Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump started strong with his trade war talk. That's his strong suit and there's probably some validity in what he says there. After that, he fell apart. His discussion on NATO is especially disturbing.

His discussion on NATO really hit a home with me. It's time to re-evaluate all these Cold War relics and have our junior "partners" start funding at least to their treat obligations. It would be great if they paid their fair share. The only obligation under article 5 is to provide what support each country deems appropriate up to and including military aid. It does not say each country must respond with military force.

Trump is a great thinker. I can't remember any other politician approach this issue with this outside of the box thinking. They will be starting to pay their fair share when he gets into the office.

He's a terrific thinker. Yuuuuge. He has a good brain and the best words. Big league. Believe me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clinton was well rehearsed, prepared, polished. It was a show. However, Trump was sincere and I am curious about NATO funding as well as NATO anti-terror.

Trump was right. http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/08/news/nato-summit-spending-countries/

Localities and crime. Is NYC safer than pre-Guiliani days? Yes. Have we let down our cities ? Yes. No one deserves to live in these conditions in Chicago. So why did many AA's move to cities in the North like Detroit and Chicago? Jobs.

Trump was too polite. Ford is moving production of specific vehicles to Mexico - 2800 jobs but says those 2800 jobs will be replaced with other jobs in Michigan. Now why not have the 2800 jobs + 2800 NEW jobs in Michigan?

NAFTA. Personally I'd rather have factories and unions and products produced in the USA than continue as we have been. Moosehead {ME}, Surefit {PA}, Carrier{IN}. Loss of manufacturing jobs. It all adds up.

Crash-bundled loans that were based on prior mortgage underwriting standards. Fine to bundle when they were good loans. Severe disconnect.

What I don't understand is how he plans to force businesses to have jobs in this country and why he suddenly thinks that's a good idea. I thought business people were all about bottom line and free trade and job creation. He certainly has enough enterprises overseas. Why is he against regulation businesses to make sure they have fair practices, but for forcing businesses to stay in this country if they can perform better overseas? Why, if he feels so strongly about this, has he not made it a practice in his own dealings? If it's such an important issue, and he makes so much money, he could afford the financial hit he would take by doing so -- he would still make money hand over fist, just not quite as much. Why hasn't he been a leader on this important issue?

Yep I was thinking the same

Trump is not articulate and he is not effective at translating realities of international trade into terms that the average American can appreciate. I don't have experience exporting to/from Mexico and Canada, but I know the trade between US and China is not fair and open. Whereas it is relatively easy to export goods from China to the US, the reverse flow is excruciatingly difficult. The tariff rates are high, and Chinese customs makes it very difficult for a shipment to clear customs and be released. We are a US business that has tried for the past three years to sell our products into the Chinese market and has found it very tough to get traction because our products are no longer competitive in terms of pricing and speed to delivery by the time we hop over the great wall of China Customs. On the other hand, I can have a container full of whatever commodity loaded and shipped on a vessel bound for the US in probably 3 days, knowing that US customs will clear it quickly/efficiently as long as all my paperwork is done properly.

As a business that sells to international customers, I am all for free and open trade, but it has to be actual free and open bilaterally. All too often, the US holds up their end of the bargain but the other side does not. This happens in international trade and security, with US ending up carrying the bulk of the burden. Enough is enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So his "microphone wasn't working properly". And if he loses the election, it will be because it was "rigged".
It's always someone else's fault, isn't it....

This is textbook narcissism

Yes unlike Hillary who blames Trump for the Financial melt down. Yet she was basically responsible for it- The Glass-steagall roll back, NY Senator push Wall Street's agenda, protected the same people from prosecution, make sure they received their bonuses, received loads of money from Wall Street (while in office as campaign donations and immediately afterwards with her speeches). She and the financial criss are one and the same. Back to the poor judgement and experience thing. There is nothing in her history that shows she will make the right decision.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump started strong with his trade war talk. That's his strong suit and there's probably some validity in what he says there. After that, he fell apart. His discussion on NATO is especially disturbing.

His discussion on NATO really hit a home with me. It's time to re-evaluate all these Cold War relics and have our junior "partners" start funding at least to their treat obligations. It would be great if they paid their fair share. The only obligation under article 5 is to provide what support each country deems appropriate up to and including military aid. It does not say each country must respond with military force.

It would be great if Trump paid his fair share in federal taxes. I pay about 25%. Maybe if he and rich people like him paid their fair share, we'd have more money to spend on veterans and other services. Maybe our debt wouldn't be so high. Does he ever think about that?

He said he didn't pay taxes because he's smart. Guess that makes us stupid

Honestly, it is smart to take advantage of the tax code, and most smart business people do. Mitt Romney certainly did. I am not privy to the tax dealings of Warren Buffett or Bill Gates but I would be surprised if they paid more than they were legally required to do.

It is, however, pretty tone deaf to boast about not paying taxes when your base is people who are struggling in a shitty economy. It is ... shall we say ... a touch arrogant. However, since it doesn't seem to hurt him with his base, I guess he is onto something.

I don't know the Gates or Buffet tax situation, but they give A LOT to charity. Which Trump does not do.

Oh, I know that, and it no doubt affects their taxes too. I'm just saying that I don't think it's entirely fair to say that Trump is despicable because he doesn't pay taxes. Most people in his situation would not. There are plenty of other reasons he is despicable.

Maybe, but a country will fall apart if all of its citizens insist on only following the letter of the law, and not the spirit. If we are all trying to maximize our wants no matter the cost, we will in the end tear our country apart. nobody can write a legal code so prescriptive that it can hold a country together if everybody feels that they have no duty to think about the country when making their decisions, that they only need to think about themselves.

I disagree. The tax code is written to advantage people like him. The problem is not with him, it's with the tax code. Fix that, and you have a hell of a lot more money coming into the national coffers.

Anonymous wrote:He said the microphone assigned to him was pre-rigged with "sniffle" sound effects? LOL OMG dumbass.

He didn't quite say that. He said his microphone was defective and wasn't as loud as Clinton's but maybe it was loud enough to hear breathing. There were no sniffles (according to him).

What I don't get is how Trump says his bankruptcies and minimized taxes were "that's business", but companies who are moving jobs and plants to other countries are bad. Guess what? It's also just business for them!

I felt like I was watching one of those comedies that rely on cringe-humor, where you want to stop watching, but just can't, and you just keep cringing and hiding your face in shame for the guy speaking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump started strong with his trade war talk. That's his strong suit and there's probably some validity in what he says there. After that, he fell apart. His discussion on NATO is especially disturbing.

His discussion on NATO really hit a home with me. It's time to re-evaluate all these Cold War relics and have our junior "partners" start funding at least to their treat obligations. It would be great if they paid their fair share. The only obligation under article 5 is to provide what support each country deems appropriate up to and including military aid. It does not say each country must respond with military force.

It would be great if Trump paid his fair share in federal taxes. I pay about 25%. Maybe if he and rich people like him paid their fair share, we'd have more money to spend on veterans and other services. Maybe our debt wouldn't be so high. Does he ever think about that?

He said he didn't pay taxes because he's smart. Guess that makes us stupid

Honestly, it is smart to take advantage of the tax code, and most smart business people do. Mitt Romney certainly did. I am not privy to the tax dealings of Warren Buffett or Bill Gates but I would be surprised if they paid more than they were legally required to do.

It is, however, pretty tone deaf to boast about not paying taxes when your base is people who are struggling in a shitty economy. It is ... shall we say ... a touch arrogant. However, since it doesn't seem to hurt him with his base, I guess he is onto something.

I don't know the Gates or Buffet tax situation, but they give A LOT to charity. Which Trump does not do.

Oh, I know that, and it no doubt affects their taxes too. I'm just saying that I don't think it's entirely fair to say that Trump is despicable because he doesn't pay taxes. Most people in his situation would not. There are plenty of other reasons he is despicable.

Maybe, but a country will fall apart if all of its citizens insist on only following the letter of the law, and not the spirit. If we are all trying to maximize our wants no matter the cost, we will in the end tear our country apart. nobody can write a legal code so prescriptive that it can hold a country together if everybody feels that they have no duty to think about the country when making their decisions, that they only need to think about themselves.

Anonymous wrote:So his "microphone wasn't working properly". And if he loses the election, it will be because it was "rigged".
It's always someone else's fault, isn't it....

This is textbook narcissism

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trump started strong with his trade war talk. That's his strong suit and there's probably some validity in what he says there. After that, he fell apart. His discussion on NATO is especially disturbing.

His discussion on NATO really hit a home with me. It's time to re-evaluate all these Cold War relics and have our junior "partners" start funding at least to their treat obligations. It would be great if they paid their fair share. The only obligation under article 5 is to provide what support each country deems appropriate up to and including military aid. It does not say each country must respond with military force.

It would be great if Trump paid his fair share in federal taxes. I pay about 25%. Maybe if he and rich people like him paid their fair share, we'd have more money to spend on veterans and other services. Maybe our debt wouldn't be so high. Does he ever think about that?

He said he didn't pay taxes because he's smart. Guess that makes us stupid

Taxes are complicated. There are ways that taxes can be deferred but I am not aware of any legal ways to actually avoid paying it. It might sound neat to say that one did not pay any federal taxes in year #### but it doesn't actually mean much beyond a figure - go ask any CPA with corporate tax experience. Most likely, as with other businesses, his company used depreciation and other legal deductions to offset income, but the underlying asset now has basis that will be taxable if it was ever transferred. The tax liability is merely deferred, it does not go away.

I thought his response was certainly insensitive. Other business owners may know exactly what he is talking about when he says "that's called being smart", but workers who draw a salary would not understand. A better response would be somewhere along the lines of "I have a duty to my company, family, employees, and etc to take advantage of all tax laws to minimize my tax liability, who willingly pay more taxes than they are legally obligated to pay? That said, the US tax laws are complicated, inefficient and gives rise to the type of accounting contortions that occur not just with my business but tens of thousands of businesses all over the country. My proposal would be to have a simplified tax code, with a lower marginal rate, but also less deductions and special-interest favoritism laws that have been put into the books through out the years by career politicians like Mrs Clinton who bend to the will of their donors".

Missed opportunity there. He is on the right side of the issue, and would make the right decision, but said the wrong thing.

He said the microphone assigned to him was pre-rigged with "sniffle" sound effects? LOL OMG dumbass.

So his "microphone wasn't working properly". And if he loses the election, it will be because it was "rigged".
It's always someone else's fault, isn't it....

Anonymous wrote:Trump just found it necessary to circle back on the former Miss Universe issue: "she gained a massive amount of weight and it was a real problem." LOL!

He also denied any sniffling. No cold or allergies he says, blamed it on a bad mic! This is on fox and friends. He is not doing himself any favors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clinton was well rehearsed, prepared, polished. It was a show. However, Trump was sincere and I am curious about NATO funding as well as NATO anti-terror.

Trump was right. http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/08/news/nato-summit-spending-countries/

Localities and crime. Is NYC safer than pre-Guiliani days? Yes. Have we let down our cities ? Yes. No one deserves to live in these conditions in Chicago. So why did many AA's move to cities in the North like Detroit and Chicago? Jobs.

Trump was too polite. Ford is moving production of specific vehicles to Mexico - 2800 jobs but says those 2800 jobs will be replaced with other jobs in Michigan. Now why not have the 2800 jobs + 2800 NEW jobs in Michigan?

NAFTA. Personally I'd rather have factories and unions and products produced in the USA than continue as we have been. Moosehead {ME}, Surefit {PA}, Carrier{IN}. Loss of manufacturing jobs. It all adds up.

Crash-bundled loans that were based on prior mortgage underwriting standards. Fine to bundle when they were good loans. Severe disconnect.

What I don't understand is how he plans to force businesses to have jobs in this country and why he suddenly thinks that's a good idea. I thought business people were all about bottom line and free trade and job creation. He certainly has enough enterprises overseas. Why is he against regulation businesses to make sure they have fair practices, but for forcing businesses to stay in this country if they can perform better overseas? Why, if he feels so strongly about this, has he not made it a practice in his own dealings? If it's such an important issue, and he makes so much money, he could afford the financial hit he would take by doing so -- he would still make money hand over fist, just not quite as much. Why hasn't he been a leader on this important issue?

Yep I was thinking the same

I thought the split screen was great. You could see how the candidates were reacting to the other person's comments. It's not easy to be cool and composed for 90 minutes and still get your points made.