Tag: katy

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Mike Collier Says Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick Is At The Root Of All The State’s Gun Violence Problems

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Mike Collier, the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Texas, appeared on MSNBC(05/30/22) where he dropped a bombshell telling host Katy Tur, that the gun violence problem in Texas begins and ends with one person–Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Collier added that in his conversations with many state legislators, he has found out that there are many Republicans who are open to common sense gun reform laws, but are afraid to publicly support such measures for fear of reprisals by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, the most powerful politician in the state.

Mike Collier(video at 2:55):“The fundamental problem is that the political leaders that run this state, and I’m talking about Dan Patrick now, let me be very very clear. Dan Patrick who’s Lieutenant Governor in our constitution, the most powerful political leader in the state, has worked aggressively to block even the slighetst suggestion of gun laws in the state. Now, I know from talking to legislators, Democrats in the last session proposed reasonable gun laws, and Republicans actually were lining up behind them, until they heard from Dan Patrick who said, ‘You stop this, or I’m going to get even with you’, and they are afraid of him. The problem in Texas is Dan Patrick, and he’s got to go.”

Mike Collier added towards the end of the interview(video at 6:25):“I know from talking to Democrats and Republicans alike, that the[Texas]legislature wants to act on these problems. They don’t want to see children killed, but they can’t move forward because of one individual, Dan Patrick, and they all know that. That’s why he’s got to go.”

Bottom line folks, if what Mike Collier said on MSNBC holds up, that there are indeed Texas Republicans who want sensible gun reforms but are scared of super Trumper Dan Patrick, then the blood of innocent school children at Santa Fe, Robb Elementary and elsewhere in Texas, are surely on his hands, and he has zero business holding public office in Texas any longer. I’m sure he can secure a cushy job at the NRA, where he belongs.

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In 2015 Kushner Got A $4,000 Tax Refund After Earning 1.7 Million

Yours Truly did a post yesterday based on the bombshell New York Times revelation that President Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner who is worth an estimated $324 million, has not paid federal income taxes for 7 years thanks to a tax loophole that favors real estate developers. The Kushner post understandably generated a lot of public reaction because it is one of the best illustrations of the glaring inequities that exist with the U.S. tax law. It makes absolutely no sense that someone worth $324 million would pay zero federal income tax for 7 years straight.

In the post Yours Truly called out the mainstream media for breaking very important stories like this but never doing any follow ups to help the public further understand the issue, or force a serious debate on the issue. Luckily one Katy Tur of MSNBC decided to dig a little deeper into the Kushner tax story and boy did she unearth a new bombshell.

Turns out that in 2015, in addition to not paying any federal income tax, Kushner got a $4,000 tax refund from the IRS after earning a whopping 1.7 million. Think about that folks–most working families that earn more than $40,000 a year, have federal income taxes taken out of their checks all year and often end up owing the IRS because they “make too much” yet Kushner who earned 1.7 million in 2015, never paid any federal income tax that year, still got a $4,000 refund from the IRS. Folks this is the height of inequity.

As anybody who has lived paycheck to paycheck(a lot of Americans) knows, most working families literally wait on that four, five or six thousand dollars income tax refund at the beginning of the year to help them catch up with their bills–late rent, car payment, credit cards etc. It is a big deal to most working families. It is also important to note that someone earning more than $40,000 a year often ends up owing the IRS because they “earn too much.” Can you imagine making an argument to such a person making $40,000 a year that they are not entitled to a federal tax refund because they “make too much” but rich Kushner over there, who earned $1.7 million gets a $4,000 refund? Better question–can you imagine how effective such a message would be on the campaign trail for any Dem candidate nationwide?


Bottom line this Kushner tax story is a big deal and Dems should talk more often about it especially as we head towards midterms 2018. These are the kinds of stories that Dems can use to illustrate a clear contrast between their agenda that is geared towards helping working families and that of the GOP which is geared towards helping the rich. Simply put the glaring inequities exposed by this Kushner tax story are enough to swing a huge chunk of independent voters to the Dems. As Katy Tur’s guest Jesse Drucker of the New York Times excellently put it, “There is an intense public interest in understanding the equity of our tax system and the public can decide whether they think think this is an equitable state of affairs.” You will be hard pressed to find a single independent voter who concludes that this is an equitable tax system after looking at the Kushner story.

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