THIS AFFECTS YOU - Lower Gas Mileage; LISTEN UP "RED" States!

Every day, something is done to hurt people. This time it will REALLY be done to the people that voted for Trump who live in rural areas, have little money and have to travel long distances. The Trump Administration decided that cars don't need to achieve better mileage, so YOU can pay more to put gas in your car and pollute more than you have in the last 8 years.  

   SIDE NOTE:  If you live in states like Montana, Wyoming or places where there are long expanses of highway, YOU voted for this.   Open up your wallets...
   Under order from the Trump Administration, "The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday, April 2, it plans to undo a landmark Obama-era rule tightening fuel standards for vehicles, weakening the only major federal policy to reduce planet-warming emissions from the nation’s top source of greenhouse gas pollution."  

This Affects YOU: Like Paying Tolls? That's Trump's infrastructure plan

The President's infrastructure plan allows more states to toll interstate highways. It's not a partisan idea, but this plan opens up all interstate highways.
Like Paying Tolls? That's Trump's Infrastructure Plan
Source: Huffington Post
   Trump’s infrastructure plan would give states more flexibility to toll existing interstate highways ― under the rationale that if you use a road, you ought to pay a price in order to maintain it.
   . Barack Obama’s administration, for example, repeatedly proposed lifting current prohibitions on states placing tolls on existing highway lanes.

   steadily chipped away at the restrictions since then, and tolls on interstates are now allowed in certain states in priority lanes. The 2015 federal highway bill, which was signed into law by Obama, included a pilot provision that allowed some states to explore further tolling of interstate highways.
Congress banned tolling on interstate highways in 1956 when it created the national highway system during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration. Lawmakers have

    Adding fees on existing highways isn’t exactly a popular move, however. A statewide push to privatize highways in Texas suffered a backlash from angry commuters, who complained about exorbitant late fees and costly toll bills. In December, the state’s transportation officials voted against constructing new toll roads after opposition from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R).

   Some Republicans in Congress are also opposed to the idea. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, has said he prefers increasing the gas tax over adding tolls to highways.

    Today, just 2,900 miles of the 46,730-mile federal Interstate Highway System includes toll booths, according to the Department of Transportation.

    “Tolls are a wildly inefficient tax, sacrificing money that could go toward construction to corporate profits and administrative costs,” Stephanie Kane, spokeswoman for the Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates, said in a statement. “In addition to the diversion onto secondary roads which causes congestion and public safety issues, tolls will do unimaginable harm to businesses, as shipping and manufacturing prices skyrocket to account for these new costs.”

   Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also panned the idea of expanding the use of tolls on highways across the country.

THIS AFFECTS YOU: Bad Changes for People Saving for Retirement: In New Tax Plan Proposed

The New York Times just published an analysis of the Republican Tax plan, and it adversely and severely affects people (who are not millionaires) trying to save for retirement. 

To understand the magnitude of this, let's look at the numbers. Currently, workers may contribute a maximum of $18,000 to a 401k plan per year, another $6,000 if you're over the age of 50. Republicans want to reduce the maximum contribution to just $2,400 a year, which means an additional $15,600 in taxable income per year. That's how they plan to pay for their tax cuts for the wealthy.

According to Robert Reich, "Meanwhile, top executives continue to take part of their compensation as “deferred income” – often amounting to millions each year – on which no taxes have to be paid until they retire. 

A recent study of industrialized nations finds that income inequality for retirees in the United States is already among the worst in the world. Republicans want to make it even worse."

Here's the article:

Republicans Consider Sharp Cut in 401(k) Contribution Limits

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/politics/republicans-tax-401-k.html

WASHINGTON — House Republicans are considering a plan to sharply reduce the amount of income American workers can save in tax-deferred retirement accounts as part of a broad effort to rewrite the tax code, according to lobbyists, tax consultants and congressional Democrats.

   It is unclear if Republicans will ultimately include a cap on contributions in the tax bill that they are expected to release in the coming weeks. Such a move would almost certainly prompt a vocal backlash from middle-class workers who save heavily in such retirement accounts and from the asset management industry.

   The proposals under discussion would potentially cap the annual amount workers can set aside to as low as $2,400 for 401(k) accounts, several lobbyists and consultants said on Friday. Workers may currently put up to $18,000 a year in 401(k) accounts without paying taxes upfront on that money; that figure rises to $24,000 for workers over 50. When workers retire and begin to draw income from those accounts, they pay taxes on the benefits.

   Rumors have circulated for months that negotiators were debating including a cap as a way to help offset the revenue loss from a reduction in business tax rates that Republicans have put at the center of their plan. Reducing contribution limits would be, in effect, an accounting maneuver that would create space for tax cuts by collecting tax revenue now instead of in the future.

   Such a move would be likely to push Americans to shift their savings to so-called Roth accounts, where contributions are taxed immediately, and not when they are drawn out as benefits. That would increase federal tax receipts for the short run.

FULL ARTICLE: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/politics/republicans-tax-401-k.html

THIS AFFECTS YOU: Senators pan Trump’s proposed cuts to rural airports

Welcome to another blog of "This Affects You" - well, if you live in rural areas and use airports... the

Trump administration wants to remove that convenience for you.
   Of course, many who live in these areas voted for Trump, so perhaps they don't want access to air travel.Did you vote for this? :)
Here's the story from the Hill.com:

Senators pan Trump’s proposed cuts to rural airports

By Melanie Zanona - 06/19/17 

A bipartisan group of senators is fighting to maintain commercial air service in rural communities after the Trump administration called for eliminating federal support for such a program.

In a letter to the administration on Monday, a group of lawmakers led by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) expressed concern over the president’s budget proposal, which would cut all funding for Essential Air Service (EAS).

The 40-year-old program helps give small towns and remote communities access to air service, where it can otherwise be difficult to support financially.

“Without this support, many rural areas may no longer have access to air services,” the letter says. “This would significantly reduce support for rural communities in our states.  A reduction in support could lead to a reduction in services and ultimately in jobs for rural America.”

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao recognized the importance of the EAS program during a recent Senate hearing, assuring rural lawmakers that she is “working with the administration to address” the issue.

But the administration may need to work harder to assuage their concerns, as criticism has been mounting that a number of Trump’s initiatives would leave rural communities behind.

Another contentious aviation idea endorsed by Trump would separate air traffic control from the federal government and hand it over to a nonprofit or nongovernmental agency in an effort to modernize operations.

Critics argue that the interests of the general aviation industry and small airports would not be adequately represented under such a model and worry that an outside agency would impose new fees and taxes.

Lawmakers will have a chance to debate Trump’s aviation proposals when they work to reauthorize of the Federal Aviation Administration, whose legal authority expires in September.

“As we move forward with the budget and FAA Reauthorization, we ask that you work with us on issues and challenges pertinent to rural aviation, and keep us informed relative to any changes regarding the EAS program,” the senators wro

This Affects YOU: East Coast U.S. Residents: Gov't to begin seismic surveys in Atlantic in drilling push

the region now opening for drilling

Not surprising, and alarming - the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern Atlantic U.S. coasts are now being surveyed for gas and oil
drilling off-shore.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/trump-to-begin-seismic-surveys-in-atlantic-in-drilling-push/421912943/ 

Gov't to begin seismic surveys in Atlantic in drilling push

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

May 10, 2017 — 5:25pm

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it is moving forward on seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean, the first step toward offshore drilling in a region where it has been blocked for decades.

The Interior Department said it is reviewing six applications by energy companies that were rejected by the Obama administration.

The oil and gas industry has pushed for the surveys, which map potential drilling sites for oil and natural gas. No surveys have been conducted in the mid- and south-Atlantic regions for at least 30 years.

The regions, as defined by the Interior Department, stretch from northern Florida to Delaware. Any new drilling activity is expected to be limited to the coasts of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month aimed at expanding drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, part of his promise to unleash the nation's energy reserves in an effort to reduce imports of foreign oil. Trump's order reversed an action by former President Barack Obama and faces fierce opposition from environmental activists and many Democrats, who say offshore drilling harms whales, sea turtles and other marine life and exacerbates global warming.

This Affects YOU: Lower Fuel Economy; No More Help for Bad Neighborhoods or meal assistance

Today's blog in one in a new series we'll be doing called "This Affects You." Its purpose to help inform people (especially in Conservative states) of what's happening in Washington, DC. We recently read that people in Republican States never hear about political happenings. So, THIS is especially for you.  The following things WILL affect Conservatives and Liberals in ALL states 

(NOTE: these are from legitimate news sources, so turn off Fox news and delete Breitbart from your browsers).

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERING $6 BILLION IN CUTS TO DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IT MEANS: The plan would squeeze public housing support and END most federally funded community development grants, which provide services such as meal assistance and cleaning up abandoned properties in low-income neighborhoods." 

SOURCE:  WASHINGTON POST

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS MOVING TO ROLL BACK FEDERAL FUEL-ECONOMY REQUIREMENTS -  

WHAT IT MEANS:  People will basically pay more in the future as gas prices go up, and fuel economy doesn’t.   

**** The regulations would have forced automakers to increase significantly the efficiency of new cars and trucks. Automakers asked EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to discard a Jan. 13 decision that requires the fleet of new cars to average a real-world figure of 36 miles per gallon

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS / BALTIMORE SUN