1984…is here

@ColMoeDavis It’s the loopholes…every time they “adjust” the tax structure, there is always a hidden loophole that only applies to the wealthy.

“Salaries are for suckers.” Ezra Klein’s interview with law professor Ray Madoff in today’s New York Times is an excellent illustration of my argument that the real divide in this country is between the rich and the rest. A link is posted below and I hope you’ll take time to read it. Professor Madiff explains why my effective tax rate as a retiree is 14.5 times greater than the effective tax rate of centibillionaire Jeff Bezos. Bezos’s salary is $82,000 a year, which is less than my earned income as a military and federal retiree and Social Security recipient, so for tax purposes, my taxable income is greater than Bezos’s taxable income. So how does Bezos live a more opulent lifestyle than me and pay a lower percentage in taxes? Professor Madoff explains: “Salaries are for suckers. When people take a salary, they’re subject to high income taxes and payroll taxes, and Jeff Bezos and a lot of our other multibillionaires have no interest in paying those taxes.” “So instead, they take their benefits through the growing value of their stock — and their stock has grown enormously. And that massive growth of stock happens entirely tax free — with no time frame under our current system in which that stock will ever be subject to tax.” “That is because we only impose a tax if the stock is sold, and Bezos never has to sell the stock because he can simply borrow against the stock and use that money to support his lifestyle and to pay any interest that’s due on the loan.” . . . . . “But the thing is, when we turn to Bezos’ side, the tremendous advantage is that loan is entirely tax free. When he gets that money and buys his yacht, he has not had a taxable event.” Pretty sweet, isn’t it? And note that Amazon doesn’t pay a stock dividend because dividends are taxable income and Bezos doesn’t want to pay taxes. Instead, earnings go back into the company to drive up the stock price and making Bezos richer without any tax consequences. Professor Madoff also provides a good explanation of how the oligarchs use their massive wealth to manipulate ordinary people to screw themselves. Here’s an example: “So the Mars, the Kochs, the Waltons — they all got together, and they were like: OK, we’ve got the income tax handled. We can borrow, we can avoid salaries. But this estate tax — Congress keeps fixing it. They keep doing the generation-skipping transfer tax, they do the special-valuation rules. We have to stop them.” “They funded this campaign to turn the public against the estate tax, and they did so by telling the public that the estate tax was an immoral death tax — making it seem like it came for everyone. Rather than an estate tax that definitely had a rich people air to it.” “They said: No, this is a death tax. It comes for all, and it particularly harms family farms and businesses.” “Now, what they didn’t say was that there are actually a lot of provisions in the tax code specifically designed to protect family farms and businesses. And indeed, Congress had a very hard time finding actual examples of people who actually lost their farms.” . . . . . “Congress could have easily addressed the family farms and business problem — if one sees that as a problem — by basically expanding the protections that were already there. But instead, they were using it as a cover for all of the people — the Mars, the Waltons, all of those people — who had massive amounts of inherited wealth, and they wanted to be able to pass it tax free.” As I’ve said repeatedly, we don’t need to punish the rich for being rich, but we do need a tax structure that requires them to pay their fair share. Then again, perhaps I’m just a Pollyanna. nytimes.com/2026/04/17/opi…

@marceelias Only the best people!

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking courts in 13 voter roll data lawsuits for a mulligan on its original demands for states’ voter roll data. democracydocket.com/news-alerts/do…

@RpsAgainstTrump Pete has been victimized by AI…senate hearings are soon to be on the horizon

WATCH: Pete Hegseth reads a fake Bible quote from Pulp Fiction during a Pentagon prayer service

@EricTopol “Can five men be trusted with AI?” The answer is yes…just not those five men.

"The Mythos Moment" economist.com/leaders/2026/0…

@RepThomasMassie @MikeKellyPA Well…does that include DC? Or are you too concerned about your own protection?

No one should have to beg the government to exercise a constitutionally protected right anywhere in the country. Thank you @MikeKellyPA for cosponsoring HR 645, the National Constitutional Carry Act.

@JohnCornyn So in your mind “alleged” is far worse than you turning a blind eye to “convicted” felon…got it.

🚨Fact check: TRUE.   Senate Dems blocked my bill to close the Cesar Chavez Monument where these alleged abuses happened and halt your tax dollars from funding it.   After all the reports this week of sexual abuse from members of Congress, Dems are protecting an accused sexual predator like Chavez.   What a disgrace.

@emptywheel @bennyjohnson Tough guys always shut down the replies…

HEy @bennyjohnson? Maybe, if God always wins and all your allegedly god-fearing buddies are bummed, you're not on God's side? Something to think about, chap.

Fellow Ohioans…if you elect this a-hole, you deserve everything you get, and I will never forgive you.

@RepDaveJoyce Dave, your constituents really would like to hear where you stand on this…👇 washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

This Tax Day, hardworking Ohioans are keeping more money in their pockets thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts I supported, with the average taxpayer in Ohio saving $3,173. Working families deserve real financial relief. I am committed to enacting policies that provide it.

@WalshFreedom Midterms…you really think they’ll happen? tRUMP just slipped the other day during an interview: “maybe we don’t need midterm elections”

My former party was on a path to get absolutely spanked in the midterms BEFORE Trump launched his illegal war.

REPUBLICANS: trump knew nothing about his best friend jeffrey epstein's crimes. ALSO REPUBLICANS: Democrats really expect us to believe that they didn't know about their friend swalwell?

@ChefReactions Breakfast/brunch…Lucky’s Cafe luckyscafe.com

@onestpress MAGA: we are not a cult 🥴

@SarahLongwell25 @BillKristol And here I thought Dan Quayle was the worst Vice President ever…sorry Dan, I was wrong 😑

"A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret."

@DoyleOBX76 @MaryBowdenMD This is the kind of thing you post when you have no idea what you’re talking about…see above

@MaryBowdenMD Hotez is the worst! Just look at how he dresses….. “let’s pretend to be a scientist”…. But in reality he is a Big Pharma puppet…….

Here he goes again, spreading dangerous misinformation.

@AndyOstroy Not sure that’s a winning message…in other words FU

more please!

@NSTRIKE1231 @ItsTheEnforcer

🇳🇴🇺🇦 Norwegian company Kongsberg has developed an air defense combat module for the Ukrainian Inguar-3 armored vehicle, according to Defence Blog. 🔹 The system is reportedly capable of using 70mm laser-guided rockets — likely referring to the APKWS system, which employs laser-guided HYDRA rockets. See the latest updates with us: @NSTRIKE1231

Ohioans…👇

@KreusHakki @MalcolmNance @ItsTheEnforcer

Someone posted that Canada should buy the Gripen fighters from Sweden and call them FU-47. 👌👍🤭😁😆😂🤣

“We won’t go extinct out of hunger, but out of selfishness” open.substack.com/pub/georgetsak…