I haven't eaten fast food in a long time so I looked up a Big Mac combo and was shocked to see it was $10. I thought it was more like $6. I'm way out of touch.

Then you're doing yourself a favor by not eating that crap. :)

Yeah. You can still get a deal at fast food by being selective off the dollar menu.

But when I treat the kids to McDonalds and just get 4 combo meals for the family, it is actually a significant expense.

It's hard to believe it costs a family of 4 around $35-40 to eat at places like Wendy's and Arby's. I guess that's part of the point about wages. It seems to me the businesses that have been so opposed to a minimum wage hike almost HAVE to raise prices even further, because that's been the argument all along about why wages can't rise, right? I buy the argument because we see it with other costs that go into the prices we pay (look at the housing market right now - the cost of lumber has caused house prices to skyrocket), so why would wages be any different?

Although, I do believe the bigger companies are far better positioned to withstand wage increases than mom and pops. I guess we'll see.

I looked at your sig and I can't help but wonder what the "Bill Gate's Challenge" is nowadays :p

Yeah, the $10 combo is why I settle for the 2//$3 stuff. Never mind that if I'm bringing it home I don't need the soda. I mean, I can buy two Domino's mediums for $12. Not doing $10 for .2 lbs of burger on a Big Mac.

Phew. I thought you were going to question my paint-chip eating dynasty.

Roe about to say bye-bye: Supreme Court takes Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.

In 2019, McDonalds spent $5 billion to buyback stock which was at a historically high rate. They committed to buying $15 billion back over the next few years.

If you're concerned about their prices, maybe you should be asking why they are doing that which adds zero value to the company besides artificially pumping up their share prices.

Talk of a company raising wages slightly: Whoa, my Big Mac might go up 15 cents

Company spends $5 billion to buyback their own stock: *crickets*

This country is in love with hating each other.

Lori Lightfoot will only grant interviews to journalists of color

So Democrats are okay with racism these days.

You've convinced me. I'm voting only for MAGA Republicans going forward because a Democrat mayor did something silly.

Come back to me when the DNC decides to eliminate every substantive plank in its platform and replace it with "we care only about supporting Lori Lightfoot"

Of course not and this is just stupid as it empowers the racist narrative on the other side, everything like this adds to the division, but as albion mentioned, the GOP can scream louder when they fix their own house.

TBH, neither side is doing a great with inclusion right now and I am beginning to feel like I have no political home in this country these days. Its sad that seemingly everything is about sticking it to the other side and nobody really gives a damn about meaningful discussion to make it better, and when some do step up and try they get drowned out.

This path we are on leads nowhere positive and the ones leading us couldn't give a Rats ass as long as they keep their seats and rack up views on social media.

I was reading that a lot of folks used their stimulus checks to pay down revolving debt. Which is a great thing.1. Except for the big banks that rely on revolving high interest payments as a dependable revenue stream. The article said that the banks were going to be more aggressive in offering credit, etc. to try and get more customers.

And I have definitely noticed that. Several of our credit cards have, without solicitation, increased our credit limits and the like. So if I ever got really drunk and decided to spend way too much at Target and pay if off for the next ten years, I guess I can do that now :-)

1.This is also support for the idea that--by and large--if you give people money, they will make rational choices with it. The more I learn, the more I think that we should start making aid more in the form of cash payments instead of big government programs. Yeah, you will always have people who spend the money on beer instead of shoes for their kids. But no system is perfect. And I think that UBI-type things have worked out better in practice than I would have guessed..

My 21 year old daughter is getting 8-10 credit card offers a week in the mail. This started about 2 months ago. Before that, she'd get 1 offer maybe every 3-4 months.

I used my stimulus to get a Peloton.

I'm not sure of the prospects for passage, but some GOPers in Ohio have introduced a bill that would make it illegal for any entity, schools, businesses, etc., to require any vaccine. It goes so far as to ban even requesting people gt vaccinated.

I've said it before, but I'm genuinely shocked at how quickly the GOP has become anti-vax.

I guess it's not a big jump to go from anti-science (and anti-knowledge) to anti-vax.

MPGA

Make Polio Great Again

FDR approves...

I keep saying this - Trump was trying to take us back to the 1950s but the movement he spawned has morphed into trying to take us back to the 1850s. They want every person for themselves and freedom to do whatever they want, and it's government tyranny and socialism if you even consider the public interest in restricting personal freedoms. This both allows them to do things like open-carry guns with no restrictions and keep the people who don't look/think like them and who can't fend for themselves down.

The natural progression is going to be a bunch of southerners attempting to re-capture and re-settle the west coast in their own image as part of Manifest Destiny 2030, I'm guessing.

Vaccines are good for public health. If people get vaccinated, it will make America stronger. If America is stronger, it will make it harder for Russia to take over and establish a White Nationalist ethno-state. Thus, the GOP is anti-vax.

I realize that my hyperbole does not help anything.

It is born of frustration. When our greatest international enemy is spreading propaganda and that propaganda happens to match your message, why don't you reexamine your message?

Why does it not raise any alarm bells with the GOP?

What needs reexamining? The fact that Russia agrees with them and Democrats disagree is confirmation, not repudiation.
And if we take the GOP at their word as to what they view as a strong and healthy country, why wouldn’t they? Russia represents that worldview much better than Democrats do, at least when viewed through existing media filters.

It’s a little bit of a chicken and egg thing too. The Russian propaganda is designed to hue towards the GOP crazy message, so it’s going to reflect that no matter what. They do it on the left too, it just hasn’t been amplified like FOX and AON do on the right.

Trump always cozied up to the Russians, so maybe they consider them partners rather than international enemies.

Because they aren't concerned nearly as much about external enemies as internal ones. This has been going for quite a while, back to well before Trump, but in general they view Democrats as a greater enemy to what they view America as than any foreign power. If they found their message to be the same thing that Democrats were saying, it would cause them to pause and reconsider. Russia isn't on the same radar screen.

As somebody who isn't a Republican and voted for Biden, even I wouldn't call Russia an enemy and I agree with Edward64 that China is more dangerous to US interests, though as a globalist I'm also not that concerned about those interests in the grander scheme of things. But point being, Russia is not viewed by, at the very least, a sizable minority the way they are often described on this forum.

Key Democrats aim to craft a health-care public option bill as Biden excludes it from recovery plans

I'm actually rather surprised how little attention healthcare has received so far in Biden's administration, given how much attention healthcare policy was given in the elections (especially Democratic primaries)

Until the Court rules, it's an open question whether the ACA will continue beyond this year. I, too, am surprised Dems have largely ignored this threat.

dola

Arizona Republicans passed a bill stripping the powers from the Sec of State, currently a Dem, and giving them to the Attorney General, a Republican.

I'm not sure democracy is going to survive.

Interesting. Wasn't this dismissed as a preposterous "conspiracy theory" before Biden was elected?

Biden orders closer review of Covid origins as U.S. intel weighs Wuhan lab leak theory

It is dead or dying at least. My wife and I are only 52 but are starting to talk about what happens if we go full Orwell 1984 where could we easily retire to outside the US.

My understanding is new information came out saying 3 workers in a Wuhan lab were sick enough to go to the hospital last year, info that China covered up and the WHO may or may not have assisted them in that. In addition the conspiracy theories last year were more entrenched in the thought that this was created as a weapon. Sounds like the current theory is this was more of a leak or accident.

Regardless, I think what we have seen a lot during this pandemic is people seem to have forgotten or ignored as new info emerges experts have a right to change their mind or alter their theories. People are so quick to grab a 5 month old sound bite to try and discredit someone who usually is on the other side of the aisle. It doesn't help anyone and just further muddies the waters.

Yes, the crap I saw all over social media last year is that this was deliberately leaked by China. And, back then everything was literally a theory. I suppose chastising someone for looking into something only when some bit of verifiable information to work off of would support further investigation is a normal thing these days, but it certainly doesn't validate any wild claims made a year ago.

Also, as far as I can tell, the end game on the right is an "own the libs" moment to support Trump calling it the China Virus last year. That's all I've seen so far.

I'm seeing people say they feel frustrated by the slow workings of politics.

Politics in a democracy is deliberative. The checks and balances intended to create stability also create a slow process. Panic doesn't help.

In an autocracy, things can move swiftly, or even instantly

— Teri Kanefield (@Teri_Kanefield) May 27, 2021

Not a bad thing to remember. It can be frustrating as a liberal to see the Dems be so slow and deliberate after watching the GOP.

At this point, I still care more about respecting conservative rights than about enacting liberal policies. And it helps to be reminded of the importance of that.

President Joe Biden, chocolate chocolate chip ice cream in hand, tells @albamonica at Honey Hut Ice Cream, "I can’t imagine anyone voting against establishing a commission on the greatest assault since the Civil War on the Capitol. But at any rate, I came for ice cream." pic.twitter.com/gT1hI7mRL3

— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) May 27, 2021

We sort of low key elected Ted Lasso president.

Biden plans retroactive hike in capital-gains taxes, so it may be already too late for investors to avoid it: report

Is a retroactive tax hike even legal?

C’mon, man!

I don't expect this to happen. There need to be things that Manchin can demand be removed and I expect this will be one of those things.

Even if it is legal, it is very bad policy.

People have to be able to make plans based on what the law is.

You always plan with the idea that the law could change tomorrow. But that's a risk you bear. I don't think that you should have to bear the risk of retroactive changes.

People made good faith financial decisions based on what the law was at the time. You can't pull the rug out from under them, IMO.

Good thing we get up in arms here about the important stuff, like capital gains tax hikes. I'm sure everyone who is complaining in this thread is going to be super-impacted

In my world, capital gains should be taxed as regular income. And payroll taxes should be eliminated and income taxes raised to make up the difference. So I'm totally on the left on this issue.

But I don't like changing the rules in the middle of the game when people relied on those rules in good faith. That concern goes beyond this particular issue.

Pretty much where I am at as well(although I would add wiping the slate clean with deductions too). Payroll taxes are regressive taxes. And I'm not against the idea of any tax raises. I've said many times we need to balance the budget whether with tax increases or spending cuts.

I'm kind of worried about if they allow retroactive capital gains, what else could they make retroactive? Could I face a retroactive fee in the future for something that I did a year ago?

This will never happen, but the corporate tax rate should be zero, the federal income tax and IRS should be abolished. Impose a national sales tax (exempting food and medicine). The poorest would not pay much annual tax at all, while those who consume the most (including corporations) would pay the majority of taxes.

Since we are talking capitol gains, maybe someone can answer this.

My in laws have had a farm in their family for over 200 years. My wife and her sister have both told them we don't want it, and my in laws should sell it and enjoy retirement, so they are. They got an offer for about 10 million, which is split 50/25/25 between my in laws and 2 cousins, with in laws getting 50%

So they are retired. Father in law made a decent living, but not anything over the top, certainly not a million a year. This is basically a one time thing for them. Will they be taxed the 48% on the sale?

I m a huge fan of a flat rate commodities tax, which like you say, let's everyone contribute within their means and it would definitely stimulate spending.

IANATL, but I believe that would fall into a long term capital gain, where the max tax rate is 20% on amounts >$500k for a married couple.

And 75% of federal spending gets eliminated?

dola

The vote on the Jan 6 commission was 54-35, which of course means it failed.

I wouldn't start exempting things like food and medicine. I wouldn't exempt anything. When the lobbyists are done with that, a new $100,000 Tesla will be exempt as "medicinal" because the tinted windows help prevent skin cancer.

A VAT on everything, and everyone gets back the equivalent of taxes on $50,000 in spending. I could be down with that.

The problem is that the rate would have to be really high, so then you are encouraging a black market. So there would be enforcement costs for sure.

Most backers of a national sales tax of VAT won't grapple with the really high rate that would be required. The fact is that most of the federal budget is either mandatory, like interest payments, or popular, like SS, Medicare, and defense. There's no realistic way to get to a budget where even a 20% sales tax would come close to balanced.