Day: October 2, 2020

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So the new version of the blog theme is up and running

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So the new version of the blog theme is up and running. I was getting tired of the old theme, and while it was a nice transition between the pre-2020 version and what we have now, it was too slow and didn’t quite go for the message I was looking for on the blog. That said, there is more to do — the mobile version has issues — and I’m sure I’ll find further bugs, but for now I’m quite happy on how things turned out.

Pandemonium Inside the White House as Trump Contracts COVID-19 | Vanity Fair

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“No One Knows Where This Is Going to Go”: Pandemonium Inside the White House as Trump Contracts COVID-19 | Vanity Fair

Donald Trump, Melania, and Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19. “There are so many threads to pull. No one knows where this is going to go,” a stunned former West Wing official told me. 

The biggest unknown is the state of the president’s health. This morning the New York Times reported that Trump is exhibiting “coldlike symptoms.” Two Republicans in close contact with the White House told me that Trump’s symptoms have included a cough and fever. Melania is said to be asymptomatic. “They are worried about the president because of his age,” one of the sources said. Sources said Trump will likely want to be seen in public as soon as possible to blunt the narrative that he is sidelined by the virus he’s spent the last six months downplaying. “He’s going to want to get out there a lot sooner than people think,” the former official said. “But it will be hard to hide if he’s sick. Also, who will want to be in a room with him?” The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

It's crazy but somewhat predictable. Coronavirus is a nasty thing, but it seems like social distancing and masks has made a difference and helped reduce the spread. Hopefully the President has learned his lesson.

 

The ugly numbers are finally in on the 2017 Trump tax rewrite | Salon.com

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The ugly numbers are finally in on the 2017 Trump tax rewrite | Salon.com

Those making $50,000 to $100,000 for example, paid just three-fourths of 1 percentage point less of their incomes to our federal government. People making $2 million to $2.5 million saw their effective tax rate fall by about three times that much.

Now let's compare two groups, those making $50,000 to $100,000 and those declaring $500,000 to $1 million. The second group averaged nine times as much income as the first group in 2018.

Under the Trump tax law, the first group's annual income taxes declined on average by $143, while the second group's tax reduction averaged $17,800. Advertisement:

Put another way, a group that made nine times as much money enjoyed about 125 times as much in income tax savings.

This disparity helps explain Trump's support among money-conscious high-income Americans. But given the tiny tax benefits for most Americans, along with cuts in government services, it is surprising Trump enjoys significant support among people making less than $200,000.