It's a shakedown, basically.

I mean, we're paying more for goods taxed at higher rates, and then the tax they collect they give back to us, as some "gift"? And sure, if people are dumb enough they think it's some gift and go to Vegas and blow it. When, in reality, you better keep every penny and spend it on the things you buy every day subject to the tax, to offset your losses. So it's a wash, if you're smart. If you're dumb, you will have less net dollars.

Not one time, in my entire life, have I ever received a check from the governemnt, in the form of pure cash money, "covid relief", a tax refund, or whatever, where I actually decided to spend it for a specific reason. It ALWAYS goes into the general pay for crap account and I use it to pay for crap. Just normal crap. Nothing special, or specific or new due to receiving the money, just stuff I'd be buying and paying for anyway. It's not like "Hey, I got a $10K tax refund, let's go to Italy on a vacation!!!".

Tiggity®

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Nov 9, 2025, 11:12 AM

Since they found nowhere near enough cuts with Doge (udder failure, and probably just data mining anyway), he decides to tax imports under a different name, tariffs, then lie to the American people and say other countries pay the tariffs. He then pretends he's gotten this windfall of new money from other countries, when in reality, it has been extracted from American importers, businesses, and ultimately consumers. And he's so benevolent as to offer us some of our own money back as some altruistic gift? What a swell guy.

This is the stuff dems buy into, kind of shocked to see MAGA buying the BS. Heck, even dems wouldn't lie and say foreign countries pay tariffs. The biggest lie perpetuated to the dem voters by dem politicians, is that they're taxing the "rich". So tax the rich, and fund the poor, and they proudly bear the cross as the class warfare party. In reality, it's ALL BS. The "rich" today, don't have income. My household income is comparable to Jeff Bezos', or Elon Musk's. No, the "rich" don't do income, they avoid it like the plague. What taxes they do (rarely) pay, are mainly capital gains on sales of some asset. Proof is in the numbers. Since WW2, INCOME TAX revenue, has always been between 15-20% of GDP, FOREVER. That's with a 95% top bracket, or a 26% top bracket, doesn't make any difference. The income tax, the whole system of it, is designed for the poor all the way to the upper-middle class, it was NEVER intended, nor can, be used to truly punish the "rich".

Now, we have seen top income tax rates fluctuate violently, from around 25% all the way up to 90-95%. Since WW2, the capital gains tax rate has hovered between 25-30%, ALWAYS. It did bump up to 35% briefly in the 1990's, the last time we balanced a budget, but whatever. It sits at 21% now, for corporations. Remember how I said INCOME tax revenue has ALWAYS been 15-20% of GDP, guess what percentage of GDP capital gains brings in? Currently ONLY 4%. And has never brough in more revenue than 7% of GDP.

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When folks say, "You'll regret that in the morning", I just sleep until noon, because I'm a problem solver.

Is this good for inflation?

Are tax refunds good for inflation?

Tax & spend wealth redistribution***

I will take

It's a shakedown, basically.

Remember when Republicans accused Democrats of buying votes?

Re: Is this good for inflation?

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