GOP tax bill will destroy students
Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 12/01/2017 - 3:07pm
On top of all the other stuff in the GOP tax bill that undermines the poor and working class, the Republicans seem to be out to get college students.
The tax deduction for student loan interest would be eliminated as part of the sweeping tax changes proposed by House Republicans on Thursday.
The changes also call for levying a 1.4% tax on the investment income earned by private colleges and universities that have sizable endowments, which would appear to include USC.
...“Part-time students who take classes to acquire new job skills will no longer be able to claim an education tax credit,” he said.
Walda also objected to the proposed excise tax on university endowments, saying it “will result in fewer dollars available for scholarships, student services, research and college and university operating expenses.”
I would say something about this being just cruel, but that's redundant when we are talking about Republicans.
However, it's graduate students, not undergrads, that really get slammed.
Proposed Republican legislation to reform and simplify the tax code would — among other things — count tuition waivers that graduate students receive for teaching classes or doing research as taxable income, perhaps putting grad school out of reach for many young scientists.
Graduate students earn a stipend to cover living expenses — at Wisconsin schools, roughly $18,000 to $30,000, though the amount varies widely from school to school. Their tuition also is waived in exchange for working as teaching or research assistants, lowering the cost of their education by roughly $15,000 to $30,000 a year.
Under the tax reform bill passed by the House, a graduate student who now pays taxes only on the stipend for living expenses would pay roughly 20% of that stipend toward taxes — instead of the current 4% — because tuition waivers would be taxed.
Higher education leaders are up in arms about it and say it could keep low- and middle-income families out of graduate programs. Marquette University Graduate School Dean Doug Woods describes the potential impact in particularly stark terms.
"You could lose a whole generation of scientists," he said. "The House bill is potentially devastating for graduate studies and will have a ripple effect on the whole scientific endeavor at American universities."
Finally, for all those graduating students that want to get on the housing ladder, the GOP has something for you too.
But a provision in the tax bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would only intensify the housing crunch in the nation’s fourth-largest city -- and others across the U.S. -- by crippling affordable housing construction, developers and local government officials say.
The House measure would eliminate a form of tax-exempt debt called private-activity bonds -- and, consequently, tax credits generated by the securities -- after Dec. 31, wiping out a key tool used to finance more than half of the affordable units built each year, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies.
...If they’re not successful, the number of affordable rental units built nationwide over the next decade may be reduced by as much as 880,000, according to an estimate by Novogradac & Company LLP, an accounting and consulting firm specializing in real estate.
“We view this as a massive crisis," said K. Nicole Asarch, president of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers.
All of this just so billionaires can keep another million dollars.
This is Late-Stage Capitalism sh*t.
Comments
The GOP tax "cut"
will destroy life as we know it. Exactly what "They" want.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
It's Late-Stage Capitalism + Late-Stage Empire
Two driving forces that are both powerful enough to destroy our society.
I have a nephew who got a BS in Environmental Science
In the year since graduation (with honors), he has only been able to get temp jobs with the state forest service. He will be a ski instructor this winter. He has a mountain of school debt.
Even as the country environment is falling apart. And Of course, Donnie DBag has removed all environmental regulations and is firing people who believe in science.
Agreed. We are in late stages here. There will be heads on pikes before Donnie is tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail. Ditto All Of Congress.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
@Wink
I wonder if the elimination of so many future professionals among Americans is not only to destroy America and non-already-wealthy-American's chances of a living wage but is something requested by Israeli billionaires, to ensure that Israel hereafter has an American monopoly on tech and science? I could certainly imagine Bibi, AIPAC and billionaire Israeli fanatics like Hillary-supporting Haim Saban (since Hillary promised to always place Likud interests over America's as President, to get more of that big donor money from him) asking for something like this, having been disappointed in a President Hillary this round...
Corporate US 'government' certainly is intent on grating America into tiny, tastily-bleeding bits to serve up to the predators, at any event. The 'empire' is to be of a small (and doubtless rapidly reducing) number of predators, not of any country or countries, societies being one of the impediments such psychopaths despise, as was publicly typified by Thatcher.
As long as they perceive themselves as the strongest, psychopaths are all for 'might makes right' 'rugged individualism' (every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost) because they can see only themselves alone as being more clever and exceptional that anyone else and the only ones having any true rights.
And the lack of foresight which comes with this brain dysfunction ensures that they have no understanding of the negative effects their actions will ultimately have on themselves, as well as disposable others.
The corporate/billionaire-owned Republican Party has long and very obviously been, not a political party, but a party of pathology, and the 'opposition' of the corporate Dems nothing more than 'optics' to con the world into believing that America was a democracy rather than a corporate/military ruthlessly pathological billionaire-run fascist State. But the mask has been contemptuously allowed to slip too many times for this con to work on enough of the people enough of the time, and too many are beginning to finally realize what's at stake; planetary life itself.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
What would happen if people refused to pay taxes?
It's obvious that the government doesn't represent us, they represent their donors. So if they are not representing us then this is probably the only way that we can fight back.
They have been flooded with calls and emails from us telling them that we don't want this to pass, yet just like Pai and every other thing that we don't want, they have ignored us.
Students at 500 colleges walked out of classes because of this. People have been arrested for protesting at congress member's offices. People have..... but nothing has changed what republicans are doing.
Thomas Jefferson told us that we have the right to remove our elected officials if they don't do their jobs, this is the only way that we can change it.
Protests don't work, we've seen how they respond to them. The only other thing I can think of doing is a massive work stoppage.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Most people are paid by an employer
who by law have to withhold tax before paying the employee.
But yeah, I think there already is a large under-the-table economy that goes on off the books. Example: tradesmen/women who do side jobs for cash (carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc).
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
People can claim their maximum deductions
and then not pay what they owe to the IRS. Can it go after hundreds of thousands or millions of people? They don't have the manpower to do it now. I'm just trying to think of ways to hurt the government back for this. There has to be some way for us stop what they are doing to us.
People in other countries are doing much more than we are. Both France and Brazil have seen massive protests against their austerity actions. Here people are talking about Russia and the sexual perverts.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Yep.
Question is, how do we get enough people to go along with it to make an impact? As I've said before, I'm only one person.
My husband had visions of going to graduate school (he changed his major to chemistry), but if this shit passes he won't be able to.
This shit is bananas.
Sorry to hear that, Dani
I know that he had plans for graduate school. This was one of the reasons you moved wasn't it?
This is obviously going to affect so damn many people who wanted to do that, but hey, why do people need a graduate degree if robots are going to do most of the work?
I'm livid that one party can do this to the whole damn country. One party is creating the bill, but as we've seen, democrats aren't trying to block this.
They sat for 24 hours after one of the mass shootings, but again, that didn't have any effect on their donors.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Both parties are to blame.
The Rethugs do horrible things, and the Dims let them.
This shit is bananas.
And then they swap roles
It's the kabuki theater round and round.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
@Daenerys
The corporate Dem wing of the Two-Party Corporate/Billionaire Party Trade-Off is evidently there merely for 'the optics', to make it look like a democracy exists in fascist-occupied America. Not that this is working anymore.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Visas already impacting scientific conferences
I was at one in Europe a few weeks back and a bunch of us had come from the PNW. We wondered if the next one could be in our area but several participants pointed out that inability to get visas would reduce participation significantly.
I’m seriously wondering if the us will be unable to host top tier conferences in the near future. But I guess you don’t need scientists if you have enough money.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Since the whole senate and house has to vote on this
what could democrats possibly do to stop this? I realize that they can't filibuster this, but there has to be something they can do.
Anyone know?
One party should not be able to do this to the whole country.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Two wings of the same party are doing this
it will be called bipartisan when the blue
dogs join in. soon thereafter donors will say
wtf do we need D's for we got everything we want
now and the D's might then find baitzim, but by
then it will be way to late.
Baitzim(balls)
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Yes,
there are things they can do. The Senate runs on unanimous consent. Every time a motion is made to adopt something by unanimous consent or suspend a rule by unanimous consent a Democratic senator could object. Imagine denying unanimous consent to suspending the reading of a 500 page bill--over and over with bill after bill. They wouldn't read the bill. They'd suspend the rule requiring it to be read by majority vote. But it would take time.
Much of the time the senate is in session there is not actually a quorum (majority) present. By rule a quorum is assumed to be present without objection. But any senator can request a quorum call. (You'd have to have enough Democrats in the room so that there would be 1/5 of the senate seconding the motion.) This tactic would disrupt committee work because the Republicans would need to keep enough senators on the floor to maintain a quorum.
You could insist on a roll call for everything that is passed by voice vote.
There are many places where it is possible to slow the senate to a crawl simply by insisting that it follow its own rules. The Democrats seem more interested in using the tax bill as a campaign issue in 2018 than in stopping the thing.
This bill is an absolute disaster. The level of resistance is pathetic.
@snoopydawg
No political party or holder of any public office should be actively working against the public interest at any point in time, never mind consistently. The intentions and actions actually disqualify them from any claim to legitimacy within the political system of any democracy.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Democrats have to read 500 pages in 1 hour
This right here should seem to be able to stop this for tonight. I know this is a dumb question, but shouldn't they be able to say that they can't vote on something that they haven't read? Yes I know that both parties are in on this, but there are a few who aren't. Republicans are writing in new things in the margins of the pages.
This isn't just a tax bill either. Look at what else is in it
None of the other things in this is related to taxes, so how can they be put into it?
Gawd, I'm furious over this. Ryan and others are already saying that they are going to change SS and Medicare, but not for current people who are on it now. Just everyFuckingelse !!
And of course the media has been talking about this all day right? Nope. They're talking about Flynn lying to the FBI. BFD! Clapper and Brennan lied to congress.
Oh yeah and Warren just sent a tweet about this. Warren, you miserable little %^*#!. You had the chance to endorse Bernie and none of this would be happening if you did so don't try to act like you're upset about this.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Greed greed greed greed greed greed greed
greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed greed
"Where does the greed stop?"
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
@TheOtherMaven
Unfortunately, it has to be stopped, by society and a government actually representing the public interest - pathological greed does not allow for any personal 'enough' to be acceptable to the ultimately self-destructive victims afflicted with it and who are trying to take us all down not only with, but before, themselves.
Brings these to mind, though dunno if you'll enjoy the types of music or not?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRtd8ArvH_s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF1DQr5dKW8
And this one so appropriately followed the last one, lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzbFxLNpguM
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.