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 Proposed Tax Bill: Middle class to be squeezed BAD!

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The NY Times (failing, according to the ONE with the BIGGEST megaphone in the land) published “What’s in the Final Republican Tax Bill”. 

Here is a look (caution: It’s scary) at the issue of deductions and personal exemptions, important to middle class taxpayers:

 

Standard deduction and exemptions
Standard deduction Current

$6,500 / $13,000
(singles/couples)

  

Proposed 

$12,000 / $24,000

(singles/couples)
Personal exemptions $4,150 per taxpayer and dependent Eliminates

So, a family of 4 would be a big LOSER (a word loathed by the ONE with the megaphone) under the so-called middle class tax cut.  Here is  my math based on the numbers in the table above.  Under current law, deductions and exemptions (D&E) add up to $29,600:  $13,000 (couple standard deduction) + $16,600 (4*4150) for the 4 exemptions. Under the proposed tax cut, the D&E add up only to $24,000 for this family. That is a 18.9 %  ($29,600-$24,000)/(29,600)) tax increase.

Somebody tell me my math is WRONG.  If not, we are headed for some serious problems in the years to come.  I know first hand (Indian experience)  what happens when a country lacks a robust  middle class.

 

Death by Lethal Injection

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It is time to ban execution by lethal injection!

Powerful anesthetics used in the past as part of the lethal injection protocol no longer available in the US.  Therefore,  the  milder sedative drug called midazolam was  initially used  to anesthetize the inmate, before injecting the heart stopping drug.  If the inmate is not adequately anesthetized, the heart stopping drug causes excruciating pain.   As noted in the cited article, this drug  “played a part in three long and apparently painful executions last year. It was used in an effort to render inmates unconscious before they were injected with other drugs that cause severe pain.”  The Supreme Court was split 5-4 in its recent decision to allow the use of midozolam as part of the lethal injection cocktail.  Justice Breyer even wondered if the process is  constitutional given the strong potential for severe pain , since  “cruel and unusual punishment”  is prohibited. I hope the Supremes will soon revisit this matter.