Two TV Personalities Walk Into A Courtroom . . . December 14, 2024December 14, 2024 JUSTICE Trump and his post-Gaetz pick for Attorney General go back a long way. He seems to have successfully bribed her. Check out the time-line! It’s no secret that he gets away with a lot of stuff. Consider the contrast: TV personality Martha Stewart lied to the feds about something relatively trivial — and went to prison. TV personality Donald Trump lied about his theft and concealment of top-secret documents — and fired the FBI director. Or would have in a few weeks if that director had not — tragically, in the view of many — “obeyed in advance.” FAIRNESS Oklahoma Jeff: “With regard to yesterday’s post, fair pay is good for everyone, but I disagree with the Pay the People! premise that the American economy is rigged against anyone. My dad’s small business billed less than $100 the winter I started high school, but I had need-based scholarships to send me to college, where I earned a degree that landed me in two low-paying careers (journalism, teaching). College also gave me some knowledge of the stock market, enough (with the only investment book I would ever need) to let me retire early anyway. I would say the American financial system is stacked in my favor. Furthermore, this constantly telling Americans they are victims may have contributed to their voting for a senile, sociopathic sexual predator for president, just hoping he was right about someone else being to blame for their miseries.” → An important perspective, but if there should be any minimum wage, what should it be? And if there should be any income or estate taxes on the uber-wealthy, what should the rates be? (Not the nominal rates, but the true rates after loopholes.) One could argue that the federal minimum wage, last raised 15 years ago, is just right at today’s $7.25 an hour — that this is about where most Americans think it should be set, so that’s where their elected representatives have set it. And one could argue that the marginal federal tax bracket for someone earning $10 million a year from investments is just right at 20%, while the marginal federal tax bracket for a self-employed, single plumber earning $50,000 a year net of deductions and exemptions is just right at 37.3% (income tax 22% plus 15.3% FICA) — that this is about where most Americans think it should be set, so that’s where their elected representatives have set it. I think most Americans — clearly not all — think otherwise. And that the uber-wealthy and their lawyers and lobbyists have had more than their share of influence on those elected representatives. Mostly Republicans, but some Democrats, too. NEXT STEPS Obama head speechwriter Jon Favreau on The Conversation Democrats Need to Have. Candidate for DNC chair Ben Wikler with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. Please get ready to spend $12.99 to pre-order a movie I’m going to tell you about in a day or two.