News Story of the Day: Michael Bloomberg, billionaire and former New York City Mayor, whose record will be remembered as that of central planning and nannyism, says he likes to raise taxes on poor people.
Speaking at the World Bank Group 2018 Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. earlier this week, Bloomberg argued that hiking taxes on the impecunious is a “good thing” for the poor.
“Some people say, well, taxes are regressive. But in this case, yes they are. That’s the good thing about them because the problem is in people that don’t have a lot of money. And so, higher taxes should have a bigger impact on their behavior and how they deal with themselves,” he said.
“So, I listen to people saying ‘oh we don’t want to tax the poor.’ Well, we want the poor to live longer so that they can get an education and enjoy life. And that’s why you do want to do exactly what a lot of people say you don’t want to do.”
He added: “The question is do you want to pander to those people? Or do you want to get them to live longer?”
This is the typical mindset of the left. They think that the poor are too stupid to do look after themselves and that they need the elite to take care of them from cradle to grave.
Chart of the Day: the marriage rate in Australia is collapsing, but the biggest decline is happening among teenagers. Back in the 1980s, the teen marriage rate was about 20 in 1,000. Today, that number has plunged to two in 1,000. Here is a chart:
Illustration of the Day: the robots are coming, the robots are coming! It seems that industrial factories are embracing the robots to help with day-to-day operations. Here is a look at just how much sales are climbing.
Quote of the Day: Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is one of only a few leading the anti-war charge in Congress. She is now urging her colleagues to oppose authorization for war with Iran. She may face opposition by the left in her homestate, but she remains quite popular there – and for good reason! President Donald Trump needs to make a member of his cabinet immediately!
“Make no mistake – the authorization in Section 1225 of the underlying bill authorizes our U.S. military to go to war with Iran, which is one of the main reasons why I voted against this bill in committee. This provision authorizes the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to ‘develop and implement a strategy with foreign partners to counter the destabilizing activities of Iran.’
“The provision does not define what destabilizing activities they want our troops and taxpayer dollars to counter. It does not define a clear objective or end-state for our troops to achieve. In addition, this provision shuts the American people out from this decision entirely by circumventing Congress’s constitutional responsibility to declare war and giving unilateral power and unending authorization to ‘counter Iran’ to this and future Administrations – without defining in any way, shape, or form what the objective really is.
“It sidelines Congress and the American people entirely, with the only requirement being that the Administration report to Congress after their plan is being implemented, and only for the next 4 years, while the authorization for war has no expiration date.
“It gives after-the-fact license for what is already happening in the Middle East. Since 2015, without express Congressional authorization, US troops have been providing direct military support to Saudi Arabia in Yemen through information sharing, logistical support, and refueling Saudi warplanes which have dropped U.S.-made bombs on Yemeni civilians. The most recent attack was on a Yemeni wedding party, with two rounds of bombing killing more than 20 people and wounding dozens of others. This Saudi-led interventionist war has created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in history, worsening a situation that has led to mass starvation, cholera outbreaks, devastation, thousands of civilian deaths, and tens of thousands of injuries.
“It gives total authority to the Administration to keep US troops in Syria, or any other country in the Middle East, as long as they deem it necessary – an intention clearly stated by members of this Administration. To name a few examples, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said last month that US troops would stay in Syria indefinitely until their goals are accomplished – namely to counter Iran. National Security Advisor John Bolton said in a 2015 op-ed entitled ‘To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran’ that ‘the United States could do a thorough job of destruction, but Israel alone can do what’s necessary. Such action should be combined with vigorous American support for Iran’s opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.’ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently advocated that the US will ‘crush’ Iran with economic and military pressure unless it changes its behavior in the Middle East.
“It’s clear that if left unchecked, war hawks in the Trump Administration will drag our country into more Middle East wars, leaving destruction in its wake around the world and here at home. Trillions of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on these regime change wars in the Middle East since 9/11. Rather than dumping more taxpayer dollars in these wars as this provision authorizes, we should instead be investing in rebuilding our communities right here at home.
“For too long, the US has engaged in military adventurism and interventionist wars, sending our troops overseas, with no clear objective or end state. ‘Countering Iran’ is not an end state that our military or diplomats can achieve. Without a clear objective, you end up in endless war. So what is the objective of this authorization for war? Is it regime change in Iran? Regime change in Syria? More war against Iran in Syria? Yemen? I strongly urge my colleagues to consider the serious consequences of Section 1225 being enacted because it would authorize any or all of these actions. It is Congress’s responsibility and constitutional role to declare war. The American people have a right to a real debate on such a declaration. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of my amendment.”
Tweet of the Day: the neoconservative and left have been forming a union over the last year. It’s pretty disgusting.
Last year, leading Democratic foreign policy advisors formed a new foreign policy advocacy group led by neocons and guided by Bill Kristol. Now, Dem funders are working with Bill Kristol & friends on who to fund. The Dem/neocon (re-)union is complete https://t.co/Yt1mDG4x2V pic.twitter.com/iLPrDzuv4E
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 25, 2018
Video of the Day: yes, Hillary Clinton will never be president, she has zero power, and the Clinton Foundation is useless. That said, it is still astonishing as to how bitter she is about her loss, which happened nearly two years ago.
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