Frances, I appreciate you sharing your viewpoint on the changes in this way. I am continuing to read about the bill. Thank you.

Here's the thing. I've read so much about this being a tax hike on the middle class when it is clearly not that. The little table you just quoted shows what I've seen in that every bracket will be getting a tax cut, not just the wealthy. I've heard all the complaints about the corporate cuts, but, imo, those corporate cuts are necessary to keep businesses in the US. I am hoping very much it will stimulate the economy. The stock market has been doing very well just with the promise of these policies, but even that seems to bring mostly negative press, which is pretty stunning. You are right in that the middle class is getting more like a 2% tax cut and those on the top will get closer to 4%, but I do not know all the reasons why it is reflected that way. I don't trust the politicians, but I've learned that the media is now just another branch of politicians, so it is difficult to get information that reflects the truth. Because, here is the thing. If 80% of people are getting a tax cut, that would normally make a lot of people happy about the bill, deficit or not. You and I might be concerned about the deficit, but for many people, that is not even on their radar. So, the fact that so many people are unhappy about this bill, leads me to feel it is being grossly misrepresented for political purposes. As far as the impact on parents with college-aged students, we will see. I have a college aged student and all the calculators I've used show a tax cut in the amount I would expect based on what I've read at the Tax Policy Center. I have a very simple tax return so I'm not sure what could be hidden there, but we will see. I've also looked at the charts at the Tax Policy Center to see the longer term effects, and even in 2025, higher after tax income is being shown across the board. Not quite as high as this year, but still substantial.

Well, my sister, who is a teacher and a single mom, will be very grateful if she sees an additional $2,000 each year as the result of this bill. It will make a significant difference for her. As far as the deficit, as I already said, we agree there. Though it doesn't seem as though there is too much concern in general as it increased almost $8 trillion dollars over the last Presidency without any tax cuts.

I actually think it is going to go the other way and that many are going to be surprisingly pleased after all the hysteria that's been in the media. I hope you are, too.

Well, yes, I'm thinking any all discussions of the bills on these boards are gross oversimplifications. Of course the wealthy and large corporations will see the biggest cuts. If I pay $15,000 a year in taxes, it would be a bit ridiculous to give me a million dollar tax break, but if I pay $50 million in taxes, then a million dollar tax break might make sense. I'm not sure where you are getting that it is only for one year? The middle class tax cuts will be in effect until 2027 -- 10 years. At that point, they will most likely be preserved unless whatever party who is power refuses to extend them. Which would be very unpopular, don't you think? The Tax Policy Center says that 80% of Americans will see an average tax cut of $2,140 and that only 4.8% will see an increase. This bill is very unpopular with the democratic party and, as we've seen especially over the last couple of years, most of the major news outlets are grossly biased in that party's favor. That is why there is all the doom and gloom about a bill that is going to actually make many people happy once they realize what the effects are for them. Sad, but true. Now, as far as increases to the deficit, that is an issue I am concerned about, but it doesn't seem either party has the will to do anything about that. I would happily give up any tax cut if a serious attempt would be made to reduce the deficit, including the bonus my dh received as a direct result of this bill, but that isn't even up for discussion by either side.

Sorry to hear that, Dawn.

I've read that 80% of Americans will get a significant tax break. And only 5% (should be mostly higher earners) will see an increase. My husband just received the first Christmas bonus he's had in 10 years.

My ds is not in college yet, but we're going through the application process and he's been accepted to every college he's applied to so far. He's not applying to top tier schools, but most are well-respected in our area (George Mason University, University of Mary Washington). He does have very good test scores because of all of the advantages of homeschooling and being able to make sure that he mastered the material he's been exposed to over the years, and he is a very hard worker. But, I have worried and fretted so much over this kid over the years because he has some lds and it is starting to look like that worry was unfounded. After years of reading on these boards, I had thought getting into college was a very cutthroat affair, but it really isn't so. Going through this process has made me realize that even our state flagship accepts at least 30% of applicants. Something else I've realized is that homeschooling in high school is great academic preparation for college, maybe especially so for a more average or typical student. Typical students in public school get most of their work and grades from being in class and participating and doing a small amount of work outside of class. College is the opposite of that and requires small amounts of class time with lots of work done independently outside of class. My son has been following the college model for years already by taking once-a-week online or coop classes and then having to schedule all his work for the week. I think having to make this shift can be a huge problem for students who have not had to do this in the past and I've only started to realize this year what a huge advantage this is going to be for my son. That's not to say that there won't be issues. I think going away to college is going to be a huge adjustment for him, but it's one I think he can make. Hopefully, I'll be coming back and posting in a couple of years about how well he is doing.

And just for kicks, when we were completing the common app for my ds this year, we downloaded the Harvard app just to see if it was much different from the types of colleges my ds was applying to. The main difference was that they required two SAT subject tests.

It can seem kind of crazy. The university near us will actually give my dd more credit and place her in a higher level of Latin based on the SAT subject test score she received before taking AP Latin than what they give if she gets a 5 on the AP exam. I'm not sure why. DD is doing both tests, though, because there are also many schools that will not give her any credit or even place her based on the SAT Subject test, but will give her credit based on an AP score. This is where it would really come in handy to know what school she is going to want to attend.

DS was accepted to George Mason University, which is one of his top choices.

Honestly, I don't know anyone who "looks down" on blue collar workers, either and I greatly admire people who can build, create and fix things, too. But, google it if you've never experienced it. I have a close friend who has never earned her degree and it has always been very tough on her.

This is great information. My dd is spending a bit of time each day exploring different college majors to get an idea of what each is all about. Recently, she's been talking about double majoring in the classics and math. She's taking calculus in her sophomore year and we've started exploring opportunities for her for next year at the local cc or university. However, she has only been exposed to the plug and chug sort of math and she does enjoy getting the problems correct, lol. Right now, she is using Saxon and one career option she has looked at is being an actuary. Maybe that would be perfect for her, but I've been wondering about how to expose her to more problem solving, The obvious would be to use AOPS to see if she is interested in growing in this area, but would AOPS still serve that purpose if she has already finished calculus? Any other suggestions for exploring the creative side of math at this point?

Thanks for the links. This is wonderful information.

Both of my kids have used Vista books for their Spanish classes. Yes, they are expensive, but it seems like everything is when you are outsourcing for high school. Anything with an online component is going to be pricey, but I think there are enough benefits to it when learning a foreign language that it is worth it.