I'm not hers -- I'm in a solidly blue area with great reps. I was going to say happily blue, but I'm more of a sad blue right now. *sighs* Thanks seeyalater52; you've kicked ass this past year and have been a great asset to us.
I'm not hers -- I'm in a solidly blue area with great reps. I was going to say happily blue, but I'm more of a sad blue right now. *sighs* Thanks seeyalater52; you've kicked ass this past year and have been a great asset to us.
Thanks! This week is certainly demoralizing. It really sucks when there’s nothing else you can do, but to be fair the GOP could have been a lot more effective at advancing their agenda than they have been - it’s made a difference this year even if not on the tax bill.
As a personal vent, this bill is missing some very important details and my director, and our external auditors are unsure how to deal with certain aspects that are missing. Like smart people who have read over and over this cannot agree on things we are supposed to do for the last part of 2017 on a certain aspect because these idiots allowed no one to read this, no experts, etc. I know you all know how dumb this process has been but it’s frustrating to try and decipher wtf non-experts mean when they leave out details. There will be no technical corrections or regs written in time for us to figure out what they want us to do.
My company just sent out a summary of the impacts to employer group plans. I am skipping the retirement and executive comp stuff, but if you have questions I can look at those. Here are the big ones:
Individual mandate eliminated
Eliminated employer programs for "expenses for commuting between the employee's residence and workplace;" our team says it is unclear if this is just for employer-funded commuter costs or if it extends to pre-tax commuter FSA programs.
Two-year pilot program giving employers a tax credit of 25% of wages for paid FMLA
Cannot deduct moving expenses paid by an employer (except military) or employee achievement awards
Allows deduction of unreimbursed medical expenses over 7.5% of adjusted gross income for 2018 and 2019, 10% thereafter
Adoption assistance, dependent care FSA, educational assistance programs, and employer child care credits remain tax-favored (nothing changing)
As a personal vent, this bill is missing some very important details and my director, and our external auditors are unsure how to deal with certain aspects that are missing. Like smart people who have read over and over this cannot agree on things we are supposed to do for the last part of 2017 on a certain aspect because these idiots allowed no one to read this, no experts, etc. I know you all know how dumb this process has been but it’s frustrating to try and decipher wtf non-experts mean when they leave out details. There will be no technical corrections or regs written in time for us to figure out what they want us to do.
I know basically nothing about taxes but a LOT about how irritating it is to try to work with bills and legislative language crafted by people who don’t know left from right on the topic at hand. And trying to explain it to other people when it doesn’t make any sense even to us. It really sucks. I am sending you deep breaths and calming thoughts and an invitation to vent as much as you want here.
As a personal vent, this bill is missing some very important details and my director, and our external auditors are unsure how to deal with certain aspects that are missing. Like smart people who have read over and over this cannot agree on things we are supposed to do for the last part of 2017 on a certain aspect because these idiots allowed no one to read this, no experts, etc. I know you all know how dumb this process has been but it’s frustrating to try and decipher wtf non-experts mean when they leave out details. There will be no technical corrections or regs written in time for us to figure out what they want us to do.
I know basically nothing about taxes but a LOT about how irritating it is to try to work with bills and legislative language crafted by people who don’t know left from right on the topic at hand. And trying to explain it to other people when it doesn’t make any sense even to us. It really sucks. I am sending you deep breaths and calming thoughts and an invitation to vent as much as you want here.
I can only imagine your frustration through the healthcare debacle- it drug on forever and kept getting brought back from the dead. And that could actually kill and harm way more people than taxes and money. It won’t be pretty, but it can be fixed and in the short time, a lot of people will see a little more money in their pocket (Obv at the expense of debt and for the rich people).
As a personal vent, this bill is missing some very important details and my director, and our external auditors are unsure how to deal with certain aspects that are missing. Like smart people who have read over and over this cannot agree on things we are supposed to do for the last part of 2017 on a certain aspect because these idiots allowed no one to read this, no experts, etc. I know you all know how dumb this process has been but it’s frustrating to try and decipher wtf non-experts mean when they leave out details. There will be no technical corrections or regs written in time for us to figure out what they want us to do.
Ditto this. I work in a pretty specific area of tax law and there are so many provisions in this bill that impact other sections of the Code that these idiots didn't give an iota of thought to that it's maddening. There was no thought given to the real meaning of trickle-down of the terms in there. My entire industry is basically sending around emails and bulletins as to how we *think* things are going to be interpreted, with no Regs. or promises of them to come in any reasonable timeframe. SaveSave
Post by seeyalater52 on Dec 18, 2017 21:06:42 GMT -5
I also should confess I’m feeling a little guilty for not being more worked up this week over taxes. We are expecting the health care war to go round 3 pretty early on in the year and I’m trying to give myself and my blood pressure a tiny rest beforehand or I’m afraid I’m going to totally lose my marbles. Self preservation at its finest.
I just need to make it through to Thursday and then drink alllllll the booze over the holidays.
Nope. And I think this is the provision that flipped Corker to a yes.
Fucked up.
There was some asshole conservative on NPR this morning conflating the tax bill with how the ACA was pushed through, which is obviously complete bullshit. The interviewer didn't even attempt to call him on it or clarify. I was pissed.
Post by seeyalater52 on Dec 19, 2017 11:05:40 GMT -5
The House is expected to vote around 1:30pm today. The Senate vote keeps getting pushed up. Last I heard they're aiming for very late tonight or early tomorrow morning.
My parents have a Republican house rep (whom they LOVE) who has said she's voting against the tax bill. But they live in NY, and their district (NY-21) is rural and not well-off, plus they have high state and local taxes. She may have voted against it last time, like Peter King. I think the R delegations of NJ, NY and CA were against the first house bill. But it should still pass.
I saw McCain was going back to Arizona and I assumed that meant he is not doing well.
I don't want to be morbid, but I think Dems should prepare for 2 open seats in AZ in 2018.
It'll only be sort of open, since the person who gets appointed to the seat by Ducey after McCain either passes or resigns will be running as an incumbent. But yes, that's definitely what everyone is preparing for.
I don't want to be morbid, but I think Dems should prepare for 2 open seats in AZ in 2018.
It'll only be sort of open, since the person who gets appointed to the seat by Ducey after McCain either passes or resigns will be running as an incumbent. But yes, that's definitely what everyone is preparing for.
seeyalater52, is there talk about who Ducey will appoint? DH is worried it will be Kelli Ward. I am too. (she is extremely tea party).
It'll only be sort of open, since the person who gets appointed to the seat by Ducey after McCain either passes or resigns will be running as an incumbent. But yes, that's definitely what everyone is preparing for.
seeyalater52 , is there talk about who Ducey will appoint? DH is worried it will be Kelli Ward. I am too. (she is extremely tea party).
This is the short list I have seen: Kirk Adams Martha McSally
I think Jeff DeWit was the true frontrunner but he just took a job in the Trump admin. so that's out.
I haven't heard much about Kelli Ward. Some speculate that Ducey will appoint himself since he has national aspirations but I think that's a threat.
A lot of softer floating names are House reps, which is nice because Dems could conceivably pick up some of those districts. I'm not convinced it matters too much who takes it. They're going to be a GOP party loyalist and vote on party lines. McCain has largely done that. Yes, they won't have that "wild card" nothing-to-lose attitude McCain occasionally took, but he rarely did that anyways so who really cares, you know? It's pretty much breaking even at the end of the day and this person will be brand new so they won't have too much influence in the grand scheme of things.
Post by seeyalater52 on Dec 19, 2017 11:47:01 GMT -5
It also depends on the exact timing of when McCain steps down, since some of the contenders for the appointment were rumored to be eyeing Flake's seat, and that primary line-up is beginning very soon.
seeyalater52 , is there talk about who Ducey will appoint? DH is worried it will be Kelli Ward. I am too. (she is extremely tea party).
This is the short list I have seen: Kirk Adams Martha McSally
I think Jeff DeWit was the true frontrunner but he just took a job in the Trump admin. so that's out.
I haven't heard much about Kelli Ward. Some speculate that Ducey will appoint himself since he has national aspirations but I think that's a threat.
A lot of softer floating names are House reps, which is nice because Dems could conceivably pick up some of those districts. I'm not convinced it matters too much who takes it. They're going to be a GOP party loyalist and vote on party lines. McCain has largely done that. Yes, they won't have that "wild card" nothing-to-lose attitude McCain occasionally took, but he rarely did that anyways so who really cares, you know? It's pretty much breaking even at the end of the day and this person will be brand new so they won't have too much influence in the grand scheme of things.
I don't even know who Kirk Adams is! Time to do homework. I also didn't know DeWitt left for the Trump admin.
I wouldn't mind exactly if he appoints McSally because I think one way or another, she's getting one of those two seats. She's an R rep but from a blue area, so the good news is her district will likely flip back to blue.
Also if McSally is appointed to McCain's seat, that means the race for Flake's seat is a bit wider open, and I think Sinema (D, the one everyone is looking at on the national races) has a much better chance of beating Kelli Ward than McSally.
Those CA districts are pretty red. I'm not super surprised.
Figured that but I could have also sworn that more CA R voted No the last time. I’ll have to check that.
That's super common with these things. Everyone loves to side with leadership in the final round of voting even if they seemingly had a spine before. Bunch of cowards.
My R Rep impresses me again by voting No. Seems like most of the NY/NJ R contingent did their part but I’m surprised so many CA Rs voted yes.
Those CA districts are pretty red. I'm not super surprised.
Yeah, California Red is really strong red. Remember, Nunes is a CA Red. Not a lot of moderation there. He's actually pretty close to the norm once you get inland and away from the "coastal elite."
Those CA districts are pretty red. I'm not super surprised.
Yeah, California Red is really strong red. Remember, Nunes is a CA Red. Not a lot of moderation there. He's actually pretty close to the norm once you get inland and away from the "coastal elite."
An excellent image/ reminder of the boldness of CA’s red 😌
The fuckers in California are going to pay. If Doug Jones can win Alabama, Devin Nunes can lose Fresno. Remember, there are a lot of rich people in CA who don't live in contested districts who are going to be more than happy to devote their time and money to destroying Nunes and these other fuck faces.
And Issa, you may have done the right thing and voted against it, but your ass is out in 2018 too. You caucus with them and give them a majority, your no votes ultimately don't matter.