The Golden Couple (Ivanka and Jared)

[GreyhoundFan]

Jennifer Rubin has this to say about Ivanka: "Ivanka Trump: Complicit and ineffective"

Spoiler

In telling the tale of President Trump’s decision to embrace accused sexual predator Roy Moore, Politico reports:

His daughter Ivanka Trump told The Associated Press in mid-November that “there’s a special place in hell for people who prey on children.” She was repeating a statement from the White House’s legislative director, Marc Short, who used the same phrase days earlier in an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd.

One is forced to ask: What good is Ivanka Trump? She was there to protect the Paris Accords, right? Nope. She was there to settle the president down, prevent him from errant decisions and cringe-worthy remarks? No, she sure didn’t do that.

She was supposed to elevate women’s issues. But my colleague Anne Applebaum wrote in April:

When Trump appeared on a stage in Berlin … purportedly to discuss women in the workforce, she did not seem qualified. On the contrary, she provided a shocking reminder of the damage that the Trump lifestyle brand will do (and has already done) not just to America’s “image” but to America’s reputation as a serious country, even to America’s reputation as a democracy.

Why was she there at all? The other panelists — the Canadian foreign minister, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — raised no eyebrows because their official functions explain themselves.

She was supposed to push for some kind of child-care credit. But she got little quite little, Business Insider reports:

GOP Sens. Marco Rubio and Mike Lee and White House advisor Ivanka Trump scored a partial victory in the form of an expanded child tax credit in the newly passed Senate Republican tax bill, which cleared the chamber on Saturday.

But an amendment sponsored by the senators to enlarge the credit for millions of poor families was voted down, despite earning bipartisan support. … Experts argue the expanded credit is regressive because it will stay capped at $2,000, rather than being adjusted for inflation. High-income families will ultimately benefit the most from the expanded credit because they’ll be able to cash in on the full amount.

We don’t know how the tax credit will wash out in the bill’s final version. (And it’s far from clear that Ivanka Trump was a decisive voice in the minimal expansion of the child tax credit.)

In short, all those singing her praises a year ago and assuring us that she and her husband would make certain that the president didn’t stray too far into Crazyland must be disappointed, if not embarrassed. Rather than guide her father, Ivanka Trump has ineptly provided cover. Rather than promote the causes of working women, she has become a symbol of nepotism, cronyism and nouveau riche excess.

Next time she is interviewed, Ivanka Trump should be asked:

• Do you believe your father’s accusers?
• If someone did the things your father is accused of, should that person be forced to leave office?
• How do you feel about your father endorsing someone who prompted you to say “there’s a special place in hell for people who prey on children”? Does it anger you? Sadden or embarrass you?
• Is rampant sexual harassment a threat facing working women? Did you listen to your father’s accusers describe the effect of their encounters with the president on their careers and lives?
• What evidence is there that your father listens to your advice?

Certainly she’ll refuse to answer such questions or deflect them. However, her inability to confront the hard facts suggested by the questions and to champion effectively women and children brings us back to the question of whether she is a prop, complicit in her father’s immoral and corrupt administration:

At this point, does anyone really believe Ivanka Trump has had a “positive impact” on the administration or the country?

The answer to the last question is a resounding: NOPE.

[onekidanddone]

On 12/10/2017 at 9:18 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

"Trump supporters were reminded that Ivanka once denounced Roy Moore: ‘A special place in hell’"

  Reveal hidden contents

A digital billboard was roaming around Pensacola, Fla., as President Trump held a rally there and urged residents in nearby Alabama to vote for embattled Republican candidate Roy Moore in the Senate race.

The billboard, displayed on the side of a moving truck Friday, reminded people of what Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a White House adviser, had previously said about Moore amid accusations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls.

“There’s a special place in hell for people who prey on children. I’ve yet to see a valid explanation and I have no reason to doubt the victims’ accounts,” Ivanka Trump told the Associated Press last month.

The billboard appears to be the work of the liberal group American Bridge, which featured the comments in big, bold letters next to Ivanka Trump’s image. The group seemed to double down on the trolling by blasting the comments over a loud speaker outside the rally.

Ivanka Trump’s words contradicted her father’s unwavering support of Moore. The president defended Moore last month, saying the former Alabama chief justice “totally denies” the allegations against him and telling reporters at the White House that “you have to listen to him, also.”

At his rally Friday, just four days before the Alabama special election, Trump’s endorsement of Moore was even more unequivocal.

“We want people that are going to protect your gun rights, great trade deals instead of the horrible deals. And we want jobs, jobs, jobs. So get out and vote for Roy Moore. Do it. Do it. Do it,” he told supporters.

Trump also singled out one of Moore’s accusers, Beverly Young Nelson, who had admitted earlier Friday that she added notes — a location, a date and the initials “D.A.” — to what she said was Moore’s inscription to her in her yearbook. Nelson said she stands by her claim that Moore sexually assaulted her when she was a 16-year-old waitress in Gadsden, Ala.

“So did you see what happened today?” Trump asked supporters. “You know the yearbook? Did you see that? There was a little mistake made. She started writing things in the yearbook. Oh, what are we going to do?”

Trump also mentioned Nelson’s attorney, Gloria Allred: “Anytime you see her, you know something’s going wrong.”

The Washington Post first reported on the decades-old allegations against Moore in early November. Five women have told The Post that Moore pursued them when they were teenagers and he was an assistant district attorney in his 30s. Nelson, who came forward with her attorney, was not among those women.

Moore, who has denied engaging in sexual misconduct, had told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he may have dated teenage girls when he was in his 30s, though he said he could not recall.

Ivanka Trump’s condemnation of Moore isn’t the only time the first daughter broke with her father on divisive issues.

While her father shied away from immediately condemning white supremacists and neo-Nazis after deadly violence erupted in Charlottesville last summer, Ivanka Trump didn’t.

“There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-Nazis. We must all come together as Americans — and be one country UNITED,” she tweeted.

The first daughter’s stance on Syrian refugees also contradicts her father’s policy. She told NBC News in April that “a global humanitarian crisis is happening,” and opening the country’s borders to Syrian refugees “has to be part of the discussion.”

The latest version of the president’s travel ban bars people from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela from entering the country.

Although she has departed from her father on some issues, Ivanka Trump has been accused of being complicit in her father’s policy agenda. After her comments on Moore, The Post’s Jennifer Rubin pointed out that many others, her father included, have been accused of sexual misconduct.

I know somebody who is going to get a big hunk of coal in her stocking. Tisk tisk. Sorry princess, careful you don't want to Tif to jump in rank.

[GrumpyGran]

12 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

I know somebody who is going to get a big hunk of coal in her stocking. Tisk tisk. Sorry princess, careful you don't want to Tif to jump in rank.

Hard time of the year for the Plastic Princess?

BTW, @onekidanddone, Happy Hanukkah!

[fraurosena]

Looks like somebody's feeling the heat. 

Kushner’s legal team looks to hire crisis public relations firm amid Russia probe

Spoiler

Senior White House official Jared Kushner and his legal team are searching for a crisis public relations firm, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has quietly called at least two firms, these people said. The inquiries have occurred in the past two weeks, and officials at the firms were asked not to discuss the conversations with others.

In a statement, Lowell confirmed he was looking for a firm that would handle media for all high-profile clients that receive attention from the press. His other clients include Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat whose months-long corruption trial ended last month when jurors deadlocked. The Justice Department has not announced whether it plans to retry him.

“My law firm and I are considering hiring an outside consultant to handle the time-consuming incoming inquiries on the cases in which I am working that receive media attention,” Lowell said in a statement to The Washington Post. “This inquiry from you about whether I am doing this is a good example of why we need one.”

Investigators for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III have asked witnesses questions about Kushner’s interactions with former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn as part of his larger investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the investigation. Kushner has been identified by people familiar with his role as the “very senior member” of the Trump transition team who directed Flynn in December to reach out to the Russian ambassador and lobby him about a United Nations resolution on Israeli settlements, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have also subpoenaed documents about his family company’s use of the EB-5 visa program at a planned Jersey City development.

>interesting short video: untangling the web of Jared Kushner<

Crisis PR firms are often retained to handle a negative development or an avalanche of media inquiries. Kushner has been in the headlines almost daily, and he has complained to friends about the nonstop negative attention from the news media. White House officials have speculated for months that Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, would return to New York, but he has told associates over the last month he plans to stay.

At least one firm, Mercury Public Affairs, passed up the opportunity to work with Kushner’s team, people familiar with the discussions said. Mercury’s lobbying work has also come under scrutiny by Mueller, which could have complicated its ability to represent Kushner.

Michael McKeon, a partner at Mercury, declined to comment. The firm, which has not been accused of wrongdoing by Mueller’s team, has said it is cooperating with investigators.

Kushner is largely represented in the White House by Josh Raffel, who joined the administration earlier this year to handle media inquiries for the Office of American Innovation, which Kushner leads. 

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Bless your heart, Jared, I don't think a PR firm will help: "Kushner’s legal team looks to hire crisis public relations firm amid Russia probe"

Spoiler

Senior White House official Jared Kushner and his legal team are searching for a crisis public relations firm, according to four people familiar with the matter.

 Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has quietly called at least two firms, these people said. The inquiries have occurred in the past two weeks, and officials at the firms were asked not to discuss the conversations with others.

In a statement, Lowell confirmed he was looking for a firm that would handle media for all high-profile clients that receive attention from the press. His other clients include Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat whose months-long corruption trial ended last month when jurors deadlocked. The Justice Department has not announced whether it plans to retry him.

“My law firm and I are considering hiring an outside consultant to handle the time-consuming incoming inquiries on the cases in which I am working that receive media attention,” Lowell said in a statement to The Washington Post. “This inquiry from you about whether I am doing this is a good example of why we need one.”

Investigators for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III have asked witnesses questions about Kushner’s interactions with former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn as part of his larger investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the investigation. Kushner has been identified by people familiar with his role as the “very senior member” of the Trump transition team who directed Flynn in December to reach out to the Russian ambassador and lobby him about a United Nations resolution on Israeli settlements, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have also subpoenaed documents about his family company’s use of the EB-5 visa program at a planned Jersey City development.

Crisis PR firms are often retained to handle a negative development or an avalanche of media inquiries. Kushner has been in the headlines almost daily, and he has complained to friends about the nonstop negative attention from the news media. White House officials have speculated for months that Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, would return to New York, but he has told associates over the last month he plans to stay.

At least one firm, Mercury Public Affairs, passed up the opportunity to work with Kushner’s team, people familiar with the discussions said. Mercury’s lobbying work has also come under scrutiny by Mueller, which could have complicated its ability to represent Kushner.

Michael McKeon, a partner at Mercury, declined to comment. The firm, which has not been accused of wrongdoing by Mueller’s team, has said it is cooperating with investigators.

 Kushner is largely represented in the White House by Josh Raffel, who joined the administration earlier this year to handle media inquiries for the Office of American Innovation, which Kushner leads. 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA: "Is Ivanka trying to wangle an invitation to the royal wedding?". My favorite response is below the spoiler.

Spoiler

Ivanka Trump tweeted her (somewhat tardy) congratulations to Prince Harry and his soon-to-be wife, Meghan Markle, Friday morning.

“Wishing Meghan and Prince Harry a lifetime of love, laughter and happiness together,” she wrote. “I have no doubt that this couple will do extraordinary things, both individually and collectively. Congratulations!”

... < tweet >

But some interpreted the first daughter’s well-wishes as an attempt to schmooze her way into an invite for the royal wedding. (Hey, can you blame her?)

“There’s nothing you could tweet that would get you an invite,” one Twitter user wrote.

... < tweets >

The twittersphere may not think that Ivanka has a shot at snagging the golden ticket, but as People reported, Markle’s featuring of the oldest Trump daughter on her blog “The Tig” in 2014 indicates that she might be a fan. “When I sent an email asking to do a TIG Talk, not only did she get back to me immediately with such honest responses, but we also began planning drinks and dinner for the next time I was in NY,” Markle gushed in her post. The “Suits” actress has made it clear that she’s not a fan of Ivanka’s father, however.

“We film ‘Suits’ in Toronto, and I might just stay in Canada,”she said in an interview on “The Nightly Show” last November when asked about the prospect of a Trump election victory.

The former first family may not need to do much angling to make the coveted invitation list — the Obamas developed a friendship with Harry during their time in office.

[AmazonGrace]

What are the odds that Jared is broke? 

 

[Cartmann99]

On 12/15/2017 at 3:46 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

Crisis PR firms are often retained to handle a negative development or an avalanche of media inquiries. Kushner has been in the headlines almost daily, and he has complained to friends about the nonstop negative attention from the news media. White House officials have speculated for months that Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, would return to New York, but he has told associates over the last month he plans to stay.

Crisis PR Firm: We suggest that you and your wife adopt a dozen orphans, give 100 million dollars to charity, and stop acting like privileged jackasses all of the damn time. We'll also get some shots of you two serving food at a homeless shelter, cleaning up poop at a no-kill animal shelter, and visiting patients in area hospitals.

Kushner: Can't we just like some social justice posts on social media and show more pictures of the giant clam centerpiece?  We don't actually want to have to do anything, we just want you to make people love us and buy lots of Ivanka's clothes.

Crisis PR Firm: I think we're done here, Mr. Kushner. We'll send you our bill.

[Howl]

Apparently Jared has learned at the feet of the master; stiffing people is 100% Trump's modus operandi. 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner are sued over financial disclosures"

Spoiler

First daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump and her husband and fellow White House adviser Jared Kushner were hit with a lawsuit Sunday alleging illegal omissions on their public financial disclosure forms.

Washington lawyer Jeffrey Lovitky contends that Trump and Kushner failed to identify the assets owned by 30 investment funds the couple had stakes in. The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington also claims the couple should have declared the value of and income they derived from two investment vehicles, but did not.

The suit notes that in a half dozen instances Kushner's report indicates that more detailed information is not being provided because a "pre-existing confidentiality agreement" precludes disclosure.

"The [Ethics in Government Act] does not allow a reporting individual to refuse to disclose the underlying assets of an investment vehicle, on the basis that such disclosure would violate a pre-existing confidentiality agreement. Nor does the EIGA allow a reporting individual to refuse to disclose the amount of income derived from any underlying asset of an investment vehicle, on the basis that such disclosure would violate a pre-existing confidentiality agreement," the suit contends.

A White House spokesman said Monday that the lawsuit lacks merit and the disclosures, formally known as 278e forms, meet all legal requirements.

"This suit is frivolous. Mr. Kushner’s 278e was closely reviewed by the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics, which certified his compliance with federal law," the spokesman said. "Mr. Kushner and his representatives also maintain ongoing communications with the Office of Government Ethics to ensure his disclosures remain in compliance. Ms. Trump’s 278e parallels Mr. Kushner’s in all relevant respects."

Guidance from OGE does appear to permit more limited disclosures in some circumstances involving confidentiality commitments entered into prior to government service.

"In general, an agency may certify a report if the agency is satisfied that the filer is unable to disclose the information publicly due to a preexisting confidentiality agreement and that the potential for conflicts has been addressed," a "frequently asked questions" section on the OGE website says.

Lovitky, a health care finance lawyer who sometimes files civil rights cases, filed a similar suit against President Donald Trump in March, alleging that a financial disclosure Trump filed during the 2016 campaign failed to make clear whether and to what degree he was personally liable for various debts shown on the form. That suit — which now includes claims related to a new form Trump in June — is still pending. The Justice Department has moved to dismiss the case, but the judge has not yet ruled on the motion.

Kushner has updated his complex financial disclosure form several dozen times since it was filed in March. Both he and Ivanka Trump were also fined for late filings. In order to take his West Wing job, Kushner resigned from 266 posts related to his investments. He has divested some of his holdings, but not given up most of them.

I hope one of these lawsuits finally sticks to these rats like a big old glue trap.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Welcome to The Trump Family Swamp"

Spoiler

The presidency was never meant to be a profit center for a nepotistic, money-grubbing family. But that was before the Trumps moved in.

This scandal is lying in plain sight, overlooked because of the constant stream of missteps, outrages and distractions that come and go at an exhausting pace. While everyone watches his Twitter feed, President Trump is using the White House like a marketing agency for his family brand. This is not normal or acceptable — and it surely isn’t what laid-off factory workers and coal miners had in mind when they jumped on the “populist” Trump train.

Last week, Ivanka Trump opened a retail store inside Trump Tower, her father’s New York skyscraper, to sell her eponymous foreign-made handbags and other items. We can now finally dispense with the notion that she is an “unpaid” adviser to the president.

It’s not a very big store — more of a glorified kiosk, really — but the conflict of interest is obvious. She and her husband, Jared Kushner, are in positions where they can influence U.S. policy toward the countries where her products are made, such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. The store is located where it can siphon money from Trump-supporting tourists who make pilgrimages to Trump Tower while visiting the sights of Manhattan.

This is just the latest example of how the Trump family is seeking to monetize the presidency. We haven’t seen anything like it since 1977, when Jimmy Carter’s brother started hawking Billy Beer. (President Carter, at least, had the decency to be embarrassed.)

As is the case with other family members, including the president, Ivanka Trump has refused to divest herself of her business interests. Instead, the Trumps and Kushner have put them into trusts — but in a way that provides not even a fig leaf of probity.

That’s because the businesses — including the Trump Organization, the president’s umbrella enterprise — are still operating and are being run by family members whose aims are pecuniary, not patriotic. Do you believe for a moment that Trump pays no attention to how his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are handling his company? Or that Ivanka Trump and Kushner are unaware of what his siblings are doing with the troubled Kushner family real estate empire and Ivanka’s fashion line? I don’t.

Consider this sequence of events: Trump is elected president in November 2016. The membership initiation fee at his Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, doubles to $200,000 in January 2017. Following his inauguration, Trump spends 34 days thus far — fully one-tenth of his presidency — at Mar-a-Lago, mixing freely with members in a setting hidden from the prying eyes of the news media.

If you had a corporate or private cause to plead with the president of the United States, and you had ample resources, might you consider a $200,000 Mar-a-Lago membership a promising investment? I think you might.

The Trump International Hotel in Washington, just down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, has become what The Post called “a kind of political clubhouse” for Trump associates and organizations, such as political action committees, that support the Trump agenda. Last month, for example, the Trump 2020 campaign held a “VIP reception” there that cost $30,000, according to The Post, and featured deviled eggs and lobster BLTs.

Plenty of other nearby hotels could have hosted such an event — the W, the Willard, the J.W. Marriott. The campaign just happened to choose one whose profits accrue to the president’s bottom line.

Likewise, for some reason, the Trump International has become a popular place for foreign delegations to stay while visiting Washington. Many legal scholars believe this line of business violates the emoluments clause of the Constitution prohibiting federal officials from receiving gifts or profits from foreign governments. At least three lawsuits have been filed seeking clarification from the courts.

It is true that Trump and his family have lost some business. Many if not most of the charities that once used Mar-a-Lago for their annual galas have decided to go elsewhere this year. Ivanka Trump’s product line was dropped by Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus because of low sales. Skittish investors have backed away from deals that could rescue Kushner from his potentially ruinous $1.8 billion purchase of a white-elephant Fifth Avenue office building.

But the presidency isn’t supposed to be a matter of pluses and minuses on a balance sheet. The president campaigned on a pledge to clean up Washington. Instead, he has created a huge new federally protected wetland — the Trump Family Swamp Inc.

I wonder how quickly the crap at her new "store" will be on clearance.

[AmazonGrace]

 

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Ivanka Trump’s Fox News interview was full of weird claims"

Spoiler

Ivanka Trump appeared on “Fox and Friends” on Thursday morning to tout Congress's just-passed tax-cut bill and her role in making it happen.

Except she made some odd claims about it.

Speaking to the Fox hosts, Trump talked about traversing the country around Tax Day to witness the reviews for herself. “I’m really looking forward to doing a lot of traveling in April when people realize the effect that this has . . . on the process of filling out their taxes.”

Except that this law has no real bearing on the 2017 tax returns Americans will be filling out in April. It will apparently take effect when it comes to their personal tax withholding as early as February 2018, but the tax returns in April involve only taxes paid through December 2017.

Trump's very next sentence didn't fare much better: “The vast majority will be doing so on a single postcard.”

Again, these changes won't affect the 2017 returns that people must file by April 17. But even beyond that, the postcard thing was a Republican goal for this process that never came to fruition. In fact, as FiveThirtyEight notes, this bill doesn't really even simplify the tax code. There may be an increase in the number of people who take the standard deduction, which has doubled, and taxes for businesses will in some cases get simpler. But other aspects, such as the expanded child tax credit and new rules for pass-through income, will create more complexities. In addition, people will still want to calculate their itemized deductions before deciding whether the standard deduction is the better option for them.

Others in the administration have couched this claim by saying that the vast majority of people will be able to file their taxes on a postcard — rather than saying they actually will. But that's already something that's kind of possible by filing a one-page Form 1040EZ. And just because people can do that doesn't make it a wise decision for everyone; most experts agree that this law doesn't change the overall complexities of the U.S. tax system and that postcard filing is something of a myth.

And finally, Trump recalled her talks with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a critic of her father's and an early skeptic of the bill who wound up voting for it.

“He had his concerns,” she said. “He felt that his concerns were adequately addressed, and he really believes that tax relief coupled with the administration's deregulatory actions will create the growth that will start to erode and ultimately eliminate a national debt that has been incurred over the last several decades.”

The national debt stands at more than $20 trillion, and Trump's comments suggest this bill will set a path for eliminating it. That's an extremely bold claim that wasn't even offered by the bill's proponents, who have mostly sought to argue that the bill simply won't add to the debt. (Estimates show the GOP's $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill will cost between $516 billion and $1.39 trillion over a decade, when the growth it causes is factored in.)

You could perhaps argue that Trump meant the bill will lead to eliminating the deficit — the annual measure of how much is added to the debt, which stands at $440 billion and has been falling in recent years — but Trump seemed to clearly be referring to the total debt, given she cited it having been “incurred over the last several decades.”

Overall, it was a performance that recalled another member of the Trump family.

Lying just runs in the family.

[GrumpyGran]

49 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Ivanka Trump’s Fox News interview was full of weird claims"

  Reveal hidden contents

Ivanka Trump appeared on “Fox and Friends” on Thursday morning to tout Congress's just-passed tax-cut bill and her role in making it happen.

Except she made some odd claims about it.

Speaking to the Fox hosts, Trump talked about traversing the country around Tax Day to witness the reviews for herself. “I’m really looking forward to doing a lot of traveling in April when people realize the effect that this has . . . on the process of filling out their taxes.”

Except that this law has no real bearing on the 2017 tax returns Americans will be filling out in April. It will apparently take effect when it comes to their personal tax withholding as early as February 2018, but the tax returns in April involve only taxes paid through December 2017.

Trump's very next sentence didn't fare much better: “The vast majority will be doing so on a single postcard.”

Again, these changes won't affect the 2017 returns that people must file by April 17. But even beyond that, the postcard thing was a Republican goal for this process that never came to fruition. In fact, as FiveThirtyEight notes, this bill doesn't really even simplify the tax code. There may be an increase in the number of people who take the standard deduction, which has doubled, and taxes for businesses will in some cases get simpler. But other aspects, such as the expanded child tax credit and new rules for pass-through income, will create more complexities. In addition, people will still want to calculate their itemized deductions before deciding whether the standard deduction is the better option for them.

Others in the administration have couched this claim by saying that the vast majority of people will be able to file their taxes on a postcard — rather than saying they actually will. But that's already something that's kind of possible by filing a one-page Form 1040EZ. And just because people can do that doesn't make it a wise decision for everyone; most experts agree that this law doesn't change the overall complexities of the U.S. tax system and that postcard filing is something of a myth.

And finally, Trump recalled her talks with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a critic of her father's and an early skeptic of the bill who wound up voting for it.

“He had his concerns,” she said. “He felt that his concerns were adequately addressed, and he really believes that tax relief coupled with the administration's deregulatory actions will create the growth that will start to erode and ultimately eliminate a national debt that has been incurred over the last several decades.”

The national debt stands at more than $20 trillion, and Trump's comments suggest this bill will set a path for eliminating it. That's an extremely bold claim that wasn't even offered by the bill's proponents, who have mostly sought to argue that the bill simply won't add to the debt. (Estimates show the GOP's $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill will cost between $516 billion and $1.39 trillion over a decade, when the growth it causes is factored in.)

You could perhaps argue that Trump meant the bill will lead to eliminating the deficit — the annual measure of how much is added to the debt, which stands at $440 billion and has been falling in recent years — but Trump seemed to clearly be referring to the total debt, given she cited it having been “incurred over the last several decades.”

Overall, it was a performance that recalled another member of the Trump family.

Lying just runs in the family.

OMG, this ignorant, vapid Barbie Doll. She should hope that her plastic surgeon injects too much Botox around her mouth next time and it numbs her tongue.

[GreyhoundFan]

From Jennifer Rubin: "Once again, Ivanka Trump shows off her cluelessness"

Spoiler

She’s a walking advertisement for the danger of nepotism, an exemplar of class privilege and a perfect representative for Republican know-nothingism. She was supposed to be the brains of the family and the moral ballast; instead, she’s a self-righteous enabler.

We’re speaking of Ivanka Trump, as you might have divined. She was out talking nonsense again on Thursday: “I’m really looking forward to doing a lot of traveling in April when people realize the effect that this has … The vast majority will be [doing their taxes] on a single postcard.” Thunk. There’s no postcard. That was a prop. And the filing for the first year under the new tax code will be in 2019.

She also declared of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who decided to vote for the final tax bill after voting no on the Senate version: “He really believes that tax relief, coupled with the administration’s deregulatory actions, will create the growth that will start to erode and ultimately eliminate the national debt that has been accrued over the last several decades.” I’m confident Corker believes no such thing because that would be preposterous, unsupported by any reputable economic analysis. (Corker voted for the final bill upon concluding it was flawed but helpful in promoting economic growth.) As Business Insider put it:

This theory — that the bill will pay for itself and even erode existing debt through increased economic growth — is unsubstantiated. Virtually no nonpartisan studies or experts have found that the GOP bill, which slashes the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, will be deficit-neutral or decrease the debt-to-GDP ratio.

In fairness to Trump, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also advanced this hooey, but you would think that she would at least have witnessed the pummeling Collins took for her phony assertion and learned from that. When one is not used to be being contradicted, one is perhaps less concerned with accuracy.

Trump leads the charmed life of one who will be able to take advantage of the reduction in the top marginal rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. She’ll have the best lawyers and accountants to make certain her income is run through a pass-through, thereby reducing the amount counted as income by 20 percent. If she has been a dutiful Trump daughter, her taxes might look a lot like her father’s — which means she and real-estate mogul husband Jared Kushner can afford even more lavish clothes, bigger homes and ostentatious jewelry. (Remember, the president’s claims notwithstanding, he’s likely to make a mint: “It is clear that President Donald Trump is set to save millions if he signs the Republican tax plan, but exactly how much? Forbes crunched the numbers: It looks like up to $11 million a year from a single rule change.”) While Republicans were pleading poverty when it comes to funding government programs in the wake of the $1.5 trillion revenue-losing tax bill, Ivanka Trump and Kushner can breathe easy, as can their children. (“Under previous provisions, married couples could leave $11 million to their heirs before handing over about 40% of their remaining assets to the government. The new rule doubles that limit to $22 million, meaning Trump’s children will likely get an additional $4.4 million tax break on their inheritance.”)

She’d like to tout the child tax credit, but that, too, is less than advertised. Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who championed the child tax credit, came on board with very little inducement. “Rubio and Lee didn’t get the biggest change they wanted, which was to apply the credit to low-wage workers’ entire income. Under their proposal, a minimum-wage worker making $14,500 would get a $494 tax credit; under the current bill, she’ll get only $75, according to the liberal Center [on] Budget and Policy Priorities.”

The CBPP explains:

The final bill does nothing, compared to the Senate bill, to improve the CTC for 10 million children in low-income working families — meaning that those children will get only a token increase of up to $75 per family or no increase at all. Many working families with children under 17 with incomes that are too low to owe much or any income tax can get part of the CTC as a tax refund. As noted, that refundable amount is limited under current law to 15 percent of their earnings over $3,000. The Senate bill lowered the threshold so that earnings over $2,500 would count towards earning a CTC — translating to a CTC increase of just $75 for those families. The last-minute changes to the CTC do nothing more for these 10 million children.

Seventy-five bucks would probably cover Trump’s lunch tab at her father’s club, but really does nothing for those low-income families.

If Trump cared to do her homework, she wouldn’t say objectively false things. She wouldn’t treat the pittance that Republicans gave to poor families as a grand accomplishment. Then again, perhaps she has learned at her father’s knee to be a flim-flam artist, a con woman and an entitled child of wealth who looks out for herself and only herself. Those who thought that she’d bring smarts, empathy and reason to the White House sure missed the mark.

 

[Cartmann99]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

From Jennifer Rubin: "Once again, Ivanka Trump shows off her cluelessness"

  Hide contents

She’s a walking advertisement for the danger of nepotism, an exemplar of class privilege and a perfect representative for Republican know-nothingism. She was supposed to be the brains of the family and the moral ballast; instead, she’s a self-righteous enabler.

We’re speaking of Ivanka Trump, as you might have divined. She was out talking nonsense again on Thursday: “I’m really looking forward to doing a lot of traveling in April when people realize the effect that this has … The vast majority will be [doing their taxes] on a single postcard.” Thunk. There’s no postcard. That was a prop. And the filing for the first year under the new tax code will be in 2019.

She also declared of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who decided to vote for the final tax bill after voting no on the Senate version: “He really believes that tax relief, coupled with the administration’s deregulatory actions, will create the growth that will start to erode and ultimately eliminate the national debt that has been accrued over the last several decades.” I’m confident Corker believes no such thing because that would be preposterous, unsupported by any reputable economic analysis. (Corker voted for the final bill upon concluding it was flawed but helpful in promoting economic growth.) As Business Insider put it:

This theory — that the bill will pay for itself and even erode existing debt through increased economic growth — is unsubstantiated. Virtually no nonpartisan studies or experts have found that the GOP bill, which slashes the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, will be deficit-neutral or decrease the debt-to-GDP ratio.

In fairness to Trump, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also advanced this hooey, but you would think that she would at least have witnessed the pummeling Collins took for her phony assertion and learned from that. When one is not used to be being contradicted, one is perhaps less concerned with accuracy.

Trump leads the charmed life of one who will be able to take advantage of the reduction in the top marginal rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. She’ll have the best lawyers and accountants to make certain her income is run through a pass-through, thereby reducing the amount counted as income by 20 percent. If she has been a dutiful Trump daughter, her taxes might look a lot like her father’s — which means she and real-estate mogul husband Jared Kushner can afford even more lavish clothes, bigger homes and ostentatious jewelry. (Remember, the president’s claims notwithstanding, he’s likely to make a mint: “It is clear that President Donald Trump is set to save millions if he signs the Republican tax plan, but exactly how much? Forbes crunched the numbers: It looks like up to $11 million a year from a single rule change.”) While Republicans were pleading poverty when it comes to funding government programs in the wake of the $1.5 trillion revenue-losing tax bill, Ivanka Trump and Kushner can breathe easy, as can their children. (“Under previous provisions, married couples could leave $11 million to their heirs before handing over about 40% of their remaining assets to the government. The new rule doubles that limit to $22 million, meaning Trump’s children will likely get an additional $4.4 million tax break on their inheritance.”)

She’d like to tout the child tax credit, but that, too, is less than advertised. Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who championed the child tax credit, came on board with very little inducement. “Rubio and Lee didn’t get the biggest change they wanted, which was to apply the credit to low-wage workers’ entire income. Under their proposal, a minimum-wage worker making $14,500 would get a $494 tax credit; under the current bill, she’ll get only $75, according to the liberal Center [on] Budget and Policy Priorities.”

The CBPP explains:

The final bill does nothing, compared to the Senate bill, to improve the CTC for 10 million children in low-income working families — meaning that those children will get only a token increase of up to $75 per family or no increase at all. Many working families with children under 17 with incomes that are too low to owe much or any income tax can get part of the CTC as a tax refund. As noted, that refundable amount is limited under current law to 15 percent of their earnings over $3,000. The Senate bill lowered the threshold so that earnings over $2,500 would count towards earning a CTC — translating to a CTC increase of just $75 for those families. The last-minute changes to the CTC do nothing more for these 10 million children.

Seventy-five bucks would probably cover Trump’s lunch tab at her father’s club, but really does nothing for those low-income families.

If Trump cared to do her homework, she wouldn’t say objectively false things. She wouldn’t treat the pittance that Republicans gave to poor families as a grand accomplishment. Then again, perhaps she has learned at her father’s knee to be a flim-flam artist, a con woman and an entitled child of wealth who looks out for herself and only herself. Those who thought that she’d bring smarts, empathy and reason to the White House sure missed the mark.

 

When they talk about doing our taxes on a postcard, do they mean an actual postcard? Who would be dumb enough to write their Social Security number and other personal information on a postcard for everybody to see!?!  Have they not heard of identity thieves??

[GreyhoundFan]

36 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

Who would be dumb enough to write their Social Security number and other personal information on a postcard for everybody to see!?! 

I would think most Branch Trumpvidians would fit the dumb enough category.

[GrumpyGran]

56 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I would think most Branch Trumpvidians would fit the dumb enough category.

Now that I think about it, the postcard thing would be pretty good. Not for us, we know better, but it would be funny to watch the hair-on-fire reactions of some of these fools when they're confronted with 12 credit card bills and an empty bank account.

[Cartmann99]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I would think most Branch Trumpvidians would fit the dumb enough category.

 

1 hour ago, GrumpyGran said:

Now that I think about it, the postcard thing would be pretty good. Not for us, we know better, but it would be funny to watch the hair-on-fire reactions of some of these fools when they're confronted with 12 credit card bills and an empty bank account.

Hi! 

I'm Princess Cartmann99 from RipYouOffaStan. My husband died and I need access to the eleventy zillion dollars he left me and our 400 children and our cat Itchy Butt. For reasons that don't make any damn sense at all, I need to send half of the money to your bank account, and then you will buy a money order and send 90% of the money back to me. Please write back with your bank account number ASAP, as the children are really hungry and Itchy Butt is severely pregnant with 52 kittens, a raccoon, and a Bass-o-Matic.

Your new BFF,

Princess Cartmann99

PS: Four kittens and the Bass-o-Matic just shot right out of Itchy Butt! Please hurry!

PSS: I'm also pregnant with duodecaplets and my water just broke!

 

[Howl]

11 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

When they talk about doing our taxes on a postcard, do they mean an actual postcard?

Well, technically, it would be legions of lawyers and CPAs doing Javanka's  taxes, but I'm sure that would all fit on a post card, because the taxes-owed line will be filled in by a big zero, because rich people. 

[onekidanddone]

14 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

Please write back with your bank account number ASAP, as the children are really hungry and Itchy Butt is severely pregnant with 52 kittens, a raccoon, and a Bass-o-Matic.

Nooo poor Itchy Butt. I'll gladly give you my bank routing number. I'd love a Bass-o-Matic because 'Yumm that's good bass'.

[catlady]

we have an employee whose last name is Bass, and every time i see her name, i think of Bass-o-Matic 76.

[AmazonGrace]

Merry Christmas!

[Cartmann99]

I found the full Bass-o-Matic commercial on Hulu:

 

[onekidanddone]

19 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

Merry Christmas!

Aren't you glad Dear Orange Leader is allowing "Merry Christmas" again?