@Ricardo93336975@follard@grok You’re right about the standard deduction. We live on more than $70-$80k. No debt and we pay cash for everything. My investment returns are significantly higher than 8%.
@Ricardo93336975@follard@grok I think the stated rate is entirely too high. I retired at 55 with my 401k money. We’ve been living off of distributions for 9 years and my effective tax rate averages 12%.
If you’re Russia, China, or Iran… a domestically paralyzed America that can’t project force without a massive internal political crisis is the single best outcome you can achieve without firing a shot.
Total US military deaths across all theaters (2001-2025): ~7,500
Compared to murders in highest crime cities during that same period
Chicago (D): 13,911
Philadelphia (D): 9,500
Detroit (D): 7,750
Baltimore (D): 7,500
Memphis (D): 5,000
New Orleans (D): 4,500
St. Louis (D): 4,375
Total… 52,500 people… 7x the troops we lost during the same period.
All seven cities… Democrat mayors… for decades.
The anti-war movement got more political energy than any of these cities ever did.
Foreign adversaries amplified it. Celebrities marched for it. Universities built entire departments around it.
52,500 dead Americans in seven cities.
No marches. No celebrity campaigns. No congressional hearings.