening that the deal is off, FCA pulled out. https://jalopnik.com/fca-abruptly-backs-out-of-merger-negotiations-with-rena-1835283914?utm_source=jalopnik_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_facebook&fbclid=IwAR2IL8ZnzdpzCsAJszkZJnA-K8L2SezeyWgWE0DTvTBPrhYgfJNymKbpMC0&/setsession
    1 point
  22. People have specifically challenged / questioned his net worth, then advocated for tax returns as if that would answer that question. I've read such in forums and I've seen talking heads on TV express it. I didn't realize so many people have never done their own taxes before. OK, so specifically talking about where his past wealth came from- I have some issue with that as it occurred as a private citizen before he took public office. Anything since should be on the table, or perhaps as far back as his official announcement of candidacy, but prior to shouldn't be pertinent. This country has recently gone down the path that any nefarious event that happened in any point of a private persons life, even decades & decades earlier, should 'rightfully' prevent that person from earning a living in the present or future. Too commonly; it amounts to a vindictive overreach. Or 'vigilante social media vengeance', if you like. surreal : What specifically would -in an ideal situation- you expect to learn from his personal tax return? As dwight alluded to; you're not going to see -for example- a 1099 from the Kremlin. There's just not much information on them as to sources of income. And dwight is correct; if it was illicit, you're not going to see it at all. But dwight- they don't teach tax code in K-12, bud. Until personal tax report release becomes a legal condition of the office, as opposed to voluntary as it is now, I would defer to the decision of the candidate. That said, if he clearly said he would release them (which he did, but only did what- 1 year?), then he should uphold that 'promise'…. but I never hold my breath waiting. Interesting accounting of the Trump Organization; it is bewilderingly multifaceted : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trump_Organization
    1 point
  23. (1) Actually, I completely understand; you on the other hand do not. There is no legal and constitutional requirement. Donald J Trump is not legally or constitutionally required to disclose his income tax returns, period. The IRS is legally prohibited from disclosing private information to anyone including congress. This including any citizen's tax return, period. (2) A person's tax returns does not show where he got is money from, what he owns or any of that. Donald J Trump's tax return may, for instance, show that he made $1 billion from the Trump Organization by selling a certain % stake in the company for more than he invested in those shares. Or, that a dividend of $123 million was paid to him as an Owner of that organization. Or, that a salary was paid to him for services rendered. It will not show how, when or from whom the Trump Organization made any of its money, or with whom it did business with. Anyone including the ice cream man pushing his cart around ought to know this. If you don't understand it, please revisit K12 education. (3) If you don't like the fact Trump is not disclosing his returns you do not have to vote for him. That's your ONLY say in the matter.
    1 point
  24. I'm not doubting that. Sorry, I should know you aren't as familiar with my state as I am. That's my fault. What I meant is that in my state(Illinois) there was one outcome regardless of who I voted for because Chicago has been voting very strongly for the democratic parties for a very long time now, since 1992. Yes, there were literally more than one person to vote for but there was one outcome predicted years in advance. I hope this clarifies my wording error.
    1 point
  25. I don't believe it was outgoing funds. It was the incoming funds that was the issue. It was/is a money laundering foundation for persuasive and powerful people.
    1 point
  26. He was a dogsht candidate. I know he was. I believe he was the best of the two absolutely garbage candidates that made it there. It was terrible that we had to choose between a douche and a turd sandwich(South Park reference that is quite accurate). Personally, I believed in him more than I did Hillary. Neither of those two should have made it to that point.
    1 point
  27. That's an opinionated question you're asking for documentation for... My opinion says, it is meaningless. I, personally, see zero value in seeing one's taxes.
    1 point
  28. Ah, only in it for yourself and you don't give a fuck for the future of the country and its citizens, or for humanity at large. I see.
    1 point
  29. 1 point
  30. And that is your opinion. Luckily, we are each allowed our own in these two beautiful countries. ✌️
    1 point
  31. I know... Its apparent that you are, to put it lightly...NAIVE...
    1 point
  32. And none of that makes any logical sense to me. It all sounds like petty excuses to be upset with somebody. Pick on other crap he has done or said. No matter what anybody says here, you will never be able to convince me that seeing ones' filed taxes is of importance.
    1 point
  33. At the dealer yesterday and today..went in yesterday for the 40k service incl. oil change and filter, air filter and cabin air filter, new wiper blades, tire rotation. Went back today to get the passenger side mirror replaced (I cracked out the housing a couple months ago backing out of the garage). Swapped the floor mats from winter Weathertechs to summer carpet mats, ready for summer.
    1 point
  34. Here’s what you’re not getting. The money possessed by all those other billionaires can be pretty easily verified. Trumps cannot. The man has lied about his wealth for decades and that is a fact. He routinely campaign these finance magazines to show he has more than he actually does. If he wants to really let everyone know how much he has then all he has to do is release his taxes like he promised back in 2016. Otherwise, it’s just another con in a long line of David Dennison cons. Oh and to to answer your Japan debt question, it’s really easy. It sucks but the debt with China is the one growing at a faster rate and we are not always at the potential for military conflict with Japan (not since the 1940s anyway). The ramifications with China are far greater as a result.
    1 point
  35. OK, the whole showing that some do have cash started with you posting this: I was curious to see who has cash on hand in the Billionaire segment and showed that there are many who have plenty of actual cash on hand rather than just paperwork.
    1 point
  36. I quotes only what the wall street journal, JD Powers and Motley Fool has stated for them. The reason for the investment firm cash position is that is what they quoted in the stories about Billionaires net worth and how Warren Buffett is one of the few if only one that could take an all cash position for his net worth. I posted the link because like you, I would also question where one's net worth is lower than a stated cash position.
    1 point
  37. There is a difference between saying you're a billionaire because you have a couple billion in Amazon stock... stocks can be traded for cash. What trump has done is bought a lot of properties and then grossly inflated the value of them... even though he probably couldn't get that amount for them today. At the same time, he depreciates the properties so they look like they're worthless for tax reasons.
    1 point
  38. I doubt he is a billionaire other than on paper as another reason he doesn't want to release his tax returns. He only cares about what people perceive is him, not the real him. Yet it would appear that he is running out of support for Tariffs as Many GOP are not aligning with him about putting tariffs on friends such as Mexico. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republicans-threaten-revolt-may-block-trumps-mexico-tariffs/ar-AACoix1?li=BBnb7Kz
    1 point
  39. Somebody must still be throwing cash at him/his organization. They've built stuff as recent as 2016. https://www.investopedia.com/updates/donald-trump-companies/
    1 point
  40. @ccap41 banks loaned him those monies in the freewilling 1980s...all the way to the loose standards of the mid 2000s... corrupt shyster lawyers and bankers with morally bankrupt businessmen go hand in hand...
    1 point
  41. Those things certainly aren’t currently failing China .
    1 point
  42. Just upgrade to Load Range E tires- they hold their structural shape with next to no air in them. ? - - - - -
    1 point
  43. In the interest of facts & equalibrium, wilipedia has a list of defunct casinos in the Las Vegas valley alone that numbers 47. Casinos apparently go belly up with considerable frequency. MOST industries see frequent individual failures- there are entire gas station brands that have disappeared- perhaps 100, and there are more people & more vehicles every year. A large public business's failure is seldom attributable to a single particular individual. I'm going to assume Trump was not personally running or establishing any policies on the running of any casinos that bore his name. That's in no way a claim that he has not done ruinous things. it's just this sort of loosey goosey nonsense talk ['Trump can't even run a casino'] that grinds my gears. Now, tell me via industry stats that he WAS directly involved in aspects of running them AND his branded casinos have had a failure rate 2 or 3 times that of the industry average, and I start to swing the needle back to point at Trump, tho that alone doesn't tell me what happened.. I prefer to keep things factual, which is to say; better than "fact-based truths" [whatever that may be].
    1 point
  44. So nothing to offer towards the conversation at hand @ocnblu but you sure find time to down vote the truth. Honestly, it’s pretty pathetic and childish at this point but then again Trump supporters tend to reveal themselves as the true snowflakes of the world.
    1 point
  45. They say something like they guarantee a pickup within 10 minutes of your desired departure time. You have to give them enough notice of course.... I usually scheduled it the night before when I go to bed.
    1 point
  46. Agree with everything @Drew Dowdell has stated as that has been my experience to date and Dell Tech has gotten us a corporate discount with Uber and they push their employees to use it both personally and for business to save money. With that said, I have also found a private car service if your are a ways out to be cheapest of them all usually scheduled up days in advanced and then I call the day before to confirm a person will be at my house for pickup. For me where I live, private car service is cheaper than Taxi, Uber or Lyft.
    1 point
  47. Good to know. I did not know one could schedule a pickup. That's a really nice feature. How prompt are they with this? I think with @Drew Dowdell's information, it is pretty obvious that Uber would likely be your best bet with being able to schedule a ride.
    1 point
  48. ^ Agreed on the GN opinion. Exteriors are appealing for the '80s, but I could not live with the interiors, and only the GM (vs. the 442 / Monte / GP) have appropriate performance (stock; there's always mods / power train swaps). I don't know what the power output was, but there was a Riviera Type S turbo (FWD at this point tho) ~ These were sharp cars & still look really good.
    1 point
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