Clinton Vs. Trump Debate #2

A day after the debate I wanted to give some updated views on the presidential race and politics in general.  I tend to like to wait a day after the debates to express my thoughts.  Gives me some time to think and reflect. 

I'll get to my points but first I just wanted to share my obvious observations.  Yes it was a train-wreck but again entertaining..  No shaking hands.  This didn't surprise me.  These two people hate each other more than we hate them.  Trump sure seemed like he had a cold but wasn't making any excuses.  Red Sweater guy really got all that attention?  Lots of awkward "your time is up" moments.  Seriously?  I really liked that Trump called the mediators out on that..  Either you stick with the rules or you don't but let's just let the candidate talk and not disrespect them in the middle of a sentence.  Those mediators really did a bad job.  Really.  The questions basically sucked.  Especially from the audience.  Seriously?  Ask a serious question?  Let's not waste our time.  Why not ask them what their favorite movie is?  Actually I'm interested..  There was a really awkward moment when Trump stood right behind Hillary and started moving closer.  That was weird and really creepy.  Hillary kept smiling in this condescending arrogant way.  Trump looked arrogant as usual.  I do give him credit for standing tall after what happened Friday..  It is impressive that he is so arrogant that he can just brush that off.  I loved that "Cause you'd be in jail" comment.  haha.  Bill sitting in the front row getting his ass handed to him..  interesting.  I really liked that Trump played like he had nothing to lose.  He knows he probably won't win so why not just be yourself and do your thing right?  

The first thing I wanted to address were the comments made by Trump 11 years ago in a private discussion with Billy Bush.  When I heard that video I was in complete shock.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from Trump.  I thought it was extremely disrespectful to women and I was disgusted by what I heard.  I had the instant reaction to think Trump should be replaced as the GOP nominee and that he should step down.  It was hard to understand how a respectable married man could just blatantly say those things to an acquaintance in a sort of business / media setting.  And yes words do matter.  I could tell he was trying to impress Billy and the whole thing was just really disturbing.  

With that said, I can’t judge someone for saying something stupid or disrespectful without thinking.  I certainly have said stupid things and have made many huge mistakes in my life.  I realize that no one is perfect and that we all make mistakes.  And I understand that I’m not running for president.  However, not one president in history has been perfect.  Trump certainly isn’t the most moral person and it can be hard to respect him in certain ways.  However, I would have to say that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, is certainly no saint.  Some of the things that she has done seem to be much worse than those words said by Trump.  The cover ups, the lies, the deception.  I may not know all of the details but it sure seems she should have been indicted and investigated in much more detail.  And I certainly know there have been past presidents who did much worse than Trump. It’s a really tough subject for me because I certainly can’t believe what I heard him say 11 years ago but at the end of the day there are bigger issues that need to be focused on.  He’ll have a fresh slate with me and I don’t hold things people have done in the past against them.  Some of the most respectable and honorable people have done horrible things in the past.  We can’t change the past we can only focus on today and the future. 

Next point, Trump’s tax returns.  Come on people please let this go.  Trump should have nothing to hide.  Do I have a problem with him not paying income taxes even though he had income???  Absolutely not.  Now if he actually broke the law and didn’t pay taxes I would have a huge problem with it.  However, he didn’t break any laws.  Tax laws are there for a reason and put into law by government.  We can’t blame Trump for following the tax laws.  Trump made/makes most of his money in real estate.  There are certain things you can deduct when you own real estate/rental properties.  I have a rental property and I take advantage of those tax “benefits” as well.  Last year I didn’t pay any tax on my rental income either.  I actually showed a small loss even though I had a small monthly income.  Tax laws allow rental property owners to deduct depreciation.  This means we can depreciate the value of the property over time.  This doesn’t mean they will never have to pay tax on the income they make.  This just means they are delaying paying taxes on that income.  By depreciating the property an owner’s cost basis will decrease so when they sell the property the profit they pay taxes on will be much greater.  Come on people.  Just relax on this.  Why do you care anyway?  Take advantage of the tax laws for yourselves.  No one does their taxes trying to pay as much as they can, you do your taxes and try to deduct as much as you can so you pay as low as possible within the law.  That’s just common sense and being smart. Oh, and I bet he pays millions and millions in property tax and other taxes.  

Next point, Taxes.  I have been just shocked that Hillary continues to use “raising taxes” as a selling point to Americans.  Why would any American actually think that’s a good thing???  She has a strong desire to raise taxes substantially on large businesses and the wealthy.   Do people understand that these businesses and wealthy people already pay a much higher percentage in taxes than the middle class?  They are paying 39.6% while most American’s are in the 15-25% range.  When you make more income you pay more in taxes even if the tax rate was the same.  However, currently when you earn more money you not only pay more in taxes but you pay a much higher percentage.  Is this fair?  I would say absolutely not.  Its definitely not fair for someone who works extremely hard to earn a higher income that they have to give much more of that earned income away in taxes.  Do I think wealthy people should give more of their hard earned money away to charities, etc?  Yes but why is that forced on them?  Let them make those decisions.  Let’s get a somewhat flat tax rate.  Trump is proposing that and that, I believe, is the best selling point he has and something most American’s should be jumping for joy about!  Hillary wants to raise our taxes and Trump wants to lower our taxes.  Hmm?  I wonder which side I would pick on that issue?  It frustrates me that people are so concerned with getting rich people to pay more in taxes.  Again, why do you care what they pay in taxes?  How can a 39.6% tax rate really be increased?  You want it to be 50% Hillary?  Do you understand how devastating that would be to the middle class? 

Raising taxes on large businesses will hurt the middle class substantially.  It will kill jobs, it will cut salaries and it will cut retirement accounts.  Do I really need to explain this one?  Oh and please don’t raise the minimum wage.  That would kill jobs even more and raise prices for everyone.  If the goal is to create jobs then we need to make the appropriate decisions to do that.  A free society is what we need.  We don’t need more government intervention.  The tax rates are just fine as they are but I agree that lower taxes on corporations would be a huge benefit to the middle class.  Stock company’s main focus is on growth, earnings and their stock price.  Raising taxes means less profits, less profits means lower stock prices, which means layoffs…  And which could also mean companies moving businesses to other countries.  More jobs moving to other countries.  Less taxes means higher earnings, higher stock prices, higher 401K balances, more jobs.  Do you guys get this now? 

I’ve always said we need someone in office who understands money.  Hillary has no clue about money.  I mean she sure knows how to spend it.  Of course she wants higher taxes.  She has more spending to do.  At the end of the day I want to see changes that are actually going to benefit Americans.  More jobs, higher income, less government spending, lower taxes.  I don’t want higher taxes, less jobs and a depression. 

Next point, Healthcare.  I’ll have to do more research on Obamacare but I never was a fan of this program from the start.  I think everyone has seen massive increases in their health insurance premiums since Obamacare was put into place.  I’m currently on a $5,000 deductible plan just because of how outrages the premiums are through my employer.  The insurance companies are not my problem.  My problem is with doctors, hospitals, clinics, etc.  For someone on a high deductible plan I’ve seen first-hand with how outrages the costs of medical procedures can be.  Something has got to be done about this.  Most people go to the doctor and everything is covered by your insurance plan.  $20 co-pay no biggie.  However, how many people have actually asked the clinic how much your insurance is going to be billed for your simple check-up, CT scan, MRI, etc?  Most people don’t know and don’t care.  However, this is the main reason why our insurance premiums are so outrages.  These hospitals and clinics charge whatever they want.  There’s a contracted discounted rate with the insurance company but these outrages prices are why insurance premiums are so high.  For example, I had a small accident a few years ago.  I slipped and bumped my head.  I felt perfectly fine but at the hospital they basically forced me to get a CT scan and a bunch of other tests.  Everything came back just fine.  A few weeks later my bills start flowing in.  Cost of the 5 minute CT scan, $6,000.  I was completely in shock.  What can be done to stop this?  My suggestion is to create some competition.  I would require every medical, dental, or other health facility to post the cost of every procedure on their website and at their office location.  I think people need to be aware of what they are paying for and how much it actually costs.  This would also give people an opportunity to shop around.  Why is providing prices on procedures/appointments so difficult?  I know there are circumstances where a specific quote would be needed but most things could be priced up front.  Let’s make this a law.  Seems pretty easy but would lower those premiums pretty quick. 

I'm tired of the all talk no action politician.  Hillary has been in politics for 30 years.  She's promised a lot and nothing has gotten done!  Nothing has changed with her.  You are so upset that Trump followed the tax laws and didn't have to pay income tax?  Why didn't you do something to change them?  Iran Deal?  Really?  Spend Spend Spend Hillary.  Let's change America finally.  

Ok that’s all I got for today.