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Politics : The Donald Trump Presidency -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: locogringo who wrote (3007)	10/20/2015 8:02:09 PM
From: GROUND ZERO™	Respond to of 73779

I lifted his ban so he can prove me wrong, I told him he was posting only to be provocative... so, we'll see what he does with his posting privileges... GZ

To: locogringo who wrote (3007)	10/20/2015 8:14:23 PM
From: Honey_Bee	1 Recommendation Recommended By locogringo Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 73779

Mr. Gringo...I really appreciate the heads-up! You know that I like to avoid wild-eyed liberal whackos. That's why I am very selective about where I post on Silicon Investor.

To: locogringo who wrote (3007)	10/20/2015 8:45:35 PM
From: Mongo2116	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 73779

Fact-Checkers: Trump Is A Liar, U.S. Doesn’t Have Highest Tax Rate In The World by James DeVinnie • October 20, 2015 1627 SHARES SHARETWEET Donald Trump has a habit of making ridiculous and patently false statements to support his imagination-based brand of politics. Whenever he is called out on his lies, he likes to point out that, since he’s a businessman rather than a politician, he can’t be expected to know or research basic facts. One would think, however, that such a successful businessman – or presidential candidate for that matter – would have at least a rudimentary grasp of how taxes work. Trump shattered that notion last week when he announced to a cheering crowd that “we’re going to reduce taxes tremendously because we have the highest tax rate anywhere in the world and our middle class is being absolutely destroyed.” The fantasyland of Trump and his apparently mindless supporters aside, in reality this statement couldn’t be further from the truth no matter how you measure it. A list compiled by the international tax advising firm KPMG found that the United States’ top income tax rate – 39.6% – ranks 33rd out of 112 countries surveyed. A different analysis ranked the U.S. 38th out of 155 countries. As for the bottom income tax level, the United States’ minimum of 10% ranked 42nd out of 152 countries surveyed by Ernst & Young, an international accounting firm. Despite these middle of the pack rankings – and the fact that after deductions the average American pays an effective tax rate of only 9.5% – one could argue that such measures are inadequate because of some nations’ emphasis on corporate or payroll taxes rather than income taxes. No cigar for The Donald here either, though. In fact, the United States ranks even lower internationally on analyses that measure the overall tax burden. For example, in the measurement of tax revenue as a percentage of GDP – widely considered an effective measure by tax experts – the United States’ rate of 25% ranks it 27th out of 30 advanced economies studied by the OECD. In a World Bank ranking of taxation as a percentage of GDP, the U.S. ranked a far-from-the-highest 103rd out of 115 countries studied. Finally, when ranking by the measure of tax revenue per capita, the U.S. figure of $13,482 ranks us 16th out of 29 countries surveyed by the OECD. Any way you slice it, America’s tax rates are far from the highest in the world, and in fact often rank among the lowest. To Republicans like Trump, however, who inhabit an alternate reality based on what they believe should be true rather than what is demonstrably true, these facts don’t stop him from claiming the exact opposite. Such blatant lying is a tactic that tends to go over well with the circus-going Republican base for whom idiocy and ignorance have become something like virtues in the battle against “political correctness,” which is usually longhand for “facts.” I for one would like to inhabit a democracy where repeatedly making such demonstrably backwards claims would discredit a candidate; in the Republican dream world, however, rhetoric has been completely divorced from reality and Trump remains as strong as ever as a presidential contender. __________________

To: locogringo who wrote (3007)	10/20/2015 9:17:19 PM
From: Mongo2116	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 73779

The More Donald Trump Lies, The More His Popularity Climbs October 19, 2015Deborah Montesano Politics Republish Reprint To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of Donald Trump’s political death have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, despite his continuing spate of outrageous lies, the Donald’s numbers in the polls have climbed to an all-time high. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, taken Oct. 15-18, questioned likely voters in the Republican primary about their first choice among candidates for president. In the same poll, taken last month, Trump’s support was at 21%, with Ben Carson’s at 20%. The two candidates were in a dead heat. TRUMP LIES, THE POLLS RISE This month, Trump has gained four percentage points while Carson has gained only two, giving the billionaire a 25% to 22% advantage. Add them together, and that means that 47% — or almost half — of Republican voters want a candidate who either can’t tell the truth (Trump) or lives in an alternate reality (Carson). But, believe it or not, it gets worse. The above figures reflect voters’ first choice in the primary race. When voters were asked about the Republican candidates they could support in the general election, the numbers take an enormous jump. Fifty-nine percent can see themselves supporting Trump. But get this — 74% could back Carson! It defies comprehension. Trump lies about taxes. He lies about Bernie Sanders being a communist. He lies about immigration and Mexicans and the Mexican government and Obamacare and just about everything that comes tumbling out of his mouth. Politifact found almost two months ago that Trump is the lying-est Republican candidate in the race — and that was a whole lot of lies ago. Of course, when voters are looking at an entire field of liars, what are they to do — short of leaving the Republican Party and making a reasonable choice for president? There is no close third choice out of the other members of the Liars’ Club. Marco Rubio had the next highest number as voters first choice, at 13%. Ted Cruz came in at 9%. Jeb Bush at 8%. Carly Fiorina at 7%. And then the rest of the also-rans were below that. TRUMP LIES MUST BE MORE POTENT THAN OTHER LIES So, if all of the Republican candidates are blatant liars (and they are, just check the links), why do the Donald Trump lies keep propelling him to the top of the heap? Brittney Cooper of Salon put forth this hypothesis: “While I view his particular performance of right-wing politics and white masculinity as buffoonish, he seems to offer comfort to those on the right who are deeply invested in returning the country’s leadership to someone who looks and thinks like them… his brash and unapologetic political incorrectness bespeaks comfort, a seeming return to normalcy for those Americans who believe that progress and change are happening too fast.” Now that’s one of the most horrifying thoughts to come out of this campaign. The implication is that right-wing Republicans have to feed off of a continual stream of lies — told by and to themselves, as well as by others — in order to merely feel okay. The next most horrifying thought may be this: What’s going to happen next November, after right-wing illusions turn to ashes? After their hopes for feeling ‘ok’ and ‘normal’ are forever gone? __________________