Usa Thread

[Steve]

Stock markets took a big hit again. I don't feel guilty making money off the misery. Wasn't my doing. The Federal Reserve knows the economy is seriously f*cked up but if it says so there will definitely be a crash. 

This 4% GDP for a year that many conservatives and Trump fans were boasting about coming, won't happen, will never happen for the foreseeable future. The wheels are coming off an economy that hasn't been good since 2 presidents ago. 

[cavanami]

Taxpayers can no longer claim these 4 deductions

As Americans get ready for the upcoming tax season, sweeping changes are going to affect how individuals and families file this year — including which deductions and credits they can claim.

While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the standard deduction for both individuals and married couples filing jointly – meaning fewer people are expected to itemize – it also changed allowable deductions.

Dependent exemption

Under the previous law, families were able to claim a $4,050 exemption – per parent – for each child. That deduction is no longer viable....

Unreimbursed employee expenses

A number of employees’ business expenses that went unreimbursed by employers – like classes and seminars – are no longer deductible under the new law...

Moving expenses

In 2017, workers moving for a new job could deduct related expenses on their tax returns. Everyone, except members of the armed forces, has lost that benefit...

Alimony deduction

Under previous law, the higher-earning spouse could deduct alimony payments on his or her tax filings. The recipient included the payments as part of his or her taxable gross income.

However, for divorces finalized in 2019 and after, alimony payments will no longer be a deductible expense for the payer...

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/taxpayers-no-longer-claim-4-184958030.html

 

 

[cavanami]

The Fed has a history of f@cking up the USA economy! The great azzclown, Greenspan, admitted that he had no idea what he was doing after he made multiple rates hikes until the economy creashed! Here we go again...same-o, same-o.

Trump has called it correctly, stop the rate hikes!!!

Fed hikes rates, but signals just two more hikes in 2019

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates for the fourth time this year.

The Fed increased the target range for its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a new band of 2.25%-2.5%, putting the Fed funds rate at its highest level since the spring of 2008. All ten voting members of the FOMC voted in favor of Wednesday’s decision....

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/preview-feds-last-monetary-policy-announcement-2018-155802273.html

[Steve]

I can disagree overall with a President but still recognize anything I agree with. Such is the case with us pulling out of Syria. We had a lot of special ops on the ground there that no one talked about. We should never have gotten involved in the situation. Had Hillary been elected we would have been far more involved. She said we should have committed militarily to the hostilities. So, I wholeheartedly agree with Trump on that move. The previous 20 things he's done? Well, lets not go there  

 

[Steve]

This is interesting. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/2-more-moderate-kansas-gop-legislators-defect-democrats-222200853.html

[Coss]

8 hours ago, chocolat steve said:

I can disagree overall with a President but still recognize anything I agree with. Such is the case with us pulling out of Syria. We had a lot of special ops on the ground there that no one talked about. We should never have gotten involved in the situation. Had Hillary been elected we would have been far more involved. She said we should have committed militarily to the hostilities. So, I wholeheartedly agree with Trump on that move. The previous 20 things he's done? Well, lets not go there  

 

Steve, Wot you said... And I agree with your agreement with the substance of the announcement.

What surprises me is not that he has made the announcement, but that no one else in America knew it was coming.

Whilst it is easy to flag this, as a dog whistle to his base, to distract from the legion, of other problems he's got, you know he's off the rails, when even his subs at Trump Tv are trashing him for this....  

"The set of “Fox & Friends” spent a second day Thursday lacing (sic) into President Trump, with host Brian Kilmeade saying the president’s decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria was worse than former president Barack Obama’s own foreign policy in the region.  “What happened last time when President Obama pulled out troops out after Iraq? What happened? We had to fight our way in and reestablish,” Kilmeade said. “He is doing exactly, if not worse, than President Obama did,” adding that Trump’s decision to pull out was comparable to Obama’s ultimately empty statement that Syrian use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” for his administration." https://www.yahoo.com/news/fox-friends-trashes-trump-over-153739958.html    also "The co-host said that “in a stunning and, I think, irresponsible move” Trump has “blindsided” Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and national security adviser John Bolton, as well as the State Department, which he said is now “packing their bags.”  “Why have advisers?” he said, throwing up his hands."

And then you've got how pleased, Iran and Turkey and Russia are with the announcement.

"The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, whose military intervened in the Syrian war in 2015, turning the tide in favour of the Assad regime, by contrast welcomed the US move.  “If the USA made that decision then it’s the right one,” Putin said during a nationally televised press conference on Thursday, repeating complaints that US troop deployments in Syria were illegal because they were not agreed upon with the Assad government. He said he agreed with the US president, Donald Trump, that a “serious blow” had been struck against Isis, saying: “Donald is right, I agree with him.”" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/20/syria-kurds-trump-troop-withdrawal-isis-turkey

And now, hoping to mitigate the f*ck-up,  Trump has said this "“Time for others to finally fight. Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us.”" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-says-russia-not-happy-new-syria-policy-putin-disagrees

Another one for the base.

So a timeline, as this is still developing:

1/. Donald unilaterally announced "Everyone Out" from Syria.

2/. Allies, Staff, Military, everyone in the USA except maybe Huckery Sanders are unaware, until the announcement hits twitter.

3/. Putin expresses approval.

4/. Donald tries to mitigate f*ck up

Q: Who does Donald work for?

 

Also, what made me laugh, was coverage of this story yesterday, when a reporter was trying to get confirmation of the announcement, from the Whitehouse:

Whitehouse "...call the Pentagon..."

Pentagon "...call the Whitehouse..."

Whitehouse "...call the Pentagon..."

Pentagon "...call the Whitehouse..."

Whitehouse "...call the Pentagon..."

Pentagon "...call the Whitehouse..."

[Coss]

[Coss]

Whoaaaahhh  -

 General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years.  https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

I's OK, Don Jr can do it...

[Coss]

Best TV ever!

Best TV in the history of TV!

[Coss]

Withdrawal from Afghanistan is next.