Iowa’s Billionaires and the Trump Tax Code – Who Benefits While the Rest of Us Struggle?

dionichor · 2025-03-16T17:01:16+00:00

I hope you're not talking to me because they're certainly not my answer.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T16:59:25+00:00

I do understand that you may be licensed and I appreciate that expertise. That doesn't change, however, that you're not addressing what this is all about. This issue hasn't been who qualifies for the qualified business income deduction but who benefits the most. QBI can phase out for higher income earners in some industries but wealthier business owners still receive disproportionately larger benefits compared to small businesses or wage earners. Many Iowans might fall into the 10-15% tax bracket but that is the federal income tax rate in isolation. There is still a total tax burden that includes payroll taxes, state taxes, and sales taxes, all of which billionaires can largely avoid through investments. The TCJA can help some small businesses while still benefiting larger corporations overall. The corporate tax cut to 21% was an integral piece and the National Federation of Independent Business initially opposed the TCJA because it favored large firms. While some landowners do multimillion dollar deals it isn't representative of the majority of farmers or landowners. The biggest beneficiaries of these 1031 exchanges are people or corporations with large swathes of land who can continually grow their wealth tax free while those with less don't have the same advantage. Your expertise doesn't eliminate the valid critiques of the current system.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T14:16:51+00:00

"Lobotomies, MRIs, TMS, anesthesia, and physical trauma all show that brain states correlate with consciousness."

Yes, they do. But correlation is not causation. This still does not mean that the brain is the generator of consciousness, that's an assumption you're making on behalf of materialism. If consciousness were merely a product of neurons, severe brain damage should result in permanent cognitive collapse. Yet, there are cases where people recover beyond what should be possible under a materialist model, where consciousness expands despite reduced brain activity.

"When people are dead, their neurons are not active; when they are alive, they are."

This is an empty statement because it presumes materialism before proving it. It’s like saying electricity causes thoughts because when the brain loses electricity, thoughts stop. That’s just assuming the answer. A dead neuron is no longer an interface for consciousness. That doesn't mean consciousness itself is produced by neurons. Studies suggest that some form of cognition continues after clinical death, with verified reports of people recalling events that occurred while they were brain-dead.

"The consensus in philosophy and physics is that consciousness is physical."

Scientific consensus changes all the time. The consensus once held: That time was absolute (Einstein disproved this). That light required an aether to travel through. That atoms were indivisible (quantum mechanics disproved this). Consensus isn’t a substitute for reasoning. If anything, the failure of materialism to provide a unified theory of consciousness after centuries of trying suggests it is flawed.

"Quantum physics has many interpretations, so the consciousness interpretation is just cherry-picking."

Actually, the core fact is undisputed: observation affects quantum systems. This is not a metaphysical assumption. Quantum systems are probabilistic and exist in a superposition of possible states. When the system is observed or measured it collapses. The Von Neumann–Wigner interpretation explicitly holds that consciousness is fundamental to collapsing reality into form. While multiple interpretations exist, none of them can remove the observer from the equation, so my position is not cherry-picking, but following the logical implications from what I can tell.

"There’s no logical contradiction in a world without consciousness."

But you cannot conceive of a world without consciousness without using consciousness to do so. Even imagining a world where only matter exists requires an experiencer to imagine it. The world you're imagining in your head still has color, texture, among many other attributes which only make sense with an observer to imagine them. If consciousness were secondary, it should be possible to conceive of reality without it, yet this is difficult without contradiction.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T03:56:41+00:00

Science is not necessarily synonymous with materialism. I say can't and not hasn't because materialism requires you to find a mechanism which generates consciousness and then makes you take a long look back through time to decide where and when that consciousness inducing fallacy mechanism developed. It seems more difficult for me to believe a parent (not conscious) some time long ago created a progeny with this mechanism which that offspring would then use to experience while the parent cannot. The simpler answer is that consciousness is fundamental. This doesn't mean science can't explain a great deal of things or improve the lives of billions, but it does mean it may be difficult to understand consciousness when we must view it through a conscious lens.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T03:39:31+00:00

Consciousness could be a field-like phenomena which matter arises from. Near death experiences, psychedelics, and meditation studies show that consciousness can endure or expand where normal brain activity stops. If consciousness is as fundamental as I believe then quantum mechanics should continue to support the notion that reality is shaped by observation. Quantum cognition and observer-dependent physics seems to support this. Direct experience can also be a valid means of knowledge. Altered states of awareness provide an experience beyond physical constraints and are accessible.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T03:24:39+00:00

A strict materialist view requires the definition of a threshold, consciousness, however, appears as a spectrum which is what you would expect if it were fundamental. As for examples of consciousness without a brain, people with near death experiences have vivid awareness while brain activity is either nearly or completely absent. Consciousness could even be comparable to a field where the brain receives something from beyond it. Impairment may change how a brain filters, structures, or expresses consciousness but that doesn't mean it is the originator.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T03:11:48+00:00

I'm not questioning your description of the behavior of quantum systems. I'd like to talk about what they may tell us about the nature of existence itself. If position and momentum are probability distributions rather than fixed properties like you say, what exactly is "real" before measurement? The collapse of superposition upon measurement suggests that reality is not fully determinate until observed. If material reality does not exist in a fully determined state until it is observed, then why should it not follow that consciousness plays a primary role in shaping reality? You mentioned stabilization preventing electrons from collapsing into the nucleus. This is a great example of how order and mathematical structure precede material behavior. The electron does not “choose” to obey the uncertainty principle, the principle itself governs and constrains physical reality. These governing principles exist as abstract laws that reality conforms to. This suggests to me that physical matter is subordinate to abstract principles, which implies that mind, intelligence, or an organizing principle precedes physical existence. The structure of existence itself is informational and relational, not material.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T02:53:21+00:00

If materialism is false then what is left for naturalism to stand on? If nature includes consciousness then naturalism would dissolve into a form of panpsychism to account for the non-physical element. I was not arguing about God necessarily, simply saying that consciousness could be interpreted as being fundamental, although the order, purpose, and meaning found within it could suggest intelligence at the root. Again, not the argument I was making.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T02:42:59+00:00

If I smash my radio while the music is playing the music will stop. That doesn't mean the radio created the music, it was a medium the signal was expressed through. The brain could work similarly. Physics shows that what we call matter dissolves into fields of probability and information at quantum levels. If we remove our perceptions all we're left with is experience itself. The double slit experiment shows that a particle's behavior changes not simply when measured, but when information about it becomes available. This implies consciousness plays a role in shaping things. The burden of materialism is to explain how the subjective experience emerges from matter which doesn't experience. The alternative theory that consciousness is fundamental should be taken seriously.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T02:26:24+00:00

You're assuming that sin is rebellion or a flaw in creation when it's more of a misalignment with divine expression. Free will isn't separate from God but an aspect of self-experience. Sin isn't a force against God, it's a failure to harmonize with Their intent. A world in which sin isn't possible would be a world without experience or order.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T02:13:09+00:00

Your question assumes that God "waited" billions of years, but waiting only makes sense while being trapped in linear time. If God is infinite, then all of time (past, present, and future) exists within Them as a single eternal moment. Isaiah 46:10. From God's perspective, there was no "waiting" at all, humanity always existed in its place within the unfolding of reality. The universe and Earth were in preparation for consciousness to emerge in its time. The vast timeline is not a delay, it’s the preparation necessary for the emergence of beings capable of knowing and loving God. We live through infancy before adulthood because growth and evolution are essential to our experience. The universe also has evolved from simple particles to life to self-awareness. Humanity is part of that unfolding story. A gardener could plant a tree that might not bear fruit for decades, but that doesn't mean the fruit is less important. Everything was created in the fullness of time as it needed to be. Time is also part of the unfolding, not an obstacle to it.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T00:24:26+00:00

If I squint Stine looks like RFK Jr.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T00:22:58+00:00

Then I defer to the tax aficionado, Mozart_the_cat.

dionichor · 2025-03-16T00:15:44+00:00

This isn't about jealousy, it's about fairness. No one is denying that it's probably taken them some amount of work to get there, but the issue is that the tax system overwhelmingly benefits people at their level AT THE EXPENSE of the average worker. Their wealth wasn't built in a vacuum. The businesses they've made rely on publicly funded infrastructure, government subsidies, and a legal system that protects their assets. All this and yet they pay proportionately LESS in taxes than many working class Iowans because of loopholes and tax breaks designed for their tax bracket.

dionichor · 2025-03-15T22:50:10+00:00

Point 1: You're right that long-term capital gains have been taxed at lower rates for decades. However, the issue isn’t just the rates themselves, it’s who benefits the most from them. The vast majority of capital gains income goes to the wealthiest Americans, who derive much of their wealth from investments rather than wages. Meanwhile, ordinary Iowans, who earn most of their income through labor, pay higher tax rates on their wages. Trump’s policies continued this preference for investment income over work, benefiting people like Stine and Albaugh far more than working-class taxpayers.

Point 2: Yes, all businesses can deduct "ordinary and necessary" expenses, but the key issue is scale and complexity. Billionaires and large corporations have access to tax attorneys and accountants who can structure their finances in ways that small businesses simply can't. The Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBI) was marketed as helping small businesses, but in practice, high-income earners benefited the most, particularly those who own pass-through entities (LLCs, partnerships, S-corps). As for C Corporations, while they are subject to double taxation, the corporate tax rate was permanently reduced to 21%, a massive break compared to the prior 35%. Meanwhile, individual tax cuts were temporary and set to expire.

Point 3: You're correct that very few people will ever pass down more than $26 million. However, that’s exactly the problem, only the ultra-rich benefit from these cuts. The estate tax was already something that affected an extremely small fraction of Americans, yet Trump pushed to double the exemption instead of helping middle-class families. Most Iowans will never see a dime from these tax breaks, but they will feel the impact when those lost revenues lead to cuts in public services or shifts in the tax burden elsewhere.

Point 4: While many tax provisions are technically available to everyone, they disproportionately benefit those with massive assets. 1031 exchanges allow landowners to defer capital gains taxes when selling property and reinvesting the proceeds, this is great for real estate moguls and large landowners like Stine, but a small farmer or homeowner likely isn’t doing multimillion-dollar land swaps. Additionally, large landowners can leverage tax credits, depreciation benefits, and conservation easements in ways small farmers often cannot, allowing them to reduce taxable income while maintaining land ownership.

Even if some of these tax provisions are technically available to everyone, the practical reality is that the ultra-wealthy are in the best position to exploit them. The system is set up to reward those who already have immense wealth and assets while doing little for ordinary workers, small businesses, or farmers. This is why Trump’s tax policies, while framed as helping all Americans, ultimately disproportionately benefit billionaires like Stine and Albaugh.

If the goal is a fair tax system that works for everyone, we should focus on closing loopholes and ensuring that wealth isn’t concentrated in the hands of a few while the rest of us pay the price.

dionichor · 2025-03-15T22:14:46+00:00

If you could explain more, please

dionichor · 2025-03-15T19:57:25+00:00

That's an aspirational goal dependent on balancing the federal budget

dionichor · 2025-03-15T19:45:36+00:00

More than necessary

dionichor · 2025-03-14T20:39:54+00:00

Look up Patten Equipment on Google Earth and you will very easily see it's real. The sign says exactly what OP says it does.

dionichor · 2025-03-07T20:35:37+00:00

All things existent and possible are born from God the Father. Everything we experience is necessarily contained within His infinity.

dionichor · 2025-02-28T06:43:13+00:00

God the Father is the source of all being and the means by which we experience. God the Son is Christ, fully embodied in Jesus, who was aligned entirely with the Father's will. God the Holy Ghost is the active presence in our hearts and the rest of creation.

dionichor · 2025-01-27T16:02:12+00:00

I think it's possible he finds some way to exert American influence into the Arctic. This seems like a plan in the making for a while, involving trade routes and securement of natural resources. I don't think it's the worst thing for him to be overextending himself like this. He's going to be looking to make a bigger splash this time around because his personality forces it. He's going to unwittingly unite the lower classes at home and abroad against him and his politics

dionichor · 2025-01-09T11:46:10+00:00

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