Scroll down to read this post.

 

My February birthday fund-raising campaign for this website, Behind the Black, is now over. Despite a relatively weak initial three weeks, the last week was spectacular, making this campaign the second best ever.

 

Thanks to every person who donated or subscribed. It continues to astonish me that people who can read my work for free like it enough to donate money voluntarily. Words cannot express my appreciation for that support, especially in these uncertain times.

 

If you have been a regular reader and a fan of my work and have not yet donated or subscribed, please consider doing so. I take no ads, I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands (most of the time). Thus, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652


Republican leaders to introduce tax increase

Failure theater: The Republican leadership in Congress is about to introduce tax increase, increasing the tax rate for the lowest bracket from 10% to 12%, while making believe that it really is a tax cut.

The plan will also increase the tax deduction, which they will then claim means that the tax increase really doesn’t matter.

They really have an utter contempt for the people who voted for them, not unlike the utter contempt being shown right now by the NFL to its customer base. Well, if you spit on your supporters don’t expect them to support you much longer.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

19 comments

  • Cotour

    This Trump / NFL kneeling controversy ends only in one way, in Trumps favor. The mass of the American population are firmly on his side, and yes, even Liberals! (To my amazement)

    I had a conversation the other night with a rabid Obama loving Liberal, she initiated the conversation, she looked forward to it. The subject? The taking of the knee in the NFL. 100 percent against it, no if’s and’s or buts about it. I was shocked. She so confused me that I had to have her specifically state what her position was. I told her: “Even though you are a plainly very confused Liberal this revelation gives me real hope”.

    These NFL players and now owners who are in the process of destroying their golden goose are very misguided and are being manipulated by a Leftist based strategy. Their protests are entirely inappropriate and not based in their free speech. There is no free speech in the work place (not without the real potential for consequences). You want to express yourself? You and your fellows are multi millionaire professional football players? Go out into the community or the media market and buy some time and make your statement and explain what your are soo upset about.

    It would be like a doctors secretary taking the liberty while at work to lecture all patients on the positive aspects of abortion every time that she spoke to a patient, without the sanction or instruction of the doctor, and the doctor is a devoted Christian. How long would you expect to keep your job if you did the same in someone else’s practice, or store, or restaurant, or hardware store, or professional office, Etc, etc?

    And to boot, these activities are as I understand it directly against NFL stated policy. “Players will stand at the playing of the national anthem”.

    I feel sorry for the players to a degree, these mostly black players want to make a statement about some level of police brutality that many would agree with in some instances but this fails on so many levels and in the end it will certainly cost them dearly in their bank accounts.

    Trump is working it (working the media and the liberal / leftist operatives) in Trumps own special American meatball way, and I entirely agree with him. Even Edward must agree with him in this issue. He plainly puts it right in your face and insists that you see things in their proper perspective, no spin, no massaged BS.

  • Cotour

    And here we go, Clooney wrote a poem, and is taking a knee, pandering to the differently pigmented and permanently dependent “slave” class:

    http://pagesix.com/2017/09/26/george-clooney-pens-prayer-for-u-s/?_ga=2.141442353.209011529.1506382257-1353888609.1505929022

    Clooney and the 2020 presidential election, we are beginning to see more and more shaped and crafted Clooney presidential imagery. I think the famous rather than the professional politico will be the go to strategy for the Democrat solution to win in the coming future elections.

  • Garry

    I will not form an opinion on the new tax plan until I see the net effect. I’d like to see a graph of (1) the current tax vs. income (before deductions) superimposed with (2) the same relationship for the proposal. And the proposed scheme doesn’t necessarily have to tax less at every single income level to be better than the existing scheme.

    As always, the devil is in the details.

    On the NFL thing, I have a simple statement: although our nation is far from perfect, the flag represents our ideals. If you don’t respect the ideals of this nation, then I don’t support you; find some other way to bring attention to your grievances, because this way doesn’t help your cause at all.

  • wodun

    OT: Making the kneeling about Trump hijacks the protest from its alleged meaning. When it becomes an anti-Trump protest, it ceases to be about racist police.

    The whole thing is stupid. Keep the politics out of sports. And the BLM people need to realize that police misconduct affects more than just black people.

  • Garry: I have grown very cynical about such tax proposals. What I have seen is that the goal of these kinds of schemes has been to always disguise an actual increase. The increased deduction will be temporary, or will be adjusted back to its old numbers in just a few years, but the percentage increase will never go away.

    Or to put it another way, I take literally your statement, “the devil is in the details.” They are lying, and do not intend to do what they promise.

  • wayne

    Fully agree, they are lying and do not intend to do what they promise.

  • wodun

    Gary has it right. We need to see more before we can make up our minds.

    Doubling the standard deduction could offset a tax rate increase of 2% but in the past, it was mentioned that many deductions would be eliminated. If so, this means that the doubling of the standard deduction isn’t just to appease the lowest tax bracket but also the upper ones.

    This is what Reagan ended up doing and has generally been part of conservative policy positions ever since. Lowering the tax rate in conjunction with simplifying the tax code through eliminating deductions should lead to increased growth and not as much loss of revenue from taxes.

    We are missing a key piece of information, a table of taxable income. The tax rate is important but we need to know what incomes those rates apply to. I’m not finding anything with a quick google.

    Using the current taxable income table, doubling the standard deduction means an individual has to earn an additional $6,350 before paying taxes. So $20,025 up from $15,675. That is good for anyone making minimum wage. After that, paying 12% instead of 10% on taxable income ($9,325) means an increase of $187 ($1,119 new total vs $933 old total) in taxes paid of the taxable income. But they also have a net increase in after tax income of $6,164 ($20,025 new vs old $15,675 minus the $187).

    We really need the taxable income table though.

  • wayne

    If the term “revenue-neutral” comes up, that means they are lying 101%.

  • wodun

    OK, I messed up my analysis a little but the answer is still the same. I forgot to include the personal exemption but since that isn’t changing, the conclusion still works. Its just that the total income would be higher. Basically, you get to keep more of your money because you wont get taxed until you reach a higher earned income.

    People shouldn’t confuse a tax rate cut with a tax revenue cut. Cutting the tax rate and simplifying the tax code could lead to an increase in tax revenue. With less exemptions, it can make the system more equitable because not everyone qualifies for those deductions. It would mean more people paying closer to the actual tax rate rather than some people having more ways to deduct money.

    When Reagan cut taxes and simplified the tax rate it lead to an increase in tax revenue. This was partly through growth but partly because there were less ways to avoid paying your taxes.

  • Garry

    I think the tax code has to be evaluated by several criteria

    -The tax base should be wide; theoretically, when people are paying, they would be more willing to support lower spending. Doubling the personal exemption goes against this criterion (I should have thought of this before my earlier post)

    -Fewer exemptions: the mortgage tax credit, for example, tends to make houses more expensive than they would be otherwise. Why should the government effectively subsidize the housing market over other sectors?

    -There should be incentives for people to increase their income

    -Simpler is better; I get the feeling a lot of our tax legislation is driven by the accounting industry, to keep themselves employed

    One huge problem is the static scoring by the CBO. There is no strict requirement to be revenue neutral, and if there was, dynamic scoring would make more sense. One piece of evidence that the Republicans are not serious about tax reform is that they don’t just give the CBO requirement the Gordian Knot treatment.

  • Garry

    I should have added another criterion for a good tax code: Predictability. for example, if they decide to take away the deduction for mortgage interest, they should grandfather it in, and phase it out over a period of years, as (1) people use features of the tax code to make decisions that have long-term consequences (2) eliminating the deduction would lead to a flurry of buying, thereby raising prices, followed by a drop in demand once the deduction is eliminated, lowering house prices.

    Similarly, businesses are not going to decide to move their operations here (or keep them here) if they can’t expect some degree of stability in tax policies over the mid to long term.

  • Cotour

    Bryant Gumble solemnly comments on Trump and the NFL controversy.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/byrant-gumbel-trump-nfl_us_59cb44f1e4b02aef6cd61351?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

    There is only one problem, in the end calculation the American people choose their country and patriotism over a some athletes attempting to make a social / political statement in an inappropriate venue. Boiled down, sports is just sports, Bryant.

    If Colin Kaepernick or any other sports figures want to communicate their concerns for their communities and any injustices that they believe exist then go into those communities and do good works. Attempt to teach and reform those who have given the validity to those negative stereotypes both in the police world and the disadvantaged and minority communities. Stereotypes both good and bad do not self generate themselves.

    While to choose to make a symbolic gesture during the national anthem during a football game may have caused interest through controversy and a conversation to be had, in the end the message you are sending is that you despise America in totality and you are aligned with radical organizations like BLM that are certainly Leftist in their organization and that seek the “fundamental” destruction of America.

    Sports figures, your message has become translated into an anti American message and not one of concern for a perceived inequity in the legal system and abuse of power. The longer the players are willing to dig in and the longer this goes on can only result in a net negative result for the sports world.

    Sorry, Bryant, you are too immersed in the sports world to actually see what needs to be seen.

  • Edward

    Garry wrote: “The tax base should be wide; theoretically, when people are paying, they would be more willing to support lower spending. Doubling the personal exemption goes against this criterion.

    We already have 50% of the people paying no taxes at all. The higher exemption will only cause this group to grow, and this is the group that is most susceptible to the greed of having government “steal from the rich and give to the poor.” However, with all the borrowing, government is actually stealing from the unborn citizens of the future. No wonder this is the first American generation to believe that its children will not live as well as we do.

    Theft is still theft, and in our society the poor are poor because they have not been productive enough to get others to pay them very much for their productivity. For young people, this is because they have not been very long in the workforce as skilled workers. For older people, I blame the individual for not trying very hard (laziness).

    Garry wrote: “businesses are not going to decide to move their operations here (or keep them here) if they can’t expect some degree of stability in tax policies over the mid to long term.

    Instability (in tax policies as well as business regulations) is one of the reasons why the Great Depression lasted so long in the US. WWII did not end the depression because of the increase in productivity. The war-effort productivity did not add to wealth or prosperity, and those in the military could have been productive on farms and in factories, adding to that prosperity, which is why there was rationing during the war and a lack of auto (and other) production.

    The Great Depression ended because Congress was too distracted to continuously mess with taxes and regulations. The resulting stability encouraged businesses to expand, where they could, in order to satisfy We the People’s needs and desires. One of those desires is to live better this year than last year, and increased productivity allows for that.

  • Cotour

    Women in panties and shoulder pads, black, white and brown, who play football, with there right hands over their hearts during the National Anthem, refuse to take a knee! Well done!

    http://freebeacon.com/culture/lingerie-football-league-responds-to-nfl-we-stand/

    Women power, you have got to love woman power! American women straighten out the situation. God bless America. (You can not make this stuff up)

  • wayne

    Cotour– (I thought I was the king of tangential, you take the cake!)

    I saw that at as well. They did change their name to Legends Football League. Don’t know who owns them, but they know their audience.

    LFL- Statement on the National Anthem
    9-27-2017
    https://youtu.be/kKnJzyw4enk
    (0:35)

  • Cotour

    Tangential? This story is very apropos, it just comes in panties and shoulder pads.

    As an extension, many of the liberal women that I have spoken about this “knee” issue to have to a woman left no doubt about either their opinion on the “taking the knee” issue nor their patriotism.

    These young NFL men seem to be confusing themselves and / or have miscalculated how their demonstrations would be interpreted by the American public.

    Is the LFL taking this opportunity to distinguish themselves and garner some very positive PR? Maybe, but they can have the PR as far as I am concerned because I believe they are genuine. American women as a general rule are very patriotic and they love their country.

  • BSJ

    Yeah, those uppity one precenters should know their place.

    They should keep their protests in the free speech zones so I don’t have to think about it.

    Run and jump like you were born to it, so just shut up and play for me, I don’t want to hear about your problems.

    That’s what I’m hearing, right?

  • Cotour

    BSJ (I am not sure whether you are being sarcastic or not, but I will answer you as you were serious) :

    NFL players can make what ever symbolic statement they want when ever they want, but that does not mean that there will be no push back or consequences to their symbolic actions. Just like when anyone chooses to make a controversial statement, exercising there free speech.

    The players free speech and political symbolism being executed specifically during the national anthem while they are at work is enraging a segment of their audience, they find it disrespectful and offensive.

    A significant segment of their patriotic audience holds the national anthem as being sacred and does not appreciate it being used as a political tool. And the initial protest by Mr. Kaepernick, which they are supporting by making their symbolic gesture, specifically pointed out how his dislike and contempt for America and all of the inequity that it fosters and everything that it stood for was driving it all. Kaepernick aligned with BLM and as far as I understand BLM is based in Marxist / anti American doctrine.

    Feel free to further inform me if you believe that I have it wrong.

  • Cotour

    Now this NBA position seems more reasonable:

    https://apnews.com/de8b63c5ac194bb6b2de982da2cc530e

    It will be interesting if there is some sort of protest how they will deal with it. A $10,000.00 fine for each player per incident during the national anthem, or being benched?

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *