"What does a society do when it eventually has more takers than makers?"

Let granny die, of course. I mean, if it's between that or a down day in the markets.

"How many Republicans were present for the signing of ACA?"

Everyone who voted for it.

"Love that he is handing out pens."

It's Trump's new "Look at that eclipse!" moment.

"everyone is not at risk. "

Only if you re-define "risk" to suit your needs.

"You are pretending that we are talking about anything other than pay in april taxes. "

IOW, to make your point, you have to ignore the majority of the taxes 70% of Americans pay over their lifetimes....

"If your tax liability was $1500 and you get a refund of $3000,"

You're pretending income taxes are the only taxes people pay. That's a lie.

Also, back when we were kids, if the family up the street paid $1000 in income tax, and got $100 a month in welfare because they had three kids, that family "paid income tax". That's also how it was scored.

Now, they've integrated the welfare system into the 1040, and that same family is scored as "not" paying income tax. It's simply not true.

Headline is a lie. Everybody pays taxes.

"Why is Kansas shutting down because of two counties in Washington?"

Because its Governor understands math, and believes her scientists.

"The press was only "hostile" because the first two people accused of this were Republican."

Why wouldn't YOU be hostile?

What about our leaders knowing X, and telling us Y as they act on X so they don't lost money, but you do?

Why are you not hostile?

"It's becoming obvious why Sanders is not well liked among democrats"

Because he'd be trounced by Trump???

"A social safety net is different from roads, police, fire and the military."

Tell us: without a social safety net, would crime go up or down?

"Who cares? seriously ... who cares ... just don't tax me more..."

You're being undertaxed as it is, as we're running record deficits. How about "don't leech off me more"?

They really didn't touch "marriage". There will still only be one legal "spouse"; all Utah did was decide to not prosecute play-acting.

The "second wife", for example, has NONE of the protections or the rights of the actual wife. Marriage, at its legal root, is a conferring of superseding rights to one person. By definition, polygamy would require an entire new canon of laws dealing with proportional rights.

"I highly suspect dems."

I highly suspect macro math: people die, and people move. In neither of those cases do they alert the Voter Registration folks.

That said, coroner information should be tied to voter eligibility, if it isn't already.

"For those who don't pay taxes due to lower incomes"

It's not due to "lower incomes", it'd due to Congress combining multiple programs on the income tax form. For example, when we were young, if a couple paid income tax, and also received welfare, they were still counted as paying income tax. Today, with the welfare system embedded in the 1040, those same people are not counted as NOT paying income tax, which isn't true at all. There are five major Republican initiatives which combined kid-subsidies with the 1040. Every one of them dropped the number of income tax payers according to the 1040...but Republicans constantly complain a higher and higher percentage don't pay income tax.

IOW, it's astoundingly disingenuous: you vote for the folks moving the dial from hot water to cold water, and then you're outraged---OUTRAGED!---the water is somehow cooler.

"I still have difficulty understanding why the Senate Republicans have abdicated their Constitutional responsibility for Congressional oversight."

Judges and tax cuts.

And if any of them had souls left after selling them for judges and tax cuts, they'd sell them again...for more judges and more tax cuts.

"The reason you can buy consumer goods for a fraction of what they would have cost you 60 years ago is wholly the result of increased competition."

Microchips and flash drives on line #1 for you. Gordon Moore on line #2.

"In the next 8 years it hits a double digit funding deficit."

Since we know that, why not fix the problem while we have time, and can gently alter the course instead of waiting for the day only a radical change will save it?

"Why do so many repubs seem to want an elective king?"

Tax cuts and judges.

"Healthcare costs continue to rise"

"But goalposts that you moved are not."

I moved no goalposts. They Texas Legislature did the same thing in 2018. Seems Zed's claim it's "...a favorite pastime of Texas Republicans" has been proven.

"Citation needed"

Here's the 2019 Texas budget:

"Russia.. if your listening.. if you can find the 24 Trump emails the democrats and the media will reward you bigly."

And Iran, if you hack into Saudi Arabia and get good enough dirt against Jared, I'll sell you arms!
~Joe Biden, acting Presidential

"I've repeatedly stated that the US needs a Value Added Tax."

While voting for the folks who keep stating the US needs more Income Tax Cuts.

"You have to...I don't think it's optional"

Of course you think it's optional; you were silent on borrowing more.

I'm talking about paying for it contemporaneously. Why shouldn't we pay for what we spend? And if you really want to cut spending, wouldn't paying for it at the same time, create downward pressure on spending?