House Republicans: No Aid for Israel Unless Rich Tax Cheats Get a Break
This is not a “pay-for,” it’s an add-on.
So then we don't have to give money to Israel if we keep going after tax cheats instead? Sounds great, let's do that
...yeah wait what's the threat exactly?
It's a pretty hollow threat. Including Israel funding was the bait in the bill to get house Republicans to go along with more Ukraine funding too, which they have all decided they want to cut off and hand over to Russia. If they cut out Ukraine funding, and try to randomly drag the IRS in it too, this is just dead in the water. I do worry how they're gonna get house Republicans to agree to more Ukraine funding though.
Yep, this is a win-win. Let’s keep the stalemate going until the billionaires are taxed out of existence and Israel has agreed to a ceasefire.
OK cool, let's tax the rich and not give aid to Israel. I really don't see a down side to this.
Yeah sounds like a win-win.
The sad part is politicians from both sides want aid to Israel so we will end up not taxing the rich
So much for the party of "invest in America instead of giving our money overseas"
bUt ThE biBlE sAyS
STFU. The Bible says to pay your taxes too, ya hypocrites.
Don’t threaten me with a good time GOP.
Fuck Israel and fuck the rich. Neither one deserves a subsidy paid for by my taxes.
This "I'll block something super unrelated until you do my thing that goes against voter's interests" thing alone is a reason not to vote for those moneybags... Undemocratic as fuck!
What does Israel need money for? Seems like they're managing well in their own.
Want to find the money? Increase the ability of the IRS to perform more audits. The richest folks are already not paying the taxes they should be. $688 billion per year!
Yes, but Moscow Mitch serves the richest elite who have rewarded him handsomely over his career. So he can't allow them to be audited or taxed if he can help it.
McConnell is not trying to tie Ukraine/Israel military aid to IRS funding. He is trying to tie military aid to increased funding for border security. And he might well succeed, especially as cities like Chicago are starting to complain about immigration.
Honestly this seems like a win-win. The rich have to pay their dues and we're not funding an openly terrorist govt!
Sounds good to me. Eat the rich, fuck Israel.
Republicans “We’re going to shutdown the government because we’re not being financially responsible and we’re spending more than we take in.”
Also republicans “we should give up hundreds of billions of dollars to let our rich donors cheat on their taxes.”
Along with your last bit of giving up tax revenue, it's also increasing spending to send aid to a nation committing genocide...
it's a shame the US establishment is so beholden to their proxy genocide. If you were a decent person with principles this would be an amazing time to say 'okay' and then just walk away from the negotiating table having given none of our money to either the fabulously wealthy or genocidal dictators.
Imagine even that tiny speck of sanity and conscience being present in U.S. politics.
No aid it is then. WIn win
We already give ample support to Israel... and we've seen them recently trying to bully us if we don't support them against any and all boycotts due to their activities. https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s1/BILLS-116s1pcs.pdf
They don't need more support than they're getting, especially at this price point.
Zelenskyy has also tried to bully us, for example blocking gas pipelines from Russia to the EU and then blaming it on the Russians. I get it since they're on the defensive and desperate to protect their home, but it's still obnoxious since we should be and already are supporting them. That being said, Ukraine isn't also bombing refugee camps full of innocent people. The EU also really needs to ween off of Russian fossil fuels anyway. The Israel-Hamas conflict, by contrast, reeks of ESH and I wish we weren't so invested in either side.
EDIT: Just making it clear for those that didn't read the above very closely: Ukraine deserves support. It just doesn't change the fact that Zelenskyy has tried to twist arms for that support, for better or worse.
For those that don't read the article - they want to cut funding to the IRS (a revenue generating expense) to pay for aid to Israel.
"In fiscal year 2020, the IRS collected almost $3.5 trillion in revenue and processed more than 240 million tax returns. The IRS spent just 35 cents for each $100 it collected in FY 2020. (Source: Table 31, IRS 2020 Data Book)."
We should spend more on the IRS. The Israeli government shouldn't be getting a single cent from the US taxpayer.
Yeah I’m increasingly pro IRS. Taxation is a fundamental part of a functioning society. In a democracy we decide how our taxes contribute to our society. This isn’t like some king got greedy. I may not like Everything about how we spend that money, but I support us collecting what we decide is owed. As I get older and contribute more I support it more.
They aren't interested in governing. Period.
CBO says the House's Israel aid bill is not offset at all.
Will add $12.5B to the deficit in the next decade.
Cuts to IRS will decrease revenue by $26.7B
Yes, but that only matters when they can pin it on Democrats.
What about "No" to both and we just keep supporting Ukraine?
Why the fuck does Israel need aid anyway?
They've got nukes. Anyone with nukes does not need aid. You give up your right to aid when you have them. That's how it works.
Especially when it's their spies who stole our nuclear bomb plans and made their own. Also they get free college for some reason.
Awesome, I like what I'm hearing on both counts!
And isn't it terribly interesting that new speaker Mike Johnson's disclosures don't include any bank accounts? For a lawyer that's been working for cash-rich groups like he has been, that's certainly interesting. Given the company he's been keeping (lots of dark money, lots of shady finances) it's just soooo interesting that his first demand is that the IRS not have adequate funding to audit people with shady financial dealings
How about this. No aid for Israel.
They lost all sympathy and stopped deserving aid the minute they decided that bombing a hospital was a good place to start. And if they've got the money to turn refugee camps into literal craters, they clearly don't need the money for humanitarian needs either. If their citizens need help, then lob a few less bombs Gaza's way and use that money for humanitarian aid instead. Then Biden should say that "while the US continues to consider Israel a regional and military ally, we cannot condone their response to the attack by Hamas. And since Gaza is run by Hamas, which is a terror organization, it is is the position of the US to remain neutral in this conflict outside of providing humanitarian aid. While we renounce the actions taken by Hamas, the response by Israel is not something we consider acceptable either. "
Biden is going to learn, quickly and the hard way, that taking one side or the other in this is just going to piss off at least one core group of supporters one way or the other. And while taking no position is probably going to piss off at least some people from both groups, it's probably the least bad option available to him right now.
The hospital bombing is unclear; some sources are saying an Israeli bomb, some sources are saying a Hamas rocket that misfired, and it's not clear which is accurate yet. OTOH, Israel has admitted to bombing a refugee camp due to "Hamas tunnels underneath", so...
She drew attention to the impact on civilian infrastructure in Gaza, stating that the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that 34 attacks have been reported against health-care facilities, including 21 hospitals. Twelve of Gaza’s 35 hospitals, which are also being used as shelters for displaced people, can no longer function
https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15473.doc.htm
Maybe the jury is still out on the one the Israeli govt is denying but the other 33?
Take a look at the damage done to that hospital. That wasn't done by an errant misfire of a rocket from a rocket launcher that was probably decades old and/or just some kind of homemade improvised device.
Israel at first was at least trying to hide behind plausible deniability, And then just decided to scrap that idea and not bother trying to hide the fact that they're just going to nuke and pave the whole damn place, civilians be damned.
I would have been more willing to believe Israel if they hadn't spent the entire time since October 7th committing even worse atrocities.
"Um... ok?"
Fuck Israel
Not seeing a downside here.
Promise?
How about an equal amount to shelters, food banks, scholarships etc?
Oh boy, you must be new here.
Is he making this easy on purpose?
I bet a significant percentage of Republicans in Congress would nuke Washington D.C.
Lmfao they're gonna get their way too watch.
Love the downvotes right around the same time as this measure passes the House of Representatives, sorry yall haven't seen the pattern yet but they're not exactly hiding it from us.