U.S. Politics 2017 (split fm US Election: 2016)

[Rifleman62]

What would a resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts with an income of $80K pay in State/Federal income taxes compared with the same in Ontario?

 

[mariomike]

What would a resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts with an income of $80K pay in State/Federal income taxes compared with the same in Ontario?

You would have to ask a tax expert.

After their Health care defeat, looks like they have taxes coming up next on the agenda,
https://twitter.com/ivankatrump/status/902978183372447745?lang=en

 

[Brad Sallows]

The US basically can not afford single-payer if insured people insist on enjoying their current access to health care.  I doubt it will go anywhere.  My prediction is that eventually everyone without employer-provided insurance or the means to buy their own will be found eligible for Medicaid.

 

[Blackadder1916]

What would a resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts with an income of $80K pay in State/Federal income taxes compared with the same in Ontario?

Using some very simple "free online" tax tools (if you want a better analysis you have to pay me) the bottom line is:

Mass - https://smartasset.com/taxes/massachusetts-tax-calculator#ADyqTa39me (see screen capture for figures)

Ont - https://simpletax.ca/calculator (see screen capture for figures)

 

[Rifleman62]

Good info. Things will change if the GOP gets their tax Bill approved. Reduced personal taxes but will not be able to deduct State taxes from Federal taxes. Did your app account for that?

If you have a mortgage your mortgage interest is deductible and that's not changing.

 

[Pencil Tech]

The US basically can not afford single-payer if insured people insist on enjoying their current access to health care.  I doubt it will go anywhere.  My prediction is that eventually everyone without employer-provided insurance or the means to buy their own will be found eligible for Medicaid.

Yes, whenever they talk single payer in the US they talk about a level of coverage better than what we get with provincial health insurance PLUS supplementary if you get it from work. They often cite our system which implies that we get everything including the kitchen sink covered when we don't. I think our level of public coverage in Canada is good, although I think a national pharmacare plan should be included - the federal government could negotiate bulk prices for drugs and it would be cheaper overall. But no wonder those "Obamacare" premiums are so high, considering the level of coverage they expect. And if they want a "single payer" system with that level of coverage it's going to be pretty expensive.

 

[Journeyman]

...... the federal government could negotiate bulk prices for drugs ...

Our government is focused on one drug at a time. 

Speaking of which (and keeping this post "U.S. thread" relevant), my son, who's a VP for a chain of bars, spent a few days down in Denver seeing the effects of legalized marijuana on the bar business.  Being a "business trip," it also included watching a baseball game from a MolsonCoors suite as part of a Q&A session with the CEO of MolsonCoors.


I'm so proud; my baby could have wasted his life being a doctor or a lawyer...  :cheers:

 

[mariomike]

Saw this in Canadian Politics. Replied in US Politics as the source I quoted is American.

One, however, is noisy but largely impotent yet gets the majority of the press coverage. The other is truly violent yet has generally been ignored by press and politicians.

"Islamists have killed about 14 times as many people as Nationalist and Right Wing terrorists who, in turn, have killed about 10 times as many people as Left Wing terrorists."
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/which-ideology-has-inspired-most-murders-terrorist-attacks-us-soil

 

[FJAG]

Saw this in Canadian Politics. Replied in US Politics as the source I quoted is American.

"Islamists have killed about 14 times as many people as Nationalist and Right Wing terrorists who, in turn, have killed about 10 times as many people as Left Wing terrorists."
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/which-ideology-has-inspired-most-murders-terrorist-attacks-us-soil

The problem with this article, as well as the statistics upon which it is based, is that it uses the number of resulting deaths as the criteria of the severity of the problem.

I don't want to get into the argument as to which is the proper criteria but just want to point out that the statistics are very heavily skewed because there was one very major high-death event in the Islamist column (9/11) and one in the right wing column (Oklahoma City).

This article, which is not the be all end all of the discussion either shows that:

Looking at both plots and attacks carried out, the group tracked 201 terrorist incidents on U.S. soil from January 2008 to the end of 2016. The database shows 115 cases by right-wing extremists ― from white supremacists to militias to “sovereign citizens” ― compared to 63 cases by Islamist extremists. Incidents from left-wing extremists, which include ecoterrorists and animal rights militants, were comparatively rare, with 19 incidents.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/domestic-terrorism-white-supremacists-islamist-extremists_us_594c46e4e4b0da2c731a84df

There are obviously issues with how we categorize acts of terrorism and report the statistics but it seems to me that within the US one should be at least equally as concerned about protecting the public from the right wing as the Islamists and much less concerned about the left.

[cheers]

 

[mariomike]

There are obviously issues with how we categorize acts of terrorism and report the statistics but it seems to me that within the US one should be at least equally as concerned about protecting the public from the right wing as the Islamists and much less concerned about the left.

The guys I recall seeing in Toronto years ago were easy to identify. They strutted with ill-fitting homemade uniforms. Mostly content with handing out leaflets and shouting George Lincoln Rockwell slogans.

A few weeks ago at a gathering at a Toronto library, CP-24 gave some of those attending 15 minutes of uninterrupted air-time.
They were relatively well dressed, calm and articulate.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Richview+library+holocaust&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-CA%3AIE-Address&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&dcr=0&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A7%2F11%2F2017%2Ccd_max%3A&tbm=

That is the difference I noticed from the old days. More presentable and media savvy.

I read on here recently about the Proud Boys. I had not heard of them, but they seem harmless enough in their golf shirts.
Proud Boys was founded by a man named Gavin McInnes,
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.777711

 

[mariomike]

If the topic cannot be discussed without reference to Republicans or Democrats and if the discussion requires primarily reference to extreme US occurrences vice reference to anything from this side of the border: then it is probably safe to assume the discussion belongs in one of those US political threads.

OK. The U.S. Homeland Security and Anti Defamation League studies can be discussed in U.S. Politics.

I hate to burst your little bubble but there's no one on this forum (or for that matter in Canadian society in general) who's defending Antifa (much less buying their bridges, drinking their cool-aid, etc).

All we've been saying is that you need to keep perspective and see that violent right-wing extremism is a bigger threat.

You cite Homeland Security respecting the Antifa threat above. You should also look at their information on right-wing extremism such as here:

https://www.hsdl.org/c/forgotten-news-the-constant-threat-of-right-wing-terrorism/

and in particular the Anti Defamation League study that is cited by them here:

https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/CR_5154_25YRS%20RightWing%20Terrorism_V5.pdf

which provides some simple to understand statistics and case studies of what has been happening. Antifa, asinine as it is, pales by comparison.

[cheers]

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Without referencing the nature of the photo which has been concluded IMHO, I would argue that what was pushed on him was social norms vice sexuality. As sexuality is a natural thing, one cannot "push" it in that one cannot just make their children gay, straight, bi, etc. For this, reference the many folks who believe that they can send their children to "pray away the gay" camps to rid their children of the horrors of loving someone different than what their parents want. Tbh, I think that the "pray away the gay" folks are worse than the parents of the child int he photo as many who have went through these camps state that it's akin to torture.

There are good gay parents and bad gay parents. Clearly, this young lad had bad ones. Is it worse than the pageant kid parents, the hockey parents who scream at their children in public for missing a pass, the football parents you can see on the "friday night tykes" show, or other parents who push their agenda's/dreams on their children?

As for Thucidydes original point, that gay marriage is a totalitarian leftist trap to push an agenda, I still adamantly disagree. I still think the opposite- the right states who deny their citizens basic rights such as the right to love another person are the ones who are really using government power to push an agenda.

I know personally of one case where 2 loving gay females have a kid, a boy. These people love their kid to bits, but they have a real "anti-man" hate on. Guess what this kid is going to grow into to? He is screwed up, trying to hide his masculine side so his parents won't hate him. It's not that they mean to, but they have set up this kid to fail badly.

 

[mariomike]

I know personally of one case where 2 loving gay females have a kid, a boy.

American Academy of Pediatrics
National Study of Lesbian Families Finds Teenage Children Are Well-Adjusted
https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/National-Study-of-Lesbian-Families-Finds-Teenage-Children-Are-Well-Adjusted.aspx
The National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study was initiated in 1986 to follow a cohort of American lesbian families from the time the children were conceived until they reach adulthood.

 

[YZT580]

A while back I got charged a bunch of milpoints for failing to provide documentation on this subject.  I knew that I had read several reports but a google search failed to turn them up.  Thus I remained silent.  Well, I switched search engines and lo and behold, those other not so favourable reports came to light.  So, at the risk of being charged again I will restate that there are significant studies, allbeit with small sample groups (primarily because there are not a lot of cases on either side that are documented) that appear to support the theory that the children of same sex parents have a greater risk  of depression and other psychological ailments than those of the conventional family defined as one male father and one female mother.  The reports were authored by sociology professor Paul Sullins who found that “at age 28, the adults raised by same-sex parents were at over twice the risk of depression as persons raised by man-woman parents.” In addition, there was an “elevated risk associated with imbalanced closeness and parental child abuse in family of origin; depression, suicidality, and anxiety at age 15; and stigma and obesity.” and by no less an organisation than the U.S. Department of Health and services who wrote about the importance of biological fathers in the healthy upbringing of adolescents. 

Since then incidentally I have noticed a distinct left-wing bias in the search results on Google and I now use Duckduck when I am looking for anything other than simple facts or hotels.

 

[kkwd]

Senator Feinstein is proposing legislation called “Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act”.

It says:

Except as provided in paragraph (2), on and after the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, it shall be unlawful for any person to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a trigger crank, a bump-fire device, or any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun.

Para (2) refers to the government entities being able to obtain such devices.

https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/a/7/a7493ca2-0cd7-416a-8d1f-929d89e71572/0141802AFBB99AC5EA299D5B71B98A52.automatic-gunfire-prevention-act.pdf


http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/10/foghorn/feinsteins-automatic-gunfire-prevention-act-might-make-replacement-triggers-illegal/

 

[Blackadder1916]

. . . I will restate that there are significant studies, allbeit with small sample groups  . . . The reports were authored by sociology professor Paul Sullins  . . .

Since then incidentally I have noticed a distinct left-wing bias in the search results on Google and I now use Duckduck when I am looking for anything other than simple facts or hotels.

I am always leery of basing an opinion on "studies" with a single author.  There is such a thing as author bias and, (to use "professor" Sullins proper title) Reverend Sullins of Catholic University may have some of the inherent biases of his primary profession (priesting) and his religion.  I haven't read any of his studies - you didn't provide any links to them or of any peer reviews - so I can't comment on the rigorousness of his scholarship.  However, The Atlantic has looked at it.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/02/using-pseudoscience-to-undermine-same-sex-parents/385604/

Using 'Pseudoscience' to Undermine Same-Sex Parents

A new study claims that the children of gay couples are more likely to have emotional and developmental problems, but reveals more about the researcher than his subjects.

Of course, some may also claim that my biases show in this and other posts.  A valid comment.

 

[kkwd]

The NRA weighs in on "bump stocks". This could cause heads to explode among people saying the NRA has blood on it's hands for many incidents.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=nra+blood+on+it%27s+hands&t=hb&ia=web

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/05/politics/nra-bump-stocks/index.html

 

[mariomike]

The NRA weighs in on "bump stocks".

Regulate, not ban. I believe automatic weapons have been banned since the Dillinger era in the US. The "bump stock" seems to be a clever modern day work around.

"Firearms subject to the 1934 Act included shotguns and rifles having barrels less than 18 inches in length, certain firearms described as “any other weapons,” machineguns, and firearm mufflers and silencers."
https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/national-firearms-act

They have also weighed in on silencers,
https://www.google.ca/search?dcr=0&q=nra+silencers+deregulate&oq=nra+silencers+deregulate&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i21k1j33i160k1.21037.24558.0.24852.11.11.0.0.0.0.288.1932.0j7j3.10.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.10.1918...0i22i30k1.0.ytFYRk8llyw

And had this to say about sawed-off shotguns, which have also been outlawed since 1934,
"However, short-barreled rifles and shotguns have becoming increasingly popular for home defense and defensive-skills-based marksmanship training and competitions, and sound suppressors have become increasingly popular for marksmanship training and competitions, and for hunting."
https://www.nraila.org/issues/national-firearms-act-nfa/

This could cause heads to explode among people saying the NRA has blood on it's hands for many incidents.

My head is just thankful to live on our ( admittedly imperfect ) side of the border. 

The NRA will never have blood on its hands. That's for those whose job it is to pick up the fallen.

 

[FJAG]

I know personally of one case where 2 loving gay females have a kid, a boy. These people love their kid to bits, but they have a real "anti-man" hate on. Guess what this kid is going to grow into to? He is screwed up, trying to hide his masculine side so his parents won't hate him. It's not that they mean to, but they have set up this kid to fail badly.

I presume that if both his parents are "man haters" then he could be screwed up. Remember though that most lesbians aren't man haters; they just prefer to love women.

I expect that there are probably millions more men in heterosexual relationships who demean and or use violence against the women they live with or demand that they be submissive/subservient. I expect that their children are equally screwed up.

It's never a good idea to use a small sampling of off-kilter individuals to judge an entire group.

[cheers]

 

[Loachman]

Regulate, not ban. I believe automatic weapons have been banned since the Dillinger era in the US. The "bump stock" seems to be a modern day work around.

They have also weighed in on deregulating silencers ( 1934 )
https://www.google.ca/search?dcr=0&q=nra+silencers+deregulate&oq=nra+silencers+deregulate&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i21k1j33i160k1.21037.24558.0.24852.11.11.0.0.0.0.288.1932.0j7j3.10.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.10.1918...0i22i30k1.0.ytFYRk8llyw

And had this to say about sawed-off shotguns, which have also been outlawed since 1934,
"However, short-barreled rifles and shotguns have becoming increasingly popular for home defense and defensive-skills-based marksmanship training and competitions, and sound suppressors have become increasingly popular for marksmanship training and competitions, and for hunting."
https://www.nraila.org/issues/national-firearms-act-nfa/

My head is just thankful to live on our ( admittedly imperfect ) side of the border. 

That would depend upon where, precisely, one would live on their side of our mutual border. There are large swathes with homicide and other violent crime rates lower than similar jurisdictions in Canada. In general, it is the large cities with large numbers of people, mainly black, trapped in ghettoes with no hope of economic improvement in their lives, fractured families (no fathers at home), a sad history of race-based oppression, and rampant drug gangs that drive up the US national homicide and other violent crime rates.

Those cities are usually Democrat-controlled and have extremely-restrictive "gun control" laws as a result, which merely ensure that police and criminals are the only ones armed. Everybody else is just prey.

Automatic firearms made post-1986 are unlawful. Those made and owned prior to that remain lawful. They are, though, in short supply and tend to be expensive to acquire (and feed), plus there is a $200.00 transfer tax. The sound moderator (they do not "silence") deregulation makes sense. They would have been totally irrelevant in Las Vegas had that a-hole used them - and would have quickly burnt out anyway. For those wishing to flout laws other than homicide laws, automobile oil filters can be adapted quite easily and there is plenty of information regarding that on Youtube.

The causes of, and remedies for, crime are complex and are not significantly influenced by "gun control" laws, which seldom achieve the stated effect. Laws in the US vary from state-to-state, county-to-county, and city-to-city, as do crime rates.