Countdown to Extinction: The 2016 Presidential Election

[(poco) Sforzando]

A tax deduction is a tax expenditure.  From the Joint Committee on Taxation:

"Tax expenditures are defined under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (the "Budget Act") as "revenue losses attributable to provisions of the Federal tax laws which allow a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from gross income or which provide a special credit, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability." Thus, tax expenditures include any reductions in income tax liabilities that result from special tax provisions or regulations that provide tax benefits to particular taxpayers."


RT.com is a sometime questionable source of information.

I didn't use RT. Well, yes, if I pay mortgage interest, state taxes, and/or medical expenses and deduct them on Schedule A, I've incurred expenses that result in a reduction of my taxable income. But not invariably (e.g., I buy a piece of art for $5K, it appreciates to $25K, and I donate the appreciated value as a charitable deduction). So are these companies granting stock options not reaping far greater benefits than they immediately pay? (I'm just asking, I'm not a tax specialist.)

[Todd]

So are these companies granting stock options not reaping far greater benefits than they immediately pay? (I'm just asking, I'm not a tax specialist.)

Nor am I, so I cannot say conclusively, but it looks like they are reducing current and some future tax liabilities based on what is in the article (from RT, however it was linked).  I'm not at all surprised they are using such a deduction.  They should.  I would say management at companies using this deduction have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders to minimize taxes and therefore to use all legal means of doing so.  The policy question is whether such deductions are economically or socially useful.  The same question applies to all tax expenditures. 

[Pat B]

QUIZ: Which other candidate sounds most like Trump on immigration?
ANSWER: Bernie Sanders.

Somebody wrote it on National Review, it must be true.

Their actual policy ideas are extremely different.

[ibanezmonster]

Anyone heard about the candidate, Deez Nuts, polling at 9% of the vote?

I would have voted for them... hey, it's a better choice than Clinton or Trump, so why not?

[Brian]

Fun little nugget buried in an NYT piece about Bernie Sanders' Iowa campaign events:

It was around then that Fred Bowes, a 77-year-old Democrat, walked out of an event in Boone.

"Everything he said is true," Mr. Bowes said. "Implementing what he says is next to impossible."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/us/politics/bernie-sanders-evokes-obama-of-08-but-with-less-hope.html

[(poco) Sforzando]

Fun little nugget buried in an NYT piece about Bernie Sanders' Iowa campaign events:

It was around then that Fred Bowes, a 77-year-old Democrat, walked out of an event in Boone.

"Everything he said is true," Mr. Bowes said. "Implementing what he says is next to impossible."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/us/politics/bernie-sanders-evokes-obama-of-08-but-with-less-hope.html

But nothing's impossible for Donald Trump.

[Karl Henning]

Because that's how the G.O.P. colors the process:  Carly Fiorina in the bizarre position of having to say, Yes, Jesus is my personal Savior.  Thank God she ain't Muslim!

[Karl Henning]

"We are now in a campaign era . . . it's all about what fizzle you're gonna bring."

[(poco) Sforzando]

Because that's how the G.O.P. colors the process:  Carly Fiorina in the bizarre position of having to say, Yes, Jesus is my personal Savior.

Ya won't hear Bernie Sanders sayin' that!

[Brian]

Because that's how the G.O.P. colors the process:

I also saw where four different GOP candidates - including Donald Trump!! - are the children of immigrants.

[drogulus]

     

     Encouraging Study Finds It Now Easier Than Ever For American Dollars To Rise Into Upper Class

     

Because that's how the G.O.P. colors the process:  Carly Fiorina in the bizarre position of having to say, Yes, Jesus is my personal Savior.  Thank God she ain't Muslim!

      I don't see that as bizarre. Besides, no one is forced to lie, it's practically expected. She has the option of "believing in a higher power", too.

      Ugh...the article indicates Carly "thinks" savioristic beliefs fight cancer. The policy implications are rather gruesome, so let's hope she's bullshitting like politicians do. Chances are that's exactly what it is.
     

     

[kishnevi]

I also saw where four different GOP candidates - including Donald Trump!! - are the children of immigrants.

But they were the right kind of immigrants.

[kishnevi]

BTW, there is one other GOP candidate who seems to be totally under the radar.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Everson

[Gurn Blanston]

     
      I don't see that as bizarre. Besides, no one is forced to lie, it's practically expected. She has the option of "believing in a higher power", too.

      Ugh...the article indicates Carly "thinks" savioristic beliefs fight cancer. The policy implications are rather gruesome, so let's hope she's bullshitting like politicians do. Chances are that's exactly what it is.

  Yes, chances are. I hope....

[Todd]

BTW, there is one other GOP candidate who seems to be totally under the radar.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Everson

He wants to reestablish the draft.  The Republican equivalent of Lincoln Chafee, who wants to adopt the metric system?

[Rinaldo]

Why Donald Trump Won't Fold: Polls and People Speak

[Todd]

Why Donald Trump Won't Fold: Polls and People Speak

Thank goodness there are 443 more days to go . . .

[Karl Henning]

Thank goodness there are 443 more days to go . . .

That still leaves a lot of oxygen for El Tupé to suck in!

[James]

What a joke the USA is, the laughing stock of the world .. it's nowhere near 2016 yet and the long-winded circus is on  .. to be "the puppet" of one of the most hated and bankrupt industrial countries in the world. Can't they intelligently do this shit a couple of months prior to the actual election? The pageantry is beyond ridiculous and overblown. Most of these assholes spend more money to get a job that will pay less.

[Todd]

Most of these assholes spend more money to get a job that will pay less.

True, but post-presidency book deals and speaking fees can earn Clintonesque money.