—By Fraser Perkins
Here are a few of the important issues of the 2024 presidential election…expressed in ceramic tiles.
Tile 1: Killer Comet. Putin, Russian oligarchs, $$$, Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump and Republicans are linked. As President Biden says, “Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy.”
Tile 2: Guns. Republicans live in a make-believe world of 1789 with no mass gun violence; Democrats live in the real world where mass shootings – Columbine, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas and others – are all too common. Guns have taken a terrible toll. Republicans vote with the NRA.
Tile 3: Tax Breaks. The Billionaires and Millionaires Club (BM) Club enjoy tax breaks unavailable to most voters. The middle class gets a few tax breaks with home mortgage interest, property taxes and charitable donations, but even these have been diluted by the Trump tax “cuts”.
Meanwhile the über wealthy save millions through arcane financial tactics, largely unseen by most Americans. Here are three:
- Executives taking compensation in stock, thereby enjoying favorable tax treatment, as opposed to taking compensation as salary.
- Rolling over of capital gains on investment property.
- Refinancing investment assets – a nontaxable event.
Notes: EI = earned income. CG = capital gains. The human figure = carried interest.
Tile 4: Road to Misogyny: Trump’s appointees to SCOTUS and federal courts overturned Roe and threaten to strip away rights of privacy and autonomy.
Tile 5: Dobbs Default. Before Roe, women had little recourse except a coat hanger, a trip to Mexico, an unwanted pregnancy, or a makeshift, substandard, illegal clinic. “Pro-life” advocates view the repeal of Roe v Wade as a first step, not a final outcome.
Tile 6. The Autocrat. This is what Trump craves to be. He hangs with autocrats, he compliments them, and he acts truly annoyed when he’s held to any legal standard. And like autocrats everywhere, he would like to pass the autocracy onto one of his privileged progeny. Gee, I think this is monarchy…which we abolished in 1776. He’s 250 years too late…
Tile 7: Voting Rights. Once Shelby Co v Holder lifted federal approval of voting law changes, many states quickly enacted restrictive voting laws under the pretense of ensuring that only eligible voters cast ballots. This is bogus. The real reason was to make it more difficult for the poor and people of color to vote. Texas was one such state. Large corporations within Texas remained silent on the disenfranchisement of many of their employees.
Tile 8: A break. Ok, being a Democrat is exhausting so if you need a break, here it is!
Goosenecks of the San Juan in Utah. Smile…
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