Finally Trump says things I agree with

I don't have links - this was on the TV news - you can look up sources.
I heard reported that Trump said:
1) Considering raising the Federal Gas tax
2) Looking into breaking up the big banks

I approve of both of these things!!!!
1) - I would like to see it stipulated that the revenue could only be used for roads, not general funds.
2) - the big banks are even BIGGER than when they were in 2008 when they were TOO BIG TO FAIL. Having Goldman Sachs well represented in his staff will kill reform.

I have no hope anything will come out of either of those 2 things, but finally something he said I actually agreed with. I am not counting things he said and I agreed with that he later said the opposite on, such as NATO, where it is both good and obsolete.

(I am not counting empty statements like being against ISIS - who is FOR ISIS???)

 

Yes, keep the taxes out of general funds, which was just drained for what, $200 million for "security" for Trump's many golf course weekends in Florida, and his palace in New York City.

 

What a crock. We pay enough in taxes. What we need to do is cut government waste.

 

Big banks were broken up once and they got big again. The only way to stop them and keep them toeing the line is to nationalize them.

 

Oh course I approve the message. Break 'em up! Not the man. TOO BIG is too big. 'Nuff said. And not limited to banks or corporations either. Too big of a bank account (Trump) is too big. Dangerously big. Too much risk for any society to tolerate. And yet not only do we tolerate such people, we put them on pedestals, elect them President, quote and laud them for saying rational things. Let's simply make TOO BIG illegal and permanently rid ourselves of the stinking lot!

 

Government waste is greatest in the military - which Trump plans to INCREASE.
Corporations are paying a lower % of taxes then since WWII.
The gas tax was started by Eisenhower and paid for the interstate highway system - and it has an added benefit of increasing interest in fuel economy.
Remember when gas was around $4/gallon? Now, while prices are lower, is the time to raise the tax to fix the roads.

 

When were the banks broken up?

 

What a crock. Conservative strategy is to cripple government, then whine about how it no longer works with demands for corporatizing it. Like they did with the Post Office. Crippled by Bush Jr. after 225 years. Meanwhile they lavish a sickening amount of money on the military, keeping the American Empire spread around the globe.

 

Goldman Sacs has been well represented in every recent administration. Obama's was full of em too. Some investigation into why that is, should be done, imo.

 

I cannot think of an instance where i agree with anything Trump has said or will say. I am of the belief that there is no connection what so ever between the mans mouth and his brain.

 

Government waste is rampant throughout all levels and functions of government. There is no incentive for efficiency.

Corporations don't pay taxes. They only collect them.

Thank you for the history lesson. Not sure why you think it is relevant or how it refutes my argument regarding government waste.

Which in itself causes diminished returns. Hence the desire to raise the tax. But we don't need to raise the tax, we need to raise the efficiency of our current tax dollars. Raising the gas tax will only lead to inflation.. which will slow economic growth.

I live in California. Gas is $4/gallon. And my idiot governor is raising the state gas tax in November. It will be $5 here soon enough.

 

So you don't think we need to cut government waste?

 

"FDR's major banking “reform,” the second Glass-Steagall Act, actually weakened the banking system by breaking up the strongest banks to separate commercial banking from investment banking."

http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/3800

 

And Glass-Steagall should be reinstated.The investment banking side of the major banks are basically hedge funds with very little transparency and should not be protected by laws meant to protect bank deposits.

 

While I appreciate the basic sentiment, show me the evidence that government waste exceeds the legitimate need for taxes. In other words, what percentage of spending is wasted spending? While the numbers we hear are often big dollar values, what we don't generally hear is that these are typically a minuscule percentage of the total spending.

But this is what happens: Most people will start citing policy issues, like "The EPA is a waste of money", and avoid the fact that the actual waste in terms of corruption or mismanagement is where the complaint started. They change the argument.

There is little doubt in my mind that some of the biggest examples of corruption and waste are found in military spending.

 

Lets start with going after people with vacation houses--there is no need for one family to own more than one house. Do you agree?

 

That is extremely radical.

 

http://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/50-examples-government-waste

Before I agree to pay another dime in taxes, I'd like my government to address at least some of the wasteful spending detailed above.

Please cite your sources.

 

No I don't agree. We should never tax achievement and prosperity.

 

Right. Why should a private business be allowed to run and determine something as important as the financial life of a country?

 

You seem to have a history of being silly instead of rational.

 

We tried Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and we saw the results. Worst recession since the great depression. Government waste and red tape can't run businesses.

 

Before you worry about cutting spending, you need to cut the bs. Your source of information is total crackpot.

Consider for example this claim cited in your source:
U.S. Will Pay $2.6 Million to Train Chinese Prostitutes to Drink Responsibly on the Job

If you go around the dead link provided and get the actual story, this is a medical research project aimed at reducing the spread of AIDS. They are testing a model to see if certain inexpensive practices can have a significant impact, thus reducing costs.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...ain-chinese-prostitutes-drink-responsibly-job

So for starters, your thinking is guided by false or misleading claims. Now if the argument is that scientific research should be based on the popular opinions of Joe Sixpack, then I am glad to correct your thinking.

Oh lord... you can't be serious. There have been innumerable examples over the decades.
Pentagon buries evidence of $125 billion in bureaucratic waste
https://www.washingtonpost.com/inve...b0774c1eaa5_story.html?utm_term=.88c1167fa22c

In 2011 a bipartisan commission report identified up to $60 billion lost to contractor fraud and waste during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. See www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/09/contractor-waste-iraq-KBR and www.wartimecontracting.gov/docs/CWC_NR-49.pdf
Congressman DeFazio (D, OR) identified more waste: www.irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/12/15/petedefazio-takes-on-wasteful-military-spending/
www.wanttoknow.info/corruptiongovernmentmilitary
Millions of dollars of overcharges by Boeing identified ($644.75 for a $12.51 part)! www.wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/the-department-of-defenses-wasteful-spending-and-how-boeingcashed-in.html
A partial audit found more than $70 billion waste in weapon systems procurement: www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/business/30military.html
One soldier’s experience of military waste: www.onviolence.com/?e=279
Military Spending Waste Up To $60 Billion In Iraq, Afghanistan War Funds Lost To Poor Planning, Oversight, Fraud: www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/30/military-spending-waste_n_942723.html
U.S. Military Waste A Smoldering Afghan Health Issue: www.rferl.org/content/us_military_waste_an_afghan_health_issue/24374413.html
Military waste -- $1 trillion missing – better accounting in the Pentagon? www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/05/18/MN251738.DTL&ao=all
Jim McDermott Challenges 14 Billion Dollar Iraq Boondoggle Military Waste: www.militarywaste.org/2009/03/07/jimmcdermott-challenges-14-billion-dollar-iraq-boon
Two Engines For A Single Engine Plane Military Waste: www.militarywaste.org/2010/05/28/two-engines-for-a-singleengine-plane
http://www.wwfor.org/wp-content/uploads/Waste-in-the-Pentagon-Budget.pdf

 

Thank you for the citations. It looks like President Obama's Pentagon has some explaining to do.

 

The bad stuff wasn't due to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was due to often illegal acts by financial institutions to boost their profits.