Meanwhile, in "MAGA-Land"…

@Pfuzylogic Strategic Arms Limitation treaty actuallly - we were all supposed to follow the rules - I doubt the Soviets did.

@Pfuzylogic These days SALT refers to a federal tax deduction for State and Local Taxes.

At present, republican Senators from wealthier states want to raise that deduction from its current limit of $10K up to $30K or $50K.

@ElwoodBlues 10K dollars is a lower threshold than the UK so...

@ElwoodBlues @Captain If it is done during the trump administration it benefits the rich!

@Pfuzylogic Goes without saying

@Pfuzylogic It's not so much about the rich and the poor. My fiance is an accountant and she says that the SALT limitations were targeted to mostly impact the east and west coasts where property values and real estate taxes are the highest. And "coincidentally" these areas are also dominated by blue states. Red states have, on average, lower property values and, therefore, lower property taxes so aren't as impacted by the SALT limits. 🤷‍♀

@sarabee1995 My cynicism of the current administration leaked through and while it isn’t polarized to benefit either party. The Coasts do have some costly properties.

@Pfuzylogic Just wait until global warming raises the water level 200 feet and buy inland.

@Pfuzylogic Absolutely. And I don't believe this was a coincidence at all. They were targeting Massachusetts and New York and California, etc.

@Pfuzylogic SALT Starategic Arm Limitation Treaty - ie you lot dont build any new nukes - you naughty boys.

@sarabee1995 Does it matter where they were targetting - the whole world would be / will be trashed

@Captain Lol, I think we are talking about two different SALTs!! 🤣🤣🤣

@sarabee1995 This could lead to a SALT with China. He is now speaking of a “Golden Dome”! This boy is getting more like reagan everyday! That would be SDI style. 😏

@Pfuzylogic The Golden Dome thing is interesting. I don't know if it is technically possible, but to cover the Continental United States would cost a fortune.

@sarabee1995 SDI back in reagan’s time was suppose to do that in the early to mid 80s but the price tag of 1 trillion dollars caused the congress to hesitate. That was a trillion in 1980 dollars and reagan’s “balanced budget” and would have doubled the deficit at that time. It was still his first term. It would have included satellites which would be space junk now. trump seems enamored be the Strategic Defense Initiative SDI since he is stealing the idea only this would be missile based and attempt to mimic Israel’s “iron dome”.

@Pfuzylogic Right, but Reagan's SDI was a hoax... a poker bluff... and the Soviet's fell for it.

@sarabee1995 Oh you think so ? Ask any Ancient Alien Investigator. It was all powered by pyramids (tee hee).

@sarabee1995 I will agree that it was ill conceived. As to whether reagan was on top of his game to plan an expansive disinformation program…I have serious doubts. It was responsible for the Soviets over estimating our abilities. During reagan’s years there was quite a bit of disinformation given to the public. This deceit was justified by the administration as counterintelligence. Using shady characters such as Admiral John Poindexter was questionable but I do not accept it was only a ploy. I am certain when trump follows reagan’s steps that he isn’t using it as a ploy but fully prepared to waste taxpayers money or all of the savings that he pilfered from Medicaid just as reagan did from welfare! The AI in google makes an interesting read on the topic but most of my info comes from living through the “news hours” of the 80s.

@Pfuzylogic Yes the rich poor divide in the US is stubornly defended as it is in the UK by the poorest white workers - the sight of turkeys voting for Christmas always puzzles me so much ??

@Captain People forget that it was reagan that helped demolish the middle class and unions. They forget that he took Bush 41 as his “grasshopper” and taught him the ways of exporting good paying jobs overseas through NAFTA. Now that the skilled jobs are gone it is now safe to threaten the car manufacturers with tariffs to bring the jobs back.
The Ross Perot quote in the very famous debate (famous if you lived back then) with him Bill Clinton and Bush 41 and Bill Clinton was “The giant sucking sound, which earned him many giggles during the spectacle,, was the sound of jobs leaving the U.S. because of NAFTA! Clinton signed the legislation anyways and the WHOOSH began! 🤨

@Pfuzylogic But if there are billions of Indians and Chinese who all work harder and longer the the 350 million US people, whos going to win the economic battle. It is the natural order of things that the world ranking of economies should be 1.India, 2.China 3.USA 4.Indonisia - 3 and 4 being about the qurter the size of 1 and 2. The peoples of India China and Indonesia are smart and hardworking and ambitious. The culture of entitlement in the USA will hasten its coming. Wake up and smell the coffee. King Canute realised you cannot stop the tide soming in - and that is what you are trying to do with these tariffs and bully boy tactics

@Captain “Wake up and smell the coffee” , “you can not stop the tide coming in” seemed directed at the current leader who makes off the cuff decisions. The U.S. has had a self concept of “exceptionalism” and not entitlement. India is new to economic leadership and China and Russia have very strong challenges in their economy. Under Joe Biden our country led in the economic recovery from the devastating spread of Covid.
My concern now is that we seem to be reentering the economic policies of reagan in the 80s and that drip, drip. drip of the trickle down theory. The current budget is gutting those that our poor and compensating the very rich. It didn’t work with reagan and the current leadership isn’t smart at any respectable level.

@Pfuzylogic For sure trickle down economics has proven to be worng. It is the vleocity of money in an economy that determines economic activity and growth and you only need to look at the likes of Musk and Beckham and Sunak and even Trumo to relaise that the rich will only be interested in getting richer and will never pout their money to use for the good of others. For sure Biden and Obhama before him was meaking the world great and tne Trump will only succeed in making everyone else poor but you cant fight against numbers and when India and China start to tap in on the real brain power in their countries the US will be only third best, no amount of protectionism or bullying can change that. TYhe journey to that can either be a pleasant one or one dominated by conflict misery and poverty for so many if the econmics of inequality is allowed to prevail, and other coutnries like Switzerland have a better way of avoiding that horror stroy while still allowing for reward for wealth creation. At the end of the day, we oparents have to realise that to advanteg our children over others is actually an act against freedom and equality - something hard to comprehend and even harder to accept, but its true. its obvious from logical reasoning.