Do you agree that " It's not a crime if the president does it" ?

[msc545]

[DryGermanGuy]

Are we talking specifically about the United States? Then I would argue, "It's almost always unethical or even a crime if the president does it".

[msc545]

Yeah, we're talking about the United States

[purplepoppy]

No because we should hold ourselves to higher standards than Trump.

[CaptainSmartass]

Well, that would imply that the president is the very image of a moral, ethical upstanding member of society with a high level of integrity.

Unfortunately, you're stuck with Donald Trump for another couple of years.

Simples...

[Sevenpointfive]

i don't agree. presidential immunity should not exist. i don't agree with any immunity unless it's for a victim or the helpless.

[canamlusciouslad73]

H**L to the NO !!!(Suppose he wants to re-institute slavery or Jim Crow?)

[ProbablyClueless]

I do not agree with that, no. Crimes are crimes.

[MrChinaski]

So, you are president. You have an idea one morning while shaving that you just might bomb Iran for no reason whatsoever. Oops, you bomb a girl's school in Tehran. Is that a crime?

[ProbablyClueless]

@MrChinaski There wasn't no reason for bombing Iran, and whether something is a crime is a question of what the relevant law says. But yes, that would likely be a crime.

[MrChinaski]

*for no reason whatsoever other than that Bibi told you he thought it would be good for Israel.

My mistake.

[Anonymous]

Donald Trump isn’t above the law. He has lost over 60 lawsuits against Joe Biden challenging the 2020 election, he lost a lawsuit against, lost a lawsuit against E. Jean Carroll and got found guilty for 30 felonies.

[msc545]

I guess by this you mean that if you get in trouble for breaking some laws, that means that you can break any law you want?

[Opinion Owner]

No, I don’t mean that. I’m just saying the US president isn’t above the law.

[msc545]

Of course he is. He has never been clearly punished for any of his transgressions against the law.

[Opinion Owner]

Donald Trump recently paid 5 million to that woman. He tried to get the lawsuit dismissed but failed.

[msc545]

Try to think about all the things he has not been punished for.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

Half the laws on our books should be done away with. We have ten times more government regulation and taxation than the founding fathers ever would have permitted.

[slatyb]

Ok, can you provide a short list?

[SeekerOfTruth007]

@slatyb For starters, Property Tax is a pretext to steal your property. The original Declaration of Independence states that everyone has a right to pursuit of happiness, and this was later codified into the Constitution as "right to property" in the 14th amendment.

Property tax is therefore unconstitutional to begin with.

[msc545]

Ok, I realize that's your opinion, but that does not really answer the question, does it?

[slatyb]

I agree with you regarding property tax. We largely use property taxes to fund public schools and local government services. This results in gross inequality in school funding and consquently the physical state of the schools and the quality of the teaching staff. Wealthy parents buy homes in wealthy communities where the schools are well-supported by local property tax. Zoning prevents construction of more affordable housing in those communities, so middle class and lower class families live in communities with much lower property tax revenues. It would be much fairer to fund schools statewide from an income tax. But voters generally oppose increasing income taxes to replace property taxes as it would transfer wealth out of wealthy communities.

[slatyb]

That's all you've got? It sounds like you were merely ranting.

[SeekerOfTruth007]

@slatyb What? No I think I could list more, I mean we are taxed to death already as it is. A true Middle Class man pays about 50% of his total income in taxes of one sort or another. It's preposterous.

25% Federal Income tax
5% state income tax
1 or 2% city income tax for some cities
11% Parish/County sales tax
5% City sales tax

That adds up to 48% tax on every dollar.

That doesn't even count other forms of taxes and licensing fees.

[slatyb]

There's nowhere in the US where there is a total of 16% sales tax. Also sales tax does not cover every expenditure. In particular, sales tax is not paid on home sales or rentals or most services, and often not on food. So you can't include sales tax in someone's marginal tax rate. Additionally most people do not pay a total of 25% Federal income tax.

In any case, you aren't saying that there are too many laws, only that you feel taxes are too high. Personally, I would rather be in Europe where taxes are higher but life is a lot more secure.

[Staximus]

Definitely not

[abc3643]

Of course not.