December 26, 2017
Dec 26 05:35 Santa Claus came early Dec 26 06:38 With Zinke, one size didn't fit all Dec 26 07:46 Sanders vs. Trump, the mismatch Dec 26 12:03 Other nations following Trump
Prior Months: Jan Feb ~ May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Prior Years: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Santa Claus came early
Who knew that Santa Claus worked at the biggest corporations in the United States? Either that or some CEOs of some these very important corporations really are intent on spreading the wealth around now that President Trump has signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law.
According to the article, "It started with AT&T expanding its bonus program to an additional 200,000 staffers getting $1,000 apiece. Next came Boeing announcing a gift of $300 million in investment in its employee-related charitable program 'to support our heroes, our homes and our future.' Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bancorp announced they would raise their minimum wage to $15 in the New Year, with Fifth Third kicking in an additional bonus of $1,000 to 13,000 employees. PNC Financial Services will give $1,000 bonuses to about 47,500 workers. New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises of Texas is giving each of its 6,600 employees a $1,000 bonus, a total of $6.6 million. Chief Financial Officer Steven Keller said: 'You've got a choice, we could've kept it and stuffed it in the company bank account or coffers, or we can share it with the people.' Associated Bank in Wisconsin boosted its minimum hourly wage to $15 and paying workers a $500 bonus. Idaho health-care and home-products company Melaleuca Inc. is providing its 2,000 employees $100 bonuses for every year they worked for the company. The company has 147 employees who have worked for the company for 20 years or more."
Basically, everything that the Democrats wouldn't happen as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has happened . Here's more proof that companies didn't get the Democrats' talking points:
- Washington Federal in Seattle will increase wages for most of its workers by 5 percent and is adding 25 people to its information-technology staff.
- Aquesta Financial Holdings in Cornelius, N.C., will raise hourly pay to $15 and will be giving $1,000 bonuses to all of it workers.
- Canary LLC announced it will hire new employees and purchase more equipment.
Let's stipulate something important here. Specifically, sane people didn't buy into Pelosi's or Schumer's over-the-top statements:
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Whether this continues is anyone's guess. Most likely, it won't. Still, it isn't a stretch to think that people's wages will rise significantly. If that happens between now and mid-summer and people start noticing that their taxes were cut just like Republicans promised, Democrats might be in a difficult position come November. If people's paychecks get bigger because their taxes get cut and if Republicans remind people that they voted virtually unanimously to cut taxes and if Republicans remind voters that every Democrat voted against cutting taxes , voters will likely reward Republicans for making their lives better.
Posted Tuesday, December 26, 2017 5:36 AM
Comment 1 by Lisa at 26-Dec-17 09:57 AM
I read on Twitter that a family of Democrats, who work at one of the generous corporations were so full of hate for Trump, burned their bonus checks.
Not sure it's true.
Not sure if it is true. I suppose they could burn color scans of their checks or burn the real ones and will ask for a re-issue when they sober up.
With Zinke, one size didn't fit all
If there's a message that comes from this interview of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke , it's that Secretary Zinke isn't into one-size-fits-all governing.
That came across clearly when the article noted that Secretary "Zinke spent two days in New Mexico in late July meeting with public officials and others, and even took a horseback ride with the state's two Democratic U.S. senators. Despite intense public skepticism about his intentions, Zinke recommended no changes to the monuments' boundaries in New Mexico - only management changes. It was a marked contrast to his action in Utah, where he urged Trump to slash the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments. The move triggered lawsuits and a withering rebuke from the Patagonia outdoor clothing company, which took to social media to tell Americans that Trump 'stole your land.'"
Another thing that's apparent is that Secretary Zinke isn't afraid to listen to people:
"The president tasked me to get the local voice," Zinke said, explaining his decision on New Mexico's monuments. "I talked to the governor, I talked to your two senators, I talked to (Republican Rep.) Steve Pearce and I talked to the communities.
Overwhelmingly, the communities were comfortable with the monuments. It was different in Utah where you had both senators, all the congressman and the governor supportive (of reducing the monuments)."
Actually listening to people isn't a method used that often by the Obama administration.
What's not to like about this type of management?
Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall of New Mexico remain suspicious of Zinke's intent in New Mexico, and have said they won't be mollified until Trump makes final decisions on the two monuments. Zinke said he's recommended management changes that protect ranchers' rights to graze their livestock at the Rio Grande del Norte Monument and give the Border Patrol unfettered ability to disrupt drug trafficking routes near the Organ Mountains monument in southern New Mexico.
The environmentalists will always complain about any usage of public lands.
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Posted Tuesday, December 26, 2017 6:38 AM
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Sanders vs. Trump, the mismatch
It's long past time to pose some uncomfortable questions to Democrats. This weekend, President Trump and Comrade Bernie Sanders had a Twitter fight that started with Sen. Sanders saying "Doesn't it tell us a lot about Republican priorities when the tax breaks for corporations are permanent, while the tax breaks for working families expire at the end of 8 years?"
Let's look at this from a purely logical perspective. Since Republicans wrote the bill, it's safe to assume that they wanted to cut taxes for the middle class. That's obvious because they dropped the marginal tax rates for every income group. Extending this thinking further, it's fair to argue that the middle class tax cuts weren't made permanent because of the Senate's budget rules, not because the Republicans don't like middle class tax cuts?
It isn't difficult to make the case that the middle class tax cuts would've been made permanent had a dozen Democrats voted with Republicans for the bill. Because Democrats emphatically said no to tax cuts, the middle class tax cuts weren't made permanent.
Whose fault is that, Bernie?
From there, things went downhill fast :
What we could do with $1.5 trillion:
-Make college tuition-free
-Provide universal preschool
-Repair our crumbling infrastructure
-Fund CHIP for 107 years
-Rebuild Puerto Rico
What an elitist! What people think that everyone needs a degree from a 4-year college? Elitists. President Trump prefers a different approach. He sees the importance of high school grads going to trade schools. He knows that graduates from trade schools will be needed to rebuild this nation's infrastructure, help the U.S. become energy dominant and add value to the economy.
It's painfully obvious that Sen. Sanders doesn't understand how the economy works. He apparently thinks that forcing companies to pay high marginal tax rates will build the economy. We tried that the last 8 years. It failed, with economic growth being virtually stagnant. The Trump Boom is already growing the economy at a robust rate. This Christmas season has been better than expected :
Fueled by high consumer confidence and a robust job market, U.S. retail sales in the holiday period rose at their best pace since 2011, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks both online and in-store spending. Sales, excluding automobiles, rose 4.9% from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve, compared with a 3.7% gain in the same period last year, according to the Mastercard Inc. MA 0.21% unit, which tracks all forms of payment. E-commerce continued to drive the gains, rising 18.1%.
"It started with a bang in the week leading up to Black Friday," said Sarah Quinlan, a senior vice president of marketing insights at Mastercard. She added that retailers benefited this year from Christmas Day falling on a Monday, giving shoppers a full weekend to scoop up last-minute purchases. Dec. 23 ranked next to Black Friday in terms of spending, according to Mastercard. "Overall, this year was a big win for retail," Ms. Quinlan said.
The question Republicans should constantly ask is 'why didn't Democrats join with us to make middle class tax cuts permanent?' They had their chance. Democrats blew it.
Posted Tuesday, December 26, 2017 7:46 AM
Comment 1 by Chad Q at 26-Dec-17 03:21 PM
Bernie is making it perfectly clear that liberal progressives believe that all money belongs to the government.
Other nations following Trump
While Democrats and Palestinians criticize President Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, other nations are announcing that they're moving their embassies to Jerusalem .
First, "Guatemala courageously decided it would follow the United States' lead and move its embassy to Jerusalem." Next, "the Walla news [reported that] Romania and Slovakia are planning to make such a move. Paraguay and Togo are reportedly also considering such a move."
This is a big deal politically in that Democrats have started criticizing President Trump's decision . For instance, Bernie Sanders said "There's a reason why all past US administrations have not made this move, and why leaders around the world have warned Trump against it: It would undermine the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and severely, perhaps irreparably, damage our ability to broker it."
Dianne Feinstein's letter said this:
The future of Jerusalem is an issue that should be decided by Israel and the Palestinians, not unilaterally by the United States.
That sentence was contained in this letter:
While Democrats criticized President Trump's decision, world leaders sided with President Trump. That's what leadership does. Leadership molds consensus. It doesn't conform to consensus. President Obama led from behind. President Trump just leads. Period.
Posted Tuesday, December 26, 2017 12:03 PM
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