The Trump Administration's War With Reality

biochem wrote:Actually all involved claim that Trump shared intel with the Russians. The question is did he overshare? Nothing in Trump's Twitter feed addresses that question, he just says that he shared info.

https://mobile.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump

Feel free to continue thinking every single report that isn't from the White House itself, from both liberal AND conservative sources, is getting it all wrong and Trump is actually a model of restraint who would never blurt out something he wasn't supposed to because he wanted the Russians to be impressed with what he knows...


And try actually listening to the denials from people like McMaster, he's picking his words *very* carefully and avoiding challenging the large majority of the reporting, instead denying things happened that nobody said happened, or saying things like the "premise" of the story is false while not actually denying the facts in it... probably because he wants to be able to claim later when this is all inevitably confirmed that he didn't actually lie about it.

Just a reminder that fabricating reality as the justification for the actions it takes is essentially the modus operandi of this administration. On pretty much any topic.

Today's edition, taxes!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 7695526912

"Will be going to North Dakota today to discuss tax reform and tax cuts. We are the highest taxed nation in the world - that will change."

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJCYN2OWAAEgQLx.jpg


I mean it's not like this is a small oopsie. "Oh we forgot that one country that's higher than us actually we're number 2... no biggie!"

And don't tell me the White House doesn't know this is a bald faced line of bullshit. This is a 2 second google search for fucks sake and they have people whose entire jobs is gathering and analyzing this data. In Trump world it Just Doesn't Matter because the truth is totally irrelevant.

I'm sure there's a specific way of looking at the numbers that shows his statement is correct.
Might not be reasonable but Ibet it's there.

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You're too kind.
I just spent about five minutes checking out various methods across five reputable web sites. The US is about 30th overall. Ranges from 28 to 32.
Not quite sure just how you could find any specific way of looking at it to give the US top spot.

Annachie wrote:I'm sure there's a specific way of looking at the numbers that shows his statement is correct.
Might not be reasonable but Ibet it's there.

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Annachie wrote:I'm sure there's a specific way of looking at the numbers that shows his statement is correct.
Might not be reasonable but Ibet it's there.

Rather than percentage of GDP, could he have been referring to total taxation in dollars?

Michael Everett wrote:

Annachie wrote:I'm sure there's a specific way of looking at the numbers that shows his statement is correct.
Might not be reasonable but Ibet it's there.

Rather than percentage of GDP, could he have been referring to total taxation in dollars?

That would be an irrelevant statistic. We'd have more total tax dollars than a country with a smaller population, but the same tax rate. We also have to consider what we get for taxes -- better public facilities & programs or another Rolls-Royce for a dictator? Numbers do not exist in a vacuum.

Michael Everett wrote:

Annachie wrote:I'm sure there's a specific way of looking at the numbers that shows his statement is correct.
Might not be reasonable but Ibet it's there.

Rather than percentage of GDP, could he have been referring to total taxation in dollars?

So... might it have been that he's an even bigger idiot than we already thought?

That does tend to be the only alternative explanation for most of his statements. Bald faced liar... or brain damaged moron. Take your pick. But I mean, as far as I know the man dresses himself and manages to not forget how to eat food and starve to death as he goes about his day, there has to be some theoretical lower floor on how stupid we can assume he is...

Annachie wrote:I'm sure there's a specific way of looking at the numbers that shows his statement is correct.
Might not be reasonable but Ibet it's there.

Michael Everett wrote:Rather than percentage of GDP, could he have been referring to total taxation in dollars?

dscott8 wrote:That would be an irrelevant statistic. We'd have more total tax dollars than a country with a smaller population, but the same tax rate. We also have to consider what we get for taxes -- better public facilities & programs or another Rolls-Royce for a dictator? Numbers do not exist in a vacuum.

I found what may have been the statistics he was referring to.
In 2016, America did indeed top the Revenue Raised chart.

Michael Everett wrote:

Annachie wrote:I'm sure there's a specific way of looking at the numbers that shows his statement is correct.
Might not be reasonable but Ibet it's there.

Michael Everett wrote:Rather than percentage of GDP, could he have been referring to total taxation in dollars?

dscott8 wrote:That would be an irrelevant statistic. We'd have more total tax dollars than a country with a smaller population, but the same tax rate. We also have to consider what we get for taxes -- better public facilities & programs or another Rolls-Royce for a dictator? Numbers do not exist in a vacuum.

I found what may have been the statistics he was referring to.
In 2016, America did indeed top the Revenue Raised chart.

Which is a function of the US being a very large economy. Not of it being the "most taxed".

Trump trying to claim that means the US is the most taxed would be like me saying I was taxed 10 grand last year... the residents of the city of Los Angeles were taxed a cumulative several billion... so people who live in Los Angeles are taxed WAY MORE than I am.

Could be corporate tax

https://taxfoundation.org/us-has-highes ... rate-oecd/