The Joy Of Living In A Blue State

[RiverDog]

A Republican hasn't won a statewide election since Slade Gorton was elected US Senator in 1996, or 28 years. The state legislature has been dominated by Democrats, the latest split being 29 D's to 20 R's in the Senate and 58 D's to 40 R's in the House. The Democrats have controlled the Governor's mansion since 1984. The predominantly conservative districts in Eastern Washington do not have a voice, or the voice they do have gets drowned out by the ultra liberal Seattle area Democrats. No wonder there's a movement to split off the eastern side of the state and join a greater Idaho.

In addition to our California-like carbon tax which has resulted in one of if not the highest gas price in the country, our state government recently caved into the PETA folks and banned any eggs that were not raised cage free from being sold. What's next, banning farm raised salmon? Or beef raised in feed lots?

Yesterday, I got my property tax statement. Last year, my property tax bill was $2,999/year. In 2024, I'll be paying $4564, an increase of over 52% in one year. And before you ask, I haven't made a major improvement or addition in over 5 years, and even those were quite modest, like replacing a heat pump or re-roofing the house. I can afford that increase, but what about the poor slob who lives from paycheck to paycheck? Can he/she afford a 52% increase?

The Republican party sucks. They are owned by Trump and are for the most part a collection of moonbats. But anyone who thinks that the Democrats are a viable alternative needs to have their heads examined. These Democrats couldn't give a rip about the average working man who can't handle these inflationary laws that do nothing but satisfy the Democrats social and environmental causes. And they have the gall to complain about there being no affordable housing and blame it for the homeless crisis.

I'm ripe for a 3rd party.

[Aseahawkfan]

How did your property tax increase so much?

No wonder eggs are so expensive now.

[RiverDog]

How did your property tax increase so much?

No wonder eggs are so expensive now.

I've been digging into this for the past day or so. I actually under stated my increase. For some reason, I thought that I had paid $3k in property tax last year, and when I started looking at it, I paid just $2400. That means that my one-year increase was 90%, not 52%.
 
They increased the assessed value of my home by about 75% even though I made no improvements to the house or the property. It's likely due to the increase in the sales price of new homes in this area as construction costs for labor and materials has skyrocketed yet the Tri Cities is still one of the hottest real estate markets in the state. But a 90% increase in one year? Suppose you own some rental properties. What are you going to do if they raise your property tax by 90% in one year? Answer: Either raise rents or get out of the rental business altogether and sell off the property. If anyone feels that part of the homeless problem is the lack of affordable housing, you can trace a direct line back to bullcrap like property tax hikes.

Here's the cage free eggs law, and a pretty good article about it:

Washington Governor and Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee on Tuesday (in 2019) signed into law a bill that will require eggs sold in the state to come from cage-free hens by the end of 2023.

According to the bill’s language, the new law aims to “protect the health and welfare of consumers, promote food safety, advance animal welfare, and protect against the negative fiscal effects on the state associated with the lack of effective regulation of egg production and sales.”

A closer look reveals that the egg industry’s own interests may have played a significant role in the bill’s passage.

https://thecounter.org/washington-cage- ... gerprints/

There's more in there if you're interested. It's not going to kill us to pay a couple extra bucks for a dozen eggs every couple of weeks, but it's still inflationary. If you're McDonald's, add that increase into the minimum wage for fast food workers that is so popular with Dems.

[Aseahawkfan]

Great. Typical government-corporate bill that appeases the PETA people in name only while the egg industry charges us more while making barely noticeable changes to their process.

We as a people really have lost control of our government at this point.

[RiverDog]

Great. Typical government-corporate bill that appeases the PETA people in name only while the egg industry charges us more while making barely noticeable changes to their process.

We as a people really have lost control of our government at this point.

If you have an ethical objection to using eggs that come from a chicken that didn't have the ability to take a dust bath, then fine. You can pay the extra couple of bucks and buy cage free eggs. But don't foist your sense of morality on me.

My question is what's next? Farm raised shrimp? Feed lots? Slaughterhouses? Unless you're a vegetarian, there's scores of areas where they can claim that the food industry has 'unethical' practices.

For a long time, I've wondered why so many people are voting for Trump, why they can't see the same things in him as I do. It's crap like this. The Democrats are so out of touch with reality that they don't give people a viable alternative.

[Aseahawkfan]

If you have an ethical objection to using eggs that come from a chicken that didn't have the ability to take a dust bath, then fine. You can pay the extra couple of bucks and buy cage free eggs. But don't foist your sense of morality on me.

My question is what's next? Farm raised shrimp? Feed lots? Slaughterhouses? Unless you're a vegetarian, there's scores of areas where they can claim that the food industry has 'unethical' practices.

For a long time, I've wondered why so many people are voting for Trump, why they can't see the same things in him as I do. It's crap like this. The Democrats are so out of touch with reality that they don't give people a viable alternative.

I don't even know who drives the car of government anymore or what special interests are pushing whatever strange thing through that they foist upon us anymore. It seems there are a group of humans that want to overcomplicate life for all of us and push their ethics and agendas on us all that seem to use their money to fund campaigns and put politicians in place to support what they want. All of us regular working people are subject to their whims at this point.

In both parties.

Rich, bored people with tons of money and time able to manipulate the system to do what they feel is best for all humanity using the government as a vehicle of charity and forced cultural change on all of us regardless of the sound reasoning for the change. What can you do when your Democracy reaches the point where they have to look for any crazy agenda to support to provide themselves a sense of purpose driven by a very fractured media with little means to sift through all the noise to find truth.

Times we live in I guess.

I fully understand why people vote for Trump or Biden or whatever candidate. Both parties have carefully vetted issues they know they can use to drive votes and wind people up. Both have their media arms and supporters wanting things from their chosen candidate they are willing to pay for with votes overlooking the crazy in a given party.

[Aseahawkfan]

On a side note, I'm surprised you haven't gloated a bit as it looks like Trump is going to the Republican candidate. Seems all the old guard Republicans are gone or have aged out of power. I always felt the Bush Sr./Reagan arm of the Republican Party would nuke Trump after January 6th, but it seems they have lost that ability to control the party. Not sure who runs it now since the remaining Koch brother is backing Haley I believe and I'm not sure who backs Trump since a lot of his big supporters have stepped away.

Not sure he can win as both Biden and Trump look terrible and have tons of terrible material to use against each. Going to be a real battle to the bottom with Biden vs. Trump 2. A definite who do you hate the least and does anyone want to cast a vote for either of these geriatrics.

This country looks nothing like the one I grew up in with the positive energy and seemingly more sensible people running the nation. Even people who disagreed with Reagan and Bush Sr. likely at least felt that both loved this country and would govern in a sensible manner. Now you can't rely on any kind of sensible government or even manners from Trump.

Did you hear his statement concerning NATO nations? America spends all this money, energy, and blood to maintain world peace and Trump's going to just let a NATO nation get invaded because they aren't paying their 2%, basically blackmailing other nations regardless of their ability to pay for America to protect them. The so called leaders of the free world may well elect a president who wants to leave other nations to be invaded starting a new age of war where America has ceded their military position in the world as the protector of Democracy and Freedom. Never thought I would see that day.

[RiverDog]

On a side note, I'm surprised you haven't gloated a bit as it looks like Trump is going to the Republican candidate. Seems all the old guard Republicans are gone or have aged out of power. I always felt the Bush Sr./Reagan arm of the Republican Party would nuke Trump after January 6th, but it seems they have lost that ability to control the party. Not sure who runs it now since the remaining Koch brother is backing Haley I believe and I'm not sure who backs Trump since a lot of his big supporters have stepped away.

Not sure he can win as both Biden and Trump look terrible and have tons of terrible material to use against each. Going to be a real battle to the bottom with Biden vs. Trump 2. A definite who do you hate the least and does anyone want to cast a vote for either of these geriatrics.

This country looks nothing like the one I grew up in with the positive energy and seemingly more sensible people running the nation. Even people who disagreed with Reagan and Bush Sr. likely at least felt that both loved this country and would govern in a sensible manner. Now you can't rely on any kind of sensible government or even manners from Trump.

Did you hear his statement concerning NATO nations? America spends all this money, energy, and blood to maintain world peace and Trump's going to just let a NATO nation get invaded because they aren't paying their 2%, basically blackmailing other nations regardless of their ability to pay for America to protect them. The so called leaders of the free world may well elect a president who wants to leave other nations to be invaded starting a new age of war where America has ceded their military position in the world as the protector of Democracy and Freedom. Never thought I would see that day.

If I felt good about my prediction, I might gloat. But it's too depressing to even think about the next 5 years. And so long as we're on the subject of my being right about something, look how support for Ukraine is beginning to evaporate.

And yes, I heard what Trump said about NATO. It was disgusting. It's not that I disagree with him as I do think that Europe should be paying more to help us defend them. But the reality is that Europe is an extension of the United States, and they need to be treated as if they're states and territories of the US. Trump's thinking is pre-WW2 isolationism, thinking that we're protected by the oceans. Same goes for his views on the economy. "America First" sometimes means letting other countries produce goods or services for us as there are instances where we can't produce them as good or as economically as other countries might.

As far as the 2024 election goes, I'm afraid that Trump is going to win. Polls generally underestimate his strength, which is one of the mistakes I made in 2020 when I thought that Biden would win in a landslide, and he's been leading in most categories, including the economy and the border crisis. And, of course, Biden's age is a huge issue. It's not like Trump is a spring chicken, but I wouldn't trust Biden to drive me to the grocery store. And even if Biden suddenly decided not to seek re-election, there is absolutely no one in the Democratic party who could pick up the torch and beat Trump. Biden is their only hope.

Oh, well.

[Aseahawkfan]

We live in bizarro world right now, so nothing surprises me.

Even the Democrats must be confused.

1. Democrats are the pro-war party in Ukraine. Republicans have checked out of that war and Putin and Russia seem to have mouthpieces in the current Republican Party willing to push their propaganda. Tucker Carlson did a sympathetic interview with Putin. Apparently he is shopping around Russia claiming their grocery stores are better than ours due to being cheaper. Why an American journalist is providing a sympathetic voice to Russia is beyond me.

This is they type of stuff that got Jane Fonda her nickname. It's a supposed conservative doing it.

It must be pretty nutso for Democrats to have to be the party that's in favor of war support for Ukraine while Biden is being attacked by the Republican Machine for helping Ukraine, when the Republican Party and Reagan were the parties given credit for the fall of Soviet Union.

2. Democrats are being accused of being anti-Semitic because major figures in their party are anti-Israel. The Democrats have apparently also split factions into an anti-Israel faction that would love to see American support for Israel pulled, which would pretty much lead to Israel's slow destruction. I imagine that is what will happen when you have Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar in the Democratic Party. Rashida is from Palestine and Ilhan is a Somali Muslim. I work with a lot of Somali Muslims who make it pretty clear they think Israel should not exist.

So our two major parties are fracturing in very odd ways that is pulling America in directions you never thought it would be going. Just more of an example of how weak, unfocused, and manipulatable American leadership currently is in our nation during a period when Russia and China are more focused on expansion of their power and political influence.

America has reached a point where Democrat is causing us to lose our way and our focus. You can't lead the free world if you can't even lead your own nation well.

[RiverDog]

I don't disagree with any of that. But my concerns are more local, like the carbon tax, the breaching of the LSRD's, unwanted windfarms with windmills taller than the Space Needle. The west side Democrats don't give a rip about us out here in Eastern Washington. They're copying everything California has done. The only reason we're not in as bad of shape as CA is because we don't have a state income tax. California's class warfare is driving rich people and their tax money out of the state while they do stupid crap like giving illegals state sponsored health care.

The next cycle, I'm voting for the R no matter who it is, even if he's a moonbat Trump brown noser like our last R candidate, Loren Culp. I've voted for Dem govs on a number of occasions, ie Booth Gardner, Gary Locke, and Inslee in the last cycle. No more. If I had a viable choice, I'd move out of the state.

[curmudgeon]

Bidenomics IS working!……

[Aseahawkfan]

I don't disagree with any of that. But my concerns are more local, like the carbon tax, the breaching of the LSRD's, unwanted windfarms with windmills taller than the Space Needle. The west side Democrats don't give a rip about us out here in Eastern Washington. They're copying everything California has done. The only reason we're not in as bad of shape as CA is because we don't have a state income tax. California's class warfare is driving rich people and their tax money out of the state while they do stupid crap like giving illegals state sponsored health care.

The next cycle, I'm voting for the R no matter who it is, even if he's a moonbat Trump brown noser like our last R candidate, Loren Culp. I've voted for Dem govs on a number of occasions, ie Booth Gardner, Gary Locke, and Inslee in the last cycle. No more. If I had a viable choice, I'd move out of the state.

No. As much as they do damage control, the Dems see Republicans as a bunch of dumb racist rednecks who don't know what's good for them. They are a bunch of "educated", smart progressives using science to make the world a better place and we should bow down to the technocrats.

As a person that consumes a lot of scientific information, you can tell academics rely on conclusions from studies to push their agendas even if said study's conclusions are inaccurate or grossly misinterpreted.

It creates a situation where you have a scientific method being used to determine policy with a population expected to govern mostly incapable of understanding the science in the studies used to create policy. This often includes the politicians who rely on scientific experts to develop policy. Then it comes down to what science they want to use and what their big supporters support in terms of cost-benefit analysis.

The world has become increasingly complicated while the people seem to be divided by education levels and specialized where you have to end up trusting the science the government is using to determine policy. For those of us that can actually read the science and see it is badly designed for its intended purpose, it's exceedingly frustrating.

I imagine it is even worse for those that can't read the science and are expected to pay a lot of money for what looks like something not particularly benefitting them, but is some campaign promise from some smarmy leftist politician hundreds of miles away from where they live. Though it also sucks here in the heart of Seattle when you're using crap paper straws that go soggy in the drink and reusable plastic bags you pay 8 cents for that people are tossing in their recycle bin because so few people bother to remember to keep the bag and carry it with them to reuse. It starts to seem like badly designed policy that is making someone more money while not accomplishing its intended purpose.

But I do admit this situation with Russia does concern me. Situations like that start World Wars. I hope Putin dies soon and is replaced some less toxic Russian leader, though I know almost nothing about Russian leadership. I hope it isn't a worse leader.

[Aseahawkfan]

Bidenomics IS working!……

Bidenomics is making a lot of people rich. Just not regular, working class people that support Democrats. But the tech companies love Bidenomics.

[Aseahawkfan]

So 4.38 for a dozen eggs for cage free comfortable chickens at the low price grocery store.

What are you paying for eggs in Eastern Washington, Riverdog?

[c_hawkbob]

Yeah, much better to live in a red state where the life expectancy is shorter, poverty rates are higher, more people are on welfare, education sucks, and gun violence is higher. Besides that we got little bitty roads, great big ditches and no shoulders, nobody has fenced yards and dogs roam the streets in packs.

On the plus side the people are nice and the food is better.

But having lived in both worlds all I can say is the grass really ain't greener, no matter what you think or how you vote.

[Aseahawkfan]

I haven't noticed life a great deal better in red states statistically either other than they don't often deal with the strange little taxes and fees.

Quite a few red states have surprisingly high property taxes and also have state income tax. Crime seems about the same. Violence rates are very state dependent. Hawaii, a blue state, has very low gun violence rates. Drug rates are much the same too depending more on access or the particular drug.

For all their talk, I don't see Red State politicians doing a whole lot to stop the real problems plaguing this nation as the answers they're coming up with don't work whether it is the supposed hard on crime policies of the Republicans or soft on crime Democrats. Neither one is working dealing with homeless heroin addicts as both my parents live in red states and their cities have similar issues to other major large cities.

I think the size of a given place has a lot to do with how it runs as whether Red or Blue, cities are gluttons for tax monies to run and people flock around cities like rats to garbage with a lot of food, especially homeless drug addicts.

[RiverDog]

Yeah, much better to live in a red state where the life expectancy is shorter, poverty rates are higher, more people are on welfare, education sucks, and gun violence is higher. Besides that we got little bitty roads, great big ditches and no shoulders, nobody has fenced yards and dogs roam the streets in packs.

On the plus side the people are nice and the food is better.

But having lived in both worlds all I can say is the grass really ain't greener, no matter what you think or how you vote.

Yeah, and the blue states, particularly New York, California, Oregon, and Washington, have a much higher rate of drug abuse and homelessness than red states. IMO that's more of a humanitarian problem than little bitty roads or dogs roaming the streets (as if they don't here). A poor person can't afford to live in a blue state. In California, the cost of living is so outrageous that people are moving out in droves, particularly the wealthy of which the state is so dependent on for their tax revenue. Retailers have had enough and are moving out of the large cities. Yet they continue to be ignorant of the problem and keep passing these ridiculous inflationary laws that makes matters worse.

Here's an article you might want to check out: A new study (dated Nov. 2023) from Forbes ranks Washington state as the most impacted by retail crime in the nation. The survey also ranked Washington third worst in the total value of items stolen, with an average loss of $347 per person.

https://mynorthwest.com/3939740/study-r ... r%20person.

Guess which party it was that defunded the police? So yeah, I'll argue with you about whose stepsister is uglier.

Another example is our property tax. I just got my property tax bill for 2024. My property tax increased by a whopping 90% from what it was in 2023. Most of that is due to an increase in the assessed value, going up about 74%, but I have made no major improvements to our property that would justify such a large increase. I'm not complaining as I can afford it, but what about the poor slob with a family of 4 living paycheck to paycheck? And suppose you own rental properties. How are you going to make up for that kind of increase? All that's going to do is encourage landlords to raise rents and/or get out of the rental business, putting even more pressure on an already stressed market. What is that going to do to our homeless situation?

My biggest problem is the attitude of our lawmakers. They claim to be so sensitive and caring about the homeless, the poor, and middle class, yet they keep passing legislation that they know is going to make life more difficult for them. Do red state politicians have any better solutions? Probably not, but I wouldn't know as we haven't had an R governor for 40 years, nor do I have any solutions. All I know is if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is to quit digging.

BTW, if any of you want to take a look at my property tax statement, I saved it to a PDF and wouldn't mind sharing it in a PM.

[Aseahawkfan]

Yeah, and the blue states, particularly New York, California, Oregon, and Washington, have a much higher rate of drug abuse and homelessness than red states. IMO that's more of a humanitarian problem than little bitty roads or dogs roaming the streets (as if they don't here). A poor person can't afford to live in a blue state. In California, the cost of living is so outrageous that people are moving out in droves, particularly the wealthy of which the state is so dependent on for their tax revenue. Retailers have had enough and are moving out of the large cities. Yet they continue to be ignorant of the problem and keep passing these ridiculous inflationary laws that makes matters worse.

Here's an article you might want to check out: A new study (dated Nov. 2023) from Forbes ranks Washington state as the most impacted by retail crime in the nation. The survey also ranked Washington third worst in the total value of items stolen, with an average loss of $347 per person.

https://mynorthwest.com/3939740/study-r ... r%20person.

Guess which party it was that defunded the police? So yeah, I'll argue with you about whose stepsister is uglier.

Another example is our property tax. I just got my property tax bill for 2024. My property tax increased by a whopping 90% from what it was in 2023. Most of that is due to an increase in the assessed value, going up about 74%, but I have made no major improvements to our property that would justify such a large increase. I'm not complaining as I can afford it, but what about the poor slob with a family of 4 living paycheck to paycheck? And suppose you own rental properties. How are you going to make up for that kind of increase? All that's going to do is encourage landlords to raise rents and/or get out of the rental business, putting even more pressure on an already stressed market. What is that going to do to our homeless situation?

My biggest problem is the attitude of our lawmakers. They claim to be so sensitive and caring about the homeless, the poor, and middle class, yet they keep passing legislation that they know is going to make life more difficult for them. Do red state politicians have any better solutions? Probably not, but I wouldn't know as we haven't had an R governor for 40 years, nor do I have any solutions. All I know is if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is to quit digging.

BTW, if any of you want to take a look at my property tax statement, I saved it to a PDF and wouldn't mind sharing it in a PM.

Shouldn't you be getting an age reduction for your property tax? Is that still on there? My mother gets an age exemption on her property tax that reduces the value for the taxable amount.

Also need to know how often they assess property values in your area. This is obviously a reassessment of value by the locality that caused your property tax to be calculated based on the newly assessed value.

You don't know of any recent assessments in your area that caused an increase in property tax or any law changes? They aren't building some new park or doing some roadwork change? Though roadwork they usually add to your tabs.

Not sure what the rate is in your area. I would definitely look up any property tax reductions for age in your area that would reduce the taxable value. I would check closely the assessed value to see how much it increased and when the last value assessment occurred.

[RiverDog]

Yeah, and the blue states, particularly New York, California, Oregon, and Washington, have a much higher rate of drug abuse and homelessness than red states. IMO that's more of a humanitarian problem than little bitty roads or dogs roaming the streets (as if they don't here). A poor person can't afford to live in a blue state. In California, the cost of living is so outrageous that people are moving out in droves, particularly the wealthy of which the state is so dependent on for their tax revenue. Retailers have had enough and are moving out of the large cities. Yet they continue to be ignorant of the problem and keep passing these ridiculous inflationary laws that makes matters worse.

Here's an article you might want to check out: A new study (dated Nov. 2023) from Forbes ranks Washington state as the most impacted by retail crime in the nation. The survey also ranked Washington third worst in the total value of items stolen, with an average loss of $347 per person.

https://mynorthwest.com/3939740/study-r ... r%20person.

Guess which party it was that defunded the police? So yeah, I'll argue with you about whose stepsister is uglier.

Another example is our property tax. I just got my property tax bill for 2024. My property tax increased by a whopping 90% from what it was in 2023. Most of that is due to an increase in the assessed value, going up about 74%, but I have made no major improvements to our property that would justify such a large increase. I'm not complaining as I can afford it, but what about the poor slob with a family of 4 living paycheck to paycheck? And suppose you own rental properties. How are you going to make up for that kind of increase? All that's going to do is encourage landlords to raise rents and/or get out of the rental business, putting even more pressure on an already stressed market. What is that going to do to our homeless situation?

My biggest problem is the attitude of our lawmakers. They claim to be so sensitive and caring about the homeless, the poor, and middle class, yet they keep passing legislation that they know is going to make life more difficult for them. Do red state politicians have any better solutions? Probably not, but I wouldn't know as we haven't had an R governor for 40 years, nor do I have any solutions. All I know is if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is to quit digging.

BTW, if any of you want to take a look at my property tax statement, I saved it to a PDF and wouldn't mind sharing it in a PM.

Shouldn't you be getting an age reduction for your property tax? Is that still on there? My mother gets an age exemption on her property tax that reduces the value for the taxable amount.

Also need to know how often they assess property values in your area. This is obviously a reassessment of value by the locality that caused your property tax to be calculated based on the newly assessed value.

You don't know of any recent assessments in your area that caused an increase in property tax or any law changes? They aren't building some new park or doing some roadwork change? Though roadwork they usually add to your tabs.

Not sure what the rate is in your area. I would definitely look up any property tax reductions for age in your area that would reduce the taxable value. I would check closely the assessed value to see how much it increased and when the last value assessment occurred.

Thanks for the heads up on the senior reduction, but my income is too high. I've been transferring funds from my traditional IRA to my Roth and paying the tax on them rather than deferring them, so the earnings don't get taxed. I have to declare the amount I transfer as income.

Assessments are required by law to be done at least once every 6 years. I'm not sure when the last time my property was assessed. There's been some new housing developments that have gone up in our area, but no major roadwork, public parks, schools, or any other kind of infrastructure improvements. My next-door neighbor's property tax increased by 57%. A friend of mine in Franklin County saw just a 4% increase.

But as I said, I'm not that concerned with my personal predicament. Our house is paid off, we're empty nesters, and my wife is very low maintenance. I haven't even started taking my SS yet. My point is that the tax is allowed to increase that much in one year. And if I'm not the only one whose seeing such a large increase, what the heck is the government doing with all this extra revenue? Are they using it to retire bonds and lower the tax burden? Are they re-distributing it to low-income areas? Is it going into some sort of emergency fund? Or are they using it for their pet peeve projects? It's the same question I have about this carbon tax we've been paying: What the hell is the government doing with all this extra revenue?

[Aseahawkfan]

Thanks for the heads up on the senior reduction, but my income is too high. I've been transferring funds from my traditional IRA to my Roth and paying the tax on them rather than deferring them, so the earnings don't get taxed. I have to declare the amount I transfer as income.

Assessments are required by law to be done at least once every 6 years. I'm not sure when the last time my property was assessed. There's been some new housing developments that have gone up in our area, but no major roadwork, public parks, schools, or any other kind of infrastructure improvements. My next-door neighbor's property tax increased by 57%. A friend of mine in Franklin County saw just a 4% increase.

But as I said, I'm not that concerned with my personal predicament. Our house is paid off, we're empty nesters, and my wife is very low maintenance. I haven't even started taking my SS yet. My point is that the tax is allowed to increase that much in one year. And if I'm not the only one whose seeing such a large increase, what the heck is the government doing with all this extra revenue? Are they using it to retire bonds and lower the tax burden? Are they re-distributing it to low-income areas? Is it going into some sort of emergency fund? Or are they using it for their pet peeve projects? It's the same question I have about this carbon tax we've been paying: What the hell is the government doing with all this extra revenue?

The only time I have seen a Republican or Democrat led government retire debt or even attempt to run a responsible government budget is during the Clinton years.

Local government is often no different. They always find things to spend on. Dems never saw a program they couldn't sell. Republicans love to cut taxes for their business friends before they pay off bonds or responsibly manage the government.

They both keep us at each other's throats while they do whatever the hell they have planned, which you'll only really see if you analyze the financials very closely.

Like the Biden Inflation Reduction Act or whatever it is called is sending tons of money to huge, wealthy tech companies to manufacture in America with immense tax breaks for doing so. It is providing some quality jobs, but a lot of the money is getting pocketed by corps in tax cuts to give them enough incentive to manufacture domestically because they otherwise have no reason to do so if can save costs manufacturing in China or Thailand or what not. So it's costing the taxpayer a lot of money to lure huge, powerful tech companies back to America. A lot of this is tied to wage inflation which drives goods and services inflation which pushes up asset inflation in a big old cycle of increasing inflation.

It's a big game to try to keep the consumer enough ahead of inflation that they don't collapse under it while they work to inflate their way out of the massive debt.

You watched Jerome Powell discussing the U.S. governments unsustainable financial management? They can't afford to continue, especially with borrowing costs as high as they currently are. It's just a matter of when, not if they cause a major collapse. People keep voting based on culture war crap while claiming all this financial mismanagement by both parties will never really do anything until it does. Then we'll see I guess.