Opinion Elizabeth Warren proposes taxing First Amendment rights - "First amendment rights" in this article means lobbying, by the way

Elizabeth Warren proposes taxing First Amendment rights

If you like the idea of taxing the exercising of First Amendment rights, well, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren now has a plan for that.

www.washingtonexaminer.com

If you like the idea of taxing the exercising of First Amendment rights, well, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren now has a plan for that.

Warren on Wednesday unveiled a plan she claimed would end excessive lobbying by imposing a tax on companies' lobbying expenditures. The way the tax would work is that "companies that spend between $500,000 and $1 million per year on lobbying, calculated on a quarterly basis, will pay a 35% tax on those expenditures. For every dollar above $1 million spent on lobbying, the rate will increase to 60% – and for every dollar above $5 million, it will increase to 75%."

The problem with the proposal is that it runs smack up against the First Amendment, which states that, "Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people ... to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Given that businesses have the constitutional right to lobby, Congress cannot pass a law explicitly aimed at curbing their ability to exercise that right by way of a punitive tax.

If that were the case, a federal government frustrated with media coverage could levy special taxes on publishing or could crack down on protesters by imposing a punitive tax on protesting.

As lawyer Ted Frank put it, "There’s a legal reason Republicans haven’t tried to curb abortion by taxing it, and it’s not just because they don’t like taxes."

This proposal is just your regular reminder that Warren is a policy fraud. She churns out proposals that generate oohs and aahs from the media, yet they barely stand up to the most basic scrutiny. The crowning achievement of her career — the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — itself was ruled structurally unconstitutional in federal court.

Curbing lobbying is a worthy goal. But the way to curb lobbying is to shrink the power of the federal government over the economy, so that changes to taxes, spending, and regulations in Washington do not have such a dramatic influence on the fortunes of corporations.

 

[break these cuffs]

Does anyone else think this seems like DNC/Clinton plot? Bernie, Biden, and Warren aka the three Democratic frontrunners going down in one week seems like one hell of a coincidence.

I said at the beginning of the year that she would run again, but no shenanigans seemed to be afoot until recently. Joe going down and the DNC trying for an undetectable fringe candidate, while simultaneously crashing their own campaign with a failure of an impeachment attempt, started the gears turning. The party is tearing itself apart. It may just be that they've completely given up on 2020 and will use it as the excuse for their own Night of the Long Knives. It's a pretty common theory by this point. They may just throw in a last minute hail mary Hillary nom at the last moment to "save them" from Wacky Warren after she spews a few more retarded ideas like this one. Why not?

 

[Shoggoth]

huh

As of 2019, Elizabeth Warren has amassed an estimated $12 million dollar fortune[1].

(source: https://elizabethwarrenwiki.org/income-and-net-worth/ https://archive.is/MYRnQ)

 

[Judge Holden]

I said at the beginning of the year that she would run again, but no shenanigans seemed to be afoot until recently. Joe going down and the DNC trying for an undetectable fringe candidate, while simultaneously crashing their own campaign with a failure of an impeachment attempt, started the gears turning. The party is tearing itself apart. It may just be that they've completely given up on 2020 and will use it as the excuse for their own Night of the Long Knives. It's a pretty common theory by this point. They may just throw in a last minute hail mary Hillary nom at the last moment to "save them" from Wacky Warren after she spews a few more exceptional ideas like this one. Why not?

Honestly as much as I want to see a full on 2016 rematch, I doubt hillary plans on doing this. The raw agony and humiliation of losing to Trump are just too much for her to willingly want to risk a ten times worse shame of losing to him again after pulling all these strings, which given her own unpopularity and Trump's ability to bounce back from any scandal or drama combined with the distinct lack of utter disaster in his first term is something she has to know is more then likely.

....atleast with this election.

Maybe the plan is to covertly arrange things to utterly fuck up any possible chance the democrats have in order to leave the party in total rout come their defeat in 2020, which is just when she will sweep back in, graciously accept the grovelling apologies, and begin the process of getting herself elected super-duper-for-real in 2024 after having proven that it was totally not her fault she lost in 2016.


....only to lose again to my vengeful 2024 dream team of maximum karmic punishment

Spoiler

 

[break these cuffs]

Honestly as much as I want to see a full on 2016 rematch, I doubt hillary plans on doing this. The raw agony and humiliation of losing to Trump are just too much for her to willingly want to risk a ten times worse shame of losing to him again after pulling all these strings, which given her own unpopularity and Trump's ability to bounce back from any scandal or drama combined with the distinct lack of utter disaster in his first term is something she has to know is more then likely.

....atleast with this election.

Maybe the plan is to covertly arrange things to utterly fuck up any possible chance the democrats have in order to leave the party in utter rout come their defeat in 2020, which is just when she will sweep back in, graciously accept the grovelling apologies, and begin the process of getting herself elected super-duper-for-real in 2024 after having proven that it was totally not her fault she lost in 2016.

You're right about the humiliation. She wasn't even able to give a stump speech. Trump won't be able to run against her in 2024 The big issue I see with waiting another 4 years is her health. She collapsed and needed to be heaved into a Secret Service ambulance like a sack of potatoes on a balmy summer day in 2016. She wore some kind of crazy backbrace to keep her upright at least some of the time. She required 2 Secret Service agents to help her step up the 2-3 inches to speak at a podium numerous times. Hillary is like my 95 year old grandmother after she survived cancer, broke her hip, and had a stroke. Will she campaign in 2024 from a wheelchair?

 

[Arctic Fox]

You're right about the humiliation. She wasn't even able to give a stump speech. Trump won't be able to run against her in 2024 The big issue I see with waiting another 4 years is her health. She collapsed and needed to be heaved into a Secret Service ambulance like a sack of potatoes on a balmy summer day in 2016. She wore some kind of crazy backbrace to keep her upright at least some of the time. She required 2 Secret Service agents to help her step up the 2-3 inches to speak at a podium numerous times. Hillary is like my 95 year old grandmother after she survived cancer, broke her hip, and had a stroke. Will she campaign in 2024 from a wheelchair?

Are you saying the differently-abled can't run for office, bigot?

 

[Judge Holden]

You're right about the humiliation. She wasn't even able to give a stump speech. Trump won't be able to run against her in 2024 The big issue I see with waiting another 4 years is her health. She collapsed and needed to be heaved into a Secret Service ambulance like a sack of potatoes on a balmy summer day in 2016. She wore some kind of crazy backbrace to keep her upright at least some of the time. She required 2 Secret Service agents to help her step up the 2-3 inches to speak at a podium numerous times. Hillary is like my 95 year old grandmother after she survived cancer, broke her hip, and had a stroke. Will she campaign in 2024 from a wheelchair?

She is more than narcissistic and egotistical enough to take this chance. Remember her electoral pitch was "I deserve the presidency for existing. Any who oppose me are subhuman deplorables. Be grateful for my rule and dont fucking ask me to visit your shitty little dirtbag state you worthless peasants" and she honestly expected to win so she aint exactly the most humble or self aware specimen in politics

 

[break these cuffs]

Are you saying the differently-abled can't run for office, bigot?

Anyone can run for office. Just look at the current crop. She'd be way too proud to admit how weak she is by being in a wheelchair. Cancelling campaigns over exhaustion would be hilarious. Would they rig up some elaborate wire harness and boom like they do for stunt men in movies? Maybe the DNC has spent the last 4 years getting plastic surgery on a bunch of old white ladies to look liker her ala Saddam Hussein. The possibilities for hilarity in another Hilldog run are endless.

 

[Stab You in the Back]

Hot take: This is a shit idea because lobbyists are essential to the American political process and they dindu nuthin wrong. It is impossible for elected officials and their staff to be experts in on the massive swathe of policy issues they will need to make informed decisions on, and lobbyists are key to helping to fill in knowledge gaps on extremely important but obscure and/or exceedingly complex policy matters.

Exactly. Taxing lobbyists doesn't really get to the root of the problem with lobbying groups, which is quid pro quo dealings with politicians and bureaucrats. If Warren really wanted to do something about lobbyists, she should stiffen criminal penalties for people in government who commit ethical violations related to lobbying.

 

[Sheryl Nome]

Lobbying is literally "Petitioning the government for redress of grievance"

Warren has never seem an amendment to the constitution she didn't hate.

 

[Sīn the Moon Daddy]

Anyone can run for office. Just look at the current crop. She'd be way too proud to admit how weak she is by being in a wheelchair. Cancelling campaigns over exhaustion would be hilarious. Would they rig up some elaborate wire harness and boom like they do for stunt men in movies? Maybe the DNC has spent the last 4 years getting plastic surgery on a bunch of old white ladies to look liker her ala Saddam Hussein. The possibilities for hilarity in another Hilldog run are endless.

I wouldn't put it past them to use body doubles. New England is full of frumpy old white bitches that look just like Hillary.

Dime a dozen bro just slap a pantsuit on a deli manager and boom it's Hillary

 

[The Sauce Boss]

I wouldn't put it past them to use body doubles. New England is full of frumpy old white bitches that look just like Hillary.

Dime a dozen bro just slap a pantsuit on a deli manager and boom it's Hillary

Just pick up a suburban grandma from her kid's soccer game and tell her she can speak to the manager, easy.

 

[Lemmingwise]

Maybe the DNC has spent the last 4 years getting plastic surgery on a bunch of old white ladies to look liker her ala Saddam Hussein.

They need to get better at it.

 

[LolNoIPLeaksEvenLMFAO]

Ya know warning gun sperging - doesn’t that make the NFA and such illegal? Imposing a tax on certain weapons, disallowing some, etc... I mean I already know it does, but it extends beyond that.

that is an obvious violTion of the 1st like jfc. Fuck lobbyist, but free speech and all. Also, this would hurt smaller lobbying groups more than larger ones (I’m sure they wouldn’t splinter to avoid the higher taxes or anything either).

the 1st is hanging on by a god damn thread. The existence of National Security Letters/the lavabit case is all you need to look at to see that shit. Goes beyond that, but you get the idea.

I was subject to something similar that I won’t discuss because I’m not exceptional. I basically am not allowed to talk about any part of it for five years including to family just because I like privacy is most I can say.

Hell a FISA judge stepped down as he saw it nothing more than a fucking kangaroo court that just rubber stamped bullshit. Congress passed some shit in like idk 10-11 to make it better, but it literally made it worse. Instead of approving each target or group they now had to approve entire programs. It’s a fucking shadow Supreme Court and a disgrace to the 1st amendment.

 

[sperginity]

She knows her shit when it comes to financial law & limiting corporate power. I wish she were this smart about troons.

 

[The Sauce Boss]

She knows her shit when it comes to financial law & limiting corporate power. I wish she were this smart about troons.

If she wasn't part of the gun control crowd, I'd even put up with the troonery.

 

[The Last Stand]

NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

Edit: "...the power to tax is the power to destroy". Thank you @verissimus for the quick history lesson. Linked if you're interested to read the full article.

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

I know it's a snarl word but there's barely even a point to having a representative government without lobbying.

Warren's idea is dumb, but this is pants on head retarded.
No, giving corporate juggernauts more freedom to operate as they please is not a good idea, Jesus Christ.

Shrinking the role of the government in economy is as much about removing a bludgeon from the hands of corporate juggernauts as anything. Wal-mart can afford to have lawyers on staff to navigate their way through all these regulations. Your mom and pop store can't.

 

[verissimus]

NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

The more appropriate quote is "...the power to tax is the power to destroy". See McCulloch v. Maryland, Justice Marshall's opinion.

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

Does this include left wing boondoggles or are there various bullshit exemptions for things she likes?

 

[Pope Negro Joe the XIIIth]

Does anyone else think this seems like DNC/Clinton plot? Bernie, Biden, and Warren aka the three Democratic frontrunners going down in one week seems like one hell of a coincidence.

Hillary has already lost the Psycho-leftists, so I'm not seeing that happening: