SENATE BILL: Fiscal Year 2014 White House Budget Proposal (Law'd)

[Gass3268]

I am opposed to any and all attempt to provide the rich with tax relief by modifying the 60% rate.

I'm singing on to this position. The rich must pay their share.

I also agree with President Nix's on Senate Sbane's amendments. 

[Maxwell]

I like Sbane's proposal: the 60% rate only for the super duper wealthy.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Also, I am not offering them as formal amendments at the moment. Let's discuss them a little more and then go from there.

Thank god, I nearly had a heart attack from the vivid reminders of last year. The horror.

Remember when you do offer them to ensure that all, and I mean all of the totals and subtotals for both the section and the bottom of the bill are updated to reflect the changes. Otherwise some poor sap will end up having to recalculate them all at the end and last time I was the lucky lottery winner on this.

[Sbane]

Why do you oppose raising the financial services tax?

I'm concerned that raising the tax further will just push transactions offshore.

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Generally, users of marijuana consume less product than users of cigarettes. A higher tax on marijuana cigarettes also encourages more healthful alternative methods of consumption (e.g. vaporizers and baked goods). I would be willing to compromise on this by reducing the rate for all products but maintaining a higher tax on marijuana cigarettes and rolling supplies.

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"Atomic energy defense activities" includes a mess of Department of Science and Technology functions (Department of Energy in RL):

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Link

If there are specific programs within this that you would like to cut, I am open to suggestions. I would also support reducing our stockpile of nuclear weapons. However, an open-ended cut to the program that's responsible for keeping nuclear weapons and reactors safe, clean, and secure seems ill-advised.

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We've already cut farm subsidies and reduced crop insurance subsidies in Atlasia relative to RL levels. What we do subsidize already goes to the smallest farms per the somewhat-misleadingly titled Farm Subsidies Abolition Act.

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Take a look at the RL federal budget and you'll see just how much lower these requested funding levels are than their RL equivalents. ($23 billion for the DoJ vcompared 37 billion, and $30 billion for the CIA compared to $53 billion in Obama's FY2013 request). Granted, our expenses should be significantly lower considering our policies, but I'm wary of cutting too deeply in the absence of evidence suggesting that doing so would be safe.

I looked up the financial transactions tax for other countries, and I agree with you now. Our rate right now is a little high. We shouldn't push it further up.

I also agree with you on Marijuana but I still think we should lower the tax on edibles. I agree that we should incentivize people to use non-smokeable products.

I will be standing firm on the cuts to farm subsidies and law enforcement. Farmers are not in trouble today and if we need to cut, it should be from them and not poor people. I also don't think law enforcement needs that much funding, even if it is reduced from RL levels.

[Sbane]

Here is an amendment with some changes to the income tax structure laid out by the President:

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Here is another amendment with some changes to the Excise taxes and the Financial transaction tax.

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The new tax rates need to be scored by the GM to find out what the new revenue figures would be.

           




Here is another amendment I am proposing with some spending cuts:

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This is what I am proposing now (not formally, don't have a heart attack Yankee). I also forgot to mention in my previous post that I am reversing the cuts to the Atomic Energy defense activities.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

If anything, I think we need to invest more in our small farms, not less.  In the Northeast, we passed legislation that allows small farms to apply for grants for them to grow.  I wanted to introduce similar legislation in the Senate, but I never got to it.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Is Tuesday some kind of vacation day and I didn't get the memo?

[TNF]

If anything, I think we need to invest more in our small farms, not less.  In the Northeast, we passed legislation that allows small farms to apply for grants for them to grow.  I wanted to introduce similar legislation in the Senate, but I never got to it.

Why? Why should we continue to subsidize farming, of any stripe, when it is becoming cheaper and cheaper to grow artificial meat in labs?

[MaxQue]

If anything, I think we need to invest more in our small farms, not less.  In the Northeast, we passed legislation that allows small farms to apply for grants for them to grow.  I wanted to introduce similar legislation in the Senate, but I never got to it.

Why? Why should we continue to subsidize farming, of any stripe, when it is becoming cheaper and cheaper to grow artificial meat in labs?

Oh, God. We still need vegetables and artificial meat isn't really feasible on a large-scale for a few decades. That's pure scienfical unawareness and not very much better than Republicans of former USA.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

For years the left has been freaking out about the right in Atlasia going tea party and now...

(See the TV trope, "He who fights monsters").

What is the timeline on feedback from the GM?

[Sbane]

Ok, I am formally proposing these amendments now. I would have liked some feedback from the GM on the revenue changes due to the income tax and other tax changes but we can't wait forever. I am breaking them up into 3 separate amendments.

First amendment:

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Second Amendment:

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Third amendment:

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[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Just note, that if you amendment a section, I am going to require that you alter all the dependent lines affected (totals, subtotals, balances etc) in your amendment as well. Last time we did this, it turned out to be a complete mess that then had to be cleaned up.

If I were to enforce this policy I stated at the beginnign, each amendment would have to be full text amendment that contain all affected lines, and alters them accordingly and accurately. Which kind of posses a problem since you don't have data for the first two. Even aside from that, how can we base a budget on unknown quantities?

I don't like saying no when we finally get some interest, but how can we alter a budget in these circumstances? We cannot account for the cost of the changes therefore we cannot alter the totals and such to reflect those being made. It's the same as the Lehman Brothers reference I made before. Example: Line c depends on Lines A and B being added together, but the numbers for B are based on X*Y+Z and both X and Y are unknown. That doesn't work.

Were the requests placed with the GM in time and when are we going to get them if so?

Mr. President, the GM may be resigning but you are still in charge of this administration. You know the timetable for replacing him and how long that will take if we cannot get the information from him before he goes. You also complained about Senators not showing interest and now we have interest only to have an road block from your administration.

I would also point out that the GM is not the only member of the "Game Moderation" team and since you crafted the 15th Amendment, you would now best whether other options exist and if such were acceptable. Like if Superique could provide the information, say with the blessing of the GM?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Yes, which is why I wasn' asking about the status of the request as indicated by the placement of that sentence before I mentioned you.

We appreciate the timeframe, Mr. President. We at least know what we are looking at in terms of possible delay.

[Sbane]

Well, my amendments are there. We can deal with them when we get an estimate. I have no problems with waiting.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Well, my amendments are there. We can deal with them when we get an estimate. I have no problems with waiting.

We could proceed with your last one, provided you integrate in to the full text and update all the subtotals right down to the Surplus/deficit line at the very bottom.

I'm wondering if I could offer this amendment:

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I'm wondering if I could offer this amendment:

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As I said before, all subtotals right down to the surplus/deficit line need to be altered and accurately.

From your perspective, it seems so simple. But these snowball and imagine having to do that for five or six amendments. Soon you begin to see waterboarding as a humane alternative.

[Maxwell]

Withdrawing that first amendment, and re-offering it with the rest of the budget.

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That's better, right?

[Napoleon]

I will support Senator Sbane's amendments and oppose Senator Maxwell's. We do not need to throw our students under the school bus.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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Sponsor Feedback: None Given
Status: Waiting for Feedback/Vote in 24 hours if none is given.

A bit lengthy this way, but it works better in terms of compiling as we go. Of course amendment sponsors will have to update their amendments as we go, lest they remove what the previous chap did.

[Maxwell]

My argument here is we should look everywhere and anywhere for cuts, and we should be relegating the role of governance to the regions if we are planning on lowering their number. Thus, broader, unfocused federal plans can get a slight downsize and if there is the need for more spending, than regions can do it.

[Sbane]

I guess I will offer my amendment with all changes and final figures once we vote on Maxwell's?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Yes and if you do the last one first, Sbane that will give plenty of time for sjoyce to get you squared away on the first two.


Ah, TNF? No Feedback?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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Sponsor Feedback: None Given
Status: A vote is now open on the above amendment, Senators please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

[Maxwell]

Aye

[Gass3268]

Nay, cutting education funding is not cool

[Sbane]

Nay

While we need to live within our means, cutting education is not the way to do it, especially in this setting. I would be all for some sort of reform, perhaps clamping down on the unions, but even then I would not be in favor of reducing funding, just using the money in a smarter way.