Neither party cares enough about the constituents all year long. They are fair weather people. They tell us what we want to hear to get our votes, but don't listen to what we are telling them at any point. Very one sided. You moderating Bill and Chris will be Epic. Choking IRGC financially does sound satisfying, until you think of the everyday people. But it needs to be done. Guessing there will be more military effort eventually. Political Racism/Sexism, oh my! Everyone can sound like a Racist/Sexist- it depends on who you're talking to. Islamist threat is not being noticed enough, that's scary. AI/Data Center specifications must be worked out as soon as possible. As much for the national sanity as the need for them. Another fine show is in our future!
Can't wait for your show tonight, Leland! You will make a great mediator between 2 " know it all's"...or who think they know it all! See you tonight Leland ❤️
It’s very sad that the Republican Party doesn’t take the opportunity to close the big tax loopholes for the wealthy- carried interest, 1031’s, jet write-offs, etc. While none of these will significantly impact the deficit, it would show that they care about the average person vs preserving egregious loopholes for the uber wealthy.
The United States has the MOST progressive tax system of ALL developed countries!
(No VAT, no national sales tax)
Currently the top 50% of income earners pay 97% of all income tax collected, meaning the bottom 50% of earners contribute just 3% of all federal income tax collected.
The average federal tax refund increased this year by 11% in part due to last year's OBBB that added new tax relief for tips, overtime, and seniors, AND cemented in 2017 changes such as DOUBLING the standard deduction and DOUBLING the max child tax credit amount and increased the income thresholds to allow more families to qualify!
The 2017 Republican TCJA resulted in the bottom earners, $25k or less, going from paying an average of $215 down to $155 in 2018 - a decrease of around 30% (it's even lower now). The "middle class" $50k-$100k folks saw a drop of about $1,000 or about an 18% reduction compared to pre-TCJA payments.
in 2017, Pre-TCJA those making over one million dollars paid 27.5% of all income tax collected. In 2018 after the TCJA changes, they paid a larger 29.5% of all income tax paid!
We have, to quote “Maverick”, a target rich environment.
1). The leaders of both parties either paid others to take their economics class tests in the spirit of Ted Kennedy or they never took or passed economics. Trump and Vance are currently the loudest examples of this. The Democrats have an incredibly deep bench of finance and economics non-experts as well.
2) if you’re in a shooting war or a cold war, you don’t bully or punish your allies and you don’t brag or make grandiose state statements about how you’re winning.
3) the leaders of both parties refuse to discuss policy or solutions to the problems Americans face. Sadly both parties now prefer mud pit fights versus advocating or even suggesting solutions. This deliberate practice makes Americans more angry and disaffected.
I stopped watching any news weeks ago and I'm a happier person. I do read Leland's notes. Nothing has changed, there is still a distraction, still an endless war, our president is still a puppet because he wasn't like this in his first presidency. We desperately need to overhaul our government because to many politicians are corrupt and no regards for the American people.
Americans are mostly angry because they have been told to be. The minority party and the media has been screaming about how bad things are and how unprecedented everything is (to be fair Republicans did a fair share of "fear mongering" during the Biden admin although not at the current apocalyptic level)... even though it's really not if you look at the actual data:
The border is actually closed/secure
Crime is at a 60 year low
Year over year rent prices have declined - in part due to closing the border and easing demand on the short housing supply
High gas prices due to the Iran conflict are still below 2014 and 2022 peaks when you adjust for inflation!
Many blue collar jobs are seeing real wage gains:
USA Today: "In June, year-over-year pay growth for job-changers in construction was up 12.9%, outpacing every other industry."... In part due to data center construction demand and immigration enforcement decreasing the supply of cheap foreign labor... two of the issues the public is told to be enraged about that appear to be making a real difference for many working class folks!
Tax Fairness?
The United States has the MOST progressive tax system of ALL developed countries!
(No VAT, no national sales tax)
Currently the top 50% of income earners pay 97% of all income tax collected, meaning the bottom 50% of earners contribute just 3% of all federal income tax collected.
The average federal tax refund increased this year by 11% in part due to last year's OBBB that added new tax relief for tips, overtime, and seniors, AND cemented in 2017 changes such as DOUBLING the standard deduction and DOUBLING the max child tax credit amount and increased the income thresholds to allow more families to qualify!
The 2017 Republican TCJA resulted in the bottom earners, $25k or less, going from paying an average of $215 down to $155 in 2018 - a decrease of around 30% (it's even lower now). The "middle class" $50k-$100k folks saw a drop of about $1,000 or about an 18% reduction compared to pre-TCJA payments.
Pre 2017 TCJA those making over one million dollars paid 27.5% of all income tax collected, in 2018 after the TCJA changes, they paid a larger 29.5% of all income tax paid!
The housing affordability crisis is largely due to a housing shortage that occurred after the 2008 crash where new housing units added fell from over 1.6 million per year to around 600k per year for several years before slowly climbing back up... but are still below 2007 levels! During this historic low homebuilding period, we also had historic immigration to record levels the country has never seen:
"Data from January 2025 showing 53.3 million foreign-born residents, representing 15.8% of the total population, a new all-time high in both absolute numbers and share, surpassing the previous peak from 1890 at 14.8%."
In 1980 the foreign born population was 6.2% of the population - about 14 million people. We more than doubled the percent/pop and more than tripled the total number of immigrants during a period which included 10-15 years of historic low home building!
Immigration enforcement:
7/10/2010, New York Times: Illegal Workers Swept From Jobs in 'Silent Raids'
12/4/2014, ACLU: The Ones Obama Left Behind - And Deported Without a Chance to Be Heard
"Each year, over 363, 279 - 83 percent - of deportations from the United States are ordered by immigration officers, NOT judges. Those deported in 'summary removal' processes do NOT get a hearing or a chance to present evidence, or call a lawyer, or even say goodbye to their families before they are banished, sometimes for life."
4/7/2014, TIME: Most Immigrants Deported Under Obama Had Thin or NO Criminal Record
"Two-thirds of immigrants deported from the U.S. since 2008 committed minor traffic violations or had NO criminal record at all despite Obama's promise that his administration was targeting immigrants who were threats to the community."
3/21/2014 ACLU: Three Ways We Got to 2 Million (3.1 million total for 8 Obama years)
"At the same time, we have seen U.S. citizens and Green Card holders improperly detained, targeting of Latinos and immigrants by local police, and increased fear in communities, yet no indication that the Administration plans to curb Secure Communities." "In its first five years, the Obama Administration has deported about twice as many people as the Bush Administration did in the same period - all while the number of immigration judges has remained virtually stagnant and border apprehensions are at an all-time low." "The reality is that this Administration has increasingly relied on methods, such as expedited removal and reinstatements of old decisions."
1/4/2016, Politico: Obama Administration Kicks Off FAMILY Deportation Raids
“The Obama administration confirmed Monday that it began a new wave of arrests of Central American immigrant families over the weekend, moving forward with deportations of MOTHERS and CHILDREN despite an outcry from immigrant rights groups and potential political fallout for Democrats.”
The general population are being used as tools by the political parties. Immigration enforcement is largely similar to that during Obama's 8 years and he didn't have "sanctuary states/cities" to contend with or people shooting at ICE at every chance. The "rich" are largely paying their "fair share" and due to the tax changes Republicans have made in 2017 and 2025, the "rich" are paying a greater share of income tax collected and lower income folks are paying less! Data centers can be problematic, but there are many solutions before "banning them"... such as making them supply their own power, zone them so they can't be built too close to neighborhoods, schools, etc,...
You’ve got the data center thing all wrong, but kind of correct. I know you try to keep a fair and balanced perspective on things. But I don’t think you’re doing a very good job with this one. I don’t think you can please both sides on this issue. Data centers are important to our future, to our medicine, to our defense and to our lives even after we are dead.
They are not going away. The discussion should be how do we integrate them into our lives. I think you should take an affirmative position with regard to data centers and then work out the details. My wife said they are as important and inevitable to humanity now as the wheel was when it was invented.
We have to do the data centers. This is just the next tidal wave of technology. Yes, it will come at a price, but so did the industrial revolution in the mid 1800s, Henry Ford's assembly line, the Transcontinental Railway etc. In the 1990s I was part of a medical missionary team and did 4 missions to the hills of China. I was never in Beijing or Shanghai. The hospitals in the early 90s were like dog kennels. Absolutely filthy with no supplies. By the year 2000 the improvement was STUNNING! If we don't jump on the data centers, we are ceding our place as a global leader to China and we will never be able to recover
Neither party cares enough about the constituents all year long. They are fair weather people. They tell us what we want to hear to get our votes, but don't listen to what we are telling them at any point. Very one sided. You moderating Bill and Chris will be Epic. Choking IRGC financially does sound satisfying, until you think of the everyday people. But it needs to be done. Guessing there will be more military effort eventually. Political Racism/Sexism, oh my! Everyone can sound like a Racist/Sexist- it depends on who you're talking to. Islamist threat is not being noticed enough, that's scary. AI/Data Center specifications must be worked out as soon as possible. As much for the national sanity as the need for them. Another fine show is in our future!
Can't wait for your show tonight, Leland! You will make a great mediator between 2 " know it all's"...or who think they know it all! See you tonight Leland ❤️
Thankless job-
It’s very sad that the Republican Party doesn’t take the opportunity to close the big tax loopholes for the wealthy- carried interest, 1031’s, jet write-offs, etc. While none of these will significantly impact the deficit, it would show that they care about the average person vs preserving egregious loopholes for the uber wealthy.
100%
From my above comment:
The United States has the MOST progressive tax system of ALL developed countries!
(No VAT, no national sales tax)
Currently the top 50% of income earners pay 97% of all income tax collected, meaning the bottom 50% of earners contribute just 3% of all federal income tax collected.
The average federal tax refund increased this year by 11% in part due to last year's OBBB that added new tax relief for tips, overtime, and seniors, AND cemented in 2017 changes such as DOUBLING the standard deduction and DOUBLING the max child tax credit amount and increased the income thresholds to allow more families to qualify!
The 2017 Republican TCJA resulted in the bottom earners, $25k or less, going from paying an average of $215 down to $155 in 2018 - a decrease of around 30% (it's even lower now). The "middle class" $50k-$100k folks saw a drop of about $1,000 or about an 18% reduction compared to pre-TCJA payments.
in 2017, Pre-TCJA those making over one million dollars paid 27.5% of all income tax collected. In 2018 after the TCJA changes, they paid a larger 29.5% of all income tax paid!
We have, to quote “Maverick”, a target rich environment.
1). The leaders of both parties either paid others to take their economics class tests in the spirit of Ted Kennedy or they never took or passed economics. Trump and Vance are currently the loudest examples of this. The Democrats have an incredibly deep bench of finance and economics non-experts as well.
2) if you’re in a shooting war or a cold war, you don’t bully or punish your allies and you don’t brag or make grandiose state statements about how you’re winning.
3) the leaders of both parties refuse to discuss policy or solutions to the problems Americans face. Sadly both parties now prefer mud pit fights versus advocating or even suggesting solutions. This deliberate practice makes Americans more angry and disaffected.
Looking forward to tonight’s program.
I have spoken to many of my friends in Canada and not one of them likes or supports Carney….thoughts??
I stopped watching any news weeks ago and I'm a happier person. I do read Leland's notes. Nothing has changed, there is still a distraction, still an endless war, our president is still a puppet because he wasn't like this in his first presidency. We desperately need to overhaul our government because to many politicians are corrupt and no regards for the American people.
Send Cuomo back to CNN
Leland- great exercise to stay out of- yikes -
Americans are mostly angry because they have been told to be. The minority party and the media has been screaming about how bad things are and how unprecedented everything is (to be fair Republicans did a fair share of "fear mongering" during the Biden admin although not at the current apocalyptic level)... even though it's really not if you look at the actual data:
The border is actually closed/secure
Crime is at a 60 year low
Year over year rent prices have declined - in part due to closing the border and easing demand on the short housing supply
High gas prices due to the Iran conflict are still below 2014 and 2022 peaks when you adjust for inflation!
Many blue collar jobs are seeing real wage gains:
USA Today: "In June, year-over-year pay growth for job-changers in construction was up 12.9%, outpacing every other industry."... In part due to data center construction demand and immigration enforcement decreasing the supply of cheap foreign labor... two of the issues the public is told to be enraged about that appear to be making a real difference for many working class folks!
Tax Fairness?
The United States has the MOST progressive tax system of ALL developed countries!
(No VAT, no national sales tax)
Currently the top 50% of income earners pay 97% of all income tax collected, meaning the bottom 50% of earners contribute just 3% of all federal income tax collected.
The average federal tax refund increased this year by 11% in part due to last year's OBBB that added new tax relief for tips, overtime, and seniors, AND cemented in 2017 changes such as DOUBLING the standard deduction and DOUBLING the max child tax credit amount and increased the income thresholds to allow more families to qualify!
The 2017 Republican TCJA resulted in the bottom earners, $25k or less, going from paying an average of $215 down to $155 in 2018 - a decrease of around 30% (it's even lower now). The "middle class" $50k-$100k folks saw a drop of about $1,000 or about an 18% reduction compared to pre-TCJA payments.
Pre 2017 TCJA those making over one million dollars paid 27.5% of all income tax collected, in 2018 after the TCJA changes, they paid a larger 29.5% of all income tax paid!
The housing affordability crisis is largely due to a housing shortage that occurred after the 2008 crash where new housing units added fell from over 1.6 million per year to around 600k per year for several years before slowly climbing back up... but are still below 2007 levels! During this historic low homebuilding period, we also had historic immigration to record levels the country has never seen:
"Data from January 2025 showing 53.3 million foreign-born residents, representing 15.8% of the total population, a new all-time high in both absolute numbers and share, surpassing the previous peak from 1890 at 14.8%."
In 1980 the foreign born population was 6.2% of the population - about 14 million people. We more than doubled the percent/pop and more than tripled the total number of immigrants during a period which included 10-15 years of historic low home building!
Immigration enforcement:
7/10/2010, New York Times: Illegal Workers Swept From Jobs in 'Silent Raids'
12/4/2014, ACLU: The Ones Obama Left Behind - And Deported Without a Chance to Be Heard
"Each year, over 363, 279 - 83 percent - of deportations from the United States are ordered by immigration officers, NOT judges. Those deported in 'summary removal' processes do NOT get a hearing or a chance to present evidence, or call a lawyer, or even say goodbye to their families before they are banished, sometimes for life."
4/7/2014, TIME: Most Immigrants Deported Under Obama Had Thin or NO Criminal Record
"Two-thirds of immigrants deported from the U.S. since 2008 committed minor traffic violations or had NO criminal record at all despite Obama's promise that his administration was targeting immigrants who were threats to the community."
3/21/2014 ACLU: Three Ways We Got to 2 Million (3.1 million total for 8 Obama years)
"At the same time, we have seen U.S. citizens and Green Card holders improperly detained, targeting of Latinos and immigrants by local police, and increased fear in communities, yet no indication that the Administration plans to curb Secure Communities." "In its first five years, the Obama Administration has deported about twice as many people as the Bush Administration did in the same period - all while the number of immigration judges has remained virtually stagnant and border apprehensions are at an all-time low." "The reality is that this Administration has increasingly relied on methods, such as expedited removal and reinstatements of old decisions."
1/4/2016, Politico: Obama Administration Kicks Off FAMILY Deportation Raids
“The Obama administration confirmed Monday that it began a new wave of arrests of Central American immigrant families over the weekend, moving forward with deportations of MOTHERS and CHILDREN despite an outcry from immigrant rights groups and potential political fallout for Democrats.”
The general population are being used as tools by the political parties. Immigration enforcement is largely similar to that during Obama's 8 years and he didn't have "sanctuary states/cities" to contend with or people shooting at ICE at every chance. The "rich" are largely paying their "fair share" and due to the tax changes Republicans have made in 2017 and 2025, the "rich" are paying a greater share of income tax collected and lower income folks are paying less! Data centers can be problematic, but there are many solutions before "banning them"... such as making them supply their own power, zone them so they can't be built too close to neighborhoods, schools, etc,...
You’ve got the data center thing all wrong, but kind of correct. I know you try to keep a fair and balanced perspective on things. But I don’t think you’re doing a very good job with this one. I don’t think you can please both sides on this issue. Data centers are important to our future, to our medicine, to our defense and to our lives even after we are dead.
They are not going away. The discussion should be how do we integrate them into our lives. I think you should take an affirmative position with regard to data centers and then work out the details. My wife said they are as important and inevitable to humanity now as the wheel was when it was invented.
We have to do the data centers. This is just the next tidal wave of technology. Yes, it will come at a price, but so did the industrial revolution in the mid 1800s, Henry Ford's assembly line, the Transcontinental Railway etc. In the 1990s I was part of a medical missionary team and did 4 missions to the hills of China. I was never in Beijing or Shanghai. The hospitals in the early 90s were like dog kennels. Absolutely filthy with no supplies. By the year 2000 the improvement was STUNNING! If we don't jump on the data centers, we are ceding our place as a global leader to China and we will never be able to recover