Thread by @hilzoy

1/ Bret Stephens, just stop it.

Here's what he took away from the debates.

Lots of us speak Spanish, or other languages. Lots of us had ancestors who got into this country when there were no rules, or were kidnapped and enslaved.

2/ Undocumented immigrants pay Social Security taxes but will never get Social Security. They pay sales taxes, gas taxes, etc., etc. Meanwhile, Amazon, Netflix, et al paid nothing.

cbsnews.com/news/2018-taxe…

3/ It's not just "them" who are in debt. Lots of "us" are as well. And our debt is causing a lot of problems, like making people delay starting families or buying houses, not to mention the more obvious stress and misery.

4/ Many of us pay insurance premiums, but discover too late that the emergency service we need is out of network, or the deductible is well into four figures, and our insurance turns out not to protect us. Meanwhile, the VA isn't a nightmare, though there's always room to improve

5/ A lot of us have started businesses. But we don't believe that people who haven't started businesses aren't worth listening to. (If we did, why would we listen to you? Have you started a business that most of your online bios don't discuss?)

6/ I don't demonize people who have started businesses. But I do think they should be taxed at much higher rates, and that where their size impedes competition, they should be broken up.

7/ You seem to assume that "we" are all about self-interest. (Otherwise, why could we not look at the kids in camps on the border and think: we need to do something about this, even if "they" are not "us"?) So why this concern for people who have started businesses?

8/ Unless your online bios have left out an important chunk of your life, YOU have not started any business. YOU have not created jobs of driven innovation, at least not the kind you seem to be talking about.

So why the sudden burst of fellow-feeling?

9/ And why is your sudden surge of empathy directed at the people who need it least? Why does the idea that we get to keep $50 million in wealth tax-free, but pay tax on wealth above that, terrify you, while the idea that we are separating children from their parents does not?

10/ Any "we" that I want to be a part of has room for decency, generosity, and compassion. If you don't agree, count me out, and stop talking about "us" when you really only mean "me."