BREAKING President Trump's address to joint session of Congress, March 4, 2025

[Its On A Slab]

With the pause, they found that some universities are using up to 70% of federal grant money for overhead.
View attachment 49596
But its federal money. Nobody is ever going to look into how we are spending this, right?

The public funding debates inevitably follows these lines:
The cutter cites the waste.
Advocates cite the good intentions or the actual good things achieved.
Now, the above is federal R&D moneys, but spending 70% of a federal grant on overhead leave the school and the program open to charges that they are not good stewards of the taxpayers' money and relying on inattention to public spending.

In Virginia, a school board asked for more in tax revenue for "education," and some journalists found out it was so the school board could buy new office furniture and computers to replace the furniture and computers that were five years old. The school board quietly withdrew the request, which had nothing to do with "education" in the first place.

Don't get me started on school bond issues. It seems like they always seem to pass - regardless of the purposes. Do we actually need new synthetic turf practice fields for the high schools? Why do we have TWO football stadiums when the high schools are less than 3 miles from each other?

I don't think the vast majority of people even read the bond issues for schools. They just vote "yes" because they think it's good for education.

We pay the highest property taxes in the state of Iowa. Yet we are dinged for textbooks to the tune of $150 a kid.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Don't get me started on school bond issues. It seems like they always seem to pass - regardless of the purposes. Do we actually need new synthetic turf practice fields for the high schools? Why do we have TWO football stadiums when the high schools are less than 3 miles from each other?

I don't think the vast majority of people even read the bond issues for schools. They just vote "yes" because they think it's good for education.

We pay the highest property taxes in the state of Iowa. Yet we are dinged for textbooks to the tune of $150 a kid.

It's ridiculous.

Our local HS football team recently used tax dollars to build an indoor training facility. It's an athletics arms-race and it's literally a stupid waste of tax money.

 

[Tidewater]

Don't get me started on school bond issues. It seems like they always seem to pass - regardless of the purposes. Do we actually need new synthetic turf practice fields for the high schools? Why do we have TWO football stadiums when the high schools are less than 3 miles from each other?

I don't think the vast majority of people even read the bond issues for schools. They just vote "yes" because they think it's good for education.

We pay the highest property taxes in the state of Iowa. Yet we are dinged for textbooks to the tune of $150 a kid.

Great points.
At least I can go down to the city council or local school board and yell at them.
At the federal level I can stand outside the capitol and yell at them but I do not think they'll hear me.

 

[Its On A Slab]

It's ridiculous.

Our local HS football team recently used tax dollars to build an indoor training facility. It's an athletics arms-race and it's literally a stupid waste of tax money.

Our Republican-controlled state legislature is more concerned with banning drag shows, removing gender identity from civil rights protections, banning mRNA vaccines - to worry about why we pay such horrendous property taxes.

Although property tax relief is a very popular slogan in their campaigns.

 

[Tidewater]

Our Republican-controlled state legislature is more concerned with banning drag shows, removing gender identity from civil rights protections, banning mRNA vaccines - to worry about why we pay such horrendous property taxes.

Although property tax relief is a very popular slogan in their campaigns.

Does Iowa have a state income tax?

 

[lowend]

No, this is like seeing a poll after the televised Alabama spring asking people if they like Alabama. Most of the audience would be Alabama fans. Most of the audience that watched Trump last night were Republicans, so why wouldn't that percentage be skewed? If that percentage was correct, wouldn't his overall approval rating match that?

And there’s a heck of a lot of Republicans that don’t agree with him and have checked out for the next four years.

 

[Its On A Slab]

Does Iowa have a state income tax?

We do. There is talk of getting rid of it.

My experience with that is like Florida, they just upped stuff like car tags to make up the difference. I remember hearing "we don't have state income tax" during job interviews to justify paltry salary offers.

 

[Tidewater]

We do. There is talk of getting rid of it.

My experience with that is like Florida, they just upped stuff like car tags to make up the difference. I remember hearing "we don't have state income tax" during job interviews to justify paltry salary offers.

Yeah, I think Florida leans into taxing non-Floridians by taxing hotels and rental cars.
I liked Iowa but not much tourism there, I would imagine.
Iowa does have the most erotic Civil War veterans' monument outside the state capitol so you've got that going for you.

 

[spidermayin]

Yeah, I think Florida leans into taxing non-Floridians by taxing hotels and rental cars.
I liked Iowa but not much tourism there, I would imagine.
Iowa does have the most erotic Civil War veterans' monument outside the state capitol so you've got that going for you.

I was curious, so I looked it up and I can confirm it's cold in Iowa.

 

[Tidewater]

I was curious, so I looked it up and I can confirm it's cold in Iowa.

Well, I absolutely despise hot weather so I'd rather visit Iowa in say, June than Florida.
In July 2018, Mrs. Tidewater and I spent Canada Day in New Brunswick and the 4th of July looking at whales and icebergs as they floated past Newfoundland. That was a pretty good 4th of July.

 

[75thru79]

Our Republican-controlled state legislature is more concerned with banning drag shows, removing gender identity from civil rights protections, banning mRNA vaccines - to worry about why we pay such horrendous property taxes.

Although property tax relief is a very popular slogan in their campaigns.

I don't know anything about taxes in Iowa but if the state legislature were to drop property taxes by 25% where would the shortfall come from? Property taxes is one of the most progressive forms of taxation. It is in essence a "wealth tax", but just for real estate you own. Isn't this what Democrats want?

 

[DzynKingRTR]

It's ridiculous.

Our local HS football team recently used tax dollars to build an indoor training facility. It's an athletics arms-race and it's literally a stupid waste of tax money.

They probably used SPLOST money to build it.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

It's nothing but a political stunt. He knew the democrats weren't going to stand and clap for anything he said.

They would have blown the roof off the building if he'd praised some 13-year-old "girl that used to be a boy" that just won a track meet and set a state record.

THAT is the entire problem with Democrats and public perception.

Sure, it was unquestionably a stunt.

It was a stunt when Al Gore brought up a farmer to get in Bill Bradley's (theoretical) face in a debate in Iowa in 2000 and whine about Bradley (along with a bunch of other Democrats) not voting for the first bill for relief from the Mississippi River floods. It was a stunt when Reagan and Clinton (in particular) used to have "Skutnicks" sitting in the Presidential box to say, "pass my plan and all of this person's problems will be over."

It was a stunt when Pelosi ripped up Trump's speech in 2020, a stunt that with the oncoming pandemic would have backfired horribly with a better skilled opponent.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

And from CNN!

The country is not as far left as the far left thinks it is.

I don't know.

Given Trump isn't all that conservative........

It's not as left as the graduating classes at an Ivy League school, no.

It's also not as right as a King James Only six-day Creationist Indy fundy Baptist church, either.

 

[Bazza]

Been some good postings on the thread. Thank you all for participating, no matter where you stand, politically.

I just want to share an opinion about the Democrats behaviour last night. Lumping them all together until I see any exceptions, which I'm not aware of at this juncture.

Considering the clobbering they just received in the general election...it's my opinion they missed out on an opportunity last night to demonstrate to the country (and world) they are a changed party.

IMHO, there were opportunities for them to provide applause and approval for various segments the POTUS shared with us.

So why not do just that? Go against the traditional partisan attitude. When they go low...we go high.

I don't really see a downside to this.....but I do see an upside.

We have a dedicated thread in this forum concerning the DNC with many examples of how they just don't get it - and some exceptions.

Aside from the overall optics....from a political vantage point......the majority of the country's voters told the Democrats they want change from the past.

Looking ahead to the mid-terms and next general.....IMHO they have a lot of work to do. They really could have turned things around on the GOP last night - but alas we saw what we saw......same old same old.....

Just one of many positive stories:

 

[selmaborntidefan]

All SotU speeches are basically worthless. From what I have seen this morning, this one more worthless than others. Very partisan, full of lies, total waste of time.

So are Convention acceptance speeches.

I recall a political scientist one time saying that as far as Convention speeches, it's a speech planned out months in advance with all the time in the world to practice in front of the most supportive audience the nominee will ever have.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

It's also not as right as a King James Only six-day Creationist Indy fundy Baptist church, either.

I know that place. Out there on Fringe Road, right?

 

[AlexanderFan]

They would have blown the roof off the building if he'd praised some 13-year-old "girl that used to be a boy" that just won a track meet and set a state record.

THAT is the entire problem with Democrats and public perception.

Sure, it was unquestionably a stunt.

It was a stunt when Al Gore brought up a farmer to get in Bill Bradley's (theoretical) face in a debate in Iowa in 2000 and whine about Bradley (along with a bunch of other Democrats) not voting for the first bill for relief from the Mississippi River floods. It was a stunt when Reagan and Clinton (in particular) used to have "Skutnicks" sitting in the Presidential box to say, "pass my plan and all of this person's problems will be over."

It was a stunt when Pelosi ripped up Trump's speech in 2020, a stunt that with the oncoming pandemic would have backfired horribly with a better skilled opponent.

it’s only stunts when the other team does it, my team means it with their entire being.

 

[Bazza]

All SotU speeches are basically worthless. From what I have seen this morning, this one more worthless than others. Very partisan, full of lies, total waste of time.

It won't make you feel any better but last night's address to congress and the country and world was not intended for persons of your mindset.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Yeah, I think Florida leans into taxing non-Floridians by taxing hotels and rental cars.
I liked Iowa but not much tourism there, I would imagine.
Iowa does have the most erotic Civil War veterans' monument outside the state capitol so you've got that going for you.

Yeah, FL takes in more in tourism taxes annually than the state of Tennessee takes in total tax revenue annually.

They're discussing removing property taxes in FL now. Yes, taxes have to be paid but when you gain so much from tourism dollars it yields a lot of flexibility.