Need some quicky help in rebutting a repuke FB "friend"

[woodsprite]

I'm trying to xmas today (wrap, finishing packing, bake, etc.). Over coffee, my friends were lamblasting the vote when this guy popped into our FB thread and started at them. I stated "I just DO NOT understand how people can continue to defend these criminals and vote/support only the rich at the expense of our kids, the needy, our country's future, etc. It's going to take decades to fix everything this administration, the science deniers, the land grabbers and poisoners, the robber barons have destroyed. They don't look toward the future, they only look for their next dollar.

We must resist and GOTV while we wait for Mueller's investigation to issue the rest of the indictments in RussiaGate and for the historically repetitive post trickle-down depression swing back. The people that are hoarding the wealth are not reinvesting it in their business, their employees, or in this country. Consumers can't consume if only the wealthiest have the money.

You can draw a very deep and real divide - the majority of Democrats care about the welfare of our nation, our future, leaving the country in BETTER shape for future generations than what they found it, in equality, giving a hand-up to those less fortunate, our Constitution, the rule of law, and American citizens. An overwhelming majority of Republicans believe our country, land, resources, and people all exist to be sold to the highest bidder and every inch is meant to be used by them for profit wherever/whenever possible. Even within the Repub party itself in the halls of Congress, they tell and promise each other anything to get total lockstep agreement, but before the ink is dry, they start reneging on those agreements, yet they all still keep going back for more.

Maybe some day they'll wake up and realize that insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results."

He replied:

"You are absolutely crazy when you write things like “...only supporting the rich at the expense of our kids, the needy, our country’s future...” and generalizing members of Congress as criminals.

By the way, did you catch last’s night Vore where the Dems significantly hurt families with special education kids, home schooling families, and kids that get after school tutoring? Shane on those Democrats! All for the dollars they receive from special interests. Horrible people, those that voted to kill 529s for K-12."

Truthfully, I wrote that as a "stick in his eye" as he was trying to defend that we would all believe in trickle down economics if we were not lazy and ran our own private businesses, and saying all the Dem reports from Congress, take on the tax bill, etc., were "fake news".

My daughter just said that I should reply: Thank you. Coming from you, that's a compliment, but I really didn't need to know about your sexual kinks (Vore - he misspelled "vote" and apparently it's a fetish in which one fantasizes about being eaten alive or eating another creature alive).

[jbond56]

1. 529

You would think a lawyer and a member of the senate would know the rules for writing a bill. So yeah special needs kids suffer from being represented by incompetent people on that we agree.

[Horizens]

2. 2 reasons

1.) Parents would be able to use a tax-free savings account originally created for college expenses to put away money for private K-12 school tuition under a proposal in the GOP tax reform bill, a move that would largely aid families who can already afford private school tuition. The provision is simply another gift to those who already have.

2.) However, Republican leaders have been forced to schedule another vote in the House because at least three provisions conflict with the Byrd rule, which governs the fast-track budget process Republicans are using.

The provision broke the rules for passing bills through legislation. Rules - those thing that R's don't think apply to them.

[Freethinker65]

3. 529s were set up as a way of saving for college

Very few non-wealthy Americans have extra money in a 529 that could be used to pay for private K-12 educations as well as future college. 529s were designed as a vehicle where money could grow tax free over years to help pay for college for those that might have trouble saving for it. It was a way parents and grandparents could set up accounts for their relatives. Wealthier families with more disposable income can sock away tens of thousand of dollars in tax free 529s for heirs and can distribute up to 140K jointly without triggering the gift tax (kinda neat loophole already, eh?) if used for higher education expenses. Ask your pal how many of his friends have enough to do this, and if perhaps allowing 529s to be used for pricey private K-12 educations might be abused by the super wealthy. 529s for private K-12 education is just another tax free perk (and potential loss of additional tax revenue if enough begin to fund 529s for this purpose) for the wealthiest that are sending their kids to those schools anyway.

So why not just let hurting people use a 529 for K-12 anyway? Tutoring, if a medical necessity, is already allowed for a FSA (limit of $5K/yr), so are before and after school programs.

Another problem I see with extending 529s is that it could lead to early withdrawals from a tax free building account which would leave very little, if any, for a higher post H.S. education. The money can already be withdrawn at anytime (with a penalty), or transferred to a different beneficiary as it is now. The money in the 529 belongs to the one that set it up until they disperse the funds. My mother still owns my sons 529 and must release funds herself to help pay for my son’s college.

[hurple]

4. My usual response to something like this...

Is just... "no"

It gives them absolutely no quarter to rebut but let's them know they are wrong, in everything they say.