"The focus on CoVid19 is utterly bizarre!" Do you so happen to be Republican...there is a hint of politics in your post.

@dahermit there is indeed ... no I am a communist. But all governments are acting in the most bizarre fashion.
Check out people like John Ioannidis ...
Absolutely idiotic reaction ... the poor victims are the victims of broken systems. Nobody seems to talk about the real issue that old people are parked in old people's homes because many people either don't want or cannot look after the older people.
Covid is at beast just a catalyst and accelerator.

The attention on Covid is not bizarre if you already lost some one to it and you yourself have hypertension, diabetes and a family history of heart disease. The statistics you cite are staggering. I have lost 5 loved ones this past year, one to cancer, one to a heart attack. It is still unclear to a what took my sisters life. She died in Sept 2019, so it probably was not covid, but her last words were " I can't breath". But my mother DID die of covid and it did not have to happen that way. Those who know better than I have said that the US has had twice as many covid deaths as it would have if there had been a comprehensive response. To me, that is worth getting a little attention.

The tax increase is only for those making over $400,000 per year, not going to affect most people I know. If you believe in trickle down, then watch out for what is trickling down.

Wow, how soon we forget. Biden doesn't have to say shit, just look at their record. There was an Ebola pandemic in the middle of the worst recession Bush policies left Obama and Biden. They handled this pandemic swiftly, we also had the threats of H1N1 and Zika, pretty much swiftly and impeccably handled by them plus the setting up of a pandemic task force that trump gutted, aside from many other stupid moves. Not more than 14,000 people died from these three deadly viruses as a result of decisive leadership. Compare that to what is still going on here. Wow! And the income tax increases, will be for people making 400,000 and over. At least read their tac plan before braying, inform yourself and open your eyes to history and evidence.

With how much money the rich made as a result of Covid, I think increasing their taxes won't hurt the economy.

@glennlab, @Mofo1953, @JeffMurray This is definately NOT the time to be increasing taxes unless you are trying to suppress the economy. We are in the middle of pandemic, economy has taken a serious blow, we need to create trillion upon trillion dollar stimulus packages and this is supposed to be time to raise taxes and send the REST of our national businesses overseas? NO THANKS! There has already been huge loss of tax base in large cities due to mass civil unrest and the resultant economic upheaval, now you want to do away with the rest of the economy? These policies will do damage to this nation that will last for years and years.

How "economically sound" is the Republican/Trump plan to make the rich richer, and to destroy social security?

@dahermit Listen, I am all for fair taxation of the rich, but there is a TIME to introduce measures like that and it is surely NOT NOW.

Destroy SS? Never heard of that.

@Flowerwall The rich have gotten wealthier EVEN DURING the Covis-19 outbreak. So, with their income at an alltime high, why is this not a good time to increase their taxes? Just a note, back when Muhammad Ali was fighting the draft the rate of income for the very rich was 60% (now it is 37%) and they were not unduly encumbered. If you are suggesting that there is a "trickle-down effect", that fact that the wealthy have gotten wealthier while the poor and working have lost ground proves that trickle-down does not work...unless it is a matter of a horse and a sparrow.

@Flowerwall "Destroy SS? Never heard of that." Trump wants to defund it by suspending the payrole tax. Mitch Mcconnell wants to eliminate Social Security. You must not be listening to the news.

@dahermit Okay this is not the same economy it was way back when. Haven't you noticed how many employers have abandoned ship since then?

It's called a tax deferral, not destruction of SS, this is why I don't know what your talking about.

@Flowerwall The employers who "have abandoned ship" do not have the income on which the tax would be increased...so it would not affect the economy. The very rich have gotten richer since the economy has been affected by Covid. If you had been awake (an not a believer in Republican rhetoric), you would be aware that Trump and O'connell have been advocating for years to get rid of Social Security. [abqjournal.com] [marketwatch.com]

@glennlab Well it IS most definitely NOT the wealth and riches that do the 'trickling down,' it is the bullshit and the liquid that makes up the bullshit that does the 'trickling down.'
In my honest opinion, ONLY in Economics and Commerce does anything ever defy gravity since ONLY the money rises to the top, the shit ALWAYS rushes downwards.

@Flowerwall The rich and wealthy corporations have done nothing to stimulate the economy. All they did with the obscene amounts of money they were given by Trump was buyback stock. Taxing the rich never suppresses the economy because they always only do that which will be profitable. If they would make money by opening a new plant and hiring more workers they will, regardless of whether they're going to take home X% less of the profits. If they can save money by firing people, they will regardless of the tax rate. Any worry about people using tax loopholes to screw the US out of tax dollars isn't a reason not to tax them, it's a reason to fix the tax code. That's like saying, "Living rape victims can identify their attackers, making rapists more likely to murder them, so we should probably just make rape legal to reduce the likelihood of people getting killed.

Cats are socialists.