TheWiseOldFart

Let me begin with a crude but accurate statement defining Trump and Musk: they are old, white men who are liars, and full of shit. A simple assessment of their actions proves that their efforts have a single purpose: to place even more money into the bank accounts of our nation’s 813 Oligarchs/Billionaires. Fair taxation has always been overlooked in America. History proves that our government has always placed the profits of the super-rich in priority above the welfare of the majority, with the exception of the FDR presidency between 1933 and 1945. If America’s most wealthy citizens paid their fair share of taxes in the past and present, our nation could fund the same programs found in every other developed nation and still have a surplus. Consider this fact: in 2018, Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy supporters greatly reduced the percentage of taxes paid by the one percent. For example: In 2018 Walmart and Amazon paid zero dollars in taxes, while pocketing billions of dollars in prof...

Fact: America is more than 30 trillion dollars in debt. Fact: When Bill Clinton left office in 2001, the national treasury boasted a surplus. Fact: Failed fiscal policies, two illegal wars, wasteful personal spending, and failing to lead our nation in the fight against Covid-19 by two Republican presidents placed our nation in enormous debt. Fact: If every individual and corporation paid their fair share of taxes, America would truly be the richest nation in the world without a single dollar in debt. Most of our serious problems would disappear. American politicians have convinced our poorly informed citizens that taxes are unnecessary and should be lowered. This is one of the biggest lies in our nation’s history. No country can exist without fair and equal taxation. The United States has some of the lowest taxes in the free world. The villain in this story is an institution signed into law on July 1, 1862. It is called the “Internal Revenue Service.” This was a break with the ideas of...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart In 1981 Ronald Reagan created a fiscal polity he titled, “Supply Side Economics.” It quickly became known as “Trickle-Down Economics.” His eight years in office were dominated by high unemployment rates and huge increases in the national debt. Unfortunately, his three Republican successors failed to learn from his mistakes and used the same policy. The result was, in 1992, Bill Clinton rescued Reagan and George H.W. Bush: In 2008, Barack Obama saved our economy from the failures of George W. Bush: and in 2020, Joe Biden prevented another Great Depression after the disastrous incompetence of Donald John Trump. WHAT IS “TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS” The simplest definition of “trickle-down economics” is that it is based on an illusion. Republicans continue to offer a baseless claim that if the wealthiest Americans receive tax cuts and thrive, jobs will be created, and the overall economy will grow exponentially. Experience proves this theory is invalid beyond a reasonab...

Op -ed by TheWiseOldFart   Most Americans Continue to Struggle   I begin with a serious question: when will the quality of life for all Americans become the focus of our nation’s government? I am an original baby boomer. I learned at a very young age that the end of WWII was the beginning of the next military conflict for America. As long as I can remember, our government and its military have been preparing for the next war.   America has Never Prepared for Peace   The truth is that in 2024, the American people pay the least amount of tax in the world of developed nations. Many of our wealthiest citizens and largest corporations pay zero dollars in taxes, or a very minimal percentage of their gross income s . The truth is that the United States tax code is 6,871 pages long. Most of those pages are “loopholes” for the super-rich, allowing them to reduce their tax liability.   The United States Spends Five Times More on its Military than All Other Nations ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   The 2024 IRS budget is 14.1 billion dollars : 1.8 billion dollars more than 2023. It is fair to claim that this system is far more expensive than  it’s worth.   The tax code consists of 6,871 pages. 99 percent of those pages involve exemptions for the wealthy and super-rich as well as large corporations. These advantages are better known as “write-offs.” The basic rules for at least 50 percent of all Americans can be found in the first few pages.   Maybe I’m crazy, but it appears that the primary purpose of the IRS is to assist the wealthy and corporations in their efforts to evade paying their fair share of taxes.   Over my 77 Years Several Suggestions Have Been Made to Create a Simpler and More Just System   Our government is incompetent, and I am not referring solely to what happens on Capitol Hill. Along with the IRS I believe there is enormous incompetence and corruption in the FDA, the FCC, the Consumer Protection ...