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Nick Bacarella's avatar

Trump made most of his early money on pass-through exceptions and, given that he's almost 80, is probably looking to devolve more and more assets to his kids. The extent to which this budget is just nakedly about his OWN self-interest is so brazen it's almost funny.

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Martin King's avatar

Love the idea of getting specific but man, I felt like I wanted to know more specifically how the 199A change affects Derek, not just the 800B over 10 years. What's his tax liability under current law vs. OBBBA vs., say, if he was CEO of a public flooring company and was paid the same in wages

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Mike Edwards's avatar

I agree with the evidence Medicaid (and other benefit) work requirements don’t increase workforce participation and instead result in many people who otherwise meet the prescribed work (broadly defined) requirements losing health coverage due to the complexity of completing the necessary paperwork.

But I also understand the (uniquely American) impulse towards believing such a policy is “good” because it may prevent freeloaders.

Are you aware of any Democrats who accept this impulse and rather than try to defeat it, push for ways to make completing the paperwork easier? While not the ideal policy solution for many on the broad left, I could see it having appeal in many purple/reddish districts where the median voter agrees with the broad idea of work requirements (even if they may not ultimately like them in practice).

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jendet's avatar

One option would be that you randomly audit those who attest to meeting the requirements and people face jail time if they lie. This is how we do tax compliance, college financial aid, and a lot of environmental compliance. No reason this couldn't work well here!

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Dana's avatar

As someone who works with the public as a healthcare provider, the damage of cutting/reducing medicaid with be widespread and affect those in most need of care. Not to mention that this will likely further increase the general public’s distrust of government and healthcare services.

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J. P. Dwyer's avatar

This GOP tax bill is the fourth act in the conservative agenda to reduce any benefits that have been created to assist Americans with a safety net that is paid by the government. Reagan began the federal tax cuts, both Bushes continued the assault and Trump 1 and now again, the tax cuts continue. This time, they had prepared for the elimination of federal organized health care for a long time. The conservatives have worked doggedly to put people into positions of power who will contribute to the ultimate goal of shrinking government where ever possible. Trump is just a salesman with the right personality flaws who can be exploited and manipulated into carrying out the long sought after goals of minimal government support for the general public.

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Ankur Goel's avatar

I feel like I'm missing something for the pass-through deduction. From what I can tell, this provision fades out completely if a married filer makes more than $483,000. I don't particularly like the handout, but it's not like it's going to help Derek Olson at National Flooring Equipment.

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Joe Bronstein's avatar

Liked the intro on messaging. I've always liked Pete Buttigieg for his politics, but I am always impressed at how good of a communicator he is. He might be the best in the democratic party. That guy is always on TV (he does a great job on fox news), podcasts, and social media, and is very good at communicating his stance/opinions clearly and effectively. Obviously political agendas and ideas matter, but his communication skills are going to make him a real threat for 2028. I would not want to debate that guy.

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