Angry Citizen Voters

Don’t get sick or have a major accident. The tax bill takes away the medical expense deduction. Don’t have dependents.  Under the proposal, dependent-care benefits that families receive from employers for things like day care or elder care, including flexible spending accounts, will become taxable.   Don’t move for a better job.  The bill would repeal the deduction for moving expenses when families take a new job that is at least 50 miles away. Don’t plan to buy a home. The Republicans want to end a program that lets state and local governments issue private-activity bonds to finance housing and let homeowners claim a tax credit on certain mortgages.  Don’t plan to go to college.  The bill repeals numerous education deductions and credits. It also makes taxable the value of the tuition and other benefits universities give to their graduate teaching and research assistants. Ditto for education benefits offered by employers to their workers.  Don’t keep up with inflation. One o

The Administration has proposed a tax plan to benefit the wealthy.  Trump was able to dominate the media for days with the Republican tax plan.  So why was there no Democratic Party tax plan announced the same day as the Republican plan? It is not enough for Pelosi and Schumer to hold a press conference to complain about the Republican plan. There should have been a Democratic Plan that the media could analyze and discuss for days and compare it to the Republican plan.

A pesticide, which belongs to a class of chemicals  developed as a nerve gas , is now found in food, air and drinking water. Human and animal studies show that it damages the brain and reduces I.Q.s while causing tremors among children. It has also been  linked  to lung cancer and  Parkinson’s disease  in adults. This chemical,  chlorpyrifos , is hard to pronounce, so let’s just call it Dow Chemical Company’s Nerve Gas Pesticide. Even if you haven’t heard of it, it may be inside you: One  2012 study  found that it was in the umbilical cord blood of 87 percent of newborn babies tested. And now the Trump administration is embracing it, overturning a planned ban that had been in the works for many years. The Environmental Protection Agency actually banned Dow’s Nerve Gas Pesticide for most indoor residential use 17 years ago — so it’s no longer found in the Raid you spray at cockroaches. The E.P.A. was preparing to ban it for agricultural and outdoor use this spring, but t

The House of Representatives just voted to add $1.5 trillion to the debt for corporate tax cuts, but won’t commit to more than $1 billion for the opioid “emergency.” October 27, 2017   (from New York Magazine) On Thursday, House Republicans decided that tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are such an urgent necessity, it would be worth adding  $1.5 trillion to the deficit  to ensure their passage. Hours later, the Republican president declared the opioid epidemic a “public health emergency” — but  refused to commit a single dollar  of new funds to address it. Although the GOP has voted to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit for their tax plan, the president has actually proposed some  $5.8 trillion in cuts  (to be offset with unspecified loophole closures and spending cuts). According to an analysis  from the Tax Policy Center , the top one percent of income earners would collect about 80 percent of that lost revenue. So, at a time when corporate profits and incom

A current  ad campaign  is asking children to “be scary good” and “trick or treat for UNICEF.”  The promotion claims it will “help kids affected by recent emergencies.” Before taking part, however, it’s worth asking about protections of the rights of children in the countries that run UNICEF. UNICEF is the children's relief agency of the United Nations.  Sitting on UNICEF’s Executive Board are two countries that permit some of the worst abuses of children to go unchecked:  Iran and Saudi Arabia . Saudi Arabia has failed to enact meaningful reform measures to prevent what has been called the “well-entrenched” practice of child marriage. In one reported case from 2008, a court refused to annul the marriage of a girl of  eight  – that’s younger than many of the trick-or-treaters that UNICEF is asking to help them raise money.   Iranian children of the Baha’i faith, along with their parents and all other Baha’i, have been branded “deviants,” and “enemies of God.” Iran also continues to

On Tuesday, Congress passed a bill preventing a regulation from going into effect that would have made it easier for consumers to file class action lawsuits against financial firms, particularly banks. The bill rescinded a rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would strip language from certain financial agreements forcing consumers into arbitration instead of allowing people to sue. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tiebreaking vote on the bill to strike down the CFPB's rule since Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John Kennedy voted against the measure. The issue became particularly heated after the recent Wells Fargo and Equifax scandals. In Wells Fargo's case, it emerged after the bank's fake accounts scandal that the bank included language that forced consumers into arbitration. And Equifax was found to have created a website that  pushed people toward arbitration  rather than lawsuits following that company's massive data breach.

Is this how we make America great? “The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced that it is  canceling a proposed rule  intended to reduce the risk of sleep apnea-related accidents among truck drivers and railway workers.” From Ralph Nader in the NY Times, October 23, 2017

Why Has the E.P.A. Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots. A scientist who worked for the chemical industry now shapes policy on hazardous chemicals. Within the E.P.A., there is fear that public health is at risk. By  ERIC LIPTON OCT. 21, 2017  New York Times WASHINGTON — For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has struggled to prevent an ingredient once used in stain-resistant carpets and nonstick pans from  contaminating drinking water . The chemical,  perfluorooctanoic acid , or PFOA, has  been linked to  kidney cancer, birth defects, immune system disorders and other serious health problems. So scientists and administrators in the E.P.A.’s Office of Water were alarmed in late May when a top Trump administration appointee insisted upon the rewriting of a rule to make it harder to track the health consequences of the chemical, and therefore regulate it. The revision was among more than a dozen demanded by the appointee, Nancy B.

Donald Trump's Impeachable Offense The commander in chief’s calls to abridge freedoms of speech and the press represent attacks on the Constitution he swore to protect and defend. Conor Friedersdorf Oct 13, 2017 From The Atlantic Whereas  Donald J. Trump stood beneath American flags on the steps of the United States Capitol on January 20, 2017, placed his hand on a Bible, and  spoke these words : I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States; and will,   to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God. Whereas  the Constitution of the United States reads in part, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” W

The Administration has proposed a health plan to benefit the wealthy and take heath coverage away from millions of citizen voters. Why is there no health plan to benefit the middle class? Is there no one in either the Democratic or Republican parties who wants the vote of angry citizen voters?

The Administration has proposed a tax plan to benefit the wealthy. Why is there no tax plan to benefit the middle class? Is there no one in either the Democratic or Republican parties who wants the vote of angry citizen voters?