Space Farce 2

Space Farce

How to Lose Allies and Influence Morons

Bogus: Trump Credit for North Korea Talks

Trump shouldn't get credit for peace talks between North and South Korea. It's about the circumstances.

Sanctions can starve people already of borderline health such that it was seen as heartless by the world before. USA could have been charged with genocide by the UN and others. Plus, China doesn't want refugees flooding in.

But Kim's recent missile and nuclear successes and threats change the sanction pressure and realities enough that Kim realizes his country is now more likely to be starved to death if he stays on the same path. The collapsed testing site also highlights the problems and resources necessary to maintain such systems.

Therefore, he's more open to negotiations than before. Kim built a better bargaining chip but also opened his country up to sanction-induced mass starvation.

Note that initial goodwill has fizzled multiple times before with the ruling family, so it's premature to say what the results will be.

Apple and Corporate Tax-Cut Spin

Apple spokespersons are suggesting Apple is handing out generous bonuses and raises to regular employees because of the GOP tax cut bill. However, Apple has been sitting on yuuuuge piles of cash for many years. They could have given bonuses etc. to employees all that time.

It's as if you don't spend your cash if your cash-pile is only 7 miles high, but do when it hits 8. All these cash-rich companies announcing bonuses are just spreading trickle-down propaganda.

The Kansas tax-cut experiment has shown that general tax cuts hurt the budget far more than they help the economy, if any. (GOP likes to point out that Kansas's jobless rate decreased after, but it did so at the same rate as the rest of the nation. Spin.) The real test for this new "experiment" will be when a recession hits and we need a rainy-day infusion. What happened to all the fiscal conservatives who were so vocal before Trump?

Our corporate tax rates were about the same as Germany's and Japan's if you factor in loopholes actually used. Those are the two top-performing democracies in the world, besides US. If their rates are somehow sub-optimal, it didn't hurt them enough to knock them from the top two positions. I'll take actual results over pundits as the best evidence for the results of tax cuts.

Now, I'm not necessarily against lowering our corporate tax rates some, but we have to be mindful of the budget deficit and not over-do it. And, GOP didn't have to lower personal tax rates for the rich. Their priorities are out of whack.

Swamp Jamboree

GOP representative surfaces to vote on tax-cuts for the rich.

Damned Jokers

A prankster marked one "Wall"