Election 2024

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PS
This is an interesting revelation of priorities.

Pence says he’s ‘staying out of the presidential campaign’​

Brett Samuels / Fri, August 9, 2024 at 4:01 PM EDT·
Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday he does not intend to endorse or wade into the presidential race this November, expressing concerns about the direction of the Republican Party while criticizing the Democratic agenda.
“For my part, I’m staying out of the presidential campaign,” Pence said at “The Gathering,” an event organized by conservative radio host Erick Erickson.
“For the reason that I cannot endorse this growing abandonment of our allies on the world stage that’s taken hold in parts of our party,” he said. “I cannot endorse ignoring our national debt that reached $35 trillion just in the last week. I cannot support marginalizing the right to life in our party as we saw in our national platform.”
Pence also cited former President Trump’s repeated claims that he should have rejected the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021, when he refused to do so, and rioters stormed the Capitol.
The former Indiana governor made clear he was not supporting Vice President Harris or the Democratic campaign, saying Republicans have “got to hold them accountable and make sure the American people know what they’re offering.”
Pence, who ran an unsuccessful primary campaign for the GOP nomination, previously said he would not back Trump. Some anti-Trump Republicans have suggested the former vice president should endorse the Democratic ticket.

 

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Surprise - Trump's story isn't true!

'We have the flight records': Trump insists that he was on helicopter with Willie Brown​

David Jackson Natasha Lovato

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump doubled down on Friday evening that he had an emergency helicopter landing with Willie Brown, even as the former San Francisco mayor denied such an incident ever happened.

Trump told the New York Times he had records to back his claim, but he has not produced them.

On Thursday, it appeared Trump had confused Brown with the former California Governor Jerry Brown, during a press conference, including a bizarre and false story about a near-death experience in a helicopter.

Adding to the mystery, a former Los Angeles city council member, 95-year-old Nate Holden, told POLITICO that it was, in fact, he who was with Trump aboard the helicopter.

“Willie is the short Black guy living in San Francisco,” Holden told POLITICO. “I’m a tall Black guy living in Los Angeles."

From Mar-a-Lago, the former president dramatically recalled a story about almost crashing on a flight while traveling with Willie Brown, who briefly dated Vice President Kamala Harris several decades ago.

“I went down in a helicopter with him; we thought maybe this was the end,” Trump said. “We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was ...

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Mentally unsound but still the favorite; I guess the voters are even less mentally sound.

True.

Can't let this pass without making the observation that people who respond to a poll on Fox are likely to be far more conservative than the average American.

False.
" far more conservative "
Conservatives conserve.
These Trump extremist radicals are the opposite. They including their leader Trump himself have committed to a dictatorship on day one.
That would necessitate abandonment of the Constitution. That is the exact opposite of conservatism.

 

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This headline only tells half the story.
There's Walz' military record, and there's Vance's.

As we might expect by now, Republicans are falsifying, metaphorical mountain from mole-hill.

What JD Vance did in Iraq, as told by the friend who served with him​

Richard Hall
Fri, August 9, 2024 at 3:49 PM EDT

JD Vance sparked a firestorm this week when he accused fellow veteran and Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, of abandoning his unit before it deployed to Iraq.
“When the United States Marine Corps … asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it,” Vance told reporters. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq … he dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him.”
Democrats were quick to hit back at the claim, pointing out that Walz filed to run for Congress and officially retired from the Minnesota National Guard months before his unit was alerted about deployment. But Vance’s criticism of his opponent’s record has drawn greater scrutiny of his own ...

What JD Vance did in Iraq, as told by the friend who served with him

When JD Vance criticized his opponent, Tim Walz, for not deploying to Iraq, some Democrats scrutinized his own military record. Richard Hall speaks to a veteran who served alongside Vance about what their time in the country entailed

news.yahoo.com

 

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Trump’s 271-Page Dossier of JD Vance’s ‘Vulnerabilities’ Hacked by Iran​

Owen Lavine / Sat, August 10, 2024 at 4:30 PM EDT
The Trump campaign accused Iran of a hack-and-leak operation Saturday, after a 271-page dossier of JD Vance’s “vulnerabilities” was sent to at least two news organizations.
The internal campaign vetting report on Vance was sent to Politico and The Washington Post from an AOL.com email address, along with a document on Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who was not chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate.
Hours after Politico revealed it received the materials, the Trump campaign said it had been hacked, accusing Iran of the breach.

“The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House.

Trump’s 271-Page Dossier of JD Vance’s ‘Vulnerabilities’ Hacked by Iran

The Trump campaign accused Iran of a hack-and-leak operation Saturday, after a 271-page dossier of JD Vance’s “vulnerabilities” was sent to at least two news organizations.The internal campaign vetting report on Vance was sent to Politico and The Washington Post from an AOL.com email address...

news.yahoo.com

"accusing Iran of the breach." from the above article

That's validation, Trump campaign acknowledgement the disclosed information is correct.


And from WaPo:

Trump campaign says it is victim of foreign hack after leak of Vance report​

Microsoft discovered evidence that Iranian hackers compromised the email account of a former Trump campaign adviser, a person familiar with the matter says.
By Josh Dawsey
August 10, 2024 at 7:18 p.m. EDT
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign said on Saturday that it has been the victim of a foreign hack, after the campaign received questions from news organizations about a lengthy vetting document on vice-presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) sent to the outlets.

“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/10/trump-hack-iran-vance-report/

It is reassuring that the typically extemporaneous Trump bothered to actually vet his current running mate, having failed earlier to murder his own previous running mate, Mike Pence.

What adds cause for concern, it took 270 pages to disclose potential issues.

 

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Trump’s Truth Social lost $16.4 million last quarter and had under $1 million in revenue​

Oliver O'Connell / Sat, August 10, 2024 at 3:28 PM EDT
Donald Trump’s social media company Trump Media and Technology Group has reported a $16.4 million loss and less than $1 million in quarterly revenue, only months after it began trading publicly to much fanfare earlier this year.
The parent company of Truth Social said on Friday in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had earned $837,000 in revenue for the second quarter of 2024 — down 30 percent from the same period last year — and had also paid millions of dollars to cover legal expenses related to its merger with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Further, a press release states: “Additionally, the Company incurred $3.1 million of IT consulting and software licensing expenses, primarily related to its software licensing agreement to power its new TV streaming service.”
This month, Trump Media launched the Truth+ streaming service and believes its strong balance sheet of $344 million in cash and equivalents, with no debt, will enable the expansion and refinement of its new offering.
Nevertheless, its market capitalization of nearly $5 billion is considered an extraordinarily high valuation given its very modest sales.

Trump’s Truth Social lost $16.4 million last quarter and had under $1 million in revenue

Truth Social parent company took hit from legal costs and investment in Truth+ service

news.yahoo.com

"I'm an extremely stable genius." President of the United States of America Donald J. Trump 19/05/23

"When the 'extremely stable genius' starts acting more presidential, I'll be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade, and other issues." U.S. Congressional Speaker Nancy Pelosi 19/05/23 13:36 tweet reply​

​

 

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CNN anchor presses Vance on Trump’s military deferment after attacking Walz​

Nick Robertson / Sun, August 11, 2024 at 9:58 PM EDT
CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) over his attacks on Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-Minn.) military service record on Sunday, given questions surrounding former President Trump’s history of avoiding the Vietnam War draft.
Vance and other Republicans have repeatedly questioned Walz’s service in the National Guard, falsely claiming that he decided to retire in 2005 after 24 years of service to avoid a deployment to Iraq. Walz retired in order to run for Congress that year. ...
Vance also served in the military, being deployed to Iraq as a Public Affairs officer in the Marine Corps as part of four years of service.

CNN anchor presses Vance on Trump’s military deferment after attacking Walz

CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) over his attacks on Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-Minn.) military service record on Sunday, given questions surrounding former President Trump’s history of avoiding the Vietnam War draft. Vance and other Republicans have repeatedly questioned Walz’s service in...

news.yahoo.com

Vance's attacks on Walz bears the appearance of hypocrisy. The Trump campaign is in weak position to criticize Walz for completing, retiring from U.S. military service, a career years longer than necessary to earn full retirement. Trump's got zip.

 

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The following may barely rise to the level of "rumor". It seems an extremely unlikely prediction, none the less:

Anthony Scaramucci: reportedly has suggested Trump is so discouraged by the negative publicity he's gotten in media Trump is considering his options to drop out of the presidential race, presumably before the election, less than 100 days away.

President Biden's dropping out after the primary has justifiably raised questions. Constitutional succession enumerates VP Harris as the designated replacement.
If Trump drops out, who replaces him? Vance?

Anthony Scaramucci (SKARR-ə-MOO-chee; born January 6, 1964), nicknamed The Mooch, is an American financier who briefly served as the White House Director of Communications from July 21 to July 31, 2017. ...
Ten days after his appointment, he was dismissed by President Donald Trump, at the recommendation of the new White House Chief of Staff, John F. Kelly.
He has since been critical of Trump in the media and voiced his support for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2020 and 2024 elections. More from Wikipedia

 

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"The Olympics of lying": Pete Buttigieg blasts Trump for verified 162 lies told at recent presser​

Kelly McClure / Sun, August 11, 2024 at 12:52 PM EDT
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Dana Bash on Sunday, during a segment of CNN’s “State of the Union,” weighing in on JD Vance presenting himself as someone who is "suddenly very particular about precision in speech and very concerned about honesty," directing attention to the man he's running with, Donald Trump, who was recently called out for making 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies during his hour-long news conference on Thursday, fact-checked by NPR.
On the subject of Vance stating in a recent interview of his own on CNN that Kamala Harris' VP pick, Tim Walz, lied about his military service for "political gain," Buttigieg told Bash:
"There’s something I think much bigger at play here . . . He’s running with Donald Trump, somebody who has set records for lying in public life. He just gave a press conference where fact-checkers estimate that he told 162 distortions or lies that, frankly, is just impressive in terms of being able to physically do that. It’s like the Olympics of lying.

"The Olympics of lying": Pete Buttigieg blasts Trump for verified 162 lies told at recent presser

Asked about Vance being "concerned about honesty," Buttigieg points at Trump, who "sets records" for lying publicly

news.yahoo.com

There may be precedent for exaggeration in the millennia of politicians speaking publicly. Wouldn't it seem as if lying were the objective for 162 in an hour? That's 2.7 per minute or one every 23 seconds.

 

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Kamala Harris declines TIME magazine interview as she continues to avoid the press​

Harris has not given interview or held formal press conference since becoming Democratic nominee​

By Hanna Panreck Fox News / Published August 12, 2024 2:00pm EDT

‘Pressure is mounting’ for Harris to answer for policy decisions: Axios politics reporter​

Vice President Kamala Harris' team declined an interview with TIME as it continued to deny media access, according to the magazine's glowing cover story about her rise to the top of the Democratic ticket.
Harris has gone 22 days as of Monday without holding a formal press conference or sit-down interview since emerging as the Democratic Party's nominee after President Biden announced he had dropped out of the race. Both Biden and former President Trump sat down for lengthy interviews with TIME as candidates for president.
The Monday cover story briefly noted that Harris refused to sit down for an interview for the highly favorable story: "Harris has yet to do a single substantive interview or to explain her policy shifts. (Her campaign denied a request for an interview for this story.)"

Kamala Harris declines TIME magazine interview as she continues to avoid the press

Vice President Harris declined to do an interview with TIME magazine, which went on to publish another addition to the glowing mainstream coverage she's received.

www.foxnews.com

Not sure what Harris has in mind here.
Seems like the free publicity might help Harris in her neck-&-neck competition with Trump.

Is Harris hiding something here?

 

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RFK Jr denied NY ballot access over 'false' address, judge rules​

Brandon Drenon - BBC News / August 13, 2024 at 8:22 AM

Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr does not meet the legal requirement of a New York resident and therefore cannot be on the state's election ballot, a judge has ruled.
Kennedy's claim of a New York address as his "place of residence" on nominating petitions was a "false statement", said Judge Christina Ryba.
As a result, the petitions were considered invalid. Mr Kennedy has rejected the judge's ruling and vows to appeal.
If the ruling is upheld, it would not only bar Mr Kennedy from the New York ballot but could also lead to challenges in other states where he uses that address.

RFK Jr denied NY ballot access over 'false' address, judge rules

The independent presidential candidate was not truthful about his New York home address, a court hears.

www.aol.com

Has an equitable balance been applied here in the 2024 presidential race? If RFK's ballot access has been denied, why is the Republican candidate that has violated the 14th Amendment on the 2024 ballot? Which of these two is the more egregious violation of law? A suburban apartment? Or armed insurrection?

 

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Self-made $Billionaire Elon Musk arranged interview with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

• United States

Rambling Trump, Musk interview marred by tech issues​

By Richard Cowan and Andy Sullivan / August 13, 20249:12 AM GMT-5


WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sat Monday for a friendly two-hour interview with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Musk's social media platform X, after technical problems delayed the start of the event for more than 40 minutes.
Musk, who has endorsed Trump, blamed the difficulties on a distributed denial-of-service attack, in which a server or network is flooded with traffic in an attempt to shut it down, though his claim could not be verified.

Trump sought to turn the problems into a positive, congratulating Musk on the number of people trying to tune in. A counter on X showed as many as 1.3 million people were listening at times during the lengthy conversation.
The technical issues recalled a similar event on X in May 2023, when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suffered a chaotic start to his bid for the Republican presidential nomination due to glitches on the platform.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/elon-musk-interview-trump-x-social-media-network-2024-08-12/

Musk not only has his own car company, Tesla, but also his own space program, Space X.
Not sure what if anything to infer from this interview being delayed for technical issue/s.
So far no major headlines from this Musk / Trump event.

 

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Rep. Jordan says Kamala Harris could fix the border, economy as VP but hasn't: 'She's made it worse'​

By Landon Mion Fox News / Published August 14, 2024 2:52am EDT | Updated August 14, 2024 2:59am EDT
Kamala Harris has been responsible for the 'worst border crisis' we've had in history: Chris Clem

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, could fix issues like the border crisis, the economy and crime in her current capacity as vice president but has failed to do so.
This comes as Harris has begun making promises of what her administration would do if she defeats former President Trump in November to become the next president, including being stronger on border security, fighting for the middle class and working to pass gun reform such as universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban.
But Republicans are hitting Harris over the policies the Biden-Harris administration has pushed during her time as vice president for issues of immigration, the economy and crime.
HERITAGE FOUNDATION SUES DHS FOR DOCUMENTS THAT SAY 'HARRIS' AND 'BORDER CZAR'
"Kamala Harris could fix the border now. She hasn't," Jordan wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "She could fix the economy now. She's made it worse. She could clean up Democrat-run cities now. But raises money to bail out rioters."
President Biden tapped Harris in 2021 to address the root causes of mass migration from Central and South America, although some Democrats and members of the media have recently claimed that Harris was never appointed as "border czar," even though several of the same media outlets previously described her as such.
Biden said in March 2021 that Harris was leading the effort to coordinate with Mexico and other Northern Triangle nations — Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — to address issues such as the surge of migrants at the Southern Border.

Rep. Jordan says Kamala Harris could fix the border, economy as VP but hasn't: 'She's made it worse'

Rep. Jim Jordan said Vice President Kamala Harris could fix issues such as the border crisis, the economy and crime as vice president but has not done so.

www.foxnews.com

For U.S. voters November's election seems to be careening toward a decision: which candidate to vote against.

 

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Read J.D. Vance’s Violent Foreword to Project 2025 Leader’s New Book​

Trump’s running mate writes that “it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets.”​

Donald Trump has been desperate lately to distance himself from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s radical plan to remake the federal government under his presidency. “I have no idea who is behind it,” he said in early July about the plan, which would replace thousands of federal workers with partisan loyalists, ban abortion, and disband the Department of Education. A couple of weeks later, he said of the people behind Project 2025, “They are extreme, they’re seriously extreme, but I don’t know anything about it.”

But between those two denials, on July 15, Trump made a decision that undercuts his claim to have no knowledge of Project 2025: He picked Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate.

Vance has deep ties to the Heritage Foundation, and in particular to Kevin Roberts, who has been president of the right-wing think tank since 2021 and is the architect of Project 2025. Vance has praised Roberts for helping to turn the organization “into the de facto institutional home of Trumpism” and has endorsed elements of Project 2025. Vance is also the author of the foreword to Roberts’s upcoming book, Dawn’s Early Light, which The New Republic has obtained in full even though the book’s publisher, HarperCollins’s Broadside Books, has apparently tried to suppress it amid the scrutiny of Project 2025 and Vance’s ties to Roberts.

The subtitle and cover of Roberts’s book were softened as scrutiny of the Trump campaign’s ties to Project 2025 grew. The book, which is scheduled to be published on September 24, was originally announced with the subtitle “Burning Down Washington to Save America” and featured a match on the center of its cover. The subtitle is now “Taking Back Washington to Save America,” and the match is nowhere to be seen. Promotional language invoking conservatives on the “warpath” to ...

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MAGA has game plan to halt elections if Harris takes lead: Nearly 70 swing state officials poised to obstruct election certification​

No need to worry about mayhem on January 6, 2025 when Congress meets in joint session; the election deniers plan to stop a result right away if it looks like Harris is winning."

Stoddard continues, "Their goal: Refuse to certify anywhere — even a county that Trump won — and prevent certification in that state, which prevents certification of the presidential election.

A Harris victory could become a nightmare."Stoddard notes that, according to Rolling Stone, "pro-Trump election conspiracists" in key swing states like Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia are working as "county election officials" and plan to refuse to certify the election results if Harris wins.

Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, publisher of Democracy Docket, told Rolling Stone, "I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election…. Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared."

Stoddard warns that "there are more than enough such individuals in these key posts to bring us to a constitutional crisis."

MAGA has game plan to halt elections if Harris takes lead: report

When around 14,000 Philadelphians packed Temple University's Liacouras Center for 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' first campaign rally with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the vice president made a point of describing herself as an "underdog.”Her use of that word...

www.rawstory.com

https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/swing-state-election-officials-trump/

MAGA Election Deniers Are Going All Out to Rig Georgia for Trump

The right-wing majority on the state election board passed a new rule this week that could embolden counties not to certify elections if Democrats win.

MAGA election deniers are going all-out to rig Georgia for Trump

The right-wing majority on the state election board passed a new rule this week that could embolden counties not to certify elections if Democrats win.

www.motherjones.com

 

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the book’s publisher, HarperCollins’s Broadside Books, has apparently tried to suppress it amid the scrutiny of Project 2025 and Vance’s ties to Roberts. #414

I'd like to know more about that.
"Tried to suppress ..."? Why?
On whose order?

MAGA has game plan to halt elections if Harris takes lead: Nearly 70 swing state officials poised to obstruct election certification
No need to worry about mayhem on January 6, 2025 when Congress meets in joint session; the election deniers plan to stop a result right away if it looks like Harris is winning."
Stoddard continues, "Their goal: Refuse to certify anywhere — even a county that Trump won — and prevent certification in that state, which prevents certification of the presidential election. # 415

I suspect there's a lot more to it than that. #415 may be their Plan-D. It's plans A, B, & C, that demand equal or greater scrutiny. I expect ballot access intimidation, and much else, meaning starting election day, if not before (with early voting), and maneuvering corrupt officials, etc.

 

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Politics · Fox News

Nikki Haley has blunt message for Trump, GOP as Kamala Harris gains momentum: 'Quit whining'​

Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley tells 'Special Report' how Republicans can win in November and why the party needs to make a 'serious shift.'

Nikki Haley has blunt message for Trump, GOP as Kamala Harris gains momentum: 'Quit whining'

Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley tells 'Special Report' how Republicans can win in November and why the party needs to make a 'serious shift.'

www.foxnews.com

Big picture Ambassador Haley,
you're likely wasting your time attempting to talk sense to Trump.
The reason Trump does as he does is not because he lacks your advice. It's because he's not a policy wonk. Trump doesn't use your style. That's why he beat you in the primary.

Trump's style results from Trump's preferences. Don't study the details of an issue, criticize, or "whine" if you prefer.
It doesn't mean you're wrong. It suggests Trump may only heed if his fast attritting / rotating inner circle can persuade Trump he'll lose if he doesn't heed.
But substance and legitimacy are not Trump's style.

However Nik, you may be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Trump may already have lost.

 

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Walz vs Vance debate agreed for Oct. 1, CBS News.
Early prediction:
Walz may satisfy some Democrat voters. But Vance may score more points by conventional debate standards. Vance's verbal skills are advanced, likely a primary reason Trump chose Vance for VP.

 

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Both Harris & Trump advocate income tax exemption for tips.

Eliminating taxes on tips may not be as great as it sounds​

Brad Smith Thu, August 15, 2024 at 2:00 PM EDT

"Right now, employees that are in the service industry, they are taxed on their tips. The tips are included in their wages and they are going to pay federal and state income tax. And in addition to that, they're going to have Medicare tax and Social Security tax withheld from their wages," Dennis explains of the current tax policy. If this policy were to be eliminated, service industry workers would not have to withhold taxes from their tips, including federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

While this change would leave these workers with more cash in their wallets, it's not all good news. Because both the employee and employer won't pay into Social Security or Medicare, employees will cash out less money later on:

"If they're not paying tax on those tips, they are lowering their overall earned income. Earned income is the income that is used later on to qualify to purchase a home. Earned income determines how much money you're making. There is going to be a big impact, and you're going to now have to reserve for your own retirement if you're not paying Social Security on those tips. So you certainly want to make sure that you are thinking ahead and saying to yourself, 'What am I going to do in the future when it comes time for me to retire? Where is that money going to come from to pay me?'"

Eliminating taxes on tips may not be as great as it sounds

Despite disagreeing on most issues, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have both recently come out in favor of eliminating taxes on tips for workers. KDA Inc. Founder and CEO Karla Dennis joins Wealth! to discuss the potential policy and what it would mean for both...

news.yahoo.com

Got a better idea?
And what does this say about the Harris campaign? Does this look like an ill-conceived campaign commitment? More oriented to pleasing crowds than good governance?
Reductio ad absurdum: what happens when these non-tax paying workers reach retirement age? Social Security benefits are scaled to Social Security contributions.

 

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... you're going to now have to reserve for your own retirement if you're not paying Social Security on those tips.

You're assuming that SS will be around by the time those workers retire. Or, if it is, that the benefit will be anywhere near enough to fund their retirement.