Tag: age

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Don’t be fooled: The GOP tax plan won’t benefit everyone – DICK DURBIN AND TAMMY DUCKWORTH (DIERSEN: Please contact Congressman Roskam ASAP and urge him to oppose cutting any itemized deductions. According to this article, more than 50 percent of the taxpayers in Roskam’s 6th Congressional District deduct state and local taxes (SALT). Are you and your spouse among them? My wife and I are. If you are, how much were your itemized deductions last year? For the Diersens, they were $30,890 — $13,859 medical and dental expenses, $14,303 SALT ($12,835 real estate tax and $1,468 income tax), and $2,728 charitable contributions. Last year, my 87-year-old aunt’s medical deductions were $74,050. One should expect that every year, the higher that your real estate taxes and medical expenses will be. What do you say to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who demonize, denigrate, and condemn a) old people like me and b) those like my wife and I who itemize our deductions?)
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20171110/OPINION/171119997
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Last week, House Republicans released the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which would add more than $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit and gives massive tax cuts to large corporations and the wealthy, paid for on the backs of working families in Illinois and across the country. Using a partisan legislative process, the House Republicans’ plan lowers the rate at which corporate profits—currently at record highs—are taxed, while eliminating or restricting numerous deductions and tax benefits used by middle-income families to reduce their tax bills. Along with eliminating vital tax benefits such as the medical expense deduction and the student loan interest deduction, House Republicans gut the deduction for state and local taxes, or SALT, which 44 million Americans nationwide use to avoid being doubled taxed on their hard-earned income. Illinois has the fifth-highest number of taxpayers who benefit from this deduction, with 85 percent of them making under $200,000 per year. Nearly 2 million Illinoisans—roughly one-third of all taxpayers in the state— claim an average deduction of $12,500. Yesterday, Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican from Wheaton and chairman of the House Tax Policy Committee, extolled the plan, in a piece published here, for benefiting everyone. Because the House GOP plan guts the state and local tax deduction, more than 50 percent of the taxpayers in the 6th Congressional District—represented by Roskam—could see their taxes increase if this plan became law. Out of the entire nation, Roskam’s district has the 12th-highest percentage of taxpayers benefitting from the SALT deduction. Seventy-nine percent of them earn less than $200,000. What does this mean for families? It means that a married couple with two children living in west suburban Wayne, straddling DuPage and Kane counties inside Roskam’s district, and making $50,000 to $75,000 annually would see a tax increase of about $1,100 under the House Republican tax plan. And the bad news doesn’t stop there. Many of the families our Republican colleagues claim their plan would help would actually see costs increase over time—because the provisions affecting those families are written in disappearing ink that fades over time. This means that under the House Republican plan, 20 percent of all taxpayers in Illinois would see their taxes rise by 2027—with taxes rising an average of $1,670 per taxpayer. At the same time, the richest 1 percent in Illinois would receive an average tax cut of $56,850 next year and $75,050 by 2027. With U.S. corporations earning record profits, exploding our deficit to benefit the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans is no way to provide relief to the millions of working families in Illinois who need a helping hand. Low- and middle-income Americans, whose spending accounts for two-thirds of the economic productivity in our country, should be the focus of any tax reform plan that Congress considers. Instead, the House Republican tax plan burdens middle-income Americans and the small businesses that power our economy, while lining the pocketbooks of the ultra-wealthy, including President Donald Trump’s friends and family. Illinoisans deserve better than the House Republican plan, which Roskam enthusiastically supports.)

DAILY HERALD
— Winners and losers in the Senate GOP tax plan – Heather Long
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20171110/analysis-winners-and-losers-in-the-senate-gop-tax-plan
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Losers People living in high-tax states such as New York and California. All state and local tax deductions (SALT) are gone in the Senate plan. Taxpayers would lose the ability to deduct their state and local property and other taxes from their federal taxes, a break used by about 44 million people (or 30 percent of tax filers.) A number of Republican House members insisted on only a partial repeal in the House bill, but the Senate has gone for a full repeal in an effort to raise more money to pay for tax cuts elsewhere.)
— Ives won’t back down when something’s wrong – John Paul Augustynowicz, Warrenville
http://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20171110/wont-back-down-when-somethings-wrong

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Democratic senators issue unusual warning – Rick Pearson

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-ald-burke-truck-terrorism-task-force-chicago-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Illinois’ two Democratic U.S. senators issued an unusual warning Thursday for residents of two suburban congressional districts represented by Republicans. The pointed notice from U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to Republican U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam of Wheaton and Randy Hultgren of Plano came on the day the House Ways and Means Committee advanced the House GOP’s tax proposal. Roskam is a member of the powerful House committee and is its tax policy chairman. He is facing scrutiny over portions of the plan that limit mortgage and property-tax deductions and eliminate state income tax deductions. In separate notices, Durbin and Duckworth issued statements on what Roskam and Hultgren’s congressional districts stand “to lose” if Republicans are successful “in passing their tax cuts for the wealthy.” In the Roskam statement, the senators say: “A married couple with two children living in Wayne … making $50,000-$75,000 annually would see a tax increase of about $1,100 under the House Republican Tax Plan.” In the Hultgren statement, the senators say: “A single person living in Plainfield, Bolingbrook, and Aurora … making $25,000-$50,000 annually would see a tax increase of about $700 under the House Republican Tax Plan.” The senators say their information is based on analyses by several groups, some with Democratic leanings, including the Tax Policy Center, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Government Finance Officers Association, the National Association of Counties, the Economic Policy Institute and the Joint Committee on Taxation. The response: For his part, Roskam issued a statement saying the effort toward changing the nation’s tax laws was the “most significant step” in 30 years. “Americans are yearning to see real tax relief and the work we’ve done on this bill respects and rewards hardworking, middle-class families in my district and across the country and allows us to grow a healthy economy and more jobs,” Roskam said.)
— Former cabinet member Ray LaHood says GOP, Democrats need to work together – David Sharos (DIERSEN: Whenever Republican and Democrat leaders “work together,” Republicans lose. Republican “leaders” are far less committed to defending and advancing the Republican Party platform than Democrat leaders are committed to defending and advancing the Democrat Party platform. That is why Trump was elected.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-lahood-st-1110-20171109-story.html
— Can Virginia’s Democratic win revive ‘big-tent’ politics? Let’s hope. – Clarence Page (DIERSEN: “Big Tent” politics is killing the Republican Party. Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. Beyond outrageously, beyond tragically, the Republican Party lets people, that this, lets Democrat plants, lets Libertarian plants, lets Green plants, and lets RINOs hold leadership positions in the party. They most commonly reject the traditional family, right to life, immigration, illegal drugs, and equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks in the party’s platform. They focus on destroying those like me who support the aforesaid planks.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/page/ct-perspec-page-trump-virginia-ed-gillespie-ralph-northam-1110-20171108-story.html
— Rand Paul joins those with Bad Neighbor Tales – John Kass
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/kass/ct-met-neighbors-rand-paul-kass-1110-story.html

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Under the Dome Podcast: Sexual harassment, overrides and Girl Scout cookies
http://www.sj-r.com/news/20171109/under-dome-podcast-sexual-harassment-overrides-and-girl-scout-cookies

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— The Vietnam War, 50 years ago, gave us President Donald Trump – Leonard Steinhorn
https://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/the-vietnam-war-50-years-ago-gave-us-president-donald-trump/

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Senate overrides veto of death-benefits bill pushed by Frerichs – Tom Kacich
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-11-09/senate-overrides-veto-death-benefits-bill-pushed-frerichs.html

ALTON DAILY JOURNAL
— Law Would Expand Reach of Attorney General – Cole Lauterbach
http://altondailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=17&id=254978#.WgWJRozR-M8

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Bannon compares Moore accusations to coverage of Trump’s ‘Access Hollywood’ tape Media has it out for Trump, Moore, Bannon says – SOPHIE TATUM
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/bannon-compares-moore-accusations-to-coverage-of-trumps-access-hollywood-tape/854818829
— Trump delivers ‘America first’ speech in Vietnam – KEVIN LIPTAK AND DAN MERICA
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/trump-delivers-america-first-speech-in-vietnam/854922808
— GOP lawmakers ask Roy Moore to step aside if sexual allegations are true Special election for Senate seat set for December – DANIELLA DIAZ
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/gop-lawmakers-ask-roy-moore-to-step-aside-if-sexual-allegations-are-true/854462202
— White House: If allegations are true, Moore should step aside Trump originally endorsed Moore’s opponent – KEVIN LIPTAK
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/white-house-if-allegations-are-true-moore-should-step-aside/854985201
— Senate Republicans unveil their own tax plan – LAUREN FOX
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/senate-republicans-to-unveil-their-own-tax-plan/854224325

STATELINE
— Trump’s complicated history with Vietnam Trump avoided Vietnam draft through deferments – DAN MERICA (DIERSEN: Were you 1-A, that is, were you fit for military service? In 1966, when I was 18 years old, I was 1-A notwithstanding the fact that my eyesight could not be corrected to 20/20, that I had partial red/green color blindness, and that I had Osgood-Schlatter disease (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osgood%E2%80%93Schlatter_disease). If I would seek a government office or a political office, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes would stress that got student draft deferments 1966-1970 while I attended UIC and NIU and a financial hardship deferment 1970-1971. They would demonize me, denigrate me, and condemn me as being a patriotic hypocrite, a coward, and even worse things.)
http://www.mystateline.com/news/politics/trumps-complicated-history-with-vietnam/854988532
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Looming over the President’s visit — which includes a stop in the Vietnamese capitol of Hanoi — is the fact that Trump received multiple deferments during the Vietnam War. He also later compared his work and social life as a real estate developer in New York to the sacrifices made by American soldiers in the distant country. The focus also comes just weeks after Republican Sen. John McCain, the most well-known Vietnam War veteran in American politics, appeared to take a jab at Trump for receiving the deferments, intimating that the President dodged the draft that swept up less affluent Americans…Trump’s deferments Trump attended the private New York Military Academy in high school, but he avoided the draft through a series of education and health deferments. After receiving four deferments due to education, Trump was diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels at the age of 22 in 1968, seven years before the Vietnam War ended. The diagnosis earned him a 1-Y medical deferment, meaning he was barred from military service in the same year that roughly 300,000 troops were enlisted into the military. Trump has defended the deferments in the past. In a 2016 interview with The New York Times, Trump said that a doctor “gave me a letter — a very strong letter — on the heels.” “Over a period of time, it healed up,” he added. And in a 2015 biography, Trump told Michael D’Antonio that the bone spurs were “not a big problem, but it was enough of a problem” that it made him unable to march long distances. Trump’s draft deferments became political issues during the 2016 election, especially after he attacked the family of a fallen solider who spoke at the Democratic National Convention. But it was the comment from McCain, a member of Trump’s own party, that seemed to deride Trump the most. McCain, in an interview with CSPAN, appeared to take a swipe at Trump when he criticized people from “the highest income level” who avoided the draft by finding a doctor who “would say that they had a bone spur.” McCain never mentions Trump by name in the interview, but the President’s deferment because of a bone spur is widely known and the President’s family was well off at the time. McCain, who said he wasn’t talking about Trump, added later that he didn’t believe Trump was a draft dodger…His own ‘Vietnam’ Years after avoiding the draft, Trump had made light of service in the Vietnam War by comparing it to both his professional and social endeavors and by deriding those who have served. Trump, known for being a fixture in the New York tabloids at the time, agreed with Howard Stern in 1998 when the shock jock suggested that avoiding sexually transmitted diseases in New York was “your Vietnam.” “It’s Vietnam,” Trump said. “It is very dangerous. So I’m very, very careful.” Earlier in the interview, first reported by CNN’s KFile, Trump said he was “getting the Congressional Medal of Honor” because of his ability to stay alive with “screwing a lot of women.” And Trump kicked off his feud with McCain, a fight that has lasted years, but stating in 2015 that McCain was not a war hero because he was captured during the Vietnam War. “He is not a war hero,” Trump said. “He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK? I hate to tell you. He is a war hero because he was captured.” McCain served in the Navy until 1981, where he was famously a prisoner of war at H?a Lò Prison. McCain declined early release during his over five years in captivity, a benefit that would have been granted to him because his father was an admiral in the Navy.)

WEST SUBURBAN JOURNAL
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Anti-Trumps honor those who encourage people to come to America illegally, to stay in America illegally, and to bring others to America illegally.
https://westsuburbanjournal.com/p-a-s-o-honors-immigration-change-agents/

CHICAGO NOW
— Groped? It’s the culture, stupid – Dennis Byrne
http://www.chicagonow.com/dennis-byrnes-barbershop/2017/11/groped-its-the-culture-stupid/

UPSTREAM IDEAS
— Proft Speaking At City Club – How Illinois Is Hurting Its Most Vulnerable, And We’re Letting It Happen
http://upstream-ideas.com/upstream-ideas/ideas/proft-speaking-at-city-club-how-illinois-is-hurting-its-most-vulnerable-and-were-letting-it-happen

DUPAGE POLICY JOURNAL
— Ives demands answers in ongoing sex harassment controversy – Angela Underwood (DIERSEN: What do you want answers for? It would be great if Republican activists, candidates, elected officials, party leaders, major donors, political consultants, etc. would demand answers a) why my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old, always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance purposes, did not promote me beyond GS-13, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, and forced me to take an $18,847 pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980; b) why my Democrat IRS superiors did not promote me beyond GS-12, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, and disallowed my partial day per diem claims in 1974; c) why my Democrat Post Office superiors forced me resign in 1969 and disallowed my sick leave requests in 1969 and 1968; and d) why I am no longer a TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman, Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member, Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster, Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member, etc.)
https://dupagepolicyjournal.com/stories/511265633-ives-demands-answers-in-ongoing-sex-harassment-controversy

PRAIRIE STATE WIRE
— Ives demands Madigan explain long-vacant ethics post – W.J. Kennedy
https://prairiestatewire.com/stories/511265595-ives-demands-madigan-explain-long-vacant-ethics-post

ILLINOIS LEAKS
— WAND’s I-Team talks about Township spending – JOHN KRAFT
http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2017/11/wands-i-team-talks-about-township-spending/

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— ROSKAM: WHAT 6TH CD SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TAX REFORM
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2017/11/roskam-what-6th-cd-small-business-owners-are-saying-about-tax-reform.html
— DON’T JUST THANK A VETERAN. HIRE ONE. (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have always done everything that they could to turn veterans against me. They stress that I got draft deferments 1966-1970 while I attended UIC and NIU and that I got a financial hardship draft deferment 1970-1971. They have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted a) that instead of me, the Post Office should have hired a veteran in 1966, b) that the Post Office should gotten rid of me much sooner than it did so that a veteran could have my job, c) that instead of me, IRS should have hired a veteran in 1971, d) that instead of me, IRS should have promoted veterans in 1972, 1973, and 1974, e) that instead of me, GAO should have hired a veteran in 1980, f) that instead of me, GAO should have promoted a veteran in 1986, and g) that GAO should have gotten rid of me much sooner than it did so that a veteran could have my job and my preferred corner office.)
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2017/11/commentary-dont-just-thank-a-veteran-hire-one.html

DAILY CALLER
— Conservatives Fear Republicans Are Squandering Their Chance To Govern – Peter Hasson
http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/09/conservatives-fear-republicans-are-squandering-their-chance-to-govern/

GOPUSA
— Chicago, land of gun control, hits homicide highs and blames Trump
http://www.gopusa.com/chicago-land-of-gun-control-hits-homicide-highs-and-blames-trump/
— GOP establishment tells Roy Moore to drop out in wake of unproven sexual allegations
http://www.gopusa.com/gop-establishment-tells-roy-moore-to-drop-out-in-wake-of-unproven-sexual-allegations/

ROLL CALL
— 15 Protesters Arrested at Rally in Hart for DACA The group was asking for the GOP to pass a clean DREAM Act by December
http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/15-protesters-arrested-rally-hart-daca

POLITICO
— Senate GOP’s tax bill points to nasty fight ahead There are dramatic differences between the House and Senate versions of the tax overhaul, imperiling Trump’s desire to sign legislation by year end. – BERNIE BECKER, BRIAN FALER and AARON LORENZO
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/09/senate-tax-bill-2017-244743

REUTERS
— Chinese vice premier pledges fair treatment of foreign firms as China opens up (DIERSEN: QUESTION: What does one have to do to be treated fairly? ANSWER: First, determine who has the most religious, government, political, and/or financial clout. Then, glorify and praise them, pander to them, serve as one of their operatives or as one of their dupes, and give them lots of money.)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-businessinvestment/chinese-vice-premier-pledges-fair-treatment-of-foreign-firms-as-china-opens-up-idUSKBN1DA0G4

NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: A Middle-Class Tax Cut? It Depends Who and Where You Are – BEN CASSELMAN and TARA SIEGEL BERNARD (DIERSEN: Who wants a) people who itemize their deductions to pay more federal income tax and b) people who take the standard deduction to pay less federal income tax? I itemized my deductions 1972-1977 and my wife and I have itemized our deductions since 1978. My critics/opponents have always wanted my wife and I to pay more federal income tax. They hint/imply/argue/shout a) that my wife and I were born with silver spoons in our mouths, b) that we have always been privileged, c) that the federal government grossly overpaid me, and d) that my federal pension and health/dental/vision insurance subsidies are too generous. They stress that I avoided the draft and that we gave up trying to have children, we did not adopt, and we did not become foster parents.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/business/economy/middle-class-tax.html
— Trump and Ryan Versus the Little People – Paul Krugman
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/opinion/trump-ryan-republican-taxes.html
— The Existing Democratic Majority What Virginia tells us about our political future. – David Brooks
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/opinion/virginia-democratic-majority.html

LOS ANGELES TIMES
— Senate plan to scrap income and property tax deductions would be a blow to Californians – Lisa Mascaro and Jim Puzzanghera (DIERSEN: How old are you? I am 69. Do you itemize your deductions? If so, how much were your itemized deductions last year? For the Diersens, they were $30,890 — $13,859 medical and dental expenses, $14,303 real estate and state income taxes, and $2,728 charitable contributions. Last year, my 87-year-old aunt’s medical deductions were $74,050. One should expect that every year that you are older, the higher that your medical expenses will be. What do you say to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who demonize, denigrate, and condemn a) old people like me and b) those like my wife and I who itemize our deductions?)
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-gop-tax-plan-20171109-story.html

WASHINGTON POST
— ‘I don’t feel wealthy’: The upper middle class is worried about paying for the tax overhaul – Todd C. Frankel (DIERSEN: What discourages you from feeling wealthy? For me, it is knowing that my $50,856 Civil Service Retirement System pension is only 41% of what my $122,991 salary was in 1997 in today’s dollars.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/i-dont-feel-wealthy-the-upper-middle-class-is-worried-about-paying-for-the-tax-overhaul/2017/11/09/a5cf1acc-c55e-11e7-aae0-cb18a8c29c65_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.1a60a416fcd2&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Politics Complicate Tax Vote for GOP Legislation may pose a burden for House Republicans from high-tax areas – Kristina Peterson and Peter Nicholas (DIERSEN: Please contact Congressman Roskam ASAP and urge him to oppose cutting any itemized deductions. According to this article, 49 percent of income tax returns filed in Roskam’s district have state and local tax deductions. Are you and your spouse among them? My wife and I are. If you are, how much were your itemized deductions last year? For the Diersens, they were $30,890 — $13,859 medical and dental expenses, $14,303 SALT ($12,835 real estate tax and $1,468 income tax), and $2,728 charitable contributions. Last year, my 87-year-old aunt’s medical deductions were $74,050. One should expect that every year, the higher that your real estate taxes and medical expenses will be. What do you say to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who demonize, denigrate, and condemn a) old people like me and b) those like my wife and I who itemize our deductions?)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/politics-complicate-tax-vote-for-gop-1510276122
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Senate Tax Plan Differs From House on Individual Rates, Timing of Corporate Rate Cut Differences highlight challenge for GOP to get overhaul to Trump’s desk by end of year – Richard Rubin
https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-tax-plan-differs-from-house-on-individual-rates-timing-of-corporate-rate-cut-1510257621
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Confused? Here’s Where the Tax Overhaul Stands – Joshua Jamerson
https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2017/11/10/capital-journal-where-the-tax-plans-stand-alleged-flynn-plan-probed-trump-weighs-in-on-moore/
— Virginia Is for Haters The author of the ugliest political ad of 2017 is happy because it worked. – Editorial
https://www.wsj.com/articles/virginia-is-for-haters-1510273494
— Thanks for Your Service, Too There’s no military monopoly on devotion and self-sacrifice. – Michael W. Brough
https://www.wsj.com/articles/thanks-for-your-service-too-1510273838

USA TODAY
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: Bill would require VA to report discipline – Donovan Stack (DIERSEN: What if my Democrat superiors in the federal government had been required report the adverse actions that they took against me? My Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old, always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance purposes, did not promote me beyond GS-13, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, and forced me to take an $18,847 pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980. My Democrat IRS superiors did not promote me beyond GS-12, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, and disallowed my partial day per diem claims in 1974. My Democrat Post Office superiors forced me resign in 1969 and disallowed my sick leave requests in 1969 and 1968.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/09/senators-author-bill-forcing-va-report-problem-providers-requiring-more-faster-reporting-problem-va/846269001/

GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD
— Medical deduction must be preserved – Ronald Hines (DIERSEN: How much in medical expenses did you and your spouse pay last year? My wife and I paid $21,433. My 87-year-old aunt paid $78,213. How old are you? I am 69. Do you itemize your deductions? If so, how much were your itemized deductions last year? For the Diersens, they were $30,890 — $13,859 medical and dental expenses, $14,303 real estate and state income taxes, and $2,728 charitable contributions. Last year, my 87-year-old aunt’s medical deductions were $74,050. One should expect that every year that you are older, the higher that your medical expenses will be. What do you say to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who demonize, denigrate, and condemn a) old people like me and b) those like my wife and I who itemize our deductions?)
http://www.greensboro.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/medical-deduction-must-be-preserved/article_5b175ec7-4b5a-54dc-9c64-b770c3bba516.html

FREDERICKSBURG
— Itemized deductions disproportionately favor wealthier taxpayers – Scott A. Mayausky (DIERSEN: Who wants a) people who itemize their deductions to pay more federal income tax and b) people who take the standard deduction to pay less federal income tax? I itemized my deductions 1972-1977 and my wife and I have itemized our deductions since 1978. My critics/opponents have always wanted my wife and I to pay more federal income tax. They hint/imply/argue/shout a) that my wife and I were born with silver spoons in our mouths, b) that we have always been privileged, c) that the federal government grossly overpaid me, and d) that my federal pension and health/dental/vision insurance subsidies are too generous. They stress that I avoided the draft and that we gave up trying to have children, we did not adopt, and we did not become foster parents.)
http://www.fredericksburg.com/opinion/columns/column-itemized-deductions-disproportionately-favor-wealthier-taxpayers/article_dde18b79-173d-595e-bab7-8f1e4f5a25c4.html

DAYTON DAILY NEWS
— Senate tax plan would eliminate deduction (state, local and property taxes) used by 26% of Ohioans – Jack Torry (DIERSEN: How old are you? I am 69. Do you itemize your deductions? If so, how much were your itemized deductions last year? For the Diersens, they were $30,890 — $13,859 medical and dental expenses, $14,303 real estate and state income taxes, and $2,728 charitable contributions. Last year, my 87-year-old aunt’s medical deductions were $74,050. One should expect that every year that you are older, the higher that your medical expenses will be. What do you say to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who demonize, denigrate, and condemn a) old people like me and b) those like my wife and I who itemize our deductions?)
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national-govt–politics/senate-tax-plan-would-eliminate-deduction-used-ohioans/4UGGwFzDknm84e8JKyPxLP/

FACTCHECK
— The Facts on the SALT Deduction – Lori Robertson (DIERSEN: How much SALT did you and your spouse pay last year? My wife and I paid $14,303 — $12,835 real estate tax and $1,468 income tax. How old are you? I am 69. Do you itemize your deductions? If so, how much were your itemized deductions last year? For the Diersens, they were $30,890 — $13,859 medical and dental expenses, $14,303 real estate and state income taxes, and $2,728 charitable contributions. Last year, my 87-year-old aunt’s medical deductions were $74,050. One should expect that every year that you are older, the higher that your medical expenses will be. What do you say to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who demonize, denigrate, and condemn a) old people like me and b) those like my wife and I who itemize our deductions?)
http://www.factcheck.org/2017/11/facts-salt-deduction/